http://www.slate.com/id/2219276

The sea kitten thing is pretty crazy, but dang it, there is that little part of me that says, “Would we ever get away with it if it were someone’s cuddly pet?” The Bambi link was interesting. Definitely a hierarchy, but I’m still talking about those of us who catch and release, not kill and eat. I rarely kill trout, I would imagine I’m over a 99% catch and release angler, so I’m mostly talking to myself in these posts–just trying to deal with it in my own mind. I can’t ever see me giving up fishing, I’d just like to understand my reasons why I feel it’s OK to treat fish this way and not other species. I’ve got about 4 1/2 pages of single spaced writing toward my piece, I hope it’s worth the wait to somebody (mostly me, but hopefully someone else).

I’ve been thinking about this issue for a while, but I have not come up with any real good answers for you.

That “sea kitten” thing is just ridiculous. Unfortunately many people learned their woodlore from the Bambi movie or Animal Planet and have no clue what the real world is like.

There is a good quote at this link – http://www.esf.edu/insideesf/2008/fall/bambi.htm

“Nature is basically a hierarchy of eaters and eaten,” he said. “It’s uncomfortable for people, but that’s the way it works out.”

MDW

I thought of the pecking, but completely spaced off the potential poo problem–thanks for pointing that out! I’ll have to develop some type of large brimmed hat with poop-resistant properties.

The “enjoying-the-environs” thing is usually true for me to. However, there are times when I just want to catch fish, and if it’s slow, I’m outta there. Like the other week when I was hoping for some caddis fly action of the Blacksmith. High, brown and no surface feeders. It only took me about an hour before I bailed.

Thanks for dropping by to comment!

I have always suspected that trout feel pain. The anguish of being caught must really give them a complex even if they are released. I imagine they go and sulk and replay the mistake they made over and over in their little pea-sized brains. “How could I be so stupid to eat that poorly tied Adams? I saw that sharp point sticking out of it and yet I just had to eat it. Am I really that stupid? Next time, I’m going to be more careful!”

Yes, It’s about the catching, but I do enjoy the hiking, the listening to the birds sing, the vistas, the studying of aquatic insects, the solitude (and companionships), and admiring the trout for it’s beauty; both it’s colors and its way of life. As Robert Travers wrote: “I fish because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful…”

Too me, it’s become a complete package and I can honestly say if the catching is not good, the fishing always is.

I occasionally kill trout for the table, but rarely because my wife doesn’t like trout (she does like salmon though). I usually take a few grouse and/or pheasant each year for the larder as well (when I can).

Thanks for dropping in.

I’m not talking from a practical point, as in, “Would we succeed,” but rather an ethical point, “Is it just as right to do that to birds as it is to fish?”

But then you got to it: “If the fish experience pain, well frankly I guess I don’t care.” That’s the baby I’m looking for. Who is man enough to admit it? Kevin, you’ve ponied up the first nugget of truth. Thank you!

Come on guys, it’s like AA, the first step is admitting it. “Hi, I’m Cutthroat Stalker. I catch and release fish, and I don’t care if the fish might feel pain.”

That aside, birding has become much like catch & release fishing. I do love to EAT trout and have been known to drool while releasing a big brown or rainbow. But I do kill a few for the table, too. (Not grayling or cutts, though.)

Once upon a time I wanted to catch every trout, catch the biggest trout, catch the most selective trout… There are many days now when I work on just one good fish (very subjective definition), and spend much of the time watching otters etc. I can no longer bear going out with “fish counters.” But there was also a time when I couldn’t NOT count…

In the past fishing or bird hunting was done for the practical purpose of survival. An unsuccessful outing might have meant going hungry, and so both sports evolved to techniques with proven results. In the case of bird hunting, shotguns, and for fishing rods and lines where nets were not practical or legal. It is also important to note that in many cases and for a couple of centuries angling (at least in the rivers, lakes and ponds) and hunting were the domain of the landed gentry, which also drove the development of the techniques employed today.

Another big difference is that when fowl are domesticated and you need dinner the medium in which they exist allows you to run out to the yard, catch one and stuff it in a pot. While domesticated fish still dwell in water and must be caught via net or hook.

As fishing and fowling became more recreational pastimes and not a necessity, the techniques used to procure “game” became codified and a matter of legality. And as more and more people pursued these recreational pastime it became important to put limits on harvest. Both angling and fowling groups now have specific groups that promote the conservation, and habit preservation.

It is only in areas where hunting and angling become recreation activities that the ethics of the activity become a discussion point. A hungry subsistence hunter/fisher really doesn’t have these philosophical discussion. He just wants to feed his belly.

The big difference between recreational bird hunting and recreational angling is that with codified techniques only anglers can practice catch and release, as a 12 gauge is not very forgiving. Though there is some degree of mortality to released fish greatly determined by the fighting techniques, the handling techniques and the water conditions. Then the question becomes is catch and release and the possibility of causing fish pain relevant?

My personal take. Well, have caught a fish, released it, watched is skulk on the bottom for 5 minutes and caught it again a few minutes later. I don’t think that being caught and released greatly modifies a fishes behavior. Fish the Green below the dam, most of the fish have been caught dozens of times. They know the routine. They don’t struggle, instead nonchalantly lay limply waiting to be returned to the water (see I can anthropomorphize fish behavior also).

I fish to fish. I harvest fish from time to time. I also fish to experience nature. I love the electric feel of a fish transmitted to my hand through a thine line to my rod. If the fish experience pain, well frankly I guess I don’t care. I wouldn’t call it callousness rather an understanding that the fish is a resource and while a living one still not a sentient being. When released it will likely live, and likely be fooled again by an angler at some later date.