License To Fish

[Booter]

So I did some fishing this weekend off the dock at Pond at my Grandparents Cottage. I do not have a license but only really fish a couple times a year there. I have been thinking about getting a license if I decide to start fishing more, but I thought about this and decided (perhaps wrongly) that it’s ok to throw off the dock a couple times a year without a license. I feel it’s a waste of money about $23 bux. Obviously I know I can be fined if I’m caught but I don’t think the fishing patrol guy would check on that would bother a dude fishing off a dock. I know there are no serious moral implications with this but are there any at all? P.S. As of now all I’ve done is catch and release.

 

[michelleds]

depending on your state, you may or may not need a license. Texas, for instance, allows fishing on privately owned ponds without a license unless the landowner requires one. the exemption would not apply if the water was publicly owned (river, lake, etc)

pennsylvania though has much stricter requirements for their private land exemptions.

 

[Catholic90]

Is it a privately stocked pond? Is is a public waterway? Check the laws in your state.

Fishing license revenue helps pay for fish restocking and maintenance of lakes usually.

 

[Booter]

It is a private pond i believe but just looking over the pa laws we dont distinguish between private or public but its 22.50 with 5 extra bux for a trout stamp…we do have two free days on memorial day and labor day but i’ve been debating within myself if i should get one and fish more often…my thing is 22.50 isnt that much money but it is when you only cast in a couple times a year…u see im frugal

 

[michelleds]

It is a private pond i believe but just looking over the pa laws we dont distinguish between private or public but its 22.50 with 5 extra bux for a trout stamp…we do have two free days on memorial day and labor day but i’ve been debating within myself if i should get one and fish more often…my thing is 22.50 isnt that much money but it is when you only cast in a couple times a year…u see im frugal

I think this probably falls into the category of venial in that you are in fact breaking the law and not obeying lawful authority. I might also point out that you likely spend more than 22.50 if you take someone to the movies or out to dinner or bowling. it’s good, clean, muddy fun and the 22.50 helps out with the state’s efforts to make fishing enjoyable for everyone everywhere.

 

[mcteague]

I think this probably falls into the category of venial in that you are in fact breaking the law and not obeying lawful authority. I might also point out that you likely spend more than 22.50 if you take someone to the movies or out to dinner or bowling. it’s good, clean, muddy fun and the 22.50 helps out with the state’s efforts to make fishing enjoyable for everyone everywhere.

I looked at this tread because I thought it might have something to do with the fish symbol for Jesus that I remember from my Roman history classes. But your response prompts a question.
On what basis is disobedience of civil authority a sin. Provided of course that the act is not also prohibited by religious authority?

 

[puzzleannie]

So I did some fishing this weekend off the dock at Pond at my Grandparents Cottage. I do not have a license but only really fish a couple times a year there. I .

don’t know what the law is in your area
here residents of retirement parks with fishing ponds get a modified license for a couple of bucks that us usable only inside the park, and these are call catch and release.
if whatever you do violates the law it is also sinful but maybe there is no problem on private family owned land.

 

[michelleds]

I looked at this tread because I thought it might have something to do with the fish symbol for Jesus that I remember from my Roman history classes. But your response prompts a question.
On what basis is disobedience of civil authority a sin. Provided of course that the act is not also prohibited by religious authority?

I would say that the following two sections, read together, provide that. then again, i’m a new Catholic and I could be wrong.

2255 It is the duty of citizens to work with civil authority for building up society in a spirit of truth, justice, solidarity, and freedom.

2256 Citizens are obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order. “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

I would read these together as saying that one has the duty to follow the directives (laws, ordinances, regulations) of civil authorities UNLESS the directives are contrary to God.

Also, 2248 According to the fourth commandment, God has willed that, after him, we should honor our parents and those whom he has vested with authority for our good.

 

[white_sheep]

I don’t recognize the state’s ownership of God’s fish in God’s water.

 

[Buck_Crosswhite]

Why are you wasting those good fish by releasing them? I’d keep 'em for Friday.

 

[tafan]

I agree with michelleds. There are definitely moral implications with willfully disobeying a civil law that is not contrary to God’s law.

Why do we think we can arbitarily decide which laws to disobey? And this example is arbitary, the disobedience is not based on any reasoning that the law is immoral.

Now, if the reason you do not get a license is not to save the $23 bucks, but because you honestly feel the state is overstepping its authority to require it of you; that may lead to a different conclusion. But your purpose is clear, break the law to simply save the fee; risking the fine. So I would say sinful, not a big sin at all IMO, but sinful.

 

[Newbie2]

I don’t recognize the state’s ownership of God’s fish in God’s water.

Even if the State raised the fish and stock God’s water?

 

[Catholic90]

I don’t recognize the state’s ownership of God’s fish in God’s water.

So you believe in poaching then? Who pays to restock the water? Who pays to keep the landings maintained? Who pays to maintain God’s water?
(My son called the poacher’s tip line this spring when he repeatedly observed a woman keeping fish before the opener…this action caused a woman to get all her fishing gear confiscated and cost her a $1000!).

Why are you wasting those good fish by releasing them? I’d keep 'em for Friday.

Depends how big they are. Small fish are fun to catch, but you do not get much meat for the cleaning work. Plus, if they are small, throw them back so they grow bigger. Then they are much more fun to catch! (But then somebody has to clean them to eat them…no thanks.)

 

[Prophesy]

It is a private pond i believe but just looking over the pa laws we dont distinguish between private or public but its 22.50 with 5 extra bux for a trout stamp…we do have two free days on memorial day and labor day but i’ve been debating within myself if i should get one and fish more often…my thing is 22.50 isnt that much money but it is when you only cast in a couple times a year…u see im frugal

I know in Canada that conservation officers hold a lot of power. If you can be caught fishing without a licence, you can lose the fish you caught, the gear you fished with (and as the old joke goes) if you’re truck is nicer than his, he’ll take that too.

If you fish for a couple of hours a year let’s say 2 hours those two days for a total of four, you’re paying about $7 an hour. That’s not bad. You could always use it as an excuse to hit up the pond a little bit more during the summer, I’m sure you’d enjoy that.

-Prophesy

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

So I did some fishing this weekend off the dock at Pond at my Grandparents Cottage. I do not have a license but only really fish a couple times a year there. I have been thinking about getting a license if I decide to start fishing more, but I thought about this and decided (perhaps wrongly) that it’s ok to throw off the dock a couple times a year without a license. I feel it’s a waste of money about $23 bux. Obviously I know I can be fined if I’m caught but I don’t think the fishing patrol guy would check on that would bother a dude fishing off a dock. I know there are no serious moral implications with this but are there any at all? P.S. As of now all I’ve done is catch and release.

It realy depends on where you are. In Indiana you do not have to have a fishing license if:

A fishing license and trout and salmon stamp are NOT required for:

■Residents born before April 1, 1943. However, you should carry your driver’s license or other identification to verify your age and residency.
■Resident and non-resident anglers under the age of 18.
■Residents who are legally blind.
■Residents of a state-owned mental rehabilitation facility.
■Residents of any licensed health care facility in Indiana taking part in a supervised fishing activity sponsored by the facility.
■Fishing a private pond does not require a license. However, the angler must have permission from the property owner to fish.
■Residents of Indiana who are engaged in full-time military service may fish without a license while on approved military leave. However, the angler must carry leave orders and a valid Indiana driver’s license or voter registration card. Non-resident military personnel stationed within Indiana must obtain a resident license to fish or hunt in Indiana.
■Landowners or lessees of farmland, who farm that land, their spouses and children living with them, while fishing in public waters from the farmland they own or lease.
Check your state.

 

[Booter]

Well i got the license $32 bux with the trout stamp…im gonna do my best to get some fishin in this summer…it’s just makes me upset that nothings free anymore…but anyway thanks for the responses let get er done