Sustainable Fishing Practices from KFDU site.

[rayke1938]

I have copied this in its entirity from the KFDU site. Leper (Brad) has given his permission to post his thread here.

The only thing that I do not agree with is giving away locations . Whilst this is justified for certain areas I am quite happy to share spots in put and take fisheries but that is a personal choice.

Cheers

Ray

Posting Trip Reports (Sustainable Fishing Practices)

by Leper » Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:23 pm

Firstly a very big welcome to all new members.

This site is a wealth of information about kayaking and fishing in general with some very experienced and knowledgeable fishos and fishettes to provide advice on any range of topics. I was recently asked by a few members both old and new to write a post regarding some of the delicate topics that often become sore points between members of this forum. This post has been written in the hope that all new members have some insight into the sensitive issues of our chosen sport and avoid the possibility of potential disagreements. So here goes;

1. Try to avoid the use of lip grippers: When handling fish many species do not need to be handled with lip grippers, especially during catch and release(C&R) and especially on species like bass. There is the potential with their twisting and turning when caught that serious damage can occur to their mouth and jaw structure. Many of the bass fishos on this site have posted photos of bass with major jaw damage from previous poor handling. Fish such as bass can have the lure removed while in the net and easily handled with at thumb lock and belly lift

2. Try using an Environet: the old nylon mesh nets can also do some damage to the mucous coat and scales. Both these structures are designed to minimise the impact of disease. Minimising damage to this surface can only help maximise fish survival upon release. Environets are designed to minimise this damage and as a bonus do not hook up lures like nylon mesh nets.

3. Minimise exposing fish to the air: Fish cannot breathe above water (hopefully this isn’t a revelation ) so minimise their exposure to it. If you want to take a happy snap keep them in the environet and in the water until you are ready. Take a photo and then release! Avoid posting 10 photos of your new PB as it can look like the fish has been mistreated rightly or wrongly!

4. Use a thumb lock on fish where possible and support weight under the belly: Avoid showing photos of fish like bass with a thumb lock and no belly lift. This can put too much pressure on the jaw and spine and may impact a fish’s survival upon release. Also avoid photos of dangling the fish vertically while holding it by the jaw especially when C&R fishing as this can do similar damage.

5. Avoid Posting Specific Locations (especially freshwater): posting specific location names can be a sore point. If fishing in estuaries and bays give a general location eg. Sydney Harbour, Wellington Point etc. General locations make it difficult for people who do not have sustainable recreational fishing practices in the best interest to lurk on the site and find where the fishing is good and “net†the area. With freshwater locations it’s best not to name the river/ creek unless it is exceptionally large with multiple locations. To be honest I would not name them at all.

6. When keeping fish, keep the average fish and release the big fish (breeders!): Scientific evidence suggest that in many species large fish have a higher reproductive potential than smaller fish. If chasing a feed try to keep average sized individuals, they often taste better anyway.

7. Avoid posting photos where you have “bagged outâ€: Limit your Kill don’t kill your limit: Try not to post reports where you have caught your legal bag limit of multiple species. Seeing photos of individual fisherman with 30 fish can be a sore point. Take what you need for a feed and not to prove how successful a fisherman you are. Most people will be more impressed with people posting trip reports where many fish were caught and a few taken home for a feed. Think of it this way, keeping 30 fish means you don’t need to go fishing for a long time. Catching a couple of fish and eating them the same day means you’ll have to head out again soon to get another feed and that can’t be bad.

8. Fishing barbless: Many C&R fisherman crush their barbs to minimise damage to fish they plan to release anyway. Fishing barbless is a scary thought for many who envisage that new PB coming off in the ensuing fight. However, if you read the posts of many of the fishos that fish barbless you will see that it doesn’t impede their ability to catch good numbers of fish and big ones too. The bonus here is that if you accidentally hook yourself it’s a simple case of removing the hook and not a potential trip to the doctors.

There are many members on this site that are very passionate about sustainable recreational fishing practices that will hopefully keep the stocks of our favourite fish around for many years to come. They are thinking of what is best for our recreational species and hope to spread this message to other fishos so that the future of our sport is assured. This post is designed to hopefully pass on some of that philosophy onto other like- minded individuals. Feel free to take on all or none of this advice as it suites your own fishing philosophy!

So that said enjoy this fantastic sport or ours and I hope to hear about some of your yakking adventures soon. See you on the water!

Cheers

BradBrad

Coleman Scanoe

Viking Tempo

Impoundment Bass: 50cm

Jungle Perch: 44cm

Mangrove Jack: 54cm

Flathead: 74cm

Bream: 34cm

Leper

Moderator

Posts: 627

Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 12:41 pm

Location: Brisbane

Local Fishing Region: SE Queensland

Private messageE-mail Leper

[ellicat]

A few furphies and opinions dressed up as fact in that lot. Glad I'm not a member there.

[wesfish]

agree with some but not all an easy site to remember not to join all though alot their members that live by them rules like to have a go at people on sites that dont have them rules!!

[rosstralia46]

some i can agree others i think >_> but still interesting read cheers ray

[Young_fella]

what a joke!

Never catch me on a site with rules like that... Not that I would ever join another fishing site, I could never cheat on AFO. :silly:

[Malcolm]

what a joke!

Never catch me on a site with rules like that... Not that I would ever join another fishing site, I could never cheat on AFO. :silly:

hahah

loyalty gotta love it

[shortie]

where did it say rules.

What stood out to me was

"This post is designed to hopefully pass on some of that philosophy onto other like- minded individuals. Feel free to take on all or none of this advice as it suites your own fishing philosophy!"

Stating that "Never catch me on a site with rules like that" is just plain ignorant.

[Angus]

Guys I think Ray posted this here as there is some information that could useful to some people out there. Agree or disagree but no reason to have a dig at a website that is just trying to give info to its members (and agreed to have their information shared on another site selflessly in the hope of helping others.

Angus

[Gad]

On all sites,AFO included, all have members with differing races,creeds,opinions,beliefs.

Many on here hold strong opinions on certain areas of fishing,some have concerns about baitfishing,some have concerns of fish being flogged during breeding seasons, some are just..... concerns.

Every one has an opinion,some many agree with,some no one agrees with.

[Young_fella]

where did it say rules.

What stood out to me was

"This post is designed to hopefully pass on some of that philosophy onto other like- minded individuals. Feel free to take on all or none of this advice as it suites your own fishing philosophy!"

Stating that "Never catch me on a site with rules like that" is just plain ignorant.

Settle down, i didnt mean to offend.

Very touchy arent we.

[rayke1938]

They are not rules of the site but merely suggestions for the benefit of new members trying to teach some sustainable methods of fishing.

A fairly large percentage of members of that site are also long standing AFO members and I have NEVER seen one of them bagging AFO members about their fishing practices on either site.

A lot of them including Leper fish the skinny water for wild bass and cod and I can quite understand them jealously guarding their spots even from each other.

I would respectfully suggest that you have a good look at the site before bagging it as a result of one post.

I posted this thread with the genuine belief that the contents of the thread are usefull and valid.

If it teaches just one angler the correct way to hold a fish it has served its purpose and it will make you think about you own personal fishing practices even if you do not agree with all that is said.

I do not want to start an intersite war.

Cheers

Ray

[Gad]

what a joke!

Never catch me on a site with rules like that... Not that I would ever join another fishing site, I could never cheat on AFO. :silly:

I think you will find that many fishers,yakkers,kayakers etc are members of multiple sites,AFO & KFDU included.

[Malcolm]

what a joke!

Never catch me on a site with rules like that... Not that I would ever join another fishing site, I could never cheat on AFO. :silly:

I think you will find that many fishers,yakkers,kayakers etc are members of multiple sites,AFO & KYFDU included.

I'm confident that Young Fella was having a joke

[Gad]

what a joke!

Never catch me on a site with rules like that... Not that I would ever join another fishing site, I could never cheat on AFO. :silly:

I think you will find that many fishers,yakkers,kayakers etc are members of multiple sites,AFO & KYFDU included.

I'm confident that Young Fella was having a joke

that`s what I said in previous post.....some are just..... concerns.

[rosstralia46]

i think young fella was having a joke as sometimes sarcasm doesnt come through the keyboard well and a agree with ray i will think about holding a fish differently if practising catch and release.

p.s everyone seems really touchy atm

[Young_fella]

i never meant to "bag it"

Ellicat says hes glad hes not a member and its fine.

wes says he's going to avoid it.

i say that you wouldnt catch me on that site and everyone jumps down my throat INSTANTLY.

I never meant to offend anyone, sorry if it seamed that way.

[crazywalrus]

I did not see a problem with the suggestions. Some are a little different to my own but hey I eat fish and not all people believe I should keep my catch. I think the Writer of the post was really trying to help new people on the site to understand why people may be a little upset by some posts. It is a regular occurrence on this site when a new member posts a picture mishandling a fish, keeping large flathead or keeping fish they do not know what they are, with members on this site jumping down their throats. What this does is give a new member joining their community to understand what others might find upsetting and give the new member the opportunity to adjust their posts. I know I read and re-read my posts before hitting submit so I do not unknowingly upset someone.

[rayke1938]

I would like to point out that I am a member of KDEU and around 10 other sites. ( That is what I do when I am not fishing and AFO is quiet)

AFO is and always has been my true home .

I do occasionally post on KFDU,Nugget. Sweetwater, Fishntales and Ausfish and am only a lurker on several other sites.

I do glean a lot of info from these other sites and with permission bring it back to the AFO community.

Conversely there are a lot of posts on AFO that is published on other sites and i think that it is healthy for this to happen.

Cheers

Ray

[wesfish]

They are not rules of the site but merely suggestions for the benefit of new members trying to teach some sustainable methods of fishing.

A fairly large percentage of members of that site are also long standing AFO members and I have NEVER seen one of them bagging AFO members about their fishing practices on either site.

A lot of them including Leper fish the skinny water for wild bass and cod and I can quite understand them jealously guarding their spots even from each other.

I would respectfully suggest that you have a good look at the site before bagging it as a result of one post.

I posted this thread with the genuine belief that the contents of the thread are usefull and valid.

If it teaches just one angler the correct way to hold a fish it has served its purpose and it will make you think about you own personal fishing practices even if you do not agree with all that is said.

I do not want to start an intersite war.

Cheers

Ray

rules the wrong word, sorry bout that. its great info ray on the safe treatment of fish intended for release, agree 100% on that, i was never having a go at any thing from afo , but have had some nice post on another site regarding lip grippers and holding fish vertical in the past. after that i knew never to put pics like that up again as to not offend certain fishers.

guarding spots with secrecy is age old , i would not know a fisher out there who does not have their own honey hole

kfdu has found a way to get the message across from the very first moment of joining a site on what could cause conflict of words . i see that now

[ellicat]

Ray, Angus, I wasn't bagging the site. I was commenting on that post, and not being interested in the yakking site and if that post is an indication of the way they prefer or expect fishers to lean then I am glad I don't go there. Like shortie suggested I'm sure they wouldn't like me being there either, although I can hold my tongue and think before I post unlike shortie :whistle:

....... Here's my thoughts on the specifics -

Firstly a very big welcome to all new members.

This site is a wealth of information about kayaking and fishing in general with some very experienced and knowledgeable fishos and fishettes to provide advice on any range of topics. I was recently asked by a few members both old and new to write a post regarding some of the delicate topics that often become sore points between members of this forum. This post has been written in the hope that all new members have some insight into the sensitive issues of our chosen sport and avoid the possibility of potential disagreements. So here goes;

1. Agree

2. Agree

3. 50/50

4. 50/50

5. 50/50

6. Disagree and rubbish for the majority of yakker caught species

7. Disagree

8. Agree if you're a C&R only

There are many members on this site that are very passionate about sustainable recreational fishing practices that will hopefully keep the stocks of our favourite fish around for many years to come. They are thinking of what is best for our recreational species and hope to spread this message to other fishos so that the future of our sport is assured. This post is designed to hopefully pass on some of that philosophy onto other like- minded individuals.

A very generalised opinion but too much belief in the effect rec fishers/yakkers have on a population. Typical fear-mongering.

Feel free to take on all or none of this advice as it suites your own fishing philosophy! Agree

Cheers

Brad.......

Young Fella, I think we were all getting a serve lol. Must be the heat hey

[billp]

Definately not rules, just some helpful points for the more inexperienced fishers that join all fishing sites on a daily basis.

It all comes down to the person. I love to eat fish, but at the same time I never bag out, as there is only my wife and I, i.e 2 snapper, or 2 Flathead or 6 whiting are more then enough to feed us and this is all I take (that's me, not everyone). But if you do bag out just take a picture of one or two of the best fish straight out of the water, looks a lot better then 20 fish in a bloody ice slurry.

As for the locations part it would be nieve to think that the Pros aren't members of all these sites, and wait for people to post there awesome catches, go out that night and flog the area to death, happens at Wynnum ever time a bream is caught and written about for example.

Ask any non fisherman and we are all a weird breed, hoping up at 3 in the morning to get to our favourite spots on daylight etc, we all need to stick together as much as possible and not have goes at others for there personal opinions, that is the joy of these forums. Take what you want out of them and disregard everything else without bagging the person.

[Dinodadog]

I was bagged on another site fopr holding a bass up unsupported. I answered by telling my bagger he better speak to all the top bass fisho's as pictures regulary appear in QFM, B&B and several other mags of all these people holding fish that way. His reply was you dont have to do it. While looking back at some old posts what do you think I found, yes here was my bagger holding up a bass unsupported. Anyone even with a small brain knows that care should be taken at all times when you are doing C&R.

[roobs]

it would be interesting if you elaborated on what you thought these were- many less experienced fisher-people (myself included) would benefit from your information

scratch that and thanks for elaborating!

[Gad]

it would be interesting if you elaborated on what you thought these were- [b]many less experienced fisher-people (myself included) would benefit from your information

scratch that and thanks for elaborating!

Now... the next question is...are you going to share your new found knowledge,for the benefit of other less experienced fisher-people.

[billp]

Not sure what I really meant just that, I am guessing there are a lot of people on these sites that don't fish often, and don't really know a huge amount, (like I don't know about sewing, art or astrology ).

It is the information that others post, that helps them form their own opinions. Take it or leave it, information is every where. Like I said just because I don't believe in something doesn't mean others won't. Everyone is different.

[roobs]

haha i was just referring to Ellicat going through the different numbered points- trust me any knowledge i have i probably pinched from the rest of you! In many ways i think it's a generation gap. When you have been raised thinking about the environment as in peril you tend to think a certain way. Whether this is brainwashing or good policy is up to the individual.

[rayke1938]

Well it has certainly sparked some discussion and with over 400 looks some good has to come out of post.

Maybe we need our own sticky post on handling fish and ethics of posting. Anyone game?

Cheers

Ray

[Surfingant]

Anyone game?

Cheers

Ray

Haha after the response this thread has gotten?! It sure did get out of hand quickly.

[Gad]

haha i was just referring to Ellicat going through the different numbered points- trust me any knowledge i have i probably pinched from the rest of you! In many ways i think it's a generation gap. When you have been raised thinking about the environment as in peril you tend to think a certain way. Whether this is brainwashing or good policy is up to the individual.

asked as a pacifying mood softener..

I went through ellicats points which were constructive..but all that kept crossing my mental imaging process, while reading them, was a constant changing of ellicats avartars over the years :pinch:

[ellicat]

it would be interesting if you elaborated on what you thought these were- many less experienced fisher-people (myself included) would benefit from your information

scratch that and thanks for elaborating!

I've taken up some specifics that I disagree with below for you.

Posting Trip Reports (Sustainable Fishing Practices)

by Leper » Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:23 pm

Firstly a very big welcome to all new members.

This site is a wealth of information about kayaking and fishing in general with some very experienced and knowledgeable fishos and fishettes to provide advice on any range of topics. I was recently asked by a few members both old and new to write a post regarding some of the delicate topics that often become sore points between members of this forum. This post has been written in the hope that all new members have some insight into the sensitive issues of our chosen sport and avoid the possibility of potential disagreements. So here goes; He then goes on to sprout his personal beliefs, suggesting to me if people agree with his opinion there will be no "disagreements" on KFDU

3. Minimise exposing fish to the air: Fish cannot breathe above water (hopefully this isn’t a revelation ) so minimise their exposure to it. If you want to take a happy snap keep them in the environet and in the water until you are ready. For all but the most dexterous of us this is generally not practical. Take a photo and then release! (or cut it's throat and put it on ice)

4. Use a thumb lock on fish where possible and support weight under the belly: Avoid showing photos of fish like bass with a thumb lock and no belly lift. This can put too much pressure on the jaw and spine and may impact a fish’s survival upon release. Also avoid photos of dangling the fish vertically while holding it by the jaw especially when C&R fishing as this can do similar damage. I agree with this for some fish but not all. I've witnessed people being too precious with this sort of thing and often there is no damage done. Fish are a lot tougher than a guinea pig and suffer and survive worse trauma in their natural environment. So 50/50. Don't bend a flathead, but you can swing a 20cm whiting or bream around your head.

5. Avoid Posting Specific Locations (especially freshwater): posting specific location names can be a sore point. If fishing in estuaries and bays give a general location eg. Sydney Harbour, Wellington Point etc. General locations make it difficult for people who do not have sustainable recreational fishing practices in the best interest to lurk on the site and find where the fishing is good and “net†the area. No doubt it happens, but to what extent is questionable. Certainly not worth stabbing someone in the neck over. With freshwater locations it’s best not to name the river/ creek unless it is exceptionally large with multiple locations. To be honest I would not name them at all. As far as Queensland goes - this, I believe, only applies to heavy populated areas such as the SEQ corner and some larger regionals.

6. When keeping fish, keep the average fish and release the big fish (breeders!): Scientific evidence suggest that in many species large fish have a higher reproductive potential than smaller fish. If chasing a feed try to keep average sized individuals, they often taste better anyway. Disagree 100%. Keep 5 average and release one large ? Not likely to be the best outcome. Some fish become less productive the older and larger they are. Keep what is legal - that's why we pay the big bucks for the fisheries managers to determine what is a sustainable size for less impact on stocks. We have the best managed fishery in the World.

7. Avoid posting photos where you have “bagged outâ€: Limit your Kill don’t kill your limit: Try not to post reports where you have caught your legal bag limit of multiple species. Seeing photos of individual fisherman with 30 fish can be a sore point. From a forum/report point of view that is correct. Take what you need for a feed and not to prove how successful a fisherman you are. Most people will be more impressed with people posting trip reports where many fish were caught and a few taken home for a feed. Think of it this way, keeping 30 fish means you don’t need to go fishing for a long time. Catching a couple of fish and eating them the same day means you’ll have to head out again soon to get another feed and that can’t be bad. Narrow-minded comment and opinion that may apply to yakkers that can do it regularly. If tides and time have anything to do with fishing :whistle: then that would make this comment even more narrow-minded. As for regular rec fishermen that are limited as to the number of times they can fish by money, weather, time, places, etc etc this is just ridiculous. Again - we pay the fisheries boys the big bucks to determine bag limits.

There are many members on this site that are very passionate about sustainable recreational fishing practices that will hopefully keep the stocks of our favourite fish around for many years to come. They are thinking of what is best for our recreational species and hope to spread this message to other fishos so that the future of our sport is assured. This post is designed to hopefully pass on some of that philosophy onto other like- minded individuals. This assumes everything he has written above is correct and factual which it is not. It seems to me to be based on personal touchy feely opinions.

Feel free to take on all or none of this advice as it suites your own fishing philosophy! So what was the point of the whole spiel above ?

roobs wrote:

haha i was just referring to Ellicat going through the different numbered points- trust me any knowledge i have i probably pinched from the rest of you! In many ways i think it's a generation gap. When you have been raised thinking about the environment as in peril you tend to think a certain way. Whether this is brainwashing or good policy is up to the individual.

+1 for the brainwashing view

[Teacher]

it would be interesting if you elaborated on what you thought these were- many less experienced fisher-people (myself included) would benefit from your information

scratch that and thanks for elaborating!

I've taken up some specifics that I disagree with below for you.

Posting Trip Reports (Sustainable Fishing Practices)

by Leper » Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:23 pm

Firstly a very big welcome to all new members.

This site is a wealth of information about kayaking and fishing in general with some very experienced and knowledgeable fishos and fishettes to provide advice on any range of topics. I was recently asked by a few members both old and new to write a post regarding some of the delicate topics that often become sore points between members of this forum. This post has been written in the hope that all new members have some insight into the sensitive issues of our chosen sport and avoid the possibility of potential disagreements. So here goes; He then goes on to sprout his personal beliefs, suggesting to me if people agree with his opinion there will be no "disagreements" on KFDU

Good on you for sprouting your "perssonal beliefs" regarding this post!

3. Minimise exposing fish to the air: Fish cannot breathe above water (hopefully this isn’t a revelation ) so minimise their exposure to it. If you want to take a happy snap keep them in the environet and in the water until you are ready. For all but the most dexterous of us this is generally not practical. Take a photo and then release! (or cut it's throat and put it on ice)

4. Use a thumb lock on fish where possible and support weight under the belly: Avoid showing photos of fish like bass with a thumb lock and no belly lift. This can put too much pressure on the jaw and spine and may impact a fish’s survival upon release. Also avoid photos of dangling the fish vertically while holding it by the jaw especially when C&R fishing as this can do similar damage. I agree with this for some fish but not all. I've witnessed people being too precious with this sort of thing and often there is no damage done. Fish are a lot tougher than a guinea pig and suffer and survive worse trauma in their natural environment. So 50/50. Don't bend a flathead, but you can swing a 20cm whiting or bream around your head.

No need to comment!

5. Avoid Posting Specific Locations (especially freshwater): posting specific location names can be a sore point. If fishing in estuaries and bays give a general location eg. Sydney Harbour, Wellington Point etc. General locations make it difficult for people who do not have sustainable recreational fishing practices in the best interest to lurk on the site and find where the fishing is good and “net†the area. No doubt it happens, but to what extent is questionable. Certainly not worth stabbing someone in the neck over. With freshwater locations it’s best not to name the river/ creek unless it is exceptionally large with multiple locations. To be honest I would not name them at all. As far as Queensland goes - this, I believe, only applies to heavy populated areas such as the SEQ corner and some larger regionals.

I'd hate to fish where you do if people are getting stabbed in the neck over fishing locations. Isn't this a little dramatic!!

6. When keeping fish, keep the average fish and release the big fish (breeders!): Scientific evidence suggest that in many species large fish have a higher reproductive potential than smaller fish. If chasing a feed try to keep average sized individuals, they often taste better anyway. Disagree 100%. Keep 5 average and release one large ? Not likely to be the best outcome. Some fish become less productive the older and larger they are. Keep what is legal - that's why we pay the big bucks for the fisheries managers to determine what is a sustainable size for less impact on stocks. We have the best managed fishery in the World.

There is Zero scientific evidence for fish becoming less productive with age. Feel free to look!

7. Avoid posting photos where you have “bagged outâ€: Limit your Kill don’t kill your limit: Try not to post reports where you have caught your legal bag limit of multiple species. Seeing photos of individual fisherman with 30 fish can be a sore point. From a forum/report point of view that is correct. Take what you need for a feed and not to prove how successful a fisherman you are. Most people will be more impressed with people posting trip reports where many fish were caught and a few taken home for a feed. Think of it this way, keeping 30 fish means you don’t need to go fishing for a long time. Catching a couple of fish and eating them the same day means you’ll have to head out again soon to get another feed and that can’t be bad. Narrow-minded comment and opinion that may apply to yakkers that can do it regularly. If tides and time have anything to do with fishing :whistle: then that would make this comment even more narrow-minded. As for regular rec fishermen that are limited as to the number of times they can fish by money, weather, time, places, etc etc this is just ridiculous. Again - we pay the fisheries boys the big bucks to determine bag limits.

Those fisheries boys are also the ones everyone complains about when create new marine parks, impose new bag limits, and increase size limits. Amazing how this argument ssuites when needed!

There are many members on this site that are very passionate about sustainable recreational fishing practices that will hopefully keep the stocks of our favourite fish around for many years to come. They are thinking of what is best for our recreational species and hope to spread this message to other fishos so that the future of our sport is assured. This post is designed to hopefully pass on some of that philosophy onto other like- minded individuals. This assumes everything he has written above is correct and factual which it is not. It seems to me to be based on personal touchy feely opinions.

It seems that you have taken this post "personally" and are also getting a little "touchy", thanks for giving your "opinion"!

Feel free to take on all or none of this advice as it suites your own fishing philosophy! So what was the point of the whole spiel above ?

I'm guessing the same as the reason you took the time to give us your personal opinion as well!

[ellicat]

I'd hate to fish where you do if people are getting stabbed in the neck over fishing locations. Isn't this a little dramatic!!

Well that has been threatened on here before by the fanatics that don't agree in sharing spots.

Those fisheries boys are also the ones everyone complains about when create new marine parks, impose new bag limits, and increase size limits. Amazing how this argument ssuites when needed!

Fisheries have little to do with Marine Parks....that was the EPA (now known as DERM)

Most complaints against the fisheries is for their lack of factual data for implementation of some restrictions e.g. the current snapper, trag, pearly fiasco.. Apart from that they do a good job imo.

As you are a "fly by nighter" I wont bother pursuing the rest of your discussion as time is too precious

[crazywalrus]

oh my this post has stirred up a lot of emotion :whistle:

[shortie]

"There is Zero scientific evidence for fish becoming less productive with age. Feel free to look!"

try this link.
/>http://www.disease-treatment.com/showthread.php?t=67418

there has been a study done that proves that guppies do go through a menopause period with age.

I guess this would depend on the type of fish. But yes there is evidence.

[Eug]

oh my this post has stirred up a lot of emotion :whistle:

I'll say!

I think the points outlined have some merit (some more so than others) in the general context. However at the same time I feel that some people can take it too far and are a bit too precious, self righteous and/or possessive about their fish.

I'm sure a fish would rather have no hook in it's gob at all, whether barbed or barbless pulling away. I also think they could do without some outboard, paddle, lure, sound waves, anchor, etc. splashing around their homes.

At the end of the day I fish for me and for my enjoyment, if I want to release the fish then sure I'll give it a little extra care or attention. I don't imagine that anyone on these forums would be barbaric about how they handle fish. While I totally agree about trying to minimise the impact of our activities if I (or anyone else for that matter) are truly genuinely concerned about causing that extra little bit of pain to that one little fish then I guess this isn't the hobby for me/you.

At the end of the day it boils down to:

Your enjoyment = Giving the fish a little pain and inconvenience

The fish's enjoyment = You at home knitting

Cheers

Eug

P.S. - If you've somehow taken deep offence to what I've written then I guess you've just classified yourself as one of those I outlined in the first paragraph. It's all about perspective, if you were a fish which would you rather the angler do, knit or fish?

[tomca]

I know alot of bass fishers that guard their spots, mainly from 'the white bucket brigade' but are happy to take others to share the enjoyment. This thread has definitely divided opinion. KAF has been critisized for keeping and eating a native from stocked impoundments on this forum before by over opinionated clowns, but if its legal they will need to get over it. I'd rather eat a tilapia over a bass any day, but thats just my opinion.....I hate eating tailor as well.

Just the sort of divide and conquer stategy the likes of PETA can use to their advantage when arguing the case of shutting us out of areas, or banning fishing altogether.

[youngy]

Hi guys,i have been following this post very closely and there certainly have been some interesting statements thrown around.

Mostly biased one way or another, trying to make out the way each particular angler fishes is right and everybody else that doesn't agree is wrong.

I see there has even been one member banned for his point of view.

I am a member of 7 fishing forums in S/E Qld and enjoy reading a lot of the posts even if i don't agree with what is being said.

I believe this is how members decide which site they want to belong to and even what members of each site have similar opinions to their own.

I personally don't mind the suggested rules from the forum at the start of the post, i find them showing a very responsible attitude towards our future fishing.

Our future fishing is overall the most important thing in this whole post, this leads me to a couple of statements that you may or may not agree with but to me they are important to our fishing future.

I help DPI with the aging and sexing of local estuary species and am lucky enough to be provided with some of their information as follows, unfortunately all species cannot be treated the same as they all have different growth rates and different breeding patterns.

The most notable being that it is very rare to get a male Dusky Flathead over 55cm.

For those of you that believe the Government are on the ball with their rules this is far from the truth, the government REACTS to problems rather than ACTING to prevent problems, we have seen this with ring netting of Spottie Mackerel,the netting and overfishing of Tailor by both commercial and rec anglers on our beaches, and the major changes "and very successful ones" after flathead declined rapidly several years ago.

Please remember that the governments new method of controlling fish numbers is green zones which means no fishing what so ever, much easier to police than having responsible rules.

Fishing is a major pastime, hobby and for some of us it means even more in Australia, but as you can see from replies to this post we are not united in any way, and i do have to be truthful and say that i could never vote along side commercial fisherman who net fish just to feed my cat or rec anglers who target sportsfish with no legal size or bag limit just because the Government hasn't been up to date with what is happening to make rules.

Sorry for the long winded reply but i have read everybody elses opinion and these are mine wheather you agree or not, cheers wayne

[ellicat]

Mostly biased one way or another, trying to make out the way each particular angler fishes is right and everybody else that doesn't agree is wrong.

I see there has even been one member banned for his point of view.

.................

Teacher wasn't banned for his views. He wasn't banned at all. He deleted his own account as soon as he'd made his sole post. Kind of like a gutless Hit and Run perpetrator. The notification you see when viewing his profile is not accurate.

[elops]

Maybe we need our own sticky post on handling of fish. Anyone game?

Cheers

Ray

Good idea Ray :whistle:

[ellicat]

I'd be game if it was possible, unfortunately there's too many ways to skin a cat.