needmotime2fish
Senior Member
I appreciate the fact that GON is maintaining records for various lakes and rivers. However -- and I do understand the need for consistency -- the program appears to encourage the killing of trophy fish because of its requirement to weigh the fish on DOA certified scales. In most cases, the trophy fish will have to be transported to a location that has such scales on site, thus significantly increasing the probability that the fish will die in the process.
No, that's not a problem in many cases, especilly where the angler intends to kill the fish anyway -- maybe to eat, or to have it mounted. But as the GA State Chair for Carp Anglers Group (CAG), my observation is that this would be a problem for our members. One of the objectives of our group is to encourage the catch and release of trophy fish. We do that so they can be caught and enjoyed by other anglers, and also so that their genetics (and tendency to grow large) can be passed along to future generations of fish.
I'm sure that with a bit of care, a trophy sunfish could be kept alive in a cooler long enough to have it weighed on certified scales, and then released. However, it would be difficult -- or almost impossible -- to transport a trophy-sized carp any distance to find DOA scales and still have the fish survive the trip.
I do like the idea of recognizing anglers when they catch a new lake or river record fish. Not only does it give the angler a well-deserved sense of accomplishment, the list also provides other anglers valuable information regarding which waters hold large fish of various species.
The dilemma appears when an angler must decide between (probably) killing a trophy fish, just so it can be recognized as a record, or releasing it. Not only does having to make that choice put the angler in a quandry, if the angler decides to release the fish, then that decision also results in poorer record keeping (because a new lake record fish was released but never documented).
This is a difficult question to which there's no simple answer. Any thoughts?
No, that's not a problem in many cases, especilly where the angler intends to kill the fish anyway -- maybe to eat, or to have it mounted. But as the GA State Chair for Carp Anglers Group (CAG), my observation is that this would be a problem for our members. One of the objectives of our group is to encourage the catch and release of trophy fish. We do that so they can be caught and enjoyed by other anglers, and also so that their genetics (and tendency to grow large) can be passed along to future generations of fish.
I'm sure that with a bit of care, a trophy sunfish could be kept alive in a cooler long enough to have it weighed on certified scales, and then released. However, it would be difficult -- or almost impossible -- to transport a trophy-sized carp any distance to find DOA scales and still have the fish survive the trip.
I do like the idea of recognizing anglers when they catch a new lake or river record fish. Not only does it give the angler a well-deserved sense of accomplishment, the list also provides other anglers valuable information regarding which waters hold large fish of various species.
The dilemma appears when an angler must decide between (probably) killing a trophy fish, just so it can be recognized as a record, or releasing it. Not only does having to make that choice put the angler in a quandry, if the angler decides to release the fish, then that decision also results in poorer record keeping (because a new lake record fish was released but never documented).
This is a difficult question to which there's no simple answer. Any thoughts?
