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[Beast]

steelhead your only allowed to keep hatchery fish?

So one of my buddies caught a wild steelhead all good right did it by the "book"
any how this fish was bleeding bad the fish took the hole hook down the throat and i guess he tore something inside so DFO says to cut it loose so he did 10 minutes past and another DFO showed up with this fish in his hand and said that he found it down stream so we told him what happened and he gave us S*#t about it told us we should have kept it??? so i told him to slow down and to put it in PARK i ran to get the other DFO dude and he confirmed what had happened. no apology nothing from the other DFO dude so my Question is what should i have done.

[blaydRnr]

that officer that told you to keep it, is a moron.
Suppose you had kept it, then had them find it in your possession? What then?  "Oh officer, I decided to bonk the fish because it swallowed the hook and was bleeding profusely".  You know what that officer is going to say to you?......"Nice Try". 

[troutbreath]

Tough call.... with some wishy washy DFO's adding to the dilemma. Although if you fish for Steelhead long enough, the same situation with mortally wounding one is bound to happen. I go toward keeping the fish, as opposed to watching die in front of you. The current carrying it away .If the DFO were right there to say let ur go Billy, well so be it.We let one go downstream and it seemed like a tragic waste. But do you risk looking like a poacher, especially at that time, as the river had a heavy CO patrol. My beater would have been confiscated and my Diawa spinning real Pro-tac rod etc.

[Nicole]

Always let the wild fish go.

Always.
Nicole

PS> was your friend using roe?

[Fish Assassin]

that officer that told you to keep it, is a moron.
Suppose you had kept it, then had them find it in your possession? What then?  "Oh officer, I decided to bonk the fish because it swallowed the hook and was bleeding profusely".  You know what that officer is going to say to you?......"Nice Try". 

I agree. You're lucky that the first DFO officer was nearby to confirm your story. Otherwise it would your words against his. The regulations are quite clear; you must release wild steelhead. No buts or ifs.

[Beast]

nicole yes he was

[Beast]

fish assassin
I agree. You're lucky that the first DFO officer was nearby to confirm your story. Otherwise it would your words against his. The regulations are quite clear; you must release wild steelhead. No buts or ifs.

he did release it thats why he gave us s**t??
funny isn't it

[doja]

No offense (may be true) but this story seems a little fishy. You mean to say your friend caught and mortally wounded a steelhead with DFO standing right besside him (low odds) then another one finds the dead steelhead down river (even lower odds) and then gives your friend **** for throwing it back (off the charts)?

The only way I see him giving your friend grief is if he thought your friend tried to keep the fish illegally and the first DFO didn't exist, in which good on him.

PS, why didn't he give the fish back to your friends if they were suppose to keep it?

Doja

[Rodney]

Releasing a fish that is off-limit to anglers is not an ethical requirement, but a legal one. When an angler catch a wild steelhead, it is required to be released and he or she must do so in the manner that would ensure its survival. If it unfortunately dies after being released, anglers are prohibited to retain it and it is to be left at the river. Although it does not complete the spawning process, the dead fish would not be wasted as it becomes part of the nutrient cycle of that particular watershed.

The regulation prohibits anglers to retain a dead wild fish so it does not create a loop hole for anglers to "accidentally" kill one and keep it.

Next time, obtain the DFO officers' names when you think their decisions are questionable, so you can actually follow up afterward.

[Beast]

thanks Rodney i did get his name from the first officer and he gave me a number to call and ill be writing a letter also (like that would get far)

doja: he stormed off like a 6 year old would after being told what to do

[doja]

Writing a letter will go allot farther then phoning, BUT you must send it to the right person and word the letter very carefully so they will take it seriously and follow up on it. Ask them to respond.

IE make the letter look as if it were written by a lawyer or some professional who caries weight, be very courteous /don't threat, and let them know you were deeply hurt/offended by the poor professionalism /error and would like an apology and to know this would not happen to any one else.

Hope this helps, and to answear your question I would throw it back and hope for the best because even if it dies it will provide food/nutrient for other live creatures.

Doja

[typhoon]

No wonder there's no enforcement - all the CO's are standing within a couple hundred metre stretch where Beast fishes.

[mastercaster]

I think I would have told the first CO.... Since this fish is going to die  why don't you take it and drop it off at the food bank or give it to the hatchery and they can do what they like with it.  Either that or take it out into the water, put a few big rocks on it and when it decomposes in will become nutrients for the fry.

[Gooey]

Only questions I have is what river was this?  I haven't seen a DFO on the vedder for 2-3 years let alone 2 in one day.

[typhoon]

Thats completely irrelevant. I always find fish with with plastic baits in their guts, I have even found strips of marabou in their stomachs as well. Steelhead are stupid and will swallow any bait without thinking about it.

Right. Have you heard of anyone gut hooking a fish with a fly? It's never happened to me.