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Once again the 'Anglers Hut,' chat room here on FAOL has produced a
subject for discussion. And, once again, I do not have any answers; only
questions. It is said, "A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing." I, as
usual fit that description; dangerously little knowledge. Now for the big
question.
Many fly fishermen will attest they feel hatchery fish do not have the
same fighting qualities as native fish of the same gene pool. That is,
planted trout in a fresh water stream, produced from native trout eggs from
that stream. Secondly, hatchery fish found in salt water, for instance, silver
salmon, do not usually appear to have the same resiliency and strength as
natives do, and they also do not seem to be as ready to accept a fly. Again
both from the same gene pool.
At this time, I know of no controlled studies on this subject. That is not to say
there are none, however. The subject may have little or no value; possibly proven
by the absence of any reported studies on it. The enigma seems to be this.
If most, if not all anglers feel this way, why have there been no studies,
and if they were done, why do we not know of them and the results?
This kind of thing is a bit like the fact that electro-fishing has been absolutely
proven (North American Journal of Fisheries 17:154, 1997) to be hard on fish.
It retards the growth and significantly reduces their overall condition. You don't
hear much about that; and nothing on whether it in any way affects the insect life
where it is used, or possibly overused, or incorrectly used.
I seems to me with all the material cranked out by fishing writers, by now we
would all know a lot more of the facts, rather than opinions on safe topics.
Perhaps we won't get the answers until we ask the questions. ~ JC
Till next week, remember ...
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