Ok, it's time to put up or shut up! Marla Blair had her tires slashed last Thursday because she had the nerve to confront some poachers!! Now, we fish the Swift, we love the Swift, we bitch about the fish hogs on the Swift BUT they are worse than ever and that is because they feel they can get away with it. WE need to bring this to an end! The best way to do that is to get some well publicized arrests! If you see someone with bait on this river before Jan. 1st, turn them in! If you see stringers of fish well over the limit between Jan 1st and the end of July, turn them in! The DFW number is 800-632-8075. The State Police number at Quabbin is 413-323-7561. Write these numbers down and keep them with your license. Use your cell phone!!We all know that fly fishers respect the rules about this river. Watch out for the others. Some bait users obey the laws but enough don't and that's the problem.
Let's protect this resource!
Ken
7 comments:
I couldn't agree more Ken. I keep both numbers in my cell phone.
Someone on masslive said "What do you mean take your clients there? Your making money off fishing but you worried about some kids fishing with worms? Who do you think you are?"
Being closer in age to these individuals (reported to be in there late teens/early 20s) than most people who fish the swift I definitely will say that there is no excuse for this. It is egomaniacal and unfair to break the rules just because you think you are a special exception to the rule. The fact that these people wouldnt face the facts that what they were doing was wrong is also shocking. They knew what they were doing was illegal and they did it infront of people who were following the rules. There is PLENTY of catch and keep bait fishing water. And after all this they knife someone's tires because they were confronted for doing something wrong?
I will not hesitate to call the state police if i see any poaching/seedy activity going on in the C&R area.
Cluster,
Dead on!! There are no exceptions to this rule. People know what the rules are and if they break them it's a slap in the face to us.
These were not "kids fishing with worms". The kids know what the rules are. These are law breakers harming our resource.
Ken
Ken,
Pardon me for being ignorant as its been several years since I've fished there. Are there posted signs in that section that clearly and rather loudly state the rules of catch and keep, fish numbers allowed, seasonal time lines and a large 1800 Call Poacher # ? It seems if the state made it so obvious that even an ignorant dummy (as most of these people are)would see it, they would realize everyone can plainly see they are poaching and can call to bust 'em.
I see the same thing happen on the Westfield and even on my home waters in VT. Seems you can never travel far enough to get away from ignorant morons.
-BT
http://fishtalesnewengland.blogspot.com/2009/10/tug-is-drug.html
Brown trout,
There are signs that state the law but no phone numbers loudly posted or otherwise. The "signage" is non threatening for sure. I don't know if the local TU chapter is being proactive on this either. They should be as well as the Western Ma. Flyfishers. I will contact both of these groups to add weight to this action.
Ken
I'I drive out to the swift from Boston knowing that it’s a C&R river and enjoy the technical fishing. Then two weeks ago Sunday I arrived on the water with a couple spin fishermen in the Pipe section. At first I thought they were using bait, but they were just egg patterns. This one guy hooks a nice bow and throws it a shore, so I yelled over to take it easy as he stepped on the fish to take the hook out. Then he carries it up stream to show his buddy. He came back without the fish. I never saw him release or take the fish out, but when I asked him if he released it he stated that you had to. Then I over heard him joking with his buddy that his family was having trout tonight and that his buddies wasn't.
I'm fine with the kids who don’t know any better but this guy knew and did it right in front of the five of us. So the only option is to call the number? Has anyone ever seen a poacher get arrested? Maybe Ken is right; if they think there is a possibility of being caught it would deter some of them. Rest assured the next time I will have those numbers in my phone.
since the other day Ive seen the Environmental police there once and have heard of the state police investigating. I would definitely call regardless of who it is.
They must be Wall Street bankers on vacation.
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