Pumping a Trout stomach?

[tomgamber]

I'm not a fan of stomach pumps. I think they'd be pretty harmful. I liked tabasco's line about if you've caught one you already know what works...good point.

There was a reservoir in Idaho on the way to sun valley that had been dry for over 3 years. We got a good snow pack and on the way to SV one day we put the tubes in and gave it a shot. This was september and we'd heard they had stocked it in May when the runoff filled the lake for the first time is 3 years. We caught many 20 inch rainbows that day. Dragged us all over the place in those tubes. We caught them all on red and black wooly buggers size 6 seemed like every other cast. We took 2 home. Their bellies were exploding with snails. Now I've seen snail flies but I think the buggers worked just fine. If they are striking my fly I'm really not that interested in what they are eating.

 

[Acristickid]

Wow, leave the house for a while and see what happens.

I think I tend to agree with most of the thoughts.

However; I really did'nt see much harm in someone asking to open an already dead fish's stomach to see what is inside.

What kinda prompted this question for me was on a recent fishing trip (state of CO) I ran a fellow flyfisher who mentioned he had a stomach pump. He also mentioned he was a cardiologist (which I did not doubt by the rigs he had) so I guess I might trust his delicate touch. Or was he just like an other yahoo out there with 2 very expensive setups?

 

[pete41]

No-he wasn't.
There is a long tradition in some areas about checking the stomach contents with pumps.Seems they really don't hurt the fish.I think we have let the Peta people and Disneyites get to us.
I never had the urge to do it but fault no-one that does.Trying to claim the high ground as being more sporting than others is suspect.We fish because we enjoy it,we release to preserve our sport.
Ironically the Paradise may be the ultimate case of selective trout.I know from experience the trout there will discriminate between different shades of the same color of size 22 fur bodied nymphs that were tied exactly the same,otherwise.Sure would be nice to pump one of their stomaches.lol
A dead fish is a dead fish -as long as you don't throw a stringer full in the trash can as they use to do in Yellowstone-so what?

 

[tomgamber]

Let me pose this question. If you are fishing during the time or on a water where all fish must be immediately released unharmed, would pumping a fishes stomach be prudent or even legal?

 

[pete41]

Those conditions would also preclude posing fish for pictures of course.Would I think the posers should be arrested and held up to ridicule-no.
I just think smelly guys in waders should resist being too judgmental but TETO.

 

TomGamber;
I've got a really great "snail fly"pattern that's made from a hiking boot lace, (seriously) and two antenna made from plastic flower pistils! Works very well!

Anyway, does this mean that all of us "smelly guys in waders", have to line up on one side of the room, while those "that BATHE and wear waders", (and hang those little pine trees, on the inside, before they do up their shoulder straps), get to be on the other side?

I, admit, I don't think I was ever judgmental on a darn thing, until I began to smell bad! I think it was a hot day, in August, after a night of poker, warm beer and hard boiled eggs, that my waders and I, "passed over to the argumentative and judgmental side of life", but I could be wrong. :lol:

 

[tomgamber]

OK, so is it legal in that case or not...smelly waders aside.

and I almost never take pictures...

 

[pete41]

I am only human-those that are more so or less[not sure how that works] are of course flawless-but I admit to many bouts of jerk ism.
Legal-well,gee whiz don't pin me down or I will get a lawyers opine and we don't want that,do we?
Just kidding around but I tried to avoid elitism because that leads to stagnation.
Not saying anyone here is there.Good group-

 

[Maurice]

I'd say you can take a picture Tom...so long as you return the fish to the water unharmed.

 

[MKern]

Something I just thought of.
After pumping the stomach, what fly whould tie on? My guess would be the samething you would anyway (pheasant tail, caddis larva, pupa, some other kind of nymph).
Face it, most people use the same flies a majority of the time and if you are going to check the chewed-up mayflies in the stomach for various differences in subspecies, because the trout are being THAT selective, you have little chance at catching them because nothing I tie or have seem another average joe tie looks exactly or act exactly to a living mayfly/caddis.

 

[tomgamber]

Maurice wrote:
I'd say you can take a picture Tom...so long as you return the fish to the water unharmed.

I was referring to the stomach pumping....

 

[FarmerDave]

tomgamber wrote:
Let me pose this question. If you are fishing during the time or on a water where all fish must be immediately released unharmed, would pumping a fishes stomach be prudent or even legal?

I can't say if it is legal. It is a judgement call. If the WCO is wearing tweed and a Rolex, he probably won't write you up. :-D

Seriously, I'd say it is a judgement call on the WCO. I'd say he probably could write you up for it, but doubt asny of them would if that is all you did. You would have to be a real piece of work to get a ticket for that. Well, in your case, hopefully you get a friendly judge. :lol:

It seems to me that many of the fishing laws are written in such a way that it leaves some judgement up to the WCO. I think this is especially true when it comes fishing outside of regular seasons such as fishing non-approved waters this time of year. I think the laws are deliberately written that way.

 

[JackM]

The guy I saw play a 15 inch trout for 4 minutes did more harm to that trout than a poorly executed stomach pumping could possibly ever do. Just an observation and opinion.

 

[FarmerDave]

JackM wrote:
The guy I saw play a 15 inch trout for 4 minutes did more harm to that trout than a poorly executed stomach pumping could possibly ever do. Just an observation and opinion.

Good point Jack. But I suppose it would be even worse if he fought the fish for 4 minutes and then performed a poorly executed stomach pump on it, don't ya think? There is a point in there.

Seriously, in your comparison it probably depends on how poorly the stomach pumping is executed. You can sometimes revive an exhausted fish, but you usually cannot revive a busted gut.

Someone else pointed out that this is a blood sport, and justifying one over the other as being less severe is kinda silly. I somewhat agree with that. However, I just think pumping a trout’s stomach is usually a waste of time and is kinda stupid and I am entitled to that. Maybe I am just old fashioned. For Pete sake, it's fishing.

This thread reminds me of this summer when I caught a bass in my pond that had several black feathers sticking out of it’s throat. They looked like leeches at first (wet black feathers look like leeches). I reached in a grabbed one and pulled. They were still attached to a bird. Caught the bass on a black jitterbug. True story, and I have witnesses. And in case you are wondering, I did not remove the bird.

 

[mediclimber]

Pump a trouts stomach? Only if there's a suicide note and empty pill bottle there. Turning rocks over is more fun anyway. Reminds me of my childhood looking for crayfish, helgremites, and salimanders in the creeks.

 

[Padraic]

I just don't see how anyone is going to recognize a mayfly nymph, caddis or what have you after the thing's been swallowed and partially digested. I have trouble enough when the bugs are crawling on rocks.

 

[pete41]

I think its just a relatively harmless way some people add an extra interest to the hobby.
Others use kits to show what color fly should be best,some that I have seen are far more enamoured with their casting or knowledge of ``bug'' than catching fish.To me fishing,hiking,hunting have always been more about being out there with out being idle-TETO.

 

[Fredrick]

Why can't you just pump the stuff back in the fish's stomach????? . If the pumps tube is clear you would'nt have to squirt it out so why can't you just put it back in ?????????? Even if you can't get all back in at least the fish has something

 

[MattBoyer]

I can't imagine it would be pleasant at all to have your stomach filled back up with chewed up food. Besides that it would be a pain in the *** to do and doesn't really show you anything you shouldn't already know before you got there if you did any homework whatsoever. Maybe if I would stop catching fish and got desparate I would try it, but it just seems silly to me. It really neither benefits the fisherman nor the fish, and probably involves enough handling to kill the fish in the long run. I just can't see how it could be a good thing.

Boyer

 

[pete41]

Fly fishing at the very best could be considered relatively harmless to the fish and many people consider fishermen to be silly jerks waiting for one on the other end.All depends on your point of view.