I see people violating the regs almost every time I go fishing. If the opportunity is obvious, I always talk to them about it in a friendly and non-confrontational "hey, I'd hate to see you get a ticket" way. I have called the warden on the cell phone a few times when it pegged my meter. But, basically, I have come to grips with the fact that Americans are a pretty lawless bunch of rebels who adhere to the "it ain't illegal unless I get caught" principle. And don't even bother trying to discuss ethics/morality in such situations. If they had any, they would 1. know the regs, and 2. already be abiding by them. And you cannot gain from appealing to someone's sense of morality when they don't have one. That's sort of like asking a blind man what his favorite color is.

Our country is not a police state, thank goodness. It was never our desire or intent to stop 100% of violations of the law. We err on the side of liberty. We put folks on the honor system for almost everything. It works pretty darned well, too. The goal is to keep lawlessness under control. And there are much bigger issues we should be working on fixing than a few ignorant or self-centered yuppies stressing fish in Yellowstone National Park.

With all that said, the powers that be are there to ensure the best possible outdoor experience for everyone. Protecting the resources is a big part of that equation. So the wise angler follows the expert guidance of the rules and recommendations of the wildlife management, enforcement, and public lands management authorities FOR HIS/HER OWN GOOD. Sometimes you can fix ignorance. But you can't fix stupid. It's good to discuss things like this, but we have to be realistic about the outcome.