# Wanted: brilliant idea for a hobby that replaces angling/fishing. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374 "2014-04-30T16:59:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/41 "2014-05-01T11:43:58Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > 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 > > Anyone else any ideas? I don’t fish - I have no…hook in this discussion 😉 But, who are you asking for? Does he share your need to find a non-fish-damaging interest? Are you going to approach him with a “Look Honey! I know you love fishing, but you must be more humane! (takes pole out of his hand, hands him knitting needles), this is better.” I don’t see that going well for you. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/42 "2014-05-01T12:20:34Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > I’m a fisherman who’s gotten interested in the underwater photography thing. I’ve been using one of [these](http://www.gadgetking.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/AquaVuScoutXLUnderwaterFishFinderCamera_FB4E/image.png) on my boat, but find it hard to see fish. Yeah, I think unless the water is very clear, you have to get the camera close before anything would show. You might capture some dramatic footage with that thing if it draws the attention of a predator. My plan is to explore under mats of weed and in rocky crevices using a USB endoscope with a 10m cable - the one I’ve seen has LED lights around the camera lens that are dimmable from the USB plug end - I’m just going to fix it on a long pole and poke it around to see if I can observe crabs, shrimp, bottom-feeding fish, etc. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/43 "2014-05-01T12:27:58Z")
I have done a little fishing and it’s going to be hard to come up with a alternative as it has so many positive aspects that sooth the soul (and one that doesn’t), such as the flowing waters, standing in it, being in a positive meditative state where the mind calms and focuses on a different world. but also the action part of the catch springing to action in a carefully controlled way, all while the dry land world fades away, you get to contact and touch a being from this world, feel it’s strength, it’s will, and it’s methods of survival many times before visual and then touch contact of a very beautiful creature so well suited for it’s aquatic environment. So for alternative activities I suggest in person extra-solar planet exploration for native life forms, which for these people would most likely be packing a rod and reel away on the starship anyway :smack: > [@Chefguy](#): > > Catch and release is, according to Alaska Native culture, playing with your food and disrespectful to the animal. I agree. I do also agree, after thinking of it some more due to this thread, now catch and release seems much more cruel then catch and eat fishing. It is just not the booboo that the hook causes but also the trauma of the situation ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/44 "2014-05-01T13:07:56Z")
Photography Birding Hiking Painting ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/45 "2014-05-01T13:26:57Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > Don’t use a barbed hook. > > How about photography? Yes, try bird photography. It’s reasonably rewarding to get a good shot, but it requires patience and spending a lot of time outdoors. Also you get to spend money on camera and lenses which is always fun. You do have to put up with birders, though, many of whom are surprisingly noisy and chatty in the field. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/46 "2014-05-01T13:33:25Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > OK perhaps I am most familiar with trout which it is very common around here, even having guys follow the DEC truck to see where they dump them with rod and real ready to go. But the fish the truck dumps in aren’t full grown, are they? Aren’t they babies, fry, fingerlings, minnows, whatever the term is? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/47 "2014-05-01T13:42:03Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > But the fish the truck dumps in aren’t full grown, are they? Aren’t they babies, fry, fingerlings, minnows, whatever the term is? No they are grown to minimum ‘catchable’ length or just over that. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/48 "2014-05-01T14:02:26Z")
I concur with the photography suggestions. Not from experience though, I’m trying to figure out what type of camera I want in order to start my own photography hobby, but there’s so much out there, I only get more and more confused. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/49 "2014-05-01T14:26:03Z")
> [@SacFly](#): > > Learn mushroom hunting. With minimal instruction it’s much, much safer than most imagine. It satisfies the hunter-gatherer urge and gets you out of the house and interacting with nature. No! Mushroom hunting is dangerous and scary! (C’mon **SacFly** , we don’t need any more competition for secret spots! Although based on the early death of [this thread of mine](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=703335) we may not have that much to worry about) ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/50 "2014-05-01T14:29:49Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > So for alternative activities I suggest in person extra-solar planet exploration for native life forms, which for these people would most likely be packing a rod and reel away on the starship anyway :smack: > > I do also agree, after thinking of it some more due to this thread, now catch and release seems much more cruel then catch and eat fishing. It is just not the booboo that the hook causes but also the trauma of the situation If a space alien abducts you … would you rather get released or eaten? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/51 "2014-05-01T16:09:13Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > No! Mushroom hunting is dangerous and scary! > > (C’mon **SacFly** , we don’t need any more competition for secret spots! Although based on the early death of [this thread of mine](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=703335) we may not have that much to worry about) We do a lot of shroom hunting. My nephew has a few morel spots that pay off every year. He wisely will not tell _anyone_ the locations. Last year he sent me a picture of a morel patch. I texted him, “where?” He texted back, “:p” My next text explained that from the EXIF data included with the picture he had sent I could determine the exact location (I was bullshitting). He texted back, “:(”. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/52 "2014-05-01T16:10:25Z")
I don’t believe there is one. Men like what they like. Even other men don’t understand why some men like one hobby but not another. Even men who like the same hobby will usually always have different reasons. If it’s any comfort, here’s a quote from Ann Landers that I always remember: “Honey, there’s a lot worse things than \ your man could be doing.” ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/53 "2014-05-01T16:14:45Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I concur with the photography suggestions. Not from experience though, I’m trying to figure out what type of camera I want in order to start my own photography hobby, but there’s so much out there, I only get more and more confused. Sorry to hear it. How much are you looking to spend, and of what do you intend to take photos? I bought a Canon Rebel t4i 2 years ago, and a 250mm zoom lens, and have been happily snapping at wildlife ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/54 "2014-05-01T16:24:29Z")
What about wilderness survival? It could be on whatever scale someone wants-a day, an overnight, longer. It could encompass learning many different things depending on interest-finding food the gathering method rather than hunting, making fire with no matches, building shelters, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/55 "2014-05-01T16:32:26Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > 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. 🙂 My thoughts exactly. I like fishing because I like any excuse to get to the water or on the water or in the water. That said, I haven’t fished in ages (don’t have any fishing buddies since I moved, and have enough other stuff on my plate). I also always enjoyed hunting as a good excuse to get out into nature, or take a walk with my father. In both cases, I ate what I bagged, extra bonus! I shouldn’t need an excuse, but for whatever odd reason, I like having one. I like having a goal, rather than just going for the walk. But it’s the walk and where I am that I enjoy more than achieving the goal. (As a result, I was never into the gear much.) ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/56 "2014-05-01T16:34:15Z")
Kayaking was a great suggestion, as was conservation – I wonder what that entails. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/57 "2014-05-01T17:01:50Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Sorry to hear it. How much are you looking to spend, and of what do you intend to take photos? > > I bought a Canon Rebel t4i 2 years ago, and a 250mm zoom lens, and have been happily snapping at wildlife ever since. I mainly want to take pics of nature here in South Florida. I can afford a decent DLSR, but I have to admit to myself I might not use it much if I don’t take to the hobby, and I’d hate to think of a $1000 toy sitting on the shelf doing nothing. So I vacillate between a $1000 DSLR and a bridge/superzoom type thing for maybe $400 or $500. Every time I look more, I change my mind! Anyway, I’ll likely wait until the fall, since summer in Florida is a shitty time to be outside. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/58 "2014-05-01T17:27:55Z")
> [@SirGalahad](#): > > If a space alien abducts you … would you rather get released or eaten? Good point Are we a natural food source for the aliens (I think that is where the analogy breaks down 😕? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/59 "2014-05-01T17:30:14Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > But the fish the truck dumps in aren’t full grown, are they? Aren’t they babies, fry, fingerlings, minnows, whatever the term is? It depends, some streams are stocked with fingerlings, some are stocked with full grown fish that grew up on tanks and have no ability to really survive in the wild. Stocking with fingerlings is often part of an effort to reintroduce a species that had been previously pushed out of a stream and it is catch and release fishing that a) creates the demand for conservation efforts that promote healthy waterways and b) funds much of that conservation efforts through licenses and user fees. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374/60 "2014-05-01T19:28:30Z")
I’m afraid most suggestions are way to sporty and active. A guy who likes to look at the water meditatively won’t get the same soothing from doing something like shroom hunting, birding or photography. I just realized that a reasonable alternative might be what you people in the US have in your parks. Little tables especially meant for games of chess or checkers or whatever. We don’t have those, but we could introduce them as a way to offer an alternative to angling. A guy can go outside in the park, sit at one of those tables, and wait patiently untill some opponent sits in front of him. If no opponent comes, he can still sit and meditate. If an opponent comes, they can chitchat, or play in the same amicable silence two anglers have when theyr’re sitting thirty yards away from one another. not. And he can play a game and find sport in that. Anyway, the guy can sit outside in the fresh air in peace and quiet and look at people and flowers and no-one will think he’s a pervert for sitting there with no clear goal. It is even a socially acceptable and charming thing to do. Or the guy could just watch other people play a game of chess in the park. Same social function. But I still need to find something with the same social function such men can do in nature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wanted-brilliant-idea-for-a-hobby-that-replaces-angling-fishing/687374.md?page=4)