Remember, keep fish damp
It may seem strange to people who do not fish that we anglers so admire
the fish that we seek to catch that we absolutely hate the idea of causing
them to suffer any cruelty.
Special unhooking mats are used by the keenest big fish anglers to keep
the pike and carp wet and protected while they are unhooked, and perhaps
photographed.
While a human being cannot breathe underwater, fish, especially in cool,
damp conditions, can get some oxygen out of the water to keep them alive
for a time.
However there is one aspect of taking photographs of specimen fish that
alarms me, especially where youngsters are concerned.
In an attempt to safeguard a big fish while photographs are taken of the
young angler and his fish there is an increasing trend nowadays in the
weekly angling comics to show photographs of children holding a fish with
the child’s arms underneath the fish’s body and with the fish
hugged tightly to clothing, often a woolly jumper.
This takes the protective slime off the fish and condemns it to a slow
death over the ensuing days or weeks following it’s release back
into the water.
Keep fish damp and close to the ground while they are photographed, and
never touch them with dry hands or with any kind of cloth or towel be
it wet or dry.
My closing remarks will cause me to be criticised by the ever present
‘do-gooders’ in our midst.
I recently read about a man who tries to help young people who have persistently
got into trouble with the law through thieving and the like by taking
them fishing and providing money, tackle, bait and transport.
A long time ago I was asked to help wrongdoers in this way and I refused.
I worry about rewarding wrongdoers instead of punishing them. I have tried
to help a lot of youngsters with their fishing but as to those who steal
or take drugs I for one do not want such people anywhere near a river
or lakeside.