To Kill or not to Kill .....That is the question .

[Billo]

After reading so many different posts on keeping or Releasing fish , i thought for a change rather then hearing which you think is the right way to deal with each species ...we should know WHY you come to that conclusion . So many heated arguments come out of this topic, understanding each others thoughts could go a long way to helping others understand ( and maybe even convince a few more fisho's to release )

For example , in my younger years if someone had spoken about releasing monster flathead , i would call them crazy .
Same goes for almost every species under the sun actually.
I have found as i have done battle for each species one at a time and reached the goals of so called 'trophy fish ', i have found a respect for that animal , and the craze for hunting one down and killing it vanishes and i am then more into understanding the fish, and to understand doesn't require the Kill . To catch based on the theories you put together and learnt is enough to satisfy my needs of understanding and my enjoyment of targetting that fish.

So when i see younger people talk about targetting marlin and sharks to kill , i can understand their urges ...whilst i don't condone it , i can't exactly give them a blasting as i once was in that frame of mind myself ...i can only hope i can convince them through understanding it is better to see them swim away

To Keep
What else can i say ...but for all the right reasons ...YUM YUM YUM YUM
Bottom bashing - Snapper / Pearlies
Blue water - Spanish / Wahoo / Dolphinfish / Yellowfin / Cobia
Bay - Spotties / Squire
Rivers - Whiting / Cod / Crabs / Prawns

To Release ..........
Sharks - Shit to eat ....( some smaller species can be ok , but lets face it .....still pretty average stuff )
Billfish -Hell of a lot of fun !! BUT targetted hard and i don't want to see them wiped out . Not exceptional feed, way to much for any sitting, freezing any meat sucks !
Tuna ( bluefin / mack / stripey ) - SHITE flesh ...too much blood .
Bream - Not a huge fan of their eating quality
Flathead - Again , not a huge fan of their eating quality

I am sure EVERYONE has a different scope .( for instance i know some people who think bream and flathead are the bomb in a pan )...so why not share with us your Kill or NOT TO KILL lists and a little reason why ....( and any fine recipe's you have that could change my mind on the release list !!!!!! )

[bugman]

Billo,

If I want to eat it - I have to kill it - simple.

If I want to catch something else that I want to eat - I may have to kill another fish to use as bait.

These are the only things that I kill. I do eat a lot though.

Bugman

[squidgiepalmer]

Dame good question i keep a few but nothing big targeted fish flathead and bream like you said bream to me are mother inlaw fish so keep very little but do they fight on light gear only use SP or hard body lures flathead i love to eat but only keep fish between 38 and 50cm all over that go back unless injured they are the breeders, hate it when people nail flathead heads to trees as ( i came i saw i conqured) only makes other people do the same we have to send these big fish back they are the future, when blackfishing i keep very few go back unless i am teaching someone then i release it has been proved that snapper can be caught weigh-in and released this should be the way to go for comps saves a major kill which does happen at most competitions but with saying that with comps if you spend heaps to get there you shpuld be entitled to take some home.
cheers squidgie palmer

[mini696]

As an addition to this topic... How about the theory that since people release fish like Grinners, Catfish, and rays they are dominate in the system and cause an overbalance of the "bad" species. What are your reaction to a statement like that?


As for "To kill or not to kill" I will take a legal fish if I want a feed, other than that I try to release as much as I can.

Problems that arise with this is trying to release damaged or unhealthy fish. Also removing the hooks from a small or delicate fish.

The species of fish I'll keep a feed from is almost endless, but your typical reef species like Reds, Trout, etc. I wont keep Marlin etc (not that I have ever caught one), I wont keep ferals but I may use them for bait in the pots if I am short.

And bait of course.

I live by the theory that in a complex society like ours I cant know everything, so if the "experts" (cough cough) say I can do something, and (in their expert opinion) if I work within their rules I am fishing sustainably (sic), then thats all cool. I would like to be ignorant and do everything I want... But thats "socially" unacceptable.

Mick

[dasher]

Hmm things have certainly changed over the last 50 or so years. No more filling fruit boxes with flatties, no more killing a fish because you didn’t like it, no more cutting up anything small just to use as burley and yes it is for the betterment of our fisheries. I have been through it all and I am still learning. It was only recently I was told to pierce the swim bladder of a fish dragged from the depths and they won’t swim around in circles around the boat. I have a hell of a time working out centimeters (yeah OK piss off I’m not young OK) We got a Spaniard the other side of the 6 mile (top of Fraser) and was told by a charter boat op it would be OK. I’ve been taught to take a sliver off the shoulder of the fish and place it under the tongue and see if there is any reaction. Unfortunately the fish was killed and when tested later was found to be a bit suss, so now this beautiful fish is destined for the crab pots (bloody sad). Another incident on that trip was the capture of good trigger fish which were destined for the BBQ. When unloading we were advised they were toxic and not knowing if true or not they were to become food for the marina fish. Since then we have been unable to find any relationship to toxicity by trigger fish.
It seems education is still not a priority and although Sunfish have a go with the kids, it’s more just tackle and regs. I’ve probably got off track a bit here but I reckon a lot of fish is brought in and then discarded because of ignorance.

[Billo]

Mick , There is ALWAYS exceptions .

I killed my first marlin this summer , after 20 minutes of swimming it, i couldn't get a kick .
The feeling i had was terrible ...i really wanted to see it swim .. and i keep thinking back to ' maybe if i ...... '
I cut it up into 2 killo slabs and delivered it to every Tom dick and Harry !
Atleast i know that it got dispersed and eaten without going to waste.
I will make every effort to see a billy released ...mainly cause it is a lot of effort to see it is not wasted . ..but a sustainable billfish population is definately a bigger want FOR ME then a photo .

bait ...no drama's ....although i don't really bother now , i mostly lure fish or live bait .

As for vermon and the unbalances ....interesting topic !
again , i don't do much bait fishing at all ....so would hardly catch any ' vermon ' or if i do bottom bash in the bay for snaps , would normally say it is grinners on large hooks and they don't last long when i try taking them off the hook .....vicious little critters...just hang themselves don't they !!!!
But it would be good to see others' responses .


Bugman - Kill for feed ...NOTHING wrong with that . A mans gotta eat . If a man likes fish , then he must catch and kill a fish !!!
Squidgy - yep , would be good if more comps could head towards quality fish , not quantity . C&R higher points rulings could help .
I see a lot of comps are heading that way ....a lot more to go ! and as i said , every man is entitled to a feed

[Dug]

Kill them all I say all fish are evil eeeevvviiillll

Dam you fish eaters!

I shoot small furry feral animals too.

[Billo]

Not of track at all Dasher ....those are the same feelings that prompt me to wack this post up .

little things like knowledge of toxins and good eating / bad eating fish ....and releasing techniques ...simple things could keep more fish in the water

[basserman]

well i have no problems with killing a fish for a feed no matter what type it is however like many others on this site i have my own set of bag and size limmits as i see the goverment ones too easy
i only keep the maount of fish that i can eat in one or two days and don't freeze fish but i live only a few minutes from the water so it is easy for me to get some fresh fish when i want
as for some of them prize fish well i have no problems with someone keeping a marlin but not keeping one everytime just once offs Flatties i will only keep from 40-50cm and bream over 35cm and snapper anything over 45cm but nothing over about 5kg to me i would love to see size and bag limmits come together australia wide (like SE Queensland and northen NSW haveing more comon size and bags) and alot more slot sizes

[Boxhead]

I don't understand why people go fishing and then get upset or feel bad when they kill a fish....... ??? eg: Marlin.... Everybody caries on about protecting them for the future and good of the sport, blah, blah, blah......

Fact is this - If you don't want to hurt or kill them then don't bury a 10/0 hook in their guts and drag them in against their will, give em a rub on the nose, cut the line, and send them off to shortly become shark shit....

Fishing is a blood sport, always will be......

Take only what you need, enjoy the experiance, and forget about the politics...

Nath...

[Volvo]

You aint gunna eat it, dont kill it , if its gut hooked then maybe you can use it for bait, if you need bait that is ..
We normally cut Husser for bait if in need of bait, otherwise let go...
Cheers

[jeffo]

top thread billo. no point me voicing my thoughts because id just be repeating EXACTLY what you have said. unless it is a super table fish (the fish you have mentioned) or super bait fish (gar) then they get released.

[squidgiepalmer]

this is one hell of a good question i am looking forward to all the replys that come over the next few days and yes boxhead it is a blood sport but we don't have to be like the gladiators and kill or as you said take wat you need and enjoy the experiance,but unfortunatly politics has come into it and the pollies think they know all from there office in canberra thats why we are losing so much fishing area but thats another story
cheers squidgie palmer

[Angla]

great thread,
About 6 years ago I caught a 900mm long flathead and it was absolutely fantastic to eat and two of the neighbours loved their feeds aswell. The best flathead I've ever tasted by far. I would have released it back except for the fact it was a first.
I'm currently after a big red or emperor as a personal challenge and will keep it if it is legal size and then I may target another species. I must say I am in no way interested in targetting a bill fish. Can't wait for a big cobia as well.
Last trip out we caught and released over 20 red emperor that were all under size but we were rapt to have caught and released all those fish. kept 1 x small shark and 1 x sweetlip for the trip

[blaze]

I eat a lot of fish but I do prefer them to be smaller, always legal though. I also do a bit of tagging of flathead, salmon and gummy shark (if its a 1000mm it goes to the freezer), a few locals are tagging some snapper. I would think in my local area that most people catch fish to eat but dont go over board on the captures.
State regs are we are only allowed 45 combined #scalefish and 2 shark. With in that 45 total there is a posseson limmit on most species like 15 flathead (no max size but most people put the biguns back) Crayfish and abalone are heavily regulated.I have also put the steps in place this year to have our snapper regulated at 2 fish per person/5 per boat as it is a unknown fishery at the moment and my thoughts were to regulate before it gets expluted.
love to eat, be it fish, beef, lamb, rabbit, vegies etc but see the need for regulation
cheers
blaze
ps
so I suppose I kill a lot of things, prefer to do it myself though as I know its humanely done