Articles With the Tag . . . ethical angler

We’re out there to catch trout. That’s what brings us to the water. But how many do we catch? And really, how many should we catch? What are the expectations? And how can we know that we’re fishing well?

Counting is a way to gauge our success, not just against how well we did last time out, but how well we are doing compared to what is possible. What’s the bar? What’s the ceiling? How many trout could be caught if we had everything just right — the best fly and the perfect drift . . .

In this episode we mix it up. This is the Freewheelin’ Troutbitten, with an hour long question and answer session — just a freeform conversation about trout fishing on a fly rod and  a few other things mixed in.

It’s a fun discussion filled with details and tactical takeaways., with some good disagreements, differing opinions and good humor . . .

You can’t stop fishermen from holding their trout. All of the Keep ‘Em Wet campaigns and the Ketchum Release tools will not stop anglers from reaching into the water and lifting their prize. It’s a desire to complete the act, to finish the catch, an instinct to hold the creature that we set out to capture.

And why wouldn’t we want to hold a wild trout — to touch the majesty of Mother Nature — to feel a fleeting, darting, irrefutably gorgeous animal and admire it, and to look upon that which eludes us so often and for so long? No, you’re not going to stop fishermen from holding their trout.

Instead, let’s spread the word about how to safely handle trout without harming them. What follows is a real world, riverside understanding of how to hold a trout, all from a fisherman who’s held a few trout, large and small . . .