Hmong Fisherman? I am!

[magic_minnow]

I'm proud to be a Law-obiding Hmong Fisherman in Minnesota. I love fishing. Fellow FM'ers who are hmong, we can come together and combat illegal harvesting. It's a group effort, but when we all come together, things get done. Im simply suggesting a list of things we can say that will not offend anyone. Lets come together fellow Hmong Fisherman! Thanks.

[beer batter]

Cheers to you MM. I'm not Hmong but I'm glad to see your efforts.

[mtheis]

That's great! Now let's educate the Hmong who fish along Vadnais Lake along the water service road (between the West and East Lakes) to stop making fires to cook their fish by the waters edge. I can't understand it. My dad and I called the DNR on that one.

[Johnny_Da_Der]

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Cheers to you MM. I'm not Hmong but I'm glad to see your efforts.

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Roger that beer batter.

Magic Minnow good luck to you and your fellow Hmong.

[FWA]

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That's great! Now let's educate the Hmong who fish along Vadnais Lake along the water service road (between the West and East Lakes) to stop making fires to cook their fish by the waters edge. I can't understand it. My dad and I called the DNR on that one.

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You should have called the cops for that fire....

[turn_in_poachers]

Im hmong, check out my user name. Is that funny? Ironic huh? Magic_minnow doesnt call me to go fishing cause he knows Ill call TIP on him if he breaks the law.... even though he is my brother.

[magic_minnow]

Hey? What happened to the "Stupid Poachers" thread?

[Slyster]

I think it should have been locked not deleted. We MUST have dialog and openness about these issues.

[Deitz Dittrich]

The Turn in Poachers thread was moved to the outdoor discussion fourm... its still there, but didn't belong here anymore.

Sly- I didn't deleate it.. just moved it. I thought for the most part people were doing a good job staying somewhat respectfull. I just didn't think it has as much to do with Metro fishing and thought more people could weigh in on the subject if it was in the outdoor discussion fourm...

[TrophyEyes]

I think it all comes down to education and somewhat of a culture change. I have had a few run-ins with unethical behavior, with Hmong and other races alike. Education and accountability are the two biggest things. I was running around Calhoun Saturday and saw a gentleman throwing a bucktail......for Crappies??? I kindly stated to him that Muskie season is not open for some time now and that he could be fined and have his fishing privileges taken away. He complied and stopped fishing. He had no idea that he couldn't fish for just any species and to be completely honest I don't think he knew what that lure was for. This gentelman could bairly speak english, and most likely couldn't read the regulations book. Personally I think the DNR should either print or make a translated version available online because this is such a problem in our state. Just an idea.

[Slyster]

Opps my bad! I saw it now in Outdoor Discussion.

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Sooo.... turn in poachers , is what you say about magic minnow true? He is telling us what an honest fisherman he is, on the StupidPoachers! thread.

[turn_in_poachers]

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Sooo....

turn in poachers

, is what you say about

magic minnow

true? He is telling us what an

honest fisherman

he is, on the StupidPoachers! thread.

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Ill tell you this, If we were both fishing and saw some illegal activity, Id call TIP. He would call TIP, talk to the guy, remind him of the rules, whip out the Regulations booklet, check his bucket etc. He's more honest than most people I encounter, put it that way.

We hardly eat fish. If my parents want some fish, we'll keep a couple for them. If not, we're looking for trophies for the wall or for pictures. CPR.

[Katman]

Funny! I think we everyone can play a part on "teaching" EVERYONE....regardless of race, color, shoes, socks. We all love fishing. What I see that really seperates everyone is when people prejudge others and look down upon them. Please, don't blame another person of the same race for someone else's stupidity. I see it all the time and I've gone through similar things. Just a few words to think about.

Other then that...I will always try to educate everyone I see "first" before I make a report. There is a thin line between ignorance and stupidity. Play by the rules or pay the fines...they'll learn one day.

[Ryoushi]

I agree Katman, I coudn't have said it better. I know of 3 older gentleman who completely overharvested WBL in the past 4 years from a boat. I believe they were Finnish, Norwegian, and I believe one was of German decent. They would go out 4 to 6 times a week and pull out their limit plus some everytime , during the spawn.

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Ok, then why did you, not me, say he will not fish with you out of fear of you, calling TIP on him ?

Read his former post boys, don't blame me for asking about what he posted.

[magic_minnow]

HAHAH! Dude Moby...TUrn IN poachers is my brother. He was simply messing around dude. It's funny how one person can type something on here...and another person totally misinterprets it.

[turn_in_poachers]

Talk about no sense of humor.

[magic_minnow]

Thanks Deitz for moving to MISC. I agree.

[MOBY RICHARD*]

I simply asked if what your brother posted about you was true.

You have misinterpreted what I asked.

Poaching is not something to be lied about, even as a joke on these forums, and will not likley further the Hmong cause.

Anyway, nuff said. I hope everyone on these forums is as honest as they purport to be.

[magic_minnow]

It was a little laughter to ease the tension. For the record: No, It is not true. We apologize if it has offended you in any way Moby Richard. I am sorry if I have caused you any emotional, physical or physchological harm in any way at all. If there is anything that I can do to ease this transition, please feel free to reply to this post. If not, I assume that all is dandy. HAPPY FISHING FOLKS! " Goooooone fiiiishing....with BILL DANCE TOOOOOOODAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

[fdr01]

hey moby you are completly lost on this matter if you cant tell that was a joke between brothers you have bigger problems

[MOBY RICHARD*]

Ohhh... my posts were all jokes.... didn't you get it???

[BoxMN]

Hey magic, I got your point right away, and I heckle my brother just the same! Good stuff.

And good stuff on your effort to educate all anglers. I used to fish Phalen and those lakes a lot, and there were some issues on both sides of the fence that some understanding could have helped.

I now see Hmong families fishing year after year fishing Bald Eagle, and we have good time chatting and watching bobbers go under. I wish I could get my wife out fishing as much as I see their wives out with them errr, maybe I am the lucky one

Happy Fishing indeed!

[fisherman-andy]

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hey moby you are completly lost on this matter if you cant tell that was a joke between brothers you have bigger problems

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Ohhh... my posts were all jokes.... didn't you get it???

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Oh he got you guys good...

[macgruber]

as i understand it, and correct me if i'm wrong here, minnow or poachers, there is a slight written language issue...... i know my fiance encountered this when she was reading and giving out children's books at the hospital-- there simply weren't many for hmong children because a written form of the language hasn't been around for a long time...... (again correct me if i'm wrong- this is what she told me)

it's encumbent on the dnr to make these regulations known for everyone and if that means hiring a translator for regs, then so be it..... it would ease some tensions between sportsmen and the hmong community if there was much more dialogue and education..... in most cases, i don't think people are poaching intentionally or in full awareness of what they are doing..... they just don't know that certain regulations exist when harvesting fish.....

[nofishfisherman]

Macgruber,

I believe you are correct on the written language. From what my wife has told me (she has a masters degree in Internation Study) the Hmong language was never written down until not that long ago, I want to say something like in the 1960's-70's. (Would have to check on that)

Most Hmong adults went through school without being taught any form of written language just becuase it didn't exist. That is also partly why most Hmong adults that come to the US have a hard time learning English. If you have ever tried to learn a new language just imagine doing it without ever being able to read it or understand any sort of written word. It makes it 1000x more challenging.

I think the reponsibility is with the DNR to make sure the laws are clearly defined for everyone. Since there is such a HUGE Hmong population in Minnesota that fish heavily it does make sense that they take some sort of steps to educate them. Translators and Regs. published in their language for those who can read are a start. If you can start to get the word out on what the rules are it will spread from person to person.

[F!$|-| P!/\/\P]

Hi guys/gals. Been away from the forums for quite some time now. But I had to give my 2 cents. First thing...lets get some stereotypes out of the way.

1)Asians (in general) love fish and to fish. There is no denying it, fishing has been a part of any Asian's culture regardless of time or geographical area.

2) There is a huge language barrier. This is where education and implementation of fishing regulations will work if and only if the DNR can assist/help the Hmong people to better themselves and understand why there are these regulations. In most cases Hmong people have a rudimentary understanding of their surroundings.

3) There is no denying it, some Hmong people just don't care regardless of rules or regulations. Why do I say that? Because the truth is sometimes just too simple to comprehend. These are the few Hmong people that makes all the other Hmong hunters/fishermen look bad in the lime light of the public and make most of them look like a bunch of Neanderthals. Just like in any race, regardless of color there are always those that drag everyone else down.

4) This is a subjective subject or rather one would say treading dangerous water type of subject, so here we go - Racism. This is as much as I am going to say for the matter of this decree. And we should just leave this be.

In a perfect society one would not have to explain all this, but we are living in an imperfect one to that fact. And yes I am Hmong. I am a second generation of Hmongs in the US. I have fished with my dad since I was 4 yrs old. He has never broken a rule to his understanding or he would always try to understand the rules and regulations that govern hunting/fishing. There have been times when I remembered my Dad was fined for breaking regulations, but it was because he did not understand it. A good analogy would be reading the fine print. It is not the fact that he could not read it is the fact that there was the language barrier, or rather, another example would be - try moving to Spain or Turkey and follow those regulations to a fine point and see if you can do it. I would hate to say it but just digress the fact that you will break some rule/law/regulation in Spain or Turkey.

Now then, I am excited about the 2007 fishing season. I am trying to get my boat ready. Usually I am in Redwing this time of year already but, with soaring gas prices and a nagging wife, its hard to do so. I hope that everyone would understand and rather than getting angry or turning the situation into a matter of race, everyone would just help and educate those who do not understand. Everyone went through this phase of assimilation. Norwegians, Scandinavians, Germans, Sweedish, etc., your great great great grandfather went through this at the turn of the 19th Century. We Hmong people are going through this phase in the last 30 years. So we have a long way to go yet.

That is my 2 cents.

[fisherman-andy]

To be specific, written regulations or not many people don't read it. And the language barrier just makes it more difficult. Most Hmong elders don't read Hmong or the form of "Hmonglish" writing using the english alphabet letters. Im almost willing to bet that almost all or most of the Hmong Sportsmen on this forum can't read, pronounce or write "Hmonglish." properly. Do not mis-inform that the Hmong don't have a grasp on understanding & learning cause they do very well. How many 1st or 2nd generation immigrants do you know that hold positions in many high paying jobs and difficult occupations as well as the government, law, medicine and yes even the DNR too. Last year one of the speakers for the DNR fish pond at the MN State Fair was a Hmong. So saying so would be a mis-understatement. Cause Hmong people hold all those listed occupations currently.

The best way to educate is the use of time and by Verbal communication. Hmong immigrants are still in their 1st or 2nd generation assimiliation in this country. Many 1st gen Hmong families assimiliate very well into the community while others have difficulty letting go their old ethnic roots. Due to modernization times & more strict rules you can say they are learning & adapting at a rate much faster than immigrants of long ago who first came to colonize this land.

I have seen many 2nd generation Hmong families totally modernize into the American society. Even their kids speak little Hmong as it becomes the 2nd language and English becomes the 1st. May I still note that it is important to value your own ethnic roots & traditions and not lose it totally.

Those who break the law usually do it because of greed. Even despite the many barriers you think is in place. It's not because they understand or don't understand the rules. It's simply because they think they can get away with it.

[vister]

SO, learn the $@&* language. My girlfriend broke her neck, has no feeling what so ever in her legs from the waist down, and re-learned to walk after months of physical therapy. Yeah, she knew how to walk before the accident, but can you do it not being able to feel a thing. Try driving a car not being able to feel the pedals. The point, SHE LEARNED!!! Still trying to teach her to swim, ride a bike, and walk backwards without looking at her feet to see what they are doing. Got the doggy-paddle down so far, but learning. The lack of people understanding english is our inconvenience, not theirs!