Bucket Fisherman

[Caver]

This is what they started doing at the local lake by me to try to crack down on the ones doing this. They dont expect the undercover to be out there.

The fisherman that are breaking these rules knowingly bug the hell outta me.

Wow awesome post. Had no idea they had some guys out there enforcing the rules.

[NorcalBassin]

I don't have a problem with the guys taking fish home within the regs (we have a lot of put and take lakes around here), but it drives me nuts when I see abuse of the regs or when an area is cleaned out and left to look like an old homeless camp.

[scrutch]

I have run into a couple bucket fishermen around here that are keeping legal sized smallies from the small river we have running through our town. They were perfectly within their rights to keep those fish. This was during the spawn and the bass were obviously females full of eggs. I took the time to educate those folks on the importance of allowing those fish to spawn. That river is a very small fishery and keeping those fish would make a significant negative impact on the population. Fortunately the bass have been on stringers and after listening to my soapbox speech they let me release the fish. In these cases the people didn't understand the effect they were having on the river. Sometimes it just takes a little patience and education to get these people to see the light.

[A-Rob]

Bucket fishermen don't bother me in the least. I know they are trying to put food on the table to feed their family. I often take a portion of my limit (if i have kept any) and pass them out as I'am coming in. It is common to see migrant field hands fishing on saturday and sunday in my area. I know these guys are just looking for something to cook and eat. So helping them out puts a smile on my face.

That is fine as long the laws are being followed. Where I'm from "bucket fishermen" refers to those poaching (typically piling their fish into their white buckets).

All of us that deer hunt ethically and legally would be livid with people setting up illegal traps and poaching deer. Same thing in my mind, poaching is poaching.

Of course it is unfortunate that stereotypes (such as this one) gives those who are hungry and fishing legally for their dinner a bad reputation...

[jmb27]

That is fine as long the laws are being followed. Where I'm from "bucket fishermen" refers to those poaching (typically piling their fish into their white buckets).

All of us that deer hunt ethically and legally would be livid with people setting up illegal traps and poaching deer. Same thing in my mind, poaching is poaching.

Of course it is unfortunate that stereotypes (such as this one) gives those who are hungry and fishing legally for their dinner a bad reputation...

This. Someone keeping some legally caught fish to eat? Good for them. Yeah, it stinks when I see a guy at the ramp taking home 4 or 5 bass in the 3-6 lb. range after he told me that he "frees the small 1 and 2 lbers to let them grow up." He has it wrong, but he was within his rights to do so.

However, most of us know bucket fishermen as those that have little to no regard for the applicable fishing laws (or someone's property rights) and in addition to keeping anything that bites of any size, they often leave their fishing area littered with trash and a complete mess.

[Borderline11]

While I haven't personally kept any fish I've ever caught, I've made the decision that I will take a few home this year and try to cook a bit. There are a few bodies of water that I fish pretty hard (but few others even know they exist) where I've found that there is an abundance of fish in the 1-2 lb range. Unfortunately, there is a limited number of fish larger than that. Some of the older fish are starting to have the enlarged head appearance, which I suspect is the result of a lack of nutrition. Others just seem thin bodied, lacking the full, round belly. These smaller bass have limited the food source, restricting the overall growth potential of the entire fish population. A food source is not my motivation, cultivating the body of water to produce healthier, larger fish is. I don't have the resources to stock the properties with feeder trout , so I'm thinking that I may be able to encourage greater growth potentials by lessening the competition for food.

[jmb27]

that's an opportunity to educate

I did mention that it is better to eat the 1-2 lber and let the bigger fish and their genetics stay in this lake, which is small at 130 acres or so.

At least he was having a fish fry I guess.

[A-Rob]

For some reason it is tough to keep people under the legal limit let alone releasing the trophy's and keeping the little ones.....Sure sounds easy enough but a lot of people just don't care, it is frustrating.

[RyneB]

I have bad experience with the bucket fishermen. On the illinois river, there is only one spot that i catch decent smallies from. It is where a creek runs into the river. Well these bucket fishermen (all foreign) line the creek mouth. Throw bait nets. Keep everything they catch from smallmouth too white bass. Then they use the shad they catch to catch smallies, flatheads,white bass, largemouth. Then they keep them. They also leave behind all the garbage they have accumulated. I watched as they left the spot, i took the boat to shore and started picking up there garbage. I counted 46 smallmouth cut up bodies, tons of catfish, several largemouth, and tons of white bass. A lot of the smallmouth they cut up looked to be 12 inches and under. They go down there with 20 plus people, each with 2+ rods. Then they have a couple guys taking the coolers back and forth from the vehicles. The illinois river isnt the greatest bass fishery, so it needs all the help it can get. These guys kill this stretch of river and its frustrating. Our local DNR doesnt care, as long as theyre not harming "the great walleye/sauger," they dont care.

I pulled up to this spot one time and a guy threw a weighted snagging hook at my boat. I keep a .45 in the boat, i almost went postal. Its just a lack of respect. My buddys get a boat load of asian carp and sell them to the bucket boys for good money. I dont even bother.

[Christian M]

A few friends and I fish a small private pond (about 6 acres) which is stocked by the DNR but the stocking is paid for by the folks who live around the pond, its added to their property tax (about 8 homes). It holds Largemouth, Chain Pickeril, Channel Cats, Bluegill, Black Crappy, Perch, Sun Fish ect. Lucky for us the homeowners are kind enough to let us fish the pond. The biggest bass we've caught & released so far was 6lbs! Those of us that know about this spot generally keep it to ourselves and protect it. We keep it as clean as possible by hanging garbage bags on trees & picking up garbage left behind by morons, there's also the occasional chasing out "bucket fisherman" which is always fun. Well two seasons ago we pulled up bright and early to fish our spot and there was a guy standing knee deep in the water, with his dress slacks rolled up, using live bait, with a big cooler hidden in the bushes. Needless to say we approached and asked what he was doing with the cooler and where his fishing license was?? In a really hard accent he replied something along the lines of "I have license" then he tells us that he owns a sushi/hibachi restaurant right up the road!! So we got on the horn and called the local game warden who had approached us once and after a few minutes of friendly conversation gave us her direct cell number. Next thing u know our friend was dumping his cooler and hightailing it off the property fines in hand! The part that really bugged me was thinking about how many times he probably caught the "Fresh Seared Panfish" special out of this industrial runoff pond??!! Thank God I never ate there.

[slonezp]

I have bad experience with the bucket fishermen. On the illinois river, there is only one spot that i catch decent smallies from. It is where a creek runs into the river. Well these bucket fishermen (all foreign) line the creek mouth. Throw bait nets. Keep everything they catch from smallmouth too white bass. Then they use the shad they catch to catch smallies, flatheads,white bass, largemouth. Then they keep them. They also leave behind all the garbage they have accumulated. I watched as they left the spot, i took the boat to shore and started picking up there garbage. I counted 46 smallmouth cut up bodies, tons of catfish, several largemouth, and tons of white bass. A lot of the smallmouth they cut up looked to be 12 inches and under. They go down there with 20 plus people, each with 2+ rods. Then they have a couple guys taking the coolers back and forth from the vehicles. The illinois river isnt the greatest bass fishery, so it needs all the help it can get. These guys kill this stretch of river and its frustrating. Our local DNR doesnt care, as long as theyre not harming "the great walleye/sauger," they dont care.

I pulled up to this spot one time and a guy threw a weighted snagging hook at my boat. I keep a .45 in the boat, i almost went postal. Its just a lack of respect. My buddys get a boat load of asian carp and sell them to the bucket boys for good money. I dont even bother.

What? You say the IDNR doesn't care?LOL

I think it's more that they are spread thin and it's extremely difficult for them to enforce the rules. They are not only enforcing fishing/hunting rules but also any other illegal activities that take place. Here's a link with all the stuff that is caught. http://dnr.state.il.us/law3/report/index.htm They are supposed to be hiring 15 additional officers this year, which should help.

[RyneB]

Not saying they dont care. But on several occasions i have called the IDNR and reported the incident. I stayed in the area for several hours and noone showed up. Its just frustrating, I respect everything they do, but if theyre spread so thin, hire more officers.

[Raider Nation Fisher]

I have bad experience with the bucket fishermen. On the illinois river, there is only one spot that i catch decent smallies from. It is where a creek runs into the river. Well these bucket fishermen (all foreign) line the creek mouth. Throw bait nets. Keep everything they catch from smallmouth too white bass. Then they use the shad they catch to catch smallies, flatheads,white bass, largemouth. Then they keep them. They also leave behind all the garbage they have accumulated. I watched as they left the spot, i took the boat to shore and started picking up there garbage. I counted 46 smallmouth cut up bodies, tons of catfish, several largemouth, and tons of white bass. A lot of the smallmouth they cut up looked to be 12 inches and under. They go down there with 20 plus people, each with 2+ rods. Then they have a couple guys taking the coolers back and forth from the vehicles. The illinois river isnt the greatest bass fishery, so it needs all the help it can get. These guys kill this stretch of river and its frustrating. Our local DNR doesnt care, as long as theyre not harming "the great walleye/sauger," they dont care.

I pulled up to this spot one time and a guy threw a weighted snagging hook at my boat. I keep a .45 in the boat, i almost went postal. Its just a lack of respect. My buddys get a boat load of asian carp and sell them to the bucket boys for good money. I dont even bother.

That woulda been the last hook he ever threw. My 9mm would have made sure of that. Cause I got 30 little friends and one in the chamber. Unless I have both glocks with me, then I have 60 little friends and two in the chambers. I love high cap magazines.

[slonezp]

That woulda been the last hook he ever threw. My 9mm would have made sure of that. Cause I got 30 little friends and one in the chamber. Unless I have both glocks with me, then I have 60 little friends and two in the chambers. I love high cap magazines.

Raider, This is IL. We have the strictest gun laws in the country to go along with high crime rates. The only state without some type of CC

[NCbassmaster4Life]

That woulda been the last hook he ever threw. My 9mm would have made sure of that. Cause I got 30 little friends and one in the chamber. Unless I have both glocks with me, then I have 60 little friends and two in the chambers. I love high cap magazines.

That's when my expertese swimming skills come in lol.

[Gangley]

Strictest gun laws and high crime rate......why does it not surpise me that the two go hand in hand?

[Chattahoochee]

An armed society is a polite society. And Salt Loads deter trespassing pretty well.