question regarding about ppl taking fish

[yofoo]

I have this nice little public pond near my house with a bunch of bass spawning...there are few people fishing and most just kids throwing corn bread hotdogs whatever...there is this one kid that will fish maybe 8 hours straight and keep everything he catches...doesnt matter size species quantity anything...he brings it home for his family to eat...I come from an area where people are far from having to find food...its mostly sunfish and an occasional bluegil...catfish and a rare bass...i dont want him ruining anything is he? what should i do...

[CarpMan]

Originally Posted by yofoo

I have this nice little public pond near my house with a bunch of bass spawning...there are few people fishing and most just kids throwing corn bread hotdogs whatever...there is this one kid that will fish maybe 8 hours straight and keep everything he catches...doesnt matter size species quantity anything...he brings it home for his family to eat...I come from an area where people are far from having to find food...its mostly sunfish and an occasional bluegil...catfish and a rare bass...i dont want him ruining anything is he? what should i do...

Some of us are not as fortrunate as others, let the kid keep his fish and wish him the best of luck next time you see him fishing. C.Man

[Captmikestarrett]

Ask him if they taste good and then tell him the story of the indians who only took what they needed.

Make it sound credible and give him some tackle.

Capt Mike

[Marty]

Just a few people can ruin a small pond. You could talk to this guy and use your powers of persuasion if you think that's appropriate, but if he's not doing anything illegal, your options are pretty limited.

This is, unfortunately, a scene that occurs at all too many ponds.

[JB]

maybe he's feeding his family...let him fish

[yofoo]

Originally Posted by yofoo

I come from an area where people are far from having to find food

he probably has more extra bedrooms in his house than he has people....his parents each have a benz...i dont think they need any fish...

[Jim80]

Originally Posted by yofoo

he probably has more extra bedrooms in his house than he has people....his parents each have a benz...i dont think they need any fish...

maybe he just likes fish and eating what he caught , or he's greedy , or thrifty . never underestimate how people with money behave . they have
money most the time because they are wise in how they spend it , it probally cuts their food bill down even though they can more than afford
to feed themselves it's savings . but who knows

[fishin' fool]

Here in Iowa we still have regulations about largemouth bass in farm ponds. They can be any length but you can still only keep three a day. Check and see if there are any regs for private ponds in your state.
If anything else just talk to the kid about over harvesting of fish, how it causes down fishing and can throw the balance of prey predator ratio off. When I check people fishing lisences and fish, I always see people with very small crappie, bluegill and channelcat fish and it makes me sick, but there aren't any length limits on these species, so I can't enforce anything. I do love eating fish, but I mostly practice and encourage catch and release!

[BigBassin144]

Pretty much, unless he is taking more fish than he is allowed (or undersized ones) there isn't much you can do. Like fishinfool said, check your local or state regulations and if he is breaking the law, let him know nicely.

BB