My Dilemma

[Xplorer]

Hi guys

 

I was fishing the lower bow on Weds and having great luck when I came upon a trout sitting at my feet. It was about 18" long, very dark colored and had very visible scarred and infected marks on its head. It kinda look like it had been picked up by an eagle or some other bird and dropped back in the water. The left eye was blind and I could not see the right. It moved off when I approached it but was definitly not well. I did not grab it or catch it with my net in time, but if I had what to do? Kill it and put it out of it's misery or let nature take its course? If I did kill it and let it float away what about being reported for wasting or illegal harvest?

 

The fish was covered in silt from sitting on the bottom and obviously has not moved in some time. I just hate to see a creature suffer.

 

Thanks for your opinions

Lance

 

[reevesr1]

I don't know what the rules are, but I personally would leave it alone and let nature take it's course. He might make it, but probably not. Hate to be cliche, but circle of life comes to mind.

[Tungsten]

Yup leave it be.Same goes if you catch one in the eye or one that bleeds all over, if its over 35cm you can't kill it.You have to let it go even if you no it's not gonna live.

[headscan]

Yup, leave it be and let nature take its course. Leave the biomass in the river. There's also a chance it made a meal for another fish.

[jdangler]

I was at Mckinnon one night and there was a Warden checking people coming off the river. He checked the cooler of a couple of fellas & found a Brown over the legsl size for keeping. He asked me to realese it. So I spent quite a long while trying to revive the fish so he was able to swim away on his own. Everytime when I let go of him he just made a couple of movements and went to the bottom. The warden said no matter what he goes back , whether he lives or not to be part as Headscan says the Biomass. I hope he did live, he did seem more powerfull when I released him for the last time.

[Xplorer]

Thanks for the replies/votes.

 

I have been feeling guilty since Weds about this poor fish, thinking I should have done something to help or end its suffering.

 

I also remember a muskrat being very nearby this fish, do they attack/eat larger fish?

 

thanks again

 

[flyfishfairwx]

Thanks for the replies/votes.

 

I have been feeling guilty since Weds about this poor fish, thinking I should have done something to help or end its suffering.

 

I also remember a muskrat being very nearby this fish, do they attack/eat larger fish?

 

thanks again

 

If I am not wrong Muskrats are vegetarian.

 

On Sheep creek near Grande Cache, I came around a bend in the creek and saw a large Bull trout circling another bull Trout that was nose down about two feet from the shore, I used my fly rod to move the trout that was nose down, the shore was very steep , I grabbed the bull trout by the tail , all the while thinking WTF, in the back of the trouts mouth was a very big spoon with barbed trebles, and bait...

 

I took this out and tried to revive this fish, it was a female, all the while the male was just about a foot away, she would not revive I released her and the male came back to circle around her , I kept the spoon and reported it to the CO I saw at the bridge on highway 43, I have thought of this over and over and over, did I do the right thing no matter what type of fish it was, there are some large grayling and bows in that creek, the answer I have come up with is yes, return the fish to the river and its partner.

 

FWIW.

 

[nebc]

If I am not wrong Muskrats are vegetarian.

 

On Sheep creek near Grande Cache, I came around a bend in the creek and saw a large Bull trout circling another bull Trout that was nose down about two feet from the shore, I used my fly rod to move the trout that was nose down, the shore was very steep , I grabbed the bull trout by the tail , all the while thinking WTF, in the back of the trouts mouth was a very big spoon with barbed trebles, and bait...

 

I took this out and tried to revive this fish, it was a female, all the while the male was just about a foot away, she would not revive I released her and the male came back to circle around her , I kept the spoon and reported it to the CO I saw at the bridge on highway 43, I have thought of this over and over and over, did I do the right thing no matter what type of fish it was, there are some large grayling and bows in that creek, the answer I have come up with is yes, return the fish to the river and its partner.

 

FWIW.

1. you did the correct thing, don't worry about it.

2. muskrats are indeed vegetarians. That being said, most people think cute little critters like squirrels, robins and others are as well.

[fishpro]

I wouldn't be so sure about muskrats being vegetarians. Years ago I was fishing a lake, and we had a fish that died when we caught it, but was too small to eat, so my grandfather cut it up and left it in pieces on a rock. About 1/2 hour later we saw a muskrat eating the pieces of fish.

[DutchDryfly]

You did the right thing, let nature run it's couse.

On the other hand I will kill a fish if I caught it and it was heavily damaged by catching it.

No matter what the rules say, I will not put back a fish I injured just to have it die slowly.

I will kill it, puncture the blatter and put it back in the water.

[dube]

Interesting topic. Had it been me I suppose I would leave it.

 

On the other hand my old man is a land surveyor and spends a great deal of time on the road and I have seen him pull over and finish off animals that have been hit by cars. I worked with him for quite a few years after highschool and I've got to admit it was always a bit unnerving to watch but it made good sense to me. It never helped that it was usually an axe that did the job, but a decisive tool really.

I'll never forget this story....the old man is cooking along somewhere up by slave lake and spots a small dark critter humping across the highway a bit too late. So being the guilty terminator he stops to get out and see if there's any business to take care of and he realizes it's a mink. I'm not sure if it died from the hit or not but at any rate he felt so bad he wrapped it in newspaper and brought it home. The thing wasn't mangled, just a bump on the head, so he decided he'd have it mounted. It was around this time of year and so he started hinting to my mom that he had gotten her a mink for x-mas. I was the only one in on the joke and it was quite good, mom kept gushing you did not. (for the record I don't think she would actually wear a fur). Finally the jig was up and I went running out to the shed to grab this stiff wad of newspaper, she was not as amused surprisingly. He did have it mounted and it was a fine specimen really until one of their little bastard dogs decided to have a go at it. He's since picked up a lynx he spotted dead in a ditch and had it done too. This mount is tremendous, taxidermist did a great job, and it is kept up where dogs can't get it.

 

I know it's a little off topic but it raises an interesting question. Hitting or coming across a critter that has been hit on the road is a little different than finding one in nature dying but if it is at your own hands that the critter is suffering what do you do. By the rules if it's a no kill zone or out of season you let it die, seems cruel in a way. If I hit a deer or something I'm not sure if I could just leave it to suffer in the ditch, obviously you don't want to go walking up to a wounded animal and most people don't have the means to deliver a fatal blow to a large animal but it actually makes me sad to think of how often this happens. It ties in with the coyote thread, it took them how long to actually check the front of your car? Nuts.

Recently I spotted an RCMP on the side of the highway pulled in behind a vehicle and as I got closer I noticed that there was a really nice moose about 100yrds behind them still steaming in the ditch, buddies car was a mess and him and the officer were standing there talking and the cop had a shot gun under his arm. Seems pretty clear what happened. Usually I think they call F&W but I suppose if it's considered a hazard on the highway it needs to be taken care of.

 

Anyway, not always cut and dry to me.

[canadensis]

Xplorer,

 

Avoid all of the salmon streams/rivers during the spawn.

[Jeffro]

Just keep in mind when trying to play on natures emotion that unless you have permission from the appropriate authorities, you are breaking the law by collecting wildlife, killing wildlife (this includes fish) unless under a license or authority to do so. Also animals not protected by statutes or limitations are exempt.

[Guest Sundancefisher]

Hi guys

 

I was fishing the lower bow on Weds and having great luck when I came upon a trout sitting at my feet. It was about 18" long, very dark colored and had very visible scarred and infected marks on its head. It kinda look like it had been picked up by an eagle or some other bird and dropped back in the water. The left eye was blind and I could not see the right. It moved off when I approached it but was definitly not well. I did not grab it or catch it with my net in time, but if I had what to do? Kill it and put it out of it's misery or let nature take its course? If I did kill it and let it float away what about being reported for wasting or illegal harvest?

 

The fish was covered in silt from sitting on the bottom and obviously has not moved in some time. I just hate to see a creature suffer.

 

Thanks for your opinions

Lance

 

Let nature take its course

[Wolfie]

During the latter part of the warmer month of summer, my Wolf and I went fishing south of Fish Creek on the Bow, it was she that found this bird a 'tern' laying beside a washed up log on the shore..it was dying, and as far as I could tell, there was not any visual sign of damage to it, however, that didn't say that something it had swallowed wasn't stuck in it's gullet....it was a beautiful specimen, and if I had any use for it, I might have kept it. However that wasn't the case, I took a photo of it as you can see and propped it up next to the log...maybe it survived or maybe not..but..it wasn't my call.........................Wolfie

 

[canadensis]

During the latter part of the warmer month of summer, my Wolf and I went fishing south of Fish Creek on the Bow, it was she that found this bird a 'tern' laying beside a washed up log on the shore..it was dying, and as far as I could tell, there was not any visual sign of damage to it, however, that didn't say that something it had swallowed wasn't stuck in it's gullet....it was a beautiful specimen, and if I had any use for it, I might have kept it. However that wasn't the case, I took a photo of it as you can see and propped it up next to the log...maybe it survived or maybe not..but..it wasn't my call.........................Wolfie

 

 

I am surprised your "Pet Wolf" did not eat it? My "Pet fox" would have...

 

 

[bigbowtrout]

Wolfie for the first time Terned a blind eye

[Christofficer]

Well, I think it depends...... if nature injured it, let it die by nature. For instance, if an osprey or something caught one and dropped it back in the water half dead within range of me grabbing it, I'd leave it. If I happened to injure it severely I'd do exactly what DutchDryFly said previously. It's not letting nature run it's course if we're the ones killing them. Good question though, it's tough.