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Nice Fish! Congrats on fullfilling a dream.
I read all the posts. Its pretty surprising when the thread started to blow up. I didn't see anything way out of line or at a Peta level.
As much as people are entitled to catch , keep , take a picture and display that picture (all OK to me), receive congrats and words of envy at the luck and /or skill to have caught the fish , people are entitled to post a lament for a truly great fish's end.
I didn't see anything like "He's a murderer or "that fish was in pain when it died" , or other radical Peta type posts. I saw some people sharing the thrill of the catch , some enjoying seeing the pics , some disinterested and some thinking it should have been released. I honestly don't care whether people release any particular fish. They catch it , its their right to decide what to do with it.
Its too bad these threads flare up. IMO the Catch and Keep are way to combative about the opinions of the Catch and Release Types and the Catch and Release types are inconsiderate about posting their opinions in the threads that are started to show a fishermans success.
There is no need to encourage the Catch and Keeps to post pictures. many many large fish pictures are posted by the Angler or the business interest involved in the catch (Charter Boats or Commercial Fisherman). Its natural to want to show your success. I think the Catch and Release buys could learn something from them. I think the Catch and Release guys, who care so much as to always comment on the killing of a fish in a big fish picture, should post more pics of the big fish they catch and the act of releasing the same. To me they would recruit more people to the cause by such positive in nature pics than to only use dead fish pics posts as launch pads to promote catch and release.
Now just for the purpose of full disclosure , everyone I fish with knows I'm a Catch and release fisherman with few exceptions. The few exceptions relate to specific requests for some fish to eat by neighbors and friends. I do not look for people to eat the fish I catch but people know I fish and some on there own ask if I could bring them some fillets to eat. So I do. Some years I catch several hundred fish and keep zero. Some years I'm lucky to get a 100 and might keep 3 or 4. So anyway , just so people know my own practices relative to Catch and Release when they read what's posted above.
lastly , the issue of skill vs luck in catching a big fish also comes up all the time and people also overreact to these things. No matter what the accomplishment , people will be divided on how they respond. Some of your best friends may be busting your nuts saying "Lucky" while some of the most envious may post the classiest formal "Congratulations on your impressive catch". Then everything erupts between people who have no idea whether the initial posts were said in jest or with affection or with "curses of bad luck forever" on the fisherman.
Me personally , I am not impressed by the catch of any fish taken by anyone associated with a commercial venture. These fish are caught by or with the help of a professional fisherman. Just as an engineer is supposed to be good at his job , professional fisherman are supposed to be good at their job. I don't hear anyone praising a grocery store cashier for ringing a register a whole week without a single mistake. No stories and praise about a guy who got to the airport on time because a paid limo service drove him there. So that's how I feel about professionally caught fish and in my opinion , anyone on a Charter is part of the activity of catching a "professionally caught fish". Now I have nothing against that activity. I like to take a cod trip now and then. I hope to do a tuna trip sometime.etc. It's almost certain I will never have a boat equiped for going after Giant Bluefin tuna or ever small BFT so if I ever hope to catch one , I know I will pay a guy to make it happen. I will have no illusions that I am a great tuna fisherman if I catch a big one. I will feel lucky to have been on a boat with a captain who knew what he was doing and I'll be glad I spent the money to do it.
Now I know I've said lots of things people will agree with and lots that people will disagree with. Who cares. Its an honest expression of my thinking on fishing. It's is a personal matter as to how and why I do it. I like being able to go ( someday I won't be able to do it anymore), I like going with friends (peoples lives change and people die , enjoy your friends and fishing with them while you can) and I always hope to catch at least one every trip (Despite catching thousands of fish in my life , I still get a thrill when something suddenly pulls back).
If you have the desire to stick your nose into other peoples fishing , you should do so in a positive manner. Respect that its their experience , not yours so you should keep out of someone elses fishing experience unless you will contribute to it in a positve manner. Start your own thread(s) and promote whatever you want. I think you'll recruit many more to your side being positive (whichever side you are on) than by doing in situations where its almost certainly going to turn negative.
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