Why I did not attend opening day

[OCGeezer]

Caught wind of new DFG regs.

http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=3e9e926d4f185d9336eeb7de2574d190

:ROFL:

[Sierra_Smitty]

HA! Funny stuff.

[baadfish69]

That is funny....however, Im going to post a report on my Opening Day trip probably tomorrow, (when I get my pics), and I definitely have something to say about the DFG. All I can say is I am NOT a happy camper/angler.

[fishslayer01]

thats my new favorate cartoon!

[fly addict]

Caught wind of new DFG regs.

http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=3e9e926d4f185d9336eeb7de2574d190

:ROFL:
I guess dynamite is ok in the special regs. section.:ROFL:

[troutdog]

Nice cartoon :LOL:


That is funny....however, Im going to post a report on my Opening Day trip probably tomorrow, (when I get my pics), and I definitely have something to say about the DFG. All I can say is I am NOT a happy camper/angler.

Post it up baadfish, the suspense is killing me!


TD

[baadfish69]

Nice cartoon :LOL:



Post it up baadfish, the suspense is killing me!


TD


LoL...ok TD, but just a quick one for you. Im having problems with my camera battery, so no pics....however I doubt any of my pics were anything to brag about.

We caught a ton of trout this Opener. However let me start by saying that we are very much "catch and release" fishermen. We started off Thurs and Fri before the opener fishing the Owens, and we did ok. The Owens actually was tougher than normal for us, in fact I only caught 1 fish each day.

Then we drove up to Bridgeport Fri night to get ready for the Opener on Sat. A few of us decided it was too windy and cold to tube, so we drove down and fished the E. Walker. This was our first time ever fishing this area.

We stopped in at a tackle shop in Bridgeport to buy some barbless hooks, and the guy says, "You dont need to buy barbless, just pinch the barbs down and youll be fine. Just remember that you can only take ONE fish from the E. Walker river!"

Ok fine! So we are fishing....and the one thing we wanted to do on this trip....something we have NEVER done....was to keep a couple fish and cook em up that night. I mean, we never keep fish.....never never never. So I hook into this rainbow that was much bigger than the average trout that we and anybody else we saw were catching. I got excited.....told my buddy, "Hey this is definitely a good one to keep for dinner tonight!", so I run to my truck to grab a stringer, while my buddy has the trout in a net in the water. I come back only to find a DFG warden standing there. He says do you have a tape measure? Instantly I think to myself....."Oh ****". So to make a long story short, I got busted for attempting to keep a 17" trout....only to find out that it had to be at least 18".

The DFG warden was even kind enough to inform me that there were signs posted on the dirt trails leading to the river. I went and found them signs, and they were about 6"x6" signs, that could easily be missed by anyone. But whatever, its my responsibility to know the regs of a specific fishing area right?

So this guy grabs my fish....tells me that its not going to live because we had it in a net for too long (uhhh...the fish was in flowing ice cold water, and completely moving around), walks away from the river, throws the fish on the ground to take pics of it and lets it die...then confiscates the fish. Ok fine, not my fish, do what you want with it. Right? Sure........

I dont know.....I just have a sour taste in my mouth over the whole thing. The one freaking time I decide to keep a fish, I get pounced on by the DFG. Sure I made a mistake by not knowing the size limit, but come on.....

Whatever, I dont even wanna talk about it anymore....Im PISSED!

[retired96]

LoL...ok TD, but just a quick one for you. Im having problems with my camera battery, so no pics....however I doubt any of my pics were anything to brag about.

We caught a ton of trout this Opener. However let me start by saying that we are very much "catch and release" fishermen. We started off Thurs and Fri before the opener fishing the Owens, and we did ok. The Owens actually was tougher than normal for us, in fact I only caught 1 fish each day.

Then we drove up to Bridgeport Fri night to get ready for the Opener on Sat. A few of us decided it was too windy and cold to tube, so we drove down and fished the E. Walker. This was our first time ever fishing this area.

We stopped in at a tackle shop in Bridgeport to buy some barbless hooks, and the guy says, "You dont need to buy barbless, just pinch the barbs down and youll be fine. Just remember that you can only take ONE fish from the E. Walker river!"

Ok fine! So we are fishing....and the one thing we wanted to do on this trip....something we have NEVER done....was to keep a couple fish and cook em up that night. I mean, we never keep fish.....never never never. So I hook into this rainbow that was much bigger than the average trout that we and anybody else we saw were catching. I got excited.....told my buddy, "Hey this is definitely a good one to keep for dinner tonight!", so I run to my truck to grab a stringer, while my buddy has the trout in a net in the water. I come back only to find a DFG warden standing there. He says do you have a tape measure? Instantly I think to myself....."Oh ****". So to make a long story short, I got busted for attempting to keep a 17" trout....only to find out that it had to be at least 18".

The DFG warden was even kind enough to inform me that there were signs posted on the dirt trails leading to the river. I went and found them signs, and they were about 6"x6" signs, that could easily be missed by anyone. But whatever, its my responsibility to know the regs of a specific fishing area right?

So this guy grabs my fish....tells me that its not going to live because we had it in a net for too long (uhhh...the fish was in flowing ice cold water, and completely moving around), walks away from the river, throws the fish on the ground to take pics of it and lets it die...then confiscates the fish. Ok fine, not my fish, do what you want with it. Right? Sure........

I dont know.....I just have a sour taste in my mouth over the whole thing. The one freaking time I decide to keep a fish, I get pounced on by the DFG. Sure I made a mistake by not knowing the size limit, but come on.....

Whatever, I dont even wanna talk about it anymore....Im PISSED!

Having been a cop for 30 years I don't think the elements of the violation exist under the way you described the incident. The fish was not on a stringer or in your ice chest, you say it was still swimming and in a net, so it seems to me you had not yet physically removed the fish for keeping. If I was in your shoes, I would contest the violation in court. Granted I'm not a DFG Warden but under your scenario I can't see that you violated the regulation of keeping a undersize fish.

Please advise us of what the outcome is.

[baadfish69]

Yeah I guess the problem though, is that I was being too honest about it. He asked me what I intended to do with the fish, and being that I had come back with a stringer, it was obvious. So I told him I was gonna keep it and eat it. Admitting guilt got me I guess.

[retired96]

Yeah I guess the problem though, is that I was being too honest about it. He asked me what I intended to do with the fish, and being that I had come back with a stringer, it was obvious. So I told him I was gonna keep it and eat it. Admitting guilt got me I guess.

Thats fine, but you still hadn't removed the fish from the water and placed it on a stringer or in a ice chest. What you intended to do and what you had actually done at the moment are two different things. Planning on keeping the fish and actually keeping the fish are two separate things. I'm sorry but it was a CS ticket, a warn and advise of the regs. is the better way to handle the situation, You learn the regs. at the at area you fished and the Warden gains a little respect from the angler for not enforcing the rules to the letter of the law.

[baadfish69]

Thats fine, but you still hadn't removed the fish from the water and placed it on a stringer or in a ice chest. What you intended to do and what you had actually done at the moment are two different things. Planning on keeping the fish and actually keeping the fish are two separate things. I'm sorry but it was a CS ticket, a warn and advise of the regs. is the better way to handle the situation, You learn the regs. at the at area you fished and the Warden gains a little respect from the angler for not enforcing the rules to the letter of the law.


Gotcha. Believe me I wish that he would have cut me some slack, especially considering that I am an avid catch and release angler. I looked up on the DFG website that this is gonna cost me about $800. I could fight it, but then I would have to drive back up there, and I just cant afford it right now, especially if I were to lose the fight. A buddy of mine said I should write a letter to the court and ask for leniency, and maybe I will but Ive never heard of a letter to a judge impacting the outcome of a case if the person wasnt there to make their plea. I dont know.....I just dont know.