Hammock napping?
Oh, one of my many ideas to improve society. 
There are many anglers in the Netherlands, and none of them fish for food. Every few years , animal rights activists say angling is cruel and should be discouraged. But they can’t name an alternative, so there’s no win-win there. I wondered if there was any activity that would fill the same need without hurting animals. After all, we’ve replaced many cruel pastimes including animals with electronic or sporty versions that are much more popular and hurt no-one.
I think a big thing with hobbies we take on has a lot to do with how we have been exposed to different things. About 3 days ago I made a slingshot for my grandson. 10 slingshots later made from all the exotic scraps in my wood pile I am kind of temporarily hooked on comming up with new designs. Durring the process of making the first slingshot I just found myself getting into it and enjoying it. I have done the same thing with tobacco pipes, dog houses, book shelves etc.
I think you first need to prove that angling is cruel and that eliminating it is in the interests of the fish. As I’ve said, if it wasn’t for angling, interest in preserving healthy waterways would decline. Organizations like Trout Unlimited, www.tu.org, would not exist if not for angling. Lots of fish would not be caught and released, but I bet a lot more would die from lack of interest in protecting their habitat.
Oh, in that case: fish juggling! You grip them by the tail like those clubs, flipping them while you juggle.
Sorry - I got nuthin’
Well, if you don’t like it, you can always sell your gear. And if you buy secondhand in the first place…
I had the same qualms, as did my husband, but we’ve both been pleasantly surprised at how much I’ve taken to it! Hope you have the same experience!
Other alternatives would include boomerang fish and the fish slapping dance.
Geocaching is another fun outdoor activity. It offers the fun of the hunt, while you spend time in beautiful locations. The kids also love this kind of stuff, if you choose to include them.
Do you really want to argue that anglers are a big and essential influence in preserving waterways, rather then the owners, environmentalists and people with common sense ? :dubious:
I can tell you that that certainly isn’t true in Europe. We have the European Water Framework Directive, that already lays down quality standards for waterways. I suppose the US has something similar.
As for the tired old nugget “But fish don’t feel pain”, that is hard to prove either way and depends a lot on defenitions. And the definitions depend a lot on the vested interests of the one making the definitions, which make anglers the more likely biased group.
In the US, much of the funding for preserving healthy fish habitats come from licensing and user fees. NY State, seems to be typical in this regard:
http://www.dec.ny.gov/about/89196.html
More importantly, responsible anglers create the demand for healthy streams. That is not the same thing as a pretty stream, or a stream that is pleasant to sit next to. Responsible anglers spend time in the water, they are intimately familiar with what insects and fish should be present in a healthy stream and advocate for the care and preservation of waterways.
You seem to want to ban something that you don’t really understand without thinking through the consequences, merely because you personally find it distasteful. I wasn’t saying that fish dont’ feel pain, but rather that fishing on the whole is good for fish populations because it promotes the protection of health water systems where fish thrive.
What about taking up drawing or painting? You go to a pretty place, by a river if you prefer, and draw or paint a picture of it. Lots of sitting in one place, just like the lazier forms of fishing. Basic equipment is not too expensive - no more so than fishing, anyway.
Funny thing is, painting an watercoulour of the landscape was the favourite solirary ourdoors pastime for the introverted…for ladies. Up untill the 1970’s I think.
But I’m afraid that most men would feel they would be laughed at if they took up landscape painting. Besides, painting requires a modicum of talent, whereas fishing mostly requires patience and good gear.
I was talking bout the Netherlands, where anglers don’t really have any positive influence on the quality of streams (apart, possibly, from cleaning up litter and reporting trouble).
I don’t want to ban anything, but I do want to see if there are any alternatives that would lure (heh) anglers away from fishing. It wouldn’t be the first time people changed hobbies en masse when a more attractive alternative came available.
If we’re talking Europen, Orri Vigfusson, an avid fly fisherman, launched a foundation to preserve the Atlantic salmon for recreational anglers. To date he is credited with helping save nearly 6 million salmon and helping to bring back populations that were on the brink of collapse: http://blog.johnrchildress.com/2011/10/22/profiles-in-leadership-orri-vigfusson/
In the UK, two anglers were the first to spot an invasive species of shrimp in the UK, because they identified the presence of the shrimp so early, the UK was able to aggressively mitigate the infestation to limit its spread: Fishing and the environment: why the two are inextricably linked
Using anglers to monitor the health of waterways is a common tactic used by universities and the government around the world, I’d be surprised if the Netherdlands didn’s have such programs. There are websites for anglers to report pollution, poaching, invasive species and unethical fishing practices. Anglers are often the wardens of the waterways because they have an interest in protecting their hobby.
Just saw this on Larry the Cable Guy’s show: vermin hunter.
On the show, he followed this group of rat hunters in NYC who use trained dogs to keep the rat population down. Instead of hunting fish, if I was a guy, I’d get a few air guns or low caliber guns and hunt crows, pigeons, rats, etc. Walmart sells some high power laser sights and scopes too. Just make sure you check state laws carefully to see which animals are classified as “vermin.” There are no restrictions on how these animals can be captured, maimed or killed, but they vary by state.
This statement alone indicates that you don’t really understand what angling is, why people do it, or what it takes to perform it. There are plenty of people with “patience and good gear” who are not good anglers. Being a good angler knows how to pick a good location for the conditions, how to select the proper fly or gig, how to lure a fish in, how to wear down a hooked fish to bring it in without slipping the lure or breaking the line, et cetera. The notion that angling is just standing around waiting for the line to jerk is akin to thinking that deer hunting is just about climbing up into a stand and waiting for a deer to wander by so the hunter can blast away at it.
It is still unclear as to how this “improves society” other than eliminating a pastime that a small minority of people who think that people are somehow distinct from nature find objectionable. On the scale of improvements to society, this falls somewhere below eliminating tabloid news, convincing people to use turn signals consistently, and educating the public on the correct way to sharpen kitchen knives.
Stranger
How about culturing sturgeon for caviar?
My grandfather took up golf (and I think never fished again) after he lost a friend to drowning while fishing.
Here it is:
Get a rowboat, anchor, line, one of those clip on umbrellas, some cushions, a fishing rod, a book or three, a mp3 player, a cooler filled with food and drink.
- Row out to a pleasant spot, bring in the oars, and drop anchor.
B. Take the fishing rod. There’s no hook or sinker. Just a bobber/float at the end of the line. Cast the line. Then put the handle end of the rod in a rod holder.
III. Clip the bottom of the umbrella to the rowboat somewhere and open it up.
4th. Arrange the cushions so you can comfortably read,nap, listen to music, or dine with your head under the umbrella. - Insert the ear buds, turn on the tunes, lay down, and take a nap.
Play World of Warcraft. You can fish to your heart’s content in that game.