"Pic shamimg"

I was watching a recent Millhouse Podcast with Captain Eric Herstedt as the guest. Towards the end, he was suggesting that in his circle, picture shaming is catching on. For example, he says the only way he’ll let a client pose with a bonefish is if it is either their first or biggest bonefish. Otherwise he uses that hook removal tool and tries to never lift the fish out of the water. We don’t have bonefish here in Texas, so I don’t have to worry about that. I’ll probably continue to hoist redfish out of the water for a quick picture since I feel they are pretty durable and tolerant of such actions. I don’t post everything on social media. A partner and I did lift a big trout up for a pic once that he caught on fly years ago. I would definitely hesitate before doing that again. Here in Texas I routinely see guides and just everyday fisherpeople lifting 30" trout up out of the water with a scale. The entire weight of the fish is hanging from her bottom lip. Cant’ be good for the fish. A lot these pics are on certified scale and obviously being taken for a tournament. Way better than kill tournaments of the past. I don’t see things changing anytime soon with these tournaments so I guess it will continue.

So what do you think? Can the average fisherperson resist the urge of that dopamine hit they will get from likes on IG?

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Just listened to that podcast. Found the concept interesting but makes sense. The older I get, the more careful I am with releases and handling fish. I still like taking pics though. I suppose the better I get, the less I’ll need those pics to validate myself, LOL!

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I think if the fish is properly handled and removed from the water just for the shot and then more time is spent with it in the water before it swims away, then you are fine. I tend to probably spend too much time with the fish in the water. I don’t let it go until it kicks out of my hand.

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I definitely don’t take as many fish pics as I use to. These days I tend to take more “environment” pics. Sunrise/Set ect.. When it comes to big trout, I prefer to leave em in the net…. Yes I use a net..:joy:.. a Rubber Ego, short handle.

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I think more fish are hurt by mishandling than by actual time out of the water – except for those Youtube heroes who like to pull a fish up and hold it in front of the camera for two or three minutes while droning on and on about good conservation, then “carefully” releasing the fish. Disgusting. If you minimize the time a fish is out of the water, and don’t remove the slime (hint: dry Seadek measuring boards), and support the fish properly while lifting it, I believe most releases will be fine. I try to net my fish rather than fight them until I can hand land them, especially in summer, and I hold it in the water in the net while I wet the aluminum bump board. The camera / phone is ready when I lift it, measure it, shoot it, then release it. The fish is only out of water for five to ten seconds. I find it quite difficult to believe that amount of exposure is harmful, especially when I’ve seen reds flop up on a mud bank grabbing little crabs, then flop back into the water. One Texas guide, whose name I won’t mention, has posted photos of himself throwing slot reds high up in the air to release them, then later made posts about healthy releases. Right…

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I have been mentioning to customers as a half joke that I don’t approve of “hero shots” swimming with tarpon on the beach.

We often joke between guides about pushing fish off the beach intentionally with the boat to avoid having to drag the fish over and mess with it for a long time so someone can take a picture swimming with a tarpon.

With inshore fish, I always have my fishpond boat net onboard. Fish stays in the net overboard in the water while I stage the picture for the customer. I teach them how to hold the fish, snap a quick pick, and instruct them to place the fish back in the net. Then I dunk the fish and let them swim off on their own power.

Been a part of a couple and heard about quite a few bad fish handling practices for the sake of getting content. I decided after the last filming work I did I would no longer allow that to happen. Practice good fish handling techniques or I won’t be apart of it.

Obviously being educated on the species is a big part of this. For example, Handling redfish in 70 degree water and 90 degree water shouldn’t look the same.

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I don’t take pictures anywhere unless it’s with family then and only then do I comply. Very few pictures of me holding fish. I can think of a handful over the 45 years I’ve fished of me holding a Striper or a Fluke. Down here, I do my best to increase recovery odds for the fish. Barbless flies, released if possible with a hook remover. Very rarely do I touch a fish unless it’s big and trust me that’s VERY rare🤓.

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I don’t know I think if properly handled, a quick pic is ok for most species. But on a larger scale, my life, fishing included, has improved so dramatically when I gave up social media. I don’t need to take a picture of a fish unless I really want to save the memory. There’s nowhere to show it off and no one to like it. I don’t worry about what rod or skiff I have or don’t have. I don’t have any comparison.

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LOL. All my old fishing buddies live for my photos. They are sooooo envious of where I get to fish now.

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Decided to look around on FB this morning. If this picture was taken the same time it was posted on FB , then it was hot as ballz. I can only imagine how long that fish was manhandled, all compounded by the time it takes to lay it down, peel some scales off, insert a tag, pass the damn thing around for pictures etc. What the AF.

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i prefer to get in the water with fish if its mine and just lift for quick pic but sometimes we don’t depending on the water. Agree staging them before quick pic is better leaving them in rubber net till last sec. inevitably inexperienced guys can squeeze them or drop them shit happens but they also have alot invested, customer or not and its hard to rob someone of the experience. Boga grips are the devil when lifting big fish and not for me. also make croaker a gamefish while im bitching and ban burn boats on the flats and shorelines :joy:

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Nothing wrong with a quick pic if everything is staged properly for it. I personally won’t take a pic anymore unless it’s a first or largest etc. When multiple people are on the skiff it seems to be more prudent to get into the water with the fish if someone wants a pic and the water is shallow enough. I think teaching people proper fish handling skills is the best thing to do.

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Never had Instagram or Facebook but I still take pictures of fish when they’re big or I’m with a buddy I don’t get to see, or fish with very often.

I have no desire to get my phone stinky for slot redfish or any size of speckled trout unless it’s a kids first fish or something like that

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And you know Jason Aldean was blaring out of those flush mount speakers too.

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The gripper tools are detrimental to fish since they aren’t designed to be held vertically, have all internal organs smashed together and not be supported by the buoyancy of water.

The IGFA recommends using a rubber or vinyl sling or rubber net to hold the fish horizontally and weigh both, then subtract the weight of the net/sling. The length records are on an official measuring device that is laid flat on the deck or nearby shore so the fish is always supported.

In my mind, the rampant social media “Likes” has harmed fisheries and serves no purpose other than to stroke egos. Memories can be preserved by taking a photo of the fish in the water before release.

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I completely agree that hanging a fish vertically off a Boga grip is detrimental. But I also hate to see fish held with the lower jaw cranked waaaaaay down, or the fingers stuck in the gills. Plastic grippers — used on the lower jaw — utilized to hold a fish horizontally (with the belly supported) are in my opinion as harmless to the fish as it gets when holding it out of the water for a photograph. I’m not lipping a big speck. I’ve seen too many fish dropped, or frantically grabbed in the wrong place, when they object to having their photograph taken. With a plastic gripper you can exert some control over the fish without harming it. Just don’t hang the fish off of it.

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For five years now I decided to use a rubber mesh net and try and keep the fish in the water the entire time, even when unhooking, even for photos. It makes for pretty rubbish pics but I never post them anywhere and rarely send them to anyone but a few close fishing friends. If I look back at them which I do from time to time, I realized I don’t need to see this ugly face in the photo anyways.

I absolutely insist on rubber nets. And I don’t lay fish down on dry SeaDek. But, with no disrespect intended, I don’t believe that holding a fish out of water long enough to lay it on a wet aluminum bump board and then snap a quick pic will harm the fish. They wouldn’t survive in the LLM if they were that dainty. If you net them before they’re so whipped that you can hand land them, hold them in the water in a rubber or rubber-coated net while you unhook them and prep the bump board and camera, and release them immediately after the photograph, I believe they’ll be fine. They might have some strange dreams for a few nights, but they’ll be right back on their A-game in no time at all.

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All good fella, definitely not telling anyone that’s what we should all be doing, I just realized it made me feel better about how I was treating and releasing any fish I caught. Sometimes I’m even happy when I ‘guide release’. It’s just my preference.

Thought this might be helpful.

Bonefish Handling: Bonefish & Tarpon Trust

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