They are not going to make trebles illegal....there is no reason for them to. Every single lure sold today uses treble hooks. There is literally not a single lure made that uses single hooks. There are hooks sold that you can buy to replace the trebles, which is a good solution..but the fact that I do not like trebles for fishing does not make using the trebles illegal. There is literally no single reason for them to make trebles illegal, and if we understand anything it is that they don't simply change these abstracts with out reasons and meetings and so forth. The lead issue took multiple years to come to fruition, for instance.
You claim you were stopped 2 years ago, yet they haven't changed it in the laws for 2012 which is what I posted. You then claim that it will be changed next year. Did the Ep tell you back in 2010 that as of 2013 they would be illegal? The reason I am voicing any opinion on this is because you constantly report your statement as fact with nothing to back it up and the problem with that is..other anglers will read this post or will do a google search and the misinformation will spread. There are a few thousand people on this site alone, if left as fact would consider this to be the truth and it is not. That is never a good thing with the rampant ignorance already on the interwebs...and anytime anyone reports something that sounds off you can be sure I will be there to try and help sort out the truth from the fiction.
Anytime an officer claims that something is illegal even when confronted with the actual abstracts and laws then the problem must be addressed. Steps include staying respectful, getting a badge number and name, contacting the Environmental Police headquarters via their 800 number ( 1-800-632-8075 ) and reporting your concerns and the issue at hand. This does not make you a target. What makes you a target is by disrespecting or badgering the officer in question. I have never once met an EP that had an issue in discussing anything relevant to his job..and I have had quite a few dealings with the Eps in the course of my work with Blackstone Carp, hosting derbies, fishing workshops, dealing with a massive fish kill along the Blackstone Canal and so on.
I am a firm believer in following the rules and regs as anyone who knows me will tell you that. I am also very adamant about fish care. I am also strongly opposed to the ignorance surrounding many fishing issues which is why I spend times on sites like this trying to help spread the truth of situations and help out people when I can. I do not know why you are getting so defensive about this, and feel the need to resort to calling names or anything else.
If you still do not believe me, call the number above and simply ask them. The dispatch is polite and typically very nice and will get an officer on the phone or have one call you back to clarify for you. I agree with you that there is no need to use trebles, but I don't see a need to spread misinformation about the laws of their use.
whatever guyPike, no one is overlooking anything you said. The fact is it is legal to use trebles. Simple. If an Ep told you otherwise 2 years ago he was misinformed and hopefully he has been set straight since then..a call to his office will do that as his Sergeant will get online and clarify the law for him. I know because I have had to do this in the past. The truth is they are human just like everyone else and are just as capable of mistakes.
They are not going to make trebles illegal....there is no reason for them to. Every single lure sold today uses treble hooks. There is literally not a single lure made that uses single hooks. There are hooks sold that you can buy to replace the trebles, which is a good solution..but the fact that I do not like trebles for fishing does not make using the trebles illegal. There is literally no single reason for them to make trebles illegal, and if we understand anything it is that they don't simply change these abstracts with out reasons and meetings and so forth. The lead issue took multiple years to come to fruition, for instance.
You claim you were stopped 2 years ago, yet they haven't changed it in the laws for 2012 which is what I posted. You then claim that it will be changed next year. Did the Ep tell you back in 2010 that as of 2013 they would be illegal? The reason I am voicing any opinion on this is because you constantly report your statement as fact with nothing to back it up and the problem with that is..other anglers will read this post or will do a google search and the misinformation will spread. There are a few thousand people on this site alone, if left as fact would consider this to be the truth and it is not. That is never a good thing with the rampant ignorance already on the interwebs...and anytime anyone reports something that sounds off you can be sure I will be there to try and help sort out the truth from the fiction.
Anytime an officer claims that something is illegal even when confronted with the actual abstracts and laws then the problem must be addressed. Steps include staying respectful, getting a badge number and name, contacting the Environmental Police headquarters via their 800 number ( 1-800-632-8075 ) and reporting your concerns and the issue at hand. This does not make you a target. What makes you a target is by disrespecting or badgering the officer in question. I have never once met an EP that had an issue in discussing anything relevant to his job..and I have had quite a few dealings with the Eps in the course of my work with Blackstone Carp, hosting derbies, fishing workshops, dealing with a massive fish kill along the Blackstone Canal and so on.
I am a firm believer in following the rules and regs as anyone who knows me will tell you that. I am also very adamant about fish care. I am also strongly opposed to the ignorance surrounding many fishing issues which is why I spend times on sites like this trying to help spread the truth of situations and help out people when I can. I do not know why you are getting so defensive about this, and feel the need to resort to calling names or anything else.
If you still do not believe me, call the number above and simply ask them. The dispatch is polite and typically very nice and will get an officer on the phone or have one call you back to clarify for you. I agree with you that there is no need to use trebles, but I don't see a need to spread misinformation about the laws of their use.
If the EPO in question is someone impersonating an EPO which does happen. Then we need to be on the lookout for a guy like this. I seem to recall a few years back there was a guy who impersonated a state trooper who would pull women over for "speeding" violations and rape them. Just because they have badge and a gun doesn't mean you lose your rights to due process. A good law enforcement officer should not be hesitant to properly identify themselves as officers of the law.
A bad cop or an impersonator will usually try to avoid properly identifying themselves.
To me the biggest problem here is not wether treble hooks are legal to use but wether or not the guy you talked to that day was a legit EPO.
There have been incidents where people other then officers try to claim to be officers. I know one for instance at Blackstone Canal and Heritage state park that works part time for the park, has a badge because he works with the parks fire watch that he sometimes uses it to go out and ask fishermen for their license. The problem is that he has no real authority to do so, nor does he know the laws and could easily make the wrong calls on things like this and no one would be the wiser if they didn't ask or report the problem.
Which is why I posted the 800 number ( 1-800-632-8075 ) which you should always have on hand in my opinion and laid out a basic plan of action. Remain calm and respectful, ask for identifications and place a call to the main office. No true officer should have any objections to this, as you have stated.