Exactly! Well said! People are so righteous behind the keyboard. I guess no-one ever drove home after one too many beers either. Or you never saw someone too drunk to drive and stopped them.

It is illegal, and it's not my place to say what was done was wrong or not. He made a judgement call, and now some are just pounding away at him. Unbelieveable! Well, not really, I see it all the time on public forums.

If you felt like it was what you needed to do, go for it. My $.02 is not to throw it out here to get a pat on the back. For example, I don't stand up in church and announce that I left more in the tithe than the guy next to me, just so I get looked upon better than the guy next to me. Just report it, and know you did what you thought was right, tell your son the "ins and outs" of the laws, and be done with it. You just open yourself to ridicule this way.

My $.02, spend it wisely.

well let me add to this. This isn't the first time I have seen him fishing there. The morning in question I saw him throw a couple back when He noticed I was looking. So when I saw the small fish DAMN STRAIT I am gonna call the law.


I took lunch today at a local "river" I wanted to see how the water was flowing. I watched as a guy popped the curb in the mud and drove back to the water. After a couple minutes I was interested to see if he was catching anything, so I wandered down to were the truck was. He was dumping the bed of his truck onto the bank of the river. It was a load of broken down fence pickets.

Now you know what I did, I called 311 and "snitched" on the illegal dumping.

Now lets see how many people say I am wrong for that too.

I have never tried to stretch a fish, I have however WISHED they were larger, as they swam away.

I DID WHAT WAS RIGHT AND IF YOU DON'T THINK SO, THEN I GUESS YOU BETTER START SEEING WHO IS AROUND YOU WHEN YOUR FISHING AND SEE IF THEY EVER GET ON HERE, AND IF THEY DO TRY TO REMEMBER WHO WILL SNITCH AND WHO WON'T!!!

5. We promote a friendly atmosphere for anglers to exchange ideas. Differences of opinions are welcome and are an important part of this format. We do not, however, tolerate those that try to start an argument with every post. If you are looking to agitate people, simply to get a response, or if you are a troller, this is not the place for you. Warnings are issued, and if the behavior continues, administrators will revoke posting privileges.

well , ive read all the reply's so far and yes the guy broke the law. i do wonder why the guy who spotted the illegal fish didnt talk to the guy who kept the illegal fish , explained to him the reason and importance of the law and attempt to persuade him to put the fish back in the water. it seems he could have give the guy a chance to do the right thing instead of calling the law . maybe the illegal fisherman could have been rehabilitated right there at the lake and it would have been more effective than paying a fine . if faced with this situation in the future, i believe that ill have the courage to attempt lake rehab first, if the guy doesnt seem receptive, then ill call the law, but id give him a chance first. ive never kept any illegal fish, and maybe the reason i feel this way is because in other areas of my life, ive been give a second chance. just food for thought.

Why?... he's just making structure for crappie fishing. Mark that spot with your GPS and come back in a month.

as far as lake rehab the fish werent being kept in the water they were in a plastic bag with no water that equals dead fish!!!!



SORRY IF I OFFENDED ANY BODY, JUST DONT GET PEOPLE ON HERE.

Most of everyone here agrees with what "northtexascrappiehunter" did and the people who are against him probably have been ticketed or have "stretched" undersized fish.

Don't let this kid get to you. He is just trying to push your buttons. Let's just move on and fish ... legally. Let the GW take care of him.

your right,

I let him get to me. I just don't how some people can just automatically be so rude.

snowy Im sorry I shouldn't have posted the last one.

But you are really getting on my nerves!!!

Hmmm...let's see, reasons not to approach someone who's breaking the law, knows they are, and hides the fact.

1.) Fishermen need some way to cut line/fish...dude's probably got a knife.
2.) It's 4am in a possibly secluded place. Likely low lighting.
3.) Does he have a gun? He might, he might not. Do you? If he drew, would you be able to see it in the dim lighting and draw and shoot yours (IF you have one) before he shoots you?
4.) Is he a violent person? Maybe, maybe not.
5.) Getting on someone for being a lawbreaker...they might decide to take whatever measures they feel are necessary so they can keep doing what they're doing.

Personally, I'd rather approach a spotlighter...at least then I KNOW what I'd be getting myself into.

IMO...if someone breaks a bag/size limit or other rule, make sure they know they're doing wrong and let them know you'll report them. If they give indications that they KNOW they're doing wrong (like lying about what they've got, saying "no keepers" thus indicating they know there's a legal size), then hiding the fish after you've seen them...they deserve zero mercy. Give the GW a call and let him handle the situation.

northtexascrappiehunter, just take it in stride. I've said it a thousand times, people are unbelievable when sitting behind a keyboard starving for attention. When snowyriver2 got the first glimpse of support or attention to his posting, he just kept raising the bar. I'd guess that 98% of the posting that is the same nature as snowyriver2, they are either A) kids who have a bedtime and a parental block on their PC, incapable of actually constructing a mature post, or B) an idiot who has self-esteem issues so they lash out at every opportunity.

Either way, don't let them really get under your skin.

I've had my share of them, recently as a matter of fact, and I'll go back and forth with 'em for a bit, it's SO easy to just let them make idiots of themselves.

Like I said before, it's not my place, and anyone's on here for the real fact, to say what you did was wrong or right. And from what I read in your post, you never asked if it was wrong or right. You mereley shared your story. Just take this thread as a "lesson" for lack of better words. When you post something regarding politics or the law and judgement calls regarding the law, you most likely will attract the forum rats, as they obviously don't have anything constructive to say.

Catfish_Hunter is dead on. Don't approach anyone, it's not your place to step in that way. IMO, you did the right thing, and did it the right way. As you stated, you saw him there more than once, and he obviously knows about size limits, or he would have not thought about putting a tacklebox on top of the fish.

GW and police officers are trained for this type of stuff, and you had your son with you. Anyone who would approach a law breaker, ESPECIALLY with there child with them is just making bad decisions from the get go. But based on the intellectual content of snowyriver2 posts, he might just be the type to put everyone around him in jeopardy.

Hell, you did more than I would have by apologizing, I'd have left it at what you said, and if you really wanted to apologize, maybe to the people who are having to read this issue snowyriver2 has created.

if i saw you keeping undersized fish id call the law too.



there's a difference between doing whats right and taking matters into your own hands

thank you Nitro

I have a question for you? If you were catching nice crappie and fowl hooked a 2 1/2 lb'er in the tail would you turn it back, or keep it? Just thought I'd throw this at you, I'm curious!

from tpwd website:

Pole and Line:
A line with hook, attached to a pole (includes rod and reel)

* May be used to take GAME AND NONGAME fish.
* It is unlawful to take or attempt to take fish with one or more hooks attached to a line or artificial lure used in a manner to foul-hook a fish (snagging or jerking). A fish is foul-hooked when caught by a hook in an area other than the fish's mouth.


I understand this as you can't keep it, you can take a pic of it but it HAS TO BE RELEAED.....................into the water not grease.