Members plexlove Posted May 13, 2011 Author Members Posted May 13, 2011 The charge on the ticket is "Snagging paddlefish out of season". The season was closed on April 30th and you snagged 4 of them by your own admission..You definetly have an uphill battle if you want to fight it...How much is the fine? If its a small one, I'd pay it and move on...doesnt make you a bad person. No sir, the charge is NOT snagging paddlefish out of season, the charge is TAKE/ATTEMPT TO TAKE paddlefish out of season, 2 very different charges! I did not take nor attempt to take anything from those waters! They couldnt technically have a law called snagging paddlfish out of season and charge me with it unless i openly admitted to going down there for the sole purpose of snagging paddlefish! And since season has ended, i have snagged a lot more than 4 of them! Prolly close to 35 or 40 and only caught 4 gar! But that is besides the point, they are in there and they get hookes, quite often! 6 of them i caught while catfishing and the got tangled in my line! People keep saying i should have changed spots but it doesnt matter, there is one area to fish i casted all different ways, no matter where i threw it i would get one! Just like i said earlier, if you are out catfishing and catch 100 bass and no catfish...what are you doing? Does it mean you are bass fishing because that is all you caught? No! They are just what happened to bite! Just like in spoonbill season i snagged all day and all night for them yet all i got was carp and gar, yet i was spoonbill snagging! not gar or carp! And yes, I did have a BLAST realing in every single spoonbill, what human being wouldnt, they are an amazing fish to fight! Cant get in trouble for having fun....or at least i dont think you can...
Members plexlove Posted May 13, 2011 Author Members Posted May 13, 2011 So two good points: when do incidental catches cease to be incidental and what is an immediate release? I would tend to say that "no longer than three minutes" for a picture is too long for immediate - if it's out of the water. For a trout that could be death. I don't think the intent of immediate is to prevent you from taking a picture, but that's a lot of time. If I was the judge I'd think you were a guy gigging for paddlefish and using the gar thing as your "out." Still not accusing you, but it looks real bad to me. Look, in all honesty, anyone down there snaggin for gar, knows darn good and well they are gonna hook more spoonbill than gar, im not an idiot, the conservation dept is for making gar season 15 days longer than spoonbill. So yes, i knew i would get some but that is not illegal, i was fishing for GAR, had a wire leader and all. And there were numerous people down there snagging, just no one got any like me so they didnt get in trouble.
Members plexlove Posted May 13, 2011 Author Members Posted May 13, 2011 Look, in all honesty, anyone down there snaggin for gar, knows darn good and well they are gonna hook more spoonbill than gar, im not an idiot, the conservation dept is for making gar season 15 days longer than spoonbill. So yes, i knew i would get some but that is not illegal, i was fishing for GAR, had a wire leader and all. And there were numerous people down there snagging, just no one got any like me so they didnt get in trouble. And also, when i said 3 minutes i was just throwin a low number out there, now that i think about it, from the time i pulled the fish from the water, pulled the hook, took a pic, it may have been a minute and a half tops for the longest one, prolly 45 sec for the average, but one had been wrapped in the string and it took a tad longer. I think i need to remind some people though, these thing are NOT trout, they will not die from being out of the water for a few minutes, these are like catfish, you can take them out of the water for and hour and toss em back in and they will be good to go! Where as trout on the other hand, you take them out longer than 10 minutes they are done for! Paddlefish are a tough darn fish, they live a long time and can go without a lot of oxygen or even none at all for long periods of time. That is why they are called a prehistoric fish, they have been around forever...you dont live forever if your a pussy! lol
Trout Commander Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 In the beginning you said you were on the lake side of the dam, but then you said they went "up river" and it sounds like you were on the river side of the dam? It doesn't matter for the discussion taking place here but I was just curious and looking to try and sight fish for some gar... I have spent most of my money on fly fishing and beer. The rest I just wasted. The latest Trout Commander blog post: Niangua River Six Pack
Members plexlove Posted May 13, 2011 Author Members Posted May 13, 2011 In the beginning you said you were on the lake side of the dam, but then you said they went "up river" and it sounds like you were on the river side of the dam? It doesn't matter for the discussion taking place here but I was just curious and looking to try and sight fish for some gar... You must have misread it, go back and read my very first post i said i was on the "dam side of springfield lake" meaning the "river side" I believe its called tailwaters or something, at least that is what it says on my ticket. And it was a great spot to catch gar, or at least when the waters were up! I hooked a 6+ footer and after letting him go i found that the record was only like 6.5ft and about5 50lbs, so i was upset i didnt weigh him...so i have been back down there dang near everyday since trying to get him again. I also brought in a 5'9" 34lbs one while catfishing. He ran with my bait, i fought him for prolly 20 min and right at bank he cut through my 65lb braid but i threw a towel over his nose and dragged him up. There are some nice ones, and i love catchin them, they fight like hell! Way better than a spoonbill!
Justin Spencer Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 I think because of the seasons he can use the gar thing as an out and it is still legal as long as he doesn't keep a fish, doesn't matter what anyone thinks he was doing his ticket for taking or attempting to take paddlefish doesn't hold up because he could have "taken" them, but they were released. "The problem with a politician’s quote on Facebook is you don’t know whether or not they really said it." –Abraham Lincoln Tales of an Ozark Campground Proprietor Dead Drift Fly Shop
Wayne SW/MO Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 I think because of the seasons he can use the gar thing as an out and it is still legal as long as he doesn't keep a fish, doesn't matter what anyone thinks he was doing his ticket for taking or attempting to take paddlefish doesn't hold up because he could have "taken" them, but they were released. I think the judge will have the last say on that. I don't want to act as though I can read minds, but I suspect the picture taking violated the agents idea of Immediately. Today's release is tomorrows gift to another fisherman.
Justin Spencer Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 I would guess that if we were talking about someone catching and taking pictures of 4 smallmouth that were legally caught out of season we would all be up in arms talking about starting a petition and taking it to the conservation department. While the fishing methods are different it still seems they were legal bycatch and if any wrong doing occurred it was the picture taking which I don't think warrants a ticket. Same could be said for catching a lunker trout during catch and release season at the parks, does anyone take pictures then? "The problem with a politician’s quote on Facebook is you don’t know whether or not they really said it." –Abraham Lincoln Tales of an Ozark Campground Proprietor Dead Drift Fly Shop
eric1978 Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 I think I could snag for gar with ordinary equipment like you'd use to snag for suckers for a year without sinking a hook into one--they are just too armor-plated. That's actually not the case, Al. We snagged a few with clousers on the fly rods last weekend while fishing for whites. They take off like a freight train and if you have them snagged anywhere near the rear, your 5wt may as well be a piece of cooked spaghetti. Forget about it. Kinda fun, though...for about 5 minutes. I don't know what to think about the ticket...I can see both sides. I'd do what Gavin said and just pay the thing and move on.
FishinCricket Posted May 13, 2011 Posted May 13, 2011 http://s781.photobucket.com/albums/yy91/FishinCricket/fishing%20pics/?action=view¤t=633490c5.jpg Fun stuff... I would guess that if we were talking about someone catching and taking pictures of 4 smallmouth that were legally caught out of season we would all be up in arms talking about starting a petition and taking it to the conservation department. While the fishing methods are different it still seems they were legal bycatch and if any wrong doing occurred it was the picture taking which I don't think warrants a ticket. Same could be said for catching a lunker trout during catch and release season at the parks, does anyone take pictures then? I am actually in total agreeance with this... (not that my opinion is the end all be all authority or anything) cricket.c21.com
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