Northwest Fishing Reports

Went to Kayak Point to watch the folks on the beach play with the Humpies. There was a large school only about 30 to 40 feet off the shore...weren't biting well but were jumping like mad. About 15 or more people fishing the school. A 21+ foot boat ran right onto the school (remember 30 to 40 feet off the beach?) and started casting. Folks on the beach asked NICE the first few times for them to back away. After a while they weren't asking so nice. I knew it was going to happen...a lady on the beach zings a cast and nails the boat. Guy in the boat cuts her line. He drifts down the beach a ways, next thing you know he guns the boat and runs thru the school not once but twice, swamping everyone on the beach while flipping everyone the bird. I had my kids down there...I was disgusted with the display from the guy on the boat AND some of the people on the beach.

People...there are many THOUSANDS of humpies out there! Have some courtesy and everyone will have an enjoyable time out there.

Fishermen also need to know that a LEAGALLY caught salmon is one that has been hooked in the mouth...NOT in the tail or back. Doesn't matter if it was accidental or not.

Sorry about the long post but I needed to vent a little.

I totaly understand what your saying people are not very considerate of others.The two things about your post that mad me mad and I wasn't even there was how the man on the boat acted in front of your of kids.That's so not cool.Secondly I agree with what your saying about legally caught fish.Year after year the number of snaggers is increasing.No need to apologize about venting better here than blowing up on that jerk in front of your kids.Just remember for every jerk out there on the water there is ten others that are not.

That wasn't about sportsmanship. That guy is a dangerous ________!!! Atleast no one was hurt....this time.

It is people like that who don't even deserve the right to fish. Just remember though, that there will always be jerks out there on the water somewhere. Frustrating, yes, but something I have run across numerous times in the past also.

I thought that harrasing someone in the process of legally fising was illegal. Seems like both sides are guilty of that.

fishnislife wrote:WOW! Sounds like that guy is a real winner. Probably to many beers in the sun. Sorry you had to witness that. I'll have to say that I probably would have been the first to cast a fat weight at his boat.


fishnislife

I'm glad you said it first.That was the first thing that went thru my mind,but I decided I would sound diplomatic.I would try to do the right thing but the hot head might of won out.What can I say I'm human.I thought about it.

i had a simular experience when i was about 14. was fishing under this bridge catching some really nice crappie when this guy in a boat decided to park in the middle under it because he couldn't get anything casting under it. there was several people also fishing the bridge and well after some heated talk between them and the boater he told them he wasn't moven, i kept casting close to his boat and kept bringing in crappie which seemed to piss him off all the more because he still wasn't catchen anything so he started to cast at my line and would snag it saying how i wouldn't be catchen any more while he was there. he soon departed quickly after a good meteor shower happened into his boat. the fishen was just as good the next day.

I have seen this type of behavior more and more these days on the water, and sometimes in camp grounds. I think it’s directly related their behavior in public and towards others. It seems like many these days are in a hurry and seem to care only about themselves and no one else. I have dealt with these types of people for 19 years, 40+ hours a week. Most of them don’t want to take responsibility for their actions. We stop and contact them and they are angry with us right of the bat. They are disrespectful towards us and usually make it easy for us to decide if voluntary compliance is a possibility. It’s rare to hear from a person we contact that they were wrong and sorry for their actions. Those folks by the way are more than deserving of a warning and I am happy to oblige. It’s seems that the majority of the public who argue or make excuses for their actions end up with a ticket or a trip to jail. Anyway, I believe that these people who treat others with disrespect, and are only looking out for number one, are the same people we are seeing on the water acting in the manor which you described. Unfortunately, there are not enough WDFW Officers to cover the area, just like there aren’t enough cops on the street to stop crime. It’s frustrating to say the least. I would love to see a law that takes away a person’s right to purchase a fishing/hunting license if they commit a crime such as disorderly conduct like the guy in front of Kayak Point did in his boat. Or folks that assault others or commit crimes against persons like theft, malicious mischief, or vandalism type crimes. I’m sure there are others we could add to that list. These are crimes where the suspect obviously doesn’t respect or care about the effect their actions will have on the victim and or his/her property. Taking away their ability to have a fishing/hunting license and or their ability to license their boats might limit the number of disrespectful people we are encountering on the water and in our woods. Just my opinion. Sorry to hear the kids had to see that. Sad! Also glad to hear no one was hurt. Good luck on the water.

Im just wondering, there is a law against fishing to close to shore right?

Hey Dave nice to hear from the enforcement side. I seem to see this type of behavior peak every odd year...humpie years (not to say it doesn't happen at other times). It's sad to see that people loose their minds like this.

Dave, if someone turns in the boat number what kind of trouble could this guy potentially get into and what realistically would happen.

Hey Gary, sorry it took me a week to reply back. Sometimes life is busy or so mine seems at times. As you know, boat numbers are like a car’s yearly tab. It links the boat or vehicle to the registered owner. So if someone turns in a boat number the officer can run that number through DOL and obtain the registered owner’s information. Receiving someone’s boat numbers or license plate number can be helpful under certain circumstances but here is the catch; RCW 10.31.100 which is the Misdemeanor Presence Rule, requires officers to witness certain crimes before they can make an arrest, so sometimes our hands are tied. In the case of the angry boater it sounds like he committed disorderly conduct which is; RCW 9A.84.030 Disorderly conduct. (1) A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if he: (a) Uses abusive language and thereby intentionally creates a risk of assault; there are three more actions to this law but they don’t apply here. Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor. In a nut shell, a person can not say or do something to another that could instigate an assault. Flipping off the folks on shore could be considered disorderly conduct. The other catch would be the victim’s ability to identify the person who did the act? It may not be likely. We get witnesses all the time who report a crime but can’t identify the suspect. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t arrest folks or cite them unless we are sure the person committed the crime or violation. There is sometimes another law that applies to a scenario. In section 5 of the misdemeanor presence rule it states an officer can arrest a person who commits a violation of RCW 79A.60.040 Operation of vessel in a reckless manner, aka reckless driving in a boat without being present. How? By taking the statements of witnesses who are willing to testify to what the person did. Physical evidence also helps. For example the angry boater’s action are caught on video. Or, a reckless driver hits something while driving or boating recklessly resulting in physical evidence which supports the witness’s testimony. Lastly, Fish and Wildlife may have other abilities I am not aware of. They might be able to take away the person’s boating privileges or suspend his ability or renew his boat tab but I’m not positive. You could surely call the mill Creek WDFW office and ask them. Sorry for the long explanation. I just wanted to give you as much info as I could. Bottom line is there are lots of jerks out there and their actions do directly affect our lives in a negative manner. For me, knowing this makes me try that much harder to be kind to others when ever I have the opportunity because I know how that can make someone’s day, which makes mine. Hope this helps. Be safe out there.

Thanks for the info Dave. Glad you're out there and watch out for the jerks and crazies.
On the flipside of the coin I've seen quite a few fishermen hand their poles over to kids when they've hooked a fish. I like to think there are more good folks out there than jerks.

Unfortunately fisheries like Pink Salmon and of course spring trout in stocked lakes bring out some knuckleheads who do some stupid stuff and ruin it for the rest of it...Sockeye is another great example...

Sam Kafelafish wrote:Unfortunately fisheries like Pink Salmon and of course spring trout in stocked lakes bring out some knuckleheads who do some stupid stuff and ruin it for the rest of it...Sockeye is another great example...

I agree. I'm a humble shore fisherman and while fishing a stocked lake some guys in a boat came and set right off shore where I was fishing. Out of the whole lake they had to come over to where I was trying to catch fish and he ended up getting his gear tangled in mine. Well, just then several other anglers who had seen this guy come over near shore when he had the whole darn lake to fish started giving 'em 'ell. "Cut his line! Cut his line!" "He's in a boat for cryin out loud" "Go out to the middle of the lake". So I quickly reeled in and let my clippers do the talking.
I was nice about it and didn't say much. I could have been the bigger man but I had to agree with the fellas down the bank. The guys in the boat should have the courtesy to yield to the bank stranded anglers. Of course it is not their fault some of us can't afford or justify the purchase of a boat, but we are more limited in our access. It would be nice to see cooperation and not competition.

But I guess we are preaching to to the choir since the jerk-types in those particular boats wouldn't take the time out of their self centered lives to participate in the type of community we have here on WL.

I'm glad guys like Sam, Derrick, Fishnislife, and others are around to balance the mojo and make this forum what it is.

Last time I was at the Kalama There was a man fishing in a boat who had his lin sticking up river. so I thought since I was already there that I would try that spot. So I walked about 10 yards down river of him leaveing him pleanty of room to spare and when I casted out he said, "you litiraly casted right over my line," So I said Your live is plunked upriver." and then he said, "It's my hole I was here first."

Of course that was the Kalama river in the spring king season, and it was packed with people but I was just fustrated by the fact that he thought he owned the river.

I know what your saying Derrick. I have been up to Kalama a few times myself and Have been pushed from spot to spot by unsportsman-like conduct. Literally people have gotten inches from drilling my boat, forcing me and my friends to move spots. I understand what you mean when you say they think they own the river, Its just something me and you will have to deal with because I dont think that people will ever change. All we can do is hope and pray.

Or get some Fish and Game support out on the water. I understand that theres already a few of them out there, but I think a few extra could make a difference. A little more enforcement can go a long way.

JayBoy wrote:I know what your saying Derrick. I have been up to Kalama a few times myself and Have been pushed from spot to spot by unsportsman-like conduct. Literally people have gotten inches from drilling my boat, forcing me and my friends to move spots. I understand what you mean when you say they think they own the river, Its just something me and you will have to deal with because I dont think that people will ever change. All we can do is hope and pray.

Or get some Fish and Game support out on the water. I understand that theres already a few of them out there, but I think a few extra could make a difference. A little more enforcement can go a long way.

Unfortunatly Kalama''s great hatcherie program attracts so many people that it can be combat fishing at its worst. But for the most part people where very nice, and willing to share the spot, Ipersonaly don't like the river just because once you get a spot you have to stay there because there are so many people on the river. Me and my ad ended fishing the upper river so we wouldn't have to compeat with all the boats.