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Nice Musky vid


Crazyhook

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The kid was nervous, biggest fish of his life. If it was in season, it was a legal catch. I have no problem with that. Nicer to see them released but congrats to him on the great catch.

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This is a truly interesting thread to me as it addresses all the emotions, objections, and attractions I experience when fishing. I gave up fishing for years (more of them than most of you have been alive) because as a young man I just got turned off the whole idea of killing critters for fun, or even hurting them. Perhaps it was just a result of coming into my adultery during the peace and love years, and living in a home where Dad did the fending at his job, not out in the bush or on the creeks.

 

Whatever, I really turned off the idea of killing anything except germs. Not enuf to stop eating steaks and ribs, but I was definitely averse to turning my own hand to harming the little critters. Some time in the last 5 years I guess I finally came to terms with the hypocrisy of my thinking and figgered what the hey, get out there and have some fun like all the other fisherfolk. Forums like this convinced me that one can fish ethically and have fun without doing serious injury to the fish (most of the time) and as long as I was prepared to put the meat to good use if and when one of the little guys swallowed a hook or ripped a gill I was acting within acceptable (by my own ethos) limits.

 

I started doing a lot of reading on fishing - the hows, the whys and the history of it. I was particularly interested in one anthology I picked up in Ohio that included stories starting from several hundred years ago right up to relatively modern times. One of the things I noticed was that the fellers writing about fishing in the earlier days without exception assumed one killed each and every fish taken, like they were all modern day Gobies, or mebbe just from conditioning that said a man kept food on the table. With that in mind it's hard to be too critical of any fisherman who gets caught up in the wonder of catching a huge fish like the one in the vid. Methinks that fisherman was a victim of atavism (kill what ya catch), an adrenalin rush and a bit of male ego.

 

I'm not surprised (and am in fact comforted) that there are so many of us offended by his killing of that musky. On the other hand I'm not unhappy with the fact that there are those here who relate to killing/keeping the trophy. Someone will always need to feed the rest of the world and if we all lose the ability to harvest nature's provender we're kinda screwing ourselves. That instinct is natural and necessary in all of us. It's not a bad thing to keep in the gene pool.

 

When I started typing this I thought I knew what I meant to, or at least what I wanted to, say. Now that I'm done I'm not sure I got it right but I dunno how to change it. Man is by inclination a hunter, a provider. Natural selection is a cornerstone of modern biology - we gotta feed ourselves to survive. Some of us have stifled that instinct in the pursuit of civilized behaviour but we can't lose it as a society or we won't survive. As uncomfortable as that video made me, I have to admit that I can relate on several different levels to how that fisherman felt. Dunno where the lines get drawn but in my foggy little peabrain they're pretty fuzzy. IOW I'm glad there are still those among us who espouse the hunter/gatherer lifestyle. That's what will keep our breed going & growing.

 

Sorry if this is a little cerebral. I had a bad day at the office and had to air out the grey matter. :)

 

JF

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Sorry if this is a little cerebral. I had a bad day at the office and had to air out the grey matter. :)

 

JF

A little cerebral !?! Misfish is a little cerebral, you were writing curriculum :blahblah1:

Kidding, it was a lovely read.

Thanks for taking the time to put your thoughts on screen.

Jim

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Youse guys are interesting. I think this is becoming a 'Why do we fish?' thread. I've seen 3 - 14 lb lake trout taken from Algonquin park in the last 10 years. Not by me, of course, so this begs the question, What would I do if that tragedy might befall me? Right now, I think she might go back. If I actually land a lunker like that? I'll get back to you.

Edited by douG
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Well he is within his legal rights to keep that fish. That said i think this is why we need a size limiter on certain species. I will give this to Australian fish management. For example the Murray Cod ( a truely amazing fish..gets 70pounds in the river) has a min size to keep and a fish over X cms must be returned as well. I believe muskie and non Great Lake Trout should also share this rule. However until this changes he is within his rights to keep that fish. I may not like it but instead of complaining i write a letter every month to the politicians( sometimes every week).

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This is a truly interesting thread to me as it addresses all the emotions, objections, and attractions I experience when fishing. I gave up fishing for years (more of them than most of you have been alive) because as a young man I just got turned off the whole idea of killing critters for fun, or even hurting them. Perhaps it was just a result of coming into my adultery during the peace and love years, and living in a home where Dad did the fending at his job, not out in the bush or on the creeks.

 

Whatever, I really turned off the idea of killing anything except germs. Not enuf to stop eating steaks and ribs, but I was definitely averse to turning my own hand to harming the little critters. Some time in the last 5 years I guess I finally came to terms with the hypocrisy of my thinking and figgered what the hey, get out there and have some fun like all the other fisherfolk. Forums like this convinced me that one can fish ethically and have fun without doing serious injury to the fish (most of the time) and as long as I was prepared to put the meat to good use if and when one of the little guys swallowed a hook or ripped a gill I was acting within acceptable (by my own ethos) limits.

 

I started doing a lot of reading on fishing - the hows, the whys and the history of it. I was particularly interested in one anthology I picked up in Ohio that included stories starting from several hundred years ago right up to relatively modern times. One of the things I noticed was that the fellers writing about fishing in the earlier days without exception assumed one killed each and every fish taken, like they were all modern day Gobies, or mebbe just from conditioning that said a man kept food on the table. With that in mind it's hard to be too critical of any fisherman who gets caught up in the wonder of catching a huge fish like the one in the vid. Methinks that fisherman was a victim of atavism (kill what ya catch), an adrenalin rush and a bit of male ego.

 

I'm not surprised (and am in fact comforted) that there are so many of us offended by his killing of that musky. On the other hand I'm not unhappy with the fact that there are those here who relate to killing/keeping the trophy. Someone will always need to feed the rest of the world and if we all lose the ability to harvest nature's provender we're kinda screwing ourselves. That instinct is natural and necessary in all of us. It's not a bad thing to keep in the gene pool.

 

When I started typing this I thought I knew what I meant to, or at least what I wanted to, say. Now that I'm done I'm not sure I got it right but I dunno how to change it. Man is by inclination a hunter, a provider. Natural selection is a cornerstone of modern biology - we gotta feed ourselves to survive. Some of us have stifled that instinct in the pursuit of civilized behaviour but we can't lose it as a society or we won't survive. As uncomfortable as that video made me, I have to admit that I can relate on several different levels to how that fisherman felt. Dunno where the lines get drawn but in my foggy little peabrain they're pretty fuzzy. IOW I'm glad there are still those among us who espouse the hunter/gatherer lifestyle. That's what will keep our breed going & growing.

 

Sorry if this is a little cerebral. I had a bad day at the office and had to air out the grey matter. :)

 

JF

 

I hear ya John.. Ya outta read Howell Raine's Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis.. Puts a great perspective on things.

 

always good to read your posts, even if you come off as being a buddhist.. B)

 

cheers!!

 

HD

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I hear ya John.. Ya outta read Howell Raine's Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis.. Puts a great perspective on things.

 

always good to read your posts, even if you come off as being a buddhist.. B)

 

Well, I've got the belly for it. Unfortunately the knees are a tad creaky.

 

JF

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Well, I've got the belly for it. Unfortunately the knees are a tad creaky.

 

JF

 

Yeah I know the feeling... My knees are shot and I've yet to turn thirty.. Tried yoga the other day with the missus (I was trying to show interest)... Forget that racket!!

 

Great video, but someone outta counteract this one with a video of someone making a proper release, just for education purposes..

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Yeah I know the feeling... My knees are shot and I've yet to turn thirty.. Tried yoga the other day with the missus (I was trying to show interest)... Forget that racket!!

 

Great video, but someone outta counteract this one with a video of someone making a proper release, just for education purposes..

 

I think what I related to most was the obvious fear in his voice when he realized he had to deal with the monster all by himself. As a modern day fishing neophyte that's always lurking in the back of my mind when we're fishing pikey waters - what happens if I hook into a big'un standing out here up to my ass in the river with a shortage of appendages to hold the rod, grasp the monster, and remove the hook(s)? Fortunately I only catch dinks and dehooking is not an issue. I doubt that I can grip a 40 incher behind the gills with one hand and twist out the hook with the other under my normal circumstances. Hell, I got rattled last summer when I brought in the big smallmouth whilst standing bellybutton deep in the creek. I dropped my rod in the water that time as I recollect.

 

My knees are actually really good for an old fart but that crossed-knee yoga crap makes them hurt just watching it. My knees wouldn't bend like that when I was young and limber. I'd explode something if I tried that today.

 

JF

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You know something has just dawned on me.....who is filming the whole thing?

I remember watching Jacques Cousteau as a kid, swimming into caves or wrecks and thinking how dangerous it was. Then it dawned on me that someone filmed him swimming into the cave or wreck, from inside!!! Same with this, the guy is yelling to the other boat "How will I get it in the boat?" When the obvious answer is "Get buddy to put the camera down and pick up the gawd dammed net!" (note how I get around taking the Lord's name in vane by mis-spelling it).

It was one of the first great life altering epiphanies that I remember having. The same thing happened when I watched the first "behind the scenes of Survivor" when I realized that for every one on the island, there were three cameramen and two sound guys following their every move.

And this was another. I have just gone from thinking "What a wonderful fish" to thinking "God, I hate that posing bugger".

In fact, if not for Lew, I am not sure that I would like Musky fishers at all. :angry:

Jim

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