spring or stealhead

[kinkfiish]

its that time of year again when the warm weather brings out the fridge fishermen.i was at edgewater bar the other day when a nearby fisherman stopped by to show me his freshly caught spring, nice fish i said too bad its a wild steelhead,caught on a barbed hook, i come across this way too often. i thot i would never say this but i think its time for a core fishing course for licenses,or up the license fees to $300 then those who want a fish that bad will go to safeway to get one and wont be endangering our resource

 

[Dirtdog67]

Hey Kinkfish, speak for yourself man. Not every guy dedicated to the sport has the resources to participate in a core licencing program. Keep it under the lid, you just might give to govt. another idea...dirty

 

[Eric]

Wow. Do you river fishermen see this kind of thing alot? Did you set the guy straight, politely but firmly?
It has been my experience that serious fishermen will know their stuff but as you say "fridge fishermen" don't know too much when they should. It seems that today's newer group of sportsmen don't know even the basic etiquette or unspoken rules of the bush.
Sorry about your encounter. But hopefully the guy won't do anything stupid like that again. Conversation officers are few and far between. It's up to us to try and at least educate the more ignorant guys right?

 

[kevinsc]

educating the people is a very powerful tool.when you see a person like that try educating them.if they do it again then call them what they are and report their dumb butt to the law.

kevinsc

 

[Alexievich]

From the experiences I've had on Van Isle rivers, about every 2nd or 3rd hook I catch when I snag the bottom (OK, so I end up catching more gear these days than fish) is still barbed! Do that many guys not know about the barbless hook rule? I think not. I think they choose to keep the barb wide open, that way they can drag the fish to shore by its butt with more efficiency.

Education is a good tool. The Salmon supplement and the Freshwater guides have all the info you need. People just need to read it.

I do agree that it is up to us to "wise-up" the guys doing it wrong. If you're not huge though you need to be careful, because, as a species, the "fridge fisherman" is easily riled up and prone to anger ... even attack if you're on the Vedder.
One last note though, there are actual newbies out there that are simply making a mistake. A quick "hey, did you know we're only allowed to use ... or whatever" is all they need to clean up their act.

Try being helpful first, who knows, you might make a friend. Its always helpful to have a friend when fishing ... preferably someone who runs slower than you if you meet a bear.

Cheers,
Alex

... "high water" is when you can fish from your car.