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Thread: How do you deal with known violators?

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    Default How do you deal with known violators?


    We've recently had a post about crappie measuring devices here. That got me to wondering. How do you deal with known or suspected game law violators?

    My Dad and I were out yesterday afternoon on KY Lake. We had a guy come into an area we were trolling and drop anchor on a known brush pile. He proceeded to catch 3 crappie that we witnessed, all very small to the eye, and never measured any. Just flipped them into his livewell. We have a 10 inch size limit on crappie on KY and Barkley Lakes. We got other boats between us and him so we trolled out of the area without saying anything to him.

    I've caught enough short fish on these lakes to have a pretty good eye as to how close a fish is to the 10 inch measure. None of those we saw caught were even close to 10" to either of us. My question---do you say anything to another fisherman who is willingly or not violating a size or creel limit? I know not knowing is not an excuse in the eyes of the law but we see a lot of willful violations of the size limit here. I have asked folks if they realized there is a 10" limit and gotten mixed reactions from "I didn't know" to " How about you mind your own *&%$#^& business?" Some have even gone as far as saying "Those 8 inchers are better eating size". Thankfully I have managed to stay out of a nose-to-nose confrontation but have friends who have almost gone to blows over this with violators.

    It really gets me fired up when I see this. I'm not going to start a OOSer vs. local arguement since I think there are as many locals who violate as OOSers. I keep my local F&W officer's numbers on speed-dial and won't hesitate to use them. I will even go as far as to get boat registration numbers and take pictures of the suspected violator's boat.

    I would be interested in hearing others' experiences with this.
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    I understand your concern as I think everyone should, but just how far away from this boat were you. You said other boats got between you so I assume you were a fair distance from him. I don't know about you but if your a couple hundred feet away I think it would be hard to tell the difference from a 9 inch fish to a 10 in fish. As far as calling your f&w and taking pictures does that mean if you pass me on the road going 5 miles over the speed limit I should call and turn you in. Im not trying to start controversy here, but I figure that's what the F&W job is to do not mine.
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    I don't really worry about it and even if you did call someone they would be gone by time someone showed up. Now if I saw a game warden on the water I would say something, but I wouldn't confront anyone not worth the hassle. I only confront KVD wannabes that try to run me over.

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    ask them first if they know that there is a size limit, if I get a rude comment or anything that makes me feel that they just don't care then I get boat number and a pic and call the man, and if while I'm doing all of that they want to raise cain well we can dance if they want to dance

    I figure that if I have to follow the rules so does everyone lse






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    Quote Originally Posted by short grub View Post
    ... get boat number and a pic and call the man,
    Yep.
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  6. #6
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    Report it to the proper authorities, period. You are not a law enforcement agent, so don't act like one.
    Simply take down the boat number, identifying decals &/or make/model of boat & motor, description of person, and current location of offender ... and pass that info along to the contacted authority.

    Taking pics, engaging in conversation or arguments with the offender, and any other show of concern towards their actions will only tip them off to being found out. Offenders that are purposely doing the poaching are banking on the fact that most people are indifferent to the actions of others, don't want to "get involved", or simply don't care.

    ... cp
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    M R Dux's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by clfarms1 View Post
    I understand your concern as I think everyone should, but just how far away from this boat were you. You said other boats got between you so I assume you were a fair distance from him. I don't know about you but if your a couple hundred feet away I think it would be hard to tell the difference from a 9 inch fish to a 10 in fish. As far as calling your f&w and taking pictures does that mean if you pass me on the road going 5 miles over the speed limit I should call and turn you in. Im not trying to start controversy here, but I figure that's what the F&W job is to do not mine.
    We were 25 yards from him when the fish were caught. He anchored in the drift track we had been trolling but that had zero to do with his short fish.
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    x3 report it and make of boat and registration number.

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    We have a turn in poachers line in Iowa. It is on my speed dial.
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  10. #10
    RCC is offline Crappie.com Legend and Arkansas Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by mrdux View Post
    We've recently had a post about crappie measuring devices here. That got me to wondering. How do you deal with known or suspected game law violators?

    My Dad and I were out yesterday afternoon on KY Lake. We had a guy come into an area we were trolling and drop anchor on a known brush pile. He proceeded to catch 3 crappie that we witnessed, all very small to the eye, and never measured any. Just flipped them into his livewell. We have a 10 inch size limit on crappie on KY and Barkley Lakes. We got other boats between us and him so we trolled out of the area without saying anything to him.

    I've caught enough short fish on these lakes to have a pretty good eye as to how close a fish is to the 10 inch measure. None of those we saw caught were even close to 10" to either of us. My question---do you say anything to another fisherman who is willingly or not violating a size or creel limit? I know not knowing is not an excuse in the eyes of the law but we see a lot of willful violations of the size limit here. I have asked folks if they realized there is a 10" limit and gotten mixed reactions from "I didn't know" to " How about you mind your own *&%$#^& business?" Some have even gone as far as saying "Those 8 inchers are better eating size". Thankfully I have managed to stay out of a nose-to-nose confrontation but have friends who have almost gone to blows over this with violators.

    It really gets me fired up when I see this. I'm not going to start a OOSer vs. local arguement since I think there are as many locals who violate as OOSers. I keep my local F&W officer's numbers on speed-dial and won't hesitate to use them. I will even go as far as to get boat registration numbers and take pictures of the suspected violator's boat.

    I would be interested in hearing others' experiences with this.
    Personally I don't think I would be able to eyeball another persons fish across a stretch of lake of a distance that was able to contain at least 2 or more boats. That is why we have measuring devices, so we can be sure the fish are the right length even though we have a "pretty good" eye. When we can't tell a 10 inch fish inside our own boat, how can we be sure if they are not legal in someone elses boat. The second thing is, it was 3 crappie. I would really need to think twice about calling enforcement and ruining someone's day over 3 fish which may or may not have been legal. You can be assured, if enforcement runs down someone because of a report of short fish and check them and the fish are legal length, they will be then looking for anything to issue them a citation. How would you feel if someone called in on you and your fish were legal? I can assure you, I would not lose any sleep over someone else that may or may not have had a short fish. Enforcement will gladly take care of this if they get checked. It's fishing. It is supposed to be a time to kick back, have fun, and relax. Besides, if I wanted to watch someone else catch fish, I would do it in the comfort of my home on video. Your catch rate will go way up if you are watching your on poles and not someone elses. If I wanted to be in enforcement, I would try to get a job there. Yes, I would turn in a flagrant violator that I was absolutely sure was breaking the law, but over 3 fish that may or may not have been short, I'm not so sure. It just depends on how close they were crowding me and how many more fish they were catching than me
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