Time for my beating John!!!!
About this thread!! Some of my thoughts. You folk know I don’t ring in too often, but here I go!
Bill, I like your train of thought and your perspectives on the over all sport! I like this line! I edited out what I did not agree with, through this entire thread!
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“Trust me the poor little fishy hurts just as much from being hooked with a barbless"polically correct" hook as it does with a barbed hook, the experience is just as tramatic.You think your helping the fish, fishing barbless hooks is a way for you or anyone to justify hooking the thing in the first place,makes you feel better ,
NOT the fish. I hate barbless hooks.”
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“Did you know that the current "lite tackle" mentality actually hurts the fish more!
It does, in a nut shell you are playing the fish to death, takes to long to get her in and saps the fish of to much energy and oxygen.So the ones who think they are doing good are doing more harm.”
The above, could not be truer! I know and fish with the some best eel men in the business and boatmen in my area. They have all done 50’s and have kept them. These are the people that other fishermen try to follow into the knight to try and figure out “Just what the hell these fishermen are doing to catch so many fish!"We always manage to slip away from them in the night’s darkness. As a mater of fact, it is spoken of quite frequently as a joke of sorts among these aleat, how effectively, we can slip these folks. “
“They all agree, lite tackle and Fly rods due more damage to the fish then the heavy equipment.”
“That lite tackle simply whips them!”
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I have never played a big bass more than nessasary.And most fish I caught that were not sold were imediatly tossed back,not held out of the water for 15 minutes so my friends could take pictures.Thats to long for the fish to be out of water,the angler enjoys the photo shoot more than the bass.
I believe the above statement is true also!
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Im glad you tossed your 40s back, I have tossed more than my share back also! But sorry, no 50s get to swim again that cross my line!
I hope some day you get to make this decision again, and change your mind!
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Besides, there just ain’t any big fish around anymore!
The above statement! This is where I fell you are all wrong! From what I see, this statement is made quite often. There are allot of small fish around these days. The conservation has done a great job bring them back! These smaller Fish will beat the larger fish to the food. Because of this and the amount of these small fish being taken, it appears that the large fish population has dwindled to some kind of a dangerous condition. I will tell you this! Even during what was called the great decline of the striped bass I saw no change in population or size. You just had to be a better fishing person. The skill level to take them needed to be higher. (Paying your dues time!) As they call it. You needed to put more time and thought into just what these large fish were doing. Now due to this population explosion of fish, and the amount of pressure. Allot of folks have seemed to think they have become experts in this business of taken stripers.
I can assure you this, those big fish are still around, and they are allot bigger than you think they are!!!
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“Ethical”
This means to let your keepers go, so that someone in another State below us keep’s his or her limit of fish under 26 inches!
I like this Dave!
DaveK
Why do you fish? I guess thats the real question. If you are out there to stock your freezer then so be it. if you are out there to get away from the daily grind and have fun, then thats great. There are regulations out there as to what is a keeper size fish and as much as we doubt and question these regulations they are there for a reason. I liked this post originally as I was curious as to what other people considered a trophy. Personally anything that bends my rod and makes my adrenaline rush is a trophy to me. There are days that you catch so many large to trophy size fish that you loose respect for those 34". There are other days when you are swarmed by rats that a 34" would be a welcome surprise. If you want people to adopt your morals then have a nice time and be ready to get angry and frustrated. In the mean time enjoy the water, the scenery and the company and learn to be content .
schoolie monster, Saltheart, Your threads were well put!!!
I like this comment too! I know a lot of people, that this sickness literally caused their marriages. I am glad I am not one of these people. But I do have the sickness!!!
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I wonder how many here really know what a group of old time striperholics is like?? I mean these guys got divorced over this stuff,slept in cars on the highway,took planes to block island in december at the chance for a cow, I have the same mentality,its an all encomsing addictive sport the way I did it anyway.I would drewl all day long at the prospect of a new moon and a good south west. I have fished nappatree in 20 degree below wind chills in late november at 2 am for that last bass, walking out there like a zombie.Since 1999 or so I started to say to myself, time for a break or, its off to divorce court.
That’s it! I guess that I did not, really, say any thing! It is a good thread, and every body has his or her own opinion,
Just don’t push your opinion down my throat! If I agree with it I will, and if I don’t, please respect my opinion!
I guess that’s what makes this such a great sport! When I started fishing only stripers my personal goal was to take a fish over fifteen pounds! That was what I set as my personal goal. I also planed to mount that fish when I got it. I did not mount it and I have not personally ever had any of my fish mounted! I will tell you this, when that fish gets into my boat, it will not go back!!! It will be on my wall!
Just a final note so I can take my full beating, I have in my past sold fish! I do not sell now. I have done my part in conservation over the years. I have done my share of tagging them, only to have this information used against us by some one sitting behind a desk thinking what they think is the right thing for the fish! I kiss all my large fish between their eyes; I look them in their eye and say to them, You must be more careful the next time, God speed!
P.S. John keep up the great job you are doing1 I think of you often and you are in the back my head. Read what you will into this!
Later!
