Last Cast,

Dogfish is right! We need to think for ourselves. Game enforcement officers issue lots of citations in error every year. Some are chanlleged and some are not. They (the officers) are no different then you or I, and make bad judgments calls from time to time. It's up to people like you and me to educate ourselves.

As just one example, you stated in your last post; First the pole you are fishing with must be under your control not the guides control, you would be fishing with two rods, also the fish is considered caught when it's hooked not when it's landed".

First, lets start from the end of your statement. There is NOTHING in the 2000/2001 regulation pamphlet (pages 11-17) that legally supports that assurion. There is nothing in the regulations that state "the fish is considered caught when it's hooked not when it's landed". So who makes the call on that one? Another example is when you said "First the pole you are fishing with must be under your control, not the guides control, you would be fishing with two rods"

Well, that's kind of true, but not completely so. The regulations say " You may not fish with a rod not under your immediate control". So what does that really mean? Does it mean that you can not walk away and leave your rod unattended, if that was the case, then at what distance would that take effect?

Or does that mean somting entirely different? Is it illegal to release your "control of your rod to another"? If so, where in the regulations is that stated? When does "control of a rod start or end, is it when the line enters the water, or is it when you bait the hook, or when? Doe's that mean that you cannot legally teach your child to cast into a stream or lake (i.e. make the cast for them), because you were in control of the rod when it was cast, or does that mean that you are fishing with 2 rods? All these things, along with many other issues should be CLEARLY spelled out in the fishing regulations. If we can think issues out like the ones mention above, we can enjoy our sport even more. Your posting will help others understand that we DO HAVE many gray and ambiguious laws that need clarifcation in the new regulation plamplet.

Remenber, if we don't like these gray and ambiguious laws, we need to change them, and now is the time to do it!


Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????