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[greybark]

   I think its time to rethink the idea of photos of Wild Steelhead . I believe it is good in theory but not good in reality . Keeping a wild fish out of the water during the photo taking must be tramatic particularly during freezng weather . Even a photo of a played out fish on its side in a bit of water and on sand can`t be doing the fish a favour with the sand washing on to the gills .
   I suggest we encourage keeping the photos to harvested hatchery fish and encourage in water (submerged) releases .

[hue-nut]

haha,  , traumatic!!!! what do you call enticing a fish to bite, reefing back for a good hookset, driving the hook through cartilage and bone, forcing the fish to fight for its life, reviving it, and releasing it!!!! if you are already doing that to wild fish than why not take a picture? You are not doing fish a favor by fishing for them, period!I am quite tired of anglers talking about how wonderfully and carefully they release their fish and how ethical they are, as if the fish would go through all of this and say "thanks, that was fun, I'm glad that you are an ethical fisherman and did not take a picture and did not get sand in my gills". if you were truly ethical you would not fish. This is sport fishing and we do it for our own thrill or for food. We need to respect the fish and practice proper release tactics but in essence we want fish survival so that there will be more fish.....to catch and do this thing all over again.  that's my two cents

[Every Day]

I think the LEAST of your worries is taking a picutre.... just a little tastet of what actually happens out there.
Yes I took this video, yes that it a fish (WILD STEELHEAD)he is rocheting 3 feet into the air 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMQX4xnFbco

[greybark]

   Hey hue-nut , inspite of your theatrics the catching of a wild fish gives you the OPTION of a further traumatic photo event rather than your so called RIGHT .
   As far as being truly ethical and not fishing as you described would preclude me from catching hatchery stock and carying on a tradition of harvesting steelhead for great table fare for over 45 years .
   I am glad that some fishers out there are proud of the way they release their fish and hope their ideas gain prominence .
      Cheers

[milo]

Greybark,

As said above, if you worry about the ethics of taking a photo of a wild steelhead after fooling it into thinking it is going to get a tasty morsel, impaling a sharp hook into its lip, playing a tug of war against its will and handling the fish to unhook it, dear sir, respectfully, you are either a hypocrite or out of touch with reality.
If handled properly, lifting a fish out of the water for a couple of seconds to take a picture won't hurt the fish at all.

If you are genuinely concerned about the well-being of the fish, do what is right and STOP ANGLING altogether, or at least stop angling in waters where there is a chance of you hooking into a fish you can't keep for the table.

[marmot]

Most guys I fish with keep the fish in the water for pics regardless if it's a wild or not.  If you can keep it in the water and it's better for the fish, why not?  To me makes a better pic anyways

I don't think its a bad suggestion, but at the same time I think most of the people have enough respect for the fish to handle it well and release it quickly after a picture, so that a moment out of the drink is harmless compared to the fight.  I'd say that playing a fish out to exhaustion is 10x worse for it. 

[alwaysfishn]

I agree with Greybark for the reasons he stated. Pulling the fish out of the water while you fumble around trying to get the perfect picture adds extra stress for what reason, bragging rights?

Greybark is both an avid fisherman and bowhunter who respects the resources we have and is suggesting we all look at ways we can minimize our impact on the wild steelhead.

For those that are quick to jump on him for suggesting this shows an unwillingness to look at things from another perspective. However I believe there are probably many others that will read this and will take the time to review the way they are handling their fish.

[Terry D]

Hey guys, this is just a reminder about shooting ourselves in the foot.  Any talk about bad treatment of fish is more ammunition against us for the likes of PETA and the rest of the antis out there.  Whilst topics should be aired and discussed, we should try and make the effort to 'tone down' certain comments and remarks.
Only thinking of our future here and the sport we love.

[Tex]

I agree with Greybark for the reasons he stated. Pulling the fish out of the water while you fumble around trying to get the perfect picture adds extra stress for what reason, bragging rights? ...However I believe there are probably many others that will read this and will take the time to review the way they are handling their fish.

Reviewing the way one handles their fish is one thing, alwaysfishn (and it's one thing I completely agree with)... However as stated above, suggesting that it's ok to hook a fish, fight it, and then drag it in - only to release it - is fine, but that to lift the fish from the water for a quick photo is a poor practice/unethical/etc, is a bit of an odd statement. 

I do agree that when handling fish, the utmost care and respect is deserved.  For any photos I've taken, you can literally see the water pouring off of the fish as previous to the photo I'd been holding the fish facing into the current in at least a foot or two of water, and only lifted it out on the moment the camera was ready and focussed. 



And I don't do it for bragging rights, I do it for the memories and to be able to reflect back on the beauty of the fish and the scenery surrounding it. 

Cheers,

Tex - always tries his utmost to respect his catch these days

[milo]

Nice pic, Tex!
A helluva photographic job and a great memory.

I wonder who the camera operator was...

[tnt]

whats wrong greybark? nobody willing to take a picture of you? so you need another rant?

[marmot]

whats wrong greybark? nobody willing to take a picture of you? so you need another rant?

Hardly a rant....he's just suggesting something for consideration....give the guy a break.

[greybark]

  Hey Tex , that is a great photo and i agree with your handling of that fish . That I have no problem with . As stated in my post it the freezing temperature and sand in the gills thing that mainly concerns me . Also witnessing a looking in the pack for the camera with the fish half in the water and a drag out , look and disscuss then return the fish to water .
  Hey Tnt , their cameras broke when faced with a 70year old grump or may-be they didn`t have wide angle lens . ;
  Some good common sense posts and as expected some red herrings .

[bbronswyk2000]

Nice pic, Tex!
A helluva photographic job and a great memory.

I wonder who the camera operator was...

Like this one. In the water with water coming off it. What a good camera man



I agree with what most of the people are saying on here. A quick photo is perfectly fine.

[Every Day]

Common sense plays into a lot of this.
One of the first things I do when walking into a run is look for a pool/platform, anything that has calm and preferabally knee deep water where I can land a fish easily.
I always have my camera right in the front of the pouch of my waders, unzipped for easy access should we happen to hook one.
We already have a few videos this year of fighting fish, just because I am able to grab my camera within 10 seconds.

Most (not all) of my pics look like this...


I like to keep them in the water and "tilt" them so you see the size, every once in a while I lift them out quickly for a quick shot and then back they go.
Keeping them in the water also makes them easier to lift after the "long" fight