FROM CATCH AND RELEASE TO THE PAN
A recent event on a local trout stream caused me to sit back and look hard at the current culture of fly fishermen that are out there wading our waters these days. It was both eye-opening and saddening, to say the least. I was fortunate enough to get on some water with a Saturday evening escape of honey-do's and family obligations so I chose to visit some nearby water at one of the popular easy-access points.
I rarely keep any bass unless I can tell that they will not make it.
I do find some deadc fish in a few ponds that I fish.
People tell me that all the fish that they release live.
Never have asked the question of how long the fish live?
Rick
Good article. I am one of those who does not properly know how to prepare a fish, which is one reason why I practice catch and release, although even if I knew I would still catch and release most of my fish anyway. So I ask in all seriousness and sincerity, where is a good place to learn about how to take care of a fish that you intend to bring home to cook?
TIA,
Paul
Very well said sir. Learning how to clean and prepare our fish is part of keeping us in touch. I practice catch and release but am offered fish by those that choose to kill a few and truly enjoy them. It is not in my nature to kill but when I have mortally wounded a fish will prepare it with the utmost of care and reverence, then enjoy every tasty bit.
Bikebum
Gandolf, Google "Cleaning trout", and you will get at least 12 video's. many similar, but many with their own twists. do the same for "Cooking Trout" and the list gets even larger. :)
While I'm not attempting in any way to suggest that folks should keep rather than release their fish. Folks should know the signs of a mortally wounded fish. The one obvious sign is when a fish is bleeding from the gills, it will not survive. It may swim off from your hand, but it will die. For them, that is an open chest wound with a punctured lung. Personally, we owe it to th fish as good stewards to kill and eat that fish. My personal rule of thumb (And this is from personal experience, not a scientific study), is if after 10 minutes of reviving a fish, it still cannot right itself, or is still gasping, it's going to die. To do otherwise is no different than saying "Oh, this one's gonna die, and throwing it up on the bank." Same result. You killed it, and gave it to the raccoons.
Simply a fantastic article! I've seen the same thing here in my little neck of the woods, and on discussion boards from all over. If it's out of respect for the species that we catch and release, maybe we shouldn't catch. That way we could be sure we don't harm them. I release all the fish I catch in fresh water because I want to catch them again unless they aren't going to make it. I've got an Aunt who has a standing order for fresh trout from me, but if I'm saltwater fishing and I catch a nice flounder....I'm eatin him! Conservation is king, but remember the damage we do simply by catching them. Just my 2c worth.
Great article... I too have had similar experiences where someone would not keep their injured fish. Never one that nice though. These were farm released fish in the 8-inch category but still dead or dying. It doesn't make any different how the fish is injured or what size it is, if you injure it where it can't live you need to keep it and cook it. It's only respecting the sport and the species of fish that you are fishing for whether it's trout or bass or catfish or whatever. Again... great article.
Well written though perplexing article. Of course they shoot horses. On the other hand, with a fish, it may not always be clear that he's a goner. On the one hand we have the over conscientious angler who releases no matter what; on the other hand we have the one who fills a baggie with trout that were not going to die. Both of course were legal actions.
(BTW the author must be a Grizzly Bear if he can't make a meal out of a 16" Brown.)
I know there is a difference between "live release" and "survival." I prefer to err on the side of release because without that you can forget about survival.
BRAVO!
blind catch and release of a mortally wounded trout is just that.
BLIND.
Mike G,
While a 16" is enough for me alone, If I'm going to cook trout for dinner, I can't do so by myself and let the rest of my family watch me eat. By the way....it was a great dinner. panfried trout, with fresh Jersey tomato slices and home-made corn fritters. :) Hard to beat! I just wish the resource would be able to support it more often. Even though these were all stocked trout.
I personally feel that letting a fish slip into the water that cannot swim away with some strength is far from being overly conscientous.....I would view that as irresponsible. Unless one feels that it is ethically wrong to kill and eat a trout. But in that case I would question why they fish at all...since even C&R has a mortallity rate?
Great article. There are so many emotions that accompany fishing. C&R conversations can bring out many of them. I don't keep everything I catch but I do have a weakness for maple brine smoked trout and will keep some in the fall so I can smoke them and enjoy them for the winter months. They make a healthy snack for the family, go great on pasta and with cream cheese spreads.
Sometimes I have a tinge of guilt ending the life of something so beautiful when I decide to keep them. I never thought twice about killing a fish when I was a kid. I guess I see life, and the ending of one, differently as I age. Nothing goes to waste though! Smoked fish heads are used like spice to a cream sauce (they freeze well), tails and fins are fried crispy and eaten like chips.
Anyone in the NE area that wants to learn how to clean and cook a fish please let me know. I would be happy to show you (and share my smokies...you'll have to fight the kids for them though)
Several years ago I was fishing a small mountain lake. The lake is stocked but is managed as a catch and release trophy lake. I don’t really like the term “trophy” but that is how the regulations describe it. On this particular day there was myself and another fisherman on the lake. We both had arrived early and both of us had success.
As the day wore on the fishing began to slow. I was changing flies up every 5 minutes or so. I was also changing up techniques trying to find a combination that worked late in the morning. I finally hit upon a chironomid setup that was getting me into a fish every 10 minutes or so. The other gentleman had come over to see what I was doing right. He changed up to mimic my setup and I gave a couple of the flies I was using.
Soon he was into a nice fish. He had trouble landing the fish because of its size and when he did finally net it he had a twenty or so inch rainbow. Nice fish for this particular piece of water. The fish had taken the fly deep which can happen with chironomids. When the fly was extracted it cause some heavy bleeding and we both could see the fish would not make it. The other fisherman asked what he should do and I told him he had to release the fish. It was illegal to harvest any fish from this lake. We were both saddened as we watched the fish struggle on the surface of the lake knowing it would soon die.
I am not sure which one of us said it first but we decided to at least dispatch the fish quickly to stop its struggle. No sooner had the comments been said an Osprey appeared from out of nowhere and snatched the dying trout from the surface of the lake.
I know that we both felt relief when we saw the Osprey take the fish. Nothing goes to waste in nature.
Nice article. I take the knowledge I have described above and try not to judge those that don’t understand to harshly for I feel most of the fishermen I have met do understand.
Kerry,
Thanks much for your response. I tend to agree, and try hard not to judge off-the-cuff. Sportsmen as a whole are quality people, and very knowledgeable in their pursuits in my opinion.
You're right, nothing truly goes to waste in nature. For every death, there is a Buzzard or Osprey in need. And as long as we don't use that as a scapegoat for personal responsibility, I'm good with that. :)
Ralph