Catching trout by hand

[billhouk]

So why do we spend all this time tying flies, money on rods, reels, gear, etc.?
http://www.midcurrent.com/news/2011/...rout-by-t.html

[ausable_ny]

My Uncle Rudy used to do the same thing. He lived on the Schoharie just west of Hunter, and he used to walk the river, come up behind a rock, put his hands down and more often that not, came up with a brown. I was always amazed. I used to cast my a** off to get a couple fish and he just caught them by hand. He never kept them though. This was usually in July or August when we'd go up and visit. The Schoharie is pretty warm that time of year...maybe the fish were lethargic. I only caught them after dark.

Ken

[kbproctor]

My Dad used to "tickle" trout. He'd put his hand in the water and said he tickled the trout's belly to calm it and then would just pluck it out of the water. I saw him do it but never could myself. He said he learned to do it as a kid. He could do it any time of the day.

[Lotech]

I used to have a boss that grew up in North Carolina. When she was a little girl, she'd lay down on the dock, stick her hand and arm down into the seaweed and expose just her wiggling finger tip. When a bream would see her finger it would come over for a taste and when it did, she would flip it out onto the beach.

[Buddy Sanders]

Bill,

Because the main purpose of fly fishing is not catching the fish.

Buddy

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Us Kids used to lie on our stomaches in Ellis creek and slowly, very slowly, ease out into the current till we were surrounded by Spawning Kokanee. You'd select the biggest brightest Male you could see and gently run your hand under its belly down to its tail then grasp its tail as tight as you could and huck it ashore. Then We'd get the heck out of there because the run is in the late fall and that water was really really cold. When we all had a fish or two ( about 2-3 lbs each ) We'd dry off by a huge bonfire and then when dry we'd ride our bikes home to the accolades of our parents.
Kokanee are landlocked salmon and tasty as all get out.

Ps. A conservation officer once pointed it out to us that believe it or don't it is now illegal in BC to catch a fish with your hands as that is not one of the recognised methods of angling according to the regulations.
The bonfire is now also illegal a the creek is inside the city limits.

I was taught how to properly catch fish that way by an old native gentleman that I met while perfecting the method myself. Prior to him teaching us we'd just try to grab the tail or the head. He taught us that by stroking the belly the fish seem to go into a kind of stupor and are easier to grab.

[kbproctor]

Bill,

Because the main purpose of fly fishing is not catching the fish.

Buddy

You have been watching me fish?

[Gigmaster]

Because here in Tn. that is illegal. Trout can only be taken with a rod and reel, fly gear, or a pole. If they caught you doing that, they would put you so far under the jail, your relatives would have to mail daylight to you.

So why do we spend all this time tying flies, money on rods, reels, gear, etc.?
http://www.midcurrent.com/news/2011/...rout-by-t.html

[Buddy Sanders]

Kevin,

No, but I have seen ME fish.....Fish are still laughing...

Buddy

[billhouk]

Buddy:
I always tell people (when they ask) that catching fish is purely coincidental in the larger scope of fly fishing. This is, of course, a lie...

Gig:
Does it count if you tickle them and then put the hook in their mouths?