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Citation trout

Started by 9ft4wt, December 09, 2008, 14:35:44 PM

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9ft4wt

Flyfish_va post in the "Western Va Wild Trout Stream" thread had a list of citation fish from the Jackson River. I went deeper into the link because I was curious about citations from other locations for brook, brown and rainbow trout.

As I suspected most of the citations were from Cedar Creek and Cripple Creek. Both of those operations I believe are private, pay and harvest streams. Cripple Creek, which I have fished three times, is famous for throwing in huge trout the morning you get there and then you fish for them. No catch and release, you keep what you catch and when you hit your limit you are done.

I have no problem with the folks who run those operations or the people who pay to fish them.  It is what it it is. Some folks go for the thrill of catching huge fish. I went because I wanted guilt- free trout for the table.

But, I have always been a little put off that VDGIF would issue citations for fish caught at those places. I have never been able to nail down my objections other than to say "it jis don't seem fittin'."

Is it just me? What do you guys think?

9ft4wt


Woolly Bugger

it is what it is because of all the stocking that takes place there isn't any clear way to distinguish between wild reproducing fish and stocked trout in the fisherman's eye. I personally have no desire to fish for any stocked trout. However I encourage others to go there.

Are they legitimate citation fish?

I don't really care -- it has no relevance to my style of fishing. 
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

5xTippett

I wouldn't fish there, but I certainly don't have a problem with people who do.  I don't have a problem with anybody as long as they fish legal (unless they are fishing downstream and I'm fishing upstream). :)

jkilday4

Sounds like a promotion more than anything - get more new folks interested in going for a relatively 'easy' trophy, sell more licenses, collect more revenue, etc.  I see where you're coming from though - it cheapens the 'citation' classification.

9ft4wt

Keith:

I have thought about your point in the past, and I agree -- how do you tell the difference. In the over all scheme of things, concerning trout fishing  this doesn't even cause a blink of the eye when compared to fencing out cattle from streams, stream bank stabilization or restoring creek side vegetation to create shade.

Having thought about it since I saw your post, however, I think that what galls me about this is the cheapening of trout fishing. A six-inch native brookie is a work of art. A 10-incher is a master piece and a 12-incher should be a national treasure. Why should anyone care about catching, protecting and ensuring that wild trout will exist for our grandchildren when they can be rewarded for going out and buying a trophy?

That is not the lesson young anglers should be learning. It is not about instant gratification, or about the catching. It should be about the opportunity, the effort, the challenge, the luck, the skill, the adventure and the beauty you discover.

I have no problem with people catching stocked fish or paying to land pigs. I just don't believe recognizing and rewarding them for it, is good for the conservation of trout in the long run.

9ft4wt




walt

citation issue aside nine footer, i'm curious as to why you would go to a stocked stream for "guilt-free" meat.

personally, i dislike the taste of trout chow raised trout. i would much rather dine on a legal wild stream caught trout, it is going to be fresh and tasty..... and in doing so, i will not suffer any feelings of guilt. first and foremost, i'm a fisherman, therefore a hunter.

that said, i haven't killed a trout for the table in years (hell, it's been months since i have even been trout fishing  :'(  )...  however i have shared the killing of saltwater species...  trout, redfish, bluefish, flounder, spanish, kings, and dolphin in the past few months..... and they all were well prepared and cooked.... and tasted great!

i guess what i'm trying to convey to you is that you shouldn't feel guilty if you catch-and-kill a legal wild fish on occasion for your table fare..... pass the butter and lemon please  ;D

wally, who is well aware that this kind of statement/thread has caused many a flame war across fly fishing forums for years, bwth, it's cold-n-nasty outside  >:D

"All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain."
— Cormac McCarthy

Shane

I love cripple creek. I've fished it a few times and it's fun. The people like to go there to catch a trophy. A lot of what gets caught there ends up at the taxidermist. I'm OK with that. The fish from there do not taste good.

Citations: I think it's just a lot easier than having a panel judge your fish's worthiness. I bet they get a lot more nosy if you're claiming some kind of record.


S

flyfish_va

I have no problem fishing those places, the guy from Big Pine offered to let me fish it for free and do trips..But I dont think those places should count as citations.
It takes years of work and fishing to find spot and methods to catch giant fish (and a hell of a lot of luck)  But paying $50 to fish a place that gets the living shit stocked out of it with giant fish and then registering those fish as a citation makes the ones we catch on our own, seem less valuable...And that pisses me off!

Woolly Bugger

The Citations are just for the Angler! Don't you even have to pay for it?

I'm all for raising money from fools who need a piece of paper to prove that they have caught a large fish.
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

9ft4wt

Walt:

I have no problem with you keeping a wild caught trout every now and then. I say to myself quite often on wild waters that this time if I catch a trout, I am going to keep it and eat it. i have been yearning to eat a brown from the Soho. i have never had a brown trout and I suspect a 15 -inch Soho brown would be pretty tasty. yet everytime i aim to do it, i can't bring myself to do it in the end. I probably will one of these days.

Shane: I will admit I enjoyed fishing Cripple Creek. I have no qualms about going back again. and to tell the truth, each time I kept trout from there, they were actually not bad. Course you butterfly em, soak em in beer in milk, fry em up in bacon grease, with garlic and some spices and stuffed with crabmeat, scallop and shrimp mix.....I didn't hear any of my buddies camping with me at Hurricane complain.

9ft4wt

Oldman

Browns taste bad. Rainbows are great and better cooked on a stick. I dont eat trout except when I am backpacking and a brown is on the bottom of my list for tablefare.

flyfish_va

citations look good on a guides resume.
the fee is $4.00

natureboy

Speaking of cooking....Dan when are we going fishing again?  It would also be nice to have Dave and Mike along to watch me catch fish.   ;D

Woolly Bugger

Anybody out there have a Citation? I want to see what one looks like, the only ones that I have from NC are PINK
ex - I'm not going to live with you through one more fishing season!
me -There's a season?

Pastor explains icons to my son: you know like the fish symbol on the back of cars.
My son: My dad has two fish on his car and they're both trout!

Al

Quote from: flyfish_va on December 10, 2008, 22:13:27 PM
citations look good on a guides resume.
the fee is $4.00

Yep, I was at a couple of those public Philpott 216 study meetings when a local fellow got up and informed eveyone that he was a guide and spent over 250 days a year on the river and had 7 citation trout certificates to prove it. He went on to tell everyone what was wrong and how to fix it, ie stock shad above the dam so they could be drawn through the turbines like in the old days -  I was real impressed.