Fly Fishing As The Humane Way To Fish

I had the opportunity this past weekend to get away to the White
Mountains of NH for my gf's family reunion. We were staying at a resort
with a small private pond that is loaded with rainbows 12-16'' and
better.

The resort gives away barbless hooks and very few people bothered to
use them. Powerbait was the bait of choice and sadly I saw so many dead
fish along the shore it turned my stomach. Even the adults who were
fishing with kids seemed to have no concern as to whether the fish were
released safely or not.

I'm glad I decided to start fly fishing.

"tmon" wrote


The resort gives away barbless hooks and very few people bothered to
use them. Powerbait was the bait of choice and sadly I saw so many dead
fish along the shore it turned my stomach. Even the adults who were
fishing with kids seemed to have no concern as to whether the fish were
released safely or not.

I'm glad I decided to start fly fishing.

why didn't you collect the fish, cook them and be grateful for the
bounty? assuming they hadn't rottended, of course.

wayno

From: (Wayne=A0Harrison)

=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0why didn't you collect the fish, cook them and
be grateful for the bounty? assuming they hadn't rottended, of course.
wayno

most of 'em had rottended 'cept a couple maybe. and i wasn't 'bout to
start discernin' the good from bad. :-)

On Thu, 27 May 2004 01:22:32 GMT, "Wayne Harrison" wrote:


"tmon" wrote


The resort gives away barbless hooks and very few people bothered to
use them. Powerbait was the bait of choice and sadly I saw so many dead
fish along the shore it turned my stomach. Even the adults who were
fishing with kids seemed to have no concern as to whether the fish were
released safely or not.

I'm glad I decided to start fly fishing.

why didn't you collect the fish, cook them and be grateful for the
bounty? assuming they hadn't rottended, of course.

Well, he did say the reunion was in a civilized state, ya grit-eatin' heathen.

/daytripper (kiss/hug ;-)

"daytripper" wrote

Well, he did say the reunion was in a civilized state, ya grit-eatin'
heathen.

/daytripper (kiss/hug ;-)

tweet! tweet! unfair and unfounded accusation!

i wouldn't eat grits on a ****ing bet, having done that when i were a
youngster, doncha know...

yfitons
wayno

"tmon" wrote


The resort gives away barbless hooks and very few people bothered to
use them. Powerbait was the bait of choice and sadly I saw so many dead
fish along the shore it turned my stomach. Even the adults who were
fishing with kids seemed to have no concern as to whether the fish were
released safely or not.

I'm glad I decided to start fly fishing.


Not all flyfishermen are considerate either. Flyfishing is only more
sporting if it is done in a sporting manner.

Having trouble with my newsreader again, and so I will reply to another
thread here.

I do have some pictures of homemade hooks somewhere, probably on the same
disc as the hook making articles. If there is sufficient interest, I can
try and get them put up on a site somewhere.

For first attempts, no complicated gear is required. Merely a box of
"straight pins" ( sewing shop), or a box of needles, ( which are extremely
cheap), a pair of fine round needle nosed pliers ( The type used by
telephone technicians etc to bend wire into loops), a pair of fine flat
needle nosed pliers,and a small blow lamp. One of the "camping Gaz" type is
very good.

One may also use certain types of piano wire.

If one does not wish to use barbs, then one can simply flatten the wire
somewhat at the hook point, and then grind this to a spear point. This is
done before the wire is bent. This holds just as well as a barb in most
cases, but is easily removed.


All bending operations are carried out after the wire has been annealed. (
De-tempered). ( Heat to cherry red, and allow to cool in a box of fine
sand). Some people like to bend the wire while it is still hot. If you do
this, then be careful. It bends extremely easily, and it is also easy to
damage it.

To make a hook eye, obtain some hard steel nails ( The type used for hanging
pictures etc in brick walls), and use these as bending jigs. Drive the
nails ( various sizes for various eyes of course) into a piece of hard wood.
Cut off the heads ( Dremel or similar), and buff them up.

I know at least one person who uses tempered steel nails to make salmon
irons. This is relatively easy.

One simply bends the wire into the shape required, using the pliers. One can
make a round jig for this, or simply hold the wire against a pattern. The
eye is formed around the nail shank, and a small hammer may be used to
"dengle" the wire around the nail after the excess has been removed. This
is easier if the wire for the eye is kept hot. It can be formed very easily
indeed then.

The hook bend is formed by holding the wire tightly with the flat pliers,
and simply forming the bend with the round pliers. This is quite easy to do,
although some practice is required in order to achieve consistency. The
wire is over length to start with, and the eye is formed last. The excess is
cut off when the eye is nearly formed, and then the eye is closed.

There are no difficulties at all involved. The annealed wire is very soft
and easy to bend.

For tempering, one needs a small steel plate. First the hooks are hardened,
by heating to cherry red, and dropping into ice water. The hooks are then
placed in a container of sand, and shaken until bright. The metal plate is
heated, the hooks placed on the plate, and carefully watched for the temper
colour changes. The colour changes of the steel are caused by oxidation on
the metal surface, and are extremely temperature specific. When the
required temperature is achieved, the hooks are tipped off the plate
immediately into ice water.

If the temper is OK, then that was that. If not, simply repeat until the
temper is OK. Once the temper is OK, then once again shake the hooks in
sand ( Carborundum grit, etc etc) to clean off any scale etc.

The temper colours vary somewhat depending on the steel used. High carbon
steel is required. The stuff used for pins and needles is perfect. Some
wires may not be.

I have also made a fair number of stainless steel hooks, but this is much
more difficult. Obtaining the steel for this is also not easy. The
properties of stainless steel, depending on how it is alloyed, make it very
difficult to work with.

The hooks may be chemically sharpened by placing them in dilute sulphuric
acid. ( Battery acid is OK).

One may blue or bronze the hooks with ordinary gun blue.( Hardware store,
gunsmiths, etc) One merely dips them. This is done by threading the hooks
onto a wire by the eye, and dipping them in the blue). Allow to dry
thoroughly, and that was that. They should be stored in waxed paper or
similar, until required.

Excessive heating and reheating may cause problems with the steel. If one
is unable to achieve the temper required, then the hooks should be placed on
a charcoal block, and then heated to red heat. This adds carbon to the
steel. ( A type of "case hardening") and as the wire is thin, this
penetrates fully.

General hook anatomy here;
http://www.fishsa.com/hooksan.php

That was about it really.

TL
MC

Very interesting - Long ago I made some very small hooks from needles, the
object was to catch minnows for bait.
As I was reading your post Adam Smith and part in Wealth of Nations about
making pins came to mind.

"Mike Connor" wrote in message
...
"tmon" wrote


The resort gives away barbless hooks and very few people bothered to
use them. Powerbait was the bait of choice and sadly I saw so many
dead
fish along the shore it turned my stomach. Even the adults who were
fishing with kids seemed to have no concern as to whether the fish
were
released safely or not.

I'm glad I decided to start fly fishing.


Not all flyfishermen are considerate either. Flyfishing is only more
sporting if it is done in a sporting manner.

Having trouble with my newsreader again, and so I will reply to another
thread here.

I do have some pictures of homemade hooks somewhere, probably on the same
disc as the hook making articles. If there is sufficient interest, I can
try and get them put up on a site somewhere.

For first attempts, no complicated gear is required. Merely a box of
"straight pins" ( sewing shop), or a box of needles, ( which are
extremely
cheap), a pair of fine round needle nosed pliers ( The type used by
telephone technicians etc to bend wire into loops), a pair of fine flat
needle nosed pliers,and a small blow lamp. One of the "camping Gaz" type
is
very good.

One may also use certain types of piano wire.

If one does not wish to use barbs, then one can simply flatten the wire
somewhat at the hook point, and then grind this to a spear point. This is
done before the wire is bent. This holds just as well as a barb in most
cases, but is easily removed.


All bending operations are carried out after the wire has been annealed. (
De-tempered). ( Heat to cherry red, and allow to cool in a box of fine
sand). Some people like to bend the wire while it is still hot. If you do
this, then be careful. It bends extremely easily, and it is also easy to
damage it.

To make a hook eye, obtain some hard steel nails ( The type used for
hanging
pictures etc in brick walls), and use these as bending jigs. Drive the
nails ( various sizes for various eyes of course) into a piece of hard
wood.
Cut off the heads ( Dremel or similar), and buff them up.

I know at least one person who uses tempered steel nails to make salmon
irons. This is relatively easy.

One simply bends the wire into the shape required, using the pliers. One
can
make a round jig for this, or simply hold the wire against a pattern. The
eye is formed around the nail shank, and a small hammer may be used to
"dengle" the wire around the nail after the excess has been removed.
This
is easier if the wire for the eye is kept hot. It can be formed very
easily
indeed then.

The hook bend is formed by holding the wire tightly with the flat pliers,
and simply forming the bend with the round pliers. This is quite easy to
do,
although some practice is required in order to achieve consistency. The
wire is over length to start with, and the eye is formed last. The excess
is
cut off when the eye is nearly formed, and then the eye is closed.

There are no difficulties at all involved. The annealed wire is very soft
and easy to bend.

For tempering, one needs a small steel plate. First the hooks are
hardened,
by heating to cherry red, and dropping into ice water. The hooks are then
placed in a container of sand, and shaken until bright. The metal plate is
heated, the hooks placed on the plate, and carefully watched for the
temper
colour changes. The colour changes of the steel are caused by oxidation
on
the metal surface, and are extremely temperature specific. When the
required temperature is achieved, the hooks are tipped off the plate
immediately into ice water.

If the temper is OK, then that was that. If not, simply repeat until the
temper is OK. Once the temper is OK, then once again shake the hooks in
sand ( Carborundum grit, etc etc) to clean off any scale etc.

The temper colours vary somewhat depending on the steel used. High carbon
steel is required. The stuff used for pins and needles is perfect. Some
wires may not be.

I have also made a fair number of stainless steel hooks, but this is much
more difficult. Obtaining the steel for this is also not easy. The
properties of stainless steel, depending on how it is alloyed, make it
very
difficult to work with.

The hooks may be chemically sharpened by placing them in dilute sulphuric
acid. ( Battery acid is OK).

One may blue or bronze the hooks with ordinary gun blue.( Hardware store,
gunsmiths, etc) One merely dips them. This is done by threading the
hooks
onto a wire by the eye, and dipping them in the blue). Allow to dry
thoroughly, and that was that. They should be stored in waxed paper or
similar, until required.

Excessive heating and reheating may cause problems with the steel. If one
is unable to achieve the temper required, then the hooks should be placed
on
a charcoal block, and then heated to red heat. This adds carbon to the
steel. ( A type of "case hardening") and as the wire is thin, this
penetrates fully.

General hook anatomy here;
http://www.fishsa.com/hooksan.php

That was about it really.

TL
MC

"B J Conner" wrote in message
...
Very interesting - Long ago I made some very small hooks from needles,
the
object was to catch minnows for bait.
As I was reading your post Adam Smith and part in Wealth of Nations about
making pins came to mind.


A bent pin is quite an efficient hook, as many small boys could once have
told you!

The great thing about making your own hooks, is that you can make any shape
you like, and the hooks are often superior to the manufactured ones.
Tempering is the main trick you need to learn.

TL
MC

"Mike Connor" wrote in message
...
"tmon" wrote


The resort gives away barbless hooks and very few people bothered to
use them. Powerbait was the bait of choice and sadly I saw so many
dead
fish along the shore it turned my stomach. Even the adults who were
fishing with kids seemed to have no concern as to whether the fish
were
released safely or not.

I'm glad I decided to start fly fishing.




are you saying there was there a connection between the power bait and the
fish deaths? is there something toxic in the power bait? someone fishing
next me the other day gave me a jar of it, but i release what i catch, and
if the power bait is somehow harmful to the fish, i don't want to use it.
when you refer to unsafe release methods, to what are you referring?
thanks-
snakefiddler

SNIPPED

That was about it really.

TL
MC

"snakefiddler" wrote...
"tmon" wrote

The resort gives away barbless hooks and very few people bothered to
use them. Powerbait was the bait of choice and sadly I saw so many
dead
fish along the shore it turned my stomach. Even the adults who were
fishing with kids seemed to have no concern as to whether the fish
were
released safely or not.

I'm glad I decided to start fly fishing.

are you saying there was there a connection between the power bait and the
fish deaths? is there something toxic in the power bait? someone fishing
next me the other day gave me a jar of it, but i release what i catch, and
if the power bait is somehow harmful to the fish, i don't want to use it.
when you refer to unsafe release methods, to what are you referring?

I think he's just saying that fly fishers are just a better class of people, but
you already knew that. ;-)
--
TL,
Tim
(BTW, PowerBait tastes like chicken)
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj