FYI ~ idiots / a fish story

His first fish, ever ~ Bog River Flow / Low's Lake - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenThe early history of the Adirondacks - post Revolutionary War through the Civil War - was marked by vast exploitation of the region's watershed woodlands and it was that exploitation that sparked a conservation movement which led to the establishment of the Adirondack Park (1892) and the addition of the "Forever Wild" amendment to the NYS Constitution (1895).

As devastating as the early exploitation was to the natural environment, an even greater "plague" swept over the Adirondacks (post Civil War) with the publishing (1869) of Adirondack Murray's book, Adventures in the Wilderness; or, Camp-Life in the Adirondacks. That runaway best seller led to an invasion of tourists who became know as "Murray's Fools". Not that there weren't an ample supply of tourists prior to that date, but the book created a new stampede of New England "city dwellers" (Murray was a Boston-based preacher) many of whom were referred to by locals, especially the guides, as "sports".

One of the nastier results of this influx, added and abetted by many locals (aka, guides), was the extirpation of many native Adirondack species - the moose, wolf, Canadian lynx, beaver, fisher, eagle, osprey and many others, all wiped out by the pressure of "sports" and their local counterparts (especially trappers) on the wildlife to be found in the region. Apparently, for either fun or profit, most thought there was a nearly unlimited "supply" of hunting, fishing, and trapping targets. Unfortunately, that was proven wrong by many of Murray's Fools and their local counterparts.

Fortunately, as a result of this "sport"ing abuse, a modern ethic of conservation and preservation came into being. One component of that ethic (fishing wise) is known as catch and release wherein fish, even those over the legal size limit, are released after being caught. And it was that ethic which I instilled in Hugo immediately after his first ever catch - I explained to Hugo that this particular fish was not only under the NYS general regulation size limit, but that it also was the sporting thing to do to return the fish to the water and let it grow and thrive for some future fisherman to catch and, hopefully, release.

Not that catching and keeping legal fish - within the size and number limits - for consumption is a bad thing. In fact, we kept and ate one 12 inch specimen for lunch but, for many fisherman it is the pursuit and, when successful, fight to land a fish which matters. That is why, in enlightened fishing competitions, especially those judged by the total length of a day's catch, each competitor is trusted to make his/her own measurements of each fish caught, after which the fish are released. That practice would be in contrast to stringing (aka, killing) the fish caught throughout a competition's time period in order for measurement to be made by a tournament official.

Like, say, these participants did in a local fishing competition (as pictured in our local newspaper).

©P-R PHOTOS/ALVIN REINERNow let me clear on one thing - the participants displaying the fish are not the idiots I refer to in this entry's heading. That moniker is reserved for those idiots at the Elizabethtown Fish & Game Club which sponsored the competition. Most likely the participants were playing by the rules laid down by the EF&GC.

That said, it might be that the tournament was held on privately owned and stocked water where no regulations apply and, therefore, no local or state fishing regulations apply. However, irrespective of time or place, many enlightened F&G clubs consider it a vital part of their mission to teach, by example, and apply modern conservation and preservation ethics. Most likely, the EF&GC does try to foster such an ethic but, IMO, and as evidenced by the published picture, they failed miserably in teaching by example during this particular event.

Update on Thursday, July 19, 2012 at 01:28PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: John Linn wrote: "... Your photo is excellent. You obviously did not press the shutter ..."

my response: All kudos should be directed to the wife.

Comments

[John Linn]

I appreciate the catch-and-release concept but, to me, it just seems strange. It's like taking a photo and then deleting it. What is the point? To many I guess there is a point, but just letting them be seems to be even more fair to the fish.

Your photo is excellent. You obviously did not press the shutter, but there is little doubt that you were the picture processor. The framing and expressions captured are great, the composition is interesting (love the pattern from the paddle drips) and the well executed dynamic range manipulation is quite wonderful. Good use of negative space. Soft back lighting. Norman Rockwell almost. Like it a lot.