Catch and Release.......Yeah Sure!

[mk4]

If you found barbed flies on the river or lake, would you cut the barb off and throw them in the trash?

If I ever see a fly with barbed treble hooks I promise I will throw it in the trash. A fly with a set of two barbed treble hooks gets special treatment. Just haven't seen any yet.

Yeah, but you're also a fully grown man who takes pictures of yourself fishing naked and posts it on the internet. So I really don't know what to expect from you.

[FlyinFish]

Let me offer a few thing as a gear fishing bass angler (don't do it much anymore just because seasons conflict and other fishing has been more interesting)...

So, first off, LMB are extremely robust fish! They have huge cartilage mouths that make them perfect for C&R. In all my years of bass fishing I don't think I ever gut hooked a fish and I never had a single issue in C&Ring a fish. I can't emphasize enough how much of a robust fish they are. The big hooks really don't make that big of a difference. I mean, really, the diameter is all that matters, not the gap. So the difference isn't that big of a deal. I'd say don't let the big hooks get to you, they don't hurt the fish any more than a #12 nymph hook does.

Now, what I will tell you, which is much more relevant, is that all those baits are low end. You could find all of them at KMart. The one crankbait is a decently fine Rapala, but nothing special. The plastics are cheap-o * plastics and the swimbaits are cheapo Storm swimbaits. And the frog and spinnerbait are cheapos as well. The two * plastics are also improperly rigged and with crappy and wrong hooks (they have a slit in the gut for rigging weedless).

With that, I'd say you have some unskilled anglers frequenting the lake. And aside from the Rapala, I'd be surprised if these baits actually caught any fish. But, I wouldn't be surprised if their owners also had a nightcrawler rig.

Can't tell you about the rest of the issue, but that's what I know about the lures. Make of it what you will!

[flybob]

All your points well taken. Thank you for pointing out my hypocrisy.

I was probably a little over the top, but I get what you're getting at.

Have you tried contacting management about making the place C&R?

You were not over over the top, you just called the way you saw it, or read it!

I should have been a little more explanatory, my focus was on this little pond, it is not managed at all, it essentially a long time watering hole, probably for cattle, I am sure that if I mention where it is there would be someone out there with the history. Suburbia was built around it, and it just so happens that the bass and gills in there are/were astronomical in size, at least two years ago. I would even question if the majority that fish it, even have licenses!

I do understand that in the big picture there are more takers than C&R fisherman, the discussions Mark and I had were on this particular body of water.

And finally, I am pretty thick-skinned, as well as thick-headed, , so I am not so naive to know that when you put something out there for the world to see or read, you should not be too offended when you get comments that don't necessarily agree with your opinion.

This is what it is all about, to get people thinking and sharing!

As far as Naked fishing goes, I am just waiting for MY opportunity!

Finally, I am getting an education into that whole competitive Bass fishing thing, I never knew that they did not fish barbless, I always assumed that if you are C&R you fish barbless, for whatever!

All in good fun, guys, all in good fun.
Bob

[Papasequoia]

Yeah, but you're also a fully grown man who takes pictures of yourself fishing naked and posts it on the internet. So I really don't know what to expect from you.

Having witnessed your behavior for years now on several local forums, I am not at all surprised to see that you decided to make comments about my character and me personally rather than address the issue. You are well known for making quarrelsome and confrontational comments, often stooping to the personal. Your sarcastic remarks towards Flybob are just more of "the usual." However, as it turns out, I’m quite comfortable with being considered immature for the silliness of my antics and those of others surrounding the mythical Coed Naked Flyfishers Club. It's funny though, because in another recent thread, again chastising others for how you think they should act, you wrote this.

I don't get why people jump on people here, it's just juvenile. … I don't know what's required to "be a part of the community." But whatever your definitions are, the community sure seems to have a inhospitable welcoming committee.

It’s too bad you don’t practice what you preach, eh? This is a fly fishing forum, and for most of us it is a catch and release fly fishing forum. Where else can one bemoan with friends the decline of one of your favorite fishing holes after finding it littered with cheap lures if not here? It’s not as if Bob went onto the Bloody Decks forum and reprimanded people for not practicing catch and release. Lighten up, dude – he was well within his rights to post those comments here. Maybe you should try fishing naked – it’s very liberating! Lots of “grown” men and women do it – you should try it. I’ll even buy you a New Belgium Skinny Dip beer to celebrate the occasion! Life’s too short to not have a little fun along the way you know. Cheers!

[FishingHiker]

Bob, the frog legs and the rubber skirt thing to the right could be used for hopper legs. The rainbow trout lure and the minnow lure are cool key chains with the hooks removed.

[fflutterffly]

what are the regs on this pond. Is it strickly C&R?