Causing Less Damage On Pueblo's Arkansas River Tail-water: Why Land the Fish? Why Keep Pounding the Run?

“Now everything's a little upside-down. As a matter of fact the wheels have stopped.
What's good is bad, what's bad is good”.   Bob Dylan

This past Saturday I was fishing the Arkansas in Pueblo and was surprised to find one of my favorite runs open. It was already late.  There were 5 fishermen below and 7 above.  I stepped in between and starting casting and was immediately hooked into a feisty rainbow of 18 inches. In the next 20 minutes I hooked up several big fish and several smaller rainbows on a variety of small zebra midges, (red, green, black, olive). Most of the fish shook free and I never touched. The fish shook free because in part, now a days I often sort of fish “lazy” allowing slack in the system during the battle half hoping the fish will free itself from the barb-less hook.  When I lose fish sometimes I think I must be a bad fisherman or that others might think so. But then I think; Why “land” it? Why take it out of the water? Why net it ? And then the obvious fact comes to mind; I am going to release the fish anyway. After hooking a fair number of fish(and landing some), I decided it was time to leave. I was happy to not cause any more damage to the fish. I was happy to not hook anymore fish. And I certainly did not want to “land” any more.  I have little need to tell people of how many fished I caught.

For quite some time I now realize that something beyond Catch and Release is needed to protect our tail-waters. And maybe what I describe above begins to touch on this issue of something beyond catch and release.  I realize that this is a bit of a touchy subject for fly fishers. As fly fishers we tend to think we are ‘above’ doing damage to our trout fisheries because we practice catch and release and fish with flies. Yet, it is my opinion that nothing could be farther from the truth. Something more is needed.

As Bob Dylan wrote, “Now everything is a little upside down”.  Maybe we might have to re-think things.  Maybe, sometimes, the “good is bad” and the” bad is good”.  So when I am fishing ‘badly’ I may actually be fishing in a manner that is good and beyond catch and release.  And when I am fishing “good” I may be causing more damage. And when I fish like a fool I may actually be wise.

And I guess it doesn’t make much sense to most fishermen to walk away from a run while one is hooking big fish. This is a “little upside down”. It kind of reminds me of some of the things Jesus spoke on; “The last shall be first, the first shall be last; He who will cling to his life will lose it.” 

These truths are the most upside down of all and are the essence of the more that is needed.