Post by: Buckhunter24 on October 27, 2021, 02:35:57 PM
Post by: 92xj on October 27, 2021, 02:50:00 PM
My hours may be off as if has been a few years, but whatever it is, there is supposedly a law about personal belongings unattended to for a certain time period. The camera AND bait were considered personal belongings.
I know of cameras, bait, tree stands, etc. that have been up in a wilderness for a long time and no citations were given, though I am not sure if any LEO has found them.
Good luck!
Post by: Tinmaniac on October 27, 2021, 04:04:15 PM
Post by: Buckhunter24 on October 27, 2021, 04:18:38 PM
Going to take a wild common sense guess here and say no,not allowed.
I appreciate the feedback
Post by: Buckhunter24 on October 27, 2021, 04:21:23 PM
I have been stopped by a NF LEO and told I could not put out "bait" or a camera in a wilderness area. Was told of a law of no personal belongings left unattended for more than 48 hours in a wilderness. I chuckled and told him I would retrieve them in 47 hours and went about my business.
My hours may be off as if has been a few years, but whatever it is, there is supposedly a law about personal belongings unattended to for a certain time period. The camera AND bait were considered personal belongings.
I know of cameras, bait, tree stands, etc. that have been up in a wilderness for a long time and no citations were given, though I am not sure if any LEO has found them.
Good luck!
Thanks man. I figured there was some gray area to it. I'm gonna just pass on it and keep hunting the way I am.
Post by: jackelope on October 27, 2021, 05:55:09 PM
Post by: MeepDog on October 27, 2021, 05:59:04 PM
Post by: Bob33 on October 27, 2021, 06:46:10 PM
Post by: Jingles on October 27, 2021, 06:50:57 PM
Post by: CP on October 27, 2021, 07:59:14 PM
Post by: yakimanoob on October 27, 2021, 08:03:08 PM
Long story short - FS and State Patrol or Wildlife Officers are very unlikely to cite you for something without clear instructions from the prosecutor's office. So unless you find yourself on the wrong side of an overly ambitious federal prosecutor (which is very unlikely), you're safe in the grey area.
In this case, I'd encourage you to think hard about the ethics of the act and make your own decision. I hunt the east slopes where things are a lot more open and personally don't use bait as part of my own fair chase calculus. On the west side, I might land on the other side of the argument.
That's just to say: I personally don't think that the land use designation has that much to do with it.
Good luck, and don't let internet forums make the decision for you :chuckle:
Post by: fishngamereaper on October 27, 2021, 08:21:10 PM
The rules are in place ..have been for a long time... enforcement is another issue. Not likely to get caught unless someone finds your stash and reports it.
Post by: yakimanoob on October 27, 2021, 08:35:04 PM
If someone wanted to they could probably get you for the caching restrictions ( 48 hour rule) , or the pack it in pack it out expectation.
The rules are in place ..have been for a long time... enforcement is another issue. Not likely to get caught unless someone finds your stash and reports it.
Bait, in my opinion at least, is more analogous to a game camera than an equipment cache or trash/litter. A good argument could be made that bait is "in use" in the same way that a game camera is in use. If I set up a game camera, I haven't abandoned it or cached it in the usual sense of those words. It's there doing a job for me, and I'll be back to get it within a reasonable time frame. A similar argument would apply to bait - it's not abandoned; it's there doing its job for the intended amount of time. As long as it stays within WA hunting regulations, I don't see a federal LEO pressing charges (unless you royally piss them off, of course).
You're not allowed to cache equipment in the non-wilderness NF areas either, but no one would say that baiting on NF land is illegal (again as long as you stay within WDFW regs).
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on October 27, 2021, 08:36:11 PM
There's no legal clarity on the matter. I got into an argument on here awhile back when I got someone on film (on a game camera) stealing a cable I used to secure an elk carcass to a tree stump as camera bait. Through that conversation and afterwards I've done a lot of research, including several conversations with some lawyers that I'm friends with.
Long story short - FS and State Patrol or Wildlife Officers are very unlikely to cite you for something without clear instructions from the prosecutor's office. So unless you find yourself on the wrong side of an overly ambitious federal prosecutor (which is very unlikely), you're safe in the grey area.
In this case, I'd encourage you to think hard about the ethics of the act and make your own decision. I hunt the east slopes where things are a lot more open and personally don't use bait as part of my own fair chase calculus. On the west side, I might land on the other side of the argument.
That's just to say: I personally don't think that the land use designation has that much to do with it.
Good luck, and don't let internet forums make the decision for you :chuckle:
👍
Post by: bigtex on October 27, 2021, 09:41:21 PM
Long story short - FS and State Patrol or Wildlife Officers are very unlikely to cite you for something without clear instructions from the prosecutor's office. So unless you find yourself on the wrong side of an overly ambitious federal prosecutor (which is very unlikely), you're safe in the grey area.The difference is the prosecution at the state/county court vs federal court.
In state/county court every misdemeanor case essentially has to be signed off by the prosecutor because it requires a mandatory court appearance (aka it requires prosecutor's time before a judge.) Nowadays in WA when someone commits a misdemeanor they are no longer given a ticket, instead the case is referred to the prosecutor who then decides to charge or not charge. This really changed about 10-15 years ago. Some of your smaller localities still operate the "old" way but not many.
However, federally officers can still cite someone into federal court for committing misdemeanors, no prosecutor support needed. It's essentially how Washington worked prior to the shift 10-15 years go.
Post by: bkaech on October 27, 2021, 09:51:20 PM
Post by: huntnnw on October 27, 2021, 10:19:12 PM
I believe baiting is not legal in Forest Service areas.
well then the thousand guys in 101 hunting late archery deer are breaking the law. There are hundreds if not thousands of bait sites in 101 come november. People camped all over with bait sitting out at their camps. I have seen fs and they have never said a word to me or anybody I know. Thats just 1 unit. People baiting all over fs in WA
Post by: Jonathan_S on October 28, 2021, 07:13:58 AM
Post by: Dark2Dark on October 28, 2021, 06:51:27 PM