We catch what we eat and I feel better about knowing where the fish lived and how he ate. I never eat pond raised fish. As far as fishing being boring? Never. If there is a lull between catches, I am still enjoying being on the boat and lovely time with DH.

There were 2 BIG groupers @ a dive site in Little Cayman. They followed divers around like puppy dogs. They wanted to be petted.....groomed in their language. :0) One is now missing, thought to be someones dinner. He's missed by the people that knew him. So I get what your saying......

I've gone fishing in streams a number of times with friends, also off piers. We have salmon fishing in my area - I've done that a few times. That I found considerably more interesting than the fresh water variety and I enjoy being out on the ocean in a boat. But it was still hours and hours (I don't remember, maybe it was 8 or more) and while I came home with a salmon, many on the boat didn't and it wasn't worth either the time or the cost, to me. I can buy the same salmon in a store for the same end result. To each their own, it's just too slow an activity to suit me.

I don't think I'd mind fishing, if I could skip the whole bait, hook, catch business. But to sit by a stream or float in a boat with a stick and a string hanging in the water as a reason to be enjoying mother nature and away from the hubbub would suit me just fine.

Then don't watch cooking documentaries from China. I swear they are still flopping about while having their innards ripped out or even as they are being eaten. :( Not to mention the frogs..... double :( :(

Good for you! Of course living creatures feel pain. Denial and rationalization do not change reality.

I understand fishing for something to eat but I never understood catch and release for recreation.

Salmon fishing in Ohio enables us to catch a limit (5) in a couple hours.

Lake Erie is well known for Coho and Chinook salmon, averaging 5 to 8 pounds. We fish the Huron river and whatever we catch, we give away. Some guys consider us rookies because we use a fly and float method using a spinning rod. But after reaching our limit soon after arrival, they're asking questions.

I'd rather fish for bass than salmon. Salmon are very easy to catch with a dry or wet fly, whereas large (older/wary) bass require some finesse unless you find a starving one that will strike anything.

I guess if you aren't very good at fishing you might get bored. ;P Once you learn the habits and conditions under which fish bite, you can do pretty good at it. I personally just enjoy the chance to sit outside and enjoy nature with nothing else to do. I rarely have that opportunity anymore.

I think I must have been given a bad piece of fish when I was a kid because I don't really like it. I'm trying to get back into eating it because it is healthier. I don't feel bad about it because our food has to come from some place.

I eat salmon regularly, but nothing else. Good, quality salmon is easier to find. I refuse to eat any fish imported from the Pacific rim.

Grew up around a lot of lakes and my dad had a row boat with a trolling motor that we took fishing quite often. Always ate the catch! I wasn't as interested in fishing as just being out on the water on a warm summer day or evening. My brothers were more into the fishing. In the winter my dad had a ice shanty on one of the lakes and it was like a little village out there...good memories. I think alot of kids would benefit from fishing and being out in nature rather than being inside playing computer games all day.

Does anyone remember when medical researchers told us that babies don't feel pain? I never went along with that.

I don't fish for that very reason. Ripping a hook out of a fish's mouth is cruel.

Years ago, a friend wanted to buy some of my red wrigglers that I used for composting. He said they make a great fishing worm. When I asked him why he said, "They're lively on the hook." I looked at him and said "Wouldn't YOU be?" I didn't sell him any.

Responsible fishermen don't rip a hook out of a fish's mouth. Most fishermen that I know use circle hooks with no barbs and inline hooks instead of treble hooks on lures. So if that's your only reason for not fishing, learn how to fish responsibly and you can enjoy it.

I seldom use live bait because it's messy and hard to store. I leave the wigglers for the robins and ground moles.

My mother was a huge fan of fishing. She had a camp at Raystown lake Pa. along with a beautiful boat, a Skeeter. and was featured in a few fishing mags years ago. I don't fish...no patience. My adult sons love to fish and are getting ready for the big day. Both my grands went once last year...they had fun but both said they wouldn't want to do it often but they are young and would rather be up and moving. My husband doesn't fish he could never sit still long enough.

It's funny how so many think fishing requires sitting still. I don't take a seat because I'm walking the shoreline the entire time, casting and retrieving a particular lure for time of day, temp, sunny or overcast, what bait fish are they big ones eating, etc.

I guess I'm an active fisherman.

Fishing can very much be a mental exercise. Ideally, one should understand the habits of the fish species that is being sought. Then one can seek out the proper habitat, use the proper baits (or lures), and use the best technique for whatever you are fishing for.

One should also know the topography of the lake bottom, the depth of the water, and location of any natural or artificial reefs, logs, boulders, etc., that create habitat for different kinds of fish.

Successful fishing is not a sedentary, mindless activity by any means, unless that is the desire of the fisherperson or....unless the person is unskilled and uninformed. It is an active leisure activity for those who are inclined to devote some time to educating themselves.

Robert is the serious fisher person in our family. He uses all different kinds of lures but may net a dozen or so minnows at the landing, most of which are released after having been on a ride around the lake in a minnow bucket, lol.

Catch and release is a very important practice, but does NOT entail ripping a hook out of a fish! Even those of us who fish to eat (as opposed to fish and release) must return fish that do not meet a legal size criteria or that exceed the limit of a certain species. Those fish should not be injured during the process....that would be negating the whole reason for the release rules.....protection of the species!

Brushworks. Have you ever heard of any type of fishing where mice would make good lures? Dead frozen mice.

Eta to say bait..not lures

In this area most lakes do not have open shorelines so unless you have a boat you are fishing if lucky from shrubs and saplings that are waist high or higher. Walking along the shoreline or even in the water subject to stepping into where the various creatures have dug into the banks would make for an interesting and probably itchy couple of weeks especially since some of those shrubs are either berries with thorns or poison ivy. I would rather sit with my book and coffee.

We live on a bayou, and I used to feed the fish here. Then my husband let someone come down here and fish, so I stopped feeding them. She almost never caught anything. We probably had the place for 15 years before he ever fished here, and sometimes....rarely....he does. I don't particularly like trout and that is what he usually catches. I also don't like saltwater fish, except flounder and red snapper, and he doesn't catch red snapper. I don't like salmon or swordfish or tuna.

A lot of catfish are farm raised here....especially in this county...and I do like catfish, if they are fileted right. I also like bass and crappie, and though you can catch bass in the bayou, if it is particularly fresh, usually not.

Fishing just doesn't appeal to me. I just have no interest in it.

Of course fish can feel pain. To think otherwise is to try to avoid feeling guilt for injuring and killing them. I have no interest in personally killing fish, so fishing for the purpose of keeping and eating the fish holds zero interest for me. And the idea of catching fish with a plan of then simply letting them go makes even less sense to me. It seems an attempt to prove your superiority over smaller, less evolved creatures. Since the goal is to end up with no fish, and since you start with no fish, why not simply declare "mission accomplished" at the beginning and save all that time.

I once went on a week-long fishing trip to a cabin in Canada on an island on the French River which empties into Lake Huron. Instead of bringing my cheap Kmart-special full-sized fishing rod, I merely brought a "Pocket Fisherman" and tried fishing with the other guys on the trip. However when the nut that held the winder-handle came off, and the nut and the handle came off during a cast, and flew through the air, and plopped into the water, I wasn't too upset.

I don't fish lakes. Lakes are for boaters, mostly recreational boaters. I prefer sparsely populated spots. I fish streams, ponds and reservoirs. Plenty of shoreline. Miles of it, and no watercraft.

For those who worry about fish feeling pain, removing a hook is much less painful than the fish you order at the market or restaurant. Those fish died of suffocation, in a heap of other dying fish in a net.

Mama, predatory fish will strike and eat anything, including mice and small ducks, snakes,birds, small dogs and cats, etc.

Mouse

I'm thinking that a lot of people, as they begin to get older, go through some sort of change, maybe more respect for any living creature? I've noticed this change in my husband as well. The cats at his workplace and the mother cat and kittens that he brought home. Having to stand up for the little birdies that like to pick through, and pluck out, the tiny rooting plants at same workplace.

Anyway, I've been sick with some sort of virus but have been reading the posts. Just can't seem to put two thoughts together for much more of a reply. :)

Warm weather will soon be here and I'm itching to get out on the boat once again. I feel like I'll be ready for some flounder fishing... my freezer is getting low!

Moonie, I can relate. I grew up fishing with my dad in salt water, and later fishing with my DH in freshwater. Sometimes I would fish by myself alongside streams. I stopped the day I cast my line and hooked the fabric of my baby's backpack!

But at some point after that I gave serious thought to our kinship with all life, and that was the permanent end to my fishing. My fly-fishing cousins do the catch and release thing, but I can't see torturing the fish just to have that little moment of triumph.

How does your kinship with all life affect your meal planning? What do you eat?

Somehow I expected that question from you, Brushworks. Based on your previous post, I'm guessing you want me to say I eat meat and fish so you can point out the hypocrisy of my actions.

My husband and I owned a commercial tofu and tempeh manufacturing company when our kids were growing up, and we became vegetarians at that time. Two of my kids stayed vegetarians. All of us actively support animal welfare issues, and all of our companion animals are rescues.

But my health suffered after a long period on a vegetarian diet, and I reluctantly concluded that I do better on lean animal protein. I'm not happy about it, but it's something I've had to accept. I've become intolerant of so many foods, for different reasons, my diet has become rather limited. I tell my kids I hope they remember when their mother cooked (and ate!) everything.

Brushworks, I don't think your snarky comment was necessary. There are plenty of people who don't eat animal flesh and also very many who don't eat any animal products at all, you surely are aware of that. The reasons are individual, varied and don't matter because I don't think personal eating choices are anyone else's business nor a basis for criticism.

I eat meat but mostly fish. Yes, there can be by-catch in commercial fishing and I hope reasonable steps are taken to minimize the effect. For raised animals, I hope they're treated with dignity through their lives and slaughtered humanely but it isn't a matter of emotional concern for me. As for the details, I don't want to know (which I don't think is hypocritical) nor to I want to witness animal killing or suffering personally. I don't do anything in my own life to cause animals suffering.

Some suggested fishing was unkind and I think you're being defensive. I don't feel strongly about that allegation but calling it boring is more than enough to satisfy me.

Moonie, enjoy the flounder catch.

I like Annie's post way up-thread: We didn't create mother nature, and until we learn to eat rocks, there's nothing we eat that doesn't have to die first.

And, like Alisande, I *do* feel a kinship with all life.

To me, that means eat and enjoy but don't waste. And, to the extent your circumstances permit (time and money is not unlimited for 99% of us), know where your food comes from, how it grows, and how it is killed or harvested.

Responsible fishermen (fisherpersons? sounds too weird!) and hunters are a boon to mother nature. I've never hunted but used to fish as a kid. Many fond memories of summers on a lake in Wisconsin. (Townsend Flowage, if Jemdandy or anyone knows it.)

Besides...if we arnt going to kill or eat that which was killed where does that leave veggies? Arnt plants living? Haha.

I'm not picking on anyone. Just saying I agree with the rock eating if we choose not to eat that which once lived.

As a vegetarian for 18 years, I'm not so much about the death of animals but rather how they are treated. I respect hunters who make clean, quick kills and eat the animal. I respect farmers who raise animals kindly and kill them quickly and humanely.

I don't respect conventional meat raising and slaughter, and I believe that buying grocery store meat (with some exceptions) supports that.

People who buy the products are supporting the industry and these inhumane practices. It's just a fact, and pretending otherwise is silly. If there are budgetary reasons why one can't buy the humane meat, then there are alternative, plant-based sources that are very cheap. It's a conscious choice people make.

I won't spend my money supporting bad treatment of animals, so I pick alternate nutrition. The few animal products I use, such as eggs and dairy, are as humane as possible and I pay a lot for it because I want to support those farmers.

I admittedly do judge people who eat factory farmed meat, including my own husband. I had to bite my tongue when my MIL ordered veal in a restaurant.

Sometimes I wish we required people to kill their own meat. I think people would be far more thoughtful about how we treat and use animals, and there wouldn't be a way to "not know" about it. It drives me nuts that people choose willful ignorance and prefer to not think about how their food ended up on their plate.

Oh good grief. It is not only entirely possible to survive on a plant-based diet, it is actually healthier, and people have done it for thousands of years. If you eat a corn product and a legume product, you will have your full intake of all the amino acids, so arguing that something has to be slaughtered in order for you to live is nonsense. As those kids in Florida to say I call BS. Same call regarding treating something with compassion and dignity if you are slaughtering it, dismembering it, and eating it.

Sylvia Gordon I was tested for food allergies and had strong reactions to corn. As a person who has to take thyroid to even stay awake your advice is just not correct for many who can not eat your suggested diet. Ever eat raw liver? I lived on it when I was a child for health reasons that have sort of cleared but still flare occasionally. The yeast that you are about to suggest will make my eyes swell shut if eaten in more than a very small quantity. Please stop with the any and everybody can eat a vegetarian diet.

If push came to shove, I'd lean on the side of catch and eat vs catch and release. I don't like the idea (and witnessed) of fish with their mouths torn out, trying to survive. They are more likely to die, starved because they can't appropriately eat. Catch and release, in my opinion, is a warped attempt to be humane, which backfires and is, in fact, inhumane.

maifleur, has a medical doctor told you you cannot eat a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian diet?

I am surprised that no one has mentioned how lobsters are dropped ALIVE into boiling water...... I am not a big seafood lover but I do like fish.

Yes, Elmer. It would be hard to receive the necessary protein when I am not supposed to eat corn, legumes of all types, potatoes, and rice, For some reason my allergy tests did not find that I was allergic to wheat or other nuts. I can eat small amounts of them now but at one time they caused joints to ache and swell and the rice and corn made for major headaches. My current doctor wants me to eat a wider range of foods including more vegetables but for one finding a wide array of veggies small enough without eating the same thing every day is hard. Although it is not an allergy I have to limit the amount of lettuces of various types that I eat because they cause GERD.

I am not alone with being allergic to corn but like rice it is in almost everything that is a processed food or is used to prevent caking. In case you and others did not know a diet high in carbohydrates will increase your triglyceride level which in turn will raise your overall cholesterol.

You kind of shifted gears. Dealing with GERD and foods that can be tolerated is a different matter, very different from the normal vegetarian/non vegetarian conversation. GI problems are their own issue without regard to this topic, really not relevent.

Most people can thrive on a vegetarian diet and many will find themselves to be healthier on a vegetarian or low-"meat" diet. Yes, lack of attention to managing a balance can lead many vegetarians to eating too many carbs and that's an unhealthy practice. The same is true for non-vegetarians too.

People forget that in the wild almost everything that dies is eaten by something. Having seen the ribs on some of the deer in my neighborhood before there were several years of managed bow hunta I knew it was necessary but I still hated it. A friend back east on LI posts that a couple of years ago the conservation department did surveys and in some areas there were supposedly over 100 deer in a mile. Having seen a herd of about 20 young bucks there may have been 100 in the woods across from my house. For the first couple of years none of the deer that were shot were allowed to be eaten because the first ones that were tested had too many diseases, luckily not CWD. I do miss seeing them but the ones I do see are healthy and larger than the ones that were here 10 years ago when the hunts started. They did not post the area this year but I have also not seen any deer tracks.

Elrmer did you miss the part about protein? In case you also did not know all fruits and vegetables are considered to be carbohydrates.

Edited to add B12 is hard to have enough of as you age even more so on a vegetarian diet if you can not use yeast.

Stop with the the anybody and everybody? I don't think that when anybody, myself included, says people, that it implies anybody and everybody without exception. However, here you go: "With exceptions for people who have extraordinary metabolic or allergy problems, almost anybody and almost everybody can thrive on a vegetarian diet."

Thank you Sylvia Gordon. That statement should always accompany blanket statements about what people should eat or do.

Eggs, dairy and tofu are all good sources of vegetarian protein, with few to no carbs. Eggs and dairy contain b12.

If you subtract "people who have extraordinary metabolic or allergy problems," plus "those with digestive system problems" from the total population, what you're left with is "most people'. In case you didn't know, maifleur, the things and the surroundings you've seen, learned and experienced that you think are common for others are not necessarily all there is to know nor necessarily comparable to what others see and experience.

While you are at it muse upon this awhile. The Iñupiat, Inuit, and the Yupik ate precious little vegetable matter of any sort and survived just fine for 14-20 thousand years.

Elmer everyone is allergic to some thing. Many older people can no longer digest certain foods. So your "not common to others" is just you just do not listen or watch what other people are doing. You live in a bubble.

My objection to Sylvia's post was her contention that people should all eat a vegetarian diet and use corn and legumes as the protein. Which is very dangerous for some. Peanuts by the way is a legume. I have known several people that have been vegetarians of various types from those that only eat nuts and grains to ovo lacto ones. There are many ways to obtain what is needed for your body just not the one that Sylvia wants people to use.

I dont think she said that everyone should eat a vegetarian diet and eat corn and legumes. She was pointing out that it's perfectly healthy to eat vegetarian and get everything you need, which is true. And that no one needs meat to live, which is also true.

You choose to eat meat, because you are limited in what you can eat. You could still eat vegetarian if you wanted to, even if it might be more difficult. It's still a choice.

I am surprised that no one has mentioned how lobsters are dropped ALIVE
into boiling water...... I am not a big seafood lover but I do like
fish.

Yes, but remember, it's not hypocritical if they don't see it or hear it.

I have never been fishing and I don’t eat fish. There is a big bass fishing tournament here this weekend. The top prize is 300000 dollars. That’s insane!

The top prize is 300000 dollars. OMG that is insane.

On second thought......sign me up.