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Thread: Take a Kid Fishing

  1. #1
    S10CHEVY is offline Crappie.com 3K Star General - Moderator Pennsylvania
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    Question Take a Kid Fishing


    Most of us have either taken our own kids, or others fishing with us. We help them to grasp the knowledge that it takes to catch them. It is a joy to do so, and hopefully some day they will love it, and enjoy it as much as we do. But what about a parent, who has no interest of their own in it, but takes their young child, so that they might be able to experience it.
    The parent takes them and since the child is a little inexperienced, and is having problems, whether it is casting, or baiting, or reeling it in. The parent ends up assisting the young childs endeavor. The parent has no license to fish, and in doing so, is seen by a game commission person.
    The officer comes over, and asks if the adult has a license. Regretfully, the adult says no I do not. At this point the officer pulls out their ticket book and proceeds to write them up.
    This happened to a man who works the early morning radio show at K105Country.com near Youngstown Ohio. This Thursday, he is going to a hearing instead of just paying the fine. His female co-worker, and some others from the station are going with him.
    So I ask, is it just, that he be fined, for helping his child? Myself, happen to know from ones who are officers here in Pa, that they would never write a person up, who was helping a child. I hope this gets thrown out. Do we all every where, have game officers, that are as stupid as this officer. Is it any different than helping a child learn to do any thing else, ride a bike, hit a ball, or any of the other things we do to help young ones in their lives?
    Will keep you all posted on what happens with this. Keith

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    Thumbs down Sorry, no excuse

    Sorry if this comes up twice. I tried to go back to fix a typo on my original post and sent the whole thing into the ozone.

    Ohio (my residence) sells fishing licenses for only $19.00; $10 for people over 65. How about teaching the kid about good citizenship through example.

    A lot of folks fish illegally here, playing the odds of not getting caught. Not only do they fish without a license, they fish with more poles than allowed, saying they're "watching" the other pole or poles for someone, take more than the limit, etc. The sales of fishing and hunting licenses are this state's primary source of funding for maintenance and upgrades of state parks relative to fishing and hunting, stocking of fish and gamebirds, and payroll for the wildlife officers.

    This guy needs to step up and set an example by buying a license. - Roberta
    "Anglers are born honest,
    but they get over it." - Ed Zern

  3. #3
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    Probably the most rewarding part of guiding is seeing a kid catch his or her first or biggest fish and when they do I always hope they will get hooked on fishing. It's a great pastime for young and old and can be done just about anywhere. There are plenty of less disirable activities out there that kids can get involved in these days.

    Of course kids do require some assistance and for the younger ones a casual observer would see that I often do most of the fishing for them (and some adults for that matter) from baiting their hook, to letting their line out, to watching for a bite and setting the hook. But I always get them to reel in the fish even if I have to help them hold their pole up. In their minds it’s still THEIR fish that THEY caught and they’re very proud of it.

    On one hand I don’t think anyone should have to purchase a fishing license JUST to help a kid go fishing. On the other hand I don’t think anyone should be allowed to use “helping a kid” that is fishing with them as an excuse to not purchase a fishing license. If a person is really going to help a kid get hooked on fishing it will likely take some time and practice so they actually catch fish at least once in a while and anyone that is putting time and practice into fishing should purchase a fishing license.

    It shouldn’t be too difficult for a Wildlife Officer to tell from a few minutes of observation if someone is fishing or just helping a kid. For example if the kid and the helper each have one or more poles and they both are actively tending a pole then I would say they are fishing together and the helper should have a valid fishing license. An inexperienced kid doesn’t need more than one pole to deal with.

    It will be interesting to see how this case pans out. Hopefully there will be adequate evidence presented so the judge can make a wise decision. If the evidence is only a snoopy pole, some tangled fishing line, a bobber and a bream hook that’s one thing. But if the evidence is twelve jig poles, a bucket of minnows and an ice chest full of slab crappie then the maximum fine allowed by law should be imposed.

    Our annual fishing license for residents is only $11 and our Game and Fish Commission uses that money well to improve and maintain the fisheries in the state. They probably don’t spend as much time and effort on enforcing regulations as they should.

    Last weekend was our annual Free Fishing Weekend when no one - resident or non-resident - has to have a fishing license to fish from noon Friday to midnight Sunday. The Game and Fish Commission stocks ponds at fish hatcheries and parks and even provides poles if needed for kids to catch fish and hopefully get hooked on fishing.

    I drove by one of these ponds after a trip last Saturday and the banks were lined with kids and their parents or helpers having a great time catching some nice keeper size catfish.

    FISH ON!

    Jerry
    FISH ON!
    Jerry Blake

    www.BLAKETOURS.com

  4. #4
    slab_seeker Guest

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    S10chevy, Sorry, but your friend should have bought a license. Granted it is a shame that he got a ticket for trying to teach a kid how to fish. I don't know about your state or Ohio but in NC the child fishes under the adults license, so if the adult has no license neither does the child. Hopefully your friend will get a prayer for judgement and chalk it up to a lesson learned. Since he's going to a hearing tell him to go get a license before he goes, most Judges and District Attorney's look favorable to that, at least in my home state.

  5. #5
    cmistfp Guest

    Default Taking the kids fishin'

    I recently moved to a new subdivision with about 5 nice ponds that were private for about a hundred years as this was an old orange grove. I hadn't fished in 10 or 12 years and saw a man with a nice stringer of panfish mostly crappies . My daughter eas so exited to see those fish I went out and got her a small zebco outfit to try . I helped her fish(without a license to see if she was gonna like it) and she loved it. We started going out a few eves a week and after she got the hang of things it was killing me just watching. I went out and got myself a license and now I'm having as much fun as my kids are . My son and daughter caught 4 nice crappie last night on rubber minnows on jigs. Chris

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    I have to agree , you need to set an example for your children , but am sympathetic to a man trying to do the right thing with his child.Ive heard you dont need a liscense here in south carolina if you're only using a canepole from the bank.I dont know if this is true ,as Ive never pushed the line , but it was a pretty knowledgable fellow who told me this.Ive wondered before about having my wife and children on the boat with me fishing.My wife does not fish under any circumstances , and therefore has no liscense ,So how would this be resolved in the eyes of the law in yalls opinion.And yeah, I would have a liscense for sure when I walked into court if I were that guy.It sounds like they are gonna make a big deal out of it though.My two cents.Eric.
    Commercial fishermen help feed the world.

  7. #7
    slab_seeker Guest

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    Big E, In NC you don't need a license to fish private waters or the county that you live in as long as you use natural bait. So far as your wife, don't let her touch a pole because if the line touches the water she's fishing even if nothing is on the other end.

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    Thanks slabseeker, Ive been wondering about that for years.The law in the handbook is kinda grey.It says if you're in a boat then everyone in the boat must have a liscense.I guess otherwise you could see them coming and put it away or hand it to a friend.It does make sense though, that with natural bait and a natural pole , a poor man could feed himself and his family.The fees should only apply to sports fishermen.Again , just my two cents.Eric.
    Commercial fishermen help feed the world.

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    The only thing I see in the Ohio Fishing Regulations is that a fishing license is not required of persons who are giving assistance to an angler who is physically disabled, provided the two persons together are using only one line, or fishing in a private pond. I'm not sure how old the child is, but a young child is, or should be, considered physically unabled to cast with a pole, or even reeling in a big fish. The officer should in his right mind observe what the parent was trying to do and just give him a warning. All in all, to be on the safe side, if you don't have a license, go to a private pond. In fact, ponds are loaded with blue gills and chances are the kids will have more fun catching them there.

  10. #10
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    I believe that Arkansas law requires that you have a fishing license even to fish in your own private pond. But, there isn't going to be any Fish and Game officers coming to anyone's private pond to check.

    FISH ON!
    Jerry
    FISH ON!
    Jerry Blake

    www.BLAKETOURS.com

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