Senseless killing

[Chuckwood]

Confession time:

I went to an early season spot near a power plant. Caught a few fish, one of which was keeper-sized.

I asked the locals if the fish were safe to eat ... they all said yes, so I kept it, filleted it and even prepared a couple of gift fish bags for friends.

But I had my suspicions about whether the fish was safe to eat. So, I checked the state Web site for info and the water, and it turns out that stripers are not safe to eat from that site.

I ended up killing a perfectly good fish for nothing. I'm pissed at the locals and pissed at myself. I hate waste, and I hate senseless BS that goes against conservation.

It's got me thinking that I should just stick to catch and release.

Then again, I've been reading Daignault again lately, and back in the day he seemed to kill just about every striper that crossed his path (Things were different back then, right? That's the usual excuse for not thinking ahead). Maybe I shouldn't feel so bad. I don't know. Speaking of thinking ahead, I should've checked with the state first before I brought home a fish that was better left in the water.