Rod your videos have taught me much. If all fishermen had your talent and character we wouldn't have to deal with idiots like the one i encountered. Race certainly is not an issue here as i am sure there are yahoos of all races out there. I was just pointing out that this guy wasn't much of a physical threat as others feared that i was careless in calling this guy out. I was hoping others would speak up also when I did. Unfortunately it didn't happen. Hoping to see you on the river some day to shake your hand. You are a gentleman and a true sportsman. 
Thanks. Although my last post was mainly intended to be humorous, it represents the attitude of a good percentage of users who participate in our river recreational fisheries. When the recreational fishing community has decided to allow this behaviour on the Fraser River and introduce it to participants who have not experienced what fishing is really about, we cannot be too surprised that the same type of harvest method has been applied to other fisheries in smaller tributaries. You can invest in a few more dozens of enforcement officers on the Chilliwack River, you can educate, you can film and "shame" the people, you can get yourself into a fist fight, nothing will ever improve unless two events occur - A clear distinction between allowable fishing methods in the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery and other fisheries, and a change in attitude among users in this recreational fishing community.
Very little enforcement applies to the Chilliwack River for a few reasons. It is a heavily stocked fishery that allows users to retain artificially planted fish. Federal fishery officers have to patrol and enforce three sectors. In September and October, most of the effort concentrates on the Fraser River where endangered stocks are present and illegal netting takes place. Provincial conservation officers are busy in the bush checking hunters. What may seem illegal to you on the Chilliwack River, is not as enforceable for an officer as you may think. An user fishing with a float and has the float depth adjusted way beyond the river depth, yanking the rod randomly whenever the float goes down because the hook is dragging onto something, foul hooking fish at times when those random yanks hit something, releasing them as regulations required, but keeping the ones hooked around the mouth. These actions may seem completely unethical to you, they will not result in a fine because no regulations seem to have been broken, even though the user may or may not know that intentional snagging is being demonstrated. If the above scenario should be penalized, then every single person who is out there on the Fraser River doing the same thing with a bouncing betty would already have been fined.
Some individuals will choose to retain a snagged fish. Again, in this case it is illegal, but it is a ridiculously difficult incident to penalize. The officer would need to be present and observe the person committing the act before issuing the ticket. Although it may seem like many snagged fish are retained, it actually takes forever to see a person committing this act. No officers are going to stand at a spot for hours to issue a $100 ticket.
Experienced anglers should keep in mind that the Chilliwack River is the most heavily used recreational river and participants are from all skill levels, age groups and ethnic backgrounds. A large percentage of users, especially on weekends, know very little about fishing for salmon in rivers. You can read as much as you want on the internet and books, but it still comes down to trying it out, make mistakes and hopefully learn. Many people, while new, are in fact eager to learn and do the right thing. The problem is, they can watch and learn the wrong thing from those who think they know what they are doing, but actually don't. They can be lucky enough to meet an experienced angler who is willing to share the knowledge. Of course, some may just want to catch a fish and couldn't care less about learning at all because they only get to fish once or twice per year. If you consider yourself experienced and want to improve the fishery, don't blame the government, don't assume everyone out there is a poacher, don't be negative and confrontational. Have empathy, be observant and distinguish those who are willing to learn and who intend to poach.
If you hang around the busy spots, you will obviously come across individuals who might ruin your day. Keep that in mind because the outcome of your trip depends on it. Greet others around you at the run, strike up a conversation if they wish to. Assist them when they are bringing in a fish and needing a hand, they almost always want you to release it for them when a snagged fish is in your hands. Don't force the way you fish on others if they obviously have no idea what they are doing, it'd just ruin everyone's day, including yours. Teach them by your actions, catch lots of fish. If they ask, kindly explain to them why you are able to trigger some bites. If they are skeptical, consider yourself lucky because dredging along the bottom rarely intercept a good coho salmon compared to those who know how to target them specifically.
The bottom line is, when you're going fishing, you're not going to a war zone, you're going to a playground for big and small kids.
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Topic: snagging at train tressle (Read 31690 times)