Fishing

[glastron guy]

Many years ago when I was sixteen I was on a lake in East Lempster. I had a fishing rod with a thermometer tied to the line. I was rowing across the lake when I was approached by a fish and game officer. He had a photographer from NH dept of tourism with him and they were taking pictures of out of state fishermen and sending them to their local newspaper to be published. All was good until the fish and game guy asked me for my license. I told him I was not fishing and showed him the thermometer tied to the line. He then told me that if the line was in the water you were considered to be fishing and, I had a choice. He would arrest me and I could spend the weekend in jail or he would take me to the local general store and I could buy a seasons license for 15.00. Needless to say I got in his car and he took me to the store and watched as i bought a seasons license. He then brought me back to where I was staying. Ever since then I always have made sure to have a fishing license when and if I was fishing no matter how obscure the body of water I was going to fish. I never did get my picture published in the local paper.

[8gv]

Originally Posted by glastron guy

Many years ago when I was sixteen I was on a lake in East Lempster. I had a fishing rod with a thermometer tied to the line. I was rowing across the lake when I was approached by a fish and game officer. He had a photographer from NH dept of tourism with him and they were taking pictures of out of state fishermen and sending them to their local newspaper to be published. All was good until the fish and game guy asked me for my license. I told him I was not fishing and showed him the thermometer tied to the line. He then told me that if the line was in the water you were considered to be fishing and, I had a choice. He would arrest me and I could spend the weekend in jail or he would take me to the local general store and I could buy a seasons license for 15.00. Needless to say I got in his car and he took me to the store and watched as i bought a seasons license. He then brought me back to where I was staying. Ever since then I always have made sure to have a fishing license when and if I was fishing no matter how obscure the body of water I was going to fish. I never did get my picture published in the local paper.

I wonder if one could challenge that in court based on the definitions of "fishing" that the state has listed.

A weekend in jail would seem to result in a lawsuit today if it turned out that the CO was out of line.