Catch & Release

This has been stumping me for a while now !
Back in January @ Hervey bay, i was at the Pier getting livies.
A couple of young fellas ( mid teens ) were catching GT's, not unusual.
But the sheer excitement & panic that erupted on every strike was sensational.
The bit that amazed me the most was, every fish they caught
was released unharmed ! The youngest bloke even went & bought fish & chips
while the other kept doin !!! Rules out the bit about not eating fish. Is this a common occurrence these days or is it the digital age with cameras, cause back in the day it was taken home for proof...

Mark

Great to see the younger generation practising C&R. I personally do not in most situations as I only target certain types of fish that intend to eat. I live on the Tweed river yet do not fish it as I do not eat bream, flathead or whiting and choose not to cause these fish any harm just for sport. If I'm on the rocks and get a Trev as by catch 9 out of 10 times it will go back in.
Andrew
Aussiefool

Would it be unusual for me and my mates to go out and target Bream on lures, catch say 30 or so on a good day and throw every fish back? Id much rather post a pic of a nice bream up on here then post 20-30 bream siting in my esky.

I will occasionaly target whiting or flathead for a feed but only take what i need for imediate consumption.

BTW big GT's probly are not the nicest eating fish

Maybe they dont like the taste of trevally and just did it for fun. Many people dont eat trevs, I dont mind them but there are certainly better eating fish out there. I'll only keep a trev if the other fishing is light on and I will eat it fresh that night.

[quote=loophole;1257456]Would it be unusual for me and my mates to go out and target Bream on lures

Not at all, the point im trying to make is the education level !
These were kids..... Back in the 80s C&R was something the fish
did on his own .

Mark

Sorry loopehole, i deleted more of your quote, than i intended !;D

I think catch and release is fine, and I do practice it myself, but I do not go with the people who ram it down your throat! if you keep a fish and your a red neck! If I want to keep a fish for food, bait or anything else I will, but I will not keep something that I have no intention of using. Good on them for releasing the fish if they were not wanted, it would piss me off to see them piled on the wharf, then dumped afterwards.

Catch & Release is something that has really been taken up by the youngsters in the fishing fraternity . I guess Rex Hunt can take a big bow for the promotion of C&R during the past decades . Additionally the mainstream fishing programs like - I Fish , Escape with ET & aired tournament fishing (ABT) have continued to show fishing in a different light.......... The trend seems to go hand in hand with non bait types of fishing (Lure , fly , soft plastics) ..... kids like to be active.
The youngsters I know who fish - (every one) would be considered as c&r fishoes ..... with maybe an occasional feed - Intersetingly when asked ... a common response was "dont have to worry about eskys or cleaning them - we can have some fun & go home"
I also feel that the digital camera has also helped. -

For all the criticism of the younger generation - this is a positive:)


Chris

Dont get me wrong i love fishing for a feed but it seems these young bucks could teach the grey nomad patrol up here a few lessons, can someone send them to the daly or roper rivers around june or july please:P !!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NAGG

Catch & Release is something that has really been taken up by the youngsters in the fishing fraternity . I guess Rex Hunt can take a big bow for the promotion of C&R during the past decades . Additionally the mainstream fishing programs like - I Fish , Escape with ET & aired tournament fishing (ABT) have continued to show fishing in a different light.......... The trend seems to go hand in hand with non bait types of fishing (Lure , fly , soft plastics) ..... kids like to be active.
The youngsters I know who fish - (every one) would be considered as c&r fishoes ..... with maybe an occasional feed - Intersetingly when asked ... a common response was "dont have to worry about eskys or cleaning them - we can have some fun & go home"
I also feel that the digital camera has also helped. -

For all the criticism of the younger generation - this is a positive:)


Chris

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Agreed Chris, they are alot more educated these days ! At that age i was always told about how many were caught & Fark my freezer full !!!:o Might need a bigger one.

Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ejackulate

Dont get me wrong i love fishing for a feed but it seems these young bucks could teach the grey nomad patrol up here a few lessons, can someone send them to the daly or roper rivers around june or july please:P !!!

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Yep i know of such a nomad, that cant wait to see me & show me all the meter long fillets cryovac in the freezer !! I just shake my head ...:(

Mark

i can honestly say that everything legal that i catch i keep and eat or pass it on to family, in my opinion the money that it costs these days to fish is ridiculous so i would rather put it on a plate than back in the ocean. my 2 cents worth anyway.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Chris1984

i can honestly say that everything legal that i catch i keep and eat or pass it on to family, in my opinion the money that it costs these days to fish is ridiculous so i would rather put it on a plate than back in the ocean. my 2 cents worth anyway.

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Same here. Never needed to perform C&R, cause we only take enough for a feed !
Will not eat frozen fish... Imagine if it was performed say 20 years ago,
Instead of filling the freezer & going out AGAIN the next day ????? No RIS required !

Mark

As a young bloke myself, I practice catch and release pretty heavily, as do the few friends I fish with. I love a fresh feed of tailor fillets or baked flathead just as much as the next guy, but I'll get more kick out of watching a trev or good sized flathead swim off than I would for it to land up on my dinner plate. Call me crazy!

Cheers,
Kaidon

Yup i get a buzz at letting fish go... To me taking one for a feed and taking photo's of the other ones to brag to mates;D ;D ;D


BD

Devils Advocate - lets just add a couple of scenarios. Please don't jump this is just trying to stimulate further discussion not suggesting better tactics or strategies etc.
I have fished professionally and recreationally for a number of years and have had the cricket scores on the front yard, the trophy kills etc and fortunately have matured (so to speak, sometimes my wife would disagree:-? ) and have embraced the digital age with a positive enthusiasm (once again much to the dismay of the household budget:-X ) but let me pose this...
I fish because I love the sea, the smell, the hunt and the taste of fresh produce particularly snapper, whiting, cobia, mackeral bla bla bla. I am fair skinned, had my first cancer cut out at 16 due to sun exposure and fishing family. I fish hard in winter and store fish effectively in my freezer for further meals. Sometimes my freezer is fairly full and family benefit as do neighbours etc because I know that my fishing in summer is significantly limited due to sun and work commitments not allowing pm fishing. I am not breaking any laws and am not wasting fish surely that should not be judged as has been seen before and there has been a quote that storing fish is not 'ethical' in some eyes. I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to opinion but lets try and minimise the judgement made for those who do have alternative practices. I care for my catch very much and thank the gods for being able to enjoy the basics in a world of destruction and abuse.
My other concern is that if we are truly concerned about our footprint in todays day of carbon emissions etc then (hypothetically) would it not be better to make one or two less trips per week and catch enough to freeze for one or two more meals and lessen the fuel and energy cost to the environment???

As stated from the start - all played out in Devils Advocate mode, just a few thoughts:P