Stomach Pumps

[JVenezia]

Does anyone use these to see what the trout are really eating?

 

[ebroesicke]

a friend of mine had one and we decided to use it once. kind of interesting to see 200 size 32 midges packed into a 7" trout. I am sort of against it overall, but it was neat to see.

 

[dryflyguy]

I've never had any desire to pump the stomach on any fish. I just want to get it back in the water as quickly as possible, without any further stress.
I also kinda wonder how much good it does anyway.
Just because you find out what one certain fish is eating, doesn't necessarily mean that the other ones are eating the same thing.
Many times I've started fishing a spot, and caught 1 - or maybe 2 - fish on a certain fly. And after having thought I knew what they were eating - then having that fly get refused by all of the other fish.
It happens quite often

 

[Dcap240]

I thought about getting one in the past but decided against it because you're basically just stealing a trouts lunch to make it easier for you to figure out what they are eating. Not to mention putting more stress on the fish and possibly hurting/killing it. Just my opinion though.

 

[Chaz]

I always thought that it would cause less pain to the trout if you killed it outright than pump it's stomach. Biologists don't use them, neither should we.
If you catch a fish, you know what it was taking. and besides, what one trout is taking isn't necessarily what the next trout is taking, so are you going to pump the stomachs of all the trout you catch?

 

[whheff]

Chaz wrote:
I always thought that it would cause less pain to the trout if you killed it outright than pump it's stomach. Biologists don't use them, neither should we.
If you catch a fish, you know what it was taking. and besides, what one trout is taking isn't necessarily what the next trout is taking, so are you going to pump the stomachs of all the trout you catch?

I agree.

 

[bigslackwater]

I figure a trout probably wont eat for a while after being caught. So if you pump their stomach they are being deprived of the food before AND after the catch. Doesn't sound like a good thing to me.

 

[Gorosaurus]

It basically comes down to this: If you are 100% absolutely going to find out what's in a trout's stomach because you are scientifically interested or absolutely have-got-to-know, I think almost everyone would prefer that you'd pump their stomach instead of killing them each time you go fishing.

But if you are like almost all fishermen- you don't need that info. I don't want it because it costs the trout quite a bit to get it either way.


Don't use one. When you pull a few stockies for the pan 2 or 3 times a year- check it out then.

 

[JackM]

Don't pump the stomach of an unhealthy trout. Otherwise, the harm is not as great as being portrayed. That's my 2 cents. You will not do it more than a handful of times, I assure you.

 

[troutbert]

The percentage of people who buy stomach pumps who continue to use them with any regularity is probably very low.

 

[BrookieChaser]

No. The thought has never even crossed my mind.

I look at it this way. First off I find it extremely invasive. Secondly, each bit of food that fish eats takes energy for it to catch and consume. Then you hook that fish, taking more energy from it. Once landed you proceed to steal all the food its collected through the day. Now not only is the fish recovering from the stress of being caught, it is currently at a major negative on the energy exerted vs potential energy consumed.

Lastly, I noticed your avatar, please don't subject native, or wild, fish to stomach pumping.

 

[Fishidiot]

I'm gonna play the devil's advocate here.
(For the record, I carry a stomach pump in my vest - haven't used it in years):

A gentle flush of water into a trout's mouth and upper gullet to wash out some tiny insects isn't going to do the fish any harm (emphasis on gentle of course). While I can't remember the last time I used mine.....a pump cam be a useful tool in understanding trout behavior and habits.

 

[DaveS]

I had one, and used it a few times. But never once did I use it and had that " Ah ha!" moment. Eventually the little turkey baster bulb disintegrated in my vest and I threw the tube away.

 

[boychick]

I've never had any desire to pump the stomach on any fish. I just want to get it back in the water as quickly as possible, without any further stress.

Agreed.

 

[lv2nymph]

^Yep^...

 

[Maurice]

Let me get this straight...we spend our time trying to trick a fish into eating something that isn't even food only to impale them with a hook and pull them around to near exhaustion. And to top that off we feel we must reward them by removing the real food they worked efficiently to consume...what kind of diabolical creatures we flyfishers are?

 

[osprey]

Mo , gotta agree with what you say , i think , any evil barstaqge that has to use a device like that has got to be very insecure on their abilities and a black mark on our sport.

 

[JohnPowers]

I think it's very presumptuous to say its not harmful. we just don't know. I think it's just going too far. their brains are pea sized. a little net to scoop up a bug...ok...stomach pump.....not for me.

 

[JackM]

Well, no one said it wasn't "harmful," but I did say it isn't as harmful as people claim. I found a pump once on a stream and tried it a couple times, which was all it took to convince me it wasn't worth the risk and trouble. But claiming a responsible use of a stomach "pump" is barbaric seems a little over the top-- like every trout on every stream is on the verge of starvation. Not!

 

[FarmerDave]

I occasionally use a stomach pump on trout, but I always put everything back or replace it with a big Mac.

Seriously though. I have on occasion examined what a trout had recently eaten, but only after deciding that I was going to eat the trout. Pump was not used.

IMO a stomach pump for trout is extremely lame. Just another useless yuppie gadget that I wished I had invented.