Just a gripe

My son and I keep fish for the dinner table once or twice per year. We
appreciate the hunting aspect of fishing. Also, I realize that a certain
percentage of the fish we release die later on either from stress and/or
from the hook wound. I appreciate that the "sportsman" had every right to
take the fish home although I seriously doubt it was for a meal. You get no
argument from me.

That said, it takes what, 5-10 years to grow a 5 lb bass, especially in a
small crappy over fished pond up north (well, near Philadelphia anyway). How
long will take years for that resource to regenerate?

I still can't get over it.



"John Kerr" wrote in message
...
Fishing and hunting both started as a means of obtaining food...and
still are in many areas. When they evolved into a sport is hard to say,
but just because some of us fish or hunt for sport, does not preclude
others from doing it for other reasons. I have no problem with those
that fish or hunt for food, nor do I have a problem with their
prefference of which fish to eat or not. I trust the "establishment" to
make the right decisions about our natural resources. I may protest some
of those decisions if I feel qualified to do so...so far I havn't felt
that need.
JK

My son and I keep fish for the dinner table once or twice per year. We
appreciate the hunting aspect of fishing. Also, I realize that a certain
percentage of the fish we release die later on either from stress and/or
from the hook wound. I appreciate that the "sportsman" had every right to
take the fish home although I seriously doubt it was for a meal. You get no
argument from me.

That said, it takes what, 5-10 years to grow a 5 lb bass, especially in a
small crappy over fished pond up north (well, near Philadelphia anyway). How
long will take years for that resource to regenerate?

I still can't get over it.



"John Kerr" wrote in message
...
Fishing and hunting both started as a means of obtaining food...and
still are in many areas. When they evolved into a sport is hard to say,
but just because some of us fish or hunt for sport, does not preclude
others from doing it for other reasons. I have no problem with those
that fish or hunt for food, nor do I have a problem with their
prefference of which fish to eat or not. I trust the "establishment" to
make the right decisions about our natural resources. I may protest some
of those decisions if I feel qualified to do so...so far I havn't felt
that need.
JK

"alwaysfishking" wrote in
:

Total disregard is one thing, but understand that some people fish to
catch a fish and eat it. Maybe the 5 pounder was the biggest fish that
guy ever caught, maybe he does not fish much. Would it be a shame if
he just took it home to show someone then threw it away? Yes it would.
What if he took it home to show his little boy then ate it for dinner?
Would that be ok? Remember people who contribute to the economy by
buying a license are not all die hard bass anglers who practice C&R.
I'm not sticking up for the guy but maybe there was a reason. Who
knows maybe a few people ate that fish that night

What if he wanted it for his wall? That would be a pretty big fish in NY,
and I've seen smaller brought to the taxidermist. Personally, I'd never
take a fish for a trophy (I haven't kept a fish since I was 10 years old, I
think). You can get a more stable mount by bringing in a photo and having
the taxidermist make a replica, but some people are purists.

The guy doesn't need a reason, so long as he was holding his license and
was within the regs for the body of water he was fishing. If anyone feels
strongly enough about it, there are real actions that can be taken. For
example, ask your fishing clubs or DNR to poster C&R guidelines in the
area, start a letter writing campaign to decrease the creel limit or cap
the legal size with some sort of slot limit.

Scott

"alwaysfishking" wrote in
:

Total disregard is one thing, but understand that some people fish to
catch a fish and eat it. Maybe the 5 pounder was the biggest fish that
guy ever caught, maybe he does not fish much. Would it be a shame if
he just took it home to show someone then threw it away? Yes it would.
What if he took it home to show his little boy then ate it for dinner?
Would that be ok? Remember people who contribute to the economy by
buying a license are not all die hard bass anglers who practice C&R.
I'm not sticking up for the guy but maybe there was a reason. Who
knows maybe a few people ate that fish that night

What if he wanted it for his wall? That would be a pretty big fish in NY,
and I've seen smaller brought to the taxidermist. Personally, I'd never
take a fish for a trophy (I haven't kept a fish since I was 10 years old, I
think). You can get a more stable mount by bringing in a photo and having
the taxidermist make a replica, but some people are purists.

The guy doesn't need a reason, so long as he was holding his license and
was within the regs for the body of water he was fishing. If anyone feels
strongly enough about it, there are real actions that can be taken. For
example, ask your fishing clubs or DNR to poster C&R guidelines in the
area, start a letter writing campaign to decrease the creel limit or cap
the legal size with some sort of slot limit.

Scott

Understood Richard. I fish lakes up here in NE P.A that have a good amount
of bigger fish and a great deal of 2-4 lb'ers, Almost no pressure
whatsoever. And when I see someone taking bass like the two guys I saw a few
weeks back it also makes me sick. But it is their right to do so. My answer
is to hook as many as I can and hook them often. Might make them a bit
harder to catch in the future. So if you do indeed get bored now that 5lb'er
is gone. come on up and fish with me. I'm sure it will cheer you up a bit,
but it will have to wait a bit I have a tourny to win in WI. :-)




"Richard Liebert" wrote in message
...
My son and I keep fish for the dinner table once or twice per year. We
appreciate the hunting aspect of fishing. Also, I realize that a certain
percentage of the fish we release die later on either from stress and/or
from the hook wound. I appreciate that the "sportsman" had every right to
take the fish home although I seriously doubt it was for a meal. You get
no
argument from me.

That said, it takes what, 5-10 years to grow a 5 lb bass, especially in a
small crappy over fished pond up north (well, near Philadelphia anyway).
How
long will take years for that resource to regenerate?

I still can't get over it.



"John Kerr" wrote in message
...
Fishing and hunting both started as a means of obtaining food...and
still are in many areas. When they evolved into a sport is hard to say,
but just because some of us fish or hunt for sport, does not preclude
others from doing it for other reasons. I have no problem with those
that fish or hunt for food, nor do I have a problem with their
prefference of which fish to eat or not. I trust the "establishment" to
make the right decisions about our natural resources. I may protest some
of those decisions if I feel qualified to do so...so far I havn't felt
that need.
JK

Understood Richard. I fish lakes up here in NE P.A that have a good amount
of bigger fish and a great deal of 2-4 lb'ers, Almost no pressure
whatsoever. And when I see someone taking bass like the two guys I saw a few
weeks back it also makes me sick. But it is their right to do so. My answer
is to hook as many as I can and hook them often. Might make them a bit
harder to catch in the future. So if you do indeed get bored now that 5lb'er
is gone. come on up and fish with me. I'm sure it will cheer you up a bit,
but it will have to wait a bit I have a tourny to win in WI. :-)




"Richard Liebert" wrote in message
...
My son and I keep fish for the dinner table once or twice per year. We
appreciate the hunting aspect of fishing. Also, I realize that a certain
percentage of the fish we release die later on either from stress and/or
from the hook wound. I appreciate that the "sportsman" had every right to
take the fish home although I seriously doubt it was for a meal. You get
no
argument from me.

That said, it takes what, 5-10 years to grow a 5 lb bass, especially in a
small crappy over fished pond up north (well, near Philadelphia anyway).
How
long will take years for that resource to regenerate?

I still can't get over it.



"John Kerr" wrote in message
...
Fishing and hunting both started as a means of obtaining food...and
still are in many areas. When they evolved into a sport is hard to say,
but just because some of us fish or hunt for sport, does not preclude
others from doing it for other reasons. I have no problem with those
that fish or hunt for food, nor do I have a problem with their
prefference of which fish to eat or not. I trust the "establishment" to
make the right decisions about our natural resources. I may protest some
of those decisions if I feel qualified to do so...so far I havn't felt
that need.
JK

What is an impoundment? If he is legal in keeping a fish then it is okay. There
is regs about letting a fish go to spoil. Before you become a C&R angler you
are usually a C&K angler You see lots of promotional pictures from lodges where
the guests have kept whole stingers of fish. The guest is usually well heeled
and the dead fish are really only trophies..

What is an impoundment? If he is legal in keeping a fish then it is okay. There
is regs about letting a fish go to spoil. Before you become a C&R angler you
are usually a C&K angler You see lots of promotional pictures from lodges where
the guests have kept whole stingers of fish. The guest is usually well heeled
and the dead fish are really only trophies..

"Chris Rennert" wrote in message
. ..
I am the first guy to say that if you buy your license and you fish within
your legal limits , then you have every right to do whatever you do within
those limits. If your Dept. Of Natural resources says that these things
are
reasonable for the resource available then who am I to argue, I am not a
fish biologist.

In theory that is correct, but just because the DNR--DEC in NY--has
regulations, that doesn't mean that they're saying these things are
reasonable for the resource. They can't make the appropriate regulations for
each body of water because it's impossible to determine and administer them.
As a result, we have the same regs for a four-acre pond as for a 40-mile
lake. More than one small pond has been screwed up by people staying within
the law.

I also feel like Richard does when people remove big fish, even when they're
fully entitled to do so. And don't even get me started on the slobs who
can't see beyond the next meal, who keep everything regardless of species,
size, creel limits and closed season.

"Chris Rennert" wrote in message
. ..
I am the first guy to say that if you buy your license and you fish within
your legal limits , then you have every right to do whatever you do within
those limits. If your Dept. Of Natural resources says that these things
are
reasonable for the resource available then who am I to argue, I am not a
fish biologist.

In theory that is correct, but just because the DNR--DEC in NY--has
regulations, that doesn't mean that they're saying these things are
reasonable for the resource. They can't make the appropriate regulations for
each body of water because it's impossible to determine and administer them.
As a result, we have the same regs for a four-acre pond as for a 40-mile
lake. More than one small pond has been screwed up by people staying within
the law.

I also feel like Richard does when people remove big fish, even when they're
fully entitled to do so. And don't even get me started on the slobs who
can't see beyond the next meal, who keep everything regardless of species,
size, creel limits and closed season.