Most hobby-fishermen are not into angling to take home the fisch they caught. Most put the hook out of the fishes mouth, and throw the fish back. They say they are mostly in it for the sport, and the peace and quiet of being outside in nature.
I can understand that, and I do get the need for men who like peace and quiet, to have some socially acceptible alone outdoors time. But I think it is unfortunate that a fish needs to get hurt for that.
So, fishermen and those of you who know a fisherman well…what would be a satisfactory and socially acceptable alternative for fishing, where everybody wins and no-one gets hurt?
Things I could come up with:
-reading a book by the water
-practice some craft, like playing a flute or whittling wood
-fishing without a hook,
-operating some remote controlled boat like underwater camera thingy
-listening to music on headphones
How about golf? The golfer gets to wander big open fields with no one around except a few golfing friends. And, like fishing, the golfer can drink, smoke and cuss.
The sports fishing industry, at least in fresh waters, is very much like factor farming, where fish are raised in captivity then released to be caught. So the fishing today is far disconnected from it’s roots. That may change some opinions as to the purity of the fishing experience. If they start to see it as artificial they may become disinterested.
I know that doesn’t answer your question but might save a few fish from getting hurt, which seems more of what you would like to see.
Photography, specifically nature photography, might meet most of the requirements. Wandering about in nature trying to get close enough to live animals to get a good picture is an interesting challenge. So is finding and photographing relatively rare flowers and mushrooms. It’s a little more active than some kinds of fishing. I suggest that truly sedentary types just sit outside in a lawn chair with a bottle of liquor.
Fish heal quite quickly, the danger for them is in swallowing the hook. A circle hook will pull up out of the gut and hook the fish in the lip, where it causes little damage and is easily removed.
If a fisherman wanted to just hang out in the woods and read a book/play the flute/knit/whatever then he wouldn’t be a fisherman. People who fish enjoy not just being out the woods but the challenge of finding, luring, and catching fish. If you wanted to replace that activity you’d have to replace the function by simulating it.
Actually, that isn’t true. A somewhat eco-friendly golf course can certainly a plus, eco-wise. Variety is good, and a golf course can break up an otherwise dull expanse of urban area, forest or grassland.
Interesting about the circle hook,** August West.**
kanicbird, indeed I wasn’t talking about fishers who fish in such a “PondsAreUs, catch a trout per hour or your money back” waters. They obviously want to catch something.
What percentage of fishermen is, indeed, happy to sit by an baitless or hookless fishing rod?
Fly fishing and fishing using barbless hooks or lures really does not cause much harm to the fish and most can be caught and released without doing much more than giving the fish a good workout.
What kills fish when angling is bait. Live bait, worms, shrimp, etc. get swallowed and then the hook cannot be safely removed without killing the fish. They seldom swallow artificial lures but tend to strike at them first to see what they are.
The stream I live near has protected native, coastal, sea run, cutthroat trout. Fishing was closed for many years but is now open again. Catch and release, artificial lures only, no bait. I assume that the fisheries biologists know what they are doing when making these rules.
Tie a chicken leg to a string and let it sink to the bottom. Once the crab discovers the delectable chicken he will latch onto to it, and then you slowly pull up the string until you can net the crab.
Also, it is important to note that fish don’t really experience pain the way we do because of the lack of tactile sensory input from the skin (or for most fish, the scaly covering over skin), nor do they have anything like the complex structure of oral nerves. The biggest effect on the fish is the panic it probably experiences while being reeled in. But fish, like most wild creatures, live in a constant state of being preyed upon (and preying on others). I’m all for not needlessly puting creatures in pain or fear, but on the scale of things angling is pretty minor.
