We Have Huge Issues - Smallmouth Poaching

[Chief Grey Bear]

I know I have dogged the MDC in the past but, they almost made me cry on the phone today I was so happy......Kudos to them....they have to get a square peg in around hole to get something done in this state and that is hard to do. I think this guy might be in a bit of trouble though from my conversations today......they didn't like seeing a tagged fish on a spear like that at all.

Remember, they need our eyes also to help them. They can't be everywhere all the time. We must also remember these people made a life choice to go into this field because their love of nature is as strong or stronger than ours. That is why they made the sacrafice and commitment to dedicate their lives to this. It is very easy to get angry at them because they don't do what we think they should be doing. Just take a breath and reflect for a moment before you jump them.

[ness]

Agreed it sucks because there are people who gig ethicly and people who only spear rough fish in lakes.....and they will get a bad rep because of shiotheads like this clown.

::::Update::::

Three people have called me back today in regards to this and were very upset and very motivated, at least it sounded that way over the phone. It appears the MDC didn't have any pics of him holding the spear with a tagged smallie on it and the pics this clown took off of his Facebook page from the Huzzah that make these on here look like kids play......several more fish and bigger smallies.....I texted those pics to the Crawford County agent and they went nuts they have called me three times today, on the 4 th of July, it seems as though they did not like seeing a couple of tagged smallies on film on a skewer.....so I would say that is a good thing and I commend the MDC for doing something with this. They also seem to think it is a ring a dudes who do it for fun and have a group on Facebook....kinda like what Al Agnew was saying. they told me to expect another phone call this weekend from a higher up with one of their task force.....so the MDC is making me proud today enjoy the long weekend fellas and be on the look out for this sort of crap and always call poaching incidents in right away, don't be afraid.

Nicely done, Smallie.

[Smalliebigs]

[Feathers and Fins]

Good news and hope the MDOC gets the goods and the guy gets the penalty Poaching is not excusable in any reality

[Quillback]

Saw this poacher topic on another bass board, whoever that guy is, the whole fishing world is going to know about him.

[Ham]

What a dirtbag. I wish he would get what he deserves.

[moguy1973]

It really makes you wonder how many of these tagged fish he's speared and sent in the tags for money.

The Huzzah and the Courtois are so clear that it would be pretty easy to throw on a swim mask and a snorkel and wait for a tagged fish to swim by and spear them like this fool did...

[joeD]

Perspective aside, look at the tail on that smallie! It's bigger than the guys' head! Also, please explain how it is possible to spearfish on a heavily trafficked stream unnoticed? All us fishermen fishing everywhere all the time?

[Gavin]

Most who float....have no clue.....if they stick around awhile they gain a conservation ethic. Most wont...Glad to see that the outfitters in the area bucked up...I'm sure they know his name by now....I do....Hope they 86 him for life...MDC cant yank his privilege for that long.

[Al Agnew]

Actually it's pretty easy to do it unnoticed by anybody who has a clue that it's wrong on the Huzzah and Courtois. As Gavin said, most of the floaters aren't anglers and don't know nor care that what the guy is doing is wrong. And if he is out of synch with the crowd, who mostly put in at about the same times in the same places, he won't encounter many, if any, of them. Then, all he has to do is stick his head up out of the water periodically and look upstream, and if he sees a canoe coming down the river, just quickly hide the speargun and pretend like he's snorkeling for fun. I've encountered several people snorkeling on these rivers throughout the years, and it's very possible they were doing more than snorkeling, but I didn't see the evidence.