[Hamish Young]

Just came across this:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0046/00469573.pdf

Responding Head here http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2015/02/4158/downloads or to see the front page here http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2015/02/4158

Interesting reading.....

H 

[Derek Roxborough]

Some very strange attitudes towards catch & release , I have had a couple of previews of the comments, one guy reckoned C&R would ruin the salmon fishing in Scotland, easgach 1

[Rob Brownfield]

Some very strange attitudes towards catch & release

I was speaking to a Dee Ghillie on Monday who was against catch and release. His reason was because he felt the salmon catch figures for the last few years have been miscalculated due to the number of repeat captures of salmon being reported as 2 or even 3 fish when in fact is was one caught several times.

I can see his logic as potentially it makes the river look healthier than it really is.

However, a returned fish has a damn sight more chance of spawning than a dead one.

[Colin Sunley]

Logic ??, This means there are even less fish than they thought,  So chap them all on the head to see how many we have left at the end of the season,  Now that Just makes perfect sense to me. Not!! 
Fish conservation has a long way to go if the mind set and attitude is still to kill a fish.  I read somewhere or was told about the German tourist who told the Ghillie "you put that fish back and you'll be going in after it". So there will be one rule for the Toff who pays a fortune for a weeks fishing, and average Joe on the local beat. I really cant see the laird of the estate saying to his long lease of many years no!! your not killing on my beat.  I think the laird and Ghillie's are shit scared of conservation because this will effect there revenue.  but in reality is doesn't have to be that way if the mind set and attitude is changed.

Look at it this way 100 fish enter a river and feed on the flies, the fishers are happy as they have had a good year all smiles all round,
then say 100 enter a river and don't feed on flies, then the fishers have had a bad season.  all doom and gloom,  are the fish numbers up or down,   

The reality is the fish numbers are down all over the northern hemisphere so its important the we all try and preserve what little is left as I believe the damage has already been done and its up to us now to try and repair it. 

I'll sit back now and await the fire works,

[Rob Brownfield]

Logic ??,

I was referring to the logic that the actual numbers of fish returning may be inaccurate due to repeat captures.

As for C and R, I have only taken one fish from a river, a Sea Trout that I caught worming on the Carron some 28 years ago.

[Colin Sunley]

28 years ago.

Outstanding.  if I live long enough to fish for 28 years I hope I will have done the same,

" Logic "was out of context but was heading in the same direction, apologies   

kind regards

[Derek Roxborough]

Lee Wulff said that Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once, I gillie occasionally on an estate where only one fish may be taken in the week, the guests accept this and come back each year, a few  years back I was reading about a Canadian east coast river
where a ban had been put on killing because  less than 20 million salmon had returned, I know this is the pacific salmon, but it shows how these rivers are monitored, and valued, here, even though the coastal nets have mostly been bought off there has been no major improvement in returns, we may have come to far , easgach 1 

[allabootthetroot]

Why cant they just stick a quota on Anglers for 1 fish a year can be chapped if you wish to keep one. if you are happy to return everything then no big deal.

 
Need a quota on the NETTS as well of course.

[Rob Brownfield]

Why cant they just stick a quota on Anglers for 1 fish a year can be chapped if you wish to keep one. if you are happy to return everything then no big deal.

Because we are dealing with humans

I can think of lots of examples where people have tried to sneak extra fish down waders, in bags, passed to others to "keep" and so on.

[allabootthetroot]

Because we are dealing with humans

I can think of lots of examples where people have tried to sneak extra fish down waders, in bags, passed to others to "keep" and so on.

Aye Rob there will always be greed that's for sure. I like Salmon and one wee grilse a season would do me but a would rather make do we a can oh john west than pay a licence fee. Unless of course i can pay it direct to the fishery board so i know it is going to be used for the good of the river.