Well, I'm probably going to creamed on this one, but... Let's be honest. The fact is, we DO torture and maim and wound fish. And with C&R techniques, repeatedly. I'm personally convinced, particularly in heavily-fished waters, that we contribute to early mortality rates. We've all seen released "floaters." Not to mention we raise and kill specific animals for their fur and feathers so we can fool, catch, and release more fish more often.
Fly fishermen, as a whole, tend to be a little sanctimonious about our conservation and preservation sensibilities. We cloak fly fishing in poetry and mystical Norman McClean-shadow-casting-kumbaya. But it doesn't change what we are fundamentally doing in the water. I think we're a bit hypocritical. Myself? Yeah, I enjoy fishing. A lot. I love hammering 'em. Do I recognize that my enjoyment of same is may at the expense of another of God's creatures suffering? Yes. Am I a hypocrite? Likely. But, I'm personally fine with it. My teenage daughter is a PETA member. I see the propaganda that comes into the house. And the fact is, much of what they espouse makes sense. There IS horrid mistreatment of animals around the world. Much of it institutional. C'mon, can you really be against taking a look at the abuses prevalent in areas such as poultry-farming and livestock production? Does PETA opine a bunch of fringe nonsense, as well? (E.g., banning fishing in parks?). In my opinion, most definitely. Of course, that's the stuff that makes headlines. And that's why they do it. GreenPeace did the same thing. Extreme positions make news. It generates publicity. It's effective PR. But to think they are really going to get sport fishing banned anywhere is in my opinion, ludicrous. It ain't gonna happen. Rip lips Gary Meyers Kirkland
