I give back by taking the extra time to revive a fish.

Lots of pontificating on this thread.

I'm not a big Bible guy but it certainly brings to mind

"Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone."

We all are guilty of some infraction, no matter how you try to deny it, sometime, somewhere you screwed up. A fish swallowed your plug and you ripped it's gills out and it was undersized. You gut hooked a decent fish and cut the leader because "the hook will rot out in a couple of days (which has been proven to be BS).

You kept a short fish because it was "bleeding allover the place and would have died anyway".

Look, no one ever said that fishing was a moralistic pursuit. You go out to catch something. Whether you do it with the expressed intent of letting it go, you still have caused an injury to a living organism. So let's not be high and mighty about "I released this or I released that".

The fact is we are all hunters and hunters kill. It's part of the cycle. Don't feel bad about it, just respect it and don't abuse the privilege..

You can always bring the Iron Man to the Canal so he can share a couple of cold ones with a thirsty local on a hot summer night :cheers2::hee:

Very well put.:claps:

Well said Piemma, couldnt have said it in a better way.

WHY
 

SOMETIMES PUT THE ROD DOWN,FEEL THE SURF AGAINST YOU,SMELL THE SALT OF THE SEA , STARE AT THE STARS ABOVE AND REMEMBER WHY YOU REALLY LIKE TO FISH.

What Piemma said :kewl:

It may sound strange, but my beliefs are pretty much like those of the Narragansetts - the real locals.

Respect your prey, use the resource wisely by taking only as much as you can use and keep your eyes on the #*$@*# WASPs who are gonna try to keep you from fishing the best spots by claiming they 'own' the land.

Hey, it works for me.

The hypocrisy displayed by one individual in particular posting here is astounding. He has told me personally about how he contacted a commercial license holder to sell fish for him. Now he is on the pulpit beating the I can't stand poachers drum. Money, or the lack of it will motivate people to do things they are not too proud of.I will go out on a limb and say that no one feels as though they are ENTITLED to sell fish illegally. Some are willing to take the risk plain and simple.

~~GIVE~~
i am very diligent about taking as much trash as i can from our mighty and majestic shores,,,,,,,,,,,,,just one of those thangs that the Choctaw in me cannot overlook. hey, i pick up trash everywhere and have never understood the SLOBS who are too schtinking LAZY to pick-up after themselves. you could say that it is a labor of Love, as i am still head-over-heels-CRAZY in LOVE with our beautiful New England.

i released ALL but three of my keepers this year, and MoSaxxy
knows how many of her big gurls spanked me like a school girl this year. does anyone know/care to relate the numbers of LAHHHGE they LOST before they became regular COWtakers?? i am speaking of 45#'s and up, since i seemed to have turned the corner on the mid to upper 30's, hallelujah!!!

and i wholeheartedly concurr with many others about leaving the schoolies ALONE ~~for my goal is the bigger beasts of the species. i also give the wintering residents the time OFF and me Mojo/gear/body a break during the offseason. for me, that is time better spent edjumicating myself on the finer points of our recreation and taking in the killer fishing Show/Expos,,,,,,,,which can be a give as well, especially at the Big Three ~The Edge's, RISAA's, and MSBA's~ Events!!

my nephews gotts it baaaaad, but are in landlocked PA.
i try to get them up here once a year during the time when
the NShore/Rhody gets HOT!! the looks on their faces and the joy they exude
from landing stripers turns itself into a TAKE, definitely.

~~TAKE~~
took a thirty this year, not by choice (not me first). it was tongue hooked sumthin fierce and
after too many minutes and even more in the water trying to revive her, when she went belly-up she became a belly-filler for my and several families in the building where we live.

killed prolly 30 eeeeels, but now i have the choicest of snakes
for riggies and skinplugs that will NO DOUBT be beneficial next year.
med to lge for the most part, and i know just the blow to throw the ROPES into, me bruddahs!!

ALL the Striper Dawns i was blessed to partake of; laughs, lessons, losses, lumps, and locations better learned and NOT taken for granted; the solace of each and every moonlit haunt that maintains my sanity; communing with God, surf, and feesh that calms the carnality within and satifies the HUNGER for the hunt, the thrill of the FIGHT, and the progression of what will some night be the TROPHY of my dreams,,,,,,,,,,,,,






~~~as a sidebar~~~
although it was only my second year to fish the Striper Cup,
or any major Tourney, it was a BLAST!!! i loved the added
motivation of schwag, the Team aspect and watching the Totes Board, and
the two final days of The Cup this year were my best nights on the water :heybaby: :heybaby: :heybaby:

i fish first for me and am self-motivated to displace Mr McReynolds.

that being said, it was great FUN and the spriit of competition that is promoted and delivered by the Chase for The Cup ~along the entire Striper Coast~ sort of feeds the athlete and competitor in me that is ALWAYS on!!! i like to think that it is more of a blessing than a curse, and it definitely goes with the Ironworking Territory in which i LIVE, that puts bread on my table and my lines in the surf :bl: :bl: :bl:

Fish hookless........:angel:

Take NIB to P-I-T-S..I'll Buy...:cheers:
NIB loves beatnick women and their muff ens..:bshake:
Bla bla bla fish..:deadhorse:
Any good sportsman lets his conscious be his guide..

NIB, I'll be going there tonight. Chocolate croissant here I come.

Geez, whatever happened to the old days when a guy who fished was happy with a cold can of Vienna sausages, a package of saltines and a Thermos of hot coffee :huh:

The times are a-changin', I guess...

Couldn't have said it better, Paul. Bravo.

Thanks for the Kudos guys.

Occasionally I have these moments of clarity. Not sure why or where they come from but in this case it's how I have fished my whole life.