RossDemarzo I take what he is saying very seriously and hope everyone checks our rules here because they do change and will become a little more structured as we grow.
Thanks Tom, the Boatless Fisherman

This is from the BF rules "Zero Tolerance": http://boatlessfishing.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1985

[/b]KRASH !!!!!!! PM When you get this and I will give you my phone number. If I am working I will come by and give them alittle friendly reminder of Fl. law........

Krash take Fishinfool73 up on it, he can do something about it, believe me.

Thats right people there are many in this forum that can do something and believe me they will but we have to let them know because the smart ones sometimes see them coming but never see us fisherpeople coming or rather are not afraid of us and figure we can't do anything.

There are a lot of opinions about this issue, maybe one of the F&G officers that may be reading can post up an official answer.

I have a license Fresh/Salt/Snook/Lobster, update every year the second week of July just before mini-lobster season, so I never really thought about it.

One day while walking the banks of the C11 out near Flamingo Road a F&G officer pulls up and after watching me catch & release a nice sized peacock, asked a few questions. He asked if he could see my license and identification, I pulled out my wallet and showed him my driver license, but he wanted to see the fishing license. I said it is maybe in my car, which was about half a mile back up the road. He still wanted to see it, so I slowly walked back to the car while he followed.
After getting to my car he carefully watched as I opened the trunk and started rummaging through my tackle box for it. I have 3 tackle boxes fresh, inshore, and offshore so it could be in any of the three and I was offshore the day before. As luck would have it, the license was in the fresh water box. I normally don't make it a point to check to see if it is present when I go bank hopping.
He checked it out and said thanks, have a nice day. I asked the question, "do I even need a license fishing here from shore", and his answer was "Yes you do, if you have a rod & reel"... and then gave me back both the drivers license and fishing license, and drove off.

Can the license be checked through electronic means? Y'know like a cop checking yur DL even though you may not have it.

Just curious.

Fishing freshwater license is needed on land and boat.

Fishing saltwater NO LICENSE ON LAND. License on boat.

I know they have a computer on the fwc MAKO boat to check your license status and if you have any priors. The trucks I would image are also
equipt with the online laptops.

All your info is in a database that they can pull up on the spot.

Great question.

I called FWC and asked.

They can check "electronically" to see if you do have a valid license, snook stamp, etc.

They can also issue a citation for failing to have it in your possession.

Yes they can check using your license, and Yes, I can tell you from experience that they can and will issue a citation $67 bucks, or a warning no cost involved. At least the rookies that hang out at J. Lloyd ramps can ann ad will, I have a written warning to prove it.

Again similar story went off shore with my buddy, we came back with a about a dozen schoolie's. The F&G guys were tied up at the dock bow out, sitting in their seats, we tied up while my buddy went to get the trcuk/trailer the guy walks up politely ask for papers, registration, id, and fishing licenses from each of us. Then wanted to see the catch. We laid out the fish on the dock he says who caught which one, we laughed but he was serious and would not give up. He wanted to know before measuring which fish belonged to which angler, so we laughed again and each grabbed two or three fish. He measured and they were all 22 to 24 inches, legal.. but disappointed and since my license was not on my peson, he took the DL and went back to the boat, checked and came back with a written warning and said I was lucky he did not give me a ticket. I promised to be a good boy and he went back to his business.
I am however glad to see them out there, but wonder why I never see tham at the 15th street docks where I've seen many small fish being cleaned....

Bottom line: If you are going to fish ANYWHERE, you should be held responsible of laws and regulations. Whether you speak english or not. Example of those fishing at Anglins who did not speak english and then spoke it to the officers IT DOESN'T MATTER if they really speak english or not. With every purchase of rod and reel, fishing line, hooks, lures there should be atleast a handout stating CHECK YOUR FISHING LAWS AND REGULATIONS BEFORE USING THIS PRODUCT in five languages. Every pier should hand out regs to every angler that steps foot on the pier and TELL THEM IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS ASK SOMEONE IF IT IS OK TO KEEP!!!! Rickenbacker, well that bridge should be closed down for several years to give the poor lizard fish, pin fish, and sand perch a time to recover since there is almost NOTHING else left there to catch from time to time.

Rickenbacker has to be probably the worst spot for violations I have EVER seen.

Newport pier (although I have not been there in a few years) was a melting pot for "OHHHHH looka whata I catcha fo dina" and the fill my bucket brigade.

Dania, while improving over the past couple of years thanks to locals patrolling their own, I was a bit disheartened with the grand opening. People keeping 8 inch triggers and such, and I am sure once the sun goes down and no one is there to see, many snaps and others are meeting a cold end in a cooler.

Haulover inlet use to be bad, I did some work on education with some of the locals there years back, and some of em improved. From physical actions and verbal altercations, I got my point across there to some. Also the fact that PD use to patrol there and had 2 officers that were very up on their fishing laws (fisherman and cool dudes) made the locals think twice about breaking limits and sizes. Don't know how it is there now every since the parking issues came up a few years ago.


Just funny how the farther north you go the better the fishing gets.

Fair amount of Undersize Muttons showed around Anglins Pier and Juvi Pompanos only a couple of Pomps where caught. This was before it kicked up tonight 12/08/06, they will more than likely show back up after it lays down. This is just a little info so you know whats being caught.

"Licensing requirements follow the species of fish you are fishing for, regardless of where you are fishing. For example, anglers fishing for and possessing largemouth bass in brackish water need a freshwater license; anglers fishing for saltwater species in fresh water (e.g., spotted seatrout, red drum, snook, or American shad) need a saltwater license to possess these species."

http://floridafisheries.com/rules.html

However the actual law says the following..

(2) A hunting, freshwater fishing, or saltwater fishing license or permit is not required for:

(m) Any resident fishing for a saltwater species in fresh water from land or from a structure fixed to land.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/ind ... TM&Title=->2006->Ch0372->Section%20562#0372.562



I bet I'd win in court if ticketed for catching and/or targeting snook in freshwater without a license.

I've been watching this and it's great that everyone wants to help,the sad truth is it's less then $35.00 for the combo fresh/salt plus the snook and lobster stamps. I get the whole nine yards even though I rarely dive or fish fresh. Ya it really ticks me off when I see undersized or out of season harvest. Yes I report it immedietly. I have on occasion harvested lobster while wading a flat,just make sure you have a the measuring device in your takle box no matter how big. And as far as fresh goes I see a boil ,I'm pullin' over!

I've fished the Blue Heron Bridge for about 11 years off and on. These days you can sit out there all nite and not get a single hit. Everytime I see one of these a$$holes keep the undersized snapper or cast net the babies I warn them about keeping undersized fish. Usually the reply is FWC never comes out here so we don't have to worry about it. They don't use that mound a foot above there shoulders and think they are raping what used to be a great fishing spot. I've now saved the FWC number(1-888-404-FWCC(3922)) in my cell so the next time around i'll definately been using it. I also posted on the FWC violation site about the need for random stop offs by an officer.

Last year opening night, Boynton Inlet, a guy pulls up a HUGE, HUGE< READ HUGE dinosaur snook. Lays him down on his tape and says Good! Everybody out there says what??? The crazy thing is there was a whole family there, had to be fifteen people who all left with that monster snook. I'm just a little torn up about it because I know the kids had a fish dinner. I cought three keepers that night though myself (kept only one for eats) and if they would have stayed out there they would have cought legals too.

I would think the spillways and inlets wouldn't be hard to cover, or at least spot check on the busiest night of the year?

Searching coolers on the way out of piers might actually create more offenses than just undersized fish... What else do people use coolers for? Nothing wrong with a little drink now is there?

Ya, I think the people should be warned before calling cops... If they didnt know, they didnt know. But then again, if they didnt know, wouldnt you think the judge would be lenient and not send them to jail for years?!

So I get a couple of calls about Newport Pier it seems that there is a group of different people Poaching Snook from the South side of the pier, they like to wrap a towel around the snook and sneak it away when the coast is clear.

Bad thing is that it is small ones and Monster ones.

A few different groups are doing it and they seem to be regulars.

A lone fisher with a Fly rod and a nap sack.

Well anyways I am hoping anyone that is fishing that area will call FWC if they see anything like this going on.

I am mentioning this because I am hearing it is way out of control in that area.

How to poach at Pompano Pier: put the fish in the public livewells so that when FWC comes, nobody admits it's there's.

How about putting signs in known fishing areas with a picture/size limit discription of fish that have size limit. Not every person fishing is a avid angler, most don't even know there are regulations for fish period. Instead of busting them and making them learn the hard way, they should educate!

If you guys don't know yet

Short Mutton Snappers Everywhere

Short Kings

Short Pompano

Now I see FWC stopping everyday at Anglins Fishing Pier, I hope they are doing at every pier

i dont think that fwc knows that there is a pier in dania. i saw a guy leave with three snakeson wednesday. i tried tellin him they were baby kingfish. i even showed him the difference but he wouldnt believe me. he got pissed and started yellin at me so i just said f*** it. i tried callin fwc but the number i had didnt work. does anyone have it?

Great idea CJ. A big sign identifying the most common fish for a location and at the bottom a ruler.

They have blue rulers nailed to the peir on deerfield but I dont think that anybody notices them or cares to use them. And it seems that almost nobody except the regulars can tell a king from a mack. Every five seconds you see some one pull up a little king. They always want to keep it but I tell them about the limits and they usualy throw them back I hav saved tons of them.

Key Biscaine bridge is full of poachers EVERYTHING they catch they keep, was there the other day catching bait i c a guy catch a mutton that was like 5 inches i tell him that he was undersized and he looks at me then throws it into his cooler. Along with him everyone else does the same thing FWC should stop one day there.

I have to agree on Boynton Beach inlet north jetty. Most blatent snook poaching ive seen all summer.

i love to see ppl in the keys catch an undersized snapper cause i go up to them an say nice catch as soon as i walk away im calling fwc i tell people to keep sht all the time an call its the funnyest sht to see somegeting that fat fyne

I don't think its very funny to encourage someone to break the law only to report them when they do! What you should do is hand them a regulations booklet and try to educate. I keep a few in my truck all the time, I can give you a couple if you like.

I've tried to educate a lot of people in the Keys, and have been told to mind my own business, etc almost every time. It's not worth getting into a fight with someone over some fish, especially being there's a good chance they are drinking and usually there are more of them then me. (I ususally fish solo or with no more then 2 other people down there.)

gruntking,
I am both new and still can't tell the difference between fish so just catch and release for now.
This site is supposed to help us do the right thing. How can I ask someone what I have caught and not know it I can trust his answer????

Karma guys, its all about the Karma. Do whats right, and good will happen to you...

I like the idea of keeping some extra copies of the regs about...good idea Anthony.

The thing that gets me, is that it's illegal for someone to take home undersized ( regulatory) fish, but the draggers, longliners and gillnetters can throw them away dead all day long with no criminal or even any implications/repercussions whatsoever.

Just one trawler will kill more juvi regulated species in one day than most of those "poachers" will take in a year. Sure I think some folks really are just scofflaws, but I think many of them are legitimately trying for food for their families.

I'm not defending folks who break the rules by taking undersized fish, but rather explaining the big picture a little?

You shouldn't break the law, even though the laws may be unfair.