Brookies for Breakfast
Jim,
I'm right there with you. I miss the fried fish, hash browns and corn on the cob dinners we used to have. As a matter of fact; I'm planning on at least one of those dinners at my "Fishing Rendezvous" on Fathers Day Weekend. They won't be brookies, but I hear the Cutts are delicious.
JC, Great article. I have to chime on on this one. It is not PC to kill and eat fish anymore, in fly fishing circles that is, and especially trout. All you hear these days is how the fish have to be protected, and how we shouldn't even remove them from the water to remove the hook.
Well you know what? How many of these "blessed trout, the fish of king's" are stockers? Plenty. So go ahead and kill them, we will make more. That's right, trout are manufactured, more so than any other fish. So eat up, more test tube trout are on the way.
Bash me if you want, I really don't care.
J.
I certainly grew up with a catch and release ethic. That is catch and release into hot grease. I find that where I am there are state wide notices not to eat too many fish due to PCBs and Mercury. I also find that I don't get the joy out of bringing home the dinner. Its not a moral issue, but rather I say that I don't like to kill the things I play with.
I also note that while there are circles that distain the killing of fish there are many friends I have that still see it as an opportunity to stock the freezer, just like they do with the game they kill. I think both ethics are still alive and well.
Here is my question, if we don't kill our catch then are we just torturing these fish for our own pleasure, or torturing then and then letting them die slowly (delayed mortality)?
Now talking about delayed mortality, I stock fish for a discovery center and have done so for years. Probably put over 50 fish in those thanks. I don't think I lost a single one due to delayed mortality. Is this a real issue or is this something that is infrequent overstated?
I am not PC on this issue, I do think about it and in the end I fish because I like to and that's that.
Jed, you bring up a good point. Pollutants are a problem in many areas, and eating fish isn't a good idea. That's kind of a problem here where I live. We don't have trout, it's all warm water. This area was a big part of the steel industry at one time, and the entire Mahoning river system was polluted as a result of that industry (and others).
The steel is mostly gone these days, but the damage these companies (and others) did for so long is still with us in the form of mercury and other contaminates. I won't eat fish around here due to the warnings put out by the ODNR. I release everything I catch, unless I plan to keep a specimen for the aquarium.
So for me, I release fish more out health concerns than anything. I do like to eat fish from time to time, but only store bought these days. Bluegill, Yellow perch, and walleye are awfully tasty though, and I'd keep some if I didn't have a fear of being poisoned.
J.
I've been into C&R since it was called 'throwin' 'em back'
I've never liked killing part and in my mind that's a major reason why I enjoy fly fishing above other forms of angling and blood sports in general.
However, the wife happens to think that going fishing and never bringing home dinner is a total waste of time.
That's why there's panfish.
Around here, except for maybe bullhead, very few people fish for and keep panfish, and in many locations populations explode to the point where the fish get stunted.
Harvesting them makes sense for the health of the ponds and and for peace in to household.
I made pan fried perch for dinner last night.
The wife's only comment?
"Mmmm... I'm eating fish!"
The simpler the outfit, the more skill it takes to manage it, and the more pleasure one gets in his achievements.
--- Horace Kephart
I mostly C&R but do enjoy a periodic stocker properly bathed in fat. JC's point about how C&R, if I read correctly, may be contributing to a faster paced experience on the stream is valid in my opinion. FFing's allure with me is the slow pace and appreciation for each of its elements. An appreciation for and a close examination of each caught fish gets lost in this "gotta catch another" mentality. Crowded streams and the battle to stay in uncluttered water also contributes. The lesson learned from raising that bird dog many years ago now works with me: Take a long hike before starting the game for keeps!
Grassman
I'm not big on being PC, and though I do mostly catch and release, I really enjoy keeping a few as well. You will never find me criticising someone for catching a limit of legal size fish and enjoying a good meal. If C&R ever became an absolute rule in fishing, the end of legal fishing would not be far behind.
The most valuable thing I've learned about fly fishing is just how little I really know.
"With integrity, nothing else matters. Without integrity, nothing else matters." ~ Winston Churchill
I agree with everyone else. I am a C&R guy 95% of the time, but I do enjoy the occasional brookie breakfast. You can't beat a 8" brook trout cooked in bacon grease for dinner.
The downside to keeping your fish is I would need 3-5 8" brookies for dinner. that being said, I do often keep a trout or two to eat. There really is nothing better than fresh caught fish for breakfast lunch or dinner. Just dont boil them... They arent good boiled...Originally Posted by terry13111
Cool article J.C. My compliments.... Too long and too much I've been hearing C&R presented as the only proper fishing moral. I eat fish, and all of us with too much cholesterol are often told by our doctors that we should and eat more of it. True, some are endangered, even worse, but like jkurtz says... some species are manufactured. I say for the whole thing to work there has to be a balance of methods all considered in the end. Some places and some fisheries likely demand C&R to keep the fishery alive. Many don't. I am rarely politically correct, and then it's more by chance than design. I learned to fish catching, killing, and eating all I caught which were legal. I still catch, kill and eat some every year. I started the whole C&R thing as a matter of obeying the law, and my fishing methods have evolved to include it much of the time. I use barbless hooks because it is easier on the fish should I release them, and because it's way less trouble when I get one of 'em in me. I more and more fish for panfish, and more often keep them to eat. My mother-in-law lives next door to me, and often comes along on family get-togethers. She echos the sentiments of Dudley's wife...thinking catching fish and turning them loose if they're legal size is a sure sign of mental imbalance.
As I said.. the whole issue requires balance...and as responsible fishermen, sportsman, and conservationists all of us here must be proper stewards of our resources..........
........................ModocDan
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