Wait or Poach?

On Saturday I remembered that my fishing license had expired and I made a mental note to log on to the DNR website and buy a new one.  Sunday morning on my drive out to the creek I remembered that I'd forgot.  No problem I thought...I bought last season's license in a car, on a county road, near a steelhead river, in my waders, on my phone. 

Except it was a problem.  The DNR website would let me log in but it would NOT let me make the purchase.  The closest license dealer would not open for at least 2 hours. 

(What follows is purely fictional)

The decision was made to fish, sans license, until the shop opened and then get legal.  I don't know if I've ever been stopped by a warden on this creek in the 17 years I've been fishing it...but it still felt a little weird.  I had the stretch all to myself and I landed a few fish but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was Schwarz Angeln*...

*When McSteel was in college studying abroad in Germany, he was looking for opportunities to fish for trout.  As I recall the story, it was very difficult to gain access to trout water and when he inquired he was told that it was near impossible unless he chose to "fish black" i.e. fish under the cover of darkness or covertly.  German Translation: Schwarz Angeln.

Long story short, the shops opened, I got legal and the fishing resumed.  Still, the couple of hours of poaching didn't feel right and even if it was just in my head it cast a pall on my fishing.  I guess the lesson is...Reine Fischerei.

Fish Pure.