Am I asking to get in trouble or would this be ok?

[Spydeyrch]

So the other day, I really had the urge to get out on the water and do some fishing. But I don't want to hit the little lakes and ponds in my area, like always. I really REALLY wanted to hit some of the smaller streams and creeks. Yet the majority of them aren't open for trout season until end of April or some even the end of May!!!!! :shock: That is too long for me to wait. So the thought occurred to me.

What if I just attached a piece of yarn to the end of my tippet? No hooks, no flies, nothing else but a small piece of fluffy yarn. Then I could at least ACT like I was fishing and maybe it would satisfy my craving for a few days; it would cull the hunger; suppress the addiction.

But then I got to thinking, would it even be legal if I did it? I mean, what if I am sitting there, with my yarn on the end of my tippet, and a game warden or state trooper came walking up. I would be on a stream/creek closed for the season. It would appear that I was fishing that water. But when asked, I could show him/her that I don't have a hook on it. It would appear as if I was just merely practicing. And to plead my case even more, I would not take any other gear with me except tippet, yarn, and maybe, just maybe some float for the yarn. Nothing else.

So could I possibly get busted for doing something like that?

It would be cool though if I could do it!!! Just think if a fish actually rose to take or better yet TOOK the yarn. It would be spit out in like 2 seconds and there would NOT be any hooks, so hey, no hook no foul, right? But it would sure feel like the same thing, at least for those 2 seconds and at least I could get some good and much needed casting practice in.

Practicing my fly casting on the lawn is getting quite ...... boring to say the least. And going to a lake to just practice is well .... again ..... boring. At least on a stream or creek I could practice reading the water, practice casting to those areas where fish might be, and refine/hone my abilities. And if I read the water correctly, cast to that area correctly, who knows, maybe a fish will rise to take my yarn but nothing would happen, again due to no hook being present.

So what do you think? Am I pushing the line a little? Am I asking for trouble? Or am I within my rights to try this out?:think::think:

I sure hope so!!!! ray:

Let me know what you think. Thanks!:clap:

-Spydey

 

[C_Run]

"Angling To take or attempt to take fish for personal use by hook and line" You're probably legal.

 

[Bad Tuna]

Is the stream you want to fish open to any other species, say bass, carp, whitefish etc?

 

[Spydeyrch]

Is the stream you want to fish open to any other species, say bass, carp, whitefish etc?

Not that I am aware of. I know that there are only trout in one of them and in the other there are trout and some small mouth bass. I haven't ever seen any whitefish, pikeminnow, carp, etc.

Why? What are you thinking?

-Spydey

 

[benkearney]

Its probably technically legal, but you better have your best convincing face on when explaining to a game warden that you weren't fishing and that you didn't just cut your hook when you saw him coming.

 

[bigsteel]

if your just practicing casting,,do it on your front lawn or at a lake where its open.

 

[GDBrown]

Legal or Not?

Legal or Not?

if your just practicing casting,,do it on your front lawn or at a lake where its open.

I'm going to agree with Big Steel on this one with one caveat. If you are just wanting to practice reading the water and learning to mend your line it's tough on grass or still water.
If you want to hit moving water I suggest you go to the Wilson river, not far from Beaverton, and leave all your flies at home. Yes it is open to Steelhead :shock: right now but, the Officer will look at you equipment and say you're after trout. With no flies on your person or in your vehicle you can prove your point to him/her without much trouble. Take only the rod reel and yarn to the riverside. There are several good places on the Wilson to do this if the water is not too high. One is at the turn in the road just before the new Forest Interpretive Center. Or just call ODFW and ask for an enforcement officer and ask him, get name and number for reference.

GD

 

[Spydeyrch]

I'm going to agree with Big Steel on this one with one caveat. If you are just wanting to practice reading the water and learning to mend your line it's tough on grass or still water.
If you want to hit moving water I suggest you go to the Wilson river, not far from Beaverton, and leave all your flies at home. Yes it is open to Steelhead :shock: right now but, the Officer will look at you equipment and say you're after trout. With no flies on your person or in your vehicle you can prove your point to him/her without much trouble. Take only the rod reel and yarn to the riverside. There are several good places on the Wilson to do this if the water is not too high. One is at the turn in the road just before the new Forest Interpretive Center. Or just call ODFW and ask for an enforcement officer and ask him, get name and number for reference.

GD

Thanks for that bit of info GD. I had thought about ODFW and actually just emailed them before I read your post. I can't really call them right now because I am at work. shssshhhhhh, don't tell any one,. hehehehehehe.

but yeah, I think that I will call them when I get home today, unless they email me back.

Yeah, the Wilson is a good choice to practice on. I think that it might be a little high with all this rain right now but maybe not.

Lets hope that ODFW gets back to me with good news!!! ray:ray:ray:

-Spydey

 

[Bad Tuna]

I was thinking if it was open toi bass, you could say your were targeting bass or carp. print off a picture of them and keep it on you, to show that targeting those fish is your intent. This of course only works if the stream is open for other species.

 

[Spydeyrch]

I was thinking if it was open toi bass, you could say your were targeting bass or carp. print off a picture of them and keep it on you, to show that targeting those fish is your intent. This of course only works if the stream is open for other species.

Ok, thanks for the suggestion. One of them, the one I am really hoping I would be able to practice on, is only trout, no other fish. The other does have smallies, but very far and few in between. I think I am going to call ODFW today to get a direct answer from them.

Thanks everyone for your comments and input, it is always appreciated.

-Spydey

 

[lilsalmon]

So, if the Wilson is open to steelhead and you go there with your fly rod and some big ugly nymphs with a dropper......your intent is to catch steel on your flyrod.....if a trout happens to bite you gently release him....but your still getting practice and checking out the water....legally I believe, as I don't know the Wilson that well.

 

[waco]

I'm going to agree with Big Steel on this one with one caveat. If you are just wanting to practice reading the water and learning to mend your line it's tough on grass or still water.
If you want to hit moving water I suggest you go to the Wilson river, not far from Beaverton, and leave all your flies at home. Yes it is open to Steelhead :shock: right now but, the Officer will look at you equipment and say you're after trout. With no flies on your person or in your vehicle you can prove your point to him/her without much trouble. Take only the rod reel and yarn to the riverside. There are several good places on the Wilson to do this if the water is not too high. One is at the turn in the road just before the new Forest Interpretive Center. Or just call ODFW and ask for an enforcement officer and ask him, get name and number for reference.

GD

Get some steelhead flies and you are good to go!!! The tualatin or the wilson!!!

 

[Spydeyrch]

thanks lilsalmon & waco for the idea. Oh and congrats waco on the cabela's gift card!!!!

I had thought about going fishing in a stream where there are steealhead but I am a little worried that I would damage my rod. It is currently setup for trout. It is a 9' 5wt 3 piece rod. It is setup with a 5wt/f line. The fly line is 97 yards (291 ft.), and I didn't put a full 100yds of backing, only 50 yds. My leader is a 6# leader and my tippet is a 3.3# tippet.

So I think that IF I were to go after steelhead, it would be pretty obvious that I was setup for trout. I could do it anyways. At least I would get the practice in, right. But, then what size flies should I be going with? I think that I would probably want to use streamers, right? So, that might defeat the purpose of me practicing my dry fly casts. But still a great idea, and one that I will probably still go with. Practice is practice and beggers can't be choosers, right.

-Spydey

 

[Spydeyrch]

So, if the Wilson is open to steelhead and you go there with your fly rod and some big ugly nymphs with a dropper......your intent is to catch steel on your flyrod.....if a trout happens to bite you gently release him....but your still getting practice and checking out the water....legally I believe, as I don't know the Wilson that well.

I didn't catch (no pun intended, hehehe) the first time that you had mentioned to use big ugly nymphs with a dropper. that would actually be right along the lines of what I am trying to do. I want to practice my dry fly casting as well as nymph casting. so that would work perfectly!!!

The only other issue that I would need to figure out would then be, what if I actually do get a steelhead!!!! Would my gear handle it? I would think not and I am not a very experieinced fisherman, so ......

 

[beaverfan]

I was thinking if it was open toi bass, you could say your were targeting bass or carp. print off a picture of them and keep it on you, to show that targeting those fish is your intent. This of course only works if the stream is open for other species.

I think Spydey is on the right track by calling ODFW but I just wanted to point out that BT's idea would not work in some areas. (at least in the willamette zone) In streams fishing for warmwater species is closed unless it is open for trout, salmon or steelhead.

 

[Bad Tuna]

Thats why I wrote "if it was open to bass":doh:

 

[waco]

thanks lilsalmon & waco for the idea. Oh and congrats waco on the cabela's gift card!!!!

-Spydey

ohhh thanks that was last july when i won the gift card!!! :yay: :yay: :dance:

 

[Spydeyrch]

ohhh thanks that was last july when i won the gift card!!! :yay: :yay: :dance:

Oh really? I just read the thread a little bit ago, hahahahaha. Sorry about the late congrats.

 

[Spydeyrch]

So I sent an email to ODFW and no response, so I called them. The guy I talked to said that he had gotten my email but that he wasn't sure so he sent it to the OSP to determine the legality of it all. He said it could take around a week or so. So, heres me crossing my fingers!!!ray:ray:

-Spydey

 

[GungasUncle]

Get some steelhead flies and you are good to go!!! The tualatin or the wilson!!!

Tualatin is closed till the end of may... but the Wilson would work fine. Or the Clack, or Sandy