Top 10+ does fishing hurt the fish

Pretty much every catch and release fisherman will get this question at some point: “doesn’t that hurt the fish?” The debate over whether catch and release (and, for that matter, fishing itself) is humane has been going on for decades. Some places, like Germany, have banned the practice outright. In other places, including many popular … Read more

Last summer was particularly dry and hot in much of Idaho, renewing concerns among some trout anglers about fishing when water temperatures climb. Anglers are often concerned that maybe they shouldn’t be fishing on the hottest days for fear that they might be reducing trout populations, but a recent study on Idaho rivers during a … Read more

Do fish feel pain? Fish do not feel pain the way humans do. That is the conclusion drawn by an international team of researchers consisting of neurobiologists, behavioural ecologists and fishery scientists. One contributor to the landmark study was Prof. Dr. Robert Arlinghaus of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries and of … Read more

There was a time in my life when fly-fishing was my life. I was a true fish bum. My entire existence revolved around the “sport.” I fished more than 150 days a year and had an unhealthy obsession with wild and native trout. There was something enchanting about those beautifully speckled, mysterious creatures. Their habits, … Read more

A guide prepares to release a salmon caught in B.C.’s Great Bear Rain Forest in 2006.John Lehmann/Globe and Mail Mark Hume is a former national correspondent for The Globe and Mail and a Vancouver-based writer whose books include River of the Angry Moon and Trout School. His latest, Reading the Water, will be published next … Read more

It’s that time of year when many people who don’t normally go fishing find themselves on a beach or boat and, often by no fault of their own, end up with a fish in their hands. These folks can to some degree be excused for improper handling. The rest of you should know better. It’s … Read more

“You’re just in a rut,” a friend said. The situation: I had lost several big fish or not caught a fish weighing more than 5 pounds in several weeks of fishing, while other folks sharing my boat had boated several big bass. When fishing “turns for the worst”, anglers have a tendency to over-analyze the … Read more

The Ethics of Fishing for Spawning Trout Every year, anglers argue over the morality of catching spawning trout. In areas where the streams are open for fishing, is it ethical to target fish on redds…or even to fish during the spawn at all? The fly fishing world is never short on opinions about etiquette and … Read more

Catching fish for food is something that has been done for, well, pretty much since the dawn of mankind, but fishing as a hobby or sport is a relatively recent wrinkle. Sportsmen who fish simply for the enjoyment of it often adopt strict catch and release policies to ensure that fish populations remain robust, sustaining … Read more

It was a glaring headline, the kind that immediately makes you take notice, especially if you’re an angler. Fish can feel pain in similar way to humans, study concludes, read the headline on the online site for the Independent, a British newspaper. Research shows fish exhibit symptoms such as hyper-ventilating and behavioural changes, a sub-head … Read more