Originally Posted by
buckhunter14
Great read mrl0004
I have no biological degrees, etc. But I do alot of reading and make the most possible informed judgements based on readings and personal experience.
Currently in Michigan, we are having many miles of gear restrictions put on PUBLIC waters. This is due to, in part, big organizations that influence government decisions.
Tell me that wouldn't tick ya off.... the government telling you you can only use flies in a section of trout stream... I'm talking like a 100 mile section of river.
Good stuff mrl0004,
Buckhunter14 - There are a lot of "fly fishing only" waters here in the northeast and it is a real bad deal for those of us who never fly fish. You know - our license money goes for stream management just like the fly fishing elites does. How many times have you seen a sign on a river saying- "bait fishing only?" I've never seen one. I have been against this kind of discrimination for as long as I have been aware of it and I preach against it whenever I get a chance.
There are a lot of public ponds and lakes in the northeast, that are managed strictly for trout and salmon and are fly fishing only. Quite often, lately - the state boys are complaining that someone is illegally planting other species of fish in these nice ponds - like Smallmouth Bass or Northern Pike or Chain Pickerel or bluegills. It's my theory - that a lot of the ordinary guys and their families who fish from the bank with live bait, want something other than the sacred trout or salmon to fish for and so, they make it happen - and there is really no way to stop them all. It's high time the state quits wasting time and money catering to the trout and salmon elite, and starts managing all the waters, for all the fishermen and women.
And by the way - Bass - both Smallies and Largemouth are delicious if you fillet and skin them - they are some of my favorite eating, and I eat a lot of them every year, plus put some in the freezer for winter. C & R - in my opinion, is a matter of personal preference - just like what religion you choose - it is a free country yet.
When I lived in Alaska - and fished for Arctic Grayling on some remote streams in the tundra - I practiced C&R most of the time, as those fish populations were very vulnerable and had never seen a lure of any kind before - you could literally catch a hundred or more on a good stretch of river - just walking along casting a # 2 Mepps spinner from the bank. The only time I ever kept any, was to cook a couple up on a gravel bar for my lunch. It just depends on the situation.
Tight lines and bouncing bobbers.