In our modern existence, some individuals tend to be more closely related to much older traditions of providing sustenance for themselves and their families. When I lived in Juneau, I had a dislike for the practice of "snagging" fish. It just seemed so unsportsmanlike.
You have these huge heavily weighted treble hooks (some jokers call them grey flies) that you are trying to embed in the flesh of the salmon so that you can quickly haul them to shore and dispatch them. There is no subtlety in this method of fishing, there is very little chance that the fish will not be maimed once it is hit. Of course this method is only allowed in terminal fisheries where the fish is going to die anyway.
The place in Juneau where you see this method used most often is near the hatchery. The fish are heading back there because they can smell and remember the water where they were born. These guys are not truly wild fish, but they try and act like their completely wild cousins. They think if they get as close to the fish ladder into the hatchery, they will be able to spawn and have their progeny continue the tradition of salmon migrations and the circle of life. The ones who make it up the fish ladder just get milked for sperm or have their eggs harvested, which is probably about as painful as getting gobbled up by a hungry bear, but at least your kids have a better chance of making it back out to the ocean one day.
Bears are very picky about the fish they eat (when those fish are abundant). They will generally not take the nearly dead spawned out fish, they want the firmer flesh of the ones who have not yet spawned. You often just see most of the carcass lying on the ground, because the bear has taken the tasty morsels and left the rest of the body there to rot and attract flies.
But back to human fishing, "snagging" is very efficient. All the fish are crowded in the area near the entrance to the fish ladder, so at the height of the return, you are assured of getting a fish if you can find a space to cast your line. If you are fishing to feed your family, you want to get your fish as quickly as possible, so you can get back to other pursuits.
Given that I spent my entire childhood living in the suburbs (except the summers which we spent fishing, clamming and sunning ourselves on the beach at my grandparents' house on an island), and my psyche is dominated by some crazy notion that everything must be FAIR, I am drawn to a more relaxed manner of fishing. [The picture above is a lovely brown trout from North Carolina.]
As a kid I spent a lot of time in the row boat with my brother and grandpa jigging for flounder, or at the state pier trying to get a striper (a.k.a. striped bass) but normally ending up with a squawking sea robin, but as an adult with too much disposable income for my own good, I have gotten into fly fishing. There is something very primal about getting in tune with the tides and getting up early in the morning, sometimes even before the sun is up, so that you can be at the mouth of the creek at just the right time to try and entice a beautiful dolly varden to gulp the fly you have provided for their consideration.
I have had some very calming zen like experiences up to my waist in chilly water, rhythmically swaying my rod back and forth in an attempt to get the fly in just the right location to encourage the fish to strike. If they are already at the point where they are no longer eating, you are most likely out of luck, as they will probably only attack the fly if they are annoyed.
That reminds me, I have some mostly dead canadian night crawlers in the fridge that need to get wet later today! You don't always have to get out the fly fishing gear, but you do have to use your resources wisely (and get your fishing license, or my wildlife cop friends will come and find you......)
You have these huge heavily weighted treble hooks (some jokers call them grey flies) that you are trying to embed in the flesh of the salmon so that you can quickly haul them to shore and dispatch them. There is no subtlety in this method of fishing, there is very little chance that the fish will not be maimed once it is hit. Of course this method is only allowed in terminal fisheries where the fish is going to die anyway.
The place in Juneau where you see this method used most often is near the hatchery. The fish are heading back there because they can smell and remember the water where they were born. These guys are not truly wild fish, but they try and act like their completely wild cousins. They think if they get as close to the fish ladder into the hatchery, they will be able to spawn and have their progeny continue the tradition of salmon migrations and the circle of life. The ones who make it up the fish ladder just get milked for sperm or have their eggs harvested, which is probably about as painful as getting gobbled up by a hungry bear, but at least your kids have a better chance of making it back out to the ocean one day.
Bears are very picky about the fish they eat (when those fish are abundant). They will generally not take the nearly dead spawned out fish, they want the firmer flesh of the ones who have not yet spawned. You often just see most of the carcass lying on the ground, because the bear has taken the tasty morsels and left the rest of the body there to rot and attract flies.
But back to human fishing, "snagging" is very efficient. All the fish are crowded in the area near the entrance to the fish ladder, so at the height of the return, you are assured of getting a fish if you can find a space to cast your line. If you are fishing to feed your family, you want to get your fish as quickly as possible, so you can get back to other pursuits.
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| borrowed from http://www.headwatersoutfitters.com/fly-fishing.html |
Given that I spent my entire childhood living in the suburbs (except the summers which we spent fishing, clamming and sunning ourselves on the beach at my grandparents' house on an island), and my psyche is dominated by some crazy notion that everything must be FAIR, I am drawn to a more relaxed manner of fishing. [The picture above is a lovely brown trout from North Carolina.]
As a kid I spent a lot of time in the row boat with my brother and grandpa jigging for flounder, or at the state pier trying to get a striper (a.k.a. striped bass) but normally ending up with a squawking sea robin, but as an adult with too much disposable income for my own good, I have gotten into fly fishing. There is something very primal about getting in tune with the tides and getting up early in the morning, sometimes even before the sun is up, so that you can be at the mouth of the creek at just the right time to try and entice a beautiful dolly varden to gulp the fly you have provided for their consideration.
I have had some very calming zen like experiences up to my waist in chilly water, rhythmically swaying my rod back and forth in an attempt to get the fly in just the right location to encourage the fish to strike. If they are already at the point where they are no longer eating, you are most likely out of luck, as they will probably only attack the fly if they are annoyed.
That reminds me, I have some mostly dead canadian night crawlers in the fridge that need to get wet later today! You don't always have to get out the fly fishing gear, but you do have to use your resources wisely (and get your fishing license, or my wildlife cop friends will come and find you......)
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