Month: November 2008

Who’s Name Goes in the Record Book

I get a lot of questions and some I can even answer, or find an answer, for my Answers page.

But this question was very interesting:

I have two friends that went fishing in the Michigan U.P., USA. and on this particular trip landed a very large Muskie.  The first fisherman owns the cottage on the lake and has caught Muskies before, the second none.  As you listen to their individual stories they both claim to have caught the same fish.  Both took separate pictures holding it, both plan on having their own mounts made, both continue to brag about catching it.

I was raised in believing that a fish is caught by one fisherman, the person who hooked it, while the other person being a participant by netting the fish or holding the pole while the fisherman that hooked it brings it into the boat is just a witness or bystander.  Boy…. did the arguments start.  

I asked them if it was a record holder who’s name would it go under?  I can’t seem to get a straight answer to that question either as they each said themselves.  Can two people be listed as the catchee?

Even though it was just the two of them and not a charter, the second fisherman tells me that when a boat is chartered everyone on board catches all the fish.  Is this true?  Can you help me sort the rules out….  

Thanks, Curt    aka… milwpacker

Here was my answer:

On one hand, it is just great that two friends got such a kick out of catching the fish – and if they both want a mount of the fish that is their choice – whatever floats their boat, I say. If both of them believe the fish would not have been boated without the active participation of each of them, then that is for them to call.

But on the other hand, and it is a big but, as far as records go, only the angler who hooks, plays and lands the fish can claim the record, and only that one angler’s name can go in the record book.

This applies to all fishing records, even big game fishing, where the active involvement of all the crew is necessary to boat the fish, but only the one angler’s name is recorded . So your comment about everyone other than the angler playing the fish being just a bystander is I am afraid way short of the mark as well. It may well be that the angler could not boat the fish without the aid of one or more other people in the boat.

In fact it is usually true that a big game angler would not be able to get the fish to the boat without the skipper moving the boat around to help recover line, prior to all the crew action at the end. This can also apply in small boat fishing.

So, I am not sure if this clears anything up, except the one-name one-record business, but this has been one of the more interesting questions I have received.

Posted by Tony Bishop in Articles and stories on fishing in general, big game fishing

Use The Frisbee Cast in Tight Situations

Imagine this – you are tight up against one bank, with all sorts of vegetation hanging out over the bank and the water.
You cannot move out into the stream because you will put the fish down. You can’t do a roll cast, because your back is up against the bushes. The other side of the stream is no better, with the same over-hanging vegetation, under which the trout are lying.
Just the situation for trying the Frisbee Cast

frisbeecast1sml

Go here for the full story.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing how-to

Yet Another New Fishing Quote and Saying – Nov 4, 2008

Number 707:

“A river is God’s handwriting across the landscape”

I forgot to put up the last quote’s number – 706 – sorry about that, must remember to take the pills, but how can I remember to take the pills if I have forgotten to take the pills – that is more than enough of that:)

Posted by Tony Bishop in fishing quotes

Fly-fishing: Setting the Hook

There is a good article on setting the hook in Shallow Water Angler. “Most of us work so hard on our fly-casting fundamentals that closing the deal once a fish takes the fly seems an afterthought. How many times have you heard a fellow fly fisher bemoan a botched hook-set after a perfect presentation or a hair-raising strike? It boils down to poor fundamentals—how you stand, where your rod-tip is, and what you do with your line hand.”

While this story is primarily aimed at saltwater fly-fishing anglers the sections devoted to striking with the rod-tip close to the water and pulling back with the line –hand is great advice for all fly-fishers in fresh or saltwater. I have been a strong advocate for this method of striking.

The one divergence that a fresh water angler may have with that recommended in the article is that the author recommends pointing the rod-tip at the fly, and this is good advice where current is not usually an issue. But in freshwater where currents can bend the line, the rod should be pointed in the direction the line is coming off the rod-tip. If the rod is not pointing in the direction of the line you run the real risk of just lifting slack line off the surface of the water and not setting the hook.

Posted by Tony Bishop in fly fishing, fly fishing how-to, salt water fly fishing