Okay Vermonters, get your asses in here and explain

The BBQ Pit
1

Shooting fish? Shooting fish? This is springtime in Vermont? Sorry I can’t link to an article. It was in our local paper this morning, but wasn’t important enough to make the on-line edition.

Man, we have some whack-jobs up here and some bonafide gun-nut fringe loonies, but shooting fish has got to be bottom of the barrel (ha!). What the fuck is that all about?

Seems in Vermont (or perhaps only certain areas therein) that the rite of spring includes climbing up on a ladder or up in a tree with a large bore weapon and stalking the wily pike. This is a “traditional” activity, it seems. Afterwards they pull the wings off of flies at the annual kitten barbeque.

Ya know, I’ve got no quarrel with most hunters, but this is truly bizarre. Seems kind of like a Dick Cheney sort of thing, doncha know.

So what gives, Vermont? Please enlighten me.

2

I can’t believe this sort of thing goes on. How barbaric! Why can’t they just stab their mouths and eyes, yank them from their habitat, and let them writhe and struggle as they suffocate?

3

Yea, I’d have to go with Lib on this one. Shooting fish seems to me a more quick and humane way of killing fish than the usual method, even if it is unusual.

4

Really?

Well, the “humane” question aside:

Catching fish in traditional method=edible source of food
Shooting fish with shotgun=mutilated blood and guts=inedible mess

Conclusion: Shooting fish is just for the fun of shooting something to watch it die. I can see why you would both support that over the other. :rolleyes:

5

Down hyar in Dogpatch we uses dynee-mites! :smiley:

6

I don’t think you quite understand how it works. They don’t actually shoot the fish; they shoot near the fish in shallow water. The concussion shatters their bladders and causes them to float to the top.

7

I don’t recall reading that in the article. Do you have a cite, perchance? I’m not sure I buy the argument, but “Bladder Shatterers” would be a great band name. It just seems an odd practice that I don’t understand, hence the post. You’ll note that I really had no rant to speak of.

8

In West Virginia old timers used to go telephoning for fish.

They’d get a mine telephone, stick the bell leads in the water, and start cranking on the crank that normally made the bell ring on the other end.

Any fish that swam through the arc of electricity would instantly float to the surface, and wind up in the pan.

This was pretty illegal, and would bring you a really big fine if you were caught by the fish and game warden.

9

I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Now, I’m stuck in Folsom Prison. When I hear that whistle blowin’, I hang my head and cry.

On May 6th, I sat down on a burning Ring of Fire.

10

I take no responsibility for my fellow Vermonters…

Plus, more people here go Phishing than fishing anyway. :slight_smile:

11

Here’s one.

12

A stick of dynamite would be even more effective, really.

On a somewhat different note, and speaking as a dedicated carnivore, I don’t see any practical difference between killing for food and killing for pleasure. I love steak, but I don’t have to eat it. I just think it tastes better than salad. In other words, I’m killing (or having people kill for me) simply for my pleasure. Functionally, it seems to be pretty much the same thing.

13

Yeah, but recreational dynamite might be illegal.

14

I shot a bass in Vermont, just to watch it die.

15

Well, here’s a link.

But I still find it hard to believe this ain’t a hoax.

16

With a handgun or rifle, this may work; or even with a shotgun slug. Buckshot is a different story, however, and an AK-47…well, I just gotta shake my head. “Mares and bucks”, eh? How cute is that?

17

Okay. No, it’s not a joke.
Yeah, it has a really restricted season (March 25-May 25) and only in Lake Champlain.
Personally, I’ve never known anybody who has done it - my Grandfather’s crazy hunting and fishing buddies included.

You think they’re crazy? So do I. I also noticed that in the pictures that were with the New York Times article, the “fish hunter” is dressed in camo. You know, so the fish can’t see them creeping up on them. :dubious:

18

here is the original NY Times article (free registration required).

I find the hunting terminology funny (mares and bucks).

19

Hmmmm, a 30-06 fires a 150 grain bullet at about 2600 feet per second…that’d make for a hell of a concussion when it stopped suddenly.

Remind me to stay away from Lake Champlain between 3/25 and 5/25.

20

Well, there’s not much swimming going on this time of year.