This drives me nuts, the vast majority of people I see posting in Facebook groups either have no clue how bad that is for the fish or simply don’t care.

It doesn’t bother me, none of my business 

Does not bother me either. What bothers me more is people leaving trash behind etc that that negative impacts on fisheries etc. 

Yes, but I'm not Karen enough to lecture people on it.

I cringe - but saying something usually ends up in an argument, whether it's online or in person.

 

12 minutes ago, InfantryMP said:

What bothers me more is people leaving trash behind etc that that negative impacts on fisheries etc.

Can't tell you how many times I've picked up massive balls of tangled line, empty plastics bags and other junk right on the bank of one of my shore spots...and there's a trash can not more than 10' away.

People who leave tangled line behind are as low as it gets.    It's almost a certainty seemingly that the line will end up on some animal, especially Ducks, Geese, and Swans.    

 

My fishing mentor had his arm broken trying to get fishing line off a swan's wing.

i've been guilty of the 45deg thing.  i know better now.

 

it bothers me, but i am pretty silent about it.  

1 minute ago, Darth-Baiter said:

i've been guilty of the 45deg thing.  i know better now.

 

it bothers me, but i am pretty silent about it.  

I'm willing to bet everyone who replies to this thread is guilty of mishandling Bass at one time, most being when they were kids, or first starting out.

 

I know I'm not immune, I remember trying to drag a nice 5-6lb Bass behind the boat on a stringer to get a pic as a boy, and when I got to the dock, the fish was dead, I drown it? 

 

I don't think the 45 degree thing matters on dinks.   I've heard it's bad to hold really big Bass vertically for a pic for that matter, and I still snap pics of 5lb+ fish vertically because it's just me, and not into selfies.    Might have to change that policy the more I learn on this specific aspect of handling Bass.  

I say all that because I think we all are still learning the best way to ensure we release the fish in the healthiest manner possible.   It's a really big priority for me the older I get.  

No

30 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I'm willing to bet everyone who replies to this thread is guilty of mishandling Bass at one time, most being when they were kids, or first starting out.

 

I know I'm not immune, I remember trying to drag a nice 5-6lb Bass behind the boat on a stringer to get a pic as a boy, and when I got to the dock, the fish was dead, I drown it? 

 

I don't think the 45 degree thing matters on dinks.   I've heard it's bad to hold really big Bass vertically for a pic for that matter, and I still snap pics of 5lb+ fish vertically because it's just me, and not into selfies.    Might have to change that policy the more I learn on this specific aspect of handling Bass.  

I say all that because I think we all are still learning the best way to ensure we release the fish in the healthiest manner possible.   It's a really big priority for me the older I get.  

yup.  most of my fish pics are stop action images from my goPro.  i catch a lot of fish in mid lift, where they may be at a steep angle.  haha..  but i catch mostly dinks. 

It does. If it's someone I have enough of a rapport with, I'll try to educate them on the 45* thing, but otherwise I usually don't say much. Like others have said, it invariably turns into an argument. 

 

 As for the trash left behind, you could be a total stranger and I'll say something about that. 

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

It doesn’t bother me, none of my business 

It doesn’t bother you when people abuse and potentially kill fish and damage your fishery?

On 9/26/2022 at 1:30 PM, Ohioguy25 said:

It doesn’t bother you when people abuse and potentially kill fish and damage your fishery?

Nah, I fry fish all the time. I don’t want anyone abusing the fish or anything, but killing a few fish doesn’t damage any of my fisheries 

 

what I have experienced more often is nosy people telling other people they can’t keep legal fish and that they are holding them all wrong. I had a buddy that was wading carry a smallmouth that he was going to release over to his backpack to measure it. A guide hollered at him that he can’t keep that fish. He wasn’t going to keep it anyhow, but it was 18” and he legally could have. He was also mad he was walking around with it, classic case of someone not minding their own business. My buddy now has an aversion to fishing guides because of that experience

It doesn’t bother me either and I think it’s way overblown on forums. 

Reason is, I’ve fish year round plus 3 of the hottest summers in a row and have lost ZERO fish in my live well (besides one that was tongue hooked and she was delicious). Probably 50% of those fish were boat flipped, touched carpet, and out of the water upwards of 30 seconds or more for unhooking and pictures.  They all swam away fine at the end of the day. So I think it’s blown way out of proportion. 

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

My fishing mentor had his arm broken trying to get fishing line off a swan's wing.

 

This story sounds like something that deserves a thread of it's own. 

Nahh! ?

 

5 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

 

This story sounds like something that deserves a thread of it's own. 

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

It doesn’t bother me, none of my business 

It does bother me, none of my business.

1 hour ago, Ohioguy25 said:

It doesn’t bother you when people abuse and potentially kill fish and damage your fishery?

Go ask peta people what they think about you abusing fish, no matter how you hold the thing, for the sport of it.

 

1 hour ago, fishballer06 said:

 

This story sounds like something that deserves a thread of it's own. 

I've been around Swans my whole life, and I can say without a doubt they are the biggest you know what's in the animal kingdom.   

 

At least my mentor lived Mute Swan Attacks and Kills Man on Kayak in Chicago Pond | Field & Stream (fieldandstream.com)

3 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

.    

 

My fishing mentor had his arm broken trying to get fishing line off a swan's wing.

Swans are the worst. One jumped in my boat, winged my brother and broke one of his rods. They’ll circle your boat like vultures. Nasty critters.

If it bothers you consider joining PETA where you can find many like minded people who will sympathize with your concerns.

I usually don't care unless the fish is battered in dirt like it's about to be deep fried. Even then I'm not a confrontational person. Instead of bashing people I try to promote better fish handling. ? 

I’m probably guilty of it myself every once in a while. Would not bother me if someone reminded me not to do it either. I try to unhook and handle them properly so they can be released in a quick fashion.

As for people leaving trash while i am standing close by observing them my answer is no, I will not confront them and risk getting my tires slashed or other damage done because i ticked off some jagoffs.

 

Would i pick up their trash? Only if there is a trash can within reasonable walking distance and its in the immedite area i am fishing from which wife and i have done before.

 

As for handling fish i can do better especially with catch and release of big muskies that i have been catching recently. I will no longer hold them vertical and feel bad that i did so.

I want these muskie to survive and grow to their full potential for others to catch, probably their only predator when they get big is us fisherman.