Have you ever seen a Rainbow or Steelhead Trout lying in the grass on the bank of your favourite creek or river well before opening day of Trout season?

Maybe the poor little gal in the featured image jumped ten, twenty, or even thirty feet out of the water and into the bush “just because”? Maybe an Osprey or Fish Eagle had the unfortunate mishap of losing grip on its prey (because that happens so often)?

I don’t think so.

It’s caused by Loogans and Goons; all better known as poachers.

In simple terms, these degenerates are out for the sole reason of catching female, pre-spawn Trout, strategically inserting a knife blade into the stomach, creating an incision up the center of the fish, peeling out the eggs, bagging the new fresh roe, and finally drop-kicking the fish into the woods.

Yep, that’s a true sportsman, right? It certainly gives us anglers a great reputation, right?

It sickens my gut!

Is this against the law?

Duhhh! You bet it is.

Unfortunately, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry can’t always be on all streams, no matter how many Conservation Officers are in the field.

Although most people want to mind their own business, or they don’t like confrontation (especially when that Loogan is a 6’6” 320 lb redneck), you can and should still do something.

First thing is to call the MNRF Tips line at 1-877-847-7667 and report the incident. The other alternative is to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). I strongly suggest putting these two numbers in your cell phone right now.

Next is to put that phone to good use in the field. Record video or shoot stills of the perps, their vehicle, their license plates, their boat, their boat registration numbers, or anything that’s identifiable. If people can video (with malicious intent) the police doing their jobs, then hopefully they can video criminals doing whatever the hell they are doing.

I’ll leave my blog by saying: This disgusts me, I know it disgusts Ang, and I’m pretty sure it disgusts everyone else reading this.

We may not be able to take out all the Goons on the river bank, but we can sure as hell try!

By the way, this is not written to negate the MNRF (because I know there’s going to be lots of comments in that direction), this was written to involve us the users of the outdoors and its natural resources. If we do our duty, we can help the Conservation and Police Officers do theirs.

Please leave your opinion, I’d love to hear it.

Pete Bowman