Camera trap madness, advice?

[guerrillafisher]

Ok this weekend was initially a good one, I had a mornings fishing off a whelk trawler that me and a colleague had bought at a charity auction last year and I came away with two lobster a nice crab (part of the auction, from the pots), I got back to the house grabbed my kit and headed for the reservoir (ok it was hammering it down with nasty thunder and lightning, but I was going fishing!), I set up saturday evening lost a carp that night (hook pull in the reeds!������) but a great mixed bag on the float right the way through to Sunday, so far a top weekend apart from the storm and the dog glaring at me from under the tarp (not a fan of thunder and lightning!), as I was leaving on Sunday three lads I had spoken to before headed for my swim and told me about three men seen killing and taking fish (angry face!).
so the point of this thread is I have now bought two trail cameras with infrared lighting and the ability to email/text me photos when triggered, has anyone used anything like this before and/or had any luck preventing wholesale decimation of a water through any means?.
although erecting cameras may seem extreme (it does to me a little!), the reason I fish the reservoir is because my closest free venue was literally fished out in under a year and went from having specimen Perch, Bream, Rudd (photos in gallery) and decent tench to having nothing over a few ounces!, I reported it at the time(as I have this time) to the environment agency to no avail.
Please any advice on saving this water water would be appreciated, I can't see another water destroyed.

 

[rubio]

No tech advice sadly but do be careful.

 

[guerrillafisher]

No tech advice sadly but do be careful.

Cheers Rubio I will, but it's more the evidence that I am after with these and possibly photos for press?, although I will be try ing to get as many overnighters as I can in (with a couple of mates to catch them red handed!.
I also wanted to know if anyone else has had a similar problem and how they dealt with it?, any advice appreciated!
UPDATE
I have received the cameras and after nearly two hours setting up I ave called in the cavalry (one of the IT guys from work!), with luck I should be setting up in the field tomorrow!.

 

[mick b]

Take care with remote cameras, they will go walkies if many people learn what your up to.
......


Yes Ive caught poachers, fish stealers, pot hunters, they are all criminals to me.

Night vision scopes are what you need and the knowledge of where they leave their transport.
Don't make a direct approach, even of your mob handed, only speak if they approach you and then only say you were nature watching/moonwalking.

Phone the Police 999 and say its "Home Office Code 116/11 fishing without permission/fish theft" .
Give clear directions (and GPS preferably) for the officer/s to meet you at a nearby location and to come without the Blue light flashing (most important).
When the officer/s arrive ask them to turn their radios down because they carry huge distances at night or near water.
Remember you will know the area well, they may well be townies and will need careful guiding up to the offenders....so walk infront and slowly!
You might even have to provide them with overjackets, I used to carry a couple of old Barbours for this purpose.

Lastly reassure the officer/s that if it 'kicks off' you will be in there with them, but don't say it if your not prepared to do it!!!
Yes it can be a rough game but its the price you pay and they will never forget you for your 'public spirited' action.

Carry a small camera that you can snap shots off quickly and shove into your pocket if a ruck starts, and don't carry any form of weapon except a walking stick which you will need because of the slippery paths.

There is quite a few more tips on previous threads about illegal netting and trapping btw.


.

 

[greenie62]

Good advice Mick!

guerrillafisher: Are there any warning signs up about the fishing? The ATr have a number of printable posters in EE languages which can stop people arguing that they 'didn't know - no understand' - it might be an idea to get some of them printed-up and posted around the fishery. They are downloadable from this link: Membership and Other Posters for Download - The Angling Trust
Good luck and stay safe!

 

[guerrillafisher]

Cheers Mick, greenie sound advice nd will check out links, there are no signs up
as it is just a small old reservoir with no fishing "rights" as far as I know!, although someone has Indicated a farmer who may own/rent the land and I will be talking to him on the way to put the cameras up tonight (hopefully) and asking if he would want to be on mail list from cameras.

 

[guerrillafisher]

Just a quick update, as I am still having trouble setting up the picture message function on cameras and don't want to leave them there without it as if they were stolen I would not have photos (i can live with the loss of I have the proof!), so I went up and tested cameras and found spots to place them (they work really well!), I stayed Friday and Saturday night and had a stonking weekend on both float (Tench,Rudd,Perch) and

View image in gallery​

carp rods I bagged 6 in total between 9lb and 15lb 14oz all stunning fish there are photos in a new album "Save Our Fish" here is a picture of the oddest one (seemed more orange in life)

 

[guerrillafisher]

Just thought I would add a couple of the photos from the trail cameras, at the time they were over zoomed and not best position but the only action shots I have!

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

 

[guerrillafisher]

Last week I visited the res Monday and Wednesday and saw no one up to anything nefarious, headed up to the reservoir Friday to get the camera's up as I thought I had resolved my picture message Issue ( they won't send) by activating them on a mobile......not so lucky still no message, so I bit the bullet and decided to ser one up , now I was going to wait until they could send messages so if they were stolen I would at least have some kind of evidence, but I couldn't wait any longer so got to work setting up and trying to hide them which turned out to be a task in it's self!,

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

View image in gallery​

 

[bigfish74]

What model are you using i will ask one of the lads if they use the send feature we jse them for pest control see wbats about at night a.d i applaud your efforts buddy most complain about this sort of problem but arent interested in doing anything about it so hats off to you buddy

Andy

 

[mick b]

Is the last pic the camera postion when you have finished concealing it?

If so you have left too much of the 'black' showing.

Black areas in the countryside are normally those in deep shadow and lots of leaf doesnt grow in shadow, this is why the eye is immediatly drawn the the camera.

Try and use the surrounding leafy twigs to conceal all the camera body far more, with the exception of the lenses.
Use cotton thread or green garden string to pull material close enough, ensuring that all the relocated leaf is postioned the correct way up (that is bright side up, dull side down).

Do not use mono line because it shines in bright light and someone might think its a bit of lost tackle and go looking.

Lastly be sure to recover the ground around the base of the location, for a newbie its a good idea to photograph the whole site beforehand to ensure the untouched appearance, the last thing you want is someone to think its a path leading to a dump site.

If your dealing with East European anglers you should always bear in mind many have had military training and they could become suspicious if they detect anything out of the ordinary.


Keep it up, your doing well.

.

 

[guerrillafisher]

Cheers Mick B, Andy the cameras are acorn rip-offs (chinese) there was no branding to speak of and we're the cheapest I could buy (and more than I could afford) I will have a look and see if I can put a link here or at least a web address or model/brand, and yes I have found most people seem reluctant to do anything even anglers from the town below the water, who I have harrased have been disinterested (none fish the water as its a long uphill walk) and say there is nothing that can be done and that there are excellent council/club run waters right there (there are, but that's not the point!) I even rang the local tackle shop to ask if he knew any regulars or club members who would be interested in knowing what was happening only to be told I would have to find out myself, how could anglers not want to protectect a water that has fish like this in it

View image in gallery​

Mick B, I think you're right and will try and soften the face somewhat next time (if it's still there) was going up tonight but my lift fell through so hoping to go tomorrow pick up camera bring it home and make a wire frame cammo cover with some moss and artificial/real plants.
Cheers both for advice and input.

 

[peter crabtree]

I don't think posting pics of the fish and cameras on a public forum is going to help your cause.....

 

[guerrillafisher]

I considered this before posting but came to the conclusion thatthis water is all ready on the local fish supper brigades radar, and word of mouth is an equally good means of information gathering as the web in a small town (if one knows they all know) if nothing is done now then this water could be dead in months with just one man fishing hard, never mind a "team" of three, and the chances of anyone local recognising a Bush or fish are there but they are very small and I was hoping that the chances of finding allies with a vague description of the area were much greater!, thanks for caring!

 

[bullet]

Good on you for doing something about it. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[guerrillafisher]

Ok i collected the camera (it was still there!) last night although did not get any of the proof i was after it was an excellent proving of the cameras as the weather was foul with heavy rain, but the video was clear and sharp with excellent defenition even at night (the infrared is fantastic!), although I felt a bit creepy watching strangers going about their perfectly inoffensive business (i fast forwarded once I eliminated them as suspects), I should be getting them back in situe for the coming week and will keep posting any developments, I also may (if I can) post some of the infrared night stills of myself fishing, cheers all for comments and tips.

 

[guerrillafisher]

Just posting a still from the infrared video.

View image in gallery​