What a grat late call. just laid down and phone rang the sheriff in atoka oklahoma called they just got four (4) people on my property and arressted them. all had lines in water no liscene for fishing and had fish in hand. thanks to a good neighbor and a off duty officer i will sleep good tonight and small as i sign the papers tommorow to file charges. fish and game will get them also. hopefully this is all of them that has been getting in to my place......trapper
trapper,
That is awesome news. Actually arresting someone and ticketing them is the best possible scenario. That is fine work by your local contacts....
Good job Trapper. Don't know how big Sherman but around here the local weekly paper would have the names, ages, residence and charges listed in the crime report, and then sentences and fines after the court case is finalized.
Word of mouth and publicity will do wonders to spread the "word" that you are serious and do a tremendous job of encouraging any other tresspassers to go elsewhere. If you did not follow up and sign the complaint and/or testify in court, if needed, that word would also spread and it would be like an open invitation to enter your property.
Good luck and keep after 'em.
Dan
That is great news.
I hope to report the same type of news soon. My trophy SMB are getting poached out.
Wish you luck Sunil!!
I guess any of our fish are worth fighting for but Smallmouth ... well I wish I could be there to help you.
Thanks so much Ric. I know I can safely feel that other Pond Boss members are with me in spirit as I protect my dreams. I hope other forum members feel the same as they pursue their pond dreams.
I have some news that I've been dying to mention as it's a few days away from happening, but what better a group to share it with?
As most of you know, the '05 Bassmaster Classic is in Pittsburgh the weekend after next. I live just outside of Pittsburgh.
ESPN/Bassmaster is going to have a 1,000 gal. aquarium set up behind the commentators booth. As they feel that SMB will be a substantial component of each angler's creel, they want to have SMB in the aquarium.
ESPN has been working with the PA Fish Commission and naturally went to the PAFC when they wanted to stock the aquarium. One gentlemen from the Somerset, PA. office of the PAFC knew about a SMB hatchery in Southern IL. My pond is in Somerset, PA.
The hatchery told the PAFC man that they had cleared out their brood stock, and that the man who bought them was John Sproch of Keystone Aquaculture out of Harrisburg, PA.
The PAFC man contacted John about the SMB, and John told him that he had sold the majority of the fish to yours truly, and that my pond was in Somerset, PA.
So John called me.
Of course I said "Hell yes!" I said that I could loan the fish for the span of the tournament, and recollect them at the end. I told John that I did not need any compensation except for full VIP access for myself, my wife, my brother, and his wife (the collective owners of our pond).
ESPN said yes to my requests, although they did say that the whole event is free so there's really no true VIP treatments. They did give John and I full access to whole event wherever we want to go.
John is getting compensation as the whole effort will entail going to my pond with his full fish truck and fishing out 10-15 SMB as well as any larger LMB. We'll do this early in the week of the tournament and then John will have to maintain the fish until we put them in the tank. He'll be on stand-by with a few other fish in the sad case that one doesn't make it.
They said they would be crediting my family and Keystone Aquaculture numerous times during the event, but couldn't commit to my request for an "on-air" credit and/or personal interview. Oh well.
John will be bringing about (30) SMB in the 1 lb. each range that I will get to keep after the event. He also may arrange for about (5) LMB in the 5 lb. range in case they are needed for the display. I'll get to keep those also. The LMB in my pond have been scarce or out of sight ever since I put in those SMB.
And now I have this poaching issue. Every minute of the day, I feel like breaking out the camos, going to my pond, digging a hide, and busting some jerk(s). I'd like to say I'm not loosing sleep over it....well let's just say I'm not sleeping too well.
Sorry to highjack your post, Trapper.
Sunil,
That is an excellent story! Your bass will be famous.
Now if you can just whack those poachers...I put up a game camera this weekend about 15 feet off to the side of the (only) road to my lake. I'm hoping it is far enough away from the road to NOT be noticed. It will be interesting to see who is "visiting" while my gate is down for repairs!
Poor Sunil. Now, in addition to poachers, he'll have to worry about paparazzi!
I can just picture Sunil popping out of the ground in camo with one of the Flame Throwers mentioned in one of the other current threads, now THAT would scare the crap out of any poacher (and would also keep the Paparazzi at bay also.
Sunil you have to let us know if your smallies will be on air. That is cool as hell!
Sunil,
Way cool!
However, with the exposure at Bassmaster you may be exacerbating your trespassing problem. Not trying to throw cold water on a great experience, really. I would be concerned now about how many more folks know of your pond and its contents. The more that know the more potential you have for trespassers. I certainly hope thats not the case.
Regardless, congrats on your experience. Man I would be so proud to see my fish on display like that. Way cool!
Now if you could just get a Pond Boss hat or coffee mug in the tank with your fish, maybe the magazine could get some exposure, too!
Sunil,
Congratulations!! I remember the pictures of those fish so I suspect you'll be getting alot of ooohhhs and awwwhs at the show.
As a follow up to ML's post, hopefully they won't attach a map to the fish tank showing the location they were caught.
Russ
Thanks guys. I've been away for a few days. I do have some concerns about visibility after these fish are on TV. My only thoughts that make me feel better about it are that if asked, I will only specify Western PA for location, and that this whole thing should help me start a nice relationship with my pond's local PA Fish Commission.
If all goes as planned, I'll get updates posted and an airing date.
Sunil, can I say that I knew you back when?
Dave D. Let's just say that I won the SMB from you in a poker game. That way, we can both take credit.
Trapper I just found out that people are crawling over my fence to fish in my pond. My new fence is being destroyed and my fish I assume are being stolen. My neighbor down the road just told me he had a chainsaw and some other things stolen. How did you go about stopping these people?
James,
I really hate to hear that. Unfortunately, word gets out about a good fishing hole. Surprise, non-routine visits can be very effective, but nothing beats 24/7 presence.
I was planning on placing no trespassing signs today. What else can I legally do to prevent people from coming on to my property and damaging my fence? I'm also concerned about theft and other vandalism, not to mention stealing my fish.
James, I too have had the same problem. I would also say that I continue to have the same problems in varying degrees.
Here are some things that I feel are helpful:
.5) Talk to the local police, and make them aware that you are going to try to bust the perps. Keep the phone number for the local police in your cell phone memory. If you have the means, make a donation to their local FOP directly with the local police office. Many times, the local police are "denutted" by victims not coming to trials to testify. Let the police know that you will support them to the hilt.
1) As ML says, go to your place at odd times. This is very effective. If you have to take days off work, it's worth it. Sometimes, you have to be prepared to go "recon."
2) Bust anyone that you catch by hopefully getting the police involved. Warnings are out the door. Word will get around.
3) I put up trespassing signs, but people would just remove them. So in addition to a new trespassing sign, I put another TP Sign, although, I wrote a message on the other side saying "SMILE, you just had your picture taken!. Now it does not matter if you take down the No Trespassing signs. If you come back here again, then I'll have your picture again, and you'll be meeting the PA State Police and the PA State Fish Commission. These fish cost me $X and you are stealing from me." BTW, I never did have any trail cameras placed anywhere.
These new variation of signs have never been taken down by the perps.
4) Put up some targets (ie/ coffee cans, plastic 5 gallon buckets) riddled with bullet holes. Hang these from trees near where you think people are fishing.
5) Depending on the overall character of your neighbors, put out word that there is a $50 reward for information as to who is poaching on your property. At my place, the bad elements will sell each other out for a few bucks.
6) If possible, fell trees into the water in the areas where you think people are fishing. We did this, and it forced the trespasser to try to fish out in an open, easily seen area. My caretaker was able to see him one day, from a distance, when coming to check the grounds.
If that is not possible, sink structure near the areas that people are fishing to make them get hung up too often to be enjoyable.
7) I don't know the legality of this one, and I have not resorted to it, but if the perps are coming in on Quads, hang some warning signs that say "Severe tire damage." Then go to US Calvary and order some tire flatting devices.
The first step is letting them know that you know they are coming in. Usually in this step, you make some kind of warning. Then, it's on. Bust whoever you catch to the fullest extent of the law. That word gets around fast.
James, I'd call both the Sheriffs office and the Game Warden. Tell the Sheriffs office about fence being destroyed and recent thefts in the area. Discuss your concern about future thefts. Have the neighbor also call the Sheriff. Tell the Game Warden about the expenses you have incurred in stocking and dam building. Give them keys to the gate and ask for their assistance. Tell them you will definitely prosecute.
Here's the bad news. Their are only 6 Sheriffs deputies in Montague County and they spend a lot of time hunting druggies and rural thieves. I've had them out to my place regarding druggies cooking Meth. I gave them a key to my gate and they said they would keep an eye on the place. Two weeks later, my wife and I spent a week there with the gate mostly open. They never showed up.
I told them that I was having fish poaching problems and they told me to call the Game Warden. They seemed pretty sure that he would do something about it. I didn't bother calling him and probably should have. Right now, it's not deer season so he might have some time to drive by. More than likely they are leaving a vehicle on the road, climbing the fence, and coming in.
I gotta admit that I have only limited faith in the law when it comes to poaching.
Has anyone tried motion activated digital cameras? You would probably need to hide them but they would give you a good idea how bad the problem. I saw a small model at the local wal mart for $100 in the sporting goods department that would be easy to hide.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4057191 http://www.camtrakker.com/sony_digital.asp
PondsForFun, The only bad thing about I can say about the motion activated digital cameras is we tried them at our deer lease last year and they were stolen. I asume that when the camera flash went off they picked up on their locations. We had better luck by post big signs stating " This property is Protected by Hidden Motion Detected Camera's!!!!! The Pictures will be taken to the local Sheriffs Office and Charges will be filed!!" We never put the cameras back out there we just made them think they were there. The poaching and treaspasing Stopped after the signs went up.