Fish welfare - or just OTT

[gozzer]

In case some haven't realised, my last couple of posts were me playing 'devils advocate'. I don't actually give a damn whether an angler weighs and photographs a fish or not, it's up to them. It does pee me off though, when I get people preaching at me, telling me I should always do it their way, because they know best. For instance, always use an unhooking mat or cradle, don't lay the fish on grass it can blind it, etc, etc. Then take photos of nearly every fish, lifted of the ground, with the chance of the fish flipping out of their grasp, as well as rubbing more slime off onto their clothes. If you believe that your actions are the best, then go the full hog, and and take all the precautions you can, not just those that suit you, and a better photo. If you don't take all the precautions you can, then shut up, and stop preaching. Using common sense in unhooking/handling fish is the main thing, and education without preaching is the way to get the message over.

 

John.

[Sportsman]

Spot on John.

If fish welfare really was our first priority then we would all stop fishing and join p*ta.

As some one on here once said

They are just fish

[Emma two]

Spot on John.

If fish welfare really was our first priority then we would all stop fishing and join p*ta.

As some one on here once said

They are just fish

I think that it was me, I certainly responded the same way once when someone made the 'fish welfare is paramount' statement (KB) some time ago.

I believe that I do my best, use unhooking mats where appropriate, carry and know how to use my (pike) unhooking tools. We pride ourselves on how quickly we can land, unhook, weigh/photograph (if it's a whopper) and return the fish.

Some waters insist that a landing net is carried while fishing, well that may be ok in lots of circumstances, but I have seen anglers killing pike by using a net when there is no need, jacks may spin around doing a 'crocodile roll' thing and then dies of suffocation as the hooks become buried in fold of fine mesh netting. I don't net lure caught pike from the shore, and us a big savage gear rubberised mesh on for boat fishing, but even then only on doubles.

 

Sometimes fish die in the process of being caught, try to avoid this, but don't go to pieces when it happens.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Emma two

[BobH]

In case some haven't realised, my last couple of posts were me playing 'devils advocate'. I don't actually give a damn whether an angler weighs and photographs a fish or not, it's up to them. It does pee me off though, when I get people preaching at me, telling me I should always do it their way, because they know best. For instance, always use an unhooking mat or cradle, don't lay the fish on grass it can blind it, etc, etc. Then take photos of nearly every fish, lifted of the ground, with the chance of the fish flipping out of their grasp, as well as rubbing more slime off onto their clothes. If you believe that your actions are the best, then go the full hog, and and take all the precautions you can, not just those that suit you, and a better photo. If you don't take all the precautions you can, then shut up, and stop preaching. Using common sense in unhooking/handling fish is the main thing, and education without preaching is the way to get the message over.

 

John.

gozzer

 

If you play devils advocate, then I presume you want a response and if it pee's you off that some are defending the use of Carp Cradles at Carp waters in a thread called Fish Welfare- or just OTT, well maybe it would be better to not to play D. A. ?

 

And who is preaching to you, it's up to you if you take up freely given advise, that I presume is what a Forum is for ?

 

As for taking pictures, your doing it again, trying to give a reason why you feel we need to use a mat, but reality many of us use a mat whether taking pictures or not.

 

Know one is saying you have to do anything, they are saying follow the rules of the fishery or club, it's your choice !!

 

Bob

[kirisute]

I fish numerous lakes; some require mats others don't:

reepham fishery supplies both mats and nets and insists on using mats and nets for all fish.

The clubs lakes are mats "recommended" apart from the carp lake which is mat required or unhook in net.

 

as a bailiff do I religiously enforce the rules? mostly I do..but at the same time if someone doesn't have a mat but I see them carefully laying a carp on soft grass and treating it with care then ill just point out they should have a mat rather than issue a stern ****ing!

ive seen fishermen using mats with the greatest of care..only to pick a carp up and literally toss it back into the water like a frigging missile!! Ive seen unhooking "in net" carried out by resting the net on the chicken wire covered platform where the fish is thrashing about whilst its unhooked....but that's still "technically" in net!!

 

fish welfare is a huge subject ranging from not giving a damn to using antiseptic on hooking points and beyond!

in the end its simply up to us, as responsible fishermen, to find a happy ground we are accepting of.

for me that's simply doing my best to treat the fish as gently as I can..but accidents happen...the nature of the sport dictates you cant always be as careful as you might wish to be....deep hooked pike dying, foul hooking a fish in the eye, dropping a fish held for a photo, fish flapping off your mat and onto gravel, fish wriggling free and head planting onto the ground....be honest! weve all bloody well had it happen!

 

same as shooting; you try to make every shot you do a kill shot..but it simply cant always happen, winged birds, wounded animals whatever....

 

in the end we chose our sports...and we choose what rules we play by within those sports.....part of that is dictated by the locations we use, part by our own choices of what we find acceptable.

that's all there is to it really....

 

argue further as required! LOL

[Phone]

All,

 

Mats - no mats - has been done to death. I just wish anglers would take their personal belongings home with them. You know, empty hook packets; unspooled line, candy wrappers - on and on. I don't see these guys benefiting fish with safety devices. Once watched a guy spend every bit of 10 minutes looking for pliers - Ohh - the fish was safely trapped in his landing net still in the water - upside down with one gill wedged open. Ignorance was the "rule" this guy followed. This thread should be attached to one of the dozens of OMG unhooking pike threads.

 

Phone

[kirisute]

my personal "fave" is fag ends!!

perfectly clean and tidy swim..all cans and bits of rubbish removed...and a nice tidy pile of fag ends left to one side of the platform!! YUM!!

[Ken L]

Landing net onto an area of grass that's been wetted ahead of time or straight onto an hunhooking mat that's at 70 degrees after being left in the baking sun?

Like anything else, its about common sense.

 

I've had comments about not using a landing net when summer lure fishing but I'm standing in and unhooking fish in or over the river.

 

I've had comments from people who think it's unsporting to fish with heavy lines and not good for the fish to be "dragged in", but these folks will happily play a fish to exhaustion and release it to die latter.

 

What we need is a little more thinking and a little less rule writing.

I suspect though that getting people to obey the big visible rules is just a way of psychologically enforcing the little rules - when was the last time anyone had their terminal tackle checked for lead shot or barbed hooks?

[kirisute]

I fish a lake where we get checked each and every time...

and as a bailiff; if I don't recognise the angler..i check terminal tackle. (even those I know I occasionally check as well)

the most common rule we have that's ignored/broken is "no cans"

we had a spate of sweetcorn tins, coke cans etc being left in the hedges so we banned "cans" at all our lakes.

 

if I had a pound for the time I hear: "i thought it meant no cans of drink" when someone has a can of sweetcorn, luncheon meat and hemp sitting beside them! LOL

Edited November 7, 2014 by kirisute

[Ken L]

See, that's what I mean. You presumably could have made a note of which members were fishing which pegs and then had a walk around at the end if the day to see who's leaving litter but instead of having one of those "difficult conversations", another rule got added to the detriment of everybody.