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"Should I or shouldn't I?" I asked myself as I read
this... Oh what the heck!
People who fished before "catch and release" really
existed as a philosophy and a law often have a very different view of what
fishing is and what it isn't.
To us it's a "blood sport". It involves
hooking into your dormant predatory drives, acknowledging the changes of the
seasons on you, the water and your prey. The only difference between it
and duck hunting is that it's generally quieter, and you can choose to allow
your victim to continue living. That makes it MORE ethically and morally
demanding, not less. It should make you think every time you hook
one.
Those who were "born" into the culture of catch and
release on the other hand OFTEN think of it kind of like an easter egg
hunt. "I bet there's one behind that rock!". There is no "what are
the implications of my actions here". They are taught that a properly
released fish WILL live, so SOME believe that hey, what the funk, catch all
you want.
I'm not claiming either is superior to the other,
just that there is often a big difference in the view one takes of the
resource. Old Timers, regardless of age :-), often do hold "secret waters"
as something to be cherished, because of the blood sport influence of their
youth. They probably made the mistake of fishing out a pool at the
tender age of 8, and know what a dead resource looks like. They probably
feel some version of guilt over that to this day. I know I do. You
take a different view of stewardship when two years later you still can only
find a straggler or two.
I've been fishing as long as I could hold a pole,
and I love it. But every three months or so, on a day when I feel tired, I
think about packing it all in, selling all the gear, and stopping. I
pretty much release ALL the fish I catch. Sometimes out of convenience
(storing and bring them back is a hassle), sometimes out of health concerns
(ever notice that most urban lakes are LOWER than the roads that service
them? Think about it), and sometimes out of respect for the
critters. I've probably caught the largest trout, bass, and steelhead I
ever will. I've been lucky, and I've been at it a while. So why
fish? A friend of mine once said "because of the battle of wits" He
was cleaning a salmon at the time. I opened the head and showed him the
brain. He said "no, it's that bigger thing", and said "nope, that's the
olfactory gland" :-)
I understand both sides of the argument that
happened here. Let's hope we all can look past the Issue, and look at the
reasons we hold the positions we do.
Man, talk about a windbag!
Phil
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