Memo

Date: 7-22-2021
To: SCDNR Offices
From: Kenneth Caldwell
Subject: Trout Fishing Regulations
Distribution: DNR officers, DNR offices in the upstate

Trout fishing is a large recreation sport throughout upstate of South Carolina. It brings tourism
to our rivers and provides a past time activity for our residents. Trout are beautiful creatures that
need to be protected in order to be sustainable. It is DNR’s job to enforce the fishing laws to
make sure that trout are not overfished and caught properly. Recently, there has been a change
in the fishing laws regarding the number of fish people are allowed to keep. It has been reduced
from ten trout to three. Also, sections of rivers have been changed to fly fishing only. These
changes were implemented so that people do not catch all the trout in the streams, and the trout
are handled with care. I have been hearing reports from around the state that people are not
following the new regulations. People have been seen bait fishing in fly fishing only sections
and keeping up to 10 fish. It is our duty to make sure these people are aware of the laws and are
dealt with appropriately if they refuse to follow them. In order to enforce these laws, our officers
must be in the field looking for people breaking the law.

Summary
It has been decided that in order to force the new laws, we will double the number of officers in
the areas that have been affected by the change. This will help us patrol the rivers better and
identify the fish poachers. Failing to comply with the rules will result in the loss of your fishing
license and a hefty fine. We need to put up signs along the river that clearly state the fishing
limits and fly fishing only. This will stop people from saying they didn’t know about the new
laws. We also need to educate people on why this change has happened and why it benefits
them.

New Laws in Writing

1. In upstate South Carolina, trout fishing bag limits will decrease
from ten to three.
2. The use of treble hooks are killing trout in large numbers so many
sections have been made fly fishing only to ensure the safety of
the trout.
a. The picture on the right show the area that has been
effected on the Chauga.

Reported Fishing Violations

Fisherman from around the state have sent in complaints about people
not following the fishing regulations and abusing the trout. There are
certain rivers that are more problematic than others. I take these
complaints very seriously because it is people seeing what we do not see.
Most of the time people are making sure that a DNR officer is not around before breaking the
law and that is what makes our job difficult. Below is a report that I received yesterday that
shows the problems we are having.

Complaint 1:
River: Chauga
Issue: People taking over the limit of trout

I was fishing today, and I saw a man that was not far from the parking lot. He was
fishing in a fly fishing only section with a cork and live bait, I believe this is highly illegal but
there was no phone service or a DNR officer in sight. The man proceeded to keep upwards of
twenty trout, and he was putting them in a trash bag. This sight made me sick, and I wanted to
report the issue.

Conclusion
No one else is going to enforce these laws, it is our job to make sure that people follow them.
Most fisherman understand the law and follow it; however, the ones that don’t are the reason that
trout populations are declining. We must not have any leniency on people breaking the laws. I
expect you to be vocal about the changes, put up new signs that state the fishing laws, and patrol
each river. I will make sure that we are well staffed and have enough help to make these changes
happen. In certain situations, it will be necessary to spy on the fisherman before approaching
them. This will give us a much better idea of what is going on in the rivers when our presence is
not known. If we implement these changes, trout population will rise, and our rivers will
become healthier. We are concerned about the trout, not sportsmen’s desire to catch the most
trout. I hope that you understand what is being asked of you through this memo.

Recommendations

While patrolling the rivers you should do the following,

 Put up signs that state the fishing laws in each parking lot where it is visable.
 Actively look for fisherman and make sure that they are following and understand the
new laws.
 Do not approach someone that looks dangerous in the middle of the woods, wait for them
to come back to their vehicle with illegal fish.
 Look for fishing hotspots so that you can talk to as many people as possible.