Respect For Fish

[ozark trout fisher]

HA ! ROTFL ! Man, OH MAN ! That is probably the funnest thing I've heard in a long, long time !!!

I keep coming back to one thought ,,, IT'S A FRIGGING FISH !!!!

And you all think - I"M A NUT ?!!!!!

I knew I'd take some crap for that post. And the thing is, I don't care. It's how I feel about it, and I thought it needed to be said.

[jdmidwest]

If you are practicing catch and release or its an illegal fish, release it gently and don't handle, bang it up, so it will live. If it is a legal fish and you are going to take it and eat it, it is going to die anyway.

As far as respect, it is not only for the fish, it should be for others in the outdoors that are trying to enjoy peace of the outdoors. If they wanted a cheering section or noise, they would have went to a ball game instead. And the fact that loud noises scare fish off and shuts them down.

[fozzie.]

If you truly respected the fish with the type of reverence you mention, why do you fish in the first place? You dangle a fake piece of food in front of them, drag them forcibly from their homes into a world that immediately begins to kill them, you'd think the least you could do is put the danged thing out of it's misery! But no, you torture it and then put it back.. Why? SO THAT HOPEFULLY SOMEONE ELSE CAN TORTURE IT TOO!

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

NO DOUGHT MAN. I have never once had any one tell me not to keep a legal fish while we were standing next to each other on the bank. Only where they can hide behind there keyboards and eat there TOFU. I am a member of PETA too. "PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS" I am on my way now to "TORTURE" some poor innocent fishies, someone get the oil hot.

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?

[DaddyO]

Well, I wasn't going to chime in on this, but, here I go anyway....

I like all kinds of music. Rock, Blues, Country, Jazz, Gospel, Contemporary Christian, etc... However, I don't really like CRAP, I mean, RAP music. Now, I have some friends that do like RAP music, it's just not my thing. But, I don't condemn them for it.

Catching a nice fish and shouting "BOOYAH!!" is not my thing either. However, I don't condemn the guy because he was excited about his catch. Who knows, maybe it was his biggest fish ever.

I usually practice catch and release, but, sometimes I will stringer a limit of fish and take it home for a meal or two. I've also been known to lay a fish on the ground in shallow water and take a picture of it, with my rod next to it for perspective. These kind of things may not be your "thing". But, so what, the fish in the pictures are all released and the fish on the stringer are all eaten.

OTF had his rant. Some of us have responded. We could go on and on with this thread, but in the end, it doesn't really matter. To each his own. Let's drop it.

Now, How about some fishing reports!!!

[flytyer57]

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?

For me, I mostly fish alone. I don't have anyone with me to take a pick of me holding that fish in my eco freindly net getting ready to release it while the majority of the fish is in the water. I have to either hold it up so I can get a pic, or lay it on the ground so I can get the camera out and get that pic.

I release 99.999% of the fish I catch, and If it's a nice fish, I will take a picture of said fish.

I won't lay a fish in the dirt tho. Grass ok. On a rock? Maybe, haven't yet. Leaves? Maybe if it's been reaining. Gravel? Along the stream bank yes, crushed in the driveway, hell no.

As for how to improve the resource? Stay home. Don't fish.

[jjtroutbum]

Great post flytyer57. I am going to add a few more pics to my posts as soon as I can get out. Might find a nice one to just put in my sigline like that one laker posted above. If I am lucky enough.

[MOFishwater]

I'm all for people doing what they enjoy and having a good time doing it. Who am I to tell them how to behave? I prefer to mind my own business.

[denjac]

This thread was much to do about nothing!

[fozzie.]

I'm all for people doing what they enjoy and having a good time doing it. Who am I to tell them how to behave? I prefer to mind my own business.

I'm not sure I follow that argument. Should we quit turning in poachers because they're having fun? Should a flasher not be prosecuted because we're not supposed to judge their actions?

Frankly, I'm sort of surprised the position has been met with so much criticism. If the object of C&R is to release a fish so that it will survive and grow, why subject it to more stress and damage than you absolutely need to? Why decrease its chances for survival any more than necessary? That's all I'm saying, and I don't think it's a terribly radical position.

[flytyer57]

I'm not sure I follow that argument. Should we quit turning in poachers because they're having fun? Should a flasher not be prosecuted because we're not supposed to judge their actions?

Frankly, I'm sort of surprised the position has been met with so much criticism. If the object of C&R is to release a fish so that it will survive and grow, why subject it to more stress and damage than you absolutely need to? Why decrease its chances for survival any more than necessary? That's all I'm saying, and I don't think it's a terribly radical position.

I practice catch and release the majority of the time. I may take a few pics now and then. I will not disrespect the fish by throwing it up on the bank in some rude way. I try to be as gentle with the fish as I possibly can. Once I land a fish, I try to keep it in the water as much as possible while getting my camera out.

This is a pic of the last fish I took a picture of. I never even took it out of the water. I just raised it's head a bit trying to get it to show it's flanks. Unfortunately, it did not cooperate, and shortly after I took this photo, the fish got off the hook before I could try to get a better pic.