Using fishing bait is just a "request" for a fish to bite my line so I can pull it in. It's up to the fish to respond to the 'request', right? So does that absolve me of a crime if I go fishing in someone else's pond and pull out all of their fish? Cause the fish are the ones that responded, right, so it's not my fault?

No, of course not. The technical details of how an HTTP request works are not what is relevant here. Don't be obtuse.