frustration on rice creek

[tednugefan]

today me and a buddy of mine went fishing for carp down at rice creek by the mermaid bowling alley, our favorite spot to fish for carp, we saw a bunch of people fishin there so we thought we would give it a try. it ended up being that they all were trying to snag northerns with huge treble hooks. i wish i had my cell phone to call TIP but i forgot it at home. these type of people make me mad. i was surprised that there were even northerns in there already

[longcaster]

What - get a name, license plate, confront the guys at least - that is totally uncalled for.

[tednugefan]

dang i didnt even think about getting any of that info. i couldnt believe what they were doin

[MOBY RICHARD*]

You can still call it in, or better yet talk to a local CO or the DNR Office, about it as they will probably be continuing to do it for awhile...

[john.wells]

You could always call a friend or family member and have them look up the TIP # and call it for you.

[SFBOY]

i would believe anything i saw when it comes to people doing stupid things.

[Ebiz]

Drove by there a few times this weekend, I was kinda wondering if all those people were really down there fishing carp...

[Carp-fisher]

Why are some people around here so blatant about poaching? Here are a group of people openly violating several laws in a populated area in broad daylight. Is it because they know they won't get caught? Or is it because the fees are to small? Sheer ingnorance to our laws? This is ridiculous....

[Quetico]

My 2 cents? These people are stupid enough to do it once, they will be probably be back there doing it again. If I knew what spot you were talking about I'd still call TIP or my local CO. At least they will know and the CO will have place to watch. I'd bet this type of people arent FMers.

[iFishMN.YT]

I think its mostly because they never get caught, they've been breaking laws there whole life and never been busted. And they have no fear of being caught for the first time because the penalties are not enough. Ive known of few of this type and that is exactly why they dont have any respect for the law and our resources, they just plain dont care.

[SFBOY]

i started bow hunting when i was 14, there were some guys that owned quite a bit of land at the end of the road. two or three times a fall before rifle season we would hear one shot at night and you could hear it hit something. this went on for years and i finally got sick of it and wrote the DNR a letter. i think they paid them a few visits and the shooting stopped after 20 years of it. it is definitely worth the call; i wish i would have made it sooner back then. how many big bucks would have not been poached, who knows.

[UdeLakeTom]

There are quite a few out there that really don't read the rules...ie the Texan in last weeks CO reports that said "that's how we do it in Texas", or the fellow a couple of years back that said "we don't have season's for fish in Tennessee". This don't make it right. but it could be a "tradition" that they are used to and just have learned the right way. I am sure there is a CO who will correct their ways once it is brought to his/her attention.

[iFishMN.YT]

I wish we had more COs out there enforcing the laws and regs. I rarely come accross anyone and I fish almost every day. Unless you fish high traffic lakes or river areas, its pretty unlikely you will come accross a CO. People would be less likely to break the laws when fishing if they were checked often, but this is pretty much impossible as many areas as we have to fish around here.

[SkitterPopper]

 Quote:

I wish we had more COs out there enforcing the laws and regs. I rarely come accross anyone and I fish almost every day. Unless you fish high traffic lakes or river areas, its pretty unlikely you will come accross a CO. People would be less likely to break the laws when fishing if they were checked often, but this is pretty much impossible as many areas as we have to fish around here.

We as honest law abiding sportsmen have to be their eyes and ears. Make sure you program the TIP # in your phone and carry it with you when fishing and hunting. You don't have to have it on if you are trying to relax, but you will have it for a emergency. It reminds me of a day on Pool 2 with my daughter. We were hiking through Fort Snelling State Park and we came upon a few fisherman. As we approached they quickly closed their cooler. I stood there for awhile and then asked the little kid with them if they were catching any thing. He quickly lifted the cooler lid and said yes. His dad slammed it down but not before I saw a whole cooler full of walleyes and a bass. I walked away and called the TIP line and it worked out good as there was a CO in the park at the time. I walked up to the family with the CO so they knew there were other ways of getting caught beside the CO!

[cRaPpiEMaN8265]

 Originally Posted By: SkitterPopper

 Quote:

I wish we had more COs out there enforcing the laws and regs. I rarely come accross anyone and I fish almost every day. Unless you fish high traffic lakes or river areas, its pretty unlikely you will come accross a CO. People would be less likely to break the laws when fishing if they were checked often, but this is pretty much impossible as many areas as we have to fish around here.

We as honest law abiding sportsmen have to be their eyes and ears. Make sure you program the TIP # in your phone and carry it with you when fishing and hunting. You don't have to have it on if you are trying to relax, but you will have it for a emergency. It reminds me of a day on Pool 2 with my daughter. We were hiking through Fort Snelling State Park and we came upon a few fisherman. As we approached they quickly closed their cooler. I stood there for awhile and then asked the little kid with them if they were catching any thing. He quickly lifted the cooler lid and said yes. His dad slammed it down but not before I saw a whole cooler full of walleyes and a bass. I walked away and called the TIP line and it worked out good as there was a CO in the park at the time. I walked up to the family with the CO so they knew there were other ways of getting caught beside the CO!

Way to go skitter pop they deservethat. These type of people make a bad name for fishermen and hurt our area lakes and rivers. I have also seen before the people down at the rice creek and last year the dnr shut the operation down for the rest of the year and just said no fishing in that area but i dont know if it is legal there now... I know snagging is not though! someone shouldcall the dnr on this and if ou talk to a metro CO he will know what your talking about when you say the rice creek by the mermaid bowling/restaurant area. I think most of them are very familiar with the area due to issues in the past.

Later,

Ryan

[themarkster]

I called the TIP line last night after reading the post

[tunrevir]

Good man, it only takes a few to rob the rest of us and give us a bad name.

Tunrevir~

[erickol]

themarkster,

good call. I'm gonna have to remember to put the phone number into my cell phone for just those occasions.

[Tom7227]

TIP reporting by cell phone

Cell phone companies Cingular Wireless, Midwest Wireless, Unicel, and Verizon Wireless have joined with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Minnesota Turn In Poachers, Inc. (TIP) in calling a halt to natural resources violations in Minnesota.

Customers of these cell phone companies can report natural resources violations 24 hours a day by keying #TIP.

The current TIP hotline number, 1-800-652-9093, is still accessible by cell or landline callers who want to report natural resources violations. Cell callers now have the advantage of an easy-to-remember shortcut in #TIP.

[polarsusd81]

The 1-800 number has been programmed in my phone since the day I got it. Glad to hear someone made the call.

[Shack]

The one thing I will give the Rice Creek area, is it is a major C.O. checking hot spot.

I have fished hundreds of times in this area threw out the 1990's and 2000's. I have seen and been checked by C.O.'s countless times.

It is patrolled very well IMO.

I have been even asked to reel up a couple times this time of year. We where even approached after dark one time.

A year ago to the date was the last time I was down at the creek. It was around noon and I was in the area. I had some crawlers and a pole in the trunk of my car. I was not even down there for 35 minutes and a C.O. walked up and asked how I was doing and what I was going for. This was on a Tues/Wed.

The Rice Creek is the one of the last places on earth anyone should try funny stuff (IMO).

I would not worry, they will get caught. If not this time, another time very soon. I also feel they watch you from a distance before coming down to talk with you.

Plus I feel the D.N.R. has made some good fine money in this area in the past. They do not forget area's like this

[MNmikew]

Yes, back in the 70's everyone snagged carp in this section of the creek. And I mean hundreds of people. Many times the COs were watching and perfectly ok with the snagging as long as it was carp. Things have changed quite a bit since then but some must still think snagging is legal. I grew up a block from there and spent many days there with my rod rigged with a big treble. A lot of the carp came from Long Lake which was very infested back then. Now a days its almost carp free.

[uwecsteeple]

MNmikew, if you are saying the Long Lake is carp free, I would have to disagree. I have caught many there over the last 2 years.

I agree that Rice creek is one of the most patrolled areas in the cities. The park police of New Brighton and the DNR seem to cruise through there daily.

[Shack]

I was mainly speaking about the confluence, but ya up stream I have seen C.O.'s also.

[Dellfin]

Wow, this brings back some memories...

I grew up near Medtronic's original HQ on Old Central in Fridley. Just south of their facility is a 90 degree bend in Rice Creek. There was a deep pool where we'd go swimming and rope swinging. We caught some monster carp all the way up and down the creek, but right there at that pool was a favorite spot. We called it "Little Green". The spot had a log jam and a very swift current that almost cost one of my buddies his life when he got pulled into and under the logs while swimming there.

Great childhood memories from that area.

[RonZ]

We used to snag carpolas in that area also back in highschool. Then they put the cabosh on it. I am surprised they are back in there snagging. It was a gas back then.

[Dave]

I'm sure if there was a picture of the people along there from in the 70's snagging carp, we could pick each other out I remember a CO walking up to me and saying with a smile, "ah, son, you need to tie a feather on that treble hook"

[skiinglady]

Now a days its almost carp free.

I live on Long Lake. I've watched the DNR net 20,000 - 40,000 pounds of carp out of Long Lake every other winter for the last 11 years! There are so many carp in there that they keep the ice open in the NW corner of the south basin some winters. I look out my window and see the water boil with spawning carp for hundreds of yards in either direction every spring. If anyone is looking for carp, Long Lake in New Brighton is the place to be!

[Mudcutter]

Very true that Long has way too many rough fish. But that part of Long , NW corner of the south basin,, has one bad spring. It has claimed at least 4 lives in the past 30 years. Those carp tails you see with ice all around, are their becasue of the spring bringing extra O2 to the area. The lake is full of springs. Lived on the lake for 25+ years and on a visit to my mothers' (on the north end) over Xmas of 2007, I just about went in the drink thanks to spring that was more active for some reason.

Springs or not-- this was the latest ice out I can ever remember-- 4/20

[UdeLakeTom]

The bad thing about them removing the carp, is that carp reproduce to fill in the holes left by netting them. The only way to get rid of the carp is complete eradication, and that cannot happen on a lake like Long that is connected to others.