Deadline stumper question...

[bigfootfish]

Here's a stumper. Let's say you are fishing just below a deadline. You hook a huge chinook that takes off upstream and after 30 minutes you cannot turn the beast back downriver towards you.
Now if you go upstream past the deadline and land the fish above the deadline, are you in violation? The REGS say no fishing within 200 feet(for example). You hooked the fish below the deadline but landed it above the deadline. When the REGS say no fishing does it mean NO ATTEMPTING TO GET A FISH TO BITE in that specific area? If so then is fighting the fish you hooked legally inside the deadline considered fishing? Or would it be considered attempting to land the fish? I look forward to everyone's opinions. Thanks!

BFF

 

[fishtales]

What is getting accomplish here? If a hooked fish goes in to the No fishing zone while a trooper is watching I would think ticket time.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I would think you would have to hook it and land it outside the deadline no matter what. I wouldn't step one foot over while that fish is on.

 

[bigfootfish]

Good dialog already...

Good dialog already...

What is getting accomplish here? If a hooked fish goes in to the No fishing zone while a trooper is watching I would think ticket time.

Accomplished? If you have to ask then....never mind.:lol:

BFF

 

[abibibo]

We must think alike ... I wondered the same thing recently when fishing just below the deadline at Leaburg dam. My guess is if you ask then its a violation but if it just happens it would probably depend on if the warden saw the whole thing or not. For ODFW to go on record saying its okay seems like it would create to much wiggle room for the definitely guilty folks.

A bit like why, in a C&R zone, its illegal to keep mortally injured fish even though they'll die when released--not exactly logical or ethical, but I'd imagine its their only way to prevent loopholes. So here's a return stumper: if you do mortally injure a fish in a C&R zone you can't keep it, but does the General Restriction against wasting fish, rule #10, and the General Regulation against disposing of dead fish carcasses in Oregon waters, rule #15, no longer apply? Seems you're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Edit: My apologies, the intention was that my above question come across as largely rhetorical (I doubt it has an answer, so further discussion seems pretty futile). I thought it added to OP's musings by showing that there's plenty of gray area in the rules and even some contradictions. Troutdude is right, however, and I don't want to lead the thread astray. I'm not really interested in discussing my question further so I'll leave it as-is (rather than start a new thread), but please refrain from from trying to answer it .

 

[troutdude]

I, too, would NOT step over the boundary line...even if that fish was hooked on the downside of the deadline. I'd break OFF, and let it go. Then, I am free to return home with NO ticket in my pocket (and a clear conscience).

Wow Abibibo...that's a DOOZY of a stumper (but, it's also hijacking the original thread...so, I'll save my answer for another OFF chance at answering).

May I suggest, that you re-post your question as a whole new thread?

 

[bigdog]

To not get a ticket don't cross the line man. Don't matter how we look at it only matters how they look at it.

I wouldn't call it hijacking a thread completly the thread is about rules and what people think about some of them. Though I have no idea how to answer that one though lol seems like a catch 22 to me.

 

[bigfootfish]

no hijacked...

no hijacked...

Hey! :lol::lol::lol: I don't consider my thread hijacked. This is good stuff, exactly what I hoped for. If a person did hook a big fish below a deadline and, by accident, took a step over the wrong side of that deadline in their excitement(I do get excited when I hook a big one!:shock and a Game Warden wrote them a ticket, then later in court the exact definition of what NO FISHING means might have to be made clear.

On page 6 of the Regs under Definitions it says this:

Angling: To take or attempt to take fish for personal use by hook and line.

Even this definition is somewhat ambiguous. To take or attempt to take fish. I'm pretty sure that landing a fish even to unhook and release it would fall under the attempt or take part. Or would it? Attempting to release a hooked fish seems to me NOT attempting to take fish:lol:.

I would play it safe and not step over the deadline. Especially with a pole in my hand. I got a ticket 20 something years ago for standing on the shore of a closed waterbody with a pole in my hand. I'd made an honest mistake of thinking it was October 31st when in fact it was November 1st. A Game Warden drove by, saw me and stopped and asked me what I was doing. Thinking it was obvious what I was about I replied that I was trying to figure out how to get down the steep riprap embankment to see if I could hook a fish. I had not actually thrown anything into the water yet. However the Warden wrote me a ticket for ATTEMPTING to fish a closed water. A 90 dollar fine but I pled no contest and after I explained to the Judge what went on he chuckled and dropped the fine to 37 bucks. Still a chunk a change 20 years ago!

Anyway, the dilema abibibo mentions is interesting too. I wish the Regs were clear-cut. And to hijack my own thread....886 coho over W. Falls on the 21st. They's a coming! Hoo boy!!

BFF

 

[tnffishman]

This happened to me a month ago, I hooked up and it went screamin and I didn't cross the deadline, and I lost the fish.

Now when I was little, I hooked a fish and a sherriff was standing right there and it went up above a deadline and he told me I could go land it, lol

 

[abibibo]

Interesting story tnffishman. You probably made the wise choice in your recent experience; even if a warden said it was okay once, I think I'd need him there to confirm it everytime it happened for me to feel safe.

Was looking a bit more for an answer to BFF's question and came across Oregon's monthly newsletter, "The Field Review", summarizing wildlife violations. Didn't find any citations on the specific scenario you asked about, but can confirm that its definitely illegal to cast upstream of a deadline even if your standing below it (always figured this was the case but never knew for sure). Anyways, kind of interesting to look through some of the reports though ... despite being understaffed it appears ODFW really do respond when the get reports of snaggers and pachers from the public.

The Oregon Statutes also contain some more detailed laws and definitions than whats in the fishing regs, but don't clairify "angling" any more than what BFF allready mentioned from the regs. I did, however, find a bit of an answer to my own question (since BFF doesn't seem to mind the intrusion). Apparently there is an Oregon law that specifically allows you to put down crippled or helpless wildlife for humane purposes, but the caveat is you must immediately contact ODFW and follow whatever directions they give you for disposal of the carcas.

Anyways, I like BFF's point on keeping track of the current date--I've had several instances where I'm trying to fill out my salmon tag and have no clue what the date is. Fortunately it hasn't got me into trouble yet, but it is kind of a ticket waiting to happen.