# Big Rock...right or wrong?



## pier-legend (Jan 14, 2004)

Now that the Big Rock Marlin tournament is under way...I DON'T seem to be seeing ANY of the "CONSERVATION" folks doing any crying and whinning!.
..Where are those who are SOOO opposed to the killing of a big shark or a pier tarpon?..
..WHERE IS THE OUT RAGE, you guys are famous for everytime someone shows a picture of a"dead" shark or (Mercy) a "DEAD TARPON"???

.well in the BIG ROCK, those dead marlin are "RAISING MONEY FOR CHARITYS"...and the actually fish they kill "ARE DONATED FOR SCIENCE STUDY".....
..and THAT MAKES IT ALRIGHT???

..do remember this..."CHARITY AND SCIENCE"..HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WHY THOES MARLIN WERE KILLED!!!!!

,,EVERY MARLIN KILLED IN BIG ROCK was killed strictly for MONEY, and PERSONAL GLORY, and PERSONAL ACCOMPOLISHMENT!!...

.. those fat cats could give a rat a$$ about science, or charity, or any othe reason...

...FOR THAT MUCH MONEY, those dead marlin could have been DUMPED in the middle of Arendell street!!..sold for a fish fry...dumped off the dock on the Morehead Waterfront!!!
..they were through with them just as soon as they were weighed and the pictures were made!!!

..that CHARITY and SCIENTIFIC STUDY BULL-CRAP, is just to make them FEEL BETTER ..and to keep the "tarpon and shark crybabies" off their hiney...

...if your gonna cry over the dozen dead tarpon that are caught on the pier every summer, and cry over the 1-2 world record sharks that are killed...THEN LETS GET ON THIS GROUP OF "WASTERS"...

...if I can live 20 more years I am sure there won't be NO FISH left in the Ocean but SHARKS AND TARPON!!!

...THE "just keeping a few to eat"MENTALITY, will have DESTROYED ALL THE REST!!!...CAUSE its OK to kill it.. IF YOU GONNA RUN IT THRU THE OLE SYSTEM AND DOWN THE COMMODE!!

...but DON'T KILL ANY FISH JUST FOR THE ACCOMPOLISHMENT OR A RECORD!!.....O NO!!
..FISH WASTER..FISH WASTER!!

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## Bassboy (Dec 21, 2003)

*Good post !*

Im with pier-legend 110%! I dont keep any fish to eat because I dont like fish that much. But i do keep some for bait and I'll give them away to people that want them. If i ever catch a tarpon from a pier I do not know what I am going to do with it but I most definately will think about keeping it ! So if your going to go extreme conservation then stick with it but dont judge one thing and not something else.


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## Lipyourown (May 11, 2005)

I'm one of those "crybabies" to an extent: I have no problem keeping and eating with in reason. I have no problem with keeping a record striped bass...most striper fisherman could use the money like me. I do have a problem with killing apex predators like that hammerhead...that fish was older than anyone who reads this board...and there will be little if any endorsements for those guys. 

And for those that kill the fish just to show off, well those are the guys that rarely catch fish and have to act like 2 year olds when they score a touchdown during garbage time and probable rarely score with our better halves if you know what I mean (or they are ignorant or plain dumb). I don't have those problems. Rich guys killing marlin are the type that had to buy there first taste of many things fishy.


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## WALT D. (Dec 18, 2003)

I hate to say it but in my younger days I've brought billfish to the dock, I didn't know any better, but I'll never kill another one.

But to blast the "fat cats" may be a little harsh. These fish are brought in as a legal catch, and as a part of a tournament that rewards them. I've fished my share of Tournaments, but It would be OK with me to see all of them go C&R for the Billfish. Maybe if a change is needed it should be the rules that change.

Do I keep fish, Yep, I keep my share within the laws and limits, we love fresh fish in my house. I don't feel the least bit bad about keeping fish to eat, but I sure don't want to see one wasted. JMO 

Tight Lines,

Walt


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

PL,my opinion is very similar to your's.. I used to kill big sharks off the pier,and my one and only tarpon I caught,I killed it as well.. I have in many ways changed my ways seeing the decline of both inshore kings and big sharks that use to be inshore as well. It's a shame not seeing those big hammers around the pilings trying to eat your bait basket.. 
I really have no problem with a man catching a tarpon and keeping it if it is his first.. I feel as though someone who has caught several,should pull the fish in as close as possible and break the leader,so that *hopefully* he will at least swim off.. Don't really have a problem with someone keeping a record.. Showin off is part of fishing.. One who says they don't bask in the glory of catching a big one,and having his friends congradulate him for that accomplishment,is fooling himself in my view.. 
AND YES,*if what I catch is within the legal limits,and I wanna eat it,I'LL KILLEM AND GRILLEM!!* That's a promise....


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## the rhondel (Feb 6, 2003)

And DD,I'm sure if the "tables were turned", he would show you the same courtesy  .....the R


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## TreednNC (Jul 1, 2005)

Amen to that post Pier Legend. Some people act like their $hit dont stink and they do no harm to the environment since they catch and release....BS....death is a part of life...like DD said...youre just kidding urself if u say u receive no self gratification over somebody gawking at a big fish u caught.


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## jjaachapa (Aug 7, 2004)

Hell yeah ! I love to take the picture and brag. I like the look on my buddies faces even more when I release it.


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## Lipyourown (May 11, 2005)

I have killed many fish in the past and changed my ways. I like showing off too, but now do it with pictures or releasing big ones in front of guys catching croaker etc. Cameras are a wonderful thing. But still, it it is the thrill of the hunt for me, not the kill.


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## fishbone4_14_74 (Feb 7, 2005)

my self have always been a catch and release ,,,, only give skates away and only take home what I gaff,,, Cobia, Tuna, but who wouldnt take one of them home fer da grill


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## yogai (Oct 21, 2005)

I catch and release unless it's good eating and legal size. 

Don't you need a tarpon permit for killin a tarpon? The tarpon permit is like $100 and you only get two tarpon a year. People who stand triumphantly on the dead body of a huge tarpon like they've got the biggest pair are morons. If I offered that fat lard a steak with a treble hook in it, he'd meet the same fate as the tarpon.

I recently read an article about some 8 foot baby whaleshark that was playing with swimmers in mexico. A couple of Mexican "he-men" went after the "beast" and stabbed it with spears, then posed standing on it like they had conquered some bloodthirsty killing machine taht was terrorizing women and children. They got jailtime I think. Stupid morons. I feel the same about eople who keep protected fish and oversize fish because they think its "a once in a lifetime fish". It's only a once in a liftime fish if you kill it. It's just selfish.


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## Fishing_Feud (Nov 16, 2004)

*a fish*

 is still a fish nomatter how big or small...........

One thing about hunting its not catch and release


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## fisherkid (Jun 30, 2005)

yogai said:


> Don't you need a tarpon permit for killin a tarpon


thats florida law. I don't know that NC has that law.
my Q is in florida you don't need a licsense under sixteen. or if fishing from shore. do you still need the 2$ snook permit or the 50$ tarpon tag


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## Caught Myself (Sep 14, 2004)

One thing this board has taught me is to never criticize someone who has made a legal catch. Not my call to make. I admire the man who releases it and the man who takes it for food. Wasting it, however, is just that - a waste, even if it is legal. Still not my call to make.


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## BaitWaster (Jan 8, 2004)

pier-legend said:


> EVERY MARLIN KILLED IN BIG ROCK was killed strictly for MONEY, and PERSONAL GLORY, and PERSONAL ACCOMPOLISHMENT!!...


And I suspect every tarpon on the pier is "killed strictly for PERSONAL GLORY, and PERSONAL ACCOMPOLISHMENT!!..." 

Sorry about the money. Now if you guys could find 80-90 folks to pony up 3-12 large, then you would have the money thingie too.  

I don't apply my C&R policy to others so as long as it's legal.

The Three Wise Men (O' Kelly, Ronald & Rudolph Isley) said it best: 

It's your thang... 
Do what you wanna do.
I can't tell you.
Who to sock it to.


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## baitslingin (Jul 31, 2005)

there's some great controversy on this board...
you guys should run for some sorta public office


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

baitslingin said:


> there's some great controversy on this board...
> you guys should run for some sorta public office


 No insults,or "furflyin comments",and no one's had thier eye poked out with a sharp stick yet,so for now it's all cool...


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## striperswiper (Nov 30, 2004)

i caught a 8ft shark off nags head pier lastnight and killed it none of the meat was wasted i got what i needed and gave the rest away to the people who helped me get that beast in i was going to post a report but im am simply sick of all the critacizm around hear :--|


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## Blues Brother (Jul 18, 2005)

Just leave it alone, pier-legend. Why did you have to start this topic? You're just wanting to start an arguement, and I (for one) am not going to give you the satisfaction of having what you want. So I'll just drop it right now.



PS, I think you better re-examine who is doing the "crying and whining".


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## BaitWaster (Jan 8, 2004)

Striperswiper - Go for it – as long as it wasn’t a sand tiger (illegal).  

Geez, thought from all the time you plankers send up there in the sun & wind, yer skin would be a little tougher.  

Pier-Legand does have some very good points tho. But to say that the marvin tourneys get a pass on the dead fish photos just isn’t right. They get a lot of grief, at least on some of the boards I visit. 

And the feds may be clamping down on this with a 250 billfish cap/per year and mandatory circle hooks (most tourney are now giving bonus points for circle hook releases).

Go ahead, I got yer back if it’s a legal fish.  

The C&R crowd that get so worked up needs to work to change the law if it’s causing them so much grief – for tarpon a $$ tag to take like Florida or maybe a limit of one per year – sumpin like that. 

Kenny will back me up, I like a good "discussion" as long as it doesn't get personal and it's reasonanly civil. 

Catch & Kill verses Catch & Release (an maybe to die later) botch have good & bad points and maybe some folks may get better edjumocated. But, again, you can always do what I do and just decided not to apply your ethic to others. ( I do a fair amount of C&R as well as kill & grill the tasty critters. )


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Blues Brother said:


> Just leave it alone, pier-legend. Why did you have to start this topic? You're just wanting to start an arguement, and I (for one) am not going to give you the satisfaction of having what you want. So I'll just drop it right now.
> 
> 
> 
> PS, I think you better re-examine who is doing the "crying and whining".


 Believe me,BB,if it was an arguement and not a discussion,I have my handy axe out.. Like BW,I love a good discussion,and as long as no one gets ta spittin out insults and cause fur ta fly, I'm all for it.. 

I stated my position above,everyone is entitled to and opinion,mine is in the middle.. Long as it's legal,go for it.. 

Example: This weekend Tater and I went cobein on the tube.. We caught about a 15lber and a 40 plus,both were legal under the law,but I can't stand the taste of cobia:--|  Sunday went out with a couple of loooong time ole planker friends of mine.. I told them I don't like to eat cobe,but they were welcome to fill the cooler with a couple.. Well we caught a 41 and a 61,then we hooked into a 70plus,and we took the dehooker and released him at the boat.. *ALTHOUGH HAD THIS BEEN A NEW STATE RECORD,sorry,I'da had ta sink a gaff in em...*


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## Cdog (Mar 18, 2002)

Drumdum said:


> Believe me,BB,if it was an arguement and not a discussion,I have my handy axe out.. Like BW,I love a good discussion,and as long as no one gets ta spittin out insults and cause fur ta fly, I'm all for it..
> 
> I stated my position above,everyone is entitled to and opinion,mine is in the middle.. Long as it's legal,go for it..
> 
> Example: This weekend Tater and I went cobein on the tube.. We caught about a 15lber and a 40 plus,both were legal under the law,but I can't stand the taste of cobia:--|  Sunday went out with a couple of loooong time ole planker friends of mine.. I told them I don't like to eat cobe,but they were welcome to fill the cooler with a couple.. Well we caught a 41 and a 61,then we hooked into a 70plus,and we took the dehooker and released him at the boat.. *ALTHOUGH HAD THIS BEEN A NEW STATE RECORD,sorry,I'da had ta sink a gaff in em...*



DD, can ya tell ya planker bud I said thanks again for that chunk o cobe.

Sho was tasty....


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

He's gettin too dern fat anyway....


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## Dr. Bubba (Nov 9, 1999)

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't stand the taste of a cobe. Many folks just look at me like I'm crazy.

But I sure do love pullin on one of those brown bruisers.........or is it the other way around?


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## CrawFish (Sep 23, 2003)

Hey DD, just hook them and leave them on your front yard.. I'll drive 5 hours to get 'em...   ... I just find a new way to cook them... taste nothing like fish.. you'd be thinking it's meat and not fish..


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