Some call it irresponsible. What do you think?

[Viejo]

This post has created an international storm on the internet. A Lake Tahoe guide posted this trip report on catching very large Golden Trout:

http://imhooked.com/cgi-bin/forumsya...m=1313715834/0

The resulting uproar has literally gone around the world. He claims that he doesn't eat frozen fish and that he and his boy ate every one of "God's Candy" as he calls them. He fishes with treble hooks, a blend of powerbait and worms.

Is this the best trip report ever posted or is this an example of the kind of sportsman we can no longer afford to celebrate with the increase in back country use and access?

Your thoughts?

[teejay]

On one hand, maybe they were not breaking the law as far as limits, but from my personal experience that’s an awful lot of fish for two people to eat in the backcountry. And then to go on and make this statement: “But the forces of fresh meat prevailed and we headed home some what lighter and anemic”. How much more "fresh meat" do they need?
Also, I just hope that they didn't release the ones after laying them on the grass, granite rock and after sticking their fingers in their gills.

[STEVE IN SOCAL]

He seems to know what he's doing. Not sure if the power bait was needed, but it's legal (unless there were tackle restrictions in that area). I'm not a big fan of bait period, but people use it. I say leave the guy alone, and kudos for taking his son on an epic adventure.

[sierraslam]

Holy smokes! What a bunch of huge Golden Trout! I took all kinds of heat when 6 of us kept 5 or 6 big trout from Crowley. This guy probably gets death threats from some people. As long as each of them didn't go over there limits, I guess there ok. I'm pretty sure they can use what ever bait they want in that area. I've have found that most of the people who rip into posts like that one, would never do the work it takes to fish those areas anyways. Good to see that there are still some very large Golden's in the Sierras.

[smokehound]

On one hand, he was within the law. On the other hand, they were pretty irresponsible by keeping the huge ones. This WILL have consequences in the future. Large fish create large offspring.

In these areas, the big ones are the only real apex predators in the lake, and taking the bigger fish-eating goldens is very bad for an unstocked body of water.

It's unlikely many poachers (who tend to be poor and unlicensed) will bother making the brutal trek.

These guys had it easy. They used horseys

[City Dad]

The main thing I felt was a sense of envy. That's Bucket List fishing there. So, I suppose my opinion is probably influenced heavily by my deep feelings of jealousy.

IMHO those guys may seem like decent enough folks, but I think their actions were gluttonous. It may be their right to kill all those fish, but having a right to do something doesn't necessarily make it the right thing to do.

And I have no sympathy for anyone who posts pictures on a public forum and then gets their feelings hurt by comments. If one is really that sensitive, one should refrain from posts and stick to personal messages.

[Stormcrow]

Heres a point that I have made TIME and TIME again:

SIMPLY BECAUSE SOMEONE MAY BE ACTING WITHIN THE LAW DOES NOT MAKE THEIR ACTIONS RESPONSIBLE OR ETHICAL

Anyone who thinks otherwise is, in my opinion, completely ignorant.

I think the story is a travesty.....whether they ate them or not.

[smokehound]

Heres a point that I have made TIME and TIME again:

SIMPLY BECAUSE SOMEONE MAY BE ACTING WITHIN THE LAW DOES NOT MAKE THEIR ACTIONS RESPONSIBLE OR ETHICAL

Anyone who thinks otherwise is, in my opinion, completely ignorant.

I think the story is a travesty.....whether they ate them or not.

Exactly. Those fish took a loooooooong time to get that big!

[City Dad]

Exactly. Those fish took a loooooooong time to get that big!

I see how it is now, smokehound - you can agree with Stromcow but you can't agree with me...

You are a rabid anti-Sasquite.

[STEVE IN SOCAL]

I see we have some wildlife biologists on here. Just how loooong is loooong? Could it be that they're about to eat themselves out of a job? Maybe culling out some of the toads is beneficial. Just sayin...unless you're a biologist that has studied that body of water. Jealousy is a nasty emotion.