PETA's New Anti-Fishing Campaign

I was checking my e-mail this afternoon and on the right-hand side in the sponsored links section (I have a G-mail account) I saw a link that said, Fishing Hurts - If you wouldn't impale a dog in the mouth, why do it to a fish?

It has been a while since PETA has gone after the angling community, but they are at it again (and puting links right in my 'in-box' without actually SPAMing me.....clever anti's) with their new fishinghurts.com website and billboards. Normally, I would add a link to my blog directly to the site, but I don't want to give theis site any "authority", so if you want to see it you'll have to go directly to it.

The entire campaign is relatively benign - just another emotionally charged PETA ideal that states hooking a fish is the same as hooking a child or a dog and that catch and release fishing kills fish. I have some sour news for PETA: I have already caught and released the same fish three times this year. I know it is the same fish since it has a big slash on its side - probably from an Osprey.

Surprisingly, they don't go after fishing tournaments. They do say that a "2006 study conducted during and after a Wisconsin fishing tournament found that hundreds of fish who were caught and released had died within a few days", but that is the extent of it. Probably because the tournament trails keep records of fish mortality. Last year I fished five BFL tournaments. Now admittedly I don't remember the exact number of fish that we weighed during the season. I do remember, however, that our mortality rate was less than 5%.

Anyway, like all PETA campaigns, this one carries about as much clout as wet dish rag and will soon fade away, but in the meantime, here are a few things you can do to decrease the presence of this campaign on-line:

1. Don't click out on banner ads or sponsored links - although they ultimately have to pay for each click, it adds "authority" to their page in search engines.



2. Don't place links in blogs or anywhere else when you are discussing this campaign - again, click-outs from links add "authority" and move them up the search engine pages.

I am sure posting this around the internet only helps their cause, but I think it is important to let anglers know what the anti's are up to. Remember the old saying - keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Hoernke Wins Lake Norman

Congratulations to Sean Hoernke on his first tour level victory! I am excited to see him win because I know how hard he has worked over the last twelve years to notch wins on every level from the BFL up to FLW tour and even a BASS Open.

So stop by Sean's blog and congratulate him on his recent win. You should also check out HoernToad Tackle and read about his impressive finish in the 2007 Baja 1000. You can read the full story about Hoernke's win here. Congratulations, Sean! Keep the pressure on 'em and we'll catch a few in September!

Good Start To The Season

Got to get out and fish on Friday and Saturday on the 114 acre pond that I live on. Friday the water temperature was between 52 - 56 degrees. I managed a couple of 2 - 2.5 pounders on a Texas rigged 5" Green Pumpkin Flapp'n Tail Worm, but not much else. Over night the water temperature jumped to 55 - 60 degrees and the fishing was much more productive.

Saturday I caught a few good keepers on a chrome/ black back Trap in the grass, but nothing special - just your run-of-the-mill two pounders. After cranking for a while and not getting the big bites I thought I would, I moved up onto a flat and began searching with a Texas rigged Green Pumpkin Tube X . This turned out to be the better of the two patterns.

I drifted the flat and began to fan-cast in front of the boat...Boom! 3.5 pounds. Boom! 5 pounds. It was a while before I got another bite, but managed a couple more threes on the Tube X.

All in all it was a pretty good two days of fishing. Not for the numbers of fish, but because I fished smart. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing like going out and smoking 30 or 40 fish, but it is very satisfying to know that I used my head and figured out how to get quality bites. I wish I had some pictures to post, but since I was by myself....well, you know how it goes. I will try to get some for next weekend.

Recycle Respool

This picture is from six reels that I respooled tonight and I still have six more to go. I will make this mess more times than I can count this season and I am sure many of you reading this will do the same. The great thing about used fishing line is it can be recycled.

Berkley, a major producer of fishing line, has been promoting and facilitating a recycling program for over a decade and so far they have recycled 7,000,000 miles of fishing line. Once this line is collected, Berkley melts it down and creates plastic pellets which are used to build tackle boxes, spools for new fishing line, and Berkley Fish Habs.

So, I just wanted to take a little time and remind you to recycle your used fishing line. Not only will you be protecting wildlife and keeping it out of the landfill, but you will be helping to improve fisheries around the country. Since fishing line cannot be recycled like household plastics, you need to bring it to a designated drop-off center or you can mail your used line back to Berkley:

Pure Fishing
Recycling Collection Center
1900 18th Street
Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360

Berkley will provide recycling bins at no charge to retailers, groups, and individuals who would like to participate in the program.