09-05-2007, 04:42 AM
Mortality rate is built into the regs and unfortunately is part of the game. [unsure]
That said, I have a buddy that refuses to catch a fish that he can't keep and eat, so he refuses to fish at Strawberry. [crazy] I invite him every weekend and so far he has never been on the lake.
While fishing up at Yellowstone Lake last summer, a conservation officer was talking with us on a typical visit to our remote boat camp. On the end of the dock you could see dead fish in the water below. Most were Lake Trout (required to kill in that lake if caught) but a lot were also the valuable Yellowstone Cutthroats. We asked him how he felt about seeing dead fish like that and he said that it was unfortunate, but that they EXPECTED a 10% to 30% mortality rate of all fish caught and released.[shocked]
This summer at Strawberry I was talking to a fishcop who had been watching me fish from my boat with binoculars. He had watched me release at least a dozen fish and hadn't noticed any immediate "floaters". (That day anyway!) I asked him what he would have done had there been any. He told me that as long as I released them, dead or alive, I was obeying the law. [angelic] He then told me the same thing that the fishcop up at Yellowstone told me: That they (dwr) expect a 10% to 30% mortality rate on fish that are caught and released. A lot depends on the fisherman, and the techniques they use. Some fisherman have dead fish floating all around them, others don't.
Now I'm not perfect, and I am 100% positive that some of the fish that I release die. [unsure] I try to minimize that the best I can, but sometimes they just die. I also realize that the mortality rate is built into the system, and as other posters have mentioned, nothing goes to waste in the ecosystem. I have watched seagulls and pelicans come and scoop up the "floaters" within minutes. Also, I might mention, I personally feel that sometimes the regs are working a little bit TOO good at Strawberry and there are times when I catch a bunch of skinny fish. That tells me that some are going hungry, and it might be good that a few become pelican and seagull bait. Especially earlier in the summer. There were a couple of weekends when we wondered what the heck was going on as most fish caught where skin and bones.
Whatever the case, that is one fantastic fishery and I think the DWR is doing a great job with it and I wish other lakes were managed in the same ways.
I trust that the folks at the DWR know a lot more about what they are doing than I do when it comes to fishery management. Whatever regulations are in place at any particular fishery, I obey those regulations. If I'm hungry and decide to keep a fish, and if it within the law to do so, I do. If I'm not hungry, I don't. If catch and release were not allowed, I wouldn't. But as long as it is legal, I'll probably keep doing it.
Also, remember that not every fisherman catches dozens of fish each time he/she goes out so it's not like every fisherman kills a dozen fish each time they go. I know people that go there regularly and have a good day when they catch 3 fish! I've been skunked there myself many times, and those are probably the only days that I don't kill a fish! [unsure]
Just thought I'd throw in my .02 cents. Probably about all it's worth.
Randy
[signature]
That said, I have a buddy that refuses to catch a fish that he can't keep and eat, so he refuses to fish at Strawberry. [crazy] I invite him every weekend and so far he has never been on the lake.
While fishing up at Yellowstone Lake last summer, a conservation officer was talking with us on a typical visit to our remote boat camp. On the end of the dock you could see dead fish in the water below. Most were Lake Trout (required to kill in that lake if caught) but a lot were also the valuable Yellowstone Cutthroats. We asked him how he felt about seeing dead fish like that and he said that it was unfortunate, but that they EXPECTED a 10% to 30% mortality rate of all fish caught and released.[shocked]
This summer at Strawberry I was talking to a fishcop who had been watching me fish from my boat with binoculars. He had watched me release at least a dozen fish and hadn't noticed any immediate "floaters". (That day anyway!) I asked him what he would have done had there been any. He told me that as long as I released them, dead or alive, I was obeying the law. [angelic] He then told me the same thing that the fishcop up at Yellowstone told me: That they (dwr) expect a 10% to 30% mortality rate on fish that are caught and released. A lot depends on the fisherman, and the techniques they use. Some fisherman have dead fish floating all around them, others don't.
Now I'm not perfect, and I am 100% positive that some of the fish that I release die. [unsure] I try to minimize that the best I can, but sometimes they just die. I also realize that the mortality rate is built into the system, and as other posters have mentioned, nothing goes to waste in the ecosystem. I have watched seagulls and pelicans come and scoop up the "floaters" within minutes. Also, I might mention, I personally feel that sometimes the regs are working a little bit TOO good at Strawberry and there are times when I catch a bunch of skinny fish. That tells me that some are going hungry, and it might be good that a few become pelican and seagull bait. Especially earlier in the summer. There were a couple of weekends when we wondered what the heck was going on as most fish caught where skin and bones.
Whatever the case, that is one fantastic fishery and I think the DWR is doing a great job with it and I wish other lakes were managed in the same ways.
I trust that the folks at the DWR know a lot more about what they are doing than I do when it comes to fishery management. Whatever regulations are in place at any particular fishery, I obey those regulations. If I'm hungry and decide to keep a fish, and if it within the law to do so, I do. If I'm not hungry, I don't. If catch and release were not allowed, I wouldn't. But as long as it is legal, I'll probably keep doing it.
Also, remember that not every fisherman catches dozens of fish each time he/she goes out so it's not like every fisherman kills a dozen fish each time they go. I know people that go there regularly and have a good day when they catch 3 fish! I've been skunked there myself many times, and those are probably the only days that I don't kill a fish! [unsure]
Just thought I'd throw in my .02 cents. Probably about all it's worth.
Randy
[signature]
I used to N.ot have E.nough T.ime O.ff to go fishing. Then I retired. Now I have less time than I had before. Sheesh.