bulltrout Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 i know the majority of fly fishers catch and release...it's kind of an unwritten thing amongst our bretheren...however, after going through my archives, i came across an article by Jim McLennan in the Nov/Jan 2007 issue of the Canadian Fly Fisher entitled "Further Thoughts on Catch-and-Release"...this C&R thing is kind of a double edged sword of sorts and some might take it too seriously...what was once a fisheries management tool has taken on a life of its own to some degree...what are your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchy Posted March 2, 2008 Share Posted March 2, 2008 I guess I'll have to go re-read that one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailhead Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I read that article awhile ago, I think it was in the Canadian Flyfisher. It did have some good points and as I think was intended to raise awareness and also debate. What it boils down to is that more evaluation needs to be done on catch and release, and the effect it has on individual waters. That however requires personel and therefore money, which as we all know is in short supply when it comes to fisheries management. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tako Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 It's not really an issue with me. I don't eat fish, but I won't hesitate to bonk one for the family. That being said, I caught around a thousand trout last year on the fly, and I can only remember bonking about a dozen. I figure the poachers balance out the equation in C&R areas. That being said, C&R has some logistical problems for stocked lakes, where you would have to rely on natural mortality to keep numbers low and growth high. I think. And I'll read the article later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pythagoras Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Sometimes (I have to admit) I look at a nice fat trout and think back to when I bonked 'em and fried them streamside. Definatly the best fish I've ever eaten. I can remember specific meals...Once, on some nice restricted access lakes in New Brunswick, my brother, some friends and I took a few fish (legaly) and fried them up beside the lake in butter salt and pepper...they puffed up 3x their size when they hit the pan and I can still taste them... That being said...how do you cook up those huge trout around here...you know the ones...white on the leading edge of the fins, no black spots, pretty aggressive....lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 Fresh fish is delicious and I kill plenty over the course of the year. I always C&R wild trout and never break the rules. Stocked trout, pike, lake whites, walleye and perch are all outstanding table fare. I haven't tried burbot yet but I intend to soon. We ate some high-elevation lake stocked cutts cooked over embers a couple of years ago and they were divine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulltrout Posted March 4, 2008 Author Share Posted March 4, 2008 so with these points expressed in mind, why is it that the majority of fly fishers are preaching nothing but C&R as almost a religion, even though regulations allow for legal harvests? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigbadbrent Posted March 4, 2008 Share Posted March 4, 2008 We pretend we're in a gentle sport, with C&R being the only way to verify this artful gentiliness (makin up words, the MGD has landed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladystrange Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 the article is also in Watermarks. interesting thought. i suspect many people C&R because they think they are supposed to for the betterment of the fisheries without much thought as to why. personnally, i do it because i dont eat fish. at least not fresh water fish. and for some reason i just cant seem to bring to myself to buy "fresh" saltwater fish from a land locked province... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 *hit I've was ostracized and eventually given the punt from crayonman's board starting 6-8 yrs ago for questioning the total embrace of C&R angling as a lofty ideal of the new 'Sophisticated FlyFisher', called it The NewFound Religion of Catch and Release. Over the yrs I come to believe the biggest single threat to the last remaining pure WSCT in the upper OMR is C&R angling PERIOD more on this later..gotta go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailhead Posted March 5, 2008 Share Posted March 5, 2008 You will have to elaborate on the threat to the WSCT, and I await your post. BTW never sell the ole 22 son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 never sell the old .22, son, never sell the old .22 cause the old .22’s shot a gopher or two so don'tcha never sell the old .22 aim it to the left, a little low, son, aim it to the left, a little low cuz the old iron sight fires high and to the right so aim it to the left, a little low always tip the glass when you pour son, always tip the glass when you pour cuz if you don't tip the glass, well the foam, it comes fast and runs from the table to the floor Simple observation Trailhead....... the rainbows used to be confined to the lower end of the Gap itself and in the past couple of yrs I've caught obvious rainbow well up both the L'stone and the OMR where I've never have before. WTFsupwidat? What's changed? The 10 fish limit's gone, access is better, lots of people fishin', pretty decent fishin almost everywhere and hardly anyone keeping fish. Justa country conclusion I come up with until something better comes along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulltrout Posted March 6, 2008 Author Share Posted March 6, 2008 the main point that i was addressing here was the fact that more and more fly fishermen are taking to the policy of C&R and absolutely crucify anyone who deviates from that "religion"...prime example, if i caught a 20"+ brown from the Crow during HARVESTABLE months and posted a wall mount of it on this site, how many people would absolutely jump all over me with insults and would be cutting me down even though it is legal?...hell, when the old FFA was up and running, i posted a pic of the monster pike i took out of Nicholas Sheran Park Pond here in Lethbridge and absolutely got hung out to dry by all these "C&R or go to hell" type of fishermen...even though C&R is a useful MANAGEMENT TOOL when used in the proper circumstances, it can still be detrimental to the fish in the system and should not, by any means (regardless of opinions), be treated as the only method of angling and taken as religion as some choose to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Yeah and ??? I thought that's whats being discussed...the pros and cons of the new religion of C&R.... I'm on your side Hoss, I'm all about killin' invasives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJuanWorm Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Here's what my daddy used to say. Opinions are like assholes........everyone has one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 My Daddy never told me that'n but he did tell me not to worry about the hair on my head....it was just gonna grow wild on my ass anyway :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teck71 Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 when I was a teen, we used to always take one for lunch, on the start of trout season. "bonk a brookie, stuff it with wild garlic, butter wrapp it in foil with 7-8 fiddle heads and fried Puffball mushroom on the side mmmmmmm good was some of the best meals I ever had". I see nothing wrong with 1 or 2 young fish a season sacificed to my waist line. but on a whole with the damage done in the past. Most fish get a pass from me I remember the open of trout season on the Notty or Boyne it sseemed like you could walk accross the water on the backe of trout, and be sure to catch a couple all through the season. Now i was told not to waste my time going back there for fish. don't really know what i'm saying now just thinking of those stream side lunches back in Ontario, and drooling.... damn you pythagoras for bringing up shore lunches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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