Fish-Hawk.Net

Had an unfortunate incident happen on the weekend .
We were out fishing on the weekend for some Pike and my Brother-in-law and his 13 year old son showed up in the same large bay as us.
We exchanged hellos and as he is a weekend fisherman . he asked about what lures were working etc. Any bass in the bay We laughed and said Bass are OOS but should be some Pike around.
We drifted apart and shortly therafter saw my Nephew land a nice fat SM .. you know whats coming next .

BIL yells over ' when does Bass season open ?" next thing we see is that nice SM on a stringer.We sit stunned and confused
In few minutes BIL idles over and shows us the fish , its all I can do to hold my Son Pikeie back.
We tell him its OOS , he is having a terrible impact on fish stocks , is breaking the law etc etc.
Just laughs and calls it a 'ambedextrious Walleye' what ever thats suppossed to mean .
He claims he is off to his father cottage to show everyone ( 5 k away)

Next day I hear that he supposedly let the fish go part way home , obviously even if the fish survives and finds its way back , The nest is probably destroyed.

OK Long sad and infuriating storey . also embrassing for me as I think I should have handeled it differently.
I know what I would do with a stranger ( Photo , license numbers , phone call etc) but what about a friend or relative.

Appreciate your imput

That's a real tough spot.....

Every family has one.....

I personally would have been very stern with him.....and made him see how bad of example he was setting for his son.....embarassing him would have worked like a charm.....

Still a tough spot as it is family.....and it could have ruffled more than just the two of you.....

RJ

Unbelievable...!!! You should have really stressed the importance of the release and the example he was setting for his son and your son also. Breaking the law is just that....breaking the law. Very disappointing behavior. Its people like that who give anti-fishing groups all the ammunition they need.

he is definatly not the most law abiding guy around , he has also been the source of many family 'issues' over the years
I'm thinking maybe his little boat may spring a couple of leaks ( #6 shot otta do it) this summer

tinbanger,

that's a crappy situation and I can understand why you are probably wrestling with yourself over how you should have / could have handled it. I don't know what I would have done, either...probably much the same as you did: I'd try to educate them in the hope that their conscience would win out. It's very upsetting that someone could have that much disregard, almost contempt, for the law -- and unfortunately pass that attitude on to an impressionable teenager.

W.

Unfortunatly there 's a lot more people out there that do things like that.

For us to sit here and talk about taking fish out of the water for unhooking is a joke considering all that goes on out there in the real world.

It's a tough position to be in when it's family... you're right that if it was a stranger it'd be a whole different ball game but do you really report family to the cops.

Tough one man. I think I would have went with the whole do you no how much that Bass can cost you ,fines, seizing the boat Scare them into summition

Luckily in my family I'm the biggest. I'd have resolved that situation maritimer style.

Tough situation. Even though he kept the fish, it's good to know his actions were clearly explained to the youth as wrong. You being upset with the issue is good for the youth to see as well.

Sounds to me like you did get to him. If he let it go on the way home, it says something sunk in. All be it too late likely for the fish. If you've made him think twice next time, it was worth your effort.

Some people just don't, won't or can't get it....eventually they'll get theirs'

Hey Tinbanger that is a really tough spot, but I think you did what you could. You told him it was OOS and why it was a bad thing to keep (or show family a good distance away). Short of calling the MNR and reporting him there really isn't much more you could have done (wouldn't that have made an interesting family reunion next time) . We all know that people catch and keep OOS fish. We all can only hope that this is the exception and not the general practice.


Gordo

John wrote:Unfortunatly there 's a lot more people out there that do things like that.

For us to sit here and talk about taking fish out of the water for unhooking is a joke considering all that goes on out there in the real world.

John...I agree 100%!

In the end I think you did the right thing by telling him the facts. Like already said above, something must have sank in as he released it.

Well first off I would have made sure he shared half the meat!


But seriously, I don't know what I would do in that situation. It would certainly pee pee me right off. Perhaps that would be time for an "anonymous" phone call to the MNR to check his boat or freezer out. I know people do this all too often to people who don't deserve it, but in this case I think it is well deserved!

I heard a reaL bad one this morning from a contractor I work for, a buddy of his accidently caught and released a 30 pound muskie while bass fishing. OUCH.

richard hopefully released properly, the key

Ya....but did he get any bass?...

Stuff like that makes our little tiffs about taking a few pics a borderline moot point....

RJ