09-12-2014, 07:00 PM
I'm all for spear fishing. The limits and size restrictions are the same and so few people are spear fishing that I can't imagine that very many fish are getting shot. Even if a spear fisherman is shooting a couple big fish on each trip I think it's fine.
There seems to be a feeling of "it's not fair to the rest of us" that has taken hold in some anglers or the feeling that any decent fish harvested is a waste and there is one less fish for them to catch. To this I cry BS. How many large fish are going home with folks that don't report them here on BFT? We on this forum are a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the anglers in the state, yet we seem to think that we are the active, know everything, policy affecting group that makes the biggest difference in the state when it comes to figuring out the fish management plans and strategies. I have read multiple gripes on here by a semi-illiterate sounding fisherman that the reason Jordanelle or other smallmouth bass waters haven't been providing him with a boat full of trophy bass on each outing is because of spear fisherman shooting all the big bass. How asinine is that?!
I have only seen spear fisherman a few times while fishing and have yet to see more than one fish killed by a spear fisherman, yet I have seen waves upon waves of anglers walking back to their vehicles with stringers or buckets full of large game fish. These anglers have obviously impacted the larger fish population way more than the few spear fisherman that may have had a go at the fish yet there are still plenty of nice fish to be caught. I promise you that I have a better chance of coming home with a limit of large bass or any other kind of game fish than a spear fisherman does. Most fisherman think that if they aren't catching a bunch of big fish that something besides their skills need fixing or the fish aren't there! I've seen tons of big browns cruising tibble fork on the back side of the lake, but I have yet to catch one! Must be something besides me at fault!(sarcasm here). The big ones are there, but they are big for a reason and they will flee a diver just as quickly as anything else. Though I have never tried spear fishing, I have done a lot of snorkeling and diving just to scope out fish and I can testify that they don't usually just let you swim up and shake hands, and to shoot a fish, I'm sure you would need to be within a few feet.
I agree with a free spear fishing tag if that's what the state wants to do to be able to use as a survey tool for collecting data, but I'm afraid that the data collected will only fall on deaf ears. Those that oppose it do so because they just want to oppose it and not because of any empirical data that has been gathered to prove their viewpoints. We need to look at this from a logical, numerical standpoint and not an emotional fish hugger viewpoint. If those that oppose spear fishing can put a hold on it just because they think it's unethical then what's next? No bait any where? No treble hooks? No barbs on hooks? No keeping fish? Or even, God forbid, no hunting other animals because we can't release them after we shoot them?
My opinion is for spear fishers to have their fun and I hope they all enjoy success at it because for every fish they shoot, they earned it!
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There seems to be a feeling of "it's not fair to the rest of us" that has taken hold in some anglers or the feeling that any decent fish harvested is a waste and there is one less fish for them to catch. To this I cry BS. How many large fish are going home with folks that don't report them here on BFT? We on this forum are a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of the anglers in the state, yet we seem to think that we are the active, know everything, policy affecting group that makes the biggest difference in the state when it comes to figuring out the fish management plans and strategies. I have read multiple gripes on here by a semi-illiterate sounding fisherman that the reason Jordanelle or other smallmouth bass waters haven't been providing him with a boat full of trophy bass on each outing is because of spear fisherman shooting all the big bass. How asinine is that?!
I have only seen spear fisherman a few times while fishing and have yet to see more than one fish killed by a spear fisherman, yet I have seen waves upon waves of anglers walking back to their vehicles with stringers or buckets full of large game fish. These anglers have obviously impacted the larger fish population way more than the few spear fisherman that may have had a go at the fish yet there are still plenty of nice fish to be caught. I promise you that I have a better chance of coming home with a limit of large bass or any other kind of game fish than a spear fisherman does. Most fisherman think that if they aren't catching a bunch of big fish that something besides their skills need fixing or the fish aren't there! I've seen tons of big browns cruising tibble fork on the back side of the lake, but I have yet to catch one! Must be something besides me at fault!(sarcasm here). The big ones are there, but they are big for a reason and they will flee a diver just as quickly as anything else. Though I have never tried spear fishing, I have done a lot of snorkeling and diving just to scope out fish and I can testify that they don't usually just let you swim up and shake hands, and to shoot a fish, I'm sure you would need to be within a few feet.
I agree with a free spear fishing tag if that's what the state wants to do to be able to use as a survey tool for collecting data, but I'm afraid that the data collected will only fall on deaf ears. Those that oppose it do so because they just want to oppose it and not because of any empirical data that has been gathered to prove their viewpoints. We need to look at this from a logical, numerical standpoint and not an emotional fish hugger viewpoint. If those that oppose spear fishing can put a hold on it just because they think it's unethical then what's next? No bait any where? No treble hooks? No barbs on hooks? No keeping fish? Or even, God forbid, no hunting other animals because we can't release them after we shoot them?
My opinion is for spear fishers to have their fun and I hope they all enjoy success at it because for every fish they shoot, they earned it!
[signature]