I fished the Arkansas
yesterday and some of those huge rainbows are moving around in the shallows
showing their broad sides and beautiful colors. It is spawning time on our
rivers. Do we cast to them? Or do we
leave them alone?
I listen to fishing discussions on this topic quite
frequently where we try to justify casting to these monsters. Comments such as
: “They already spawned”, or, “They are only staging. They are not spawning
yet”. Or “The fish was not on the redd,
it was behind it, (or in front of it). Or, “I saw the fish feeding on
midges, it was not spawning”; and on and
on.
Truth be told, I am not sure any of these possibilities has
any merit or gives us justification. We can say whatever we want but by casting
we are messing with these fish. How much we are messing with these fish and
what harm is done is difficult to determine.
Even if we admit we are messing with these fish it is still
not easy to “not cast”. I do not stand or speak from a high place. I know.
There is also the ethical issue of considering how hard is
it really to get those fish to take a fly when one places the fly on its nose? Not very hard in my opinion. It is way more
challenging to get even a 12 inch fish to take a trico dry fly.
Does it matter if I mention
where they are “staging”? There are
not any secret spots on the Arkansas.
Anyone can find them. It is beautiful to watch
huge rainbows laying in a run. And it is wonderful to just know they are there. But
to cast?
My friend Steve Gossage at Covey once told me a story of
fishing on a section of river several years back where he spotted a 36 inch
rainbow lying on a redd as clear as a rainbow in the sky. The person he was
fishing with said to Steve, “Go ahead, cast to it. He will eat it”.
Steve walked away.
Wow! I wish I could be like Steve.
Spring is a time for growth, rebirth, renewal, replenishment. It seems that casting when fish are on the redd, spawning, or otherwise laying up and easily visible is akin to "shooting fish in a barrel". Not much sport or challenge. Even catch and release has got to be added stress in this season.
ReplyDeleteJust my perspective: maybe a compromise would work - continue to fish, but cast less. Instead, enjoy the river for its many other riches such as the "healing effects of cool water" or listening to the words "underneath the water" as Norman's father talks about in "A River Runs Through It". Thanks for bringing this book to my attention through your many quotes - I enjoyed it thoroughly and will read it again for there is much depth in those few pages.
I think Steve was laudable - as you noted.
-L
In my earlier posts, I often wrote about a theme based on a quote from "A River Runs Through It". Yes, it is one of my favorite books. You might enjoy some of those earlier posts. You are right, "even in catch and release", stress is put on fish. I have often argued that something is needed that goes beyond C&R. It is just not enough anymore. I think one of my earlier posts had a subtitle of "Internal limits" where I advocate the need for anglers to set their own limits even in C&R.
ReplyDelete...And yes... "Under the rocks are the words". Norman's father was fascinated with the "words" being under the rocks. He would often sit by the river with his Bible open to John Ch.1 pondering the "Logos"... "In the beginning was the word". He would ask Norman and Paul deep questions, "What came first the words or the water"? He would talk with his sons urging them to "listen carefully".
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