(Gene C) wrote in message...
I find this extremely depressing on many levels.

I was out of town for a couple of days in the middle of last week. I
got home and knew that they were supposed to complete the fall
stocking for Elk Creek in Cecil County Maryland. They did. On Friday
afternoon they completed it. They put a lot of nice fish in the
creek. Me, and two other fly fisherman must have a caught a dozen
fish. Most of them were in the 12 to 15 inch range. That was
amazing! Even more amazing was the fact that within a couple of hours
of going into the water they were going after woolly buggers! Of the
12 or so fish we caught, one guy kept one.

So it's OK for you to follow the stocking truck...

I fished again on Sunday for a while and the vast majority of the fish
were gone! One guy had 5 real nice ones on a stringer laying in
shallow water.

But not OK for this guy. And I'll bet that this uncouth savage wasn't
even fly fishing. Did he have all of his teeth?

Now I know put-and-take has it's place in fisheries management but
these fish could have been there all winter. The water temps are
right. The food might be a little scarce for that many fish but we
could have had fun catching them for the next 5 months!

Do you have any idea how few trout anglers will wet a line over then
next five months? I'd bet that it's a *very* small minority.

I'm not a fan of PETA but I also see no point in pushing fish to a
slow death of suffocation.

??? Are you refering to the stringer? Many anglers whack 'em on the
head before they put 'em on the stringer. Did you see fish struggling
against the stringer? Even so, statistically speaking, one of the
fish you or your buddies C&R'd on Friday likely died as a C&R
mortality.

Maybe I'm misguided but that mentality seems so selfish, so short
sighted? I know this is the reality but?.? Maybe all streams should
have delayed harvest for a couple of weeks after stocking. That would
allow the people who want to CATCH fish a chance to do so before the
meat men arrive and yank them all out of the water for good.
Any comments?

Selfish & Shortsighted. Welcome to America, buddy. Sounds to me like
you CAUGHT just as many fish on Friday as the 'meat man' did on
Sunday--and at least HE had the courtesy to give the fish 48 hours out
of the stocking truck before he did it.

All cynicism & sarcasm aside, the state stocks those fish to sell
licenses. Did the 'meat man' have a license? If so, then the state
got exactly what they wanted in exchange for those fish. You can rail
against this system all you'd like, but I doubt that you'll change
much. The put & take system exists to sell licenses and thereby
employ as many state workers as possible in a futile endeavor. The
socio-political reality of stocking has practically nothing to do with
fish, fishing, watersheds, ecosystems or conservation. It has
everything to do with money. License fees are a voluntary tax, and in
order to maximize the number of volunteers, the state puts fish in the
creeks. If you're willing to pay the tax, catch the fish and then
release them for the next licensed angler, the state thanks you.

Tom G
licensed angler