Catch n release

I hate this whole thread. Chinook fishing do your catching then go home, no big deal, release some smalls if they are releasable. Coho fishing is complete bs. Wade through "supposedly" wild after wild to get your fish. I hate the whole thing. If you are tubbed out why are you still fishing? To kill more fish? What's the point? Are you trying to make some crab bait or feed a seal?
 
You cannot use steelhead as they completely different animals .. :)

I'm comparing the ethical fallacy of C&R steelhead, where there is 0 retention, to C&R chinook after limiting out. What's the difference? Why is one okay but not the other?

If you are tubbed out why are you still fishing?

Same as Stizzla.. Because I enjoy being out on the water fighting fish. Just like when you take your kids to the river to catch pinks/chum. Unless it takes all day to get your limit, you're going to C&R because you are enjoying the experience and company.
 
I also leave after I tub out and keep all the legal fish I catch, Though I fish in areas that has a min size of 62mm

That being said before a Fishery gets completely closed I believe there is a place for Catch and Release if the mortality associated with C@R is within the allowable exploitation. Chinook and Coho are game fish and I don't want them to be managed the same way Sockeye, Pinks and Chum are.
 
We are in a new age where people feel its there duty to make people fall in line with there beliefs be it fishing, hunting, environment, relationships....... We all have a choice to do the things we love, enjoy, or believe in and we all should have a choice to decide if it works for us without others forcing there morals or ethics on others.

Very well said
 
What do you do when the Coho come in early but you're fishing for springs? I'm like Stizzla so new at fishing and only reading of the good old days when you would limit out every time out. I to really enjoy going out but I'm limited by weather so am lucky to get out once a week then even luckier to not get skunked. I'm happy to have 2 fish on my licence since march. IF I get the limit early in a trip I'm not sure what I would do. I need more experience in playing a fish as I do seem to loose a few and have been sealed twice. I also need practice releasing a fish, if the weather is good I'd want to stay out. Mixed emotions on this.
 
I fish because I enjoy fishing – the sport of fishing. I release almost everything I catch and only keep those fish of legal size that are damaged and I think unlikely to survive or when fishing a Derby. If I were not allowed to catch and release salmon I do not think that I would bother with the expense of running and maintaining a boat.

That is my position. If someone wants to call it a day when they have killed their limit well that is their decision but to suggest that it is unethical to fish or to continue fishing on a catch and release basis is ridiculous. If it is ethical to fish for food but unethical to fish catch and release, well perhaps everyone should buy their fish in the supermarket and recreational fishing should fade away – like bullfighting.
 
Jigging in Victoria we do get day's when there are lot's of fish biting and being caught.We do release quite a few but we don't release bleeder's EVER.When we're satisfied with our catch or the last fish is a bleeder we're done.I don't take the fish out of the water,a quick release with the gaff shouldn't harm the fish.Personal choice for sure. EDIT-I agree with BCTony that if I can't catch and release I'm done with fishing.
 
It makes me sick every time I have to release a shaker or undersize especially if they are any way injured or stressed. It makes me even sicker to watch these “Sport” fishing shows on sturgeon and the atlantic blue fin tuna. Whats next “Sport” fishing whales?
 
10% mortality is unrealistic. A study in Oregon caught Chinook, place them in a live well, then net penned them. Landed mortality was around 25%. Landed mortality does not include mortality of fish that get away. Down here in WA we don't use treble hooks & fish being released must not be removed from the water & I do the same while in BC. IMO:
Most moral would be (1) to not go fishing or get skunked. Next would be (2) to retain the first legal fish caught. Next would be (3) to high grade, releasing legal, but smaller fish unless they appear like they would most likely die Next would be (4) to high grade irregardless of condition when released. Next is (5) to retain a limit, then continue fishing.

I always choose option 3, but sometimes the fish cause me to do option 1 & 2.

I used to use treble hooks & think anybody else who does is an asshole or clueless:) Likewise many will call me an asshole for doing option 3. Whatever. Bottom line it's all about mortality.
 
For me i think i would call it a day after catching my limit but if its not illegal then i believe its up to the individual. We are in a new age where people feel its there duty to make people fall in line with there beliefs be it fishing, hunting, environment, relationships....... We all have a choice to do the things we love, enjoy, or believe in and we all should have a choice to decide if it works for us without others forcing there morals or ethics on others.

Agreed, but the thread title and OP are looking for a discussion/opinion. Should we just have left the post unanswered?
 
Comparing C/R in the rivers and ocean is completely different in terms of mortality.
Trying to justify feeding played springs to the seals ain’t cool....
Should be once you have your limit stop fishing....just like when you kill your hatchery steelhead!
 
Comparing C/R in the rivers and ocean is completely different in terms of mortality.

Mortality rate might be different in rivers and ocean, but why is it morally ok to catch and release in one not the other. Same question Ive asked a few times without a straight answer. Implications are identical
 
When it comes to salmon and steelhead, I’d argue it’s a lot more ethical to C&R actively feeding, immature fish in the ocean than mature fish on their spawning run, particularly as they’ve stopped feeding (for the most part, steelhead can feed a bit) and are relying on their stored reserves to mature their eggs/milt, migrate upstream and carry out their spawning act.

Those poor Thompson Steelhead hole up around Spence’s Bridge from September/October and don’t spawn in the tribs until post-freshet in may/June. Poor buggers historically got pounded on day after day after day September through December and steelheaders will tell you with a straight face they have/had very little C&R mortality ... BS!

Cheers!

Ukee
 
Agreed, but the thread title and OP are looking for a discussion/opinion. Should we just have left the post unanswered?

Not at all but if people start condemning the action then this thread isnt about that either as it's perfectly legal.

My opinion on the steel head c&r would be to close it as a species of concern but it's perfectly legal. For me why target a fish that isn't in any why doing well in numbers right now. If you want to go c&r go to a lake and fish for stocked rainbow but hey that's just my thought but not something I would put on someone else if they think it's fine and the powers that be that are responsible for the fisherys is fine with it.

For me we have way to many people forcing there morals and ethics on others and I'm not about that.

Have fun and enjoy your time on the water!!!
 
Ukee...completely agree with your argument regarding the STAGING beat up steelhead from Johns rock to the graveyard inSpences Bridge...but that fishery is a whole other argument of ethics...lol. And most people who actually care about the Thompson will agree with you...except the Spey crowd who need a pic of the last Thompson steelhead to boost their ego. But that’s a whole other argument.
How many of these guys right now are actually popping them off at the boat with a gaff compared to the googans netting every single undersize. All fisheries have a consequence....it’s what you do as an angler to minimize this that is important! Some people can’t see past today for tomorow...
 
I personally wouldn't keep fishing. But I could care less about an experienced, CASUAL, fisherman that's doing everything he can to minimize harm to the fish doing so. If it were a guide that's out there day in and day out maybe a different story. I just feel like there's WAAAAY worse people out there keeping "pan fryers", stocking their hidden coolers and netting every fish taking GD pictures with them!. All that being said I've never limited that early and that far from home, might be singing a different tune if I did.
 
Yep commercial and FN gillnets and seine boats will be playing catch and release with Fraser river chinook this year.

I should rephrase that the regs will say they are suppose to release incidental caught chinook but FN only practice catch and kill.

The idea of protecting chinook in the ocean this year will be a a big joke if we get a sockeye fishery.


The conspiracy theorist in me says says DFO is asking for reductions now because they know they will get hammered later in river nets and don’t want the Fraser river panel to shut down a sockeye fishery to protect chinook.
 
Just gonna say this.....it's perfectly legal and go forth with what your moral compass says. An opinion was asked and if you have limited out and stuck with a mortally hooked fish...it's your call.

I recall a few years back in Kyuquot when you could only keep hatch coho it was countless as to how many wilds I sent back that were not going live. I could not drop the riggers down fast enough to get past them and it was a ****** feeling seeing all those pretty much dead fish go back. (They weren't swimming away...just spiralling down) They were hitting everything, even big spoons and plugs. They would have eyes hanging out and lots of blood on single hooks but I couldn't keep them. Bear in mind different than springs but I couldn't control how they hit and I was not going to get a ticket for keeping wild fish I was not allowed to.
 
Most people's ethics are on a sliding scale, likely. So for folks from one area to call the shots for those in another won't work. If I could afford a trip to Langara, I would want to release quite a few. If I lived in Sooke, I would catch two if I could and go home. I fish in Ukee mostly and shake a few until I get two decent springs (mid teens works) then switch to bottom fish. Coho/Shmoho. I try to avoid them until they have some size which only happens some trips.
 
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