The guy never knew it was a steelhead, he beached it then gilled it and showed us the fish, then we said it was a steelhead, along with some other adults,
So what happens? Even if he agreed with you it was a steelhead, what's the guy to do after it's already dead?
Other than the fact he denied it (again after the fish is dead) what more could he have done.
If I'm not mistaken the only issue here is that he didn't Admit the species once it was already dead.
Rod: What does the regs say about this? If he honestly thought it was a spring upon killing it, then finds out it's a steelhead, what should he have done?
Interesting question weizen. All anglers have the responsibility to be able to identify their catch. If one kills a species that is not legally retainable - one commits an offence. Period. There's no excuse for not being able to identify one's catch. Particularly if we're talking about a steelhead vs. a spring. With respect to keeping or discarding the fish after the fact? I'm not sure whether the enforcement agency would be more forgiving if one were to discard the fish afterward, or whether it would be more lenient if one "turned himself/herself in".
From a practical sense, if one were to discard the fish - but got pulled over by the authorities afterward, would there be enough evidence to charge the angler? I suppose if other witnesses were willing to come forward and go to court to testify. Otherwise, there might not be much the authorities could do from that point onwards.
What I've heard is very disturbing - but unfortunately, not surprising. Good work, those of you, who attempted to help identify the fish for this angler. We should all keep the phone number of the authorities with us and report violations as soon as possible.
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Topic: sox on the fraser aug 18th (Read 4450 times)