Help Me Understand Why........

[ColdWaterFshr]

Simmer down young grasshopper. You're entitled to your opinion and your definition of respect, but try to pay attention to the depth of that hole ya got diggin there.

[Flysmallie]

Sorry, that's my opinion. Am I not allowed to say what I think?

Opinions are no longer allowed.

I will say in Eric's defense that I find it really comical that anyone calls him a fly fishing snob. He just got his first fly rod and has had some success, but he is definitely not a snob. He expressed his opinion, just like everybody else expressed their opinion about his.

[Guest]

deleted

[Phil Lilley]

And I expressed my opinion.... It wasn't a "rule violation".

Or, Eric, you could say it was the brown's fault. Come on... you know that's what the underlying feeling are about this ordeal. You're mad that that stupid brown took a piece of power bait instead of someone's fly, jig or crank bait.

The man had nothing to do with the fish taking the bait. He was looking for rainbows to eat. A big stupid brown ate the power bait, he fought the brown and netted it and thus was thrown into the lime light of the angling world of forums and coffee shop talk where he's battered for catching the brown on power bait when he actually had no choice in the matter. As soon as he hooked the fish, he had a choice... land the sucker and be ridiculed for using power bait or break it off and be free of the upcoming hoard of critics.

OK, I'm being overdramatic. But you get my jest.

It was the fish's fault! We have NO respect for that 28.8 pound brown - right!?

[Zack Hoyt]

I have to agree with Phil and the others. Definate props to him for what he accomplished. A trout that big and old would have been lucky to live after being caught and released. Instead of criticising a guy for the way he caught a record brown trout, I am concentrating on the idea that if there was one this big, there are more. I dont seek out record trout, but neither was this guy. It just goes to show how successful of a trout habitat Taney can be, and what is possible no matter the technique you use.

On an etiquette note.......if you hook a monster and know what the 45 minute fight to get him landed will do to him, are you not better off just breaking it off?

[denjac]

Opinions are no longer allowed.

I will say in Eric's defense that I find it really comical that anyone calls him a fly fishing snob. He just got his first fly rod and has had some success, but he is definitely not a snob. He expressed his opinion, just like everybody else expressed their opinion about his.

I gave my opinion on what was stated. Eric clarified his postion that it wasnt a fly vs spin thing, but was a bait vs artificial thing. I think everbody has expressed an opinion, some pro, some con depending on what side of the fence your on.

[eric1978]

I am not ridiculing the man. He seems like a great guy and I think I'd enjoy having a beer with him.

I don't know how to say it another way, but I'll try.

I don't have any ethical qualms about how he caught that fish, nor that he kept it, and I defended him on both counts.

Then someone took it to another level and said he deserved "respect" for catching it. Sorry, but I have a different perspective on angling.

If you guys don't draw a distinction between tricking a fish and feeding a fish, why do you ever use anything but bait?

Great guy, great fish. Don't tell me I have to respect his methods, and don't blow my comments out of proportion...it's only my opinion. The only value that fish has is the value that the man who caught it gives it. It's only a number to the rest of us.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I think it was quite a feat to land it on 4# line. Had he caught it on a BPS catfish rod, 20# Trilene and a 2 treble it would be different. As far as the Power bait goes, maybe he thought it was a Glo Ball, who knows? :lol:

[zander]

Trout like powerbait, little trout and I guess big trout alike. He caught a fish, turned out to be a new state record. I have drifted that stretch of the lake a hundred times and I would have, as most here would have, loved to have caught that big ol' brown. but you do have to respect the guy in my opinion. not for his mastery of the brown diet and foraging habits, or for the selection of a unheard of technique to catch it, but because he caught it on 4 lb test without breaking it off. I've lost a ton of "world record" fish by breaking off my line. (as long as you never see it, it is common knowledge that ANY fish that breaks your line was in fact a world record). The cool thing about this whole story is that he truly did make the most of the chance he was given with this incredible fish. I woulda broke the line and let a couple of choice words fly if it was me that had the chance with that brown.

[GloryDaze]

You see- it is a good topic after all. I think the thing that I appreciate is that I'm not even a trout fisherman, so just reading this thread has me more educated:

Things I've learned from this thread:

#1) A brown trout this big was probably at the end of his life cycle

#2) Brown trout feed on Rainbows

#3) Respect is in the eye of the beholder

#4) Mark the 28lb fish in the freezer as "please do not throw away"

#5) Some folks get so worked up over opinions- man, that's what makes the world go round.......

Can't wait untilsomeone breaks the smallie record in the state- man that one could be a blast!!!!