Showing posts with label fishing policy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fishing policy. Show all posts

Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Folly of Catch and Release

If someone walked up to you, and said "Ma'am, I would like to give to you one million dollars." What would you do? Would you accept it? I hope you would.

That is why it frustrates me when I watch people practice this strange gov't mandated theory of fishing
called "Catch and Release".  What an absurd practice! Why would someone go to all the trouble and expense of buying a boat and bait and fishing gear and go to their favorite fishing spot only to reel in the fish of their dreams and then once they have the fish on the hook, they simply remove the hook and put the fish back into the lake. Then you have a beautiful fish swimming back into the lake with a big hole in its cheek.

Perhaps my dutch roots are showing once again, but permit me to go further. Do you know how many
people there are in your town who will go to bed hungry tonight? If you had the capacity to feed them all, would you? So, it stands to reason, that if God blesses your fishing line with the 'Catch of the day' that you would take that fish home and serve it up to as many friends, family or neighbors as would want it.
Don't you dare return a blessing that God sends your way! If you are not hungry, I am sure there are food banks or friends or soup kitchens that would be grateful for your prize catch.

The only time I understand the concept of "Catch and Release" is if the fish is too small and still hasn't reached a proper adult stage. Sure, send the baby fish back into the lake to enjoy her growth. Also, if you happen to catch a fish that is poisonous for some reason, then by all means, don't bring it home for supper.
But I really don't understand any other reason.

I watched a tv show about an adventurous fisherman in Thailand who caught monstrous fish one after the other. Sometimes the fish were so big that he needed up to three men to pick up that fish. But did he allow any of those workers to take home those beautiful fish to feed their families? No way. He practiced the absurd....pulled the hooks from their cheeks and returned them back to the water. Huh, how rude.
 How insensitive to put fish back into the river when there are hungry men on the river bank watching.    Catch and Release seems to me to be a sadistic ritual for sport fishermen who don't know the concept of feeding people. Perhaps if all sport fishermen were forced to eat, sell or donate all they caught there wouldn't be so many hungry humans.

I'd be delighted to hear your response, if you feel you can or should educate me further in this regard. Please don't send me some lengthy fishing policy. Use your own words. I know you can.