Well, today I decided to try a small urban pond near my house to see if I could put any lmb on the end of my line and was pretty rudely interupted. I hadn't made more than 3 or 4 casts with my drop shot rig and some middle aged man and his wife come up and start talking to me about how it was illegal to fish the pond. Now while it is posted no fishing which I'll admit to, the lake is not on private land, it is in the middle of a city park, so what business did this guy and his lady friend have talking down to a fifteen year old kid about fishing it. The discussion between us basically went like this:

Guy: Can you read?
Me: Yes.
Guy: Read that sign over there.
Me: I'm perfectly aware.
Guy: Oh really. Well how long do you plan on doing this for.
Me: Until I'm ready to leave. (not smart alecy in any way)
Guy: Oh really.
Me: Yes.
Lady Friend: Do you have your cell phone honey? We should call the police.
Me: (as couple walks away) You know, I could be out selling or doing drugs, conducting gang activity, or other stuff like that, but you want to call the cops on me for fishing? It really shows you what kind of state our society is in today.
Guy: You wanna go swimming in that lake too?!?!?
Me: Why? So I can call the cops on you for beating up a minor. Real smart.
Guy: Whatever it takes buddy... (walks away)

To tell the truth I feel like I handled myself pretty well. I've never said any thing to any one who said they were going to get the law on me for the hanus crime of fishing, but today it just set something off inside of me. In fact, alot of people I've talked to about fishing this pond are super nice cool people that have a right on sort of attitude about it. Show em that the youth is smarter than they think, that's all it takes.

Sorry for rambling on guys, just wanted to blow off some steam. Any opinion welcome.

Jake

Well, I'm about 50 years older than you are but I'd take your side in this:-) . Some people(both young and 'old') can't mind their own business. I thought your come-back about what you could be doing other than 'just fishing' was great!

Dan

"Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less"

Deo Vindice

I,ve had the same thing happen to me as a adult ,its just when your older you make the offer to throw the guy and his wife in the lake instead of you.just kidding(sorta)..you did the right thing and said it the right way.If you ever have the cops called on you for fishing .stick around the cops will probbably side with you anyhow.after all its only fishing.
brian

I also am much older than you and would like to say you did the right thing. Who in the heck knows why some small ponds and lakes are posted (No Fishing) and it sure has nothing to do with those people what so ever!

Which way to the lake, pond, creek, mudpuddle, whatever!

Yeah I understand about the people not minding their own business no matter what age. I didn't mean to point out the fact that the guy was old, just that he was older than me. I think this one might be posted no fishing because the city has to keep a certain amount of fish in a pond depending on its size to keep algae and mosquitoes and other stuff like that under control. This usually means carp and bluegill, which this little escape has, and people keep these fish to eat. In fact, I've seen people keep them out of the pond. I think it has something to do with the city not wanting people to take out the "clean up fish."

Jake

Short of fishing golf courses and the like, the No Fishing signs are many times posted to reduce liability to whomever owns the land the body of water is sitting on. I fish an area locally that also has No fishing signs posted but after talking with the management on the matter, it's to prevent them from being liable for any/all accidents that may occur on or around that particular body of water. It probably depends on the specific area. My two cents worth. Want change?

I am also about 50 years older and personally I think the guy should have spanked your bare botton until you cried for mercy, thrown you into the pond AND called Cal-Tip on you.

Your parents obviously didn't teach you to respect the rights of others and you haven't yet grasped the concept of how society works. The whole reason we need laws is because people like you think you should be able to do whatever you want without earning the right first.

Please post your address, as I feel like robbing and stealing from someone else rather than work - and it's certainly better than doing drugs and gang activity.

Please visit a prison, with you attitude that is very likely where you'll be living when you become an adult.

It's also pretty funny that the same law you expect to ignore your illeagle fishing, you expect to protect the guy from throwing you in the pond.

Please give this some thought and remember - I just might be the 'old' guy on the bank the next time.

Fuzzy

OK, so I guess you're not really getting the resaon I was a little irked when the guy started talking that way to me. The truth is, I wasn't doing ANYTHING to hurt ANYONE, I was just FISHING. Stealing from me or whoever else along with what I mentioned to the guy still is hurting others. That's what needs enforcement. Not trying to shut down the one thing a kid likes to do that doesn't do anything to society, good or bad. And I'm not expecting the law to ignore me. I expect people who aren't the law to. Not only that, but I bet if I told you or that guy I fish Federation Junior tournaments, you'd be all stoked on it. But as soon as I want to fish some park and it has nothing to do with you other than the fact that you think you're a cop, you want to go a-wall. Whatever.

Jake

Sorry to be on your case Jake, but you still don't seem to be getting it.

The laws are set by everyone, the cops are there to assist with the enforcement of those laws. You say you're not doing anything to hurt anyone and doing nothing to society. What about the person (entity, whatever) that owns the pond and doesn't want you fishing there. AND you are breaking the law!!! A poacher is a poacher, a poacher is a cheat, and no, I'm not so thrilled that you fish Jr. Tournaments if you're a poacher.

I would like to know where you draw the line. Do you sneak in and fish the hatcheries, do you fish without a licence, do you fish out of season, do you keep overlimits, do you ever call CAl-TIP (it's to assist Fish and Game catch poachers).

It's attitudes like yours that get more places posted "No Fishing" and actions like yours that get them fenced and guarded.

PLEASE, PLEASE fish only where it is legal to so. Doing what you do only gives all fisherpeople a bad name and really hurts the sport. IT HURTS EVERYONE!!! We're currently having to fight for our right just to keep fishing, we don't need to make others mad at us.

If you really want to fish that pond I suggest you contact the owners. Find out why they posted it (maybe it's radioactive, or quicksand, who knows what?). Explain to them how good it would be if you and others could fish it, that you'll keep it clean, alert them to problems, etc. etc. and perhaps you can get them to change their mind. Then all of us will have another place to relax and enjoy our sport and the old guys won't be asking you if you can read.

Everone has to make up their own mind on this issue. I personally feel that what you are doing REALLY HURTS THE SPORT.

Old and Cranky,

Fuzzy

Fuzzy you have lost it. Tell me as a kid you never skirted the law a little. The point is, it is no ones business but the authorities and the landlord. Your solution to the problem is the problem.

Which way to the lake, pond, creek, mudpuddle, whatever!

Fuzzy, What the hell are you talking about!? At 15 it's kind of hard to get around and go fishing when you don't have a license to go drive to the lake. Sometimes these little urban ponds are the only thing that offer our youth a place to wet a line. AND don't even compare a fishing violation with a threat of bodily harm. A fishing violation like that is a misdemeanor, a threat of bodily harm to a minor is a felony! I cannot see how you can compare a fishing violation with bodily harm to another person!? Calico was just merely venting about how he was rudley approached. I'm sure if this so called gentleman approached Calico more diplomatically, he would have gladly complied.

fuzzy: You are giving us older(more mature?) folk a bad name here. If those two people were the owners of that property, that would be a different situation and I'll bet, Calico would have responded in a polite fashion and moved on. Don't be so quick to put down a younger person as Bassin' needs them.

Dan

"Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less"

Deo Vindice

Please explain to me what gives anyone the right to break any law "because it's fun"? Or "better than breaking another one"??

Also, now we have an older couple that thinks less or our youth and less of fishermen in general. How does that help us?

I believe you all need to take an ethics class. This falls somewhere under "do unto others".

And perhaps the older couple does own a piece of this pond as part of an owners association or something. Even if they don't, as a member of society they have every right, and perhaps even a duty, to assist with the enforcement of the rules!

The bottom line is Jake should try to change the rules. If he can't get the owners to change the rules, he should find somewhere else to fish. He has no right to fish there!!!!!

When I first read his post - I let it go. When he started getting so much support for breaking the law AND being an ass about it I felt I had to give a countering view. I realize he's young and needs to learn alot, I was trying to assist him in his future well being and educate him a little. I am a little surprised at the older people that fail to understand the concept of fair play, but hey being dumb isn't a felony either I guess.

I'll get off the soapbox and go away now. It's not much fun here anymore anyway. Have fun stealing from each other AND WATCH YOU BACKS!



Fuzzy

Yes its a rule not to fish there,but is it a law ? What kind of ticket would one recieve for fishing? just curious.I've never heard of anyone actually getting fined for this kind of fishing.and i doubt the members of this group steal from each other ,i have bought and sold in the classifieds here with out a problem yet.I think we all need to realize in every class, race ,AGE or whatever society has its jerks and decent people .I'm sure some/most people are cool to him at that pond and support him fishing there.this thread has kept me laughing tho' ,i'm honestly suprised swimbait hasnt stepped in and called it quits on all this bickering.
let get back to the fishing stuff,
tight lines,
Brian

i agree with Fuzzy, i think your parents should teach you kids a lesson in civility.

no fishing means no fishing. that guy was totally within his rights to question you. whether he gave you attitude or not is another story. the point is you weren't following the posted rule.

you should do what fuzzy suggested. contact the owner and see why there's no fishing allowed. i have found that if you ask, there is usually some reason that the owner has and you can tell him politely otherwise.

the chewing out you got is not the issue, it's your disrespect. i too did foolish things when i was you but i had to live with the consequences. you sound like those kids that went in and trashed the long beach aquarium. they were just having fun, they didn't hurt anybody, just killed some sharks and other fish..... yeah right. it was wrong. and you are wrong. if you were my kid, you'd grounded and taught a lesson.

you know, if dfg posted it and you got caught, you could have all your gear confiscated, and have to pay a fine. how's that for "we were only fishing".

your attitude is just the same as those who fish without licences, who poach, who catch over their limts.

our society is all screwed up with the attitude that i can do whatever i want as long as i don't get caught. bs, wrong it wrong, and you were wrong.

think of ways to do it proper, like the owner or someone in charge to fish.

Ok, I'm not anything like those kids at the Long Beach Aquarium first of all. I'm not destroying any property. I'm not breaking into anything. I don't kill anything that I catch in this pond. I think that catch and release has something to do with karma. So does anything else we do in life. If the guy wanted to be respected, he should have given me respect. Takes it to earn it. Whoever said something about sometimes these urban ponds are the only things you have to fish when you're a kid, they're right. I have nothing to fish besides this pond and a little put and take trout lake within a 40 minute drive, not to mention the fact that I don't have a drivers lisence and I have to reply on parents who don't fish too much for rides. And by the way, if we have an active police force shouldn't there be reasons for us to? No one even knows this lake has fish in it other than a select few, it has a cement walking path around the whole thing. I don't want anything bad for this sport, no wait wrong word, art. My dream is to be a professional fisherman. Why would I do any thing that would harm the reputation of fisherman? Most people already assume that most teenagers including myself are some punk kids out for trouble, so what difference does it make if I harm the reputation of kids?

you know what i'm 35 and i still fish a pond when i'm down in san diego from time to time.the waters died blue and yep theres pretty bass in there.yeppers its no fishing ,so i go at night.never once has anyone busted my chops about it,and a few times i was asked if theres even fish in there,and how many have i caught.people just need to mind there own business unless property is damaged,or people are hurt.anyone want to know the spot email me and i will tel you ,unless your one of the grouchy old codgers who may ruin it for the rest of us.:-) ;-)

I'm 23 and I've got at least 3 tickets in bodies of water where I wasn't allowed to fish during the ages of 16-20. One time a chopper circled me until east bay regional police picked me up. Never did take my gear. Each time the police officers were cool with me and asked me what I was catching them on. They told me they fishd it themselves. They even gave me a ride to my truck after giving me a ticket. As for the ticket, I'd go to court and get anywhere from 5-15 hours of community service.
I had my best fishing days at these places and I never did any harm to the areas I was fishing. Never kept a fish, never littered. People like fuzzy are anal about this because they don't have the b@lls to try it themselves. And anyways, The law does not come down on you for illegal fishing, it's a simple slap on the wrist. If it was that serious of a crime I'm sure the penalities would be much worse.
The way I look at it, there's a lot of horrible crap going on in this world right now, so worry about something different than where people are fishing.

In my early years (and still today) I fished several places where there was a sign that said "NO FISHING". I tnever stopped me and usually those are the best places to fish. I have had the police called on me, and every time I got off with a "warning" I guess you can call it. Most of the time when you are young older people (No offense for you older folks) think that you are up to no good. I was never told that it was a crime to fish where a sign was posted saying you couldn't. I'm sure I could have got a few trespassing tickets, but for the most part the cops are cool. So Lighten up and give the kid a break!

Do I still fish those places...hell yeah!!

I fully admit when i was younger i bent the law myself while fishing several times. Twice i got caught and recieved a slap on the wrist. I am not saying that you are a bad person or anyone agreeing with your actions is a bad person. In fact it is great that you are fishing instead of drugs or anyhting else I see teenagers do in my town. But the one thing that the fisherman in California need to remeber is that there are a lot of tree huggers in this state who would love to see fishing and hunting go away. What this means for us as fishermen is that we need to watch our actions a little closer to not give anyone a reason to do so.

>If the guy wanted to be respected, he should have given
>me respect. Takes it to earn it.

Kid is fishing under a "no fishing" sign.
Adult calls him out on it.
Kid gets all pissy and whines about it on website.
Kid earns my respect.

Now the question of the day is:
What KIND of respect did the kid earn?

Well, the sign didn't say: "kid can't fish". it just said "no fishing".
Kid rationalized every-which-way to justify his fishing when "no fishing" is posted.

Judges hear this stuff ALL THE TIME....just before the gavel comes down at time of sentancing.

With that said:
Did you catch anything worth taking a picture of? :)

Hey Fuzzy...you never answered the question. Do you really want us to believe when you were a teenager you NEVER ONCE fished on water that wasn't "legal"? You never sneaked out on a lake at night after it was closed? You never climbed a fence to catch some bass on a golf course after hours? Not one time did you ever fish a country pond without permission?
I'm a "cranky old guy" too, but I'm not some self-righteous guy who wants to portray myself as someone who NEVER broke a rule as a kid. I'm not proud of the fact that I did and I hope this young man never causes himself legal problems for fishing on closed waters, but to say the other guy should have put his hands on a teenager is absolutely inane. If you really are in law enforcement (and I'm not counting mall security) you should be more worried about how you are portraying your profession and worry less about how some teenager is giving all fishermen a bad name by fishing in a marked pond.
Absolutely ridiculous.

Can we give this thread a rest already????????

Some guys think poaching is OK, some guys don't. If either side has a problem while out there in the real world, by all means call the police and get it resolved. The number is easy to remember, its 911.

Arguing it out here any further isn't going to resolve anything so lets move on to the next topic.

I know I'm late to the topic, but I can't read Fuzzy's comments and not respond. Are you telling me Fuzzy that you have never driven 1 mph over 55? Or rolled a stop sign? Do you change lanes only after you have been signaling for exactly 2 seconds and turn on you r blinker approximately 100ft befor the turn every single time? You my friend have broken the law. What's your excuse?

Please read my post above

This is a dead horse, please stop beating it.

Geez, what a waste of bandwidth this has become :( Everybody, deep breath, think happy thoughts :+

Your parents raised you like a true American, always question authority.

Fuzzy uses fuzzy logic.

For example in our past it was against the law for a black person to marry a white person. If Fuzzy were alive back then he would have told you to obey that law because without laws our society would fall apart. He would have been wrong as he is wrong about this.

In china today it is "against the law" to practice christianity. If Fuzzy lived there he would provide the same argument for this law as he does with the no fishing sign.

You should be ticked off and that man who bothered you should get a freakin life, instead of acting like a taliban.

Fish all day
Read about fishing and type reports at night

fuzzy your just a waste of life

I think we should all drop this subject,lets get back to the topic of fishing! :D anyone fish lately ? i fished last weekend at lopez for 2 bass on spinnerbaits and one crazy trout that attacked my jerkbait,the hook barely could fit in his mouth.fish must have been seroiusly hungry/or suicidal .:9

Drop the subject.... What, are you kidding!!!? This is some of the greatest group therapy I have seen in a long time. I can understand and agree with points from both sides of this discussion. Everyone compromises their ethical values at some point. What we have here are two polar opposites in this thread. Do you come to a complete stop at a stop sign? Do you go 5mph over the speed limit on the freeway? Do you leave work a couple minutes early when you are still "on the clock?" Where do you fall on the scale of ethics? Fuzzy and Jake are probably two great individuals, but are expressing two very different views based on their ethical values at this time in their lives. Can they both be right? I say YES.

What have I learned today: Say no to drugs, keep on fishing, respect your elders, and try to make good common sense decisions.

Thanks for the good reading everyone who posted on this thread. I finally get some use out of that ethics course I took. SWEEEET!

Terry G.

well la di da i'm some hippi who does not like fisherman. some people have to many isssues

I'm getting old myself but probably have fished this same pond that calico is talking about. There is also a sign there that reads "don't feed the ducks" and you know what every mommy with their little kiddies is tossing their crispy french bread at the little duckies and no one says a damn thing. But throw a jerkbait in the water and you have committed the ultimate sin. I have lived in the state of new york, and illinois and they welcome fisherman with open arms. Many lakes don't close at all. It's the crackheads and lawyers of the state that have seen the need for more laws, more this more that. While I do see the need for some regulation I have never been questioned by authorities until I started fishing. Back in the day it was skateboarding, Bass fishing is not a crime }(