I very rarely have a bad fishing outing. I can go out and get skunked and still have a good time, and getting blown off the water or ducking out of a
lightning storm is just part of the excitement. But tonight I had a bad trip.
I got up to the pond and noticed there were 8 guys fishing in a space about 20 yards wide. I didn't notice too much at first but as I fished around the pond I noticed that these guys had pulled in a couple very small--6 or 8 inch--bass but I didn't see them throw them back. I started watching a little closer and saw that these guys were chumming the water right in front of them and catching quite a few of these little bass. They would then land them and step on them to kill them, and one of the guys would carry the dead fish back to their truck so there was no way to tell how many they had.
Now this pond is owned by a neighborhood association and not the city. It's a catch & release only pond but it's not posted that way. I see quite a few people keeping fish here but usually they at least throw the little ones back. I watched these guys for about 15 more minutes from the other side of the pond and finally went over to talk to them. They all looked to be in their 20's and a few had the heavily tattooed knuckles, necks, and heads common with some of the ex-cons around Texas. I very politely told them the lake was catch & release, and that the water is so heavily treated that the fish are probably toxic anyway.
There was no big confrontation or anything, and I just left them to it. I fished part way around the pond again I noticed these guys were still doing it but if they saw me looking they'd just wouldn't land the fish until I looked away. Finally I just sat down and watched them until they quit and left. I saw them catch at least a dozen little bass and no telling how long they'd been there before I got there. I was just seriously pissed about the whole thing by the time I left. I have no problem with people catching and keeping fish where it's legal and the fish are a legal size, but something about watching these guys step on these little bass just set me off.
I got up to the pond and noticed there were 8 guys fishing in a space about 20 yards wide. I didn't notice too much at first but as I fished around the pond I noticed that these guys had pulled in a couple very small--6 or 8 inch--bass but I didn't see them throw them back. I started watching a little closer and saw that these guys were chumming the water right in front of them and catching quite a few of these little bass. They would then land them and step on them to kill them, and one of the guys would carry the dead fish back to their truck so there was no way to tell how many they had.
Now this pond is owned by a neighborhood association and not the city. It's a catch & release only pond but it's not posted that way. I see quite a few people keeping fish here but usually they at least throw the little ones back. I watched these guys for about 15 more minutes from the other side of the pond and finally went over to talk to them. They all looked to be in their 20's and a few had the heavily tattooed knuckles, necks, and heads common with some of the ex-cons around Texas. I very politely told them the lake was catch & release, and that the water is so heavily treated that the fish are probably toxic anyway.
There was no big confrontation or anything, and I just left them to it. I fished part way around the pond again I noticed these guys were still doing it but if they saw me looking they'd just wouldn't land the fish until I looked away. Finally I just sat down and watched them until they quit and left. I saw them catch at least a dozen little bass and no telling how long they'd been there before I got there. I was just seriously pissed about the whole thing by the time I left. I have no problem with people catching and keeping fish where it's legal and the fish are a legal size, but something about watching these guys step on these little bass just set me off.
I'll tell my pose/crew to back down on the dink patrols.
