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banshee, its obvious you work in a tackle shop somewhere.
would not your personal opinion be one of experience ??
why in your opinion does the attitude change have to come from the powers to be ??
lets face it mate there behind the times.. as usual,
and what about the attitude that is so openly displayed here ???
the shift is already happening.....
it is only the kill and grill brigade that would be hostile..
would the shop you work in be willing to have live weigh in of flattys over a certain size only ???
waiting in earnest for your reply as you are at the coalface..so to speak..
Fishereys NSW obviousley are brain dead!!! And anyone who agree's with this practice is also brain dead. As stated previuosly there is no logical explanation for brining such a magnificent fish as pictured above home with the digital technologie we have today, by all means catchem but have some sort of common sense and let them go free.
its probably not that there brain dead (well nearly) but they dont realise (or havent done the surveys) that peoples attitudes towards C &R are quickly changing. the only way they will know this is by publically announcing it.
makes me wonder where all our licence money is going....
there are many many people who target flattys and of course the captures as bycatch when targeting other species..
surely the flatty fishos would not be a minority..
and what about the plastic users and how big the industry is now..
would bet my bottom one that more flattys are caught now then ever before ....
the response to this thread is amazing, overwhelming in fact.
puts it well and truly in concrete that the times are a changing...
It would be nice if tackle shops could educate but I cant see how they will do that. To educate you need to challage a persons beliefs and not many customers are wanting to go into a store and have there beliefs challanged, they tend to go to the next shop, no matter how good your intentions were and there are no privately owned stores that I know of that can afford to loose customers. Personally I cant think of a tackle store owner who is not conservation minded towards fishstock, but most still have to appeal to the wider community to stay in business.
Eat well, drink in moderation, exercise often and yet you still die anyway!
banshees point is a must consider.
but only if, in reality, it was not legal in NSW to take a fish over a said size.........(whatever they were to come up with as being that size)
if the offending newspaper (IMO) was to implement a live weigh in only of flattys over a certain size (set by them), before it was law in NSW, they would have to be infront in my books.....
i have taken a few good flattys and weighed them live already...as do a couple of others
i asked earlier if anyone knew of live weigh in only in "year long comps"
......in my books, it needs to be a bit more sustainable..
it can only happen in my area with the support of the tackle shops and their employees....before it is law...be nice to think it could happen.....
Please guys don't talk up Qld Fisheries dept too much. While we have a better arrangement for flathead, there are still lots of rules that need changing like greater length for bream (currently 23cm!) and bag limits on fish like whiting. If you listen to Nuggets fishing report podcast last week www.nuggetfishing.com.au he mentioned anglers catching 100+ whiting - now that's just wrong > >
i am 42 now but i still remember my first fish i ever caught and that was a flathead about 75cms and i was about 10 years old i think caught on a bit of prawn on a small hook , yep it must have committed suicide but that was the last big fish i ever caught
it was in the gold coast broadwater,the old man hired a boat for the day and took us kids and mum out for the day and from memory we had a great day well i know i did anyway
well know i live on the sunshine coast and still love to fish for anything i can get but i still only take what i need and release what i dont,and i know what is a breeder and what ain't, so i think education is the key here if you see someone doing the wrong thing tell them if they tell you to get lost report them simple as that folks
G'day Max,for the reasons Alistair has put forward I simply cannot allienate people with what I consider to be the "right" thing to do.The shop I work in is a little different in that we don't do bait,basicly the toy side of things,lures reels rods etc, and we are slightly inland so I can't comment as to what my boss would do with regards to live weigh ins.I do know however that the veiws shared by many here are not mirrored by everyone I deal with and I would say that the majority of anglers fall into what is termed as the kill & grill brigade.I think that fisheries try to guage peoples perspective with disscusion papers etc but the majority of people just don't get to see them or otherwise couldn't be bothered with them.I think the wheels are going to turn slowly for you on this one,but as you have said attitudes are changing and I find it refreshing that the younger people I deal with share the views put foreward hear but for majority it will have to be the law that governs the way they think/act.
Here are some figures from the Flathead Classic which just finished. All up 295 anglers caught and released 2764 flathead in 2 1/2 days of fishing. Of those fish 98 were 70cm or bigger, best went 98cm with two more caught in the 90's, 23 in the 80's and 72 in the 70's. Total length of all flathead caught was 1117 metres. Interestingly and this is only speculation, but there were around 400 more fish caught this year than last year in the 30 - 39cm slot - these fish would be around 2 years old, born around a year after the Qld 40 - 70cmm slot limit was introduced. Does this mean that more breeders in the system equals more young fish? Who can tell, it could just be the simple fact that we caught more rats this year, but I like to think its because of the new laws.
Keep fighting the good fight guys - if you can't influence the powers that be, then it is up to us as responsible fisher folk to educate those that we can and practise what we preach, one day someone might just listen.
thanks very much john for the report,
thats a lot if fish in a short period of time.
400 more....is very impressive indeed.
we are waiting for the editor of said paper to return from holidays then we will bombard him with facts and figures and an invitation to read this thread.
the last thing we want is to take away peoples fun..
just make it more sustainable....for us and the generations ahead..
and big round of applause for Mr John Gibson of Ballina who weighed in a 5.922kg, Lizzard this week for the Northern Star fish of the week. Whats so great about that? John weighed the fish in live. Its still not the best option but is far better than weighing her in dead.
interesting for all the jumping up and down about protecting another states flathead fishery ..... didn't seem to be that many concerned aus fishers willing to help out at election time at the booths. who knows in these modern times maybe words do count for more than actions?? suspose what-ever makes you feel warm & fuzzy guys. by the way nice catch to the guys who caught the fish.
stonecold..yeah i gave the guy a personal round of applause when i saw it....!!!!
and a wry smile i must admit..
im sure BIG E , that a few warm and fuzzys would have been felt upon reading the good news.
and your right,,,,nice catch to the guys who caught ?? the fish(es) thousands of them pity they didnt get the chance to experience more than just the one......
NSWs exports a few big breeders up to moreton (naturally) from the area i live (according to DPI stats)
maybe that has something to do with the support shown by QLDers
or maybe its the majority consensus...
who knows.....
Mate I was there at the booths & have finally got around to joining the fishing party. Ready now for the federal election next year. All the big mouths on this site should put their whatevers where there mouth is & make some effort come election time.
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