Oops...

[bjb27_99]

http://www.gofishn.com/ned/reports/13546-vermont-man-misidentifies-an-atlantic-salmon-as-a-brown-trout-faces-1500-fine-3-year-fishing-ban

Vermont Man Misidentifies an Atlantic Salmon as a Brown Trout. Faces $1500 Fine, 3-Year Fishing Ban

Last month, Ryan McCollough was so excited about what he thought was a 9.5-pound, 31.5-inch brown trout that he caught in the White River near his hometown of Bethel, Vt that he ran to the local outfitters to have it measured. He then called the local newspaper (The Herald of Randolph) and the taxidermist.

The problem is that McCollough caught an Atlantic salmon, which are required to be immediately released. Fisheries biologist saw the picture in the newspaper, and saw that one of the two salmon they had placed radio trackers in were now on dry land, and they came looking. They found the salmonoid in McCollough's freezer waiting for the taxidermist.

McCollough now faces a $1500 fine and losing his fishing privileges for 3 years, according to the official release in The Outdoor Wire.

Why the outfitters where McCollough didn't tell him he caught a salmon and not a brownie is something I'd be asking myself if I was in McCollough's shoes right now. --Brian McClintock

 

[krayfish]

That's why you should put all fish back... just in case you're wrong.

 

[jdaddy]

bjb27_99 wrote:

Why the outfitters where McCollough didn't tell him he caught a salmon and not a brownie is something I'd be asking myself if I was in McCollough's shoes right now. --Brian McClintock

Frankly it can be quite difficult to tell the difference, particularly to the untrained eye.

But ya, err on the side of caution.

Edit: Looked at picture in link. Maybe changing my mind based upon the picture. Not about the fish but the goofball holding it. LOL.

 

[jay348]

agreed, not sure if i wouldnt have made the same mistake...on the fish id that is...

 

[bjb27_99]

They can definitely be tricky to tell apart from brown trout to the untrained eye. I was in Vermont this past weekend visiting my in-laws and pulled a few atlantic salmon out of some local streams on spinners. Vermont's Fish and Wildlife Department stock salmon fry in hopes the fish will one day run to the ocean and return to the local streams and rivers to spawn.

 

[krayfish]

Just looked at the article photo. 100% d-bag. I'm pretty sure that guy would also identify a carp as a brown trouts. Send that guy to the Tully to clean out a few of dem "rubber lips".

 

[pete41]

it can happen guys-don't know about atlantic salmon-never caught one but-I thought a crusty,rusty old fish i caught was a red fish,nice one about eight pounds-some fishermen at the ramp were admiring it when one of them said'you know that may be a trout".Sea trout
sure enough it was.
Four of us got it wrong.lol

 

[JackM]

Disorderly Conduct, fines and costs. BANG! :hammer:

 

[BPS]

Wow. Yeah, that guy looks like he should be on the cast of Jersey Shore or something.

I think an AS and a fresh run Brown can look similar, but any fisherman should be able to quickly tell one from the other. Plus the time of year. Little early for brown trouts to be running the streams.

 

[Swattie87]

Tough to tell from the picture in the article, but I would have thought BJB's fish was a nice wild Brown and wouldn't have thought twice about it, given where it was caught. I didn't know about the stocking of Atlantic Salmon fry either...Ignorance is no excuse I guess though. I don't think they should fine him or revoke the kid's fishing license though...honest mistake and I'm sure he feels awful.

 

[streamerguy]

3 years of NO fishing.......OUCH!

 

[BPS]

Swattie87- The smolts resemble browns much more so than adults.

The adults don't really get the blue and red spots like a the juveniles do.

I'm sure the regs book has identifiers just like PA and NY books do.
If you're gonna kill something you better be sure what it is. I'm sure to an untrained eye a yearling elk looks like a doe whitetail. Or what if someone shot a housedog because they thought it was a coyote?

Mistakes can be made, and I'm sure anyone would feel bad, but that doesn't excuse it and neither does ignorance. Besides, I bet that a poachers first line of defense when caught is to claim ignorance. "Hey, I didn't know any better" is kinda wore out.

Not pickin at you and hope you don't see it that way. Just giving my 2 cents.

 

[jdaddy]

BPS wrote:
I think an AS and a fresh run Brown can look similar, but any fisherman should be able to quickly tell one from the other. Plus the time of year. Little early for brown trouts to be running the streams.

I don't know man, I had a heck of a time.

 

[jdaddy]

BPS wrote:
Swattie87- The smolts resemble browns much more so than adults.

The adults don't really get the blue and red spots like a the juveniles do.

I'm sure the regs book has identifiers just like PA and NY books do.
If you're gonna kill something you better be sure what it is. I'm sure to an untrained eye a yearling elk looks like a doe whitetail. Or what if someone shot a housedog because they thought it was a coyote?

Mistakes can be made, and I'm sure anyone would feel bad, but that doesn't excuse it and neither does ignorance. Besides, I bet that a poachers first line of defense when caught is to claim ignorance. "Hey, I didn't know any better" is kinda wore out.

Not pickin at you and hope you don't see it that way. Just giving my 2 cents.

Agreed, in that ignorance of the law is no defense. Having said that, I doubt this guy feels bad. Its a big feesh.

 

[Swattie87]

BPS wrote:
Swattie87- The smolts resemble browns much more so than adults.

The adults don't really get the blue and red spots like a the juveniles do.

I'm sure the regs book has identifiers just like PA and NY books do.
If you're gonna kill something you better be sure what it is. I'm sure to an untrained eye a yearling elk looks like a doe whitetail. Or what if someone shot a housedog because they thought it was a coyote?

Mistakes can be made, and I'm sure anyone would feel bad, but that doesn't excuse it and neither does ignorance. Besides, I bet that a poachers first line of defense when caught is to claim ignorance. "Hey, I didn't know any better" is kinda wore out.

Not pickin at you and hope you don't see it that way. Just giving my 2 cents.

Not at all, no worries...I can't really make out any tell tale features from the pic in the article...the fish is too dark. The juvenile fish does look like a Brown IMO though and I could see where a mistake could be made there.

That said, if I lived in Vermont, I'm sure I would know about the program and would have learned the differences between the two, just from a fascination standpoint, even if I wasn't fishing for them.

It was probably a stretch to assume he felt bad...I would have if I made that mistake, I guess that was my point. But again, I would have made sure I learned the regs and the differences. He really has no leg to stand on and in reality it just needs to be handled consistently with other fish and game infractions in the state...if that means loss of fishing privileges then so be it I guess. Agree there is no accurate way to tell a poacher from an honest mistake.

 

[jdaddy]

Swattie87 wrote:
Agree there is no accurate way to tell a poacher from an honest mistake.

Most of them don't have pictures and news articles ran about them in the paper! :-D

 

[jayL]

No such thing as an honest mistake here in my opinion. Anyone that sets out to harvest fish is duty bound to understand the regulations and to properly identify the species caught.

If you can't identify them or are unfamiliar with regulations in the area, you shouldn't be fishing, let alone harvesting.

 

[JackM]

Jay, couldn't the same be said about running a red light? Three years of no driving and $1,500 would seem harsh there, no?

 

[jayL]

I wasn't really speaking toward the punishment, rather just to the nature of an "honest mistake". The lack of understanding of species identification and regulations shouldn't free someone of guilt.

I do agree that it's excessive punishment.

 

[JackM]

10-4. Good Buddy. It's a convoy.

"We've got a mighty convoy, rolling through the night...."