Dave, I was thinking that too... I was on several boats and spoke to many others. I never saw a cheater being used on a boat I was on... AND I did not get the impression anyone I spoke with was using them. To hear these guys saying there's many guys out there using cheaters and/or extra rods surprises me. Especially after the posts we had mid-summer defining the fact that cheaters were/are illegal.
The question that comes to mind... If you're trolling alongside someone for several hours that you know is using too many rods... why haven't you called F&G to report it? Either it isn't really happening as you say it is... you don't care enough to report it... or what??? If they were caught and fined, I'd think they'd stop doing it anymore. Right?
Forry... one post you're saying this whole thing about discontinuing ice-fishing is a joke... the next you say its all intelligent conversation... WHICH IS IT? Myself... I think its a joke. You must have cabin fever or something? Sheesh... go fishing or something.

I agree with slipnot maybe people should report them that way the"ll lose the gear that their cheating with. people have to cheat in fishing unbelieveable . "reel it in "

good post Slipnot, you hit it all right on. maybe the fisherman who witnessess all this stuff on winnasquam and winni can elaborate, he sees it all the time.
i do not think that it is happening to the extent that some are stating. i know last year there was a post on how to rig a "cheater line" and some were saying that you could use it if you were using 1 rod (1 rod =2 lines).

i was on the lake with my daughter fishing and tried it (2 lines w/ a 6' sliding leader one each = a total of 4 line 2 people). I posted that i caught a fish on the "cheater line" that was discussed earlier in the week. i thought it was okay to fish that way otherwise i would not have done it never mind post it on this site.

Bethany informed me that i could not fish with a "cheater" even if we were using just 1 rod apiece. It bothered me to the point that i called fish and game myself and told them the whole story. They did not seem concerned knowing that i did not intentionaly "cheat" but they did say that set up is not legal.

Personaly I have not witnessed any of the stuff some are saying but I am not looking for it or thinking about it. just having a good time fishing.

ilucas

Well it's about time. I was getting exasperated just reading the posts. Forry got what he wanted, something to read whether it was good or bad. You don't want to fish hard water, go south. Isn't it a shame that we all see this stuff going on and don't have the balls to call a game warden or take a photo or pull up and ask? I know that sometimes you might get yelled at but that's why we all have cell phones and most fishermen have cameras. Being part of the outdoors is why we are out there, yes we are trying to have something to show for it but those who break the law are hurting us who don't. A person who breaks the law is a thief and is robbing you of your next outing.

Last year (2005) I saw a guy (actually 2 guys) on Squam, after fishing fishing season had closed a week or so, fishing with downriggers in Sandwich by Kent Island. Actually I saw him more than the one time.

Guess I should have turned him in, but that's not really my nature, didn't know him either, but maybe he was trolling for Bass ?? I'm sure that's what he would tell the game warden.

I hate to see someone get nailed for stupid stuff like that, if he got caught OK, but I'm not about to turn him in. Guess it's because I lost my "right" to fish for a year once in Mass. I was out before the season opened, ice was open and I was casting with a casting plug, rubber plug, no hook, just trying out a new rod and reel. Peckerhead had my right to have a license a year. Allways been paranoid about the rules since then, hate to see someine else get screwed that way.

I know guys that take Salmon in the winter too, if they get lucky to catch one, they are not really fisherman, just social drinkers I guess you'd call them.

I know we should police ourselves, but that's what game wardens are for...

John S.
"Who still thinks he got screwed by a Mass game warden"

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Replying to:

Well it's about time. I was getting exasperated just reading the posts. Forry got what he wanted, something to read whether it was good or bad. You don't want to fish hard water, go south. Isn't it a shame that we all see this stuff going on and don't have the balls to call a game warden or take a photo or pull up and ask? I know that sometimes you might get yelled at but that's why we all have cell phones and most fishermen have cameras. Being part of the outdoors is why we are out there, yes we are trying to have something to show for it but those who break the law are hurting us who don't. A person who breaks the law is a thief and is robbing you of your next outing.

you where casting a casting plus like they have on kids poles????????? and they took your license away?????? Why didn't you fight that one in court? You could have made the guy look like i fool i think?? That's one of the weirdest stories of losing a license i think i have ever heard LOL Take Care God Bless and Dam Hurry up 4/1/07 i keep having visions of King Salmons dancing in my Head UGHHHHHHHhhh LOL Dave From up North

Yep, one of them triangular shaped rubber plugs, a little heavier than the kid toys.

Probably could have fought it and won, but I was a young kid then with 3 little ones at home and on a tight budget. I did take the kids fishing all year and they caught allot of stocked trout in the rivers, etc. while I helped them.

Oh, well that was along time ago.

John S.

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Replying to:

you where casting a casting plus like they have on kids poles????????? and they took your license away?????? Why didn't you fight that one in court? You could have made the guy look like i fool i think?? That's one of the weirdest stories of losing a license i think i have ever heard LOL Take Care God Bless and Dam Hurry up 4/1/07 i keep having visions of King Salmons dancing in my Head UGHHHHHHHhhh LOL Dave From up North

Here in New England the cheater line/lure is aginst the law you are alowed 3 hook points per lure. and only 1 lure per line single or treble.They use the cheaters out in the great lakes and so the law is writen as your aloud so many hook points per line like a single hook lure is one hook point so you could run 3 single hook lure and only be using 3 hook points I think alot of people think that its a legal set up in any state but you have to read the states book of laws to see what they conceder legal.They are used all the time in the great lakes I belive in some of the great lake you can run 3 rods per person and up to 15 hook points per line. In my years fishing the great lakes and New England I can't say I have seen this style of fishing used in New Hampshire or Maine.Any Game warden would have a field day with any out of stater or local fishermen doing this.

Erin

Ilucas:

I did the same thing, rig / use a "cheater" on a single pole with it intended to be my second line when one of my downriggers got fouled up and I could only use one rigger. Like Ilucas, I (ignorantly) though it was OK but that it counted as a second line. After it was clarified here on the board (a good thing), and I verified this up in ME as well, I had the same reaction as Mike (i.e., I felt like a shmuck) and I never did it again. From the posts of the people who visit the board, I don't think anyone is of the mindset that they would knowingly "cheat." So if Forry et al you see someone clearly breaking the law, do something about it, otherwise please don't complain about it on the board.

Eric againI never accused anyone of breaking the law or for that matter seen anyone breaking the law. I don't know who Ilucas is talking about saying the have seen people breaking the law but believe me it's not me and I hope that Ilucas will back up what I am saying it is not me who he is talking about.
good fishing
Forry

what exactly did they say in maine as i was going to ask them this winter at one of the shows. they sell the cheaters at kittery, and the concensus there is that you can use the second cheater line in maine if only using one rod, which in effect counts as two lines

Slipknot I never said I wanted to stop ice icefishing I said I was taking a poll since most of the people on this site don't want Us to catch salmon in the winter. I was being sacastic yes because I don't think it would hurt To take a salmon or two through the ice, the same as you do in the summer. but the question was mean on a seriuos note. Why can't we dicuss these topics on a educated level you have a right to your opinion and I respect it please respect mine. One question maybe this will be concidered stupid as well but maybe just maybe I'll get some inteligent thoughts Pros/cons on it. Why don't they have a quota on landlocked salmon the same way they do on the Atlantic salmon which I think is ten reguardless of weather or not caught through the ice or on a boat? Just a thought. and again please make it clear, it has not been me that has accused anyone of doing anything illegal so please don't associate me with those who have. good fishing
Forry

i am not accusing any one of anything, my post on this matter was in reggaurds to lake taker saying that he has seen people on winni and winiasquam trolling around with 4 rods with just one person in the boat. i stated that things are not always what they appear because my 2 kids are in the cuddy sometimes while their rods are still in the holders.

Eric,
thanks for helping out on the ignorant use of a cheater line, (you must have learned about them when i did)it was a lousy feeling finding out that what i did was not legal.

I have not been salmon fishing very long and this site and the people on it have educated me in a year and a half what it would take me a bout 15 years to learn on my own. i have spent many hours on the lake catching fish with my 2 kids. memories that will last for ever. the people on this site from the charter captians, to the newbie that tries something different once have all taught me. for that i am very gratefull and glad we have this site.

this thread has brought out alot of name calling and assumptions.

ilucas

Forry, I did not mean to incinuate that it was you saying people were "cheating"... I was saying that in reply to comments I saw in this thread.

Now as far as this "educated" conversation you are looking for... How can I (or anyone not schooled in fisheries management) truly have an "educated" conversation about this. Its only going to be opinions you're getting.
My "uneducated" opinion is that we should leave the management of our lakes to those that know the ratios and pressures our water-bodies can handle. NH F&G spends many man hours each year trying to balance the fishery in a way that it is somewhat sustainable. I trust their knowledge enough to not question why they set the season the way they do.
Thinking that they are going to open the salmon season for ice fishing just because a bunch of fisherman want to catch salmon through the ice is like thinking the state will raise the speed limit to 80 just because a bunch of people want to drive faster.
Yes, it could happen and maybe for a while the salmon would survive... but in time the salmon numbers will deplete... or perhaps the state stocks enough salmon to last through ice fishing as well, but now with the increase in salmon numbers the forage fish (smelt/perch) die off. If the latter happened, not only would there be no salmon, there'd be no SPORT-FISH period.
But, like I said... this is an uneducated opinion... I'm a carpenter, not a biologist.

Slipknot,
I also am not a biologist. I am just and electrician.
You say in your last post that we would only get opinions and not educated ones since we are not biologists. Did you just graduate with a degree in biology in the middle of your last post because you did state and I take these words as you just quoted

"Yes, it could happen and maybe for a while the salmon would survive... but in time the salmon numbers will deplete... or perhaps the state stocks enough salmon to last through ice fishing as well, but now with the increase in salmon numbers the forage fish (smelt/perch) die off. If the latter happened, not only would there be no salmon, there'd be no SPORT-FISH period."

Now do you know that to be fact? Is that a carpenters opinion or a biologist speaking the facts? and if your opinion, why is your opinion right and mine wrong? hopefully the True biologist will read this and give us answers to all the questions that have been brought up on this post and any others on this site. That is what this site is about "at least I think it is" I'm not writing these post to make enemies, I'd like to think we could and are friends. just having conversation.
Good Fishing
Forry

Slipknot let me apolagize. i guess I didn't finish reading your post. after reading it again I saw that at the end you did in fact say again that that was only your opinion. I'm Sorry
Forry

Hmmm... you seem to understand that part of my post, but somehow you miss the two times I stated it was MY OPINION. Never in there did I state it to be FACT nor did I say your opinions were wrong, did I. Frankly, I don't care what your opinion is. You're entitled to any opinion you want. Whole reason for my post... and read this s-l-o-w-l-y so you can understand... was to say that unless you talk to someone that is "EDUCATED" (you know, with like a degree from an actual college) in fisheries management you will get nothing but opinions and/or garbled half-truths. If you truly were looking for answers to your questions you'd contact the fisheries department via the email address I provided you with in an earlier post.

Oh... and to make sure we're straight on your last comment of not wanting to be enemies, hoping we could be or are friends... not sure about others, but for me thats a no. Thanks anyways.
Good Fishing
Craig

I'm sorry you feel that way. evidently you didn't accept my apology, and that's your choice. At least I was man enough to say I was sorry. I don't know what else I can do. Just remember it was not me that said your post was a joke, when I ask about closing ice fishing on lake trout/salmon lakes. It was not a joke it was a question that's all. I guess since I never had you as a friend before this site and survived the last 49 years, I probably will make it through the rest of my life if you choose not to be a friend. In my opinion it is your loss not mine.
again I'm sorry you feel that way.
good fishing
Forry

I can bring a Cage to the gathering this year... my god!

Travis
Good luck with your match in march. take it to him.
Forry