Proving that Point

Just to let everyone know that I do practice what I preach, last Sunday I fished my favorite spot . Arrived late, no one around. Caught seven fish (three rainbows, three brook and one brown) and lost four more. Total time fished starting with pulling on my waders and ending when two other anglers were in shouting distance fifty five minutes. Caught plenty of fish and the fish stopped taking my offerings. Stopped for the day and went home. The coffee was still hot in the pot!

So I can hear the skeptics out there and you know who you are! " What would you have done if you caught none?" I probably would have moved to another spot  after a half an hour and my max for no fish is around two hours in total. But I did surrender the spot to the first anglers who showed up and would I have done that if I just started, no. But, I would have shared it for awhile. Oh by the way total invasive fish killed-zero. Native fish released safely.

Well as you all know that is a sore spot with old Art. Seems that all fish are native and introduced in the same way. After the Indian's and colonist caught their limit (who's kidding who they fished for food and if the fishing was good unlimited numbers), the resource was gone! Stocking did a good service restoring populations. The evils of "non-native fish" is that they eat not the brook trout but the little native minnows.  The USGS actually has a policy to eradicate Trout. Yes an official government policy. To save the snail darter and silverside whatever and a whole host of forage fish, browns, rainbows and even the sacred brookies are listed for eradication on some streams somewhere.

The USGS is a group of "scientist" who amongst other things study earthquakes, volcanos, and make topo maps. So why the hell are they messing with fisheries? They along with the likes of Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service are part of the Department of Interior the same group that sells off our National Forest mineral rights, timber and gas reserves to mega corporations for big bucks. Seems like they have a mixed mission, preserve and destroy in the same department. But it is the federal government and like everything else seems a little skewed!

All I know is that I like to catch a few fish and the billions sportsmen spend in this country they should have a few fish available on streams with clean water shaded by trees with no quakes from fracking.

Etiquette

The other day, I was fishing and some guy had walked down half the river (in the wrong direction) looking for fish. My first thought was what an ass, must have walked on several dozen Brook trout and didn't see one. I  asked him " was that your car up river?" The answer was yes, and I told him that he walked through all the holding water and thanked him for wasting my time!

So what is the etiquette on any river? I'm not sure, nor do I think I should be the monitor of behavior! What I do think is this: give someone fishing a wide berth, limit your time on a certain spot to 1/2 to 1 hour, walk and fish up stream, try not walking through the holes and even if your practicing catch and release stop fishing when you would have reached your limit if you were keeping fish. I have a personal limit of 5 fish caught and released in any particular spot. If your not catching fish after an hour I got news for you its just not your day. Pack it and give it a go somewhere else or another time.

Spend sometime exploring a stream, fish are everywhere if you know how to look. Some factors to consider when out: water and air temperature, amount of sunlight hitting the water, lack of insects, rain, wind and how many other fisherman may have hit that favorite pool before you.

So that day last week when someone spent three hours in my favorite spot and another guy turned off all the waters above that off turned out pretty good.  Caught a dozen fish in three different spots. All after others fished the death out of them with no luck. Am I a better fisherman, NO! Just a more patient one. Not ten minutes after that guy spent three hours I caught my first brown of the season and I nice rainbow! Oh and the best part, I did spend just one hour there and stopped when the fish stopped. Time to go home and give it another go another time!

Maybe

This might boost attendance!

Suspect Apprehended

The suspect was charged with being invasive, polluting a stream with piscatorial waste, endangering the life of a young brook trout

After a brief trial, the jury found the suspect Sal Trutta not guilty and we was promptly released again and again and again!

Attacked from All Sides

I use to think of fishing as a pleasant diversion from the reality of 21st century life. Spending my summer morning trying and sometimes succeeding in catching a few trout on the fly. Yes, those flies that I spent my Saturday morning all winter long tying. Now I find that I am part of a bigger problem, I have altered the ecosystem and the fish I love are nothing more than challenged lab rats. Poisoning our streams with their waste and invasive behavior. Scaring the native fish into extinction. And you fishermen (persons) over fishing with reckless abandon. Shame on you!

I came across this in the NY Times last weekend http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/11/opinion/the-cost-of-trout-fishing.html?_r=0 Scary that this guy teaches ! What he forgets to mention is the reason why we had to stock and the complete history of the American Conservation movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Perhaps a course in history is needed for the old college professor! Stick to your rocks and leave the trout alone.

Due to industrialization, overpopulation , pollution and lack of fish management, we wiped out most of our native fish, destroying their habitat  in the process. So we turned to stocking to replenish the waters. The result was an economic boon every spring to some very small towns that are in depressed economic conditions. Stocking has built fisheries where little was left but coarse fish.

There is a great debate over native and non-native trout. It is conducted in the rarified air of the 21st century amongst purist and realist. The fish that are now vilified were saviors 100 years ago. What changed? Lee Wulff once said " a trout is too beautiful to waste" (or something close). We have a credo " limit your catch not catch your limit". Where is Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, John Burroughs, John Muir and those luminaries of the American Conservation movement when we need them?

Tight line <<@/////>><<

Art Flick

enjoy the video

After a Long Winters Slumber

Still feeling the effects of this winter! Today cold and damp, no rush for warmer days the season is way too short. This should warm you up!