Steelhead poacher in Ukiah

[Eric B]

I'm not gonna defend the guy, but I gotta say the employee at the sporting goods store should have known better.

The DFG regs are a tedius read even for a diehard.

[Mahi]

I'm not gonna defend the guy, but I gotta say the employee at the sporting goods store should have known better.

The DFG regs are a tedius read even for a diehard.

Known better than what? Are you serious? The sporting goods guy is the one who set the idiot up to go have his picture taken. Maybe you should think before you type.

[bluefin17]

The CDFG regulations aren't that hard to read, especially for river fishing.  A little confusing maybe, but that idiot should have known the difference, anybody who's ever steelhead fished for a few years or fished with anyone else should know the difference between wild and hatchery steelhead, period.  Nobody's fault but the fishermans'.  Its just sad that so many do it.

[KICKIN BASS]

I DO want to defend the sporting goods guy, because the last time I checked, the person responsible is the person who bought the license.  I won't argue that the DFG regs are confusing at times, but the adipose fin is a no brainer.

[Tote]

It seems that there are two criteria for getting popped by DFG.
Either they need months/years to investigate an alleged poacher resulting in countless fish deaths for a meager at best conviction or they have to have someone physically right in front of them to issue a citation.
Since they aren't going to spend a lot of time nor money investigating this guy and since it isn't as easy as having him right in front of them then nothing will be done.
How many times have you been hassled for a non-violation?? Cotton balls and barbless hooks ring a bell with anyone? This only happened because you were right in front of them and it was easy to do. If it isn't easy then nothing will be done.

[Abking]

Tote's right.  Enforcement is often toothless for the real law-breakers while being a pain in the ass for the rest of us. 

The truth about this guy though is that he's an idiot - not a poacher.  A $500 fine would teach him to get smart.  The real poachers, like the group that was dumping abs back in the ocean as the rescue team was trying to save their diving buddy (who died) in the huge swells a few months ago, should have the book thrown at them really hard, but for some reason FingG doesn't see a case in having witnesses to such a blatant violation...  I hope I'm wrong and that something did come of that case.   

[Zee]

The DFG regs are a tedius read even for a diehard.

Those regs in Cali are simple enough. The regs up here in Wa are a real challenge. They sometimes change week to week and have to always check on "Emergency Closures" that pop up sporadically.

Check this out for a good read: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/regs/2007/2007sportregs.pdf

Z

[Hojoman]

Here is a response from the newspaper to me:

Our publisher forwarded your email to me and I thank you for your kind words about our newspaper. I wanted you to know that we also heard from numerous biologists and law enforcement about that photo and we ran a correction in Saturday's edition. We are also planning a Page 1 feature on steelhead and what's legal and illegal so that folks out there can be educated.
Thanks again,
KC Meadows
Editor

[KICKIN BASS]

I'm glad the Ukiah Daily Urinal ( I mean Journal) responded.  If I see the article I will post it up.  Good idea Hojoman.

[Eric B]

The sporting goods guy is the one who set the idiot up to go have his picture taken. Maybe you should think before you type

And that worked out so well, didn't it?

Maybe I'm not as smart as some of you, but I find the direct approach usually does the trick.