The best way to kill a fish

[RJH]

It isn't against the law. To each his own.......

fish killer

Well since you want to be juvenile and call people names.... it takes one to know one.

Right back at ya

RJH

[WanderingBlues]

Man, I wish someone would post up a TR... Even a Santa Ana River at the 60 Freeway report would do...

[DrCreek]

Man, I wish someone would post up a TR... Even a Santa Ana River at the 60 Freeway report would do...

Ya, that might help.

[fly addict]

Wow, this thread has grown quite large. I guess most of us on this board are passionate about how fish should be handled to insure the long term health of the fish and fishery.
Jon maybe Kent at Troutfitters should be made aware of the negative publicity his response to your email has generated.

Mark

[DrCreek]

... maybe Kent at Troutfitters should be made aware of the negative publicity his response to your email has generated.

Mark

I'm guessing it was left in the "public" arena so he could read it for himself.

[Sasha]

... maybe Kent at Troutfitters should be made aware of the negative publicity his response to your email has generated.

Mark

I'm guessing it was left in the "public" arena so he could read it for himself.

I am betting that you are right


It is too bad though that the word filter is on by default and for non-members as some of the posts lose their passion with it on

[Papasequoia]

Not that it needs it, but adding some fuel to the fire I copied this picture from the spin report. The caption is "The [XYZ family] 8 hours and 24 fish later, and [little girl's name] hugging 7 of the 10 fish she caught!"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the limit 5 per person and you can't 'give' one of your fish to someone else in order to stay at or under 5? Which means that Kent has just outed the little girl as a poacher since she caught and kept at least 7 fish in 8 hours - am I wrong? Are the regs different for children? (I swirled their faces and removed their names. I don't know if they were guided or submitted this picture on their own, but it doesn't seem right to post their pics and names here, even though Kent already did).

[briansII]

Pretty sure you guys all saw my first couple posts. TERRIBLE handling. Launching brookies back into their holes. But then again,I'm not a guide..


I bought a rubber lined net from walmart for 20 dollars a few months ago. It isn't the deepest, But it works. Prior to having a net I use to use a mesh mit to tail the bigger fish. How does everyone feel about those? can't be good for the slimey coating... I have also tailed some large trout and pulled them out of the water only to feel their spine/back go pop pop pop pop pop(I crunch my back every morning the same way)... mesh mits? no es bueno?

I think it comes down to common sense regarding mesh nets and mitts. Does it remove slime? Yes. A mitt has less contact than a net, but you are also gripping the fish with a mitt. Lifting a fish in a net, and having it flop around is not doing the fish any favors. On the flip side, folks say they can land a fish quicker with a net. Using a mitt helps control a fish from thrashing around when you're removing the hook.

Big no no lifting a big fish by it's tail. That popping noise is the fish's spinal cord separating.....and not in a good, chiropractic way. It does irreparable harm to the fish.

This bad


IF you must lift a big fish out of the water, tailing the fish, and supporting it's weight with your other hand is the way to go.


.....is that Zee?

Personally, I like this type of fish *.




Partially, or fully in the water shots are better for the fish, and the water definitely adds something to the *.

briansII

[briansII]

Great detective work Papa. You are right. Once you catch your limit, you are done for the day. No more fish can be caught by that person, and you cannot give your caught fish away.

For the record. The fish pictures in the "Spin Fishing Report" don't bother me. My take is, they are keeping most of those fish. How they are handled is less important to me than how fish are handled when they plan to release them. IMHO, wasting fish by poor handling is worse than keeping(legally)fish.

briansII

[DrCreek]

Nice catch, Jon... although based on his initial reply (to you) I don't think he (Kent) gives much of a crap about anything other than Kent's business and Kent's continued income. And even though that's unfortunate, it is after all, a business. And he's not in business to do things the way we collectively think he should.

BOYCOTT TROUTFITTER AND SPREAD THE WORD. A thinner wallet is what will make him pay attention the most.

Regarding the pic with the swirled faces - I feel bad regardless of what variety the trout are (wild or stocked). But as long as they're not wild, I find it a little easier to hold back any real foulmouthing towards anything - other than the fish count.

[Papasequoia]

For the record. The fish pictures in the "Spin Fishing Report" don't bother me. My take is, they are keeping most of those fish. How they are handled is less important to me than how fish are handled when they plan to release them. IMHO, wasting fish by poor handling is worse than keeping(legally)fish.

briansII

I absolutely agree, and like most people here I have nothing against people keeping fish to eat as long as they do it legally. If a family wants to go out and catch a bunch of fish to eat, especially if they are on a camping trip and the kids caught some of them, it's a great way to get them interested in the sport. But like anyone, with or without a guide, the bottom line is that you have to know and follow the regs otherwise you are just teaching your kids that it is ok to break the fish and game laws. It doesn't matter if it is bait, spinner or fly - the regs are the regs and Kent should have known that before posting that picture with that caption.
Personally, I don't like the taste of trout that much so I don't usually keep any - unless I am backpacking when I have love frying some up with olive oil, cornmeal and garlic.

[Sasha]

BOYCOTT TROUTFITTER AND SPREAD THE WORD. A thinner wallet is what will make him pay attention the most.

This!!!

[teejay]

I’m still scratching my head over a picture of a small wild trout, displayed sprawled out on a granite boulder alongside a fly rod, appearing on the Ca DFW Heritage Trout web page.

[URUNDR]

I think I got an unfair shake. I just voiced my opinion after seeing literally hundreds and hundreds of fish photographed over the last 22 years fishing and guiding here. I never said it was good to lay fish on the ground, which in this case was grass, not dirt as you keep repeating, only that the time to take a fish with one hand and lay it on the ground versus the handling with two hands and getting it in position to get that right photo probably was much faster and actually better overall. The latter invariably takes 30 secs plus unless done by someone who knows better. I have seen it literally a thousand times. "Wait you are covering the tail, turn it more toward me, extend your arms a little, can I get a shot with my camera, oops I dropped it . . . ."

Here are the mortality numbers on time out of water from one university study. 0 secs 6%, 20 secs 16%, 40 secs 67%. I can't believe the impact of slime removal, which is roughly the same on the grass or holding with two hands (my opinion only) is nearly as important as the time out of water.

Personally, I don't even take photos anymore except in the water and if a client insists, I do the holding with wet hands and the fish is out of the net/water no more than 5 secs. I have done a ton of reading on fish mortality based on every parameter imaginable but never seen anything on laying on the ground or handling. That is why I asked if you had seen such a study. I still believe the time out of water is probably much less putting it on the grass versus holding it up for a photo. Neither is optimal for sure and that is why I had the pic taken off the fish report after your email. You were right in asking that be done as it sends the wrong message and I complied.

I was a scientist and engineer for half my life and "call 'em as I see em" is all I can do even if people who disagree decide they do not want to give me their business. I could have just agreed and played the "customer is always right" to not risk hurting my pocketbook. 'Just not my way of doing things and I'll bear the outcome. I know what I'm truly all about as well as what my guides and shop guys are all about with respect to caring for the fish that give us our livelihoods. I'll sleep well tonight.

-Thanks, Kent

[WanderingBlues]

"I think I got an unfair shake."


"Neither is optimal for sure and that is why I had the pic taken off the fish report after your email. You were right in asking that be done as it sends the wrong message and I complied."

"I was a scientist and engineer for half my life and "call 'em as I see em" is all I can do even if people who disagree decide they do not want to give me their business. I could have just agreed and played the "customer is always right" to not risk hurting my pocketbook. 'Just not my way of doing things and I'll bear the outcome. I know what I'm truly all about as well as what my guides and shop guys are all about with respect to caring for the fish that give us our livelihoods. I'll sleep well tonight.

-Thanks, Kent"

Welcome to FFA.

With all due respect, how does one get an unfair shake when it was your fingers that typed the response? Is it unfair because it's being shared in a forum of folks that are mostly Eastside junkies and do business with your shop?

You clearly knew the pic wasn't an example of best practice C&R, thus your taking it down. I don't know if it's cowarding to a customer by simply saying "Yeah, it's not something my guides would do or teach, so we shouldn't promote it either..." I think it would have been a simple acknowledgement from you and life would have rolled on. It wasn't your pic or handling.

I've been a good customer up there to the tune of some G3's, 2 pairs of Simms boots, a Ross, as well as several ball caps, nets, line, leader, flies, and accessories. And that's just the last 2 seasons. *, the hat and buff in the avatar are from the shop. Yeah, you can afford to lose me. And Papa. And others. But you don't have to. A simple & sincere apology goes a long way in the flyfishing community and water flows under the bridge.



Call 'em as I see em.