As you guys know, I work part time at the bass pro.  This time of year they schedule me alot more than normal because i fish salmon and steel head alot and everyone who works there refers questions and customers to me.  That is all fine and dandy, but the dealing with these customers has become more frustrating.
The thing i hear most often and i bugs me the most is the "they won't bite so you have to snag them" excuse for the act of snagging and feeling good about it.  The one guy i had last night had his two teen age sons and a friend with him and was telling me i am crazy fishing for them.  I eventually said to him that if its ok to snag those fish, in that river, why not go out on the first day of trout around here and yank a cast master through the stocked holes and snag trout....his answer "that wouldn't be legal"
Next guy, over in the salt water section, looking at 10ft surf casting rods....takes the last foot of the rod, tries to bend it into a U and snaps it....frustrated from the word go....but then i try to educate him about why that isn't a good choice and how a noodle rod or fly rod set up would be better...he buys the same surf rod...huge reel and 80 lb braid.
And so it goes on and on and on.....
 

the best was the guy going up for the first time, fishing from the bank, that said he watched a u-tube video that said the way to catch them was to fish flat fish lures by standing in the river above the redd and sticking this flat fish in the nest to draw agression strikes from the males.
Then he picks out a lure with 3 treble hooks and a similar salt water set up as guy #2.  I try to explain to him that trebles are illegal and he would have to take them off and replace them with a single hook with no more than 1/2 inch gap etc.  He tells me i'm wrong and that trebles are required...and which way to the jointed repalas?

On saturday, with the exception of Uglyfish, some guys in a driftboat throwing plugs, and a few Spey guys, I saw absolutely no one  trying to fish legally. Most were ripping away or attempting to floss with mega-weight, accompanied by the end- of- drift- rip. . Lots standing and looking, waiting to rip. A couple chasing, as they had put the hooks for a brief moment, supposedly, into one lone runner they  trapped against a shallow ledge.
It reminds me of Sioux running buffalo off a cliff or paintings of Neanderthals with spears chasing wooly mammoths. It has as much to do with sport as child abuse and wife beating has to do with football.
I can remember when I went with a bunch of loggers from the daks in the 80's what it was like.  It's a mindset that's fueled by testosterone, adrenaline and alcohol.  That's not always a bad thing, by any means, but the herd mentality of the snaggers is  a hard thing to take for those who really love to fish and see it as a sport to be treated with respect and dignity.  Salmon snagging is more a male bonding, primitive rite.  BB, I can't imagine what you go through working there. Just take comfort in the fact you might influence a few people  a season. Not much of a victory, but a victory nonetheless.

The only 2 guys I saw on the bridge at the estuary last trip -were a trip.
One had a bit of rubber worm on a #1 and about 3 very large shiny ballbearings 4 feet or so above.
The second made no attempt whatsoever to mask  his intent. He had one large round weight located just above the knot about 1/4 inch over a bare #1.

Trev, are you  sure there wasn't a little piece of black estaz on there?
That makes all the difference, you know.

No worries he had an octopus hook on...................
 

BB seems like you put a post up like this every year.
I can deal with lining and flossing even some outright ripping at the end of a drift.   What I CANNOT STAND is the hunting, chasing, pushing, trapping and blocking. These people are hunting not fishing. Used to rib my friend bad ask him how his hunting trip went. This is especially for the low water tribe. Do people know how pathetic they look chasing one scared fish up and down a small stream only to snag it return it to the water and think they did a great thing.

Sorry Clint you are probably right....
I should just go fish.

No need to be sorry. You are passionate about fishing so go with that. One person turned from the dark side is one less snagger. We all need to vent and this is a good place to do it. How many times do I post about some azz hat this or that in the LFZ but I keep going back.

Clint do you ever have a discussion with your DEC neighbor about this? Why don't they crack down and end it?