Going fishing? Or maybe just for a scenic wander along some lonesome, lovely riverbank?
Feeling the latent cop in you itching to bust out and pop some badboy(girl) bootie?
Whoa, calm down, Vig. This is strictly a legal proposition, a request from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for anglers’ friends and fishing-hole frequenters to report anything they know about the illegal practice of “snagging”:
“Snagging, also known as foul hooking, occurs when an angler catches a fish using hooks embedded outside of the mouth,” says a CDFW news release. “This can occur either intentionally or accidentally, while using various types of fishing gear and techniques. Fish caught by this method are often injured or killed in the process. Anglers in California may not legally keep snagged fish. Current angling regulations include seasonal closures and gear restrictions designed to reduce the incidence of snagging.”
Your duty, which you will accept, is to send your “comments, concerns and information on waters where snagging is taking place.” The department also wants your thoughts on what to do about this problem. Send all of this to snaggingcomments@wildlife.ca.gov.
So, consider this mission more along the lines of tattling, not apprehending. Now fish on.
This article appears in Ruins.
Since most Anadromous fishes’ digestive systems shut down shortly after returning to fresh water they don’t feed. Occasionally, one might take a lure or bait out of latent instinct. So snagging in one way or the other is what is likely to catch a fish. The goal of many fishermen is to snag one in the mouth. Probably the only way to eliminate this is to close the river systems when there are returning fish in them. Fishermen want to hook fish and are willing to pay for it. Take any course that completely eliminates snagging and there goes your fishing license revenue, and all the revenues for tackle, lodging, transportation etc.
I think you miss the point of the article, Anthony. Snagging is or was common on the Trinity River at Grey’s Falls and Burnt Ranch Falls and basically along most of that stretch of river from Cedar Flat down to where the South Fork dumps in. Salmon get in those pools waiting to jump up the falls and are pretty much sitting ducks for snaggers using lead headed jigs. I’ve seen the same practice on the Mad River in the winter when they close off the weir going into the hatchery and fish start stacking up there. A fishing license is not a license to rape the resource, I don’t care how much they charge for one, and I will gladly rat a snagger out to a warden.
I’m not defending the practice of snagging, but I don’t really see much difference in how a fish is caught as it generally dies afterward, regardless. So long as an angler doesn’t exceed the legal limit, does it really matter all that much how he catches the fish?