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Why do some people think they are above the law?


polarsusd81

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I was out with my buddy on Monday night on Green Lake up near Chisago. We anchored on the outside edge of the weeds and continued to catch eye after eye, a very fun night of fishing. About 6:00 pm or so, a guy and his buddy in a new Ranger from just up the road with "Pro Team" stickers all over it from the shop goes flyin by and pulls right in tight to some stumps. They pull out the rods and start pitching spinner baits and plastic worms at the stumps in about a foot of water. I have seen this on other bodies of water in the area as well. I am not saying with 100% certainty that they were fishing bass before the season opener, but it is pretty obvious. After about 30 minutes pitching, they head off to the south shoreline and start casting at the docks. I just don’t understand how people can do things like this and think they are doing nothing wrong. If I were close enough to read the license letters on the side of the boat, I would have been making a TIP call. And if the people in that boat are reading this, either post up as to why you seem to think you can do this or really think about it the next time you go out. There are people watching while they fish legally.

The next time I stop in at that shop, I will have a few words with the guys behind the counter to let them know that their "Pro Team" is going to give them a really bad reputation if they keep going at this pace.

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Also see this out in Western MN before walleye season. Guys will be casting a jig & twister into known spawning areas where big walleyes frequent & when I ask what they are fishing for, they say catfish or carp. Give me a break. Every year, same thing. Then watch some non-locals come out in force & cast spoons/jigs to try to "snag" anything they can, often times getting walleyes, northerns, along with some shephead, or whitebass. True sportsman to me.

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I saw that thread before I posted this one, I read through the whole thing. It was pretty obvious though that these guys were casting for bass, I am not saying that because they were in a certain type of boat, that they were bass fishing, I am saying it because I saw what they were throwing and catching. And the same went for the times I have seen others out there. I understand that not every guy in a bass boat will be fishing bass out of season. When I have the resources available, I plan to buy a nice bass boat as well. And I will fish walleyes, pannies, muskys, cats, bass, and just about anything else that will bite out of it. I also am not saying it is limited to guys in bass boats either, as I have seen guys in a 14 foot lund with a little 9.9 on the back of it, just like my boat doing the same thing. I just can't stand it when people go out an intentionally break the law and fish before the season opens.

I plan to be out on Saturday morning, casting for bass. But I am waiting until then because that is when the season is open. It's only a couple days away, just cool down and wait it out until it's legal. That's all I am trying to say.

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Same as all the guys who fish "northerns" prior to Musky opener.

Really sucks to hit the water that first LEGAL day only to be casting to fish that have already been chased for 3 weeks.

Sure would be nice if there was some way to enforce this, but its pretty tough if they aren't keeping out of season fish.

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Yep.. same with The walleye opener. Sure are a lot of boats fishing for perch ....and imaginary crappies the day before opener in COMMUNITY WALLEYE SPOTS.

And then when you drive close to them to get a look... They are lifting up there trolling motor. What a co-inky dink.

This happened twice in the same bay within 30 minutes the day before walleye opener.

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Quote:

I was out with my buddy on Monday night on Green Lake up near Chisago. We anchored on the outside edge of the weeds and continued to catch eye after eye, a very fun night of fishing. About 6:00 pm or so, a guy and his buddy in a new Ranger from just up the road with "Pro Team" stickers all over it from the shop goes flyin by and pulls right in tight to some stumps. They pull out the rods and start pitching spinner baits and plastic worms at the stumps in about a foot of water. I have seen this on other bodies of water in the area as well. I am not saying with 100% certainty that they were fishing bass before the season opener, but it is pretty obvious. After about 30 minutes pitching, they head off to the south shoreline and start casting at the docks. I just don’t understand how people can do things like this and think they are doing nothing wrong. If I were close enough to read the license letters on the side of the boat, I would have been making a TIP call. And if the people in that boat are reading this, either post up as to why you seem to think you can do this or really think about it the next time you go out. There are people watching while they fish legally.

The next time I stop in at that shop, I will have a few words with the guys behind the counter to let them know that their "Pro Team" is going to give them a really bad reputation if they keep going at this pace.


See now I'm not a fan of poaching or out of season targeting etc... In fact a friend of a friend was targetting Walleye out of season C&R... And he and I got into an arguement about it that came to blows...

But at the same time, I don't think you have enough info to warrant calling the Tip line in this case...

I mean Pike (Which are Open) and Early season Crappies share such a similar habitat with bass, that you can't say what they're targetting until you see something caught.

(I for one have caught both species in the structures you describe.)

And just because the boat has stickers doesn't mean that it isn't a case of someone, or the owners kids borrowing the boat...

They could be novice fisherman and not realize that one structure is hotter than another for one species or another.

****

The Rule of thumb is that if you catch 2 of the same out of season species that you should move on...

Until you see them start pushing that rule... I think you're suffering a case of judging a book by it's cover...

I think if you see them catching 2-3 bass and staying on it... I say go over and say something... If they flip you off etc... Then it's tip time...

(Not that the Tip line is effective in anyway what-so-ever.)

But simply guessing that they're doing something wrong, without any evidence... I don't think you're warranted to volunteer those anglers for being harassed.... Anymore than if I called in your License Plate number everytime I thought you were speeding in your car.

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just remember that south dakota doesnt have a season. i dont break the law but i wish there wasnt a season in MN. Thats just me though.

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Some people just lack the morals, the ethics, weighs nothing on their conscience, don't care, don't know, or whatever goes on their head...

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Some people just lack the morals, the ethics, weighs nothing on their conscience, don't care, don't know, or whatever goes on their head...


What he said.

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Some people just lack the morals, the ethics, weighs nothing on their conscience, don't care, don't know, or whatever goes on their head...


I've talked with a couple of people on the subject over the years...

There's a common misconception out there that it's all fine and totally legal to target a species outside of it's open season so long as you don't keep the fish.

I don't know that it means people are evil... Many are simple "Mis-Informed."

I think as educated and conscientous sportsman we'd do better if we tried to educate more and scorn less.

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I use to fish that lake for walleyes by the channel connecting Little Greenlake from the main lake but there are a lot of locals that are not very cultured. I was anchored there and a local boat pulls right next to my boat and guns his boat. Almost causing me to fall overboard- what an A&& is all i can say never saw him come out again but I'm pretty sure he's a local cuz he docked his boat in little Green Lake. That's not the only time I've notice unpleasant treatment on that lake. Too many people who are married to thier cuzzins live on that lake.

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My simple rule of thumb on this subject,,,,Dont even lift the fish out of the water ,,,if the season isnt open yet release it at the side of the boat ,,,trust me this can be done ,,,if you choose to take a picture,,, time yourself ,,,then stick your head in the water for the same amount of time and see how you like being in their enviroment ,,,food for thought

Randoid

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I have read similiar posts like one. Like Everything in life it really comes down to individual character and integrity. I saw a great quote once on character.

"True character is what you do and how you act when no one is watching"

The reality is you can not legislate integrity and there is always going to be that guy...

Take the high road and don't be that guy, act with integrity, do the right things for the right reasons, help when you can, and try each day to live, laugh, love, and of course Set the Hook !!!!!!

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DwW I think you it it on the head. I also love when people that are sitting on there computer are so PERFECT and never do anything wrong. As for saying people are not sportsman or have and ethnic or morels. Is uncalled for you dont know these people. I was accused of fishing walleyes on a river because I was pitching a twister or a little rap that was about an inch long I guess surten lures only catch surton fish. Who would of guessed huh mind boggling if you ask me sounds like we need myth busters here.

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I also encountered some very ignorant group of folks while fishing on Mille lacs last weekend. As many of you may know the slot on Mille lacs right now is all walleyes 20 to 28 inches must be released. Well a small boat with two men and a younger boy seemed to think they could keep everything they caught. I mean these guys were keeping fish in the 25-27 inch range (many fish this size have been getting caught on Mille lacs lately.) It's not like they didn't know about the slot, cause they were being very secretive about everything, which was practically impossible with hundreds of boats around them! I was about to call the TIP line, but by the way others were watching these guys I thought for sure others had already done so. I can only hope these individuals were confronted by a CO while on Mille lacs.

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You know what clowns me every season?

The guy that tells me I can't fish for Crappie in April because fishing is closed.

Or the guy that buys a fishing license on Feb. 15th and thinks its good until next Feb.

Or people that use bobbers the size of a beachball (you know who you are) to fish for Sunnies.

Poor kids.

"Dad, why can't I bring my own pole???"

"I told you son, there is only room for your sister's and mine in the back of the pick-up".

What show on TV was that with the guy with a huge oversized cell phone pulling pranks???

On the lake, I'm gonna tie on a beachball and make a few casts and see if anyone comments...

What about the guy at the store trying out rods, whipping em' back and forth, and when he has one as stiff as an oak tree in January, he says "I don't know, still pretty flimsy".

Or the guy that buys a new pole and as he bounces his jovial self to his car in the parking lot, jabs the tip in a crack and snaps the thing in half...

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Every person on this site did something illegal today. Eg: Drove over the speed limit, didn't stop behind a stop sign, sprayed weeds on a neighbor's property w/o asking, didn't pick up dog poop on a public trail, pulled the tag of someone's mattress, etc. Maybe you didn't realize you did something illegal...but you may have. Maybe it's not that big of a deal to you to drive 77 down 35W but more than likely there is a site that drivers post gripes about people driving fast "even while so many people are around."

As for bass fishing, approximately, 10 years ago MN DNR proposed a C&R season in the spring but because a few fools cried (and thought this would ruin fishing for all eternity) the state dropped it. I'm guessing the guys throwing spinners are not the ones who moaned to the DNR years ago and although I don't applaud them, it will be those guys who will eventually get the season to be year-round.

Many of the lakes in MN are full of small fish that need harvesting so I hope someone is keeping them. I myself am looking forward to Saturday and driving 80 mph to the ramp and getting passed by you guys.

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Quote:

pulled the tag of someone's mattress, etc.


I had to laugh at that one.

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Yes, none of us our perfect and we can all "break the law".

But, saying "everyone does it so I will" is wrong. And, we are talking fishing here, something that we all love and could not live without...or at least I couldn't.

The reason for seasons is to allow the fish to spawn. Is catching fish while they spawn, but releasing them, harmful to their egg laying? How many fish are killed by catch and release? Yes, they may be done spawning and every year is different, but rules have to be set-up. Fish for northerns or crappies, but if you catch more than two of the wrong species...time to switch things up.

Fly by me on the freeway. Tear the tag off of my matress. Have your dog pee on my car tire. Just don't do anything that could hurt my fishing!!

Show me studies that catch and release does not hurt the spawning cycle of fish...and I am all for it. However, every study I have seen show that it is harmful...although most of their data is unconclusive. We need more data before we allow the fishing seasons to be open year round.

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This might be off subject a little but we are on the Le Homme Dieu Chain and it is known to have a few bass tourneys a year and my kids are swimming out about 5 feet from the dock these guys come flying up to the dock cut the motor and start casting coming about 3 feet from my son on the first cast.

Needless to say they are lucky that I cant jump that far otherwise I would of been in the boat with them. They even had the nerve to start swearing at me when i asked them what the heck they were doing.

Not taking away from bass guys, cause i am one too, but the common sense is out the window on most of these tourement guys.

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O.o

usually it's the opposite for me, I'll be fishing and then people will be jumping in the water and swimming...Okay time for the big lure and hooks... grin.gif

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Or people that use bobbers the size of a beachball (you know who you are) to fish for Sunnies.


You forgot a few very important steps... First you need to take the BIGGEST snap-swivel you can find, tie that on the end of your line, then attach a size #1 hook to the snap if you have one, otherwise a #2 will be fine. Then, you can attach your beachball sized bobber and finally a huge chunk of nightcrawler. Now you are all set to sit on the dock right next to the landing, not move out of the way when people are putting their boats in/taking them out and you can ignore the fishing pier that is conveniently placed just 30 feet away. Good fishing!

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