[Mr. Sandman]

No offense to anyone but while he makes a good point, perhaps before throwing stones one might look within. (No not Dave personally but the company he works for.) Frankly I think organizations like The Fishermen, OTW, SWS , just about every other form of fishing media, and every tournament on the coast, even including this site, is IMO partly the CAUSE of this problem. The constant "Hero status" and incessant worship of those that catch large stripers creates an elite status or "class" of fishermen that many naturally want to aspire to.. How many times do they put a guy holding a big bass on the cover of their mag.? It is almost every week. How many times do they praise a big catch telling the readership how great fishermen so and so is for catching a large fish, and further boasts how often he can does it? Perhaps if YOU didn't idolize these good fishermen so much, this would not happen.

Bottom line don't tell me I can't take a fish home to eat now an again when I am well within the law. Esp when most guys here are fishing season long tourneys some weighing in a fish a week to look big in the eyes of their comrades at a beer fest each fall. Not to mention the TONs of dead bass floating on the surface due to by-catch dumping, rampant comm fishermen illegally catching/selling fish on more than one license and taking fish sub 32", a restaurant black market that is being ignored, and pathetic commercial policing of fisherman. IMO your barking up the wrong trees.


Fact is nothing is going to change. Media sells its products by selling right INTO this kind of person. I think Dave should have left this one alone. Stop telling his readership what bad people they are when it is his very magazine that is posting photos and making heroes (and money) off of the every people he critiques.

Its not bad to take a fish now and again and your no better then anyone else because you let one go. I bet there are a lot of "do as I say and not as I do" posts here....When you catch your 50 or 60 or perhaps a record 80, tell us about it when you let it go... and do share the photo with us.

later post: After now reading all the posts perhaps I misinterpreted what the author was driving at. The personal satisfaction one gets from fishing itself and releasing fish healthy. And taking repeated trophy fish throughout the season for a few points in a contest or personal pride. I do agree with him on those points . However I still believe that all the hoopla created about a big fish in the media (Internet, printed, tournaments and otherwise) is the root cause of this. Most want to be admired among their peers. Sorry if I POed anyone.