King Poaching - Would You Report It?

I have watched a guy at Yeomalt Point in Area 10 kill several kings this year (the area is closed to king retention). The guy is a moocher and clearly a veteran in the area. Last night, the guy had the balls to net and bonk a really nice fish in front of 6 or 7 other boats, all within 100 yards of him. Several boats stopped to watch the fight. He then tagged the fish (no doubt in area 11), and then went right back to fishing! I passed by him and noted that he either just set the state coho record or had killed a king illegally. He responded "Tell that to the Indians". I too have often lamented at having to release kings in area 10 when many will end up in Tribal nets, but have always played by the rules.

Would you report this guy? I was tempted but could not find the poaching hotline number in my regulation book.

I have called on people bonking kings on the Skykomish River so I would have no problem calling on someone in the salt.

If not you, then who? Report poaching here: http://www.wa.gov/wdfw/enf/poaching.htm

Is the increased scrutiny by the state worth it Chip? What will they do if you report it?

A. Note it.
B. Act on it.
C. Revisit the season regs for next year and close it altogether instead of CNR.
D. Some of the above.
E. None of the above.

I think that the state is not acknowledging that this kind of abuse is happening when they set the CNR season, but they surely know it's going to happen.

Going back a year or so ago, there was discussion here on PP about targeting the Kings vs CNR'ing the coho. When fishing the CNR area, you MAY NOT target the species that is closed. How can that be achieved? IMO, either close it, or put some gear restrictions in place to keep the lure in the upper zone where the coho are. It won't prevent abuse, but maybe it would help to keep the incidental King hookups to a smaller percentage. Maybe ban herring during the CNR season and only allow trolling with hardware. Again maybe...but as far as the answer to your question...

Sounds like the guy is making a habit of bonking these Kings...bad news. I think I might file a report Chip.

I am not sure about fish however, years back, a buddy and I were up in OP early season bow hunting for Elk. Just as I was getting ready to release on a bull, a crack from a rifle dropped my trophy right in front of me. My buddy came running figuring I had been shot. Long story short... we stayed well hidden, watched the guy drag out up to truck. Got all the info and reported it. We headed to court, guy ended up going to jail and we ended up with a reward ... Sorry, I am unable to disclose...

Though I seen/heard a story about a knucklehead poaching Kings on the Skagit. Department took everything from him including his house plus jail time.

Downriggin'

Report it Chip

In this case we have a responsibility as sports fishermen to report it. I know 'snagging' and 'flossing' occur on a regular basis. These are mostly intentional ( accidents do happen and fish should be released) ways of catching fish that are illegal for a reason.... This person is as guilty as someone who is robbing the bank. In this case it is a 'bank' of fish for future seasons. He needs to be dealt with. Book em Danno....

Done!

It's idiots like Poachers that make it unfair for us law abiding citizens. If poachers increase their activity an dcontinue to do so for a long period of time, it's a matter of time before they close all fishing and hunting and I'm sure PETA would just love that!!!

Me: I'm a law abiding citizen and a proud member of the TRUE PETA=People Eating Tasty Animals!

Kick Arse on the Poachers!!!

~SFJ

People Eating Tasty Animals.....I love it!!!!

im sure people on this bb knows my point of view when it comes to the tribes being able to keep fish no matter what and we dont even get to fish nor keep them( i dont eat fish much) but screw the tribes, the state and the rules, id say if a person wants to keep a "fish" im so sure,like there isnt millions of them out there, salmon that is..wild stealhead are another story.. **berkley boy**

bb75
Just follow the freakin rules dude

And we wounder why we don't give out good info around here. We get a jack a$$ that use's good info in bad ways. The rules are set for a reason. It's much more rewarding doing it by the book. Give it a shot some time.

I mean when you accept the fact that the tribes exist and until there are changes in their fishing habits(nothing any time soon) then the regulations are there to protect the fish. If everyone acted like that dipsh!t that poached the fish then we would not have any fishery at all. People should wake up and realize that what they are doing is distructive behavior.
Personally I prefer to avoid authority and not cause any confrontations cause 9 times out of 10 they will be on the right regardless of who is actually right. Everyone enjoy the weekend, I am going to legally catch my fish,
peace
devine

i want to clarify sumthing, i personally dont fish or target closed rivers or fisheries, but if someone wants to keep the fish, then hey, thats there problem not mine, except when it comes to wild steelhead, then i will say sumthing about it,i do follow the rules, i can read the regs..i pinch my barbs when have to..i dont want to see certain fisheries closed, but the nets have to come out if the fish are gonna rebound..its been proven in oregon that it works..**berkley boy**

BB75, we don't have as many fish as you think. You think there are millions of kings around here? I don't think that kings outnumber wild steelhead by much, or at all, in a lot of rivers around here.

Stilly bum

So true and so sad

Yo Berkley Boob. I think you be smokin that hootch again. Your post makes no sense. I get pissed hearing about poaching. One guy does it, another follows. Regs are for everyone. Breaking them has nothing to do with the net issue. Why some folks think they are above the law amazes me. Jerks like the poacher are using the Indians as an excuse for easy fishin!

Gives me great pleasure to use my cell phone to turn a law breaker in. !
We don't need them in our sport fishing fraternity.

I second Golfers post,Berkely Boob. I'll leave it at that.

bb75, i think u have to catch fish illegaly cuz i cant fish any other ways. all of us (true sportfisherman) fish legally, when the season is open, clamp our barbs on our hooks, and keep the fish in the size limits. so, if u cant catch fish legally and have to do it illeagly and make the seasons shorter and the limit smaller go a head and see where it will take u. chances are it wont take u sum where nice.

Sullie , He said he fishes legally, just see's nothing wrong with a person fishing for salmon illegally.

oops! sorry bb75.

I had a picture of a snagger, his boat # and four witness' and a fish with his corky in its ass coming in tail first. bonk! i called and gave all the info to state cops. Asked to be a witness and emailed them 4 times and heard nothing. They have too much other bs to deal with. The snagger i saw was in a sled on the lower kalama tidewater and was jerking on every cast " oh, I missed em"
this went on for an hour, until i confronted them about the foul hooked fish they bonked. They pulled as a told them i was writing down their hull numbers to report it. never got confirmation of a bust, and know a witness would have been needed to do it.

I had everything for em. It was a slam dunk that could have gotten the boat and everything. Bunch of lazy bass terds.

Gawd I hate poachers! They screw up everything for us law abiders. If cops don't enforce the law, what the halibut are we supposed to do? Whip out our bonkers and bop them upside the cranium? Sheesh! I wouldn't want to do that! Remember...I'm a law abider!

I'm surprised I haven't seen a bumper sticker yet that reads "Have You Bonked a Poacher Today?". Careful now, that saying has double meaning!

~SFJ

So 75 its wrong to kill native steelhead, but its ok to keep probably native salmon in closed waters??

yeah ok

I saw some guys snagging one time at hoodsport, they sure didn't like my little camera that i said was taking video (it was just a digital camera) i have since made a habit of pulling it out whenever i see someone about to pull in a fish and i yell at them to SMILE FOR THE VIDEO!
I've seen many fish released for only this reason i'm sure.

Chip,

Do you have any followup info after filing your report?

Seacat - Left phone #'s with WDFW, guy I talked to indicated he would pass the information on to the local enforcement folks and that they may want to call me. Never heard back. Interestingly, I relayed my experience to an acquaintance the other night who indicated that he knows several local guys who have been keeping kings routinely at Jeff Head. Seems there is not much fear of enforcement. In eight years of fishing the area between Jeff Head and Restoration, I have been checked by the WDFW a total of once!! They seem to apply more pressure to the high density fisheries (Elliot Bay, Tacoma Area), where there are more "targets", but I would think the likelyhood of gross poaching violations are less. The guy I observed the other evening clearly had no concern that the WDFW might be nearby!

Chip,
I could not agree more. Out of the 10 or so times I fished Elliot bay and/or Westpoint, I have been only checked twice while returning to Shilshole. Seems to me that they would check there more often since it is a major launching spot.

They were not even there when Elliot Bay was closed...?? Seems that would be when they would hit there the most since the chance that a boat launched there is going to fish in Area 11 is fairly slim.
I have seen many kings come out of the water while at Shilshole, and these are guys I know for a fact never left Westpoint. Reporting it has so far done nothing.

Interesting, but I'm not really suprised. It's hard to know what anyone will actually do about it. My guess is that it will be addressed in season setting meetings as a general issue, if at all.

Too bad there has to be blatent poaching in Area 10 and seemingly nothing is really done about it.

Thanks Chip.

As a young boy here in Oregon (early fifties) many of us depended on some illicit blactail for protien.

Times have changed. Not many folks depend on game for sustenance. Many are just slobs and some are poaching to sell game.

Law enforcment is streched pretty thin. I report rule breakers. If Law Enforcmnet can't/won't respond then it is up to us to file a complaint.

Can't say I agree with all tha ODFW puts out but without rules where wuld we be.

wallyw

who says it was a native king that he took sinsation? ya ok. what if it was a hatchery? its not my biznus anyways, i do follow the reg books, golfer, ************************* as for when i said screw the rules, i shouldnt have, i messed up, but i do follow the regs, i know the green gets stacked with kings every year, the nets come out in the dwaumish sp??, those are the same fish going to the green if i remember right, why let the nets in but dont allow a season for sportfishers? lots of them hatchery fish jus waste away in the green..