Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
Yes that river is C&R only, and all Bull Trout must be released province-wide.
I would welcome C&R for all rivers and streams in ES1. The fish population thrives, and you get much bigger fish.
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I can see both sides of that, and part of me supports lower limits in those situations. I know I don't need to be taking home 5 fish in a day, ever--and my worry with catch and release is that the fish may be injured more often than we think. I don't know anything about bull trout (or freshwater fishing in general to be honest) but I do know that the mortality rate for many ocean fish on catch and release situations is way higher than you'd think. That's especially true for bottom fish due to the "fish bends" but it is also true for many salmonids that just aren't as hardy as we think they are.
I haven't fished in fresh water since I was a kid in Iceland, but when I fish in the ocean my view is to stay within your limit, catch only what you intend to eat, and then stop when you reach your limit to avoid injuring more fish.
Like I said, I am completely ignorant when it comes to freshwater trout in that regard--I suspect we agree that the management policies should be designed first and foremost to protect sustainable fish populations in the water.
The other (more hypocritical, I suppose) side of that is that when I go fishing I usually want to eat what I catch.
