TOPIC:

Wanted to perch fish this morning but it was just to rough for me so I headed to the discharge at USS.
Everything was going fine I had a couple in the cooler and noticed the boat just down the wall from me was catching a  few,then I noticed one of the guys catch what looked like a  decent fish and then throw it back.
So now I start paying more attention, I saw them probably catch and release 12-15 fish between the 3 of them before I finished my limit.
Maybe It was wrong but I couldn't hold my tongue,I pulled up next to them with the trolling motor and ask them how many more fish they planned on Killing today,they all just looked at me like a dog that doesn't really understand what your trying to tell them.
I said do you guys understand that after you bang them around on the side of the boat,the floor of the boat, where  the fish is going nuts trying to get loose, and then you bust its jaw trying to get the treble out,that they are basically dead.
None of them said a word,just stared,I know they understand me because I had said hello to them earlier, youngest looked to be in his 30's and the oldest in his 50's so they weren't kids.
I just don't understand,maybe its me,I've watched guys sort perch every time I've been out and thats bad enough but today for some reason just got to me.
Rant Over.

       Greg  

A lot of people just don't know with salmon its best to shake them off at the side of the boat and not to touch them. If you have to touch them wet your hands first if releasing.

Common sense isn’t all that common. Can’t say I’ve never “released” a deep water perch in the past, but after doing some reading on it, I’ll never do it again. The fact that convinced me was learning about “ducted” vs “non ducted” swim bladders. Fish with a duct can “burp” if you bring them up slowly enough. Lakers are like this. Non ducted fish like perch have to reabsorb air from their swim bladder and off gas through their gills. If I’m fishing more than about 30ft if it comes up, it goes in the cooler. 

Salmon, on the other hand I will release if not hooked too deep or otherwise injured. What kills me is when I get a 13inch bleeder this time of year then have to watch it do belly up circles next to the pier because it’s illegal to keep. 

Some people just don’t care, but a lot just don’t know. Maybe printing up a couple of informational flyers and giving them to the bait shops to hand out with minnows would help cut down on some of the problem. 

I try and release undersized salmon and trout as well when feasible. I've release kings at the side of the boat up to 5lbs if the hook set is right because I don't need to keep it and hope for the chance of someone catching it in couple of years when 3 times the size. Coho, steelhead too- if I can ger a pair of pliers on the hook without lifting the fish much out of the water then a quick flip of the wrist and off it goes. I have found fish bigger than that tend to have hook set that is pretty significant where its highly likely its not going to make it. Coho are the worst, soon as they hit the net there are scales all over the place it seems unlikely they will live but I've done it.

Lot of reports out there about the high mortality rate especially salmon releases.  My fishbox is 100% so I figure in some cases its worth whatever chance there may be if the fish appears in good condition

I would think most on here understand there is going to be some mortality loss with undersized trout/salmon and try to do the best they can to minimize it.
My problem is with the guys that just don't care at all,it's only a numbers game with them.

        Greg 

Guys on here I would agree, we've all seen things out there just like you did that just makes us shake our head!

I've seen it happen plenty times. But now it can be worse because some guys think if they can catch more than their limit then they can Post how they are Better fishermen than those that quit at their limit. 2 guys caught 10 coho and quit. The other 2 guys caught 25 and kept 10 so the must be Better Fishermen??? The question is -Are they better or Worse?

I've never seen that in this group and I'm fairly certain those people would be called out and possibly be eliminated from this group. I've seen nothing but good law abiding people willing to help others in the group.Im still fairly new with only a few years. People are fair and honest. I personally was confused about the migration of Alliwives and one of the members was kind enough to explain that I was mixed up and explained everything to me. I had heard about Alliwives when I was 8 years old and what I was told was incorrect and I had it work for over 55 years of my life. It didn't really matter until I started talking about all the dead alliwives!

This is a great group and I'm glad to be a member!

Heres my thought since you asked...mind your own business. You have no idea if any fish died. They werent doing anything illegal, and I think youre lucky they did sit there and take your pompous diatribe. I promise you it wouldnt have went nearly as well for you if you went out of your way to talk to me or my friends that way. And honestly Im disappointed so many here think its ok to berate fellow LEGAL fisherman. Reminds me of the Steelheaders back in the day that thought they owned the creeks and everyone else fishing were "snagging"... as they drifted the same hole 500 times with their bottom bouncing egg pattern and foul hooked as many as anyone on the creek. 

This is always going to be controversial and debated until the end of time. Not knowing reds tone or "diatribe" when he approached the anglers, hard to come down on him. There's certainly is a right way
and a wrong way to approach the subject. 
 While I agree, if the anglers were netting these small fish, letting them bang and roll around in the boat and losing mass amounts of their scales, that there would be a better way to catch and release them. A simple shake off at the side of the
boat would be the best approach, and I've done that without the fish touching the boat. 
I wouldn't have a problem casually mentioning that to a fellow fisherman.