Respectful fishing

[The Dread Pirate Fisherman]

Hi all, I was fishing today at one of my favorite spots. At the end of the day I walked over to another fisherman who was bank fishing. As I walked up I saw 6 dead fish floating near and on the shoreline. Two were small bass 4 were yellow perch. I asked the guy did you catch those, he said yeah they're just junk fish. I say those bass aren't junk and the perch are at least good for bait. I wanted to say a few expletives but he spoke up just before I did. He said, "those will be picked up by the Osprey." And wouldn't you know it just as he said that a Osprey dives and snatches up a live fish about 15ft away. Instead of chewing him out I simply said please be more respectful of the fish. Then he went completely ballistic on me calling me names etc etc etc. I just walked away and thought does purposefully killing 6 fish by one person equal culling? That being said I'm wondering if I should have taken another tract and called NH fish and game. Instead I go to our trusty fishing digest to read the definition and it says  Culling: The act of exchanging a fish for one of the same species already in possession. But Websters defines it: reduce the population of (a wild animal) by selective slaughter. What's a dread pirate fisherman to do? Perhaps put em in the brig and lock em up lol. What would you do?

[Glaucus]

6 dead fish and a human floating with them.

[OCdockskipper]

A person who chooses to do that is either ignorant or unreasonable.  In either case, they have no interest in hearing a dissenting opinion. 

 

Save your breath & call Fish & Game.

[LxVE Bassin]

Got to be careful confronting people. Next time just call DNR. You can never underestimate the stupidity of the next man. So for safety reasons just call DNR.

[lo n slo]

never seen an Osprey eat a dead fish. a struggling or dying fish, yes, but not a dead one.

[The Dread Pirate Fisherman]

17 minutes ago, lo n slo said:

never seen an Osprey eat a dead fish. a struggling or dying fish, yes, but not a dead one.

Bingo! That's why I was so close to fully speaking my mind. In any case the only option I have now is to speak with the park rangers and let them deal with this tool if he shows up again. 

46 minutes ago, LxVE Bassin said:

Got to be careful confronting people. Next time just call DNR. You can never underestimate the stupidity of the next man. So for safety reasons just call DNR.

Agreed. Had it not been for the park ranger not being around I would have spoken to him and let him know. I may be back there in the am and will definitely make it a point to tell them about this tool.  

[Bluebasser86]

That's what is called Wanton Waste in Kansas, which is a fish and game violation that can earn you a ticket. 

 

I've never heard of a state allowing culling fish unless it's for a tournament either, and some don't allow that during certain months either. I know for us, once it's in your creel, you must either keep it or release it but you can't cull it out of your creel if you catch a bigger fish later. 

[Smalls]

The general public does not care about your thoughts or opinions. That’s why we have fines when you break the law, because a few harsh words go in one ear, and out the other. A fine, however, makes the lesson really sink in. Call DNR, they’ve been pretty quick to show up for these kinds of calls in my experience. 

[TOXIC]

On 7/7/2018 at 8:21 PM, The Dread Pirate Fisherman said:

he said yeah they're just junk fish

Makes you wonder what exactly he was fishing for????  

[Black Hawk Basser]

10 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Makes you wonder what exactly he was fishing for????  

I've never heard of anyone calling perch "junk fish".  Now, I know a lot of walleye guys that share that opinion on bass, haha..

[rejesterd]

He meant they're not large fish that are good for catch-and-release.  

 

Except for during the spawning period, there is a daily limit of 5 bass and 25 perch.  No length or weight limits.  So he was well under the limit.  And what he's doing will likely help you catch larger fish there in the future.  It's called harvesting, and it helps spread the food around in the lake to fewer fish (so they can be healthier and grow larger, and will be less likely to cannibalize themselves).

[Oregon Native]

Bass and other warmwater fish were considered trash fish by many "cold water" fishermen when I lived in Oregon.  Many a mentality was to just throw them up on the bank....not as bad as the pike minnow but close.  Was sad...So much nicer here in Tennessee.

[Bluebasser86]

12 minutes ago, rejesterd said:

He meant they're not large fish that are good for catch-and-release.  

 

Except for during the spawning period, there is a daily limit of 5 bass and 25 perch.  No length or weight limits.  So he was well under the limit.  And what he's doing will likely help you catch larger fish there in the future.  It's called harvesting, and it helps spread the food around in the lake to fewer fish (so they can be healthier and grow larger, and will be less likely to cannibalize themselves).

Killing fish and leaving them floating isn't harvesting them, it's just killing fish and wasting them. If it was the guys private pond he could do what he pleases, but you can't just kill fish to kill fish on a public body of water. 

[rejesterd]

2 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Killing fish and leaving them floating isn't harvesting them, it's just killing fish and wasting them. If it was the guys private pond he could do what he pleases, but you can't just kill fish to kill fish on a public body of water. 

Animals will come and eat those fish very quickly.. they're not just going to sit on the bank rotting for weeks.  That means they've been harvested.  He's not hurting the ecosystem by leaving them there.

[Choporoz]

8 minutes ago, rejesterd said:

Animals will come and eat those fish very quickly....

Maybe.   And if it doesn't happen VERY quickly, it probably won't happen.  I'm no biologist, but my experiences tell me that if a dead fish isn't eaten in the first hour or so, it will likely still be floating three days from now.

[Team9nine]

On 7/8/2018 at 1:25 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

That's what is called Wanton Waste in Kansas, which is a fish and game violation that can earn you a ticket. 

Same law on the books here in Indiana (wanton waste). Depending on the size, number and species involved, you could also get hammered for poaching. Simply call F&G next time. Here in Indiana, they also have a 1-800 TIP line to report violations while out on the water (TIP = Turn in a poacher).

[the reel ess]

Somebody with that much disregard for wildlife might not have a valid license. You could call your DNR and report them. Somebody might get out in time to check on it. Or they might make it a point to increase visits to the location. I was talking to a local moron the other day who was bragging about catching and keeping more than the limit of stripers at the local lake. He said a game warden walked over to him and checked his license but couldn't see his stringer because of the rocky shore. It's a put-and-take fishery so the limit is 10, not 5 as on the rivers where they reproduce. I said "Why didn't you just keep 10 and release the rest?" He just looked at me like I was stupid. Ten 5 lb fish is plenty of meat for one person.

[Bluebasser86]

On 7/9/2018 at 6:43 AM, rejesterd said:

Animals will come and eat those fish very quickly.. they're not just going to sit on the bank rotting for weeks.  That means they've been harvested.  He's not hurting the ecosystem by leaving them there.

Don't do it here, it's a ticketable offense.

Wanton waste means, “to intentionally waste something negligently or inappropriately.”

 

Killing a fish to leave it to rot is not different than shooting a deer or duck and leaving it rot. It wasn't "harvested", it was just killed. Just because a person thinks a fish is a trash fish doesn't mean it is unless the state agrees with you (many states have what they consider "rough fish" that wanton waste laws don't apply to). I don't particularly like crappie but I'll bet I'd make some folks really unhappy if I had my limit of 50 rotting on the bank next to me. 

[rejesterd]

4 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Don't do it here, it's a ticketable offense.

Wanton waste means, “to intentionally waste something negligently or inappropriately.”

 

Killing a fish to leave it to rot is not different than shooting a deer or duck and leaving it rot. It wasn't "harvested", it was just killed. Just because a person thinks a fish is a trash fish doesn't mean it is unless the state agrees with you (many states have what they consider "rough fish" that wanton waste laws don't apply to. I don't particularly like crappie but I'll bet I'd make some folks really unhappy if I had my limit of 50 rotting on the bank next to me. 

But he's leaving them in the water. In NH the law is that you can't leave fish on land or on a frozen lake. I would encourage people to bag them up, but it's not wanton in NH to leave them in the water. I'm sure an officer would tell the guy to remove them anyway, but it's not officially considered wanton. 

[SDoolittle]

@rejesterd  I don't care if it's legal or not. It is morally wrong.

[rejesterd]

1 minute ago, Bird Dog said:

@rejesterd  I don't care if it's legal or not. It is morally wrong.

You mean to kill fish?  I think it's kind of silly to leave them there, but at the end of the day, 6 fish in the water isn't going to create a big problem for the ecosystem.  

 

I'd rather have a guy do that than 50 other guys throw back every dink they catch.  An overpopulation of small fish is a lot worse over time imo.

[SDoolittle]

Silly is not the word I'd use to describe it. Yes, selective harvest can be beneficial, but killing fish and leaving them to rot is not the way to do it.

[rejesterd]

6 minutes ago, Bird Dog said:

Silly is not the word I'd use to describe it. Yes, selective harvest can be beneficial, but killing fish and leaving them to rot is not the way to do it.

I agree, it's better to bag them up and take them, but 6 fish left in the water will get eaten up very very quickly as soon as the guy leaves the area.  It's not something that has a serious impact on the ecosystem.. certainly no more than losing some plastic baits and leaving them in the water (which we all do).

[Arlo Smithereen]

11 hours ago, rejesterd said:

He meant they're not large fish that are good for catch-and-release.  

 

Except for during the spawning period, there is a daily limit of 5 bass and 25 perch.  No length or weight limits.  So he was well under the limit.  And what he's doing will likely help you catch larger fish there in the future.  It's called harvesting, and it helps spread the food around in the lake to fewer fish (so they can be healthier and grow larger, and will be less likely to cannibalize themselves).

without having knowledge of that particular body of water, you have no idea if what he did was helpful or not. However, I'd much rather see small dead fish than big ones.

 

[gim]

Definite Wanton Waste here in MN.  They don't care if its on the ice, on shore, or in the water.  Quite frankly, it isn't about breaking the law here.  Its a moral issue.  You either harvest them or release them fully alive.  Pitching them in the water half dead is morally wrong.

 

I probably would have called the authorities.  Confronting someone is what I'd like to do, but you never know when someone is packing heat.