Fed up with Snaggers

[PMLandOwner]

This is my first post on this site, but I wanted to get a reminder out to the fisherman who are in the PM. First of all, I'm all for the sport of fishing, its one of the main reasons I own land on the PM. However, please be respectful of the property along the river. My family owns 17 acres on the PM, and all weekend long people were walking on my property and leaving behind garbage. Next, I watched several groups of "fisherman" snag salmon right in front of my home while I was watching, and they knew we were there.

Please remember that snagging is ILLEGAL and is not part of the sport of fishing. It is very disturbing to watch people in front of my cabin with large fishing poles with weighted hooks pulling fish out of the river.

I'm sorry if this post sounded like a rant, but everyone needs a reminder to be respectful of the sport that so many enjoy

[BOB@BBT]

No problem posting that here. I think some people need a reminder. You can't believe how many people come into the store that wrongly think that the 15 feet bordering the water is a public right of way.

[FishMichv2]

i was on the river today and was disgusted with much of what i saw. redds being trampled, fish being snagged, females being played to complete exhaustion while hooked in the tail, ect. my buddy i was with said they should treat salmon fishing just like they treat a hunter as far as hunter safety classes and such. some people really do need it. the actions of these people out there boggle my mind and the shear lack of respect for the fish and the river is getting worse every year. i love the PM and it tears me up to see what happens this time of year. by the way, the fishing was slow today, more people than fish it seemed but still managed a couple kings and one nice little brown. some of the people were very nice as always and its good to be out fishing with them. be back up soon, till then, pray for rain. tight lines~Bill

[Herb@BBT]

You were right in feeling the way you did in your post. I might addd something to what Bob said, call the DNR hotline and turn the "buggers" in. When you call, ask for a call back and you will be told what the outcome was.

I carry a cell phone with me for exactly that reason. I turned in 3 guys a couple of days ago. When you call, they will want an exact description of what the people are wearing (wader color, shirt or jacket color and hat) and where they are at.

If you see someone blatantly violating, it is your responsibility to turn them in....

[Riverman]

Now is the time to be involved with this.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/hmnf/pages/pere_marquette.htm
Stop into the ranger station in Baldwin and let your feelings be known personly to those in charge. Riverman
ps November and December, gin clear water, peace and quiet, fish that bite, yea man, bring it on!!!

[rooferman]

on a recent roofing job in annarbor,when a delivery truckcame the other 13 roofers pointed to me because i was the only one who spoke english.we are talking five languages..yes illegals from five different countries...end less calls to ins no reply.now i just want to roof...thus it is with snagging..in my early years of chasing salmon i helped break up some commercial snagging rings...now i just want to fish...why the change of heart? i am sick to death of my fellow fly fisherman subtley snagging and then pointing the finger at the gross snaggers....also i am sick of the attitude of some of the new landowners..there is a place on the pm i have asked to have my ashes spread... it is my favorite place on earth...i work very hard to get there legally...but more than once the new owners have come down and started casting to the fish iam working saying because it is their land those are their fish...i leave and go to the local snagging area on south branch where i am treated with much more dignity and respect than most landowners or fly fisherman give me..if anyone really wanted to shut down snagging they would go to the spot at red maples we call'' snaggers alley'' where the snagging goes on night and day non stop..in my hundred visits to that area i have never seen a bust that has resulted from my calls....so the way i deal with it is to concede that straitaway to the illegals and threaten them if they venture near me....a hint to those who think they miss out...i do not do most of my salmon fishing until after oct 10th and have had many days with hundreds of fish to fish to and not another fisherman in sight all day..a few years ago my daughter and i fished on halloween and had a great time ...

[PMLandOwner]

Hold on..maybe I misinterpreted this last post. Never did I say that I mind people fishing in the river next to our property. If they are fishing legally and catching many fish, good for them. If they beat me to my favorite holes in the morning, good for them, I'll go and find something else.

However, I just stated that I found it to be appauling to me that I'm standing in my yard and watching people snag in front of me, even though I'm standing right there. I've never seen this happen before.

I agree also that this practice probably will continue and I'm sure it is hard for the DNR to enforce. I just wanted to get a friendly reminder out there for general respect of a property owner's land and the general rules of fishing.

However, it was a blast up in Baldwin this weekend! Nice weather and good fishing. Heck, even the worst day fishing beats the best day at work.

[MoFlyFisher]

I caught a nice King last season in the fly water that took a Nuke Egg. I took two egg sucking leeches, a barbell head streamer, a nymph, and a treble with yarn out his dorsal fin and tail before I released him. I felt a little guilty for catching him after all he had been through to get upstream.

[FishMichv2]

i do have the dnr number in my phone and have used it in other locations but my phone does not work in baldwin. what i have done though is pretend to make the call and have a fake conversation with the ranger within hearing distance of the snaggers. this has always been enough to make them pack up their stuff and take off. usually after they share a few choice words with me but its still worth it. i even try the civil approach and kindly inform them that they are walking on eggs and that at least if they are going to snag, try not to snag the female. sometimes this works and sometimes, like yesterday, i just get the ol', they are just going to die anyways statement. and sometimes i go about it the wrong way and put myself in a position where im about to fight 2 or more guys. i get a lot of thanks from people when i net a snagged fish for them when all im trying to do is help the fish and keep them from chasing it downstream for a very long way but this usually leaves an opening for sharing some kind info about the redds and males and females. many people just dont know much about it and a little help can make a difference. sorry for the long post. ~Bill

[limpy]

I regret that you have jerks fishing in front of your house, but living on a fishing river kind of requires some patience/humor.
I live on a spawning/rapids section of the Maumee River in Ohio where every spring tons of Lake Erie walleye come to make babies. Generally the people who use my section of riverfront are respectful and avoid the trees I've planted, etc. Four years ago I had to laugh at what seemed to be divine retribution, however. I was stuck home during the walleye run after surgery, and some guys just parked in my driveway and walked down to the river without asking permission. This surprised me because the river was WELL above flood stage and actually up into the yard at the river level. These guys brought lunches which they ate in my yard (leaving all the debris behind), smoked a couple cigarettes, trampled a couple of saplings I had planted, and then got ready to go fishing. If they would have asked, I could have told them that there was a 6-foot drop-off that they couldn't see because the river was high enough to hide the drop-off, so it looked like you could wade right out into the Maumee from my yard. I thought about yelling out and telling them, but the surgeon had said no movement, plus I was kind of interested in what was going to happen next. Sure enough, the brave one started out into the water and went "gloop" about 12 feet from the edge. The current was very, very fast and he got carried about 50 yards down-river before crawling out a very,very cold, very frightened trepasser. Seemed like just desserts for littering trespassers.
If only they had asked.....

[tbradt]

FWIW I agree to rooferman's point about subtle snagging. I'm somewhat of a novice at PM salmon fishing (3rd year), but as a sportsman I refuse to make exceptions in the case of snagging. In my first year I accidentally caught a brook trout somewhere in the 18-20" range, if I recall. Not sure exactly, but it was a mountable fish. However, I had hooked him in the fin, so I let him go without hesitation. I've seen more experienced fisherman unintentionally snag fish yet still throw them on the stringer. It's a sensitive topic, but my opinion is that it's not right. We're not doing our sport any good keeping snagged fish even when it's unintentional. As I said, I'm not what I would call experienced, so perhaps there are exceptions where it would be considered acceptable (fish can't be revived, etc...).

I appreciate the points about walking on the redds. I've done it once or twice, not thinking about the fact that I'm disturbing eggs and spawning habitat. I feel pretty dumb (doh!) not thinking :o , but thanks for the reminder. I'm constantly on the lookout for things I can learn from those of you who are more experienced.