It should be legal to stab poachers.
 

Saw a guy fishing off the beach at Fanuel Park in Pacific Beach while I was jogging with my dog. I asked him how he was doing and he pointed to the sail boat about 15 feet behind him. Laying there was this, what I'm 99.99% confident is a baby WSB. Same gills, same scales on the back and can't miss that wedged face. The only thing that had me confused is that it came out of mission bay, nowhere near the mouth of the bay.

He swore he said it was a Corbina. I know Corbina have that little whisker on their lower lip and tried to point it out. He didn't want to hear it, yet kept insisting it wasn't a WSB. I hadn't even mentioned I thought it was a WSB yet, so I assume he had suspicion it was. After I told him it was in fact a WSB he went on to tell me about some special little spot WSB have when they are born.

Lots of conversation back and forth and him telling me god sent him that fish since he just lost his job and can't afford to eat blah blah, I walked away. The fish was long gone so trying to safely return it to the ocean wasn't an option, I walked away and called DFG. Closest warden was 25-40 minutes away. I waited around watching from afar and didn't give him the heads up, but he quickly packed up and left. I tried to keep him around but he insisted he had to go. I really hate to be a snitch but poaching is a big no no in my book.

Also if you notice, he completely ripped its jaw apart getting the jig out. So even if he released it that thing didn't have a fighting chance at survival.

Anyway, I needed to vent.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...IMAG1922-1.jpg

wasabi alright...I haven't even kept a barely legal...I am stoked to have CnR'd three this year to thirty inches, which BTW I am highly encouraged to see this size and variety of fish here...but that's just wrong...

CorVina.

Both wsb and corvina are in the bay. Hard to tell though.

I completely agree that it should be legal to stab poachers!
They deserve it.

crap dude, I dont know, it does look like a short fin Corvina

http://www.bombolinis.com/shortfin-corvina.bmp


if it was, then ya he was all good and the DFG might have really embarrassed you. I cant really tell though, any WSB experts out there?

Different fish I think
http://danapointfishcompany.files.wo...-adj.jpg?w=640

orange mouth corvina. i've caught them and i've caught shorty wsb before. juvi wsb has YELLOW tail and bars on their body. also have a bit smaller mouth. the 'vinas have some big mouths and BLACK tails. and the orange mouth with some fangs.

here is a picture comparison of corvina vs juvi wsb.

vina vina
http://www.bombolinis.com/shortfin-corvina.bmp


baby seabass
http://sandiegosportfish.com/wp-cont.../small-wsb.jpg

Regardless, we should be allowed to stab poachers:D

Check for the zipper on the bottom of the fish. WSB will always have that raised ridge on the belly. Corvina don't. Can't tell from the photo.

Still agree.
Or atleast be allowed to put them on zip tie handcuffs until DFG gets there
Also i have no opinion on what species of fish it is, to close for me to call so catch and release in my opinion

It looks like a Corvina BUT, you still did the right thing in my opinion. Let the authorities sort it out. He had no idea either if he said it was a Corbina. Besides, what do you wanna bet the reason that guy high tailed it outta there was because he didn't have a license anyway? Good job I say!:luxhello:

I have CnR'd alot of fish I wasn't sure of...llllooonnnngggg story...

Another way to tell the difference is the tail. One has a convex tail and one has a concave tail. I'm old so I don't remember which one has which. Sorry. The bars on the juvie wsb are sometimes hard to see cuz they are really faint. For me, the zipper and the tail are the easiest way to tell the difference.

I'll play.......

So the mystery guy did nothing wrong as it looks to not be a WSB....

He's minding his own business........

Along comes "Mr. Law, I misidentified a fish" and calls the dfg on him.....




He may or may not have a license, you can only speculate.....


Just to restate, a law abiding fisherman has to get hassled by another fisherman.:eek:


Great job patrolling our coast line, I think "Heal the Bay" is taking applications.


:luxhello:

Hassled? Hardly. I actually made quite pleasant conversation with the gentleman in the mix. And if the DFG had shown up and I was wrong it would have been nothing more than a DUI check point to a sober driver.

Chupacabra....

Yep! WSB, :wsb: I caught one before in Carlsbad Lagoon, and the raised ridge on the bottom was the give away!

OK NOW!!! Call Baywatch quick and get the HOFF's final answer, better yet have the Hoff send a Baywatch bikini girl with the answer....:D
....in Sloooow mooootion.....:cool:

Normally, I would agree with your take on this. The reason I think he did the right thing is the guy himself didn't know what he had. So for all he knew, it could have been a juvi WSB.

That fish is definately a shortfin corvina. If he thought it was a corbina then he would have called a wsba a corbina too I would think. And the fact that he packed up and split kinda showed that he wasn't sure about his catch either. Short fin have been a fairly common catch in our local waters for years now and people still have debates about them or don't even know what they are. Know your fish. If you thought the guy was poaching then calling the DFG was the right thing to do. Mike