Thanks to the Washingtonian for publishing this article. It pains me each spring to see yahoos and assorted imbeciles taking spawning shad and herring. They chuck cast nets. They drag big treble hooks and snag them. Other times they use sabiki rigs. They even use regular rods and legit lures (which is legal) but then refuse to return the fish to the water.
The ban on taking shad is there to help the population return to healthy levels. Poaching shad is illegal and inane. DON’T DO IT.
Now if only the authorities responsible for policing the waterways would put more men on the job to ticket the poachers. Warnings don’t work. Poachers will not change their ways unless you hit them in the wallet—hard.
And don;t get me started on the jerks at Chainbridge who poach striped bass—they deserve to have thier fishing gear seized and to be dunked in the Potomac. Many times.
Kosar's Fishing Notes 