Sure, there are many problems with the concept of Catch & Release but the one I am currently addressing is
That it rewards stupidity.
Oh, I know, we reward stupidity all the time, it’s called Government (any party will do), but if we want good fishing we shouldn’t put the stupid fish back. Perhaps you thought you caught that 16" rainbow because you are a clever fisherman. I thought that of myself long years ago; but I came, inevitably, to the conclusion that it was not my angling skills, I was just finding all the most dim-witted trout. Now, if you release that mentally challenged fish into a large frying pan (with butter) he will taste just as good as the smart trout you didn’t catch and you will be improving the trout gene pool; but if you put him back in the water, you are fighting Mother Nature and natural selection. Never mess with Mother Nature!
If your theory is correct, then it would be true to say that every fish you catch is “stupid”. :roll: It would also be true that we would never catch a smart or intelligent fish. I’ve got a feeling there will be many who will disagree with your theory.
I have to agree with gqualls. I would like to think I have a little fishing smarts. In fact, everytime I get “cocky” and think I am going to just go out and catch fish, guess what? They put me in my place. Makes me feel like a “Rookie” :oops:
It says a lot about the intelligence of the ANGLER that some state gamd and fish departments are actually funding research into genetically altered fish that are ‘easier’ to catch…
Yes, I believe Texas experimented for years in efforts to develop an easier to catch largemouth bass.
If, as some of the respondents suggest, it is our adroit angling skill that beguiles the wily trout; then while will most F&G departments here in the Northeast stock rainbows in preference to the hardier, in terms of water temperature and quality, brown trout. The reason they give me is “Browns are too difficult to catch, so the fishermen don’t like them.” This would seem to imply that fishermen don’t like a challenge; not true at all of the honorable sportsman, who wants as great a challenge as possible.
Can trout be bred to have greater, more highly honed instincts for self-preservation? I believe they can and research bears me out.
The catchability and genetic growth potential of trout may be changed, over time, by differential angler harvest of more catchable and faster-growing fish from each cohort. To test this hypothesis, yearling brown trout Salmo trutta from the Au Sable River and Gilchrist Creek were stocked into Fuller Pond. Brown trout populations from the Au Sable River were believed to have been historically exploited more intensively than those in Gilchrist Creek. We compared their vulnerability to capture by angling, relative growth, and survival over a 2.5 year period. Using artificial flies and lures, Gilchrist fish were approximately four times easier to catch at age 2, and three times easier to catch at age 3 than Au Sable fish. Vulnerability to angling was not correlated with growth rates, as few significant differences occurred in growth. There was also no difference in survival of the two strains during the study period. Differential angler exploitation over time may have altered catchability of these wild trout stocks. Other factors that could account for observed differences in catchability include genetic dissimilarity of founder stocks, genetic differences due to differences in natural selection between the rivers, or unknown factors. By selection of appropriate brood stocks, fishery managers could double or quadruple brown trout catch rates for some catch-and-release fisheries that are established or maintained by stocking. Conversely, managers could reduce angler exploitation rate, thus permitting trout to grow for a greater length of time in harvested fisheries, by stocking strains that are less catchable.
Catch and Release does reward stupidity and it is for the most part a feel good social regulation here in the East, and likely in the West as well. You cannot stockpile fish.
If we hadn’t messed up so much water 100 or so years ago it wouldn’t even be under consideration.
What we need more than catch and release regulations is responsible use of water and better zoning laws for land use so that we can preserve the few good things we still have.
I don’t know I would call “HUNGER” being “STUPID.” Instinct tells the fish “it kind of looks like something I’ve eaten before that was pretty good, so I better chomp on it to keep up my strength. If it’s not good for me I’ll just spit it out. Ooops, not quick enough!” :shock:
As A.J. McClane said of trout, “not sufficiently evolved to burp.”
Now, bass are more highly evolved. They would never be caught but for one Hibernian tendency, a relic of the age when all was Pangea, their flight-or-fight switch is duct-taped permanently into “fight” mode. Test it for yourself. Approach a trout so that he can see you and he will flee until you are out of sight. Approach a bass and he will, with the greatest insouciance, swim mildly back and forth in front of you, watching every move. You could cast fly after fly at him and he will only spit at them; but challenge him to fisticuffs with a noisy top-water plug and the fight is on.
Thanks you for pointing me in right direction! Thats why I love this BB. And now would that be your right and my left or my right and your left? I love this game. Later.
If I was catching WILD fish they would go back in the water. If they are HATCHERY fish then I might keep them. Wild fish are born and grow in their native waters, while the hatchery fish are raised in a hatchery. I mean the hatchery fish are raised on pellets!
Catching a resident (wild) trout is by far the best experience. Hatchery fish can be suckers for anything that hits the water.
I don’t think flyfishing is messing with Mother Nature.
I’ve had that theory for yrs that the school of fish sends the ONE stupid fish to bite my hook.
Doug
Wonderful!!
Reed, your first post drew strikes and your quote from the MI DNR set the hook. But in the process there’ve been several thoughtful, as well as very funny, comments.
It’s no wonder that I love this board. Superb!
Thank you.
There is definitely a connection between catch and release and stupid. Here in Illinois, I once was fly fishing the Fox River. Caught a beautiful walleye and promptly released it. Those who observed the scenario from the bank said I was stupid. There it is, incontrovertible evidence of the connection.
Mark
PS: Oh, I see, the original post was about stupid fish and not stupid fishermen. Oh well!
Mark,
Reading the original Post is a stupid waste of time! :shock:
I wonder if the Horse and Dog Whisperer could give us some pointers how to make fish smarter?
Doug
I’ve got a feeling there will be many who will disagree with your theory.
