Do you practice 100% catch and release

[Uplander]

I've been know to be barbaric on occasion....

Uplander said:

In an effort to kick up some dialog on this dust gathering BB, I pose the question; is a Berkshire fish “too valuable to only be caught once?"

Come on, fess up…. How many of you enjoy a good ol’ fashioned streamside fish fry once in awhile?

I do….

Ninety-nine percent of the time I practice catch and release fishing. But…once or twice a Summer I get the hankerin’ for some fresh brook trout.

These were taken by my younger brother and I last Summer on a backwoods fishing/camping “expedition."







A few bottles of Berkshire Brewing Company beer sunk in the stream, a few fresh wild brookies and a pheasant from the prior Autumn roasting on the fire, and we were set for the evening!

So, do you or don't you?

I mean really, who can resist a few buttery perch fillets?

[brutus]

I don't kill very many but if I do it is usually a couple of
native brookies.They are really tasty.I only do it once or twice a year because it really is more fun to catch them
than eat them.

[AgMD]

I have been known to eat a trout every once in a while. Usually I prefer to practice C&R, but I figure if you know the stream, have a fair idea of whether it can tolerate the ocasional loss of a fish or two, and feel that the ocasional fish meal will not adversely affect it -- why not? For years it has been known that the fish population in the Vt. stretch of the Battenkill was in trouble. Here I have practiced C&R long before the state required it. In NY, on the stretches where I know they stock the river, I feel certain that my eating one or two fish a year will not have a negative impact. I think it is all about understanding the impact of your actions and acting responsibly.
Sadly, the current health warnings of toxins in fish, particularly mercury -- a seriously nasty neurotoxin -- add yet another reason to release our fish.
On the subject of mercury, I would refer you to the photo essay done by W. Eugene Smith for Life magazine. A fishing village in Japan ( Minimata I think) was horribly poisoned by mercury dumped in the bay by an industrial plant. Admittedly fish was a staple of the local diet, but the effects were horrific in the extreem.
AgMD