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)
Red you wrote
" 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!! "
RED their is a big difference betwenn killing fish for substinance and killing fish for your own glory and letting the fish die off and rut somewhere downriver, At least the natives are eating the fish this guy the only thing he eats is his quest for a COVER shot.
I will write this again hope understand this better this time
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
rot not rut sorry about that
he 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.
In state of steelhead the author makes a similar comparison. Read it, its a great article although it is a little disappointing the way we deplete our resources!
I will be the first to admit that I have done the same thing in the past but that was the past. This is just the logical proggresion of a trophy mentality. We used to kill fish and mount them to show our prowess and inflate our ego. WE are mistaken to think that photgraphy changes the nature of what we are doing . Ultimately the result is the same - egos kill fish!
Having said that: we each have to reach our own sense of what is right at our own pace. This guy is young and he caught the fish of a life time. Certainly he will regret - if he doesn't already- that he didn't handle the situation better. I am glad that the foibles of my youth are not on the interent for all to see and critique.
Dead fish for sure.........................shame!!!
ahh leave him alone you wouldnt do any better, your just jealous, bunch of whiny bitches
Jeepers - I find it worrying that some people think the way this guy treated the fish is acceptable - makes you wonder how these guys release their own fish - with tennis rackets perhaps!
Hero shots? Zero shots is more like it. The whole fly fishing culture has lost its collective mind. When you do everything in your power to turn a hobby/pursuit into an Mountain Dew fueled X-Game event I guess it's to be expected...
Chum's not off the hook on this one either. As noted above, damn near every slab you post is out of the water, and poked as far forward towards the camera as the "victor" can get it. Yeah it's fun and all, but really is that what the sport is all about?
If you really feel the need for validation for conquering a creature with a brain the size of a corn kernel, bonk it, take it home, and feed your family. I honestly have more respect for bait hurlers in that regard -- they don't pretend to be something that they're not.
And jesus, If its destined to be released, and your still in the stage of your fishing evolution that you need proof or an atta-boy take a picture of the fish in the water, revive it properly, and get it on its way as fast as possible.
60 photo's
The best memories are left in the field, not on film.
Fishing is a bloodsport.
You C&R fanatics are a bunch of pussies.....
Agreed, there is nothing rapid about the release of the fish, even with the bust features on the nice cameras. Flopping around in an inch of water, into his hands, out of his hands, back in his hands...maybe 2 minutes? Maybe 3? Maybe 10?
And what irks me the most, more than the mishandling of a pig like this, is the natives being aloud to hunt for subsistence, TO THE DEGREE IS DONE. Could you imagine the potential of the Olympic Penn if there were tighter regulations, or even a removal of the netting all together? And I am pointing fingers when I say this, the natives have done irreversible damage, and at the rate that these natural and hatchery fish are being harvested, the end is in sight. Makes me want to puke.
A lot of good points have been raised on this post about the relative harm being done here. While I acknowledge those worthy issues I don't want to debate them, I'd rather focus on what we're trying to accomplish with catch and release fishing. I'm not against people getting pictures of an amazing fish before release. Far from it in fact. Catching a wild steelhead on the fly is always special, and taking a picture is a much better choice than carting it off to the smoker or mounting it on your wall. But the whole point here is to release the fish unharmed so we get to fish for its progeny. With that in mind, let's give some thought to what a steelhead has to go through to get you that picture.
According to Lani Waller, a steelhead held out of water for 30 seconds will in all likelihood suffer irreversable brain damage. I don't know where he got that figure, but I'm going to assume it came from a reliable source. As a fisheries biologist I believe it. It makes physological sense when you when you consider that fish have certain physiological limits and the state a steelhead is in at the end of a long battle.
Therefore, I propose an amended new rule:
If you really can't resist holding that fish out of the water an extra few seconds for another glamour shot, you should be forced to sprint 400 yards in your waders and then immediately have your head held underwater. How long do you think it would take before you were desperate for air? Do you think you'd last 30 seconds? Now remember that steelhead don't have lungs so they can't hold on to that little extra bit of oxygen in their last breath.
Is an extra picture worth losing the contribution that fish can make to the future of our sport? I think not.
That Lani Waller quote on brain damage is something that all "catch and release" anglers should be made aware of. I think that a lot of people think that if a fish seems to revive well and swims off all is well. This is not the case. I've seen a number of mishandled fish swim off seemingly fine, only to watch them go belly up minutes later.
I would be willing to bet you that the "hero shot" has resulted in far, far more fish casualties than any of us would begin to fathom.
The fact that he released it and didnt eat it is what urks me. All you elitists that are sitting at your laptop eating your processed healthfood and sipping your latte looking out your penthouse window at the beach contemplating what happened to your life need to get out and seriously work for a living. The fact that each of you kills more fish than any single human can consume just to prove yourself is what should be looked at hear. And for the record, we have the same problem with the canadians coming up to Alaska to molest our dinner. (-:
"And what irks me the most, more than the mishandling of a pig like this, is the natives being aloud to hunt for subsistence"
Larry S. Hittem, F#ck you!
What irks me is you pigs being aloud to breed and continue your ways of life. They are disgusting!
I've fished with Nick, and hes an amazing angler, and is more passionate about fishing than anyone I have ever met. Nick would never hurt a fish for a photo-op and I know he did everthing in his power to keep that steelhead safe. Dont talk shit about someone you know nothing about.
Wow. Sorry, Cait, but Nick fucked up on this one. That fish was abused and it's all right here for the world to see.
Cait, Doesn't matter if we know him or not, easy to see from these photos how much he cares about not hurting fish...
Maybe you did not look at the photos?
Nick English is NOT a guide on the Kispiox. If he was guiding on the Kispiox he was doing it ILLEGALLY.
Whoa, fisherman are phuckin' hipocrites...dont tell me all of you think youve never been involved in the killing of a fish. you are all guilty at some point in your "fishing career". and you all think you know everything about fish. especially sleelhead fisherman. (your the purist, i know) im sure by now he wishes he handeled that fish better, huh. good job everyone for pointing out one man's flaw/flaws to the universe, you've all only got a billion more to go, and life is short so get to it!! haha and dont forget, you are in a "battle of the minds" against an unarmed species, so i hope you feel smart, but i feel alot dumber after reading all this crap on here. i spose i understand if its your life and you worship these fish, but i would have like to thrown that bitch in the freezer myself, mmm fish... love those slimey bastards