Originally Posted by
Vicus
Was a fun read, must say.
Pesonally, I have no issue with bow hunting what so ever...... as long as the bow hunters leave the fish alone in spawn time. As as for bow hunting for fish (except for spawn time):
- Carp will be the easiest targets. There are literally billions of them, and waters all over the world. Even if we all try to kill them all, we would never manage it. People can take bakkie load of them for all I care. So obviously, as a bow hunting target carp presents no problem, ecologically, or morally.
- Barbel, same as Carp, really.
-Trout will be pretty tough to shoot. I cannot see any bow hunter bagging more than two or three in a day. It will have less effect on the river than a single resident cormorant. Certainly, considerable skill will be required.
-Bass will be a bit easier, but except for spawning season, the bigger ones will be harder to find. I would just suggest that in spawning season, leave them alone, as it would be un-sporting to shoot them, and have serious effect on the population.
- Yellowfish the same as bass, just leave them alone in the spawn.
-Kurper, you can find schools, but they are vary wary and will not be easy to shoot.
In general, I do not understand the "hoo-ha" about the bow fishing. We have much more serious threats to our fish stocks. Like pollution, netting etc. And actually the "hook-and-cook" rod and line brigade removes more trout, bass and yellows than any amount of bow hunters could ever hope to do, by an exponential margin. Even the most protected cape streams have the occasional hook and cooker visit with some earthworms. And face it they are catching way more trout than any bow fisher could ever hope to do. A couple of bow hunters will have no impact what so ever. Even a couple of hundred bow hunters for that matter. Simply because with the exception of carp, the bow hunters will not be able to shoot many fish, as it is just not easy to do.....as long as they leave the fish alone in the spawn.
Then there is of course the fact that catch and release fishing does not have 100% survival rate for the fish. In fact research suggests that even the most careful handling of the fish still results in 20%-40% mortality rate. Yep, at least 1 in 5 fish you release, die within a few days. So before preaching at bow hunter toooo much, just realize, that as catch and release fishers we kill our fair share of fish as well. (So why have an issue with a bow hunter who kills 2 or three fish for the pot only?)
So...Mr Bow hunter, as far as I am concerned, you can hunt fish with your bow as much as you like.......except for spawn time. Leave the fish alone in spawn.....please.
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