Indian Run, Chester Co, 2/14/10

[GreenMan]

"Good old PAFF. A joke turns into a debate. :lol:"

You're right instead of debating whether that fish is wild or not, we should debate whether or not it's dead after being flopped on the snow and covered...

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

i say there is no way hes dies from that. People think these fish are glass, yes they are more fragile than most fish but seriously....

 

[jayL]

I agree. I caught a fish with a broken jaw a trips in a row back in my spin days. I was a kid, and had no idea how to handle fish. Couple that with the fact that the fish had separated mandibles, and I was amazed that it was not only living, but seemingly thriving.

I doubt those fish die, and if they do, I probably won't lose much sleep.

For what it's worth, PSU, I think that laying a fish in the snow is not in its best interest, and should be avoided. I would bet that those fish are completely fine, but in the future, please consider the value of the fish's life vs. the value of a picture. I think it might fall under the category of unnecessary harm, which c&r anglers are duty bound to avoid.

 

[MKern]

I caught a fish on dries that had now lower jaw. Quite a chunky fish too.

 

[bam]

As a kid I remember catching a 24 inch trout in a local stream with my pap. The best thing about it, we weren't fishing for them. Bass with crawlers and minnows were the target. A local club stocked the stream many years before and the last thing I expected to run into was a trout, especially a 6 pound hook jaw rainbow in a stream that hits 85 in the summer.

We threw him in a dry plastic bag and drove the 5 minutes back to the house. We threw him in one of those aluminum tubs, filled it with well water and he was no worse off. Took a lot of photos before gutting him the next day. I didn't know any better as a kid, but I remember my Pap being amazed it was still alive...

 

[jayL]

My pop and I caught a few carp and threw em in the bed of his truck. Drove 45 minutes in the texas heat, then put em in a wheelbarrow when we got back to his place. It was easily another half hour walk back to his pond.

Two out of three swam away.

I think the trout story is more impressive, though.

 

[PSUFishMenace]

I knew it was only a matter of time before someone said something.

I couldn't really avoid it, had to put them somewhere while i took off my glove. And the snow was EVERYWHERE! point taken though.

 

[Mike]

Eels are in the creeks throughout the year.

 

[pcray1231]

FWIW, My post was intended as a joke about previous discussions where some argued that wild fish ALWAYS have red adipose fins, blue spots, etc, etc. Most agreed they are characteristics typical of wild fish and not of stocked fish, but we disagreed on how reliable of an indicator they could be (i.e. the % of wild fish without such traits or of stocked ones with the traits).

I did not mean to imply I thought the fish were stockies, as I believed them to be wild from the beginning.

The fish in question was the fish in the original post (both are the same fish, correct?). Based on the original pictures, and tom's blowup in post #15, I do not see a red adipose. Tom's posts #13 and #14 show a fish that I had not seen, as it was not included in the picture set in post #1. Very pretty fish, though.

 

[PSUFishMenace]

FWIW, My post was intended as a joke about previous discussions where some argued that wild fish ALWAYS have red adipose fins, blue spots, etc, etc.

ooohhh NOW I GET IT! LOL flew right over my head the first time 😳

Makes complete sense now!

anyway, enjoyed the "debate".

 

[GlockMan]

Dont you think damage to the gills can be done from the gills freezing sitting the on snow and being exposed to the cold air