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8K views 11 replies 5 participants last post by  shaddart2004 
#1 ·
I recentley purchased my first salt water boat in feb and have been out three times and love it. The last time we went out and anchored at cbbt to do some tataug fishing, another boat pulled up and he looked like he knew exactly where to anchor, he was about 50 feet or so from us. We were having no luck at all here, but soon as they pulled up they started pulling in tataugs left and right, again I'm thinking they knew exactly where the tataug were. They must have pulled in at least 25 fish, most were very small, 10 inches or so, way under size and way over the limit for three guys, they were drinking heavy also, this kept me from saying anything to them, with alcohol in their system I know how that would have went, I'm sure this has happened to other true fishermen, how should I have handled this, I hated to see them fish like this!!
 
#4 ·
Thanks for posting, You have done a service. You raise some good issues:
What do the other fishermen think? Please post comments.
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What is your goal Ghostle ? If you want others to understand what happened: perhaps you take pictures. perhaps you record the boat numbers. perhaps you record the boat name. perhaps you give your testimony of what you personally saw. You could post honest truthful facts.
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If you have the guts and stamina to take some action, you could call the marine police. Many do not have the courage. They police might come and make a visit. DWI on water. Fishing violations. numerous citations, would be a world of hurt for the wrongdoers.
The police might ask you to come to Court as witness for state. Do you have that level of committment / courage? that would be striking a blow for the fish. There is a famous John Wayne quote about striking a blow for what's right.
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IMHO you did well and were wise not to start arguing with a bunch of drunken mouthbreathers. I stay away from rattlesnakes. I call that wisdom.
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Liability:
If you made a false verbal report : That would be slander, a wrong thing. You might could get into trouble for making a false report, or you might get sued for slander. And you might lose.!!!
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If you made a false written report : That would be Libel [ note L = it could be in library ] , a wrong thing. You might could get into trouble for making a false report, or you might get sued for Libel . And you might lose.!!!
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If ghostle, you made true written or verbal reports, you would win on all three types of counter attacks.
In other words, Truth is an absolute defense. Pictures of the boat, at least tend to prove that you were there.
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Some people were trying to discredit me, regarding a case that went bad in 2002 - 2003. Everything they said was true. I responded that they were right, I did lose that case. Who is perfect? Who does not make mistakes? The only perfect man was hung on a cross.
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Congratulations for posting, you are protecting the fish. Follow your brain and your heart. Tom Granger.
 
#5 ·
Thank you Tom granger, guts and stamina, I have. I have been to court as an expert witness about 10 times for people against other contractors that have ripped them off in 4 different counties, without accepting any money. Because it was the right thing to do. I have never lost, because as you say I was right and they did wrong, I was also prepared, knowing exactly what to say and what to point out to the judge. Not coached by a lawyer at all. Anyways for those who think I might be over dramatic in dealing with this, what if he had gotten in a wreck driving home and killed some innocent person?? I thought about this a lot since then and wish I had done something. And really hope no one got hurt that day because I did nothing. Has anyone had to deal with this? You can pm me to let me know. I'm still thinking of a good way to handle this. Again thanks tom
 
#8 · (Edited)
So back to what you should have done.

Call 800-541-4646 (VMRC enforcement hotline) Report what you saw. Describe the boat, include the number off of the boat if possible, include descriptions of the folks on the boat. Provide a location. All of this to help the enforcement guys zero in on them. If there are guys on the water in the general area there is a reasonable probability that they will respond.

As to why they were catching fish and you were not.

1. There are a number of very specific small locations along the CBBT that hold rubble from past accidents where cars have gone over the railing or a barge or ship struck the bridge.

2. There are four long areas of large stone that were placed right next to the outside pilings or out about 20 yards outside of the pilings. These locations are pretty easy to find if go through the bridge and watch your depth finder. They were put down about 5 years ago so they should be producing pretty well by now.
 
#10 · (Edited)
" Busted ' good thread

There is a thread by gtcgw2k named " Busted " which shows that fishermen tips can and do work.

You might remember the big "Oyster poaching Scandal" in Princess Anne county MD.
The DNR was pretty sharp to know where to be on that foggy Morning.
Or perhaps the DNR had some inside information.???
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Thanks to all who have the courage, and the moral compass
to "drop a dime" on the pricks who are poaching.
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I do not hide behind this keyboard, poachers are thieves and selfish pricks.
They do not think about the long term damage they are doing to the Bay, and the wildlife stocks.
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Thomas Granger 410 627 0504
 
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