What's the point ...

[JohnScott]

Make sense to me. A lot of us hunt deer, ducks and geese year around and never break the law.

Tim

Tim -

Your post, if I'm reading it right, goes to scouting for your prey. Yeah, I've done that in the off season or during open season when conditions really were "unfishable."

It also reminds me of another question I've had for some time - if you don't have a "hook" capable of taking a fish, are you fishing in the legal sense of the regulations ?? When it was tough to come up with the bucks for a non-resident daily license in neighboring states, I wondered if I could fish with such a set up. But I think the Fish and Game enforcement officers would consider that "harassing" the fishies, which was against the regs in the states I was interested in fishing.

Food for thought.

John

[sharps]

I can understand doing that. Lots of times it's just as much fun to know you "could have". Example, back in the 1970's I hunted with an "old timer", about my age now. We were both muzzleloader hunters and one day I noticed there wasn't a cap on the nipple of his rifle. I thought it had fallen off and mentioned it to him. He laughed and told me the rifle wasn't loaded. At that time that made no sense to me whatsoever. I'll never forget what he said....nothing particularly profound, just his view. He told me, best as I recall, "if I can get one close enough I could kill it, that's good enough. My season was a success". Seems the same to me, just different prey.

[ScottP]

Catch and release is pretty much all I do now although I did keep a few snappers last time I was in Florida (one of my partners was a pretty good cook and wanted to try out some recipes - they were delicious), and except for some tailwaters, I fish mostly dries (not a snob thing). Since the strike is what I like the most, cutting it back at the bend sounds like a kick; I'd prefer that to just cutting the barb off (don't have any scientific evidence but I wonder how the blunt end sticking into the mouth of a trout would compare to a barbless point). Hook companies, especially premium brands like Tiemco, would be up in arms about this - if your just using a shank, any hook would do; I mean, even if the fish held on to the fly, when was the last time anyone had an eye straighten out?

Regards,
Scott

[JohnScott]

Scott -

Why even use a "hook" ?? I bought a box of straight pins ( they come in quite a variety of sizes ) a while back for something like 300 for $3.00. I've thought about different ways to attach tippet but haven't decided to go that route yet.

As to the blunt end of the hook harming the fishies, my experience the other day is that they are not generally "on" it long enough to sustain any damage. Those that I almost landed, and I did want to land at least one to prove that it is possible, probably were not as affected by the experience as the typical fish that has to be handled, to some extent, to remove the hook.

As to the hook manufacturers, let them compete with the cost of a straight pin or lose out !!

John

[JohnScott]

...I'll stick to hooking, landing, holding, and letting go. That, I like. The holding and letting go part is a big part of the "circle" for me.

But, Ralph, just think how much more rewarding it will be to land a fish with a "pointless" hook. If landing a fish with one of these hooks is as difficult for you as it was for me the other day, the sense of accomplishment and completing the "circle" when you do land one will outweigh the sense of loss you will have from not landing as many.

John

[Panman]

Tim -

Your post, if I'm reading it right, goes to scouting for your prey. Yeah, I've done that in the off season or during open season when conditions really were "unfishable."

It also reminds me of another question I've had for some time - if you don't have a "hook" capable of taking a fish, are you fishing in the legal sense of the regulations ?? When it was tough to come up with the bucks for a non-resident daily license in neighboring states, I wondered if I could fish with such a set up. But I think the Fish and Game enforcement officers would consider that "harassing" the fishies, which was against the regs in the states I was interested in fishing.

Food for thought.

John

John. You are partially correct. However there is some hunters that will not shoot another prey if they have harvested enough to satisfy their desires for the freezer. The same is true on anglers however they practrice catch & release while a hunter can't practice kill and release. For example Oregon has a late goose season. I had harvested all the geese I wanted during the regular season so I went "hunting" and didn't kill any more birds.

Tim

[JohnScott]

... to consider.

If fish are not nicked / harmed / scared and are willing to come back to the fly for a second chance at a meal they missed ( see first post ), and if everyone fished this way, could you ever have "pressured" fishies ??

And this approach to angling almost certainly reduces hooking mortality to ZERO PERCENT.

More, healthier fish to play with. What's not to like ??

John

[JohnScott]

...a hunter can't practice kill and release....Tim

Tim -

I don't hunt, but it has occurred to me that "hunting" with a paint ball gun would be an especially difficult and rewarding way to chase game.

John

[Panman]

Tim -

I don't hunt, but it has occurred to me that "hunting" with a paint ball gun would be an especially difficult and rewarding way to chase game.

John

John - thousands "hunt" with a camera. Using a paint ball gun could get you in trouble for harrassment. PETA

Tim

[ScottP]

Scott -

Why even use a "hook" ?? I bought a box of straight pins ( they come in quite a variety of sizes ) a while back for something like 300 for $3.00. I've thought about different ways to attach tippet but haven't decided to go that route yet.

Since most snags and breakoffs would be a thing of the past, a box of 50 Dai Riki 320s ($4.75 at Blue Quill Angler) should last a very long time, and they already have an eye. Snelling a straight pin sounds like more of a challenge (I'm already a "challenged" angler) than I'm willing to take.

Regards,
Scott