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Posts: 100
| After deciding where to fish first when we got on the lake, we started motoring in that general direction. As we aproached the area I saw something white on the surface which appeared to be a musky. So out of curiosity we decided to go up and check it out. Sure enough a dead fish, and a big one at that. 51 1/4 right on the nose.... Now I had heard that a local had boated a 53" fish there the evening before, in the same spot. Could that fish have lost 1 3/4" just over night? When we picked the fish up to measure her, it was obvious that it was just a mis-handled fish. Gills were completely shredded and lots of ripping happend from the looks of things. Not sure if it was the same one or not. Any thoughts? |
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Posts: 336
Location: Lino Lakes, MN | Probably the same fish. Not sure if they can shrink like that in that short of a time though. Its a shame to see any fish floating...especially when they get up to that size. |
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Location: Northern Wisconsin | maybe who ever said they caught a 53 was exaggerating an inch or two. it suckd to hear. |
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Posts: 1168
| Might be tough to do if you don't have the contact numbers handy but this fish could be put to good use. Get ahold of your fisheries biologist and perhaps grab the head off of the fish in order to get the clethrium bone so the fish can be aged. Of course it can be a stinky one and might cause weird issues with a conservation warden if you have a head in your livewell but if you are able to go through the proper channels it can provide some useful information. Probably different thoughts than you were looking for but if something positive and useful can be gained from such a situation then it's a good thing.
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Posts: 384
Location: Eagle River, Alaska | I don't have any problem with someone keeping a legal for a mount....especially that large. BUT if you are going to release the fish and you have done that much damage it is a crime to release it knowing she will almost certainly die. Whoever released the fish should have had taken the time to learn how to properly handle and release a fish of that size. It is really sad to see such a large fish wasted completely.
This reminds me of an incident that happened to me on the upper Missouri river several years ago. After fishing for a few hours on the Missouri using nitecrawlers for which I use a barbless hook and quick strike the fish (maybe 1 out of 15 is hooked deeper than the mouth and very rarely stomach hooked), I was verbally accosted by an elitist California flyfisherman who lambasted my "wormchucking" and the damage to the fish. Personally the fact I had caught many fish and him only 1 fried his fanny....but I just listened to him rant and rave (the last time I tried to argue with these elitists, know it all flyfisherman I got two of tires on my SUV slashed) and went back to my car. As I was getting ready to leave I saw from the bluff I was on this man had tied into a beautiful rainbow trout, one of the largest I've ever seen in that area of the river. He played the fish for nearly 20 minutes then slid her onto the shore, where it took him some 4 or 5 minutes to get the fish released. At that time of the year, midsummer, the water temp was in the high 60's and delayed mortality was extremely high for any rainbows played for more than a few minutes. Plus the length of time on shore certainly doomed this beautiful 5 or 6 lbs trout to death. I'm sure as this man blissfully released this fish he was thinking, "I'm da man!!" His arrogance totally obscuring the fact he was the executioner of this beautiful fish. Yet if he had seen me thump of fish for dinner and take it out he would have gone ballistic.
Point is.....we shouldn't get too judgmental on a fish found like this when we really don't know the story behind it. Yes it is sad to see it belly up, floating in the lake and if it was damaged that much and released, it isn't right.
My two and half centavos,
Brian |
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After the kill?