# trout opening day (northwest Branch) & Possible Poaching



## fshermn4ever (Mar 26, 2011)

went trout fishing at northwest branch in college park today. 3 of us went and only pulled out 1 fish. we only saw 4 other fish come out of the water. have been fishing here many years and have never not caught fish. the conditions although cold were very good. 

While fishing there a saw a man come up to the stream with a back pack on and he pulled out a spool of line and started winging it into the water basically hand lining. i would hate to think a person that would do this probably doesn't have a license and might have been doing this during the closure period.

I heard through out the day from a few people that people were going up to the stream and poaching fish during the closure period. I have heard that people are netting fish out of the water as well as fishing during the closure period. has anyone heard of this?


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## tonymac (Feb 4, 2011)

it's every stream and creek....people get mad at me when i bring it to attentoin on here....but get us to it...sorry buddy.. for the disappointment!!


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## kevin crowley (Mar 8, 2011)

Saw a guy caught fishing Saturday mourning with no trout stamp at MLK pond. MNCPP officer let him go and let him keep his fish. Imagine that.


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## Lee.MD (Apr 10, 2010)

Yeah, I saw folks using bow and arrow for trout few years ago. Then to top it off, someone was using a net at wilde lake in Columbia, MD for crappies on a kayak.


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## scavengerj (Sep 10, 2007)

When it comes to slimers (stockies) I really don't care who catches them, how they are caught, or how many people take. Those fish usually won't hold-over and are nothing but put-and-take fish to me. They should just stock year round and have the season open all year on certain lakes/streams. Most places those fish are stocked will never produce a quality fishery which is why they have to be stocked. I think about the thousands of trout that get stocked in some places year after year and yet never hear of a consistant or quality fishery being created. Sure, one might hear or catch a fish over a couple of pounds every once in awhile, but nothing I would consider quality or self-sustaining.

If fishing a stream that supports naturally reproducing and self-sustaining fish then I agree with limits and regs, but slimers...forget it.

I don't condone nor pratice poaching or that type of fishing, but if someone really wants or needs fish that bad, especially those hatchery fish, then let them have them.
I just don't see what all the fuss is about with slimers. I've watched people get into fist fights over those things LoL
Although they do make good pike and musky bait.


DMS #525
AMSA #1102
OBPA


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## shadyfisher85 (Mar 17, 2010)

Scavengerj,
I think that regs over put and take trout fishing are not in place for conservation of a resource, they are in place so that everyone gets a fair shot at catching the fish that are being provided. 

Also, they do in fact stock many of the lakes and ponds in Maryland throughout the year without closure.


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## BigJeff823 (Oct 14, 2002)

It sucks that people do this stuff;I dont blame tonymac for being angry;this might tick me off too.People netting Crappie,Handlining Trout,Keeping Trout without a stamp.They ruin it for the rest of us that use our hard erned money to go fishing;IN HOPES OF ACTULLY CATCHING FISH


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## zam (Jun 16, 2004)

It is crazy the way DNR lets people go for poaching. I've seen it so many times where someone would just play dumb when they are caught and they don't even get a ticket..one day I was at SPSP and a dnr guy was asking for fishing licences, one of the fishermen didn't have any so DNR told him must must stop fishing and he refused to. 15 minutes later the dnr guy came back and told him to either quit fishing or he would be arrested, the guy started screaming in his face "arrest me then! I aint stoppin!" the dnr guy walked away again..I couldn't beleive it


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## Mark2448 (Mar 1, 2011)

kevin crowley said:


> Saw a guy caught fishing Saturday mourning with no trout stamp at MLK pond. MNCPP officer let him go and let him keep his fish. Imagine that.


Wow thats crazy Kevin that he just let him go like that. Up here in PA if you had no stamp it a big fine.


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## tonymac (Feb 4, 2011)

everybody got there favorites...and sometimes its a personal judgement...IT'S ALL CRAP...IF IT WAS YU OR ME ...HE'LL SLAP YU WIT A FAT FINE...


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## BigJeff823 (Oct 14, 2002)

I wonder if its worth getting into a fistfight if you see a guy keep an illegal fish;thats what we might have to do if DNR dosent step in?


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## TRIGGERFISH (May 21, 2001)

I had just parked my truck and got out and saw this guy coming up from the stream with a limit of trout ( nice ones ) and put them in his cooler and took off but 15 minutes later he was back fishing for more,( he must live close by and dropped them off and came back ) he limited out again and drove off but then came back again. There were others there and did call for a game warden but no one showed up. They did get pictures of this guy and the times and date that he was poaching. I didn't see him this time I was there but I did catch my limit last Saturday before 6:30 am.
Last year I caught some people netting trout in a stream and called the MD. state troopers and with in 15 minutes there was a cruiser at my location, writting them a ticket and taking all of their equipment and trout.


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## calverttroutman (Apr 22, 2011)

Maryland DNR officers are pansies.


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## calverttroutman (Apr 22, 2011)

I once saw a guy at Melwood Pond get caught by MNCPPC Park Police with about 20 trout in his bucket. The officer was only there because another fisherman complained about the violator catching so many fish. The violator told the park police that he was catching them for "a fish fry," and the officer let him keep fishing and did not cite him and let him keep the fish. While DNR police is the agency most often thought of to enforce game laws, you would think any law enforcement agency, including MNCPPC park police, would enforce fish and game laws.


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## shelties1 (Aug 5, 2004)

calverttroutman said:


> I once saw a guy at Melwood Pond get caught by MNCPPC Park Police with about 20 trout in his bucket. The officer was only there because another fisherman complained about the violator catching so many fish. The violator told the park police that he was catching them for "a fish fry," and the officer let him keep fishing and did not cite him and let him keep the fish. While DNR police is the agency most often thought of to enforce game laws, you would think any law enforcement agency, including MNCPPC park police, would enforce fish and game laws.


I'm not surprised at someone keeping 20 fish at Melwood, but I *am* surprised DNR let him get away with it. I heard last year there someone got 40 fish out of there, and while DNR was called, they mistakenly thought it was for a 'no fishing license' violation, so the guy apparently didn't get his vehicle checked. 

I agree with shadyfish....the limits are so everyone gets a fair share. I work all week, thus only have weekends to get out there...many folks don't work, are there daily fishing after its stocked...and if they are catching over the limit, or taking 5 home and coming back, that adds up quickly. so add to that weekend rains and weather, and my chances have been even less to catch fish.


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