Poachers!

S
sportsmanlio
Up until this year, I had never reported a hunting or fishing violation. I had seen them before, but I had never known the culprit, or thought there was anything that could be done. I know differently now.

On June 15th, the last day that the Klamath River was open, my friend and I discovered an sickening sight. Six large trout ranging from 15" & 1.5 lbs to 20" & 4 lbs had been killed and left on the bank. Additionally, two chubs were killed and left there. Chubs are rarely caught on lures, so we knew they had used bait. Seeing this really upset us, and as we explored the area, we found numerous worm containers along with other garbage.

Most of the fish had slit throats, and were partially dried from the sun.

This river has a 1 fish limit and is restricted to flies and lures only. There were numerous game violations, as well as an inordinate amount of garbage strewn about. This is a pristine stretch of river that spits out fish that average 1.5-2 pounds, so seeing this is upsetting.

I reluctantly called the OSP the next day, and they found another violator fishing the river (which had closed that day). His violations included: fishing a closed water body, fishing without a license, using bait, continuing to fish after taking a limit, keeping more than the limit, failing to kill the fish retained, and then lying to the officer and saying that he thought it was free fishing weekend. Free Fishing Weekend had ended days earlier, and this was a Thursday, anyways.

To quote the great Theodore Roosevelt, "Game butchery is as objectionable as any other form of wanton cruelty or barbarity."

Though I hated to be the whistleblower, I am glad this violator was caught. The OSP and game wardens are few and far between. They help keep our fish and wildlife available for our lawful use. Please report fish and game violations to the OSP Dispatch. The Klamath Falls area dispatch can be contacted at 541-883-5711.
 
  • Like
Reactions: SturgeonSurgeon, GDBrown and BobbiDollPDX
S
Sinkline
.
 
Last edited:
S
Spydeyrch
You did the right thing man, even if it was hard. Those poachers need to learn one way or another, that they can't abuse our rivers!

-Spydey
 
E
eat, sleep, fish
Good job! Hopefully it was the same person and they will learn their lesson. These kind of people really need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Too many times they are let go with lenient penalties and go right back out there and do it again.
 
S
sportsmanlio
Thanks. I know it was the right thing to do, but it is hard to call the authorities in a way. Even still, it was worth it, and I hope that they step up patrols for this sort of thing. I've seen a single dead fish several times before at the Klamath, but this was my breaking point.

I hope I don't see anything like this again...
 
M
Moe
Who the hell kills fish and just leaves them on the bank? Dont most poachers keep all the fish that they poach?
 
troutdude
troutdude
Moe said:
Who the hell kills fish and just leaves them on the bank? Dont most poachers keep all the fish that they poach?

Yeah, in addition to being a criminal...he is also a dumb ass! Not that I have ever met a smart criminal.

I applaud your actions by contacting OFFicials to follow up. I hope the poacher has to pay up the wazoo, for his actions!!! And if he's ever caught doing it again, toss him into a crowbar hotel.
 
G
Growbug
Great job. There was once someone on this forum who stated that people who turn in poachers should get community award points... i agree
 
F
fishindude
Good job!! You did the right thing:clap::clap::clap:
 
S
sportsmanlio
I don't know what those are, but thanks. Moe and troutdude, my friend said something like what you said combined. I believe he said "This idiot didn't even keep his fish! Who does that?!?" It is unfortunate, but I am glad at least something good came out of it...

The worst part is that these fish are wild, so they aren't replaced by the hatchery. I have a self-imposed limit not to keep fish under 2 lbs, but poachers make conservation efforts a challenge. I am glad that so many people are up-in-arms about this, and I hope honest fisherman like all of you keep the criminals off our waters!
 
M
mgman6000
failing to kill the fish retained

What does this mean? I looked through the reg book and can't find it, do you mean you can't keep them alive on a stringer until you quit for the day?
 
G
Growbug
Nope, it comes under the transportation of live fish thing. You cannot take a fish from one body of water with intention of then placing it in another, for stocking or any other reason.
Therefore, if you are retaining a fish, you should kill it quickly and not have it sat in a 5 gallon bucket waiting for you to take it home.
Aerated livewells are about the only exception as you are NOT planning to take the fish away from the area that you took them from, you are expected to replace them after fishing/weigh in etc.
 
M
Mad dog
Moe said:
Who the hell kills fish and just leaves them on the bank? Dont most poachers keep all the fish that they poach?

Tweeker's, Crackhead's, Dumbass's, Poachers who are on the verge of being caught.....who's to say? Lot's of really strange people out there!
 
M
Mad dog
mgman6000 said:
failing to kill the fish retained

What does this mean? I looked through the reg book and can't find it, do you mean you can't keep them alive on a stringer until you quit for the day?

This falls under the definition of TAKE, meaning; To kill, reduce to possession or control. You can keep fish alive on a stringer but they count towards you bag limit. In this case, the Klamath river has a 1 fish bag limit so it wouldn't matter anyway.
 
G
GDBrown
Glad to see I'm not the only one willing to make the call, I applaud your efforts.

I'm wondering though, since they all appeared to be trout and nice fish at that, could they have been after something else and thought the trout were trash fish. I've seen that from some Asian friends of mine who were after the carp in one lake I use to fish years ago in another state. They thought the trout tasted different from what they were use to and wouldn't have anything to do with them! :lol:
 
S
skunk
Nice job on calling it in, man that type of waste really makes me mad. Takes only a few to totally ruin it for the rest of us.
 
B
Bassleg
I don't understand why you would take a fish and just leave it on the bank if you aren't go to eat it?
 
K
Kage
nice work, it's as if the poacher(s) were ASKING to get caught, u did the right thing for sure and fishing enthusiasts everywhere can thank u for steppin up and makin the call. i hope more poachers are caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. can't stand people that do these kinds of thing and think they can get away with it.
 
S
SturgeonSurgeon
I think some rep points are in order........good job man.
 
V
viento
the cops should harvest fingerprints from the garbage, since evidence is like a box of chocolates.
 

Similar threads

bass
Replies
3
Views
914
fromthelogo
fromthelogo
P
Replies
7
Views
1K
Hooked Up
Hooked Up
troutdude
Replies
11
Views
2K
rippin fish lips
R
T
Replies
23
Views
4K
billfisher
B
Top Bottom