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Author Topic: 2007 Fraser River selective fishing method request 2 - No Bottom Bouncing  (Read 52475 times)

troutbreath

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"As long as the fish BITES it's sporting. There are TONS of ways to make a fish bite."


As long as it's in the zone, it's legal. To me that's anywhere around the mouth area. There are tons of sharp hook manufacturers out there. Just trolling ::)
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another SLICE of dirty fish perhaps?

nosey

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Right , wrong, ethical, unethical, whatever, whats wrong with whats going on is this, if I was told to quit using bait,or quit flogging Kitamats or even quit bar fishing or they'd shut the river down for everyone else to fish, I would grumble a little but I would immediately do what they requested, how selfish and absolutely thoughtless can these guys that are still out there flossing be that they will take the chance on getting all salmon fishing in the Fraser shut down just so they can go out and fish by their chosen method. I mean doesn't it strike you as absolutely disrespectfull of your fellow sportsman to deliberately go out and do something that will probably end up in a complete salmon closure. I'll leave at that I can't continue writing without resorting to name calling.
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Gooey

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Nosey said it percfectly...its a pretty selfish attitude to risk an entire fishery because you are too lazy or inexperienced to get a fish to strike opposed to flossing it. 

All Tangled Up, I am going to focus on you because you seem to be so proud of yourself and your flossing activities, in your last post, you basically interchange snagging and flossing: "Off to bed now, got some snagging.........I mean flossing to do in the morning."  You also claim you don't break the law?!?   Flossing and snagging are the same thing...its just a matter of enforcement.  So I guess you are one of those guys that hasn't broken the law until they are charged?!?

And for the record,  I make bouncing betties for retail shops and fishers alike!!!  Does this mean I am hypocritical?  Well, the way I see it is that DFO has allocated the sporties an allotment of sockeye in the fraser each year...they don't bite readily in the fraser and DFO PERMITS us to floss them so I sell betties and floss a few socks.  But I have never been so delusional as to think flossing is anything but snagging and a lazy man's fishery.
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2:40

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Nice one Troutbreath!  ;D

Just to put down my own downrigger (just kidding), I think there's an aspect of angling that may be over looked. For as long as I remembered, there was always the guy who HAD to catch a fish. Often these were the guys who did the Mennonite Shuffle once the fish got close to shore. The 'instinct' (if you will) to catch food or show off a catch is stronger in some than others. Im not surprised that once a method to increase the chances of catching a fish is discovered that these guys use it and defend it with a passion. Thus the "harvest within regulations" is born and the idea of how it could harm angling, the ideals of 'sport' or 'ethic's is hard to agree with.  I also find it interesting that I see guys fishing sockeye and chinook with the bouncing betties on the Fraser and then see them on the Vedder. At a distance it looks ok, look, there's a float, but when you get a little closer you see they're fishing a 4 foot slot with about 6 feet of float and have close to a 3 foot leader. There's a lot of hook setting taking place here each drift. This is flossing as well (Ive observed these fish being beached... :o) but is shared as sport angling and skill when there is actually little. While I dont agree with it, there's nothing wrong with being aware of other perspectives and thoughts. It's too bad though, that when these point of views ruin a fishery for all. That's why I strongly believe all sport angling has to be on a level playing field at least when it comes to the fish biting. This is certainly where education and being willing to share with other's comes in. If guys can be taught angling skills that produces, then they may want to do it within what angling is about. That sort of means the responsibility is sort of on the shoulders of the seasoned/experienced anglers to share and help out. Sure, there will always be guys who are not interested, and that why we need regulations, but it doesnt hurt to try.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2007, 10:00:56 AM by 2:40 »
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I have a right to fish and a responsibility to treat this right as a privilege.

Ethics is your actions and behaviour when no one is watching.

A problem well stated is a problem half solved.

Since when was snagging just a question of ethics and personal choice?

troutbreath

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Just thought i would mention that the biggest fish you catch from the Fraser would most likely be by bar fishing. I've hooked some real beasts that almost took me water skiing. Most never made it to shore with some bending the hook straight and some breaking the hook shaft. These were chinook, not sturgeon. Got the blood pumping so bad I couldn't sprawl out in the lawn chair for a few minutes.
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another SLICE of dirty fish perhaps?

All Tangled Up

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   Flossing and snagging are the same thing...its just a matter of enforcement. 

And for the record,  I make bouncing betties for retail shops and fishers alike!!!  Does this mean I am hypocritical?  Well, the way I see it is that DFO has allocated the sporties an allotment of sockeye in the fraser each year...they don't bite readily in the fraser and DFO PERMITS us to floss them so I sell betties and floss a few socks.  But I have never been so delusional as to think flossing is anything but snagging and a lazy man's fishery.

3 points I'll take the time to reply to.

1) The difference between flossing and snagging is not a matter of enforcement. It's a matter of a legal loophole. I can understand peoples frustration with this but just because we don't agree doesn't mean I am going to stop. The native population on the river that is out there netting and selling fish are the ones you should be directing your anger at. Even if my flossing technique and their nets caught the same amount of endangered sockeye, who's fish has a better mortality rate after being released?

2) I wouldn't necessarily call you a hypocrite, because you're the producer not the supplier. If anyone on this forum runs a shop/works in a shop and hates bottom bouncing so much, they should pull the betties off the shelf. You and I know this won't happen because of the allmighty dollar.

3) I half agree with your delusional thoughts. Yes flossing is snagging (with a legal loophole) but is anything but lazy. You've done it yourself. Don't you get tired of reeling in all that line every cast?

Time to go I hear my Calcutta calling me!
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All Tangled Up

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Just thought i would mention that the biggest fish you catch from the Fraser would most likely be by bar fishing. I've hooked some real beasts that almost took me water skiing. Most never made it to shore with some bending the hook straight and some breaking the hook shaft. These were chinook, not sturgeon. Got the blood pumping so bad I couldn't sprawl out in the lawn chair for a few minutes.

What's the point of bar-fishing if you can't land them(the bigguns)? I'll take the slightly smaller Spring from my boat that I have less problem netting.
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Gooey

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ATU, I appreciate your honesty...admitting that the only reason flossing is practiced is because "It's a matter of a legal loophole" is a big step.  Really it is, lots of people out there think these fish bite  ::) 

Anyhow, knowing its a legal loop hole that allows you to snag a fish and not get ticketed makes me treat this technique with a fair deal of respect and restraint...ie don't abuse this type of fishery because it would be very easy to shut down.  I wish more people shared the same amount of respect for the fishery and the body that governs it.

I am curious, would you keep a coho or steelhead that is snagged in the back...you know if no one is watching and your not going to get a ticket then its no different than flossing a spring or a soc?  ???
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DragonSpeed

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I am curious, would you keep a coho or steelhead that is snagged in the back...you know if no one is watching and your not going to get a ticket then its no different than flossing a spring or a soc?  ???

Soc: Legal Loophole - hook in mouth
Steel/Coho: Illegal - hook NOT in mouth

Bad example. ;)

glog

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Just to add fuel to the debate.
Why is it the individual fisherman is always being picked on.

Good example: was down at Steveston public fish dock on Sunday, There were at least 4 boats selling sockeye on the dock, and these were small 2 to 4 lb sockeye typical of the early Stuart run everyone is concerned about. I counted over 100 sockeye while I was there. Now in three weeks of visiting the Fraser system, I’ve seen over 100 fisherman and seen only 1 sockeye hooked and it was released correctly in the water.  

So I wish these elitists would go after the proper culprits and leave the average fisherman alone.  If the river closes to salmon fishing then they are the ones to blame. They are a very vocal minority and will ruin it for everyone. They use the same tactics as the radical environmental groups fear mongering, scare tactics, sky is falling crap. Everything is exaggerated to the limit and distorted.

What they should be going after is to reduce the ocean harvest of the endangered species not the odd few that are hooked in the river and released.

Another comment

It is very interesting to note that on rivers around here leaving out the Fraser, I’ve seen the fly fishing guys (usually the elitist group snag just as many fish as the average float or bottom bouncing fisherman (proper technique, as shown on fishing TV shows). They call it accidental. They all are released in good shape just like everyone else. So its hypocritical to start yelling, preaching and screaming about snagging.  

So as with a lot of things these days, the small minority of culprits, who do deliberately snag fish and keep them are targeted by the smaller elitist preacher types and the rest of us, the majority suffer the consequences of these actions. May be its time we got rid of both groups!!!

cheers
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liketofish

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I thought some forum member with a numbered name is off the debate on this thread, but if you think he will spare the chance to shame and label us bottom bouncers as snaggers, you are delusional.  ;)

Flossing is not snagging by DFO's definition. It lacks the intent to target other body parts other than the mouth. Intent is everything in enforcing a rule of law. That is why DFO never ticket anybody for flossing a fish.  Fishing in itself does not originate from using a hook or requiring a fish to bite. That is a narrow view some members here are trying to jam down your throat and ask you to swallow it. Fish are netted, trapped, speared etc. everywhere else, including our Canadian provinces. So why the problem here? Because some individuals with a fanatic and narrow point of view about sport fishing are trying to impose their twisted views on you.  >:(

If intent is not important, then killing some-one by self-defense will be considered murder. If intent is not important, then your exposure of your sensitive body parts in a fishing bar due to natural urge is a crime of public indecent explosure because you didn't use a washroom. Sometimes, some of us have to do this even within sight of ladies due to the specific bars. Well, because you do expose your part in a public place with ladies around, is it a crime? If you ignore the intent and say flossing is snagging, the same as using treble hooks and yanking those hooks violently to catch fish by any parts, then should we say your release of your natural urge in a public place is the same as those doing it in a public street or park?  ;D  So, should you turn yourself in after you have done the same in a public fishing bar?  ??? Have anyone been charged for doing that while they are fishing? Should DFO officers be ticketing people for their public indecent explosure while fishing???  Do bar fishers hold their urge until they get home ;D ;D ???

Yes, I admit the fish may or may not bite when they are hooked in the mouth. Both you and I have no proof that when a Fraser fish is caught inside the mouth, it is done by flossing or by the fish biting it. You are not down there for every hookup, so how can you be so sure every fish is flossed. Fish cannot see it? Common, how do you know?  The best fishing in the Cap is when it is high & yellowish, so is the Gold. My friend nailed 19 steelhead in its yellowish Canyon pools by bottom bouncing a small orange spin & glow with 2 ft leader. Why is it fish can see somewhere else in yellowish water but not the Fraser?

Even if a Fraser fish is flossed, so what? Legal. Keep it. If you think that you are justified to eat only a mouth-hooked biting fish, so be it. Do that if that suit your guilt conscience of killing the fish for meat. But there will always be people who thinks fishing is cruelty, and that everyone should be converted to a vegetarian. Will you? Why not? Doesn't a fish have a feeling and can feel pain just as much as you do even if you catch them biting? They are homing to spawn, their most noble calling, and you kill it on its way? Why should you be so justifed by whatever ethics you hold?  So, where do we begin to draw the line in this messy game about ethics of fishing? If you are not careful, you will drift towards PETA's reasoning and got trapped. Isn't that a famous broadcaster recently announced that he is quitting fishing because he no longer see the justification.......?

I'll say, I am a recreational fisherman intending to hook a fish legally for fun and for dinner, just like most life-forms which like to eat a fish, no more no less. Save your narrow and extreme points about your idealogy or biased view about fishing from those of us who do not share your twisted idea, because in the eyes of other people who don't fish or who don't eat meat, you are unethical too, biting or not.  ;)

Nice points, Glog. I am begining to sense that behind all this shaming game is the ugly personal agenda of exclusionism - booting the majority of fishers off the river so they can enjoy their good old days of fishing with their buddies. Why this suspicision? Because they keep on saying wanting to protect fish stocks, but they said nothing about those Stuart sockeyes being sold, and turn around stomping on us who have rarely encountered a sockeye, not to say killing one. It is not about fish stocks. It is about personal bias which they try to jam down your throat.  :(
« Last Edit: July 10, 2007, 12:51:12 PM by liketofish »
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bbronswyk2000

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liketofish it is snagging. Its snagging the fish inside of the mouth and even the people that do BB admit it. Just because its legal does not mean that its ethical. Now I know what ethical means and ethics are an individual thing. My ethics determine what I will or wont do. I wont snag a fish on purpose just because its legal. I would have to live with that and I dont think I could.

I am not really preaching as I do believe everyone is entitled to their opinion and if you read all 9 pages you will see its quite a balanced debate of pro-flossers and anti-flossers. My real problem is that the DFO has asked that people practice selective methods during this time. BB'ing is not a selective method so people shouldnt do it. If they did not ask for this I would not be so vocal. I still would not be happy with people flossing springs but I would not really say anything about it.

Are those sockeye that were caught by netting from the ocean or from the Fraser?
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THE_ROE_SLINGER

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Just thought i would mention that the biggest fish you catch from the Fraser would most likely be by bar fishing. I've hooked some real beasts that almost took me water skiing. Most never made it to shore with some bending the hook straight and some breaking the hook shaft. These were chinook, not sturgeon. Got the blood pumping so bad I couldn't sprawl out in the lawn chair for a few minutes.

What's the point of bar-fishing if you can't land them(the bigguns)? I'll take the slightly smaller Spring from my boat that I have less problem netting.

The joy of fighting such a magnificent creature!  Landed or lost still a blast!
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weeeeeeeeeow!

bbronswyk2000

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Just thought i would mention that the biggest fish you catch from the Fraser would most likely be by bar fishing. I've hooked some real beasts that almost took me water skiing. Most never made it to shore with some bending the hook straight and some breaking the hook shaft. These were chinook, not sturgeon. Got the blood pumping so bad I couldn't sprawl out in the lawn chair for a few minutes.

What's the point of bar-fishing if you can't land them(the bigguns)? I'll take the slightly smaller Spring from my boat that I have less problem netting.

The joy of fighting such a magnificent creature!  Landed or lost still a blast!

I am so glad someone gets it. Also someone that is probably half most people age that are debating this.
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blaydRnr

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the only people to blame is dfo and the bureacrats who manage them.....idiots.   all this tension and bickering.

how hard is to just state NO BOTTOM BOUNCING or make it mandatory to have a maximum leader length?  why not elimate the 'grey' area and just lay down a specific regulation?   they did with the single barbless hook reg......NO ONE TO BLAME, BUT THEM.

screw the idea of morals and ethics and the holier than thou sh't.

no one ever follows the speed limit to a tee.

90% of the time people who drink will drive after a couple  (even when the rcmp request that you don't drink and drive).

I'M SORRY TO SAY BOYS AND GIRLS THAT UNFORTUNATELY WE DON'T LIVE IN A PERFECT WORLD.  SO IF DFO DECIDES TO CLOSE THE RIVERS BECAUSE THEY CHOSE TO BE VAGUE ...SO BE IT.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2007, 02:49:41 PM by blaydRnr »
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