Wednesday
Apr012009
New Rule
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 10:28PM 
When your monster Kispiox steelie goes viral, then lands on the cover of Fly Fisherman, you should make the Picassa gallery of the other 60 shots of you manhandling the fish private.
The gallery has recently been edited but not before someone grabbed some screen shots.
Some of the deleted images were posted on the forum pages of Piscatorial Pursuits back in February. According to the forum post there were 61 images of the fish out of water.
Here at the Chum we've never met a big fish picture we didn't like, but we do our very best to minimize the amount of time a fish is out of water for photography. The excitement of the moment probably contributed to the excessive documentation but it's no excuse for not handling fish responsibly.
tagged fly fishing magazines, steelhead in Species
fly fishing magazines, steelhead in Species
Reader Comments (45)
Very well done to the fisher for releasing his catch. AWSOME fish!
What are the chances that fish lived Mr. NoBunnyHugger? Why release it if you are not going to give the fish a chance to spawn? You might as well take it in to the Fish and Game department for another "World Record Weigh in."
^ Agreed, Nobunny Hugger Probably didn't read the post.
I would have been happy with a few quick shots, but over 60? Jesus man, thats crazy. I thought this was such a sweet Fly Fisherman cover, but this kinda ruined it for me.
On the mag cover shot it looks like he's saying milk was a bad choice
here we go again ,something needs to be done up in washington about handeling wild fish ,this is probably one of the only places left in the U.S. where thirty pound brutes are coming in reguarly .
The fish returns are at an all time low and here we are with guides handeling fish like morons .Can we show them clubbing him to death to ?What the heck is wrong with fishermen today ,greeeeeeed!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your greedy SON's of B@##$%^'s That fish is an amazing fish and has traveled so far only to be thrashed to death ! lets put it this way you travel all the way across country and then arrive home only to find a robber in your house ,and he thrashes you to near death then leaves you to rot ! Sometimes im sick to my stomach that i am human ! This guide should lose his job,ill never fish with that lodge !
I havent seen all the full size images, nor am I defending the guy, but any decent camera can take 60 photos in well under a minute. From what I have seen, he definitely could have handled the fish better!
Nice work Chum
I bet SAGE and SIMMS are real happy they made the cover of the rag.
I think if you shame the crap out of them (the media) will change the industry one hero shot at a time. Smarten up Guys (not you Chum)!
I don’t see the amount of photos as an issue. On a recent trip to the Bahamas I had approximately 80 photos of a nice bone my friend had caught. The camera takes 7.5 frames per second so the fish was out of the water maybe 12 to 15 seconds. I do however have an issue with the way he handled the fish.
I have looked at those pictures carefully and quite honestly I am disgusted at the way this prime steelhead was manhandled. I guess this fellow was only looking for his own spotlight and never though for one moment that the fish he was holding is very precious in the contribution of making the river what it is today.
Sometime we all get carried away with trophy fish without really thinking of the fish health we will take 2 or 3 picture to many but this guy he took over 60 and these were the ones he showed us imagine the one that didn’t make the cut.
In a time when angling pressure is increasing and exceeds the supply of fish, catch-and-release fishing is an important means of conserving fish resources. In order for catch-and-release fishing to be an effective management tool, the fish must survive after release.
Angling ethics play an important role in the survival of released fish.
Be gentle, be quick, and when in doubt, think of the fish first!
Jocelin LeBlanc
Quebec North Shore
How is it that this guy is a guide?!? Seriously, I understand that those big fish are hard to handle once you get 'em, but this is just atrocious. Catch and release is meant to keep the fish ALIVE. Please show respect to these amazing creatures!! And personally I think that guy should be fired.
SHAME!!
Now you know why we want to limit non-resident anglers.
I'll say it again.... Education!
You got kids? Show this to them, help them understand the right way to treat wild animals.
You got friends that act this way (we all know a few) Talk it up. Not just a heavy handed C+R bashing, but the reason that it's the right thing to do, that were ALL responsible, that we ALL need to be Stewards of the resource.
During the fight, a fish expends huge amounts of energy, and with it, Oxygen. Similar to a Human running a 100 yard sprint.
With Oxygen levels depleted, the more time spent out of the water ads to the stress.
An Adult fish will take between 2 and 4 hours to recover from a typical landing, and that can depend on water temp, dissolved Oxygen, etc.
Larger fish generally take longer.
It sucks that gene pool was lost.
Beautiful fish....damn shame
typical - the mishandling of fish is unfortunate but labeling it as a resident vs. non-resident issue doesn't belong in the discussion.
Wassup with the English Factor?!
1. Nick English - The guy in this photo
2. "English Pete" the Hoh Fish angler
I think there is a huge difference between these two guys but at the same time this is a good time for all of us to look at ourselves. I am guilty myself of doing hero shots with native steelhead. Even though it was just a sec and not 60+pics, I'm still guilty. We all are.
How about the CHUM NATION? Every single fish selected for the SLAB OF THE YEAR contest where held out of the water. Maybe MOLDY CHUM should change policies on SLAB
photos. Guess what if you did, you'd have hardly any content to post.
THis issue is going to take a long while to change our FLY CULTURE, even those of us who
C&R yet take photos need to step it up ourselves. We're all a bunch of PHUCKIN HYPOCRITES.
Just some feedback YO!
Signed, A Hypocrite
I have looked at those pictures carefully and quite honestly I am disgusted at the way this prime steelhead was manhandled. I guess this fellow was only looking for his own spotlight and never though for one moment that the fish he was holding is very precious in the contribution of making the river what it is today.
Sometime we all get carried away with trophy fish without really thinking of the fish health we will take 2 or 3 picture to many but this guy he took over 60 and these were the ones he showed us imagine the one that didn’t make the cut.
In a time when angling pressure is increasing and exceeds the supply of fish, catch-and-release fishing is an important means of conserving fish resources. In order for catch-and-release fishing to be an effective management tool, the fish must survive after release.
Angling ethics play an important role in the survival of released fish.
Be gentle, be quick, and when in doubt, think of the fish first!
Jocelin LeBlanc
Quebec North Shore
(I copied this because nobody could put it any better. It's well worth another read)
The Rosentiel School of the University of Miami and Bonefish and Tarpon Trust did a study of the economic value of an individual bonefish in the Florida Keys. The original studies said something like $4 grand apiece but last fall they released a statement that each individual bonefish has an economic value to the region of $75,000.
Has anyone broke down the value of an individual wild pacific steelhead that way? Cold hard monetary statistics have a way of turning heads these days.
Can't he just take one picture of the fish and be off, like jeez
he guides for bearclaw lodge on the skeena. i think some letters sent their way would be appropriate.
what a sport! that guy really knows how to fish. . i will bet he's real proud to be on the cover,imagine the notoriety in the steelhead circles who don't know about the other photos.
may that fish haunt you until the end.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Heres a question - would you have objected if the fish was 30" ? So the fish is big, who's to say that at the next bend a big ole grizzly swiped a couple pounds off it??
Question being, would you feel the same if the fish was smaller? And why is size the hinging issue?
Modern camera might take 10 photos per second. But... you can try what he has done to the fish...
beach him, take the tape out, put the fish on the knee, hold it up, biting a rod, take her up again and leave her along..... all those sequential things.... see if you can finish all those steps in one minutes...
Not sure I understand why this is so incredibly hard to stomach? You should see the fish that the natives are aloud to NET and keep for substinance (or resale, however you want to look at it) up in WA. It should be noted that this is one idiot on the water, not a whole tribe straining the river for the best kept secret in North America!!!
Anybody that is defending this guy based on the ability of cameras to take rapid fire needs to actually look at the pictures.
There was nothing rapid shoot about it. The taking of pictures is not the problem. It is the gross negligence in mishandling of a fish by someone who trys to make a living by teaching others. What a TOOL.
This wasnt your local "Cleatus" walking down to the river with a 6 pack of Busch Ice, muck boots and a can of worms.