Is it ethical to fish for trout this time of the year?

[caddisflyer]

New York until recently used to close the season for spawning and to give the trout a break. Seemed to work out great. they had excellent trout fishing. A lot of these guys will torment and intentionally snag fish on redds, especially bigger ones. The fish are stressed from spawning and it kills them. Pounding them year round like people do now, day after day on some streams definitely has been bad. Smaller fish for one thing. Expecting that people will behave ethically is not realistic.

 

[Swattie87]

I’m not disagreeing with the above post necessarily, but, FWIW, and leaving Steelhead out of the conversation, I have never seen or even heard of someone in PA attempting to snag Trout on redds. (This would be exceptionally difficult as they spook a mile away in the types of water and conditions, shallow and generally low and clear, they spawn in.)

 

[TimMurphy]

I’m not disagreeing with the above post necessarily, but, FWIW, and leaving Steelhead out of the conversation, I have never seen or even heard of someone in PA attempting to snag Trout on redds. (This would be exceptionally difficult as they spook a mile away in the types of water and conditions, shallow and generally low and clear, they spawn in.)

Dear Swattie,

When I lived in NY, I saw pre-spawn trophy trout nailed to trees or tossed on the bank once the season closed in September. They even did it on the WB Delaware in Deposit. You just had to go down near the water and listen for buzzing flies. It was disgusting and made the EB Delaware tributary Spring bleach fishermen seem almost ethical! Lots of hilljack pigs in the Catskills!

Regards,

Tim Murphy