Since the WILD fish cannot be removed from the water,no more wild pics should be seen on ANY of these or other website pages.Makes it tough to scale and measure what you catch for a replica mount.Thanks wdfw.

What about anonomous pics like these?




or



or




This rule is going to put your favorite magazines in a real pinch. Good intentions. Poor execution.

bullshiat...if i catch a wild fish and i want a pic, then im gonna damn well take a quick pic and let it go..

Hey -

that top pic was a great picture of Rob Endsley - who by the way - is an awesome steelhead guide!!

JK

How can we expect the bonk and carry guy to be able to relase a fish unharmed? Does he know any better? Or Just a dumba$$?

I would love to see a guy get ticketed for pulling a fish out of the water for a pic, treating it with total respect.
I will keep releasing nates the way I allways have.

Not everyone out there has commonsense or respect for our wildlife.

The state's on the right track.
Just my 2cen$...NUT

Okay - the top pic was of Rob Endsley - before it was deleted - who is still an awesome steelhead guide - and who has great respect for these fish!

JK

shhh....from now on fish pics are going to be more like "artists renditions" or something like that...no names.

I guess I will only post pics of wild fish I carefully C&R in BC rivers

SA

The cover of Next months Salmon, Trout, Steelheader!

I have made my points as to why I was for this regulation on numerous occasions and I believe that I have proved as well as others, that quality fish pics will still be capable.

I will repeat however as to why I was such a large proponent of this regulation.

I know, as well as you, that holding a wild steelhead out of the water for 5 seconds or so (water should still be seen dripping from the fish) for a picture does not hurt the fish. I was a proponent of this regulation because I believed it would force so many who treat our fish poorly before release to be more responsible with the privelage that is awarded to them when they land a wild steelhead.

I was, plain and simple, fed up with the how so many handled wild steelhead on the rivers. And I found a way to do something about it...plus, do not forget, many others sent in similar proposals.

Sparkey -

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

If we keep using the logic expressed in your latest post - and by this latest law - we'll be finished - as far as recreational angling goes -

Think about it....if holding a fish out of water is bad for some folks ...then hooking and fighting the fish must be bad for some folks...if hooking and fighting the fish is bad....we better not even hook the fish...

I'm not seeing any light at the end of this tunnel except for the one on an Amtrak Train.

My pennies worth -

John Kruse

Piper, that is too funny. Very nice.

Hey SteelAddict, would those be from some of the same rivers that have been C&R to sportsmen for decades and also face pressures from downriver commercial and tribal fisheries (Skeena system)? The same ones many of us gladly jump at the chance to fish?

And Sparkey, don't take this ribbing too personal. You put it out there so you should be willing take some flack. Nobody sez you can't get good pics while in the water.



It's just that this ain't a perfect world and we shouldn't try to make rules for every little thing that's wrong with it. C&R vs. C&K is one thing. Pics are another in my book. Pick your battles or you end up unnecessarilly alienating a lot of folks over the minor skirmishes.

Whatever, folks.

IT'S JUST FISHING.

I am not taking it personal at all. I can handle the flak without a problem...Hell, I've recieved much worse on this BB over the years.

B Gray

That's one beautiful steelhead! Proof that a fish doesn't have to be a 70# hog to make for an impressive CnR photo.


Sparkey

Do not be discouraged... history has shown over and again that every true visionary started his illustrious rise to recognition as a heretic. I know what it is like to be a "lone voice in a vast and empty wilderness".... had a similar experience in securing a slot limit to conserve giant Kenai kings. Keep the faith brother! I'm on your side.

One last post!!...

John-
I couldn't agree with you more!!

Hey, That's the cover shot for the WSC brochure.

Well, I just have to post some more on this issue...I cant help myself

So many of us take what Smalma says to heart, so I thought I would repost a post of his from over 2 years ago.

I to have used the analogy of keeping fish out of water no longer than I can hold my breath as a guideline for years. However in recently thinking about the validity of that rule I feel it needs to be updated. "Hold the fish out of water no longer than you can hold your breath after running a 6 minute mile" - then would be truly comparable to the fish's situation.
It should be clear to all that restraining a fish for additonal time needed for a picture does increase the stress under which the fish is placed. I certainly under stand the desire for a picture of an exception fish (first fish, true trophy, etc) but do we need pictures of every 10 pound nate caught and released.

For you shutter-bugs why not "focus" on action shots. To me a picture of partner playing a fish with a big-*** grin on his mug, an action shot of fish being released, snow-capped mountains in the background with angler with bend rod in the foreground all do more to capture the day on the river than another "hero shot". Those are the memories that what goes it my mental data bank.

Successful catch and release means doing all that the angler can do to reduce his/her impact on the fish. That may mean foregoing pictures or even intentionally shaking or breaking the fish off instead of bring it completely to hand.

Tight lines

Smalma

Bruce:

You better black out the entire face next time because that beak of yours tells us who it is every time!

BD

Hey, I thought the rod to Hell was paved with Hell bricks?

Heh. 6 seconds rule. Yeah, I mocked that a long time ago. Here, I'll mock that again.





Ok, I'll stop picking on Sparkey. Just to prove how worthwhile Sparkey's Law will be, I have to show one more photo. This wild fish was abused, held out of the water, dragged on the beach, and suffered much abuse. I do not think this fished lived after being released. If only Sparkey's Law was in existance at the time of this photo, this fish probably had a chance. To this day, I still feel bad about that fish.

According to a study by MLN (My Left Nut) ,photographing the fish lowers the self esteem of all fish. Somewhere in a spawning bed near you there are bucks on one side, hens on the other. Niether will cross...... further adding to the stress level and dramatically lowering projected returns. HOW CAN YOU PEOPLE LIVE WITH YOURSELVES!!

Yes, I too can enjoy the GL (Guano Level) of this particular topic.