How safe?

[Nymph-O-Maniac]

Stomach pumps. I witnessed a FF'er doing this, also online, but in person. Can this do damage? Or should we not really care do to the fish not really making it through the year.

 

[buffalo7]

I remember them in the orvis catalog in the 70s, I never used one and would be afraid to use one on a trout. I don't know if they still sell them or not, if they don't it's a good sign they are not safe. Anything you do to delay returning the fish to the water is extra risk in killing it.

 

[Beefheart]

Stomach pumps for what? So that you can examine their stomach contents without killing the fish?

 

[pete41]

Yep
they were all the rage at one time until someone[may have been Jack]pointed out that since you just caught the fish you already knew what they were feeding on.Duh

 

[gfen]

Don't be that guy.

 

[MKern]

I think stomach pumps are for noobies.

It's all olive or brown...sometimes olive brown. Active insects are pretty much common sense. Heck, it's better to flip rocks or even use a siene net.

I don't do any of that because it's not really going to make a difference in my fly selection. Oh, I'm pickier about my flies that I tie and use than your average angler. I've said this a billion times here....the majority of fly fishermen do a ton of recon on "what's hatching" and then tie on a PT, Hare's Ear, Adams, insert generic fly pattern here, etc.
If a fish can discriminate between a size 12 and 14, it can surely tell what you are using is feathers and fur, and not the real deal. They eat/test food-like items. Sure the more nartural the better, but the guy who get's his flies from online retailers or fly shops, or even ties them at home doesn't need to flip rocks.

Here's a tip...if it lives in the water or even near it fish will eat it.

 

[Nymph-O-Maniac]

I don't want to be that guy, i just was wondering what others thoughts were on what it does to the trout. I personally do a ton of studying on entomology and do everything I can to match the hatch. But then there is those times that a San Juan will do me good for an afternoon/evening.

 

[Maurice]

My position ion stomach pumps is....We already tricked the fish into eating something that isn't food only to pull them around by the nose to near exhaustion, only to pick them up out of the water shove a tube down their throat and remove the real food that they worked to consume.

Just an all round bad idea.


Solution, turn over a few rocks to see what they are eating.

 

[afishinado]

Maurice wrote:
My position ion stomach pumps is....We already tricked the fish into eating something that isn't food only to pull them around by the nose to near exhaustion, only to pick them up out of the water shove a tube down their throat and remove the real food that they worked to consume.

Just an all round bad idea.


Solution, turn over a few rocks to see what they are eating.

Yup, but many times the insects under the rocks are not active and rarely found in the drift. I have a fine meshed net with 2 telescoping handles for checking out insects in the drift. I usually break this out when fish are feeding and I have no clue what they are feeding on.