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Author Topic: 2007 Fraser River selective fishing method request 3 - Sport angling behaviour  (Read 33902 times)

TrophyHunter

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I read all of these posts and for some reason this whole discussion about BB keeps eating away at me, I wonder why I let it bother me even though I haven't been to the Fraser once this year and may not go at all !! last night whilst thinking about it I came up with a few thoughts that I would like to share....

    When these discussions first started this year all the anti BB gang jumped on the fact that the BB were endangering salmon stocks... the sides went back and forth and back and forth and alot of the anti BB gang admitted that BB weren't actually affecting the stocks that much, approx 2% of the total harvest was taken by BB I think we agreed on.. at that point the discussion quickly changed from endangering salmon stocks to the fact that it was unethical !! so now the whole argument has swung back to the fact that it is unsporting ... if you believe that then fair enough, you are entitled to your own opinion !! but how does that point affect the amount of fish being harvested ?? and why would the fact that anti BB think it is unethical cause DFO to close the river ???


  It seems to me that the Barfishing fans are so blinded by their dislike of BB that they have lost their focus on what the actual problems are !! all the people I know on this site and others that BB are all good fishermen !! it's not all about meat, it is about having an amazing fish on the end of the line !! and at every other time of the year they are good fishermen that treat the rivers with respect !! they aren't the ones that are "snagging" at KWB, they aren't the ones that are fishing with barbs, or without licenses !! the people you are talking about are the people that don't give a $hit about anything but themselves, they are the people that don't care about regs, and they carry that mentality to other parts of their life !! these are the people that camp along the river and never clean up, that disrespect others around them at campsites when families want quiet at midnight !!!


 Alot of you keep harping on the fact that this type of fishery all starts with BB on the Fraser, well I call Bull $hit on that !!! you have no proof, no studies, no charts !! you have an idea in your head and you believe it so fiercely that you spread it as gospel !!! you talk about being sporting !! you say that BB is not a sporting way to catch fish !! you think that sitting in a lawnchair waiting for your bell to ring is the end all be all !! the funny thing is that alot of the people bashing the BB are avid hunters !! Now I would like you to explain to me what is sporting about sneaking up on an animal and shooting it with a high powered rifle or shotgun ?? or sitting in a boat waiting for a few birds to fly over so you can prove to the world how sporting you are while you spray it and the 5 feet around it with shot !!! if you truly believed in what you wrote about BB and how unsporting it is you would be chasing down these animals on foot and cutting their throats with a knife or a spear !!

  If the Fraser does get shutdown it won't be because of the BB .... it will be because of your constant battering of other fishermen that don't share you love of sleeping in a chair by the side of the river !!  I believe that you have lost site of what is important, I believe that you have built up a hatred of another type of fishing that you just don't get ..... when you have proof of what you say, when you can show the world how Fraser fishing breeds snaggers then maybe people will listen !! but I will tell you now finding proof of something that doesn't exist is going to be a tough challenge

peace
TH
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Steelhawk

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The Cap is known for outrageous snagging and non of those true snaggers use a betty or a long leader. And yes, they did this long long before the sockeye fishery ever came about. Blame the Cap snaggers on what now you people?  ;)

I think the bfers should just leave the Fraser to itself and push for a shorter leader in the smaller system as a gear restriction. The Fraser fishery is a food fishery with 2% of the take shared by tens of thousands of people who just want to have a realistic chance to catch a fish for the family themselves. It brought economic boom in summer months to that town where many of the die-hard bfers live. Yet they want to shut it down to soothe their biased view of fishing. What if the flyfishers own the lobbying power and try to get all you guys off the river because of your use of heavy gear, especially the big rod and the big egg, crude equipment in their mind? What if I am an environmentalist with lobbying power to shut you down because you repeatedly dump big glob of lead to poison the Fraser?  What if I think fishing should not involve bait whiich kill many fish and I own the lobbying power to shut you bait fishermen down? What if I say your lead is so heavy, that when it lands on a busy sockeye travel lane, you actually BONK many sockeyes on the head, causing their final fatality? How do you know you didn't do that? Why on earth you think that your biased idea about fishing has more moral or ethical ground when yours can be flawed just like ours? Oh yes, your method is the sainted one and is beyond criticism. Sporting while dosing and drinking beer, or day dreaming in an arm chair all day during fishing? Give me a break.  ;D Totally agree with TH that when the Fraser is shut down, blame the fanatic lobbyists from the anti gang. If that ever happen, the bbers should be up in arms just like the natives to protect their right. Road blocks any one?  ;D ;D

Oh yes, the Minister is there to witness how ugly bbers are? Give me a break. If he is a true politician, he knows where the majority is. Just take him to a busy sockeye bar. An a true politician will flow with the majority wishes, always.  ;D
« Last Edit: July 18, 2007, 09:39:40 AM by Steelhawk »
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troutbreath

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Beauty post TH :)
I knew that day a blew the back leg off a deer with an old Lee Enfield, my hunting days were lmited :-\ Pretty soon you can get roadkill which is more ethical ;)

and I don't even like talking about what you can learn from some losers on the Cap....worst kind of fishing out
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another SLICE of dirty fish perhaps?

Nuggy

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I read all of these posts and for some reason this whole discussion about BB keeps eating away at me, I wonder why I let it bother me even though I haven't been to the Fraser once this year and may not go at all !! last night whilst thinking about it I came up with a few thoughts that I would like to share....

    When these discussions first started this year all the anti BB gang jumped on the fact that the BB were endangering salmon stocks... the sides went back and forth and back and forth and alot of the anti BB gang admitted that BB weren't actually affecting the stocks that much, approx 2% of the total harvest was taken by BB I think we agreed on.. at that point the discussion quickly changed from endangering salmon stocks to the fact that it was unethical !! so now the whole argument has swung back to the fact that it is unsporting ... if you believe that then fair enough, you are entitled to your own opinion !! but how does that point affect the amount of fish being harvested ?? and why would the fact that anti BB think it is unethical cause DFO to close the river ???


  It seems to me that the Barfishing fans are so blinded by their dislike of BB that they have lost their focus on what the actual problems are !! all the people I know on this site and others that BB are all good fishermen !! it's not all about meat, it is about having an amazing fish on the end of the line !! and at every other time of the year they are good fishermen that treat the rivers with respect !! they aren't the ones that are "snagging" at KWB, they aren't the ones that are fishing with barbs, or without licenses !! the people you are talking about are the people that don't give a $hit about anything but themselves, they are the people that don't care about regs, and they carry that mentality to other parts of their life !! these are the people that camp along the river and never clean up, that disrespect others around them at campsites when families want quiet at midnight !!!


 Alot of you keep harping on the fact that this type of fishery all starts with BB on the Fraser, well I call Bull $hit on that !!! you have no proof, no studies, no charts !! you have an idea in your head and you believe it so fiercely that you spread it as gospel !!! you talk about being sporting !! you say that BB is not a sporting way to catch fish !! you think that sitting in a lawnchair waiting for your bell to ring is the end all be all !! the funny thing is that alot of the people bashing the BB are avid hunters !! Now I would like you to explain to me what is sporting about sneaking up on an animal and shooting it with a high powered rifle or shotgun ?? or sitting in a boat waiting for a few birds to fly over so you can prove to the world how sporting you are while you spray it and the 5 feet around it with shot !!! if you truly believed in what you wrote about BB and how unsporting it is you would be chasing down these animals on foot and cutting their throats with a knife or a spear !!

  If the Fraser does get shutdown it won't be because of the BB .... it will be because of your constant battering of other fishermen that don't share you love of sleeping in a chair by the side of the river !!  I believe that you have lost site of what is important, I believe that you have built up a hatred of another type of fishing that you just don't get ..... when you have proof of what you say, when you can show the world how Fraser fishing breeds snaggers then maybe people will listen !! but I will tell you now finding proof of something that doesn't exist is going to be a tough challenge

peace
TH


Rick, you know as well as the majority here that the purpose of recreational angling in this province is to entice a fish to bite your presentation. Throw away the conservation side just for a minute and concentrate on this point...a fish biting your presentation. Bending the current rules a lot of fishermen think that snagging fish is now an acceptable form of angling.

I attended a bar fishout on Sunday this weekend where not one single Chinook was caught yet the flossing crowd is bragging about dozens of Chinook dead on the beaches in the same area. How many Chinook were slayed this weekend by the BB crowd? Probably in the hundreds by the sounds of it, hundreds of fish that would NOT have been caught had the BB fishermen had been trying to get the Chinooks to entice a bite. Now lets talk conservation of fish stalks...If the season opens June 1st for retention of Chinooks on the Fraser start calculating the amount of Chinooks the snaggers are taking from say June 1 until say October or November. The number rises into many thousands of fish caught by the BB crowd. Thousands of fish that wouldn`t have been caught by fishermen using the entice a bite method.

I am discounting sockeye and other commercial and native fish caught as we have been through that. Every fish slaughtered by each user group is one less fish on the spawning ground that affects the next generation. If snagging can produce such large catches of fish on the Fraser imagine the impacts of snagging on smaller more fragile systems? Justifying the flossery on the Fraser means justifying flossing on every lake, stream and river in this province, why not speak up now against this fishery before it becomes a common way of fishing all over the province.

If it is acceptable to floss on the Fraser River why not floss Thompson Steelhead or endangered Nicola Coho? Why is it wrong for the KWB crowd on the Vedder to be snagging salmon and steelhead? It`s there right and it`s not against the regulations ???

The biggest irk of all the banter flying back and forth right now is the DFO has asked people not to floss. The DFO has clearly given fishermen options as to which way they would like to see you angling on the Fraser River. It is a complete embarrassment to me and many members of different forums to see the DFO request mocked, ignored and humiliated by people who I thought really had the act together as conservationists and fishermen. It is not wrong to question and debate this topic but to go out and openly defy a DFO request sets a very bad example for the younger generation of fishers and the ones just getting into fishing. I have made a choice to comply with the request made by DFO and not floss, I have also made a choice to argue that the DFO request be upheld by anglers for the betterment of conservation and future fishing opportunities on the Fraser River.

Cheers

Nuggy

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2:40

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BTW, I had a long talk with two conservation officers this weekend, and both men I spoke with have absolutely no problem with bottom bouncing :o

Of course not, bottom bouncing is legit. Did you explain which bottom bouncing method you were talking about because there are two, to snag fish or to get a fish to bite.

Steelhawk, like it was mentioned, I call it snagging because it's snagging. It doesnt matter what DFO says, especially considering they're limited on what they can do and say at the moment. I dont mean to insult guys, but I want to point out what I think is an obivious fact. If someone doesnt want to be called a snagger, they can either quit doing it or just laugh it off if it's really such a stupid thought.

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all the anti BB gang jumped on the fact that the BB were endangering salmon stocks...

They're doing their share and sport anglers have to be responsible for their part regardless of what other users are doing. Now that guys are snagging chinook, they're getting way more fish over previous years. Before the snagging was popular, it was a challenge to get a chinook in June. Multiple fish in a day on one bar was unheard of. Now that snagging's rampant you can expect to see more impacts. Maybe sport anglers wont be able to enjoy fishing the river all or most of the season if their success rate continues to rise. Guys are pretty pleased with the fact they're not hooking sockeye, but bragging at their beaching lots of chinook.

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and why would the fact that anti BB think it is unethical cause DFO to close the river

I dont shed a tear at the commented on closures coming from the fact DFO shouldnt have any patience with snagging and it's non selective manner. In principle, it's the right thing to do. Because they cant say this is snagging, (thanks to their limiting regulations) maybe they're going after it with what they can, which includes conservation concerns. I understand guys being choked when the nets are still in the river, but we as anglers must take responsibility. Someone else doing it worse or more doesnt give us the right to do as we please. Take the conservation issue where it belongs; in a seperate discussion. But dont worry, I think that one's going to come back and roost on bb snagging soon enough if trends continue.

Quote
all the people I know on this site and others that BB are all good fishermen !! it's not all about meat, it is about having an amazing fish on the end of the line !! and at every other time of the year they are good fishermen that treat the rivers with respect !!

I know, most guys on here who do it are for starts, decent people and partake in the snaggery like I did with respect to the fish and others. But we're not talking about them!! These are the minority and we would be better off to realize that and see what this snaggery has created. It has brought out the worst in angling. Instead of having just a few bad apples holding fishing rods before the snagging was rampant, we now have TONS of them. This should not come as a surprise. The bad apples were the snaggers of old with triple hooks, barbed hooks and so forth. Now that a snagging method is 'legal' they're out in droves and dont have to be blatent with barbs, triple hooks and so forth. But the mentality remains (garbage, kicking fish, over limits and what have you) We watched Peg Leg in a morning when sockeye were closed but people were looking for pinks and chinook. Sockeye were dragged over the rocks, kicked and even retained.

Quote
Alot of you keep harping on the fact that this type of fishery all starts with BB on the Fraser, well I call Bull $hit on that !!! you have no proof, no studies, no charts !!

I know and respect that you feel this way, but I think you're in denial. Have you made any effort to find out? I did and the results were predictable. Every guy I talked to snagging in the Vedder Canal one morning was introduced to fishing sockeye on the Fraser. Here, make a chart. I talked to 5 guys and 5 guys were from the Fraser. Sure, just a small sample, but 100% response is interesting. This doesnt include Look at their gear for crying out loud! How many bouncing betties and long leaders do you see. TONS! And just because they use a float doesnt mean anything beyond they've adapted to fishing slower and smaller water with the same intention. I dont think we need someone with a PhD to study this when the proof is pretty obvious.

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you think that sitting in a lawnchair waiting for your bell to ring is the end all be all !

No, I think that what ever fishing method an anglers chooses, the fish must bite. That's all.

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Now I would like you to explain to me what is sporting about sneaking up on an animal and shooting it with a high powered rifle or shotgun ??

Hunting is different than fishing and carries no merit on this discussion. You're welcome to your feelings on it though. Hunting carries its own ethics baggage. They have similar debates too.  ;D

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If the Fraser does get shutdown it won't be because of the BB .... it will be because of your constant battering of other fishermen that don't share you love of sleeping in a chair by the side of the river

No, it will be because the ones who wouldnt comply with DFO's requests.
 
Quote
I believe that you have lost site of what is important, I believe that you have built up a hatred of another type of fishing that you just don't get

No, I get it just fine. This is snagging and snagging is wrong. I lose no sleep over trying to bring snagging under control because if we let it go, we're going to lose a lot more.


Quote
when you have proof of what you say, when you can show the world how Fraser fishing breeds snaggers then maybe people will listen !! but I will tell you now finding proof of something that doesn't exist is going to be a tough challenge

Ill take you up on that one! ;)


Thrasher, it is exactly about fishing stated by one who loves it dearly and whom many can thank for the opportunities they enjoy on our rivers, EVEN the sockeye opening.

Firstlight, that's exactly how it progressed. I wonder when we'll see the first guy, using the same arguments, justifying snagging under the KWB.
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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?

Thrasher

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I know it is about fishing and I am certain that Chris is responsible for some of our fishing opportunities. It was a sarcastic statement made in regards to this dead horse that gets beaten every year.

Every year the only thing that seems to come out of it is a clearer line that has divided the 3 groups (Sporties, FN, and Commercial Fisheries),  instead of them all working together for a common goal.





 
« Last Edit: July 18, 2007, 10:01:02 AM by Thrasher »
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TrophyHunter

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Rick, you know as well as the majority here that the purpose of recreational angling in this province is to entice a fish to bite your presentation. Throw away the conservation side just for a minute and concentrate on this point...a fish biting your presentation. Bending the current rules a lot of fishermen think that snagging fish is now an acceptable form of angling.





"Flossing" for Salmon on certain rivers IS an acceptable form of angling !!!

some people just can't accept that fact

If the season opens June 1st for retention of Chinooks on the Fraser start calculating the amount of Chinooks the snaggers are taking from say June 1 until say October or November. The number rises into many thousands of fish caught by the BB crowd. Thousands of fish that wouldn`t have been caught by fishermen using the entice a bite method.


You are talking about a very small % of the total fish taken in a season by other methods !! if fish numbers are what you are really concerned about you need to get to the heart of the problem not take away a ligitimate form of fishing from Sport Fishermen

I know and respect that you feel this way, but I think you're in denial. Have you made any effort to find out? I did and the results were predictable. Every guy I talked to snagging in the Vedder Canal one morning was introduced to fishing sockeye on the Fraser. Here, make a chart. I talked to 5 guys and 5 guys were from the Fraser. Sure, just a small sample, but 100% response is interesting. This doesnt include Look at their gear for crying out loud! How many bouncing betties and long leaders do you see. TONS! And just because they use a float doesnt mean anything beyond they've adapted to fishing slower and smaller water with the same intention. I dont think we need someone with a PhD to study this when the proof is pretty obvious.


People have been "snagging" fish for a lot longer that BB has been around !! someone mentioned the Cap river in another post and with good reason, I remember when I was 6-7 years old fishing at the cable pool with my brother , I would see 10-15 people at a time snagging big triple hooks through the water to get their fish !! even though I was young and impressionable I never tried this type of fishing !! Your claim that the Fraser is where it all comes from is ridiculous and unfounded , not obvious like you state

No, I think that what ever fishing method an anglers chooses, the fish must bite. That's all.

Quote

That's one place where you are mistaken !!! according to the law the fish must be hooked in the mouth !! people spend all sorts of time and money trying to come up with the perfect style or lure to get fish on their line, BB just happens to be one choice that is out there !! if you choose not to partake then great

I think it is good that both sides of this get to express how they feel, if the laws are eventually changed and you get your wish then I will abide by it and expect everyone else too aswell, but I will never agree with it... if you want the Fraser regs to change to not include BB then you will need to close the river to all fishing of every kind.. it is the only fair way IMO

TH
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Old Black Dog

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For all you who missed it on CKNW last night there is something coming to the FRASER that will make this debate a joke.

The proposal is to move ALL the F/N and Commercial fisherys "ABOVE THE VEDDER" and up to Hope.
There would also be fisherys in the rivers, example  Vedder, Harrison.

So, you think that you had a rough time catching fish before, wait till the commercial and the F/N all have their nets in the river above the Vedder.
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Old Black Dog

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I find it interesting that the argument now is the Chinook stocks and that flossing is decimating them.

For you that say that or believe that I would advise you to get your facts before you state this.

There is no concern at this time.

Sports anglers as much as they would like to think they are really productive are not.
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Nicole

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Raking your long leader through the water is no different than fishing with a net...

The deception is the fishing rod at the end...

Cheers,
Nicole
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TrophyHunter

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For all you who missed it on CKNW last night there is something coming to the FRASER that will make this debate a joke.

The proposal is to move ALL the F/N and Commercial fisherys "ABOVE THE VEDDER" and up to Hope.
There would also be fisherys in the rivers, example  Vedder, Harrison.

So, you think that you had a rough time catching fish before, wait till the commercial and the F/N all have their nets in the river above the Vedder.


Doesn't matter where they put the nets !! they are still gonna take the same amount of fish !! this way there will be no Vedder bound fish taken by the nets and if anything it should improve fishing  ;D ;D
TH
« Last Edit: July 18, 2007, 11:50:33 AM by TrophyHunter »
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TrophyHunter

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Raking your long leader through the water is no different than fishing with a net...

The deception is the fishing rod at the end...

Cheers,
Nicole

There is a huge difference !! If I wanted to fish with a net it would be illegal !! if I wanted to bottom bounce with my rod it is LEGAL!!!!
that seems to be quite a big difference don't ch think??  ;)
TH
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Nicole

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Think a little more deeply on that point.

Cheers,
Nicole
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TrophyHunter

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Don't need to the Law is the Law, if you want a deeper thought read back a few posts and you will see where I stand   :)
TH
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Nicole

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You will only see the truth when you allow yourself to...

Cheers,
Nicole
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"Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in the commons brings ruin to all."

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