By Ryan Wilson
I recently had the unpleasant experience of running into a poacher on one of the Delayed Harvest streams that I frequent on guided trips. This individual was dragging a stringer full of trout, while leaving a pile of bait buckets in the area he had been “fishing”. Without going into detail, I’ll just say that I chose to use this encounter as an educational opportunity for my clients and for the poacher. My clients learned about the real impact that poaching can have on our public waters and the poacher was educated about how much fish costs at the store, because he didn’t bring any home with him that day.
This isn’t the first time that I’ve encountered this situation and it most likely won’t be the last. The unfortunate fact is that there are people out there that believe that it is acceptable to take fish and leave garbage. Another unfortunate fact, is the lingering outlook amongst the angling community that poaching is just a part of life and beyond general grumbling, there’s very little one can do to actually curb it.
I’d like to argue that responsible anglers absolutely can make a difference in stopping this kind of behavior and that we have a responsibility to do so.
The good news is that this group is an extreme minority, making a wildly outsized impact. Because we observe the trash by the stream, or notice a steep decline in fishing quality at certain places, there is a tendency to believe that poaching is widespread and endemic – a problem too big to solve. In reality, it’s just a few individuals, making a series of selfish decisions that screw over the entire angling community and the local industry.
Let’s break down the damage that can be done to a particular spot with just one bucket of worms. One bucket contains 18 night crawlers. Each wiggler can be cut into about five appropriately sized sections. That means that each bucket of worms sitting on the riverbank has the potential to cull out ninety fish! Of course that’s not to say that poachers are generally having those results, but it does illustrate the damage that one individual can do. Multiply that over a period of a few weeks and one can see that it only takes a handful of thieves to completely wipe out a trout stream.
The good news is that we only have to change the behavior of a few people to make a measurable difference. Every poacher stopped will have a real impact on the quality of our fisheries.
So what can the responsible angler do when encountering these folks? I absolutely do not recommend engaging in a confrontation if it has the potential to turn physical. There’s not a trout in the state that is worth getting shot over. However, if you possess the temperament and can effectively read the situation, you can use an interaction to educate the scofflaw about angler ethics and specific regulations. Be respectful and non-aggressive, but also don’t let them off the hook. They’re doing something wrong and it has a direct impact on you and the entire angling community. Let them know that.
For most situations, a direct confrontation is not advisable. If you can do it safely and discretely, snap a picture of the illegal activity taking place and even of the poacher’s vehicle/ license plate. Report the activity & evidence to authorities. Be as detailed as possible on time, location and observation. If you can call immediately, you may even be able to get a wildlife agent there before the poacher leaves.
The angling community needs to be self-policing. Although the folks in the wildlife service are dedicated and highly competent, they simply can’t be everywhere at once. The budget and the manpower to monitor every square inch of our public lands and waters at all times will never exist and we shouldn’t want to have to spend our resources that way. As anglers, we need to firmly state that we will not accept the destructive and illegal actions of a small minority. We need to call out bad behavior when we see it and teach how to do things the right way at every opportunity.
It’s important to remember that this matters. It’s not a victimless crime and it’s not something that should be overlooked. The fish in these streams belong to everyone who purchases a fishing license. There are literally thousands of miles of water in the state of North Carolina where catch and keep fishing is allowed almost year round and no excuse to poach in the limited catch and release sections. Our DH streams are managed to provide a high quality experience from the months of October – May and we should expect that to be the case every time we hit the water. For those of us lucky enough to try to scrape an income out of the industry, our livelihoods depend on it. Poaching is not fishing, it is stealing. It is stealing from me, it is stealing from you and it is stealing from the future of a sport that we love. The behavior will only change when the individual realizes that there’s a significant chance he/ she will face real consequences. We don’t have to accept it and we can stop it.
The state has a program that will actually reward reports of wildlife violations. The Turn In Poachers program allows you to anonymously report suspected violators. You can submit tips via text, an app, online or over the phone (1-800-662-7137). Check out https://www.ncwildlife.org/Blog/wildlife-resources-commission-introduces-new-turn-in-poachers-program for more information. Step up and protect our shared resources.
Ryan Wilson is the Owner and Operator of Madison River Fly Fishing Outfitters in Cornelius, NC. If you’d like to learn how to do things the right way, please contact him at madisonriverflyfishing@gmail.com or call at (704) 896-3676. Check us out on Facebook: Madison River Fly Fishing Outfitters or on the Web: www.carolinaflyfishing.com