Fish Handling

[hayze07]

I want your a professional opinion what the rules are on a situation that drives me crazy whenever I see it.

 

The shore fishermen at the local trout lake around grande prairie always catch and keep fish which isn't a bad thing, but it drives me crazy when they land them and immediately run a stringer through the gills and tie them of and throw them back out in the water and let them swim around while they continue fishing for the day. Then they possibly try releasing that fish if the catch a bigger/nicer...whatever there reason would be.

 

Regulations say if you plan to retain a fish it must be killed quickly as soon as it is out of the water.

 

Does fish and wildlife get involved in these situations?

 

I ask them politely if they plan to keep it and to stop it from suffering but they basically tell you to go @#$@ your self. There's no reasoning with them and i'm a passive person that does not want to initiate a physical confrontation.

 

[fishinglibin]

Screw the law. I usually tazer them. Just kidding. I have gotten into more than one serious confrontation. On the Fraser a guy was ready to kill my friend and tried to drown him, all from saying, we would be glad to help revive and release the fish he just caught, as we saw him poach other fish. Was a very nasty day. Be extremely cautious. I hate the chain guys.

[bcubed]

I want your a professional opinion what the rules are on a situation that drives me crazy whenever I see it.

 

The shore fishermen at the local trout lake around grande prairie always catch and keep fish which isn't a bad thing, but it drives me crazy when they land them and immediately run a stringer through the gills and tie them of and throw them back out in the water and let them swim around while they continue fishing for the day. Then they possibly try releasing that fish if the catch a bigger/nicer...whatever there reason would be.

 

Regulations say if you plan to retain a fish it must be killed quickly as soon as it is out of the water.

 

Does fish and wildlife get involved in these situations?

 

I ask them politely if they plan to keep it and to stop it from suffering but they basically tell you to go @#$@ your self. There's no reasoning with them and i'm a passive person that does not want to initiate a physical confrontation.

 

 

Just call the poaching line if you're seeing them do this. If there's a CO around they'll come by and deal with it.

[trailhead]

I agree with Bcube call RAP. it is in the regulations and I have had a few poachers tell me what they said to you. When that happens I hit the speed dial on my cell. Bought a nice reel with the reward once.

[angler]

Keep the RAP line in your fave's list for easy access!!

[PeteZahut]

I understand there is a difference but how does that rule pertain to live wells in boats?

[SilverDoctor]

2015 Sport Fishing Regulations

 

Never Cull Fish
“Culling” is staying within the catch limit for a species by releasing fish
from a stringer or other holding device when a larger fish is caught. Fish
that have been held on a stringer or in a tub usually die if released because
of stress and because of damage to their gills, fins and scales. Culling is
unlawful if the practice occurs beyond a person’s legal limit.

[troutfriend]

further to the above...

page 22...

Possession: A fish is considered retained (kept) when it is not immediately returned to the waters from which it was taken.

If the fish you catch is of a legal species and legal size, immediately decide to release or keep it as part of your day’s limit. Fish kept on a stringer or a live well are considered retained and are part of your limit. (See releasing live or prohibited fish.)

[trailhead]

:clapping:You guys are both on the same page.

[RedBeard]

2015 Sport Fishing Regulations

 

Never Cull Fish

“Culling” is staying within the catch limit for a species by releasing fish

from a stringer or other holding device when a larger fish is caught. Fish

that have been held on a stringer or in a tub usually die if released because

of stress and because of damage to their gills, fins and scales. Culling is

unlawful if the practice occurs beyond a person’s legal limit.

 

Yup, caught a guy culling on Chain a while back. The CO took it very seriously and came and busted him.

[troutlandish]

Met a few dinks last night and this seemed like the right place for my question.

3 guys gear fishing from shore on the Bow. Watched them catch and "release" a few fish. They would bring the fish in, drag it onto shore and then proceed to grab it in the gill and walk it up shore to their buddy with a camera. Each fish laid on the ground at least once while waiting for the camera (worst was 4 times that I counted). After the shot they would gill the fish again and literally throw it by its gills into the river. Each out of the water for around 5 mins.

Saw this on 4 separate fish from a hundred meters or so downstream. When I walked back to my car I politely asked them to try to release their fish quicker as what they were doing was likely killing the fish. They werent happy at the suggestion and some less than nice words were exchanged before I left. I reeeeally wanted to call RAP, but I didnt see any bait or dead fish and wasnt sure if I would be wasting their time.

Is there anything illegal about this? What would you do? Maybe try to record them or something?

[BurningChrome]

4 minutes ago, troutlandish said:

Met a few dinks last night and this seemed like the right place for my question.

3 guys gear fishing from shore on the Bow. Watched them catch and "release" a few fish. They would bring the fish in, drag it onto shore and then proceed to grab it in the gill and walk it up shore to their buddy with a camera. Each fish laid on the ground at least once while waiting for the camera (worst was 4 times that I counted). After the shot they would gill the fish again and literally throw it by its gills into the river. Each out of the water for around 5 mins.

Saw this on 4 separate fish from a hundred meters or so downstream. When I walked back to my car I politely asked them to try to release their fish quicker as what they were doing was likely killing the fish. They werent happy at the suggestion and some less than nice words were exchanged before I left. I reeeeally wanted to call RAP, but I didnt see any bait or dead fish and wasnt sure if I would be wasting their time.

Is there anything illegal about this? What would you do? Maybe try to record them or something?

Next time call RAP and let them sort it out.

[bowriverboys]

That's horrible....where were they? Any sort of description of them? I will keep an eye out. 

[Dangus]

Could it have been these dingus khans?

 

 

[troutlandish]

8 hours ago, bowriverboys said:

That's horrible....where were they? Any sort of description of them? I will keep an eye out. 

Standing at the Bonnybrook outflow. 2 middle aged guys, 1 younger guy possibly a son/nephew. Fish handler and younger guy wearing green flannel and mud boots. Other guy (photographer) wearing tan jacket and pants, red toque and mud boots. Driving a black Jeep Cherokee. Should have grabbed the plate number. 

[troutlandish]

3 hours ago, Bron said:

Could it have been these dingus khans?

 

 

Haha! I saw that the other week and immediately thought it was him until I got closer. Dingus level 10000.

[troutlandish]

Will definitely call RAP next time!

[Goggin]

We have fishing shows on tv showing so called professional anglers picking fish up by the gill covers, then the next shows another pro not using a landing net with the fish floundering about while he insists on showing us how good he is at gripping the fish upside down, I was wondering how people are educated about fish handling, just an observation but I find people that behave like arseholes while fishing do so in all their daily activities

[scel]

3 hours ago, Goggin said:

We have fishing shows on tv showing so called professional anglers picking fish up by the gill covers, then the next shows another pro not using a landing net with the fish floundering about while he insists on showing us how good he is at gripping the fish upside down, I was wondering how people are educated about fish handling, just an observation but I find people that behave like arseholes while fishing do so in all their daily activities

I am not sure if anyone is properly educated.  Most of it comes through peer education.  I hate to admit it, but  I learned my skills through trial and error (i.e. dead fish) and the appropriate razzing from fellow anglers. 

The other issue is the rules are not consistent between species.  It is totally OK to handle a pike by the gill covers.  Actually, it is the best way to get control of the fish and avoid the use of jaw spreaders.  Again, it is totally OK to handle a bass by the lip, but a faux-pas for almost every other species.

I also believe there is no excuse for poor handling skills, but unless we can provide educational materials to anglers at the time when people get licences, we will continue to have armies of dingus khans.

[SilverDoctor]