This article was in the loacl paper last week(Comox Valley Echo). It is pricless to read. After the first article read this weeks article.


A CROTCH FULL OF CRABS

To the two young men and women poaching other people's crab traps on Sunday night right next to the Kingfisher resort area. I was alerted about your actions by a man at the boat launch. He was absolutely livid as he watched you pull up every trap in the area including his! He said he chased you around but you wouldn't stop your boat. What could he do except ram you? I couldn't believe it when I went out to check my trap and you were right there at my float marker looking guilty as ever! Talk about great timing. If you weren't guilty then why did you take off so quickly when we asked you questions? What goes around comes around. I want all boaters and crab fishermen in the area to be on the lookout for a small 14 ft red Lund fishing boat with the marker V16 on the side. I believe it has an older 30hp Yamaha on the back. The driver was early 20's, slim build with short dirty blonde hair. I believe the boat must have been launched from the Point Holmes boat launch. These guys were up to no good the other night and may do it again. Hopefully they will get the message. Crab trap poaching is a big problem in this area. There isn't much we can do to stop these thieves except alert others and be on the lookout.

BAD CRAB KARMA

To the young individuals that were caught poaching crab traps. Guess what? There was such a great description of your boat in last week's paper that it was spotted in your driveway on Williams Road in East Courtenay. Of course, since then it has been conveniently moved to the side of your house, partially hidden by vehicles. Hope you get pinched! (By the crabs of course)

Cheers All,

While I have had poaching occur to me I cannot justify violence on the water over a crab or a prawn. However...the next best thing is a camera. Take plenty of pictures of the incident and the offending individuals along with plenty of details. Ensure you send a copy to the fishing chat rooms AFTER you contact police with the details. Theft is theft and until we stand up and make a issue of it we will never get a handle on it. Standard equipment on my boats are now digital cameras and I will use them.

Fishingguide you may have been an unhappy camper if you had had your traps down in your usual spot late this afternoon. While we drifted just off Jack's point waiting for our crab traps to work we watched three guys in a 14' rust bucket of a tin boat pilfer most of the traps in that area. We powered up and moved towards them when they got close to our traps and they simply moved on to someone else's. Left the camera at home again or you would be looking at their mug shots right now. Gotta find some big fishing buddies to take out next time.

By the way, commercial crabbing starts up again September 15th. in the area.

Just curious, will the RCMP do anything, or is this a DFO charge?
I am not all that versed in Maritime laws, just wondering what exactly could the Police charge them with?

Cheers All,

Hot Rods...could you provide me with as much info as you can on the boat...individuals and any identification you can provide. Yes...I have seen a couple of boats out that 'just don't look right' and the individuals appearing suspicious. Nice to begin a list of 'Boats/Individuals of Interest' so we can look after each other's traps.

Yes...unfortunately the commercials will be back for another round...and there goes the season!

Hey Fishing Guide. The boat was an older 14' aluminum with a crappy green and yellow paint job. The thugs were late teen or early 20's. I'll get some info from DFO on Tuesday as to what we should do next time we encounter them. Hopefully, it will be more than just call the poaching hot line and speak to a recording.

Great reports guys. I am just about to bring my boat back over to the East Coast and head out for some crab. I usually leave my crab pots in Nanaimo estuary and head over to Gabriola to drop the prawn traps and then go check the crab pots right away afterwards. Sounds like you have to sit on them and watch them the whole time . If I saw that tinny pulling up my clearly marked name and number floats and start pulling her in their ears and who knows what else would be bleeding bloody mary . There is no reason for someone to be pulling up anyones traps but their own period.

I have zero tolerance for this kind of behaviour. I had my prawn traps stolen 2 years ago off the fingers and I caught the SOB. It was the big white wooden charter "Poppy's" or something like that. I came flying up behind him in DP and saw my stuff tucked under the canvas of his command bridge( I could actually read my name on the floats). I ran upside him with no bumpers and scratched the crap out of his boat (which I have no remorse) and tied off to him and screamed at the top of my lungs to give me my sh*t back or else. They came up with some BS story that some guy had phoned them and lost his stuff etc.etc. I got my stuff back (8 traps, 4 lengths of 400' rope, weights, etc.) and I had to sit in DP for 30 minutes to stop shaking from the adrenalin.

I never did phone DFO but I should have because these guys were obviously over limit with there gear and my gear pulled. I was just glad to get my stuff back. Hind sight is 20/20 and if it happens again I will be phoning the RAPP line right away.

I was passing thru the Lund/Ragged island area on a tug and a fellow in boston whaler pulls up and asks if we need any cigarettes fron Lund store. As there were lots of floats around, and knowing what they would be, I casually asked, whats with the floats ahead. He says oh they prawn and crabs. You want some? Still playing along, How much.... forgot price he said... No thanks we said, then he says you need traps? mmmmm now we're getting interesting, so I said, you have any for sale and how much? He replies, what type you want ,stainless or regular? etc etc. I took him for a poacher as it was dark and the area around savoury is mostly private traps. To me , he was offering what ever he could steal from this area. Said not really interested, but thanks for info, oh and how do we find u.... so got his boat name, channel he stands by on , etc etc wrote down decription of his boat. And we sailed away,

Little did he know, that I made a sheet up on computer , printed off a bunch, then when passing westview, stopped went up to the tackle shop on dock, and posted the pages on govt dock and store and told guys in store,( who also service the local commercial prawn guys) and left at fuel dock....

funny he never called back on our return trip thru there.. and now we carry a digital camera also..

Going to go for a drive and check this poaching machine out for my self and try to get some pictures. See what happens. Lots of people have their eyes open watching for the jerk on the water. I want to see what he uses for a tow vehicle so I can watch for him at the local ramps.

Sure like to get closer to the boat at 1343 Williams Road in East Courtenay. But the house, hedge and white and green Ford are in the way. Sooner or later he will be on the water and pictures will be posted.