Confused about Foul Hooked Fish

polepackinprincess

polepackinprincess

New Member
I will admit it has been some time since I've held any interest in fishing, but this past year I have learned to take time to make time for myself and found an old love again. With that being said, I'm a bit confused on the definition of Foul Hooked Fish. I understand from what I have read that not only can you be fined for keeping a foul hooked fish but also you need to release it as safe as possible. My question is, what if the fish is wounded in such a way that returning it wouldn't allow it to live? I witnessed an accidental foul the other day where someone caught the fish by its belly near the front fin and had eggs and blood coming out because during the fight it was ripped open a pretty good size. This person kept the fish because returning it would be allowing it to suffer...is this wrong? I myself haven't had to endure this as of yet, but I'm curious as to what would be considered an act of "kindness" vs. regulations.
 
If it was legal to retain foul hooked fish then some people would purposely try to snag fish. (Not that some still snag regardless of the rules)
 
It is illegal to retain foul hooked fish. "Kindness" is no exception. Mother nature will make sure the fish does not go to waste. It will provide food for little critters that big criters will eat. Can you imagine how many poachers would foul hook fish and then plead "kindness" to justify their actions.
 
Here is a C and P from the current freshwater Regulations. I no that in saltwater you may retain accidentally snagged fish. Note the bold area. It is not clearly stated in the online main page about illegal actions that accidental foul hooks need to be released immediately.
It is illegal to:
1 fish for finfish and/or shellfish without a licence.
2 catch and retain salmon if your licence does not have a valid salmon conservation stamp attached to it.
3 wilfully foul hook or attempt to foul hook any fish other than herring, northern anchovy, Pacific sand lance and squid.
4 possess more than your daily limit and/or possession limit.
5 fish for salmon, cutthroat trout and steelhead with a barbed hook.

But on page 6 of the online version it says:

Snag (foul hook) fish (see definition, page
88). Any fish willfully or accidently snagged
must be released immediately.

That seems pretty cut and dry to me. Here is the link.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/docs/1315/fishing_synopsis_2013-15_provincial.pdf

In the definitions on Page 88 it states:
snagging (foul hooking)… hooking a fish in any other part of its body other than the mouth. Attempting to snag fish of any species is prohibited. Any fish willfully or accidently snagged must be released immediately.

I would interpret this to mean it is definitely illegal to purposefully snag fish but it is not illegal to accidentally snag fish but in both cases you must release the fish. However, if the fish were absolutely dead and I had not caught any other fish that day I would have to say I am likely taking it home though, at the risk of having to explain this to a conservation officer and potentially getting fined. If I were having a good day and had some fish to take home I would feed the eagles or stop fishing if I were snagging too many fish.
 
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Freshwater = No
Saltwater= Illegal to snag but nothing stated you can't keep a accidentally snagged fish unless something has changed in the last few years.
 
Well it's pretty clear......."Any fish willfully or ACCIDENTLY snagged MUST be released immediatley".

I guess if you are at the dock and an officer looks at your fish, you can come up with any number of reasons why it now has a large gash in the side or a big hole in the body or whatever....but no apparenet place where it was hooked in the mouth.....

Whether he/she will buy the story is a matter of question........
 
FRESHWATER / SALWATER
PROVINCAL/DFO
You can keep accidentally snagged fish in salwater!
Not confused
 
them guys on the american tuna show keep em if they are fouled. i was surprised by this.
 
It is perfectly legal to keep foul hooked fish in salt water.

It is illegal to keep a foul hooked fish in fresh water. (under any circumstance)

Tips
 
^I would think so but it has to be a open fish of course.

how does a hook rip a fish open so bad eggs come out? sounds nasty


On releasing damaged fish,
With fish the you dont want to keep like pinks or wilds once you can see, why not just give the fish slack to let itself off? Thats what ive was doing with pinks. Better since those fish freak out right at the boat and thats when I find damage can come. They flip around and get the line around there gills.
 
Because you guys are saying that is perfectly legal.....when in the regs it clearly says that it isn't.....


I don't know if i should be mentioning this:- but in the past I have had occasion to know some sportfishers who use flashers that are known "fishbiter" flashers (that is the salmon wills bite the flasher because of it's finish)....to this they affixed really really short leaders with a lure with abig hook.

The salmon comes in to hit and in the commotion the short bighooked leader snags the salmon.

There you have it.......a foulhooked salmon on seemingly legal rig.

Now there will be many who will be outraged by this style of fishing...as they should be...I am too.

But proponents of the " it's perfectly o.k. to keep them" school will have no problem obviously......
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Seafever - Please show me where it says that it is not.
It is clearly written in Freshwater that it is not.

I have looked into this before and just made a quick call to DFO office. They cleared up for me that it is legal in salt water to retain a foul hooked fish, although it is not legal to attempt to or try to. I assume this is because it is near impossible to foul hook a salt water fish on purpose.

Thanks
Tips
 
Seafever said:
Because you guys are saying that is perfectly legal.....when in the regs it clearly says that it isn't.....


I don't know if i should be mentioning this:- but in the past I have had occasion to know some sportfishers who use flashers that are known "fishbiter" flashers (that is the salmon wills bite the flasher because of it's finish)....to this they affixed really really short leaders with a lure with abig hook.

The salmon comes in to hit and in the commotion the short bighooked leader snags the salmon.

There you have it.......a foulhooked salmon on seemingly legal rig.

Now there will be many who will be outraged by this style of fishing...as they should be...I am too.

But proponents of the " it's perfectly o.k. to keep them" school will have no problem obviously......
Click to expand...

page 14

'salmon that are foul hooked accidentally in the ocean may be retained'

now we can move on:D

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/docs/SFGtidal-GPSmaree-2013-eng.pdf
 
Debate closed. Thanks Deewar25.

Although I am happy to see the questions raised, debated and cleared up.
Somethings aren't clear and the answers are buried in the regs.

This will be read by many and knowlege is spread.

Don't be afraid to ask if you are not clear.

Tips
 
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