It was too foggy all day so I allowed my 9 year old daughter to fish
from the dock. I am no fisherman and normally have no tackle but I had
found a reel in the coastal cleanup a couple monthsa ago. I cannot
identify fish and have no idea what is legal or not. I do know that we
do not need a license to fish from a dock in salt water. However, I
bought some hooks, sinkers and shrimp for bait and she fished ALL day
with no luck. She was seriously determined and finally around 4:00 pm,
suddenly she caught a largish fish with a spot on its tail. Another
sailor identified it as a Redfish and I happen to know there is a size
limit on them but nobody present anywhere nearby knew what it was. I
had to try to explain to my tearful daughter that we could get in
trouble for keeping it (I later learned the minimum size is 18" and
this looked larger) as I have heard horror stories of encounters with
the marine patrol over Redfish. I told her to try for something else
(I was hoping for something like a yellowtail that I know is legal) but
she caught another Redfish which I threw back with her crying and
asking why. Damn, then she caught another, threw it back with her
crying in frustration. CRAP, she catches another pestilential Redfish
but this one had swallowed the hook. I could not get the hook out even
with needle nose pliers without serious damage to the fish that would
kill it. Fortunately, we were out of bait but what to do wiht the
dying Redfish? It was smaller than the first three and my personal
ethic says dont kill it unless you will eat it so I hid it under my
coat and put it in the car.
What did my daughter learn from this experience with authority?
Does my daughter really have to carry a book of outdoor regs just to
fish from a dock?
Is there a way to write or enforce wildlife laws that does not turn 9
yr olds into anarchists?