Reg's Question

[Foxgap239]

Just out of curiousity I am wondering the answer to this question. I was fishing a favorite stream of mine in a special reg area which is manged under trophy trout. This stream has a class A wild brown population. So I'm in the area and I started catching bow's in a hole where I normally catch browns. I was about 200 yards from where the reg area ends and stocking occurs. I don't normally kill fish but I do like my occasional bow on the barby. I would like to get the bows out of this hole but they are not 14". Speaking strictly by the letter of the law (because I know if no one sees where I caught them I could say I was in the stocked section) are those bows protected by the trophy regs? Also, if I'm parked in a special reg area but fished an ATW section and brought back 3 fish to my car, am I legal with under 14" fish and more than 2?

 

[Mountainbrookie]

If they're in the regulation area then yes for the first question.

 

[JackM]

The regs apply to the water you fish, not where you park your car. Verify the boundaries and take pictures of the area you are fishing with the strungup trout. If a WCO questions you, you can show him the pictures. When walking the roped trout back to your car, take the high road away from the special regs water.

Or, park near the open water to avoid all that hassle.

Oh, if I wasn't clear, if they are caught in the TT, they must fit that regulation.

 

[PennKev]

I think you knew the answers to your questions before you posted but you were hoping we'd support your skirting the law in the name of bucket biology.

Kev

 

[pcray1231]

Yes, in the trophy trout section, the bows are protected by the regs governing that section. One notable exception to this is the wild brook trout enhancement regs, in which it is stated that browns of legal size can be harvested.

And yeah, it's by where you fish, not where you park, but you should be a little careful. For instance, back in my minnie fishin days, I used to fish Spring Creek, above Paradise. I'd park at paradise, and walk up past the FF only limit, start there, and fish up to the dam. Minnie bucket in tow. I got a lot of snotty comments from fishermen but only once checked by a WCO, who said I was fine after explaining my intentions.

 

[Foxgap239]

PennKev wrote:
I think you knew the answers to your questions before you posted but you were hoping we'd support your skirting the law in the name of bucket biology.

Kev

I thought I knew the answers and for the record, the thought never crossed my mind to even take the fish while there. I wanted the answers for future reference because I might get a hankering for barby'd bow.

Those who know me, know I DO NOT break the law and then ask for support after the fact. Thank you for your viewpoint though.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Yeah...you're talkin' to a guy who won't even fish upstream with dry flies because it violates the law of dry fly fishing.

 

[Foxgap239]

The_Sasquatch wrote:
Yeah...you're talkin' to a guy who won't even fish upstream with dry flies because it violates the law of dry fly fishing.

Let's not get too carried away now! LOL

 

[PennKev]

Foxgap239 wrote:
I thought I knew the answers and for the record, the thought never crossed my mind to even take the fish while there. I wanted the answers for future reference because I might get a hankering for barby'd bow.

Then why even make the original post? Why even mention the bows being in the special regs area and your desire to remove them?

I can understand the predicament of taking fish legally and then carrying them back to your vehicle which is near a specially regulated area, but the rest of your post, well......

Asking questions about keeping sub-legal fish that are just inside the boundary of a special regs area is a lot like asking if it is ok to keep fish a day or two before the season starts.

As far as getting a few fish to eat, there are many places to do that without risking running afoul of the law. If the TT regs are really that difficult to understand, they can be avoided by fishing one of the hundreds of other stocked waters.

Foxgap239 wrote:
Those who know me, know I DO NOT break the law and then ask for support after the fact. Thank you for your viewpoint though.

It would seem as though you are asking for support BEFORE the fact in this case. And here's the funny thing about the internet, I DO NOT KNOW YOU. I can only respond to the content of your posts based on how I interpret it.

Kev

 

[Foxgap239]

PennKev wrote:
It would seem as though you are asking for support BEFORE the fact in this case. And here's the funny thing about the internet, I DO NOT KNOW YOU. I can only respond to the content of your posts based on how I interpret it.

Kev

Thanks once again for your input. Have a terrifc week.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter. I guess it's a good thing I don't get hankin for bow that often then because I really much rather not fish ATW's.

 

[streamerguy]

And yeah, it's by where you fish, not where you park, but you should be a little careful. For instance, back in my minnie fishin days, I used to fish Spring Creek, above Paradise. I'd park at paradise, and walk up past the FF only limit, start there, and fish up to the dam. Minnie bucket in tow. I got a lot of snotty comments from fishermen but only once checked by a WCO, who said I was fine after explaining my intentions.

Always wondered how that worked. In the regs it states that you can't have bait, etc. "in your possession" along an ALO or FFO section, although in the case for Spring Creek(and other places) you'd be walking along the FFO section up to the open regs sections. And what if a bait fisherman also decided to bring a fly rod with him and fish the FFO section while he's there(but still has bait on him)? Same goes for keeping fish and walking along a special regs sec. even though you caught them in the open water.

Sounds like C&R fly fishing is the safest bet wherever you're at ;-)

 

[pcray1231]

If that's the case, it might depend on the WCO's definition of "along".

I always thought it was "on your person" or "with you" while fishing. You're ok with anything, anywhere, until the point when you fish. So lets say I have a jar of salmon eggs in my pocket. I can walk up to, or along, an ALO section with rod in hand. But the moment I cast, I can be busted for having bait on me, even if I'm using appropriate artificials. Don't think I can be busted UNTIL I cast, though.

So in that case, if you have bait, a spinning rod, and a fly rod, no, you could not lay all your bait stuff down and fish the fly rod on the way through the FFO section, only to switch once above it. You can either leave all the prohibited stuff in the car (and fish wherever you want), or you can carry the bait stuff but must not wet a line until you get to somewhere where all of your gear is legal.

 

[afishinado]

This is the regulation for a stream closed to fishing:

A person shall be deemed to be fishing if he or she has in possession any fishing line, rod or other device that can be used for fishing while on or in any water or on the banks within 25 feet of any water where fishing is prohibited.

I suppose the WCO can consider a FFO area "closed" to spin rods and an ALO "closed" to bait fishing. In a FFO area, I would keep the salmon eggs and the spin rod in the vehicle - better yet at home. Also I would fish the SR area first and fish the harvest area last if you plan to take fish.

 

[pcray1231]

afish,

In the Spring creek canyon example, was I technically in violation?

Bait on person. Walking to fish a place where bait is allowed. But the only access was past FFO section, which was not fished, just walked past. The path, however, gets closer than 25 ft to stream in FFO section.

WCO said I was fine, though he might have been exercising leniency. And of course, today, you can access that stretch from the top without going past FFO area. But back then, the posted stretch prevented that.

 

[afishinado]

IMHO, the Commish keep the regulations vague at times to leave them open the interpretation (by the WCO). The non ATW stream open or closed to fishing in March comes to mind. Again, just IMO.

 

[PatrickC]

PennKev wrote:

It would seem as though you are asking for support BEFORE the fact in this case. And here's the funny thing about the internet, I DO NOT KNOW YOU. I can only respond to the content of your posts based on how I interpret it.

Kev

I DO NOT KNOW YOU, but based on your internet postings, you seem to interpret the worst case scenarios about everyone. Gees Kev, you seem like a super knowledgeable guy and you make good posts. Maybe you could be a hint less cynical about others posts. That part of the interpretation is fully in your court. If you decide to believe the worst in people...you will always make these negative interpretations. That being said, I get that there are tons of folks out there with poor intentions. Foxgap posts all of the time and sure doesn't impress me as a scoundrel.

 

[PennKev]

PatrickC wrote:

Maybe you could be a hint less cynical about others posts. That part of the interpretation is fully in your court. If you decide to believe the worst in people...you will always make these negative interpretations.

He said he wanted to get rid of the bows, said he thought he could get away with it, then presented the very scenario he would use as a cover story if he got caught. I'm not saying he'd actually go through with it, by word a post in such a way?

 

[Foxgap239]

Sorry if my post was worded in a way that made you assume the worst. I'll do better next time. Let's just move on and forget about how I worded it. I'm not a scoundrel (Thanks Patrick) looking for a way to get over on the system but in fairness to you, you don't know me so how are you to know. I appreciate your input and will take heed of your advice.

 

[laszlo]

I also fish a non-stocked Special Regs TT stream which holds a healthy population of wild brown trout. It annoys the crap out of me when I catch a rainbow. Would it be possible and legal to redistribute the rainbows to another part of the stream? I don't want to kill them but could they be put in a 5 gallon bucket and released in the stocked section of the stream 1/2 mile away? Is this classified as stocking?

 

[streamerguy]

I think it would be classified as "having it in your possession" which would be illegal if it's under the size limit, and doesn't matter whether you're using a 5 gal bucket, a cooler, or a stringer. I could be wrong though.