haunted Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Guys can I get your opinion on something? Do you think it's morally wrong to sneak in and fish lakes at night after they're closed? A lot of the smaller lakes I fish close after dark. We've been talking for years about sneaking the kayaks in after dark and fishing all night(catch & release only, as always). No doubt the fishing will be on fire. But... It kind of feels like cheating. My old man was a big hunter/outdoorsman, and even though he turned into a piece of sh*t alcoholic, he instilled solid morals in me regarding the outdoors. Never poach/take game out of season, always have license/tags, never litter, etc. Now there's other laws I break on a regular basis but I've always respected the hunting & fishing laws. I'm just not 100% sure on this one. There's no law against fishing at night here, it's just those particular lakes' 'rules'. What do you guys think? -Morally wrong, Bad fish karma -Get in there & slay em *(I saw some 'ninja fishing' threads, I didn't know if that's what this is referring to, or if that's just what folks call night fishing). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorCalBass Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Go for it! Just be careful. I don't really consider it cheating, but kind of idk. Lets just say i'd rather catch a nice fish while the lake is open opposed to when it is closed. I don' t see any problems with it though. I do it here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadinesmom Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 I've always had the moral dilemma what i'd do if I caught a lake record after hours when the lake was officially "closed". I think its ok for me to sneak in at night and night fish but you probably shouldn't do it. that goes for the rest of you guys too! NO NIGHT FISHING! I used to fish a lake that was dead during the day because it got pressured so hard, at night it would go off! I think the fish adapted and became nocturnal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadinesmom Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 I'm going to elaborate on this a little too, the only fishing activities that I really care about are ones that mess up the habitat and natural cycles of the fish. you fishing at night isn't going to mess up a fishery. What gets to me is when these smaller lakes have tournaments every weekend from february-june and guys are sight fishing spawning bass off of their beds, dumping them in their livewells, weighing them, then dumping them off at the dock (nowhere near their beds). The tournaments here are 30-40 boats, 5 fish per boat and nearly everyone limits during the spawn. That is 60 boats a weekend, 300 spawning bass, a week, 1200 a month! It is complete bullshit to me that everything else is regulated to oblivion but tournament fishing isn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honestabe101 Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Not morally wrong or cheating, unless your doing SOMEONE wrong, stealing, etc. You still have to trick them into eating a fake bait. If they won't let you fish nature centers and golf courses during the day how the hell else are you supposed to fish there? I knew a group of guys that would sneak into Marineland back in the 80's and whack giants..never hurt anyone or anything. It's not like your poaching and taking game...or shooting over your limit. I don't see anything wrong with it...but the law dogs probably would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t_tatham19 Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 No bad karma at all. To me the fish gods don't care if you hop a fence to catch a couple bass, as long as you don't trash the place. You aren't doing anything wrong, but to the law you are. It wouldn't be a problem if lakes/ponds would allow fishing at night. But hey, I'm just a kid what do I know.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimbaitsatLMV Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Just be prepared to deal with the police and the law consequences of trespassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonesaw Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 get in there. take a pistol with you though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiswimbait Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Fishing in a park or other public area after hours is fine by me. Sneaking through private property is always wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronzeback Bomber Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Fishing in a park or other public area after hours is fine by me. Sneaking through private property is always wrong. +1 I wouldn't want people sneaking across my property so I wouldn't do it to someone else. Not to mention it is a good way to get shot (and they would be in the right for shooting too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttaluns Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 I've debated this so many times in my head, whether to go in at night or just let it be. There are some great looking spots I want to hit so bad but I don't let myself fall to the temptation. We own a 3 acre pond and I have no trespassing signs posted, but people still trespass. 2 years ago I even found where someone took broken pavers to make a path to the water. So I guess I don't go after there spots because that persons place could be just like mine and I don't want that done to me so I leave it be in hopes people will leave mine be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDBEAD Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Fishing in a park or other public area after hours is fine by me. Sneaking through private property is always wrong. That's how I look at it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Fishing in a park or other public area after hours is fine by me. Sneaking through private property is always wrong. That's how I look at it too. What if the private property belongs to a corporation? Here it is, Springton Reservoir; 400 acres of untouched water full of largemouth and smallmouth with basically zero fishing pressure. It is 5 minutes from my house and completely off limits. No trespassing, fenced in where not blocked by homeowner properties, cctv cameras and security patrolling. It haunts me. There was a time when you could fish part of the reservoir but after 9/11 the water company that owns it completely shut it down. Am I tempted to tippy-toe in? Absolutely. Do I? No. It's just not worth it. Well, it might be worth it, but fishing while looking over my shoulder isn't my idea of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwimbaitsatLMV Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 get in there. take a pistol with you though. That is the dumbest idea ever. Yes, because instead of being arrested or ticketed, you're more likely to BE SHOT by police or some pissed off land owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilcatfish Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Fishing in a park or other public area after hours is fine by me. Sneaking through private property is always wrong. That's how I look at it too. What if the private property belongs to a corporation? Here it is, Springton Reservoir; 400 acres of untouched water full of largemouth and smallmouth with basically zero fishing pressure. It is 5 minutes from my house and completely off limits. No trespassing, fenced in where not blocked by homeowner properties, cctv cameras and security patrolling. It haunts me. There was a time when you could fish part of the reservoir but after 9/11 the water company that owns it completely shut it down. Am I tempted to tippy-toe in? Absolutely. Do I? No. It's just not worth it. Well, it might be worth it, but fishing while looking over my shoulder isn't my idea of fun. That's a shame! Looks like a fine lake. Have you tried contacting the company that owns it? When I was younger I was granted access to some small power plant lakes and the fishing was great. Of course they said no boats, swimming, or keeping fish but I was fine with that. Not sure if they would be so cool now a days though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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