meatface Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 So I went down to 16 mile creek again this morning. Only this time when I pulled up there was a couple other cars there already. I had a funny feeling so I took pictures of license plates before I ventured down. As I typically do I'll say hello to the other fishermen and try to strike up idle chit chat to see if they are having any luck. They seemed stand-offish and there were about 6 of them. So I had a look around and to my dismay there was a large carp (in their fishing zone) on the bank behind them. I would estimate it was in the 20lb range. It was fresh but not breathing. I thought, well maybe they were going to take it with them. I went on my way and dropped a line in. The only thing I caught was a big old snapping turtle which thankfully broke free before I got him to waters edge. Before these other lugans left I could hear them smacking something against a tree. It looked like they were cleaning their net. WRONG. A little while later when they were gone and I had packed up and cleaned up a garbage bags worth of trash I went over to investigate. I found the carp they left behind moved to the water along with another large carp. Then I found another fresh dead bullhead and on that was still breathing. It was barely alive and all bruised underneath, I think this is what they were hitting against the tree. I managed to get it breathing better in the water but I am doubtful that it will make it. Looks like it may have internal damage Either way I passed the info along to the MNR and they added it to the file. Hopefully these bastards end up with some substantial fines. I would have loved to confront them but with 6 of them and it being 6:15 am with no one around I thought it would be unwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 ya probably not the best to confront them since you were alone.. this is disgusting.. i dont get these guys... good job you reported them and got their plates this time.. hopefully MNR will be checking this place out more often.. did you get pictures of these people? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AwolRJ Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 That is pathetic what they are doing! They say these sickos start out torrturing and killing animals and move up to people, maybe you can get these scum locked up before they get that far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccerjets Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 This is horrible!!! These idiots are as bad as poachers. Good on you to try and help the catfish. I hope the little bugger makes it...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horrorshowrot Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Dear god. That is absolutely disgusting some people really need help. Like what purpose does this serve then for them to get there "jollys" off bloody disgusting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toaster Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 was it kids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickyy33 Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 Good on you, hope its them and I hope they get nailed!! just sickening Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snags Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 I would be really surprised if the MNR acts ... It isn't game fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horrorshowrot Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 I have a feeling they wouldnt act on te carp because as "people" are concerned they are a garbage fish or invasive species but bullhead I believe is a game fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry b Posted July 23, 2012 Report Share Posted July 23, 2012 What kind of vehicle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest live2fish85 Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Bullheads are not gamefish Channel Cats are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatface Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters lists brown bullhead, channel cat and carp as gamefish. https://www.shopofah.org/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBR212 Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Really glad to see that some action was taken and there is lead as to who these people are since i enjoy fishing that spot. Hopefully the MNR uses the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 See what the mnr does about this first . If nothing happens , post a picture of their vehicle here (ask Cliff) . Then , I would use other media to spread the word , like twitter , facebook & even consider newspapers to show there are ethical fishermen who report the poachers & clean up garbage left by both anglers & other slobs who are missing a good part of their brain. Good on ya meatface for doing what you can to help catch these perps . I hope the mnr will investigate & prosecute . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatface Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 I did get a call from the conservation officer and he was headed down there. As I don't have direct evidence that could convict them it is doubtful that charges will be laid. He did assure me that he would be calling them and quite possibly paying them a visit to let them know that intentionally destroying wildlife is a criminal offence and that he is monitoring them and the location. Odds are that alone will put the fear of god in them. It certainly won't fix what has happened, but it will hopefully correct future behaviour. The sad part about our conversation was when he told me how he was the only officer covering his area. And his area extended from Niagara up through Hamilton and Haldimand regions. No wonder you never see a CO, they are non-existent. He does what he can for being a one man show and fortunately he said they are adding another CO to the area Meatface Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatface Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Another option for regaining spots like this that are frequented by a bunch of jackasses is to hit the spots at popular times with a large group of us and make them feel uncomfortable being there. Show up there and clean up around them while they are there, have obvious loud conversations about unethical fishermen, and just keep pressure on them. My experience with people like this is that they don't like to be noticed. Shine a light on them long enough and they will just kind of go away. Word will get around and the undesirables will slowly melt away. In my mind it would be nice for this area to be part of the park and have a proper walkway under the bridge. This alone would bring constant exposure to that side of the pond. It would be real nice to reclaim this area. Maybe I should organize some meetups there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smerchly Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Chances are these abusers of our wildlife and fisheries don't have a license to fish ....hope the mnr checks that out . If we get another mnr guy it makes it better for us to call the tips line asap when we see the poachers abusing our resources. Thanks meatface ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammercarp Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Thanks meatface . Wow those guys are real men eh. They sure put a beatin on that bullhead. Proves what tough guys they are. What a bunch of losers, cowards and morons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass2mouth Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Let's get 6 boys out there and have a taking too.... I'm in! Fish can't defend themselves but we can! This is horrific act of senseless violence that doesnt have to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFishBass Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Unreal... good on you for getting the info and passing it on ! If careing fishermen frequent these areas then the problem will eventually go away. These jack@sses need to be exposed ! Karma is a b!tch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry b Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Good on you man.My dad used to take me there as a kid and it's whereI learned to fish.Thanks for helping protect it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakfish Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 meatface, what you are trying to do is admirable but... you don't have any proof that these men actually comitted any of the acts you think they did. You said when you arived you had a "funny feeling'' so you took a pic of their license plate. Seems to me you where looing to find a problem before you even showed up and when you are looking for something you can usually find it. You didn't see them catch the fish, you didn't see them abuse the fish so you really don't know that they were the ones responsible. It is possible that they are, but the point is that you don't know and you don't have any proof. I am a law abiding fisherman like I sure we all are on the forum, but frankly I wouldn't want to be fishing near you if by chance there is a dead fish near me that you assumed I tortured, then blamed me for something I didn't do and then reported me as a poacher. We all need to be carefull about passing judgement on something we didn't witness. Get all the fact before contacting the MNR. The MNR is already stretched thin and by calling them and reporting "poachers" without solid proof is just wasting their valuable time. I love to catch carp bit the fact remains that they are an invasive species. I don't believe they are detrimental to the fishery but they are not native to North America. Throwing a Carp up on the bank after catching it may seem unethical to some but I don't believe its illegal. And in reallity that fish is not wasted, some other animal will get the benefit of eating it. As a fisherman I don't like to see stuff like that when I am out fishing. Of course the more fish that are thrown on the bank equals less fish for me to catch. But I don't feel that I have much room to complain about this kind of thing. I use worms for bait as I am sure most of you all do. How is threading a worm on a hook more ethical than throwing a fish up on a bank and letting it die. Or hooking a minnow and letting it swim around with a hook sticking out of its back, or hooking a live frog throw its head. They are all animals/fish and are really no better than the next. When we are talking about an animals live why is a nightcrawlers live less valuable than a 20 pound carp? Just something to think about before jumping to conclusions. So if you see someone do something illegal and you have solid proof of what they did then good for you in calling the MNR and reporting them. But don't waste the MNR's time with your assumptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatface Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Yakfish I'm not sure how long you believe fish stay alive and breathing in the heatwave that we have been having, but I'm fairly confident that it isn't all that long. When there are fish still breathing on the bank and I have been sitting there with these guys for 2 hours and the fish was not there when I showed up it doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to put it together. If I was way off base then the CO would have told me when he called me back. And he did tell me that we don't have enough to work with as far as laying charges, but he was very happy that I called in because the vast majority of people don't. Maybe you missed my first post on this issue, but it wasn't really so much about the carp as the 17 catfish in total that I have found in this area. And my second call to the MNR was about the fish, the license plate was additional information that may mean nothing and they know that. I don't have all day to sit on the computer and explain in every detail every single thing that I saw that prompted me to feel like it was worth the call, but there was plenty. I'm sorry to know that you would let something like this continue, but I find that the biggest reason these things do is because too many of us sit on our hands. If I'm wrong it's only a call by the CO. If I'm right I may be stopping future issues. There is alot of truth to the saying, "evil flourishes when good men do nothing". When I went to this same spot last week and found the 15 dead catfish I made a mental note that if I ever came upon someone there again that I would get plate numbers just in case there was another violation. So when I went down and saw the carp I went back up the bank to get plate numbers. At that time there was one carp and no catfish. After they left there were 2 carp and 2 catfish. Maybe some do consider carp as invasive, but the MNR guidlines do not list them that way and do not tell you to destroy them the way they do gobies. And after talking to the MNR it is illegal to destroy any fish other than the invasive species that they list. Just because one does not like carp does not mean they can destroy them on everyone. And the carp is not the real issue, it's the ethics. If they are willing to do this to carp, bullhead and channel cats, then are they willing to do it to the species that others may deem more desireable. Slice it any way you like, it's wrong. Plain and simple. And as far as me passing judgement on these guys, it's not far off from you passing judgement on me. You weren't there, you didn't experience what I did, and thank god you didn't, because I wouldn't want to share the bank with someone that would sit on their hands with something like this. Meatface Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry b Posted July 24, 2012 Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 Well said Meatface!and good goin! How did you end up with the name Meatface? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meatface Posted July 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2012 When I got my first computer me and some buddies were having a few beers and playing cards. At the same time we were checking out a site called rotten.com There are some pretty gross pictures on there and there was one of a guy who had a motorcycle accident and the poor guys face looked like raw meat, hence 'meatface'. Being half snapped we all thought it was hilarious (which it really wasn't) but I thought it would be a great online name and it stuck. Now I've got so many accounts with that name that it's just what I use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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