Fishing A-hole of the Year Award

[ComfortablyNumb]

Must have been a real challenge to spear a tame Groper in a no spear-fishing zone .

Saw similar at Husky over the hols, similar 'demographic' hauling out Banjo & Shovel Nose Sharks. I was fly-fishing catch & release for Luderick and a similar 'demographic' were incredulous that I'd take a quick pic and return the fish to the water rather than 'kill & keep everything'.

 

[naydo]

Yeh that fine is not nearly good enough add another couple zeros.. pretty gutless when if it comes up to you for a pat

 

[red hilux]

Makes your blood boil

 

[John U]

Must have been a real challenge to spear a tame Groper in a no spear-fishing zone .

Saw similar at Husky over the hols, similar 'demographic' hauling out Banjo & Shovel Nose Sharks. I was fly-fishing catch & release for Luderick and a similar 'demographic' were incredulous that I'd take a quick pic and return the fish to the water rather than 'kill & keep everything'.

A month or 2 in jail for him would send the right message. Sounds like that is an option available.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

Makes your blood boil

As a keen fisho since about age 6, it really pisses me off.

He is a Kiwi apparently , I fish over there at least once a year and respect all their rules to the letter. Their trout fisheries are just too precious to screw up.

I agree, a stint in the slammer would help wake these dim pricks up (and believe me, as someone who fishes at least once a week, they are everywhere).

Was out for a little trout fish yesterday and came across this. Don't leave long bits of fishing line in the environment if you can at all help it as this is what happens.

 

[naydo]

So what is it with that demographic.. are they here on working visas picking fruit or whatever.. then go to a crowded city beach for a break.. take no notice of signs in place walk around with there eyes closed..

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

So what is it with that demographic.. are they here on working visas picking fruit or whatever.. then go to a crowded city beach for a break.. take no notice of signs in place walk around with there eyes closed..

Seems to me that both visitors and new residents from certain 'geographies' don't have any respect for our rules/laws. Probably partly as a result of the lack of adherence to rules/laws & corruption in their own countries which have left them something of an environmental shithole.

I recall a Russian in NZ who was caught spear-fishing in one of their blue-ribbon trout streams.

Think they might have stuck him in a pair of gumboots and shown him what they do to Muppets with a brain the same size as a sheep across The Ditch

Of course if we went to some of those countries and killed a protected species illegally, we'd be facing a 5yr+ stint inside. This prick needs something similar to spread the message.

 

[smitty_r51]

i presume returning his spear to him at velocity isn't an option?

 

[cookie64]

i presume returning his spear to him at velocity isn't an option?

Unfortunately Corporal Punishment is no longer accepted in our "Civil Society" (Wokeness) but then again where has it got us crime is prevalent and pricks like this don't care and a fine like that is nothing to them - that is less than a trip to Dan Murphys for me, I have been fortunate to dive (try dive) with a Groper up in Cairns and they are truly like Labradors, not perterbed by anyone just really friendly.

I think Primary Industries need to set a precedent and prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law so it sets a benchmark for other prosecutions to follow, a $500.00 fine sets a very low bar for future prosecutions if not followed through.

 

[smitty_r51]

Unfortunately Corporal Punishment is no longer accepted in our "Civil Society" (Wokeness)

i know... it just seems weird that an endangered species as been killed and the fine is pathetic, whereas we seem to have a major over abundance of idiots who couldn't care less who nobody would miss.

 

[Albynsw]

i know... it just seems weird that an endangered species as been killed and the fine is pathetic, whereas we seem to have a major over abundance of idiots who couldn't care less who nobody would miss.

Are they endangered? I thought you are allowed to fish for them with a line just can’t spear them

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

Are they endangered? I thought you are allowed to fish for them with a line just can’t spear them

Yes, that's correct. You can line fish them (though farked if I know why you would kill one even if hooked), but can't spear them. Line fishing gives the opportunity to release them in one piece. A spear hole means they are goners. This dick put it back in the water (dead) after the error of his ways was pointed out by locals.

The pics of the reserve he was spearing in show clear 'No Spear Fishing' signs. Not to mention kids in the water everywhere.

When I was at Husky, there is a Marine Park with clear signs of where you can and can't fish. It's not hard to stick to the rules.

 

[Lost1?]

Blue groper were protected when I last fished in NSW, and if caught had to be returned. You can catch brown groper by line, don't think you can spear fish groper of any type in NSW.

 

[naydo]

Not the blue grouper, but the Giant Qld grouper are also protected from line or spear and are found around inland reefs up n down the coast. They are inquisitive by nature. That grub would of fitted in qld grouper belly as a snack.
So with threats of large fines they hand out a 500 fine? A slap on the wrist. The qld grouper says fines of up to $11,000 and 3 months imprisonment.

 

[Albynsw]

Blue groper were protected when I last fished in NSW, and if caught had to be returned. You can catch brown groper by line, don't think you can spear fish groper of any type in NSW.

In NSW there is a bag limit of 2 groper by line only and can be Blue, Brown or Red.. Females are Brown and can change into males ( Blue) when they mature

 

[Triton14]

In NSW there is a bag limit of 2 groper by line only and can be Blue, Brown or Red.. Females are Brown and can change into males ( Blue) when they mature

Correct, information as per nsw dpi size & bag limit rules-

Saltwater bag and size limits

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au

Not a fish I would target & while I cannot condone what this guys has done its hard to know if he knowingly & blatantly disobeyed/ignored the rules or was just not aware of the rules??

Usually its $500 per offence so not sure why he wasn't fined twice, once for spear fishing in a non spear zone & then also spearing a fish that can only be taken by line??

From personal experience I once many years ago made 2 mistakes while fishing that cost me $500 but could have cost me $1000 or even more.

I was boat fishing in an area that I hadn't been to for a long time but I knew it had a lot of sanctuary zones, I had a map but while I was moving around the bay I sounded some fish so started fishing & before I knew it I had a large fisheries boat pulling up beside me saying I was in a sanctuary. It was hard to tell as the sanctuary started at a landmark & the boundary was marked by a buoy that was about 500mtrs away towards the middle of the bay.
Line of site when it ultimately looked I was about 5 to 10mtrs inside the zone.

They then towed me to their shore mooring in town & then started measuring all my fish which I had measured with a tape measure.
They measured all the fish I had & one snapper(squire) that I caught was 29.5cm long & the legal length was 30cm. I was told that they could fine me $500 for both offences but dropped the undersize fish fine & fined me for the fishing in a sanctuary zone.

The experience almost made me give up fishing all together as I was just overcome by how many rules & regulations there were & how easy it is to make a mistake but I took it on the chin & the lesson I learnt was that ignorance is no excuse & the rules are there to be followed otherwise pay the consequences!!

So now I dont go anywhere without knowing exactly where I am, done the research plus having a proper map that displays all the zones & rules(or I use the fishsmart app) & have a proper measuring mat & the size & bag limit info on hand which is also in the app!
Plus now I always only take a fish that is at least 1cm over legal limit in case it shrinks

So as far as I am concerned anything that is on the NSW DPI size & bag limit list is up for grabs.................as long as its done in accordance with the rules & regulations!!

In saying that I more often than not will take just what I need for a feed for myself & return the rest for another day, I just enjoy being out there feeling the serenity but also enjoying the challenge of lure fishing over using bait any day.

People can & do make mistake & you can only judge each case on an individual basis!

 

[Albynsw]

I think this got a lot of publicity because it was a pet fish and was taken in an illegal manner. I don’t know if it was Gus but I have snorkelled at that spot before and seen blue groper.

It could of just as easily been taken by a line fisherman and would of been perfectly legal.

 

[cam04]

Blue groper were protected when I last fished in NSW, and if caught had to be returned. You can catch brown groper by line, don't think you can spear fish groper of any type in NSW.

Thats Qld mate. 100% protected up here.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

I think this got a lot of publicity because it was a pet fish and was taken in an illegal manner. I don’t know if it was Gus but I have snorkelled at that spot before and seen blue groper.

It could of just as easily been taken by a line fisherman and would of been perfectly legal.

Yeah, that's true. Though even if he'd line fished it, I reckon the locals would have been upset and he'd have a chance to return it alive.

I've been fishing for about 55yrs now, fly-fishing since age 13, and now I only fly-fish, all catch-and-release. Though I will give the odd fish to some random nearby who wants one for the pot. Or the bloke at Forster who said his wife reckons he was a sh*t angler as he never caught anything & I felt sorry for him, he was a nice bloke.

Over this time, my fishing motivations have changed a lot:
Catch any fish;
Catch lots of fish;
Catch big fish;
Release all fish (which includes learning how to handle them to maximise survival - and most TV Fishing Shows fail on that score as fish are out of the water too long);
Catch fish on flies I tied myself;
Catching at least one fish is nice, but just being out there is a big part of it;
Exploring new fishing locations;
Catch lots of different species on fly;
Catch fish on fly in the most difficult (heavily fished) locations to the bemusement of surrounding anglers (i.e. what is this dickhead doing fly-fishing in the salt and catching all our bloody fish, then putting them back )

 

[boobook]

Yeah, that's true. Though even if he'd line fished it, I reckon the locals would have been upset and he'd have a chance to return it alive.

I've been fishing for about 55yrs now, fly-fishing since age 13, and now I only fly-fish, all catch-and-release. Though I will give the odd fish to some random nearby who wants one for the pot. Or the bloke at Forster who said his wife reckons he was a sh*t angler as he never caught anything & I felt sorry for him, he was a nice bloke.

Over this time, my fishing motivations have changed a lot:
Catch any fish;
Catch lots of fish;
Catch big fish;
Release all fish (which includes learning how to handle them to maximise survival - and most TV Fishing Shows fail on that score as fish are out of the water too long);
Catch fish on flies I tied myself;
Catching at least one fish is nice, but just being out there is a big part of it;
Exploring new fishing locations;

I'm here. With an ocassional serve of trout breakfast or entree thrown in.

Catch lots of different species on fly;
Catch fish on fly in the most difficult (heavily fished) locations to the bemusement of surrounding anglers (i.e. what is this dickhead doing fly-fishing in the salt and catching all our bloody fish, then putting them back )