GIVE and TAKE
 

In the blink of an eye the season has passed us by(poetic but not necessarily accurate). I'm still going to chasing my newfound trophy; the venerable tautog. Maybe sneak out in the RosaBella for a tuna if the weather is just right. I am grateful for another great season chasing fish at night.
I took my share of bass and certainly drowned a lot of eels. I even jigged and plugged some nice fish. I appreciate the bounty of the sea.
I feel as though I take more from the sea than I give back to it. I have taken people young and old fishing. I have offered suggestions on occasion to an inexperienced angler. I am going to think of more ways to show my gratitude in the future because the winter will be long again.
What are some good ways to give back?

Fish only plugs and you will save the eel and catch less fish thus keeping the stocks up. Sorry George beat you to it. I am sure your comment would have been more lofty and poetic, I'm just a grease monkey handle turner.

Do Beach clean ups

Buy a dozen eels and set them free!

Catch and release more often.I kept 2 out of about 20.

For me its limiting unnecessary kills. I kept about 10 fish this year out of several hundred legal fish. Most of the fish I take are incrementally larger as I like to document my biggest fish. In other words if I get a 30# fish, everything goes back unless its substantially bigger than the 30. So forth and so on.
Will likely let my commercial license expire next year too. I've had it for 20 plus years, but have no desire to profit from the sale of fish any longer, not that I was ever a threat to begin with.
Last, and I don't want to sound uppity, I try to scale my tackle and technique towards larger fish. Acres of blitzing schoolies to me usually means a bunch of them will be floating belly up due to puncture wounds and deep hookings as a result of people "padding their numbers". Sure, you can use barbless singles and the like, but I prefer to just leave them be. Same thing goes for over wintering fish too. I leave them alone.

Doa ll yopu can to keep it clean and keep access open.

:claps::claps::claps::claps:

Just come fishing with me, you won't catch that much at all!

Just say No to poachers. Better yet, turn them in.....even if they're "nice guys" ........or on your team.

x2

Ouch.

Take some Kids Ice Fishing......I've found that even if kids aren't into fishing they seem to like to go ice fishing, something about running around on a frozen lake they seem to like.

And its EASY fishing....don't have to pull bobbers out of trees, hooks out of people backs, or worry about them whacking each other in the head

If the pond/lake is newly frozen over, you can have them bring skates. I've seen that on MIANY bodies of water since I started fishing the hardwater. (not to mention Snowmobiles, ice bikes and a Cessna (on Lake Chauncey a few years ago).

Well I didn't beat you to that one George and delivered like a real handle turner.

WOW 5000 posts for the Professor

I don't ever envision myself being a turn them in type,there are proffessionals to monitor such activities. Although I don't condone poaching, I choose to police only myself.Many people who like to chime in have killed more than I will ever catch but now limit their kill. Greed was probably their motivation back then and with age came wisdom.Thank You to those who kept this thread constructive.

Last year at a scout event I was talking to a Mom, You know the worry warts of the family, about how safe the ice was....i assured her it was fine and that there was no danger of anyone falling in. She had that look on her face like she wasn't sure if she should believe me......then in the middle of the lake, like it was on cue, a Helicopter landed on the Ice......pretty much made my point for me.

On a serious thought, I do on occasion have one, I think helping others, mostly younger folks, with wisdom and insight, if one has that to offer, and the correct way to conduct yourself while fishing is the best thing that can be offered as they are the future of the sport. Also to put forth the idea that it is suppose to be fun. I think a lot of guys lose that perspective. There is more to fishing than catching fish IMO, it is the objective and great when it happens but not the whole deal, IMO. I think the older you get the more you understand that so to convey that to someone who is just starting out with tunnel vision about getting the large fish is important. Enjoy the ride not just the destination.

I've had my share of "worry-wart" experiences.
2 years ago I was ice fishing on Buckmaster Pond in Westwood the Monday after Christmas. Now we had a cold month up until that weekend, and it rained on Christmas. I know what I am doing, and will not take unreasonable/risky chances that could cost me dearly, so I ALWAYS check the ice before venturing out.
After an hour or so a town policeman drives up along the shore nearest to me and calls me over. He asks me "Do you know why I called you over?" and I answer "No". He says that the police had received calls that there was someone out on the ice and it didn't look safe. (The pond had at least an inch of standing water from all the rain, so you couldn't "see" the ice because of the reflective nature of water.) I looked him right in the eyes and stated "If it wasn't safe, wiuld I be doing this!" as I proceeded to jump up and down, stomping my feet as I landed. I told him that I measured the ice and it was 6-8 inches thick, plenty safe for me.

I feel as though tournament fishing took some of the fun away from fishing this year in particular. In the future I am undecided as to participating in the Striper Cup. The Red Top and Back Eddy were a lot of fun because they come and go quickly. Once again I witnessed how ugly and petty people get when it comes to spots and it lasted all season. Although I feel I can always compete with the field and win some nice gear, the shine has worn off at this point. I am also like Back Beach in that I target large specifically. It has been a while since I looked at birds and tried to fish under them.
I think a saltwater license will be a good way of giving back also, if the money goes back to our fishery.
TDF, I have taken the scouts to the local pond before and have enjoyed the smiles and tangles.

This stinks of hypocrisy. You've killed ten 30# fish just to get a "slip" in case somebody doesn't believe you, not to mention the potential mortality of the 100's of keepers, some of which may have had an eel hook in the gullet.

The 30# thing was used as an example. As for the slips, they're for me, not anyone else and I don't apologize for taking a few fish. I've documented my big fish catches since day 1.
For clarification, the fish are consumed by my self/family/friends. They're not thrown away or killed just for a slip, which would be a travesty no doubt.
Regardless of the fish's size, you must no doubt assume some will not make it after releasing them. In my experience though, I've seen more floaters when it comes to small fish. Many of the bigger fish come on eels, but many on rubber too.
In my earlier days, I would have taken the 2 fish a day or whatever was legal to posess.
Keeping in line with Chris's question here, I release practically everything I catch.

Me too. You begin to feel as though you're fishing just for the tourney after a while.

who is worse? the guy who is C&R 100% and has multiple 100 fish days or the solitary cow hunter who fishes big fish tactics to release 1 30 lber and keep a 35?

The Right Stuff
 

:thanks::thanks::thanks:

A steward of the resource is he.

I think 5% of the anglers catch 95% of the fish. Differences in philosophy do no harm at all because the intent is there to help the fishery. Everything is not black and white. I do know BB killed a lot of eels this season and eels are fish too, I think. Others do their part in deforestation but they are entitled to all the AYC they want. Even if their burps smell like the flach of flap.

My research indicates the smalls are more fragile than the big ones. Bottom line is regardless of your intentions or goals you contribute to the mortality of the stocks if you hook a fish. Period.
Releasing what you don't really need=giving back.(the crux of my first response)

As for eels, I got 11 big fish one night this fall on one eel(not rigged), so give me a break Chris.....:hee: The old BB would have needed a dozen to accomplish the same thing....

Teach a newbie or a kid how to fish and respect the resource.

I've ratted out my fair share of poachers this year and will continue to do so for the good of the resource. I feel no guilt about that as poachers suck. I believe that if your ignoring what these aholes are doing you're not any better than they are.

I've also released more good fish than I ever thought I would the past couple seasons. In fact it's actually a little tougher to keep any fish now even though I love to eat them. Odd. :confused:

I've also begun to bitch to people about leaving trash all over the place. Where I can def improve is to actually start carrying out others trash that they leave behind. I'm not there yet.

That was my point.

personally, my biggest gripe is with those who feel that they are entitled to sell fish illegally and keep more than their legal limit. Poachers suck..