53" muskie

[Grant Pearson]

I agree with Rebel. He has a very good point. Would a BASS FISHERMAN find it okay if one of us (musky fisherman)caught a bass and threw it back without making sure it was okay, only for it to die later? I know I've caught a few bass while fishing for skies and treat them with the same respect as a ski. I personally have held a 48+ incher for over 20 minutes to make sure she swam off okay. I'm sure if I had given up after only half that time, it would have gone belly up.

[Hooked_on_Salmo_Lures]

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tossed it overboard straightaway with no R&R and started to motor off.

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I'm Not a regular to this site,...but rebele you got my support!!! If you couldn't pick up the sarcasim in that post, god help ya! you got a long rough road ahead of you!! the quote above is tha main issue here!!! Weather your a bass fisheman, or muskie,..or any other kind of fisherman, frankly i don't care!! I at least take the time, No matter what species i catch,...To make sure that animal has the best release i can give it,...Be it a fish, Or a bird!!! Wich is flying a lil off the topic,...Thats my responsibility as a fisherman,...that fish would not need the revival if i hadn't been fishing for it!!! do whats right!!! If you can't give an animal that lil bit of respect,...you have NO buisness pursuing it in the first place!!!! you wouldn't go out hunting, shoot an animal,...and let it suffer a slow and painfull death!!! Those are the ethics i was taught the very first time i went fishing and hunting with my father,...and i am PROUDLY, Passing those same ethics down to my own son!!! This country was built on good ol' fashioned butt woopins,..and its still standing and triveing,...with out guys like rebel, trophy fish like that of ANY spiecies, will only be around in fishing stories we all tell our grandkids!!! And you wanna talk about human life?,..Think about the damage a fish of that size, floating belly up in the water could have done to the unsuspecting water skier, jet skier, tuber, or any one else zipping down the lake,...the odds of that may be remote,..but its just one more reason to step up and take FULL responsibility for what you are doing out there!!!

Thats my two cents,...and my hats off to the fisherMAN that took the time to do the right thing, and to the rest of you guys whos see the importants in taking the time to step up and do the right thing!!

[Grant Pearson]

Very well said!!!

[Rebel9921]

Thank you man!!! You said it even better than I did... I really appreciate it... you definitely got me thinking about few things including how dangerous a big dead fish can be to humans... and about our future generations... I was raised and taught the same way by my grandfather... and I am passing that onto my son too... Thanks again!!!

[MJBo]

First of all I don't think any of you know what the word sarcasm means. His silly comment may have been exaggerated but it wasn't sarcastic.

Second of all people who spend a great deal of time catching muskies (or reading about others catching muskies) have to remember not everyone is aware of how fragile they can be. Cutting slack to someone who is not targeting muskies is entirely appropriate. Threatening them, yelling at them, or berating them is not. Think we should all be able to agree on that. Or should we demand everone sign up for a muskie sensitivity class before they get their fishing lisence?

What you don't know you don't know and it is good policy to give someone the benefit of the doubt and treat them respectfully.

[CaptainMusky]

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What you don't know you don't know and it is good policy to give someone the benefit of the doubt and treat them respectfully.

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The way he described the release of the fish makes it obvious to me they had absolutely no respect for any natural resource. Whether they were a bass angler or not it doesn't matter, you do not release ANY fish as he described PERIOD. Let's just play out a scenario here for a moment. Say they were bass fisherman, they caught this fish accidentally and released it by tossing it into the late with absolutely no regard for the fish's wellfare. Would they have done this to a bass? If he had observed them catching and releasing bass and not practicing the same release practices as they did with the musky I would have been utterly [PoorWordUsage]ed too. To me that would mean they are intentially doing it and are not uneducated as you may want to give them slack for.

Driving away from a released fish since they likely don't have to worry about that with bass doesn't bother me so much as the manner in which they released it by tossing it overboard. They likely wouldn't have even thought about sticking around, but tossing it into the water is just plain common sense. Sorry, I gotta disagree with you on that. BTW, I think there should be a test required for every person to take before getting a fishing license. Fish identification, opening dates, statewide limits, etc should be curriculum. Too many people claim ignorance about the rules, and ignorance is not an excuse. If you cannot pass the test, no license. You have to take a firearms safety or snowmobile safety course, why not a fishing ethics course?

[Grant Pearson]

that's a good point. But, and I'm you you would agree that, if it were any other species, there would still be an outrage. Would you still play a 10 pound walleye for 15-20 minutes and then just throw it back without trying to revive it? Or what if it was a state record bass that you planned on releasing? Just because it isn't the targeted fish doesn't justify not reviving it. What I'm saying is they could have been more respectful towards the fish.