This is very interesting!
The flossing debate comes out with out fail around sockeye season...and now in Coho season too. My guess is that we will also see it in Steelhead season and probably sooner or later, in Deer and Moose season too!
Bottom line is that flossing metastised (see defintion below) in our beloved sport.
Sockeye is an anomily in tems of the number of returning fish (very high), duration of the season (2-4 week - short), and the fact that they don't bite with regularity in fresh water. This means if we want a crack at them the sports guy has to hit them hard and flossing does just that. If DFO does its job and creates sports openings when the stocks can support it...I don't mind HARVESTING my share (10-12 this this past season).
Coho/springs/steelhead/chum etc. are a different story. We have 2-3 months to harvest coho, steelhead are available 4+ months of the year, these fish BITE - they donw need to be flossed, etc etc...this is why I don't like seeing flossing on the vedder but think its ok on the fraser.
My simple fix: change the definition of snagging to any fish that is hooked but has not taken the presention (in the mouth area). Biffs coho hooked on a spinner in the snout is fair game, a flossed steelhead/salmon is not.
Shut down the sockeye...if needed yes, its worth it to protect our local rivers from the scourge of flossers
Metastasize:
1)To be changed or transformed, especially dangerously: “a need for love that would metastasize into an insatiable craving for attention” (Michiko Kakutani).
2) To spread, especially destructively: “ [disinformation]... that even now continues to metastasize... to such a degree that myth threatens to overthrow history” (Gore Vidal).
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Topic: Snagging vs. Flossing (Read 16994 times)