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[joshhowat]

Roe is a crutch.

Bait ban IMO.

[rustybee]

Agreed. Lots of ways to catch without using roe.

[Dennis.t]

Roe is a crutch.

Bait ban IMO.

Why a bait ban? Fisherman have been using bait since the sport began. Are you one of these holier then thou Fly guys?

[Johnny Canuck]

Bait bans don't work on hatchery systems. Reason being the hatchery fish are there to be killed so any legal form of fishing will always be allowed. Another thing a bait ban on a hatchery system will just create more flossing/snagging to occur. Sure bait could be considered a crutch if you want to look at it that way. I think every form of angling has a time and place and a good angler can use any form to entice fish to bite.

[fishtruck]

Bait bans don't work on hatchery systems. Reason being the hatchery fish are there to be killed so any legal form of fishing will always be allowed. Another thing a bait ban on a hatchery system will just create more flossing/snagging to occur. Sure bait could be considered a crutch if you want to look at it that way. I think every form of angling has a time and place and a good angler can use any form to entice fish to bite.

  Can't agree more. Bait is just another tool in our tool box, it's just how you choose to use it, that makes the difference. I personally don't like the mess that bait causes. It seem more trouble than it's worth. I think trying to get rid of lead weights is much more important.

[Rodney]

Well the regs say you can't have more than 1kg roe on you without a dressed fish or receipt right?  Seems to me that there is already a line drawn...

You're not giving out the right information regarding regulations, again. Don't give out misinformation unless you are sure.

You are permitted to possess up to 1kg of roe for bait, UNLESS if you have in your possession the freshly dressed fish from which the roe in excess of 1kg was taken, or a receipt that proves the roe was obtained from a commercial source.
 

If I take that logic, kept my 4 hatchery females, then go ahead and kept fishing till I have exactly 1 more kg of roe? or keep slitting fish till I am just under 1kg of roe, then start keeping my limit of fish...

This doesn't really make any sense but probably because it was derived from the misinformation given. See above.

[Suther]

You're not giving out the right information regarding regulations, again. Don't give out misinformation unless you are sure.

You are permitted to possess up to 1kg of roe for bait, UNLESS if you have in your possession the freshly dressed fish from which the roe in excess of 1kg was taken, or a receipt that proves the roe was obtained from a commercial source.
 

I thought that was exactly what I said in not so many words? I was explaining it from the perspective of someone who knows the regs, not trying to explain regs to someone who doesn't know. Please point out where I was misinforming people so I dont do it again.

[Sandman]

I thought that was exactly what I said in not so many words? I was explaining it from the perspective of someone who knows the regs, not trying to explain regs to someone who doesn't know. Please point out where I was misinforming people so I dont do it again.

I was going to say the same thing, it sounded like Rod was just repeating what you said.  It seems to me that saying you can posess up to 1kg "unless" you have a freshly dressed fish from which the roe in excess of a kilo was taken or you have a receipt from a commercial vendor is the same as saying you cannot posess more than a kilo "without" said freshly dressed fish or receipt.

[chromeo]

Bottom line is there is no enforcement and criminals will always do illegal things when they feel nobody is around.  I too am also disgusted with that native opening which ruined many a weekends on the harrison this fall.  I've been pushed off the bar i was anchored on and told to move so they can literally seine the bar void of fish.  They throw fish around on the rocks and throw the males back.  The Fraser fishery is disgusting these days.  OH and ppl wondering why there are no steelhead in the Thompson???  How the hell do they get through all these nets?
Start giving out heavier fines, have more enforcement and get the nets out of the water. 

[Sandman]

If I take that logic, kept my 4 hatchery females, then go ahead and kept fishing till I have exactly 1 more kg of roe? or keep slitting fish till I am just under 1kg of roe, then start keeping my limit of fish...

No, you cannot, (not lawfully) since you cannot kill more than your limit whether you take them home or not, and it is unlawful to waste fish you catch, whether tossing in the trash or back into the river.

[Rodney]

I thought that was exactly what I said in not so many words? I was explaining it from the perspective of someone who knows the regs, not trying to explain regs to someone who doesn't know. Please point out where I was misinforming people so I dont do it again.

You're right, sorry. I stand corrected.

The response to yours completely threw me off, it still doesn't make sense what Charles was explaining.

With that said, I still think it's important not to simply the information when it comes to regulations. By not saying you can possess up to 1kg of roe for bait, it's telling people that they can go out and slit open fish that are already dead for roe as long as they only take less than 1kg (which I am still not sure if it is legal or not, but attempting to find out from my contacts).

[Rodney]

Regarding the two photos I posted originally in this thread, I had some further discussions with my colleagues and determined a few more things.

Everyone's confident that the first fish was a male due to the distinct kype. This leads to the question, why would someone slit open a hatchery male coho salmon and left it on the bank? One illegal scenario is that, the angler caught and retained the fish, even though it was already a bit coloured, but encountered more hatchery-marked fish later on which were much fresher than this fish. He or she then decided to kill above his or her quota for the day, and abandoned this fish so when carrying the rest of the fish out to the car, it would be seen legal. It's high grading, which is a clear violation.

Another very possible scenario is that the fish was simply lost and washed away after it was cleaned. It has happened to me several times.

The second fish was clearly a violation if it was killed by an angler as it was a wild coho salmon. He or she may have been told off after it was killed, perhaps the angler did not know better, which is not unusual but unacceptable if new to fishing. He or she then decided to leave the fish behind so the officer would not issue a fine if checked.

For both cases, I guess the silver lining is that the carcasses remain in the watershed, which will fertilize it and support the offsprings next year.

While it was likely, I don't buy that someone cut open these fish after they had naturally died prior to spawning because of their condition. It's possible, but there were a few hundred other dead chum salmon around these, some looked like they did not spawn (but probably did), yet none of their abdomen were cut open. With that said, as I pointed out in the previous post, I am interested to find out whether slitting open carcasses on the river bank for roe is a legal practice. I shall have an answer within a few days.

I posted these photographs not with the intention to accuse anyone or user group, but to discuss possible scenarios,stimulate a topic which is rarely discussed yet quite important, and clear up some confusion. I'm glad to see three pages of opinions so far.

[Sandman]

You're right, sorry. I stand corrected.

The response to yours completely threw me off, it still doesn't make sense what Charles was explaining.

With that said, I still think it's important not to simply the information when it comes to regulations. By not saying you can possess up to 1kg of roe for bait, it's telling people that they can go out and slit open fish that are already dead for roe as long as they only take less than 1kg (which I am still not sure if it is legal or not, but attempting to find out from my contacts).

.

 I believe that when the amount of roe is less than a kg, the burden of proof (that it is not to be used for bait while fishing, ie: was acquired illegally) lies with the officer, whereas when the amount exceeds a kilo, the burden of proof lies with the angler (hence the need to show the freshly dressed fish from which you had acquired such a large amount of fresh roe or the receipt showing you had actual bought it and have not been slitting open fish and tossing them back).  In other words, if you really want to bring over a kilo of roe with you to use as bait, you can only bring commercially bought roe and have the receipt with you.  If you make your own roe you cannot bring more than a kilo.  While you could "get away" with slicing a fish and taking less than a kilo of roe and tossing it back and keep fishing, it would not be legal and you would be charged if observed doing it.  The same would apply with harvesting from a carcass.  Since you need the freshly dressed fish in your possession to possesses more than a kilo of roe, and since any fish "not suitable for eating" must be returned "quickly and gently" to the water, you would not be able to harvest more than a kilo from a carcass, and since it is unlawful to release fish in a "harmful manner" and since slicing open a fish and removing its roe could be considered harming it ( even if it were dead already), you would not be able to lawfully harvest less than a kilo either.  Like other regulations that are design to avoid abuse, it keeps someone from tailing that half dead zombie, slicing it open for the roe, then saying it was dead before they harvested the roe.  If you are going to harvest roe from a fish on the river, you must keep that fish in your possession.  Of course this is my interpretation and unfortunately (or fortunately for some) I have not passed the bar in BC and will not be presiding over any cases in court.

[Rodney]

.

 I believe that when the amount of roe is less than a kg, the burden of proof (that it is not to be used for bait while fishing, ie: for later use or sale) lies with the officer, whereas when the amount exceeds a kilo, the burden of proof lies with the angler (hence the need to show the freshly dressed fish you had acquired such a large amount of fresh roe or the receipt showing you had actual bought it and have not been slitting open fish and tossing them back).  In other words, if you really want to bring over a kilo of roe with you to use as bait, you can only bring commercially bought roe and have the receipt with you.  If you make your own roe cannot bring more than a kilo.  While you could get away with slicing a fish and taking less than a kilo of roe and tossing it back and keep fishing, it would not be legal and you would be charged if observed doing it.

I'm talking about slitting carcasses on the river bank, not fish that you have killed and decide to toss back. Other than that, I agree.

[BwiBwi]

I believe that would be considered wasting fish.

u Waste the fish you catch.
If your fish is not suitable for eating or if
possession is illegal because of quotas,
size limits or closed seasons, return the
fish quickly and gently to the water