Respect For Fish

[rubicon31]

Is that seriously the thread title you chose? Respect? For fish? Seriously?

Is this the new code for "Lets have a catch and release vs. catch and keep debate?"

Oops, wet wool glove catch and release...

I par cooked this one on the side of an aluminum canoe in the middle of July and released it so the next guy that caught it wouldn't have to wait as long for it to cook before he devoured it...

I caught and released this one and he loved me so much he hung around for me to take his picture....

I probably should have waited for him to get away from the moss, rocks and gravel before I took the picture but I didn't know and apparently neither did he. Now I do, just gotta remember to tell him.

I string my trout right through the eyes because they live longer they just can't see and I really enjoy it when one drops milt or eggs all over my waders before I slit em nape to neck and rip out their guts.

now that's funny, classic!

[vanven]

What can I say, I'm pro-life.

You guys are attacking strawmen again. This isn't about PETA. It's not about catch and release vs. catch and keep. It's not about torture, or animal rights. To me, it's about being a responsible custodian of the resource.

The action of fishing certainly stresses the fish we target, there's no argument there. But there are ways we can minimize stress to the fish we catch. Hucking 'em on the bank to take a picture isn't one of those ways. Numerous studies have shown the longer a fish is exposed to air, the more damage done to it's slime coat, the less its likelihood of survival. It's also been shown that the effects of stress aren't always immediate- a fish may swim off fine, then succumb to mortal stress later.

So now back to my question: can anyone explain to me how the fish on the gravel/bank/grass/dirt/leaves photos are improving fishing? How they're stressing the fish less than minimal handling and quick release? How they're benefitting our resources?

I agree with this 100%. I am a bit amazed at some of the crass comments and opinions here. I have a feeling many of them wouldn't be said to someone's face, but it is easy to hide behind a keyboard. Fishing is a privilege we should protect and preserve, not a god given right. Taking care of the natural resources is a very important part of that.

-Jerod

[Thom]

OK now be truthful all of you and answer this question.

You decided to go to the tailwaters one evening and were at your favorite spot and no one there but you .... not a soul in sight!

Suddenly you hook into a 30 inch Brownie and fight it carefully to the net. You camera is in the car parked in the lot ... a good 10 minutes away and you are by yourself. It will be dark in 20 minutes. Would you just release it immediately and tell someone later?

remember complete honesty.

The largest fish I caught a Taney ... A beatiful male Brown with the classic jaw about 22 inches was on one of those evening except I had left the camera at the condo.

I still went away with one of the greatest memories of my life as the Brownie swam away giving me a strong flip of the tail as he realized he was free.

[solus_vero]

I agree with this 100%. I am a bit amazed at some of the crass comments and opinions here. I have a feeling many of them wouldn't be said to someone's face, but it is easy to hide behind a keyboard. Fishing is a privilege we should protect and preserve, not a god given right. Taking care of the natural resources is a very important part of that.

-Jerod

Yes it is easy to hide behind a keyboard. I agree completely.

TO OTF and all his followers,, next time you are out fishing and see someone "Torturing a fish" or hooping it up, just walk up to them and explain your feeling towards that kind of behavior. I'm sure Bubba and his friends would love to hear your point of view.

[ness]

Alright, alright. Let's not pile on here.

I gotta admit, my first reaction was... huh? But, when you're typing on a forum, it's not always best to go with your first reaction, if you know what I mean. So, I gave it some thought, and then some more -- trying to see it more from OTF's viewpoint.

Anyway, I'm a small stream kinda guy, and landing a 3-pound fish of any kind would be a thrill -- I'm human and get excited about stuff too. And I'm also the kind of guy that likes to avoid the crowds and soak it all in. So, somebody whoopin' and hollerin' about catching a fish wouldn't be real high on my list of sounds I'd like to hear when I'm in the great outdoors. So, I can see where OFF may have bristled a bit at all that.

So let's no pick nits over his choice of words, or call him on the carpet about his avatar. I think we all can relate, in some way, to what he's saying.

We all jerk fish out of the water by the jaw, and that can't feel too good. But, we've all made the decision to do it, and we're doing it within our comfort zone. If OTF is a little less comfortable than you, then so be it. I can understand it.

If anything good comes from this thread, I hope it's that folks think a little about what they're doing out there.

[fozzie.]

As for the whooping thing, I guess I just don't care. I think it's silly, but to each their own. I do silly things on the river, too.

As for the C&R-ish thing, I figured it may help to illustrate my point, too.

That's a fish. I was hungry. I bashed his head on a rock, set him on said rock, and took a picture. No qualms there.

Later, I ate it. It was delicious. No qualms there.

I didn't want to eat this one, so I saw no reason to screw with it any more than necessary. No, the pic isn't going to grace the cover of Field and Stream, but it works for me.

I'm not arguing for C&R vs. anything else, or the welfare of worms, or the existential consequences of baiting a hook, or the rights of Mr. Darbee's chickens. My point is: What's better for a fish you intend to release: handling it more or handling it less?

If the object of C&R is to release a fish to grow larger, it makes no sense to me to handle it in a way which increases its likelihood of dying. It seems like if you wanted the fish to survive and grow, a better approach would be to take measures to limit the negative effects of stress, limit handling of the fish as to protect its slime layer, and minimize its exposure to air. That's it. Am I wrong?

It's certainly not a huge deal, and I don't mean to seem like I'm blowing things out of proportion. I'm not going to be walking up and down streambanks ostracizing people for their release techniques- I just don't care that much. The thread was, in part, about the ethics of the sport we all participate in, and I figured I'd share my thoughts on one issue.

Thom-If I landed a 30 inch brown, I'd be shot. Shaking too bad to even consider taking a decent picture. I'd be more worried about whether I had an extra pair of drawers in the car than where my camera was.

ness- Great point. If nothing more, hopefully it'll get people thinking.

[Trav]

it should be for others in the outdoors that are trying to enjoy peace of the outdoors.

What he said....Exactly!

[flytyer57]

OK now be truthful all of you and answer this question.

You decided to go to the tailwaters one evening and were at your favorite spot and no one there but you .... not a soul in sight!

Suddenly you hook into a 30 inch Brownie and fight it carefully to the net. You camera is in the car parked in the lot ... a good 10 minutes away and you are by yourself. It will be dark in 20 minutes. Would you just release it immediately and tell someone later?

remember complete honesty.

Yes, I would definately release it right away. Like I said in an earlier post, I release 99.999% of the fish I catch, so I'd just let it go and just have the memory.

As for telling someone else? Why? I fish for my benefit. I don't need to brag to others. As for pictures, they just help me remember. Kind of like having pictues of my wife. I don't have to brag about her, just remember her.

[Al Agnew]

I can see where OTF is coming from. I think there are two separate mindsets among anglers. To some, the fish is simply a goal, a way of keeping score. It's a mindset that shows up most significantly in big time tournaments where the fish IS a score. Adding up points is the important thing, the fish and its well-being is secondary at best. That's why you see all the tournament guys hoisting the fish into their boats and letting them flop around on the carpeted deck or floor, which we all know can't be real good for their slime coat--and these fish ARE supposed to be released. But it's the quickest and surest (for fish below a certain size) way of securing those points. It's also been popularized the most by a few self-appointed tournament jerks like Iaconelli or however you spell his name, which may be where the guys that OTF talked about got their idea of how to act when you catch a good fish. But there's a difference between treating the fish with the kind of respect that tries insure it is healthy when released (assuming it WILL be released), and the kind of respect that makes catching and releasing one a "dignified" act. The first should be a necessary part of catch and release angling, the second is optional.

The other mindset is one more of reverence for the fish and the resource. It's probably been popularized the most by the plethora of fly fishing books that make the act of fishing and the act of catching a fish a "sacred" experience, not to be trivialized by "unseemly" behavior. The fish is not a score, it's an object almost of worship. Maybe the best thing about this mindset is that it does go a long way to insure that the fish is handled correctly when caught and released. The worst thing is that it becomes a form of snobbery.

Personally, I lean a bit toward the second mindset but I also realize that it's all in my mind; the fish doesn't care that it's an object of reverence. But mainly, I try to be mindful of how I handle the fish, and mindful of how fortunate I am to be able to be on the river and fishing. Every time I begin a float trip, I push the canoe off, climb in, and if the current let's me, I pause with the paddle across my knees and take a deep breath and close my eyes for a minute and simply appreciate--no, "appreciate" is not a strong enough word--the fact that I'm on the river once more. When I catch a nice smallmouth, I take just a second to admire it and look at its color and any interesting scars or marks before releasing it, and I'm very careful about the way I handle the fish, not bending its lower jaw too far, etc. I don't whoop and holler even if it's a really big one. If I'm near another angler, I tend to go even calmer, probably because I want the other guy to think I do this all the time!

As far as photographing, I will often lay the fish on gravel in an inch or so of water, so that the gravel is wet and somewhat slimy. I will sometimes lay it on WET grass or leaves. I don't want to lay it in mud, sand, or dirt, and I don't lay it on anything dry. When in my boat, I'll lay it on the front edge of the aluminum deck where I have a ruler, but I splash the aluminum to make it wet, and I don't do this on warm, sunny days where the deck is probably going to be hot. Since I use the boat mostly in cooler weather anyway, this is seldom a consideration.

[flytyer57]

Alright, alright. Let's not pile on here.

I gotta admit, my first reaction was... huh? But, when you're typing on a forum, it's not always best to go with your first reaction, if you know what I mean. So, I gave it some thought, and then some more -- trying to see it more from OTF's viewpoint.

Anyway, I'm a small stream kinda guy, and landing a 3-pound fish of any kind would be a thrill -- I'm human and get excited about stuff too. And I'm also the kind of guy that likes to avoid the crowds and soak it all in. So, somebody whoopin' and hollerin' about catching a fish wouldn't be real high on my list of sounds I'd like to hear when I'm in the great outdoors. So, I can see where OFF may have bristled a bit at all that.

So let's no pick nits over his choice of words, or call him on the carpet about his avatar. I think we all can relate, in some way, to what he's saying.

We all jerk fish out of the water by the jaw, and that can't feel too good. But, we've all made the decision to do it, and we're doing it within our comfort zone. If OTF is a little less comfortable than you, then so be it. I can understand it.

If anything good comes from this thread, I hope it's that folks think a little about what they're doing out there.

Ok. I will admit, that someone acting like Mike Iacanelli (spelling?) out on the water would bother me. I too like the solitude. Sure, if I catch a large fish, I get excited, but I try to keep my feelings to myself. I've even gone so far as to turn my back to others so they couldn't see the fish I was releasing. Let them catch their own fish and admire it.