Very Upsetting Story 2024
IdahoLunkerHunter reply :
Talked with one of the local outfitters yesterday about the spring thaw coming up. Last year three huge smallmouths were killed by bow fishing the beds, Illegal in my state unless you have certification, 7.3, 7.2, and 6.3 lbs.
I was absolutely disgusted. At least he was caught by fish and game. 
Fish Chris reply :
Wait a minute....
Just to clarify, you mean bow fishing like guys do for Carp ??? (I'm not even down for that with 'Carp')
So, you mean to say that it's possible for a person to be "certified" for this, and then they can shoot big Smallies on a bed, legally ?
I never heard of anything like this before.
Hmmmm,
Fish
IdahoLunkerHunter reply :
I don't know... Will repost after research... I don't think bowfishing is legal unless carp and only during certain dates... Will look
IdahoLunkerHunter reply :
Just got off the phone with Fish and Game and Bowfishing is only legal bullfrog and unprotected non-game fish. Smallmouth is Illegal. Have a call into the conservation officer to get more info on the story.
Will keep you posted.
IdahoLunkerHunter reply :
So just got off the phone with the local F&G officer and he gave me a little more info. There have been a couple offenses over the past two years and the fish have been "Good Sized Fish".
I didn't know that this was happening and I will definetely be keeping my eye out. What a shame!
fourbizz reply :
QuoteWait a minute....Just to clarify, you mean bow fishing like guys do for Carp ??? (I'm not even down for that with 'Carp')
So, you mean to say that it's possible for a person to be "certified" for this, and then they can shoot big Smallies on a bed, legally ?
I never heard of anything like this before.
Hmmmm,
Fish
Chris I know youre a strict C&R guy, but bowfishing for carp is a ton of fun. When I was a kid, I used to bowfish on my property and sell the carp to Guatemalan migrant workers. Very fun way to make a couple bucks.
I assume your beef with it is the wasted fish, but come on, thats like saying that you are against bug zappers or bug bombs, lol ;D
Fish Chris reply :
Hey Biz. No, actually, my biggest beef with bowfishing is that the biggest ones are the easiest to kill :-( Unlike 'real fishing' where the biggest ones are the hardest to catch.
So, what ends up happening (lets use Clear Lk. CA as a prime example) is that all the biggest ones are culled out, and this leads to over-populations of smaller > read; less sportworthy fish <.
I've heard guys use the excuse, "We are helping to reduce the population of these {in their words} worthless trash fish"...... however, in reality, they are "Selectively Harvesting" from the wrong part of the population :-( And in the long run, we end up with even more fish, (maybe even in total poundage per acre) but of a much smaller average size.
Those bowfishing comps should give prizes for "the smallest fish killed"..... afterall, the smaller they are, the harder they are to hit, right ?
I'm kind of the same way with Carp that I am for Bass.... Which is to say, I love to fish for big ones (size relative to the species, of course) but with Carp, if I don't have a shot at a 25 or 30 lb'er, why should I bother.
Peace,
Fish
ROCbass reply :
How are the biggest ones easier to kill? To me that seems the same as saying a 200 lb trophy class buck is easier to kill than a 80 lb 1 1/2 year old deer. Sure its a bigger target, but the chances of actually seeing one are much smaller because there's less of them and they are smarter. I don't know much about carp, but it seems like the general principles would be the same. I could be way off on this, and if I am, please feel free to set me straight. 
Jig Thrower reply :
what a bummer three huge bass
bassmaster3000 reply :
That's just wrong... It is only legal on bull frog and unprotected non-gamefish here in WA to... The fact that those people did that is just, well, horrible... This makes me just sad. I will deffinatly be keeping my eye open for that more often now. And for people keeping fish illeagally, such as illeagal species, overexceeding the bag limit, etc. I will also be out more often watching, but that's good for me too! ;D
Glenn reply :
About 14 years ago in my state, 2 guys in scuba gear were finally caught after being reported to the police numerous for spearfishing bass. Yes - it's very illegal. They admitted to killing 10 fish around 10lbs each "for fun", but the estimates were much higher.
They were fined several thousand dollars and sentenced to jail for 6 months.
MaineBassMan reply :
That sucks!!, It's kind of like a few years ago my dad and I were fishing our favorite lake and he hooked into a nice smallmouth that was just under 5lbs,(4lbs 14oz), we took a picture and then released it. The next day we were fishing in the same area and some guy caught the same bass and didn't release it. That isn't what really ticked me off. What ticked me off is that he tied it to the side of his dock, and pretty much said he had no intention of eating it, just wanted to show it off. By the way there was a snapping turtle there helping himself to a nice fish lunch :'(. It takes awhile to grow a bass that big up here and to totally waste it like that sends me through the roof.
Then there was another guy that was friends with my great grandfather and he fished a local lake that averages smallmouth in the 3 pound range and 4 pounders are not uncommon. This guy is primarily a trout fisherman but decided to go bass fishing. So he shows up to my Great Grandfathers showing off his stringer of 3 and 4 pound smallies. He leaves and then the next day I take a walk up the road and come across his stringer of bass in the woods with flies helping themselves to whole bass that hadn't been filleted. > I do believe that he had more than his limit, I was young then but if it was now the Wardens would be knocking on his door.
Crestliner2008 reply :
Are any of you aware that VT still has a pike shooting season? Yep...they actually use rifles on them! Talk about stupidity!
stepchild reply :
QuoteAbout 14 years ago in my state, 2 guys in scuba gear were finally caught after being reported to the police numerous for spearfishing bass. Yes - it's very illegal. They admitted to killing 10 fish around 10lbs each "for fun", but the estimates were much higher.They were fined several thousand dollars and sentenced to jail for 6 months.
About 5 years ago, I saw some weird "bobbers" floating about in one of the most productive bays on a lake. As I approach with my trolling motor, I see that it's two spearfishermen snorkling. At first I just kind of ignored them and went off to the other side of the bay (but they were pretty much on the spot on the spot).
About 15 minutes later, i hear screams and it was the spearfishermen. Low and behold, a 7+lb smallie dangling from the spear and them saying "Hey bud, THIS is where you should be fishing...there's a few of these down there!".
It made me sick to my stomach.
J Francho reply :
The biggest of the big are found in HUGE concentrations in springtime in VERY shallow water. The spawning ritual is basically several males corner a female, and smash into her, forcing the eggs out to be fertilized. it creates almost a geyser like commotion that can be heard across the lake. Very easy to spot them, nothing at all like trophy buck hunting.QuoteHow are the biggest ones easier to kill?
---------------------------------
Anyway, to the original topic...
Don't wait until you see something going down to try and contact your DEC officers (or whatever the agency that enforces the laws), get their dispatch number, or better yet, the local officer's cell phone number, and have it on speed dial in your cell phone.
We have a guy here that is awesome. He responds to calls as fast as possible, and is on a mission to clean up the filth, and educate the rest. He is always friendly, always asks what is working, and relays what he's heard from others.
On the flip side of this, if you're breaking the law, he is one tough guy. He has the "command presence" of a state trooper with a bad case of 'roids.
done reply :
They were just killing them for fun!? That is total garbage. I will never understand that.
I have hunted, when I fish I will always keep a couple - few. However, NEVER do I hunt or fish and kill an animal just for the sake of killing them. I don't even kill what others call nuisance fish. I just cannot kill something just to see it die, if I do not intend to eat the fish, it goes free.
Anyway, glad they caught these guys.
NEKvt reply :
QuoteAre any of you aware that VT still has a pike shooting season? Yep...they actually use rifles on them! Talk about stupidity!
It is an old method that a few guys use for a very short season. It was banned but enough people complained and got the season back. Personally I have to agree with you. Bowfishing for carp is legal in VT too.
SuperNewbie reply :
kill for "fun" is straight wrong. people like that should be tried for "fishslaughter" and go to jail for at least 9 months and have to work for the lake yes i admit to liking fried bass but i take a few meds and let the biggins go i think the biggest keep last year was 4 ever and that was a largie sickos ... just makes me mad ... >
iceintheveins reply :
If you think that's bad, in my state (Colorado), a very special river is being systematically destroyed because the bass aren't native there, and that they are unfairly blamed for contributing to the demise of native suckers and chubs.
Well over 35,000 smallmouth bass, 10,000 pike, and 10,000 Channel Catfish have been killed in Colorado's Yampa River. The data shows it has not increased numbers of native fish, and it costs millions of dollars each year. Who is doing it? The US Fish and Wildlife and the Colorado Division Of Wildlife.
The smallmouth fishing in the Yampa is still world class, and it's still the best pike fishery in Colorado. But this destruction is senseless and should be STOPPED!
ROCbass reply :
QuoteThe biggest of the big are found in HUGE concentrations in springtime in VERY shallow water. The spawning ritual is basically several males corner a female, and smash into her, forcing the eggs out to be fertilized. it creates almost a geyser like commotion that can be heard across the lake. Very easy to spot them, nothing at all like trophy buck hunting.QuoteHow are the biggest ones easier to kill?
Thanks for the information. I looked up some videos of the carp spawn on youtube, it looks pretty cool. I can definitely see how it would make for some easy pickings for bowfishers though.
jaystraw reply :
Last year I was fishing my favorite place (it's whee I am in my profile photo) and came upone someone who owned a house on the lake. They were fly fishing from a boat, and when the person in the front got a fish to bite, the guy in the back would shoot it with a shotgun.
Yeah, I'm not kidding. Not only were they being idiots for killing fish, they were far more stupid for shooting the gun directly at the water. I asked them to stop, and got laughed at.
I'm wondering if they laughed at the Fish and Game Warden at their door the next morning.
I've never seen that boat or those people again. I was amazed at their stupidity. I was more amazed I never thought to pull out my cell phone and take a video of it.
elduderino reply :
the biggest fish are the also the biggest spawners - so still a great way to keep the population down. i have no love for carp, they have destroyed several lakes i grew up fishing. shoot every last one of them.
michaelkim_9582 reply :
what a shame.....
BUCKEYEone reply :
The only time I have ever seen bowfishing for Carp is in a spillway coming off a state park lake, which dumps into a river. The spillway is maybe 100 feet long, and at the bottom of the drop it is rocks and limbs and no more than 2 feet deep. There is no sport in standing on a rock and shooting at Carp 10 feet away in 2 feet of water. If you are doing it to control a fish habitat, you should have just jumped out of a truck with the State Department of Fish and Game logo on the side. Nobody wants to fish near an idiot shooting a compound bow at rocks and logs.
bronzewb22 reply :
Absolutely disgusting. Those three fish could have provided a good fight to 10 or 12 catch and release fisherman throughout their lifetime without being harmed and some idiots decide that they are gonna be greedy and take that away from other better disciplined fisherman. absolutely gut wrenching. :'(
DeepStructure reply :
QuoteAbsolutely disgusting. Those three fish could have provided a good fight to 10 or 12 catch and release fisherman throughout their lifetime without being harmed and some idiots decide that they are gonna be greedy and take that away from other better disciplined fisherman. absolutely gut wrenching. :'(
The far bigger loss is their removal from the gene pool, the loss of their reproductive capacity to make many more big smallmouths.
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