Celebrating 25 Years Of Catch And Release.

[muskiesnpike]

Except for Images Like This~

http://www.thesunnews.net/sports/854-Outdoors_Column_Chautauqua_Lake_a_fishing_haven.html

Some people are still living in the past. Stuck in the time when it was cool to kill a big muskie and hang it on the wall.

So much opportunity is at the fingertips of those who are in the media, those who profess what the present state of our sport is and the general public takes what they print as acceptable for today, "this is A-O.K"... The general public looks up to those who write such columns professionally as voices of authority who speak only of what is the current state of affairs so everything they print must of course be the gospel truth. An image such as this sends the wrong message in 2012. So many have worked so hard for so long to educate the public as the truths of the fragile ecology of the muskellunge is learned more and more. Most of us are well aware that the loss of a fish like that, a 25 year old hen, is a massive blow to the fishery.

What many don't know, perhaps those who feel that because Chautauqua has a "muskie factory" at Prendergast Point just like all the other New York trout "factories" that produce an endless flow of "put-and-take" fishing opportunities is that for the past few years teh DEC has had to revert to setting its Fyke nets on Cassadaga lake to collect breeding stock because Chautauqua had not been producing enough fish to support the hatchery.

The hatchery gives the muskie fishery a helping hand but it is not a factory that can produce muskies out of thin air. Mother Nature is still and always will be the golden goose.

Killing the rarest and most important breeders isn't helping.

Much work lies ahead.

[mostlymuskies]

Yes, the New NY Muskies Inc Chapter 69 has a big task ahead to try and educate the general public and fishermen to total catch & release of Muskies. It Is just senseless to keep Muskies for a skin mount when reproductions are availible with quality workmanship these days.

We will probably never change the mind set of the Amish who eat everything thing they catch.I do not allow muskies to be kept on my charters no matter how big they are.

Capt Larry

[ Post made via Android ]

[NitroMusky]

Yes, we definitely have some education to do... With respect to this particular incident, my initial thought was that an outdoors writer *should* be knowledgeable enough to know of the quality and longevity that repros offer, and the need to let the big girls swim, even in put and take lakes to help maintain the quality of the hatchery's genetic stock.

That said, I know I have rushed to criticize in the past only to find that 'kept' fish were actually just ones that wouldn't revive for various reasons, even after heroic efforts. So I'm not in as big of a rush to judgement as in the past; though the story does suggest this was intentional.

Unfortunately, in NYS waters (and elsewhere) people have a right to keep a 'legal' sized muskie and until we can get the regs changed, there will always be the amish meat hunters and trophy seekers of the world that are too naïve or just don't care. Education is a part of the puzzle, but in my opinion, its the regs that will have the greastest impact.

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

[muskiesnpike]

Sorry about the rant. I'll get off my soapbox now.

[NitroMusky]

Sorry about the rant. I'll get off my soapbox now.

Don't apologize. Education comes in many forms. And if someone doesn't want to take the educational 'carrot', there is always the threat of getting whacked with the public 'stick'. Not sure which this thread is

Either way, Don't underestimate your impact

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

[bailey]

I have never caught or targeted a musky due to it would be another fish to gear up for i hope to one day catch a true trophy in my eyes and it will be photographed and sent to fight another day. As for amish i wish NYSDEC would ticket and fine the heck out of them, example how much meat comes out of a 3 inch sunny. I fish for meat myself but am selective in harvest. The only way to help improve any fisheries is to open your mouth. Hats off hope many jump on your band wagon.

[ Post made via Android ]

[fisherman777]

Except for Images Like This~

http://www.thesunnews.net/sports/854-Outdoors_Column_Chautauqua_Lake_a_fishing_haven.html

Some people are still living in the past. Stuck in the time when it was cool to kill a big muskie and hang it on the wall.

So much opportunity is at the fingertips of those who are in the media, those who profess what the present state of our sport is and the general public takes what they print as acceptable for today, "this is A-O.K"... The general public looks up to those who write such columns professionally as voices of authority who speak only of what is the current state of affairs so everything they print must of course be the gospel truth. An image such as this sends the wrong message in 2012. So many have worked so hard for so long to educate the public as the truths of the fragile ecology of the muskellunge is learned more and more. Most of us are well aware that the loss of a fish like that, a 25 year old hen, is a massive blow to the fishery.

I for one know exactly what happens with the media covering fish catches like this because my dad is the sports/outdoors writer for the D and C. Last year, he wrote a column on a bass fisherman who caught a 45-50" musky in the St. Lawrence and unfortunately killed the fish. I thought that my dad was wrong to write that story and paint the guy as a hero when in fact he was just some idiot too uneducated to see how precious a fish like that is to the fishery. My dad told me he felt it was wrong too but the paper sees big fish stories as a way to sell, no matter what happens to the fish in the end. He got a lot of angry emails after the story ran from a lot of musky anglers and also a lot of emails of people saying how great a fish story that was and that they were going to try to catch a musky now because of it. I think the non-fishing public in general still doesn't completely get catch-and-release the way a majority of anglers do. Most of my relatives at family get-togethers still ask how a fish tasted when they see a picture on my wall and I always have to go through the process of telling them that I let it go. There certainly needs to be more work done educating the general public on catch and release and its benefits, especially with species like the musky.