This site was posted on ifish thought you guys might find it interesting www.nofishing.net I guess they've been after Bass Tournaments for a while, and are trying to diversify to the NW. Like we don't have enough problems already.

To bad we couldn't sic them on the netters!!!!

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Tight Lines!!

[This message has been edited by Dick (edited 05-24-2000).]

While well intentioned, I think on the whole PETAs are shortsighted fanatical lunatics. You should read the nofishing.net post thread on our ifish.net BB! - RT

Ok, I am sorry for bothering you all with this. But I am so sick of people telling me how to live my life according to their values. Here is my text of the email I sent to PETA today.

Do you fight for cow's rights and feelings? How about Chickens? Is your closet full of leather shoes? Is your freezer full of meat products? Do you wear makeup made of animal fats? Is your automobile interior the result of animal testing? Do you fertilize your lawn?

Some of us choose the cerebral cortex value of hunt/kill/eat. It's not like this is a hobby created just to see how much we can make an animal suffer. This is how we were taught, and we take great pride in every once in a while being able to put a meal on the table we took ourselves.

Perhaps you should focus your efforts on something else, like how to feed the neighborhood kids (emotionally) because their parents are both working????

Cracker, your point is well taken.I know it can be irritating when some people are so judgemental. However we cant group all animal activists together. I have friends that choose to be vegan ( no animal products at all). They own no leather shoes, ingest or otherwise use no animal products, and most spend a good majority of their time fighting for initiatives, or other activities relating to their cause. They are not out there on the river with us or up in the mountains smoking dope. They spend their weekends fighting for something that they believe in. I disagree with them in that I choose to eat meat ( not as much as in the past however) but I still respect them. I have attempted veganism to see what it is like. it is very hard to resist milk, fish, even a hershey bar. Try it for 3 days, and you will see how difficult it is.
And if you think that they are all vegan or vegetarian because they just want to keep all the animals alive. You are incorrect. Go check out some of our streams that are eroded and full of cow manure because of cattle. Or visit an industrialized chicken farm. Take a look at the by products and you might eat a little less steak or chicken too.

Gotcha steelhead addict. I know I'm opinionated too. I just hope I don't come across as "mine is right, so follow me". That's where my irritation level rises. To each his own. Tight lines!

ok, I have something to say on the subject, and that would be why are they worrying about a fish having to be drug in by a "unthoughtful, Malicious" angler, just looking for harmless fun (that is, if you are catch and release) when there is a good chance the fish will live, etc. When all of us go through small broken bones that will eventually fix, Bruises, car accidents, etc. They seem so strong in their beliefs of cruelty to fish, what about all of these school shootings, drive by shootings, etc? Seems to me that the taking of HUMAN life should be a little more important than wasting even a tiny portion of the internet, and political power, on "harming a fish" that even Jesus Christ killed and ate himself quite regularaly? I am certainly not the most religious of people, but I believe that I have a point here. I think they have better things to do with their time, they just need to open their eyes..

Tom

As we all should know by now the few folks who would demand that we stop an activity that we have grown up with and take a great deal of pride in practicing to the best of our capabilities. That we play fish in the shortest time possible, that we take the time to revieve and release fish not just toss 'em back in the creek. And yes occassionally harvest a fish or 2 to provide a meal for our family. We all should heed thesze beginings and take up an offensive stance now! Just look at hound hunting for bear and cougar in WA. state. Here a vocal minority was able to sway voter opinion on a subject that most "city folk" don't have the first clue on. By using deceptive and sometimes false sound bites in 30 sec. commercials they were able to get 75% of voters to outlaw hound hunting. Fishing is praticed by more people but that doesn't mean a threat doesn't exsist.

a couple replies, first to Tom, I think you answered your own question. Do you think people choose to be a victim in a car accident? I am not saying that catch and release isn't possible by management standards, but to say it has no affect is absolutely ridiculous. try taking a 1/0 gammie and thread it in your lip; now take it out. How did that feel? I too have safely released many fish, but there are many anglers out there that frankly don't give a shi--. Ever hooked a fish deep in the throat, or behind te eye? What about those crowded days where twenty people are out there on the water beside you. If three of those guys catch that one native steelie once each. That fish will be absolutely exhausted. Ever been in a fight yourself. How exhausted were you? Now fight another two minutes...and two more..one more.......feel like spawning?

to rod and reel,
Where's the challenge in hound hunting? They do all the work.
My wife was on the initative to ban hound hunting..
also we are both working on eradicating traps and poisons......believe me it will pass also!!!
that city folk comment makes you sound well educated, I know if I was someone reading this board for info I would listen to what you had to say.
Also just so you can't class me as "city folk" I have hunted, fish every chance I get, and was at one time entrusted by uncle sam to use an M-16. Basicly I am not some commie hippy or whatever you would call it

to steelhead addict, My comments concerning the hound hunting issue were used to highlight what can happen. I commend you for your opinon on that issue and on traps and poisons. Even though I don't agree with on the hound issue I do on the trapping issue. But the real issue is fish!!! I was at the ship cannal locks in Seattle when P.A.W.S. and other animial rights folks were protesting the sea lion issue. I was on the other side saying something had to be done. The one thing that I've noticed is the lip service that P.A.W.S. and P.E.T.A. give on fish issues but have never seen them organize a stream restoration or riparian zone tree planting project. We first of all must agree to disagree and then get on with the matter at hand. We need to come up with solutions. By the way I too hunt, with a bow & have fished with a fly rod for more than 40 years.

addict,


You do realize that fish aren't humans and vice versa, yes? A hook in my lip and a hook in a fish's mouth isn't the same thing. Sure, you can think of how a hook would feel in your mouth, but can you feel how it does to a fish? Not unless you ARE one. If a fish is hurt that much, why do you suppose they'll bite again almost immediately after being landed once? Their memory of painful stimuli HAS to be longer than 5 minutes. (Unless Salmo G. has some study results to the contrary?)

To say C&R CAN"T be done without impact is untrue. To say it's not done now without impact isn't, since some of our uneducated brethren feel the need to drag fish up on the sand, drop it once, and then take 5 minutes to photograph it. Done correctly, C&R can be done with INSIGNIFICANT impact to the run. That means a fish will die here and there, but a run will not be made extinct by C&R fisheries.

I don't find the claim that C&R has no impact on a fish run to be ridiculous. It may not be impact-free the way it's done today, but what's the alternative? Closing everything down so not even one fish dies? Maybe that's what you're looking for, but I don't believe we need to take that step yet.


Fish on..........



[This message has been edited by Dan S. (edited 06-06-2000).]

steely addict, I strongly disagree with your statement about the hounds doing all the work. The hounds are merely a tool and passion for those that choose to use them. I personally don't use them however, I am not so narrow minded to not realize the importance of using them as a management tool. You say you are not a "city BOY" but I doubt you've spent enough time in the woods to make an educated guess as to how the state should manage our game!! Right now the cougar population has exploded because we have no effective means to control them. Thanks to narrow minded people like you we lost are best weapon. For something this B%B can use as a comparison, we have no way to control seals in the mouths of our rivers nor can we reduce the population of commerants in the lower columbia. I hope you come to your senses before you push the ban of traps and poisons. This isn't the 1800's anymore, we have to manage everything including ourselves....