Hi Dave et All: Many replies ,some favourable but most against Daves policy. But not one which captured Daves point:he cant tell the difference between a mouth hookup and a foul hooking: and neither can you whoever you are.
With seventy years of salmonid fishing behind me I have seen every possible form of salmon strike behaviour,we give fish too much credit for always hitting their prey on the button. Underwater videos show that salmon miss their strike more times than they connect.When they do they will try to disable their prey with a tailwhack .I have watched Atlantic salmon chasing live prey and often they will leap and deliberately smack the target with their tails as the crash on the water.In the saltchuck when salmon attack a schol of herring they slash through it with teeth and tails disabling as many fish as possible .if there were a hook in the way they would be foul hooked as sure as fate.
If Dave were going out to deliberately snag fish he would equip himself with proper snagging tackle .He isent he is simply saying if he gets a foul hooking by accident he is simply keeping the fish. True by the regulations he should release it; but just why does that regulation exist? Simply to prevent people from being deliborate snaggers.Dave isent one of them ;indeed they are few and far between and usually operate at night with a pitlamp not in broad daylight.
So smarten up you too cant tell the difference between a good and a foul hooking till you have the fish in hand.Give Dave a break.
ancient steeheader coot