Well sir you caught the stringer that contained a fish the fish did not strike your fly your flie stuck into the stringer not legalay cauhgt but boy does halibut sure taste good as an opurtunist i probably would be eating halibut now brad the bushwacker--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Hello all. It is not often that we as a community > are given an opportunity > such as the one which I am about to present. No - > this is not a > solicitation in any way for funds, gear, goods, or > what-have-you....what I > am offering to this group is the chance to help > define a small section of > the Book of Fishing Ethics (a mythical publication > contained primarily in > the mind of the fisherman.) > > The question of the day pertains to the Philosophy > surrounding the question > of "When is a fish caught?" This, as with most > philosophical questions, > might seem at first like an incredible waste of > mental energy....but I > encourage you to dust off your Flyshop-Logo-Embossed > Thinking Caps, fire up > those synapses and prepare to opine. > > -----------------------------------------------------DISCLAIMER------------- > ------------------------------------------ > > What you are about to read is entirely true. After > having been duly > reprimanded by Master DonObiwan Ordes (a.k.a DonObi > Wannabe, a.k.a. DonObi > Wantoomany) for my, shall we say, inaccuracy in > Piscatorial Enumeration, I > don't want to have people thinking that I am > exaggerating...we are talking > about ONE fish here...I think. > > > Last night I was fishing the Salty Pacific by the > pier in Santa Barbara, Ca > (future home of yours truly...Santa Barbara, that > is...not the pier). After > quite a long period of not catching anything (while > watching my friend > repeatedly hook up) I began to become quite > desolate. Cast after > cast....nothing. Then (and the Wheel of Fishing > Karma spins and stops > on......I'm not sure).....hook up. To something > with weight. That doesn't > move. It just sits there. "Crap...just a hang-up," > says this > future-philosopher. Then the hang-up moves a bit. > "Oh boy, not a hang-up." > I start to reel in....feels like I'm pulling in a > piece of lively kelp. > "Bummer....lively kelp," says I. My buddy had come > over to see what kind of > hog I was pulling up...then quickly lost interest > after the "life" slowly > ebbed from the "kelp" which I had so artfully > tricked into taking my fly. > As I pulled my catch to the last five or so feet of > water...my fly breaks > the surface...and it is snagged on a long piece of > green nylon. "Aw > crap...a piece of green nylon snagged on a piece of > Ex-Lively Kelp," thought > I. And then.... > My Green Nylon Kelp Fish decided that it didn't like > the beach...and took > off... > Now - upon bringing this heretofore unknown creature > back to the beach I > noticed that it was actually a halibut of the Quite > Large persuasion > attached to a green nylon stringer. Apparently some > sad soul had caught a > nice halibut, decided to put it on a stringer...and > promptly lost it back to > the welcoming arms of the ocean. Said halibut was > landed and, to the tune > of much laughing, my friend and I started to > philosophize (which consisted > mainly of a lot of head scratching. > > Here's the question: > Did I catch my first legal halibut? > > Points to keep in mind: > -I did land this fish > -I did cast the fly...played the fish...landed it > without any assistance > -the fly was not in the fish's mouth...or even > TOUCHING the fish at any > place on its body...it was attached to the STRINGER > > So - If a fish is landed but only because of a snag > on something left behind > from another fisherman...is it really caught? > Another point for consideration...if the person who > had initially caught the > fish was a C&W guy (or gal)...and if the only reason > that I caught this fish > was because they had ORIGINALLY caught it....do I > lose any Purist Points > (please see the recent comment as a JOKE!!!)....am I > to be classified as a > C&W Fisherman-by-proxy (twitch....shudder....)? > > So - for those of you who have been kind enough to > stay through the whole > story...now is the time for you to cast your vote. > Did I catch a legal halibut? Yes or no. Or > maybe.... > Justify your answer...remember that we are defining > the philosophical > standpoint for posterity. > > Everyone has an equal vote...I'll let people know > what the final outcome is > (a note to our esteemed delegates from the great > state of Florida....we're > only voting ONCE per person....). > > Cheers, > Chris (a.k.a Chrishopper)
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