11-11-2004, 10:12 PM
Nope I have to say as that I as a staunch supporter for bait and lure fishing that this rule is another blow to spin fishermen in favor of fly fishermen. It's the same as with bait, not that you are fishing with it but HOW you are fishing with it. When you actively fish bait by drifting it along the bottom and setting the hook on the take, the mortality with bait is the same as with lures or properly fished flies. I'm not meaning to open a can of worms here, but fly fishing as some people practice it actually has the highest mortality rate of any of the three methods. This is because some anglers use extremely light tippets in the 2 pound all the way down to 8 ounce size. This prolongs the fight and causes the fatigued fish to build up large amounts of lactic acid. Many of these released fish will die from metabolic acidosis.
I am against most all flies and lures only restrictions. I support these regulations only in a handful of small tailwater streams, like small sections of the Fryingpan, Blue, Taylor, and South Platte. Maybe very unique lakes like spinney or the delaney buttes should have the regs as well. I base this on the fact that a drifted bait has no higher a mortality rate than properly fished lures or flies. For example, I caught 44 trout on the Colorado River Sunday, fishing drifted nightcrawlers. Only two swallowed the hook. If half of those fish survive that swallow the hook like the CDOW claims, the mortality rate is almost nil. I am however tired of seeing so many fish on the smaller rivers with mulitiple flies and tippets lodged in there mouths, gills, eyes, jaws, ect. It's an epidemic. Fly fishing I have nothing against, only those who think that I am a fish killer because I use bait which is something that is consistantly many fold more effective.
Tyler
[signature]
I am against most all flies and lures only restrictions. I support these regulations only in a handful of small tailwater streams, like small sections of the Fryingpan, Blue, Taylor, and South Platte. Maybe very unique lakes like spinney or the delaney buttes should have the regs as well. I base this on the fact that a drifted bait has no higher a mortality rate than properly fished lures or flies. For example, I caught 44 trout on the Colorado River Sunday, fishing drifted nightcrawlers. Only two swallowed the hook. If half of those fish survive that swallow the hook like the CDOW claims, the mortality rate is almost nil. I am however tired of seeing so many fish on the smaller rivers with mulitiple flies and tippets lodged in there mouths, gills, eyes, jaws, ect. It's an epidemic. Fly fishing I have nothing against, only those who think that I am a fish killer because I use bait which is something that is consistantly many fold more effective.
Tyler
[signature]