Former Sports Fisherman, Steve Cope is sure to raise the hair on some of your necks as he takes a position against the fishing paradigm known as "CATCH AND RELEASE"..........Steve sees it this way: "To me, fishing is synonymous with wilderness"............. "Looking back on my many years as a sport angler, it's clear to me that it wasn't so much fish that I was after, it was nature —raw, untapped nature".............. "Exploring the unknown"............ "Getting away from the world of people"........... "I still spend lots of time in the woods as a hiker, an explorer, a bird watcher, a tree geek, a forest farmer, and I still hike the trout streams"........... "Walking up a brook trout stream in October during the spawn is an awesome experience"............... "There are few things in life more relaxing or enjoyable than sitting along a creek and watching trout, seeing them not as trophies, but as individuals — living, breathing creatures worthy of equal consideration".........."Many fisherman, namely the catch and release crowd , like to preach ethics on how to properly and respectfully handle a fish once it has been landed".............."This, of course, comes after they have hooked it and fought it , "played it” in angler-speak, to exhaustion--in what has to be a terrifying experience for the fish"..............."The hypocrisy is stunning"..................“No question that a hobby a day keeps the doldrums away."............ "But when that hobby involves cruelty, it's time to rethink what you're doing"

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http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/catch_and_release_is_no_fun_for_the_fish/

Catch and Release

 Is No Fun for the Fish

by Steve Cope May 10, 2018

A once-impassioned angler rethinks 

his relationship with sport fishing

Photo by smuzz / FlickrMost fishermen and fisherwomen truly care about fish and the habitats in which they live. 

But sports fishing inflicts pain on the fish who are caught.