Citation

[hill7410]

Post deleted by hill7410

[cliffy]

Here is my 2 cents:

If you feel there has been a mistake, an error on the officer’s behalf or if you have some type of explanation that the judge/prosecuting attorney would consider...by all means go to court. That is your right.

If you are admitting you were in the wrong and are upset because other people were also in the wrong and you were the only one ticketed.....that isnt going to fly in court. Trust me..been there done that.

If you are still confused why you are the only one that got a ticket, call the Officer and ask him/her.....you may not agree with the reasoning but at least you will have an answer....and its an answer from him/her....unlike the speculation that your post will bring from others who were not even there...nor do they have both sides of the situation.

Good luck

Cliffy.

[hill7410]

I do intend to go to court, i am not going to mention the other people who did not get tickets but i am just going to say that i was in the wrong and made an honest mistake and say that i can not afford this ticket and hopefully get it reduced, but it does seem somewhat ridiculouse that he gave me a ticket, its not like i was shooting walleyes or anything like that, a much cheaper fine or even a warning would be called for, i mean i didnt even have the arrow tied. The working man just cant get a break...

[cliffy]

I wish you good luck with that. If you dont mind, let us know how it turns out.

Cliffy.

[fishin789]

Seems to me if got the ticket for to many lines. you shouldn't have. From what you have said you had one line in and were rigging another. that is not fishing with two lines till you start useing the other line.

[Northlander]

Its your responsability to make sure you are within the law. If you were and got a ticket than go to court and fight for your rights. If not than you got what you deserved. Sorry.

[Slyster]

I'm confused. You can't shoot suckers and be in possession of fishing poles? Or you had one line in.. working on another rod, whilst working on the bow? Sounds confusing. Go to court.. they will listen.

[coyote223]

Don't want to sound rude.....but it's not may 1st is it? those are thr reg's.pay the fine and move on.

[hill7410]

i was fishing for suckers and i went home and got my bow, then came back and was just using the bow, i was just tieing the the line on the arrow, didnt even had it knocked or anything, im not saying i didnt do it, i know i should of checked the regs, but the fine is a little ridicoulus.

[DTro]

The law is the law......

Having said that. I'd have to agree with you Hill.

$200 for alledgedly shooting a sucker? Doesn't he have to catch you in the act? Is is May 1st for carp also? How does he know you weren't targeting carp?

I guess if I was the CO I would have asked you a few questions and then warned you. Then if it happened again, you would get a $400 fine

[hill7410]

May 1st is when you can use the bow, however you can still catch suckers and carp all year long, i was just standing near the creek and he didnt even ask me one question other than do you have an angling license, i could see giving me a ticket if i had prior citations and what not, i wasnt knowingly breaking the law, honest mistake i admit that but i thought the fine was a little unjust.

[Scenic]

It is spelled out pretty clear in the book.

“• It is unlawful to possess at or near waters a spear, net, or any device

other than angling line that can take fish from February 20–April 30,

2006 and Feb. 19–April 30, 2007. The exception is landing nets used

for angling. “

In my opinion the officer is doing what we pay him to do. He was enforcing the law. For some reason people seem to think they should be given warning if they have just bent it a little bit or just did not know that laws. Every Officer in the country hears it just about every day they work. “Can’t you just give me a warning?” I feel that if you do get a warning then say thank you and consider it your lucky day.

These Officers have a tough job. Everyone wants a break. Petty things yes they have the ability to over look and to issue a warning or whatever. Offender attitudes often times dictates what an officer will do or not do. But it is somewhat to their discretion to make that choice. Some people will say give everyone a break. Some people will say charge everyone for making any little mistake. It is a no win for the Officers so most of them try their hardest to be fair and consistent.

In your case it is pretty clear. You had a bow there with the intent to harvest fish out of season. If you were to read the regulations it is very clear that not only can you not spear or use your bow until May 1st, you can not even have it near waters right now. I am actually surprised he did not take your bow as well.

Pay the fine and mark it off as tuition. You have just been educated. Then keep in mind that they should never give you a warning for anything again just because you have no priors. You have one now or perhaps will when you are done in court.

[MNpurple]

Under the spearing and archery section of the regs:

It is unlawful to possess at or near waters a spear, net, or any device

other than angling line that can take fish from February 20–April 30,

2006 and Feb. 19–April 30, 2007. The exception is landing nets used

for angling.

I guess just the fact you possesed a bowfishing bow at the water is breaking the law. Sounds like you didnt even need to shoot it. News to me also. It pays to read the regs every year.

Now another question, the regs say "arrows must be attached to the bow with a tethered line" Is 50 pound mono a tether? Or is tethered line only a braided, rope type line?

[fishin789]

I guess I stand corrected on my last statement.

sorry to say but it sounds like you should just pay the fine and consider it lesson learned.

[pathogen]

I haven't speared or shot rough fish with bow and arrow for years so I didn't really pay attention to the regs. But it is clearly May 1, and by the definition of the law, you were in violation. It kind of surprised me, because for the last week I watched a number of people spearing (or attempting to spear) fish under the Cedar Ave bridge (road was closed due to high water. One time a conservation dept truck was there, I didn't see him warn anyone or even get out of his truck. I wish there would be some consistency in enforcement.

[Northlander]

Me too but very little in life is consistant.

[kais24]

Jeff- I like your viewpoints of Law enforcement personnel, they're realistic. Being a Police Officer myself I would say that Hill7410 said something similar to what many people say when they're cited for speeding. They say "What about the 10 other cars ahead of me that were speeding?" The deal is that for whatever reason, his number was punched that day. I think the best case scenario for Hill7410 is to explain in detail how you feel to the prosecutor (that it was an honest mistake) before his case is heard by a judge. If the prosecutor feels you deserve a deal...he'll offer you one. If not, take your lumps and pay the fine. Don't expect to get a reduced fine, it doesn't always happen. Sometimes if a judge is angered by the situation/stories, fees seem to magically go up. No offense Hill, but good intentions and ignorance of the law don't tend to hold much weight in court.

[Havin' Fun]

This is a good reminder to all of us to make sure you know and understand the laws of the state in regards to fishing, hunting, ect. It's our responsibility to know them...PERIOD. I do feel for you, I too have "donated" funds to the dnr for a dumb headed mistake. Consider it an expensive lesson on how not to listen to your buddies on game laws!

[DTro]

“• It is unlawful to possess at or near waters a spear, net, or any device

other than angling line that can take fish from February 20–April 30,

2006 and Feb. 19–April 30, 2007. The exception is landing nets used

for angling. “

I also have now been educated. That is crystal clear. Sorry Hill, as others have said, it's probably best to pay and move on.

I in no way was criticizing the CO in my last post, just making a distinction between someone possesing a bow intended for roughfish and someone sitting on shore with multiple lines and or a bucket full of walleyes/bass out of season.

But yes, both against the law and both should be enforced.

[Gus]

If you can't afford the ticket don't break the law. Not knowing the law is your fault not anyone elses. Pay your fine and move on with your life.

[hill7410]

Its not like i was intending to break the law, i was fishing and someone told me that you can use the bow, i went home and got the bow, i didnt have the fishing rod out there, i didnt even have the line tied to the arrow, you can fish suckers all year long, i didnt know you cant use the bow for them too, honest mistake, i didnt have extra lines out fishing for walleyes or game species, thats what gets me, people have extra lines out on LOW and there are 50 bucks a peice, and he gives me a 182 ticket and i didnt even have the know tied on the arrow, its not like i was pleading for a warning, i was in the wrong for not digging deeper in the regs, but where do they come up with 182 bucks, i didnt even have the arrow knocked or even tied up, i was better off having 3 lines and it would have been a cheaper ticket.

[nofishfisherman]

As the regulations are written you broke the law. If your only defense is that you didn't read the regulations and you didn't know then I can't say that I pitty you that much. If that defense was acceptable to the courts then whats the point of having laws if you can get out of a ticket but just saying you didn't read the regulations. Its pretty flimsy at best.

It doesn't matter if you had a knot tied or if the arrow was knocked, you had the bow in your possession in a place where it could be used to harvest fish and thats against the law whether you knew it or not. I wouldn't worry so much about what other violations would cost you, your violation costs $180 and I would just worry about getting that paid and moving on. If anything I would spend more time being mad at the guy who told you the season was open for bow fishing.

[cybermuskie]

Quote:

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If you can't afford the ticket don't break the law.

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A little harsh for this site isn't it Gus? I would bet everybody at one time or another has made a mistake. Just maybe you didn't get caught. I am not saying he shouldn't have gotten a ticket, but honest mistakes happen!!! No need to get all in his face about it!

Hill, I would listen to kais24 idea. See if there is something that can be done, if not pay and move on. Make the guy who told ya you could use a bow pay half!

[hanson]

Quote:

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...thats what gets me, people have extra lines out on LOW and there are 50 bucks a piece

---

A friend of mine got an extra line on URL a couple winters ago and that was in the $120 range. I would assume that an extra line violation is a statewide statute and will cost you the same amount of money wherever you are.

I do not think you would have been better off having 3 lines either like you mentioned. Fishing 3 lines in the summer would be clear ignorance of the law and I bet you would have got jacked way worse.

Sorry you had to learn a hard lesson and I can sense your frustration as well.

I know we all like to have lawbreakers punished but why is it that game & fish violations will cost a guy more than traffic violations will?

[cjac]

One thing I have found very interesting in reading this post is looking at the replies and knowing what each person's occupation is after reading last week's "What do FMers do" posting.

Mistakes and the lessons learned are all a part of life. I still remember putting a golf ball thru the neighborhood church stained glass window. Dad looked and said "You'll likely make bigger mistakes in life, shake it off". Stuck with me forever......