{Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Catch and Release question

Really interesting thread.  I don't like the idea of keeping or killing a fish that I'm going to waste, so for me C&R in the Potomac isn't even an issue for debate, because I'm not going to eat anything from there.  I was actually up in Maine a couple weeks ago (born and raised) and a 4 inch red-breasted sunfish demolished my fly and was pretty much an instant goner (bleeding pretty bad from the gills).  I didn't want it to go to waste, so I threw it in the pan.  Seriously the fillets were the size of a pringles chip split in half, no idea how you would purposefully fish these to keep.

Somewhat related topic, I had a similar situation a few nights ago on 4MR when a bluegill just demolished my small popper.  It was sitting completely inside the fish's mouth, and the popper head was the same diameter as the fishes mouth--impossible to get out.  I've read that survivabilty rates are better when just cutting off the fly and returning the fish then when really going at the fish with forceps, so I just sacrificed the popper and threw the fish back.  From a C&R perspective, was this the right thing to do?

On Wednesday, October 3, 2012 6:24:16 AM UTC-4, TurbineBlade wrote:

Hi -- I was curious about the pervasive practice of C/R that I see most fly fishermen tend to do....presumably for all species and all size classes of fish caught.  Does anyone know approximately when this developed with fly fishing?  Since I've lived in the DC area I've literally released ALL fish my wife and I have caught without even a second thought, but I was wondering whether there has been any "revisionist" thinking on the subject given the better understanding we now have of population dynamics, etc.  For example, even some state agencies (Missouri Department of Conservation for example) now advocate "thinning" smaller individuals of species like bluegill/sunfish in certain waters where populations are "stunted" due to ridiculously high numbers and/or lack of resources, etc.  To me, this is sort of like the old Smokey Bear "Forest Fires are bad" stuff from 30 years ago vs. the prescribed burns we do now which we now understand are of benefit to the system. 

 

Then of course there are invasive issues (e.g. snakehead, carp, etc.) that different agencies have different approaches for depending upon where you are. 

 

I really am asking this out of genuine interest - and please keep in mind that I'm a "releaser" just like most other fly fishermen I've run into.  I don't kill fish, but I also don't like adhering to an idea without really understanding why I'm doing it.   

 

Is it just a tradition carried for the sake of tradtion?  Did it start mostly with trout or certain other more "sensitive" species that are prone to exploitation and simply carried over onto all other species?  Animal rights?

 

Thanks - and please no flame wars.  If this post makes you upset and you think you might type the word "idiot" or something, just email it directly to me ;). 

 

Gene

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