01-17-2019, 04:50 PM
This whole discussion has been pretty interesting. I think a lot about when we could fish with live waterdogs (tiger salamanders) and how fun that was. They certainly worked great. But the laws changed and we can't use them anymore. Oh well.
would your catch rate go up using live minnows? Sure, in some instances they would.
As a fly angler by choice, the whole point of fly fishing is to use an artificial fly to entice a fish. Many fly anglers attempt to "match the hatch". We use hoppers in the summer when grasshoppers are out and hopping into the water. We try to mimic what fish are actively feeding on. Sometimes I feel like that is cheating.
The real test in angling is not to present something that the fish already wants to hit. The real test of an anglers skill is to present something the fish doesn't want, but you entice it to take it anyway.
The discussion here, from my perspective, is all dependent upon an anglers preference of bait. Unfortunately there are other factors (native fish species) that prevent anglers from using a specific [live] bait, and for very good reason. I don't see that changing any time soon simply because people want to fish with a bait to make things easier.
Lake Powell is a pretty good example of rules and regulations changing when a real need is presented to help maintain and manage the fishery. Most waters in Utah have bag limits in place for sportfish. Due to a need to help sustain a fishery, rules were changed to remove the limit on stripers -- too help maintain their population. Further, additional rules were changed to allow the use of stripers as bait and chum. Again, these were changed to help maintain the striper population. We see this all the time.
So, my questions regarding the use of live fish as bait from the water you catch them in, are:
A. Is there a legitimate benefit to the sportfish population / management plan that would increase by allowing the use of live bait fish foud in that water?
B. Does that perceived benefit out weigh the risks associated with potential illegal transportation and release of said live bait fish to another nearby water?
The decision to use live bait fish cannot be made simply because anglers could catch more fish by using them.
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would your catch rate go up using live minnows? Sure, in some instances they would.
As a fly angler by choice, the whole point of fly fishing is to use an artificial fly to entice a fish. Many fly anglers attempt to "match the hatch". We use hoppers in the summer when grasshoppers are out and hopping into the water. We try to mimic what fish are actively feeding on. Sometimes I feel like that is cheating.
The real test in angling is not to present something that the fish already wants to hit. The real test of an anglers skill is to present something the fish doesn't want, but you entice it to take it anyway.
The discussion here, from my perspective, is all dependent upon an anglers preference of bait. Unfortunately there are other factors (native fish species) that prevent anglers from using a specific [live] bait, and for very good reason. I don't see that changing any time soon simply because people want to fish with a bait to make things easier.
Lake Powell is a pretty good example of rules and regulations changing when a real need is presented to help maintain and manage the fishery. Most waters in Utah have bag limits in place for sportfish. Due to a need to help sustain a fishery, rules were changed to remove the limit on stripers -- too help maintain their population. Further, additional rules were changed to allow the use of stripers as bait and chum. Again, these were changed to help maintain the striper population. We see this all the time.
So, my questions regarding the use of live fish as bait from the water you catch them in, are:
A. Is there a legitimate benefit to the sportfish population / management plan that would increase by allowing the use of live bait fish foud in that water?
B. Does that perceived benefit out weigh the risks associated with potential illegal transportation and release of said live bait fish to another nearby water?
The decision to use live bait fish cannot be made simply because anglers could catch more fish by using them.
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