Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:



In my experience, I always explained the rules ahead of time - WAY
ahead of time. On my boats, market fish were the keepers - any trophy
fish was to be released as (1) the larger fish are almost always
breeders and female and (2) a picture of the fish along side the boat,
a certificate by me would be issued and I have a contact who does high
quality replica mounts for a very reasonable price.

That's my view on this.
But that captain either didn't think about of the heat he was going to
take, or didn't care, else he would have laid down the rules up front.
It was an unusual catch, and put him on the spot.
According to the article, from the captain:
"It is regrettable that such a magnificent fish had to be taken to
shore to be weighed to verify a record, but in these situations it is
the angler's decision," said Aston."
Maybe he will change the rules for his clients, and maybe not.

Now having said that, what I would have done is try to convince the
client not to land the fish - just settle for one hell of a story,
some pictures and maybe offer to pay for a mount if that's what the
client wanted.

Reminds me of the Oak Harbor Shark Tournament a few years ago. Two
guys hooked up with a 1,300 lb Tiger shark off Martha's. They had no
chance to win the tournament because they couldn't make it back to Oak
Harbor in time to weigh in, but they took the shark anyway for the
record. I was out there the day it happened and to tell the truth, I
felt ****ed off that they took this beautiful predator out of the
ecosystem just for the record.

That was bull**** in my book.

One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series
billfish and shark tournament model - on board judges who film,
document, measure and tag all catches which are then released back
into the eco system.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)

Sounds like good practice.
The photo in the link I posted reminded me of the old Hemingway
and Teddy R. big-game hunting photos where they had a foot on a dead
rhino or elephant. Or the buffalo slaughtered and left to rot.
Killing for the sake of killing.
Better to wrestle them things. Then you can feel proud, or maybe just
stop feeling anything at all. Depends on who wins.

--Vic

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series billfish
and shark tournament model - on board judges who film, document, measure
and tag all catches which are then released back into the eco system.

That seems to be the wave of the future. It does take some time for
minds to change. Look at bass fishing. When I was a kid, a bass was a
meal. These days, at least around here, it's a rare instance when a bass
is kept. They are almost always released with the hope they can be
caught again. Same with a trout, once the put and take openers are gone.

I think quite a few sportsmen are coming around to seeing that ocean fish
are too valuable alive, to be caught only once.

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

thunder wrote:
On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series billfish
and shark tournament model - on board judges who film, document, measure
and tag all catches which are then released back into the eco system.

That seems to be the wave of the future. It does take some time for
minds to change. Look at bass fishing. When I was a kid, a bass was a
meal. These days, at least around here, it's a rare instance when a bass
is kept. They are almost always released with the hope they can be
caught again. Same with a trout, once the put and take openers are gone.

I think quite a few sportsmen are coming around to seeing that ocean fish
are too valuable alive, to be caught only once.

Too bad we have no ability to ban the huge factory fish catching and
processing boats.

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

thunder wrote:
On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series billfish
and shark tournament model - on board judges who film, document, measure
and tag all catch then released back into the eco system.

That seems to be the wave of the future. It does take some time for
minds to change. Look at bass fishing. When I was a kid, a bass was a
meal. These days, at least around here, it's a rare instance when a bass
is kept. They are almost always released with the hope they can be
caught again. Same with a trout, once the put and take openers are gone.

I think quite a few sportsmen are coming around to seeing that ocean fish
are too valuable alive, to be caught only once.

Yeah, I see too many yahoos going out for Blues and coming home with a
boatload, only to leave them to rot on the dock or in the garbage at
home. They just wanted to get the photo for their friends. For years I
have been known for never telling how big my fish were, as I have pretty
much always been catch and release since I was a kid. I will keep up to
one blue a year as my kid loves the oily poppers I make. I will keep
legal striper bass as I love em' and so does my father in law. And I
will keep larger rainbow trout, or brookies, but no browns, they taste
like cardboard...

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

On Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:50:49 -0500, thunder
wrote:

On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series billfish
and shark tournament model - on board judges who film, document, measure
and tag all catches which are then released back into the eco system.

That seems to be the wave of the future. It does take some time for
minds to change. Look at bass fishing. When I was a kid, a bass was a
meal. These days, at least around here, it's a rare instance when a bass
is kept. They are almost always released with the hope they can be
caught again. Same with a trout, once the put and take openers are gone.

I think quite a few sportsmen are coming around to seeing that ocean fish
are too valuable alive, to be caught only once.

True, but it's still the big bucks landed tournaments that take the
monsters out of the system where they are most needed.

I remember back when largemouth were considered "trash" fish - like
bullheads - 'po folk et 'em. :)

One of the biggest problems we're seeing up here, and while the
various Departments of The Environment in New England states don't
publicly acknowledge it, poaching of striper and ground fish stocks
goes on and on - mostly Russians, Poles, etc - mostly immigrants from
that area of the world - reselling into their own ethnic markets and
shops year around without any interference except for the occasional
bust. Enforcement of landed poaching is almost non-existant.

And I feel a rant coming on - I'll stop now. :)

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

On Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:58:30 -0400, JustWait
wrote:

thunder wrote:
On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series billfish
and shark tournament model - on board judges who film, document, measure
and tag all catch then released back into the eco system.

That seems to be the wave of the future. It does take some time for
minds to change. Look at bass fishing. When I was a kid, a bass was a
meal. These days, at least around here, it's a rare instance when a bass
is kept. They are almost always released with the hope they can be
caught again. Same with a trout, once the put and take openers are gone.

I think quite a few sportsmen are coming around to seeing that ocean fish
are too valuable alive, to be caught only once.

Yeah, I see too many yahoos going out for Blues and coming home with a
boatload, only to leave them to rot on the dock or in the garbage at
home. They just wanted to get the photo for their friends. For years I
have been known for never telling how big my fish were, as I have pretty
much always been catch and release since I was a kid. I will keep up to
one blue a year as my kid loves the oily poppers I make. I will keep
legal striper bass as I love em' and so does my father in law. And I
will keep larger rainbow trout, or brookies, but no browns, they taste
like cardboard...

So, what do you do with the hats, eyeballs, ears and bits and pieces
of the boats you "catch" when fishing? :)

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

On Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:25:04 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One of the biggest problems we're seeing up here, and while the various
Departments of The Environment in New England states don't publicly
acknowledge it, poaching of striper and ground fish stocks goes on and
on - mostly Russians, Poles, etc - mostly immigrants from that area of
the world - reselling into their own ethnic markets and shops year
around without any interference except for the occasional bust.
Enforcement of landed poaching is almost non-existant.

I won't say that's not happening here, but stripers have been a "no sell"
fish for quite a few years here. I'm sure there must be an underground
market, but you won't see them in any legitimate restaurant or fish
market. And, they do seem to be making a strong comeback.

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

thunder wrote:
On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series billfish
and shark tournament model - on board judges who film, document, measure
and tag all catches which are then released back into the eco system.

That seems to be the wave of the future. It does take some time for
minds to change. Look at bass fishing. When I was a kid, a bass was a
meal. These days, at least around here, it's a rare instance when a bass
is kept. They are almost always released with the hope they can be
caught again. Same with a trout, once the put and take openers are gone.

I think quite a few sportsmen are coming around to seeing that ocean fish
are too valuable alive, to be caught only once.

Catch it - Kill it - Eat it. It's pretty simple. Is there any other
legitimate reason for fishing?

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:58:30 -0400, JustWait
wrote:

thunder wrote:
On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series billfish
and shark tournament model - on board judges who film, document, measure
and tag all catch then released back into the eco system.
That seems to be the wave of the future. It does take some time for
minds to change. Look at bass fishing. When I was a kid, a bass was a
meal. These days, at least around here, it's a rare instance when a bass
is kept. They are almost always released with the hope they can be
caught again. Same with a trout, once the put and take openers are gone.

I think quite a few sportsmen are coming around to seeing that ocean fish
are too valuable alive, to be caught only once.
Yeah, I see too many yahoos going out for Blues and coming home with a
boatload, only to leave them to rot on the dock or in the garbage at
home. They just wanted to get the photo for their friends. For years I
have been known for never telling how big my fish were, as I have pretty
much always been catch and release since I was a kid. I will keep up to
one blue a year as my kid loves the oily poppers I make. I will keep
legal striper bass as I love em' and so does my father in law. And I
will keep larger rainbow trout, or brookies, but no browns, they taste
like cardboard...

So, what do you do with the hats, eyeballs, ears and bits and pieces
of the boats you "catch" when fishing? :)
Send them to this guy named "Parker", he uses them to build boats!

Should King Kong Be Left in the Jungle?
 

On Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:42:36 -0400, J i m
wrote:

thunder wrote:
On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:20:07 -0400, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:


One final thought - we, and I mean all tournament fishermen, need to
reevaluate the landed tournaments and go towards the X series billfish
and shark tournament model - on board judges who film, document, measure
and tag all catches which are then released back into the eco system.

That seems to be the wave of the future. It does take some time for
minds to change. Look at bass fishing. When I was a kid, a bass was a
meal. These days, at least around here, it's a rare instance when a bass
is kept. They are almost always released with the hope they can be
caught again. Same with a trout, once the put and take openers are gone.

I think quite a few sportsmen are coming around to seeing that ocean fish
are too valuable alive, to be caught only once.

Catch it - Kill it - Eat it. It's pretty simple. Is there any other
legitimate reason for fishing?

WHAT?!? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!?

Sport man - sport. You do it for the fun of the hunt, the chase, the
fight - the pure joy of knowing that you've mastered a denizen of the
wild - just the knowledge that if your had to, you could. The skill
and knowledge of presenting the proper bait with the proper technique
at the proper time at the proper place with the proper equipment. A
deeper understanding of the nature of your quarry and the constant
learning curve of time, place and technique.

It not being out in nature, but being a part of it - a piece of the
eco puzzle - an opportunity and an excuse to go places you've never
been before - new stretches of river, new lakes, and new countryside.
Visiting areas you have been before, but it's never the same due to
wind, waves, tides and time.

The ultimate predator showing compassion and mercy to the lesser
species.