Sending the wrong message
 

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?

Sending the wrong message
 

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
wrote:
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?



Oh, puh-lease. The redfish slot limits in Florida are available on
measuring sticks available free from almost any bait shop. There's no
excuse to be ignorant if you are going fishing.

Also, if you are fishing for reds, you should be using small leadheads
tipped with shrimp or circle hooks that catch in the corner of the fish's
mouth so you can easily release it.

Don't fish from your boat without a license.




I guess you missed this part of his post: "I am no fisherman".

Why the negative reply to a nice story Harry?

BTW: I would have thrown the fish back if I had no plans to eat it. It
would be food for the gulls.

Sending the wrong message
 

wrote in message
oups.com...
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?


Dude,

You fear law too seriously. Remember, law is written to protect you, not
make you fear.

Dan

Sending the wrong message
 

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
JimH wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
wrote:
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?


Oh, puh-lease. The redfish slot limits in Florida are available on
measuring sticks available free from almost any bait shop. There's no
excuse to be ignorant if you are going fishing.

Also, if you are fishing for reds, you should be using small leadheads
tipped with shrimp or circle hooks that catch in the corner of the
fish's mouth so you can easily release it.

Don't fish from your boat without a license.




I guess you missed this part of his post: "I am no fisherman".

Why the negative reply to a nice story Harry?

BTW: I would have thrown the fish back if I had no plans to eat it. It
would be food for the gulls.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, especially in Florida, where the rules
and regs regarding redfish are in the news all the time, and the
information is available just about everywhere.

Where did he break the rules Harry?

Sending the wrong message
 

Two days ago some friends and I caught several Reds. Some were outside the
slot and had to be released. At least in Alabama we are allowed three Reds
per day one of which may be oversized. But the point I want to make is that
some of the fish we were required to release were deeply hooked to the point
that it would probably have killed them to get them off the hook. Our
solution was to cut the leader at the fish's mouth in hopes that it would
survive.

Hooks and leader are cheap. Catching Reds is priceless.

Butch
wrote in message
oups.com...
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?

Sending the wrong message
 

I was not fishing for reds, normally we just catch yellowtails from the
dock. As far as posted fishing regulations, I had to drive 10 miles to
buy bait and it never occured to me that she would catch Redfish. This
place has some civilization but no stores or other places where the
regs are posted.
I was using a very light casting reel made for very small fish and have
no idea how to rig anything other than a simple hook and split shot
sinkers.
She got excited cuz on New Yrs eve, we were at a party at the dock and
she was trying to fish with Hors Doevres (ham) when she saw all the
mullet jumping. I told her that mullet were vegetarians and wouldnt
take any meat so she wanted to fish with a cucumber. She finally
caught a catfish using ham but it got away.

Sending the wrong message
 

Harry:

Can you translate what you wrote on your next to last post for a
non-fisherman? I have no idea what you said.

I stopped at the grocery store and bought a few filets of Flounder. It
has been many years since i filleted a fish and I do not have a fillet
knife. However my knives are sharp and I did do some fillets many yrs
ago so it wasnt a total hack job.

Sending the wrong message
 

"Harry Krause" wrote in message

Ignorance of the law is no excuse, especially in Florida, where the rules
and regs regarding redfish are in the news all the time, and the
information is available just about everywhere.

Must be an election year. Libs getting "tough on crime."

Sending the wrong message
 

On Mon, 02 Jan 2006 00:21:44 GMT, "Butch Davis" wrote:

Two days ago some friends and I caught several Reds. Some were outside the
slot and had to be released. At least in Alabama we are allowed three Reds
per day one of which may be oversized. But the point I want to make is that
some of the fish we were required to release were deeply hooked to the point
that it would probably have killed them to get them off the hook. Our
solution was to cut the leader at the fish's mouth in hopes that it would
survive.

Hooks and leader are cheap. Catching Reds is priceless.

Butch
wrote in message
roups.com...
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?



Why not use circle hooks? We have the same problem up here with rockfish (striped
bass) which love to swallow the bait. With a circle hook, the bait will pull out of
the stomach and the hook will catch in the corner of the mouth when the fish tries to
turn away from the line.

Circle hooks take some patience, but they're very effective at leaving the fish alive
upon release. Gut hooked fish have a low survival rate, whether or not the hook and
leader are left in.

--
John H.

"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Rene Descartes

Sending the wrong message
 

Am gonna haveta get a copy of the fishin regs. She is now so excited I
promised we'd fish instead of sail next weekend.