To Fish or Not to Fish? By Andy Vinnes
I can only assume that many of you have battled with this topic or dilemma before, to some there is a simple answer, but not to all. To this day I continue to ask myself and contemplate when is it ok to fish for fish? Sounds silly, I know, but obviously you should comply with local regulations, have a current fishing license and or stamp for the region your fishing, and yes it should obviously be open season for the specific species you’re after etc. Let me start by going back many years in my own fishing life. I grew up on the move, as in moving to several states as a child and young man. I think I learned to fish like most people did. We would go camping or hiking in the outdoors and we just fished, it seemed like the natural thing to do. I had a rod and reel, a small tackle box which was filled with hooks, sinkers maybe some swivels, of course a rusty pair of needle nose pliers and possibly an old lure or two that you found hanging from a tree or borrowed from your old man’s tackle box. I think mine may have always had at least one old dried up worm as well as some nasty dried salmon eggs as well. Regardless I was a fisherman and, in my mind, a good one. I grew up fishing on lakes, mostly from the shore or off a dock, and when
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lucky enough from a boat. Never really fishing in rivers or creeks, I recalled wondering how fish could be in there with the water moving as fast as it was. If I only knew then what I know now. LOL. I recall catching literally thousands of bluegills as a young kid, I still enjoy catching them. As I grew up and we moved around I have lots of memories of catching crappie, perch, sunfish, northern pike, and trout. As a kid I always wanted to keep my fish and eat them, which we did a lot. I can only imagine how many fish died due to the damage I caused from a barbed hook. Back then I had no idea about the concept of catch and release or using barbless hooks; unfortunately, these were lessons I learned later in life. My journey as a child and as a fisherman took me from California, where I recall fishing at places like Lake Pardee, then to Colorado where I have memories of fishing the Estes Park area, then to Illinois where I fished many lakes including the chain of lakes in northern Illinois, and then on into Wisconsin. As time went on I found myself a college graduate moving to California. It took some time, but the Sierra Nevada mountain range was my home away from home. As far as fishing etiquette, I was still rather raw and uneducated. I’m embarrassed to say that it wasn’t really until about ten years ago that I truly “upped my game” and became aware of nature and its impact on me as a person. I began to understand the concept of catch and
