Hey everyone what do you thinkabout this

[luv'n bailey]

I fish g'ville pretty regular and i have two friends that fish all the time. Bout two weeks ago they went crappie fishin which is great. the problem is here the they each caught 6 limits a piece in one day kept them all no matter what the size but most of these fish are keepers ( its a very hot spot this time of year through late spring) That is nearly 400 fish in one day. they would catch there limit call some friends and meet them on the bank with that limit and go back for more they even had them tied out hid away from there little hole BUT if you go and keep two or three bass to eat they will absolutely get pissed off and thenyou are in to it with them. They do this all the time and they are friends but i think its only fair to everyone else and the fish too that i report them. So just would like to know what you thought!!!!!!!

 

[djbogle]

It's a tough call to make. I have friends that violate game laws as well, but I tend to"live and let live". I won't fish or hunt with these people, but they're still friends. I do remind them of the legal limit and add that I don't want to hear them whine if they get busted.

 

[basser#9]

have you tried preaching to them about if they keep all the seeds? what will happen to the years to come when they can't even catch a limit, yet alone 5 or 6. some times it takes a true friend to open their eyes to ignorant ones who live today and not for tommorrow. just my 02 cents worth!!!!!!

 

[Guest]

Jeremy,no one and I mean no one likes a rat, snitch,tattletail or whatever you want to call it. There are a lot of fishermen that have no respect for any species other than the one they like. There are also a lot of fishermen that give their catch to others even though they have caught their limit and then keep on fishing. Many here on the CFF do this and even make reports about it. It is all a matter of perspective. If it bothers you that much maybe you should find different friends. One thing is for sure if they continue breaking the law they will get caught with or wothout you ratting them out. Keep one more thing in mind. If you do report them make sure you never break any law of any kind for the rest of your life. Life has a way of returning what we do whether it be good, bad, well intentioned or not. JMHO

 

[Jmax]

I do not like a snitch myself but in this case I hate what they are doing even more. I have called on folks breaking the law before myself about three times I can remember in my lifetime. I believe I would tell them about it myself and if the outlaw events continued a little bird might be singing. I don't like it but I believe the act of not doing so would bug me a long time to come. It is not like they are doing it out of ignorence. That is pure disrequard for the law and others what they are doing. If it was by accident that would be different. My two cents as well.emoAngry Jmax

 

[Fuzzy]

Tough call, but I agree with Cheez. I am a 21 year AF veteran, most in criminal investigations and police work. I have my old "pig farmer" sayings, and one is "oil floats to the top..". If you don't say something, they will get caught, its the way things work. Up to you to decide if you want to keep them as friends. Each one of has a "sphere of influence", it's what makes us who we are, and how people perceive us. Having been awarded for "physical" acts of courage, I always tell people that the hardest courage is the courage to do the right thing. Rick Clunn always talks about intellect vs intuition. Sometime we listen to our minds too much and not our instinct. He may be talking about using your favorite bait all of the time when your intuition is telling you to change, but he is very quick to point out that your intuition is seldom wrong...even in life.

Fuzz

 

[luv'n bailey]

I probably wouldnt give there names but tell the warden to watch a certain spot. I do not like snithes either so I know where yall are coming from. Thanks for the advice guys

 

[EricM]

I'm more with Jmax on this one. This is not an"accidental" transgression from ignorance. This is a major flaunting of the law. Just why is it that everyone thinks the law applies only to everyone else? If I exceed the speed limit and get a ticket, I can blame only myself, even if someone else called to report me and law enforcement then watched for me. There is NO reason to keep more than the limit just to catch fish. Throw back everything over the limit, cull, have a great time, catch a thousand fish, but only keep what's legal. Many of us would jump up and down, cuss, and call the law if we saw a commercial fisherman keep a bass or striper. How is this different? If you SEE the violation, call law enforcement. If you hear them brag, get in their faces. They may get upset, but only because they KNOW they are wrong. A thief is a thief. Just my .02 worth, adjusted for inflation.

 

[Rock Buster]

If you are a real MAN, then you should realize that it is our RESPONSIBILITY that when we see someone doing something wrong to do something about it. If you truly think it is WRONG of them to keep way over their limit then I would tell them that you think it is wrong and that you better not hear about them doing it again or you will turn them in. Its one thing to stretch the rules when nothing is affected, but poaching does affect things. The more people that see them do it and get away with it, the more likely others will start keeping over their limit. The reason so much crappie stuff goes on in the world today is because so many men chose to look the other way, even when it is something they know is wrong and should be stopped.

It really depends on how strongly you feel about it. If it really bothers you then you should at least say something to them about how you think its wrong. If it is really not that big a deal to you then it may be best to just ignore it. I will say that I take fishing, and our fisheries, VERY seriously and I don't care who you are I WILL TURN IN A POACHER EVERY TIME. Call me a snitch if you want, better a snitch than an a-- --le raping the fishery in my opinion. You got to do what you think is RIGHT.

 

[rsimms]

It's your call as to whether you call the law, anonymously or otherwise. Regardless, you should have a heart-to-heart with your friends and let them know your feelings. Darn near like a marriage... good friends deserve to be honest with each other or those friendships will be hard to maintain. And if they can't handle honesty, they're probably not worth having as friends. Here is another option.... tell all of US where the spot is. It's hard to break the law when you're surrounded by a half-dozen CFF'ers with loaded fishing rods. emoBigsmile emoBigsmile emoBigsmile

 

[CherokeeRidge]

These guys are criminals ,same as the ones who steal the mirrors or bust the windows out of your truck at the ramp doing 500.00 worth of damage to steal 10.00 worth of stuff . They are stealing from all of us.They are not known for their intelligence but are smart enough to know that law enforcement is spread so thin the chances of them getting caught is almost zero. I'm not a rat either but there are ways of letting the right people know that there is a problem in an area . If Criminals were noted for intelligence they would not be criminals , They would be lawyers or politicians or own a Body Shop and rob us legally.....

 

[foodsaver]

Im with you man. I might not give names but they would know I was unhappy with their self imposed limit. I also might call and tell twra to watch that stretch of water.

 

[Guest]

I'm like Rsimms, tell us all where the hole is and it will look like a jamboree there in a day or so. Let everyone get a limit.

 

[flip1up]

Doc1 - 12/30/2007 11:45 AM I'm like Rsimms, tell us all where the hole is and it will look like a jamboree there in a day or so. Let everyone get a limit.

</p>

No kidding, do this. I'll come down too. I dont understand anyone that can legally keep 60 fish ( 2 fishing ), and not be satisfied with that. I dont even like cleaning 15 myself.</p>

 

[harbuck handyman]

If they are your friends then i don't think turning them in would be right for this.You owe it to yourself to let them know how you feel about their game hogging, meathead ways though.They will probably laugh at you and call you a tree-hugger or some such nonsense but so what.I doubt that as time goes on you will be referring to these guys as friends much longer.Then you can turn them in.Lol.

 

[Bassallday]

They are totally stealing from everyone and they stink! I had the same kind of problem with my neighbor violating deer.I had a good supply of nice big buck's untill he moved in.He killed 15 deer through out the year 5 of the 15 were nice buck's and they were shot in march.I told him what I thaught of it nicely and then reported him and told the d.n.r.where his stands were.He got caught hunting without a tag and then the everybody found out about it.latter he told me he regretted doing it and felt bad.I tell ya my boy's and I covet our deer hunting and we really felt like this man stole from us what could of been some great hunting.And even though he got pinched I still had hard feeling's.If they still violate after you tell them they sould get cought but maybe the best would be for all of us to l
just go there and fish there spot's to death.I for one don't go for there kind of behavier.

 

[Jtewes]

I am with most of the replies here,,,,,,,,,it would be a very tough call as to how to handle it since friends are involved.

I ran in to a similar situation a few years back on a lake up in the northeast corner of the state. However, these guys were no acquaintances of mine.

These guys there were fishing live minnows and catching some really nice smallies. (3 to 6lb range). Two guys to a boat equals 10 fish in the livewell,,,,,,,,,,,,,until another buddy drives up to boat ramp and takes their fish,,,,plus replenishes their live bait for them and off they go for another limit of quality (spawners) smallmouth.

This went on for three weeks and I wasn't the only one aware of what was going on. It's hard to tell how many quality smallmouth were taken from the lake during this time. I knew the creel checker at that time and called him. He in turn logged the info and I assumed he passed it on the wardens. After that I never saw that boat up there again, but did see a more frequent visit from the wardens.

To this day I don't know if they were ever caught but as I said, I never saw that boat up there. With me not knowing them made it easier to report them.

You have a tough call to make.

J emoBigsmile

 

[tso]

I have told a friend before that if he kept violating the law, I would turn him in. He either believed me and stopped or he made sure I did not find out anymore.

I agree, it is a tough call, but I look at it this way, I pay for my license and professionals set the limits for whatever reason. If they are taking 6 times the limit, they are stealing from me and I do not like a thief. I believe I am like others that have posted. I would let them know where I stand and make darn sure they realize that is the last warning I am going to give them.

Also, I imagine AL is like TN, and you can report poachers without giving a name. Good luck. None of these situations are ever easy.

 

[Nickajack Angler]

Three things to do:
1. Jump in their face. Stand on their toes and make them feel the wrath of a disgruntled outdoorsman. If they are any where close to you as a friend, they will hear you and heed your advice/wishes.
2. If it continues, call the poaching hotline and let them know where to find their stash and describe their boats. You are NOT snitching, tattling, etc... You are protecting US and OUR CHILDREN as well as protecting our fisheries for the future of all.
3. Why would you want to be friends with ones who are causing you such heartache? Just the fact that you are posting this shows that they have brought you down. I would imagine that you have other friends that can fill thier shoes!

I was raised to believe "You are who you surround yourself with. For your friends are what truly makes you who you are."

Would you call the law if they were staging car wrecks for an insurance check? Would you call the law if they were molesting children? Would you dial 911 on your cell phone if someone was driving wrecklessly around you while you or your family were in the car? Why would it be snitchin' if you are doing what is right? Wrong is wrong. A law is a law. Teach them a lesson. It sounds as they need one badly!!!!! Sorry, but shame on your friends.

 

[drumking]

I'm not going to have a friend or friends like that. Those kind of people aren't really friends. The day is coming where you will find out just how good a "friend" they are to you if you don't report them.

If they were only keeping a couple or so over the limit, then I probably wouldn't report them, but they would get a talking to from me. If they continued on with this behavior, then I would drop them like a hot potato. Rebuke a fool and he will hate you. Rebuke a wise man and he will become wiser.

I throw back crappie that are probably legal as the tail will just barely touch the 10" line on my ruler, and I tell those that go with me the reason why I do it. If it is 10 1/4" and they are needing fish, then we will keep it for them.

I don't think that you should lie to them, but you could, with tongue in cheek, tell them that you have reported them to the game wardens and turned in the number on their boat. Watch their reaction and you will find out if they are friends or not.