Sculpin Bounty!

[Killertraylor]

Now that I got your attention....I wish there was a bounty on these annoying little fish. I'm actually amazed at how these little predators will change their appetites from week to week. Last week they were chewing on Herring and anchovies but wouldn't touch sardines. This past weekend they wouldn't touch the Herring and they devoured the anchovies and sardines! I'm placing this post to see how many of you kill these fish. About 5 years ago we cought a sculpin that was missing a fin - it had been chewed off at a wierd angle by another fish. Another person on my boat threw it back in before I could tell them that I stab them first and wouldn't you know it that 5 minutes later we cought the same fish. Anyway, I doubt that it will make much of a dent in the population, but I kill every one of these guys I can and usually toss them out when I see a gull close by (doesn't feel like it's just a worthless killing that way). Do the rest of you kill them too?

[Mike H]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR> Do the rest of you kill them too? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, some of us have respect for nature.

EDIT: Better make that "one of us has respect for nature".

[ 07-24-2001: Message edited by: Mike H ]

[Salmonator]

I look at killing a few dozen bullheads about as disrespectful as the several hundred mosquitos, bees and moths that hit my windshield on the way to the river. Keep in mind I said kill not clip or torture. Ok, maybe just the ones that get me with a spine.. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[ 07-23-2001: Message edited by: Salmonator ]

[Twoshottom]

I figure its humans that have screwed up the balance of things that has resulted in the large number of sculpin so yes I do my part to thin out their numbers. Just trying to maintain the balance. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Firedog]

Kill every one of them and ********* also. If it is trash fish it becomes bird food. Was fishing the Sandy earlier this year and when I landed a ********* a young eagle landed in the tree above me waiting for it. Tossed it up on the bank and when I moved down river enough he came down and had breakfast. Helping out mother nature [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Mike H]

Some of you guys are so narrow minded it's incredible! Have you ever heard of an "ecosystem"? It involved ALL living things, not just the big ones that you can whack and eat for dinner. You want to save salmon? Try saving the ecosystem first. Those big sculpin make baby sculpin that are a choice food for juvenile salmon. Hmmmmm. Oh, and there is no such thing as a trash fish. Trash human, that's another story.

Twoshottom - where do you get the idea that because humans has screwed things up, there are a large number of sculpin? How many sculpin were here before humans arrived? Maybe their populations are at all time lows? Unfortunatly nobody cares enough about non-game species to research them. A **** shame. Oh well, lets dump another few million into salmon hatcheries and call it good.

Joe - if you catch a non-game fish, you have the coice to kill it or let it go. Bugs are different. If they came up with a catch and release windshield, I'd buy it [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Mike

[David Johnson]

I kill them too, but I don't think it makes a difference.

On the bounty subject. I ran into a guy at the Raineir ramp yesterday that said he has caught 1,000 ********* so far this year and last week he caught two $1,000 tagged *********.

As far as trash fish/humans...I vote for the humans and say squish the fish.

[Salmonator]

Mike, you do have a choice... bicycle [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Capin' Dan]

sculpin have a place in the eco system. and yes I think that it is disrespectful to feed them to the gulls because they are a pain in the backside also. I usually very carefully remove them from the hook and then casually rip a gill before feeding them to the crabs. They are a big pain. I do not feel that I'm harming the eco system by doing this. I guess that makes me narrow minded.

[TheRogue]

Capin' Dan.....

Ditto!!

T.R.

[Get Bit]

Ever notice how the little devils follow you from the Columbia to Trask tidewater. This must be their annual spawning run or they just smell fresh bait. Killem' all !

[Killertraylor]

Mike H. - my guess is that this is a non-issue for you as surely you've never cought a sculpin. A guy with your respect for nature surely wouldn't use sardines, anchovies, herring, sand shrimp, or any other bait that used to be alive to fish with - that would just promote the killing of bait, and dammit, the salmon eat that bait so we need it to support the ecosystem. Don't accuse others of not respecting nature because they can justify ridding the world of a few sculpin - if you are truly concerned about the ecosystem, then what makes it o.k. to kill a fish that you eat (salmon, sturgeon, etc.) as opposed to killing a fish that a crab or bird will eat? I'm sure you'll justify it somehow, but it won't be any better of a reason than the justification I use for stabbing those bait-stealing ******** in the head. Capin' Dan - you brought up a good point - that spiny little fish might hurt a little coming out, although I've never seen anything but liquid coming out the business end of a seagull so I'm guessing they can digest the whole thing.

[Mr. Fisherman]

Properly filleted they tast great... If yer a fish [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Ever try them for bait?

I caught a nice brown on one and I'd bet that something down there is eating the poor lil' dead and dying ones....

I ain't no bubble boy and I don't play one on TV [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img].

HAve a nice day and if ya get a chance, GO RIP SOME LIPS!

[fishbait]

I bounce them of the top of my kicker motor and see how far they go.

[Phish_on]

When the regs say "no limit" I figure it's a license to kill. Just helping F&W manage the fishery!

[Hoosier Daddy]

Hey Mr. F, cabezon are sculpins, and they taste great! You might be on to something here. Kind of like a quail or dove though, takes a lot to make a meal.

PS, not that I really care too much, but watch who is watching you when you kill these fish. Oregon Regulations, it is illegal to waste fish (not GAMEfish, just FISH), and it is illegal to dispose of dead fish in state waters. So, if someone (J. Law) wanted to be nasty, you could get popped for wasting fish and disposing of fish in a waterway. Just my .02.

[ 07-24-2001: Message edited by: chnookie ]

[CATCH AND EAT]

Mike H. get a life. Looks as if you need a hug.....from a tree. Find another board to do this battle on. Here you will loose every time.

Feed those little suckers to the crabs. Crabs taste yummy!!!! Sculpin taste like.....well not good anyway. Too bad we cannot thin out the gulls this way too. Hate those suckers during fall Chinook at Till Bay.

[Mike H]

CATCH AND EAT - Thanks for the kind words. I don't mind losing most the battles on this board. Somebody has to stick up for nature against the bunch of neanderthals on this board. [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

I get into these types of issues a lot on this board. I'm not trying to be a tree hugger but I believe nature deserves respect. I always get the "bug argument" (this time included) and that doesn't convince me. Nature shouldn't be waisted. Fish are killed for use as bait. I have no problem with that. It's the needless waist of fish that bothers me. Simply killing a fish for bothering you and then just chucking it into the water bothers me. Sure, birds need to eat too but birds never evolved by preying on bottom-dwelling fishes. So the bird argument doesn't convince me either.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that I'm not just trying to **** people off with these comments. I want to have an educated discussion but all I get back is the bug argument and threats of being a tree hugger. Anybody have anything intelligent to add to this topic? Like why killing sculpin is ok?

Oh, this little bit is to **** people off. Read chnookie's post. If I ever see anyone needlessly killing fish, I always have my cell phone handy. I won't hesitate to make a call to OSP and I'll try my hardest to post pictures of your *** getting busted!

Mike H

[Trick]

I guess it might be a peer pressure thing when it comes to fishing practices. I've killed bullheads before when I've been around groups in the past, but I've released many more. I generally never have to many problems with them and when I do...no big problem. It's like all the slime and junk coming down the river...yes it's a pain in the rear to constantly be cleaning your line, but it's just one of those things.

One of my best memories of my oldest son was a time when I took him down to the creek when he was about 3. We were playing around turning rocks over look for water critters when we uncovered a little 2" bullhead. With a little help from dad he caught his first ever fish with his bare hands. I would have never dreamed of destroying the moment by killing his little catch. We released it unharmed and this was the beggining of teaching my son to respect nature. It as great to see the excitement and listen to the stories he would tell about how he caught a fish with his bare hands. He has freinds that kill bugs, snakes, and other critters for fun. He understands the need to fish and hunt for enjoyment while making use of the animal or fish for food. He also understands the killing of pikeminnow to save salmon but it is a bull$*%t excuse to say that sculpin are anything more than a bottom scavenger that occasionally is a nuiscance.

I'm a devoted fisherman, hunter, but more importantly a father that wants to set a descent example for my kids. Squashing bugs, fish or anything else just because they're in your way bothers me.

Yes, I'm the one that always saves the spiders in my house to release outside to rid my area of all the other bugs (mosquitos, gnats, flys, etc..) and my wife thinks I'm crazy, but my kids know why I choose to be this way.

All I ask is that we all put some value on life and not take it for granted. Respect what you decide to kill and do it for the right reasons. Set an example of compassion for our kids and maybe we will see fewer criminals in the future.

How did I make the connection between sculpin and future criminals...sometime I amaze myself. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

I won't badmouth or call the cops on anyone that chooses to squash the fish because I have alot of buddies that do it. It's just how I choose to be.

I think I'll go and makeout with the maple tree in my backyard now. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Killertraylor]

Cool - I've never been called a neanderthal before. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I generally agree with your point, Mike - to kill just to kill is wrong. However, I justify killing bait stealers as it allows me to have a more enjoyable fishing experience and so others on my boat can catch fish - although I tend to agree with Dave Johnson - I'm not sure it makes a difference. That's the reason I started this post - if enough of us are getting rid of these pests then maybe it will make a difference. It is an interesting moral debate and I respect you for sticking to your guns - even if you are wrong. [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[fishbait]

I still bounce them off my kicker.............

[David Johnson]

I agree with killertraylor, Mike H does deserve respect for standing for what he beleaves,

[Salmonator]

Mike H, do you have to go out and kill a sturgeon to eat? I don't think so. Bread and peanut butter, or for that matter steak and lobster is much cheaper to go to the store and buy than it is to pay gas and bait and other costs to go catch sturgeon. Now which is more disrespectful, intentionally hooking a sturgeon in the lips and dragging it against it's will through the water OR slamming a bullhead against the top of your outboard killing it instantly? Now look what you went and made me do. I had to speak like a true PETA freak just to give you an intelligent answer as to why it's ok to bonk a sculpin. Please don't make me do it again. All of a sudden I have the urge to release a bunch of minks...

[winterkill]

A day without killin sculpins is a day not worth livin. If there was a bounty on those little ******* I'd be a Millionaire. Maybe killing them is actually a help to the enviroment, it puts nutrients and fresh flesh in the water for little salmon and trout.

[Snapset]

The way I see it, we are all a part of the "Ecosystem", we cannot be separated from it, so it is futile to try to have no impact. In addition, Nature by definition cannot and will not ever be static.
Since I am going to have an impact regardless of how I live, I am going to do my best to make that impact as beneficial to me as I can legally do so. If that means killing trash fish because I don't want them wasting expensive bait, I will do it. By the way, sculpins compete with juvenile salmonids, they don't feed them.

Mike, Nature is constantly in a state of flux. I doubt that the Columbia sculpin population is at an all-time low.My guess is that with the most recent Missoula flood, most of the little devils were washed out to sea. That would definitely be a recent-time low, but an all-time low would have to be before there was even one Sculpin in the river.

If you will simply accept the idea that all of us millions of humans with our various activities are part of the Ecosystem, then every activity we have, whether it is weaving hemp sandals, or drilling for oil on the North Slope, has an effect. Perhaps we don't like the population distribution that results: This is where Stewardship and Free Agency come in. Maybe this means hatcheries, maybe it means Pikeminnow bounties, and maybe it means catch-and-squish for sculpins. Maybe it means no drilling on the North Slope, but if oil is more important to us than the impact oil production would have on the North Slope, we should drill. We can try to restore the population distribution to what we prefer, and as we learn more about Nature, we can do so with greater reverence and less manipulation.

Calling these good people "Neanderthal" and implying that some of them are "Trash Humans" may be evidence of your good judgement. Implying that you have a greater respect for nature than these people, well, what can I even say. I have fished with some of them, I hope to fish with many more, and I don't want to lose friends before I have even made them. Therefore when I disagree, I hope to do so without resorting to tactics that might offend. I would recommend the same behavior to you.

There are all kinds of good people, and some of them kill trash fish. Some of us even shoot starlings because we prefer Western Bluebirds. I suspect that you are quite young and you feel that a high-minded pretense of sanctimony justifies your shrill use of over-used phrases. I was young once, and will forgive you this habit. With equal fervor I hope you will grow out of it.

[Salmonator]

Mark, why do I get the idea that your education goes just a few (hundred) credits past mine? [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[fishbait]

Mike,
I respect your right to voice your opinions, but there are not many neanderthrals(wow thats a big word) on this board. I know that for a fact as true neenaderathrals miss the top of the kicker with their sculpin.

[SteelieSteve]

Kill'em the crabs gotta have something to eat

[Snapset]

Joe, the only credits that matter are the ones earned at T.L.U.
(Tight Lines University.)
You have me beat there by a wide margin.