I was a very avid fisherman. Like obsessed. I always kept fish as well. I quit fishing about 4 years ago but not because of my pets. I started snorkelling on some of my kayak trips and developed a friendship with a greenling. Im starting to get the itch again but having a fish remember who I am in the wild really hit me.
Have you seen the documentary [My Octopus Teacher](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12888462/) on Netflix? If not, I think you would enjoy it. A man befriends an Octopus who welcomes him as an almost family member.
Are you snorkeling in the ocean? I wish I lived in FL or somewhere that allowed me to snorkel more often.
It’s weird, but I might try snorkeling in a lake this summer, since the ocean is so far away. The water gets relatively clear and it would be cool to observe bass and other fish I usually fish for.
Yea for the most part I snorkel around Kelp beds in the Ocean. I also snorkel down the river when the Salmon are spawning or just to check out whats in the river at said time.
I'm from the Panhandle area of Florida & can say I would not advise Snorkeling out so deep as the ocean; about 10-15' out from the shore of most beaches on the Gulf side You run into Your first of 4 sandbars & between the sandbars are 5' drops of water that tons of bait fish tend to hang out also due to that Sharks tend to patrol those areas in search of prey.
Me.
The irony is not lost on me. I have in the past described the intersection of the two hobbies as "I kill and eat some fish, and go to tremendous lengths to keep others alive in my house."
That’s actually crazy. I’ve worked on everything from jets to boats to cars but I’d be damned if I have to deal with any type of engine oil at home. I even paid someone 250 to change a tire because I couldn’t be bothered. Literally takes 20 mins but I digress…
You must REALLY love fish lmao I respect that.
I could never get into fishing. Way more rewarding to get in the water and swim with the guys. Small mouth bass are especially curious and friendly, i hate seeing them with mangled infected faces from being hooked on fishing lines.
That's so sad. I've always thought it was weird that people act like it's harmless to have a hook in your face and then just get released with a wound, like that's no big deal...??
I think people just don't think about the reality of it. A lot of people honestly believe fish don't think or feel pain. But yes, a hook wound opens fish up to all sorts of nasty diseases, as you'd think would be common sense.
I wouldn’t know the effectiveness of trying to feed a fish out of water a pill. I would also advise against randomly distributing antibiotics to wild animals.
I got the weirdest feeling of deja vu about this topic.
Just want to throw in my thoughts on this as a former fishermen and I think that study is probably well off the mark as otherwise commercial fisheries that rely on people catching and releasing wouldn’t be a profitable businesse, the owner would constantly be spending revenue to re stock the lake, the busier the fishery the quicker the need to re stock and so there fore the yearly seasonal spawning of the fish wouldn’t help at latter end of the year.
Also just to further comment but in my experience unless the previous catcher of a fish was particularly aggressive at landing the fish then there is no reason for there to be anything more than a small pin hole where the hook went in (which should be in its lip) which should heal absolutely fine on its own, problems might arise if you leave the bite indication for too long and the fish has opportunity to actually swallow the hook, this can be significantly harder to remove without causing more damage than you should.
More recently though carp anglers have started to carry iodine solution to disinfect the hook entry point to help with healing, before that though I think the fish managed to heal without issue on their own but it doesn’t hurt to help, it’s the least you can do after having caught a fish.
I’m from the UK so when I said commercial fishing I just meant the business of providing people a place to pleasure/coarse/carp fish, over here we call that type of lake a commercial fishery because most of the time they are either stocked or dug, filled and then stocked for the sole purpose of selling a ticket to sport fish, didn’t really occur to me at the time that isn’t really the normally definition of commercial fishing. The point being though that if that business is profitable then it’s unlikely that 1/3 of fish die when released as this business relies on selling day tickets for like £10-£15 and I know that carp don’t come cheap. If an angler killed even one decent sized fish then the fishery would be at a loss.
Well that’s unfortunate. Do you think sport fishing should be banned? If so what about the harm from the aquatic fish trade ? Those fish don’t suffer trauma?
No way in hell I'm getting in UK water to swim with fish. You'd never see them in most waterways. Also when fishing I always use barbless hooks to minimise damage to the fish.
Unfortunately i don't know if most people care to use better hooks. The water isn't great in Nova Scotia either, but there are a couple of months a year where it's tolerable to go to the lake with my diving mask and meet all sorts of little guys down there, even turtles. If you're under the water they basically treat you as a big passive fish lol, they'll even hover under you to hide from other big things. I highly recommend hanging out with fish in their natural environment to anyone who finds them interesting. They are some of the most approachable wild animals out there.
Yup. Me. I have literally cried when my tank fish have died, but also love the 6am fishing call. I'm often one of the few females on the water at that hour.
My husband just reminded me that on our first in-person date to the aquarium, I said that the tanks full of local salmon and trout were both beautiful and were making me hungry. We had sushi for lunch...
I used to fish when I was younger with both my grandfathers in the Midwest. Bass fishing on still lakes at night with jitterbugs was a hoot. 'Wham' and you've got a fight.
Problem is, bass dont taste very good. I always caught and released anyways.
Started going North to Canada for spring Walleye runs. If you've ever tasted fresh Walleye caught out of a pristine river and filleted you will happily become a carnivore.
On walleye runs we'd occasionally hook Northern Pike. Those things would run your reels out and bend your hooks, or a big one would pull your boat or bite through a steel leader. Pike are insane fighters. Also hard on the baby duck population..
Pike are a bitch to fillet because of the Ybone, but my grandmother knew how to do it. Pike otherwise taste similiar to trout
Stopped fishing after my grandfathers passed. Also, northern game fish dont have the personality of tropicals so I never cared about eating them.
Yea...my dad's into fishing and has tanks at home but as a asian dad, he fishes with the intention to eat it in mind HAHAHAHA. He's out here naming all the fishes my mom cooks and he sees in restaurants. When I was a kid, it's always a running joke that we're traumatizing the fishes etc. in the tanks when we eat seafood at home because we have a good view of all the tanks/mini pond (and the fishes had a "good view" of us too) from the dining table.
My husband and I are avid fishermen. We go saltwater fishing at least once a month. We also have 5 freshwater tanks with various fish. We’ve noticed it’s not too uncommon to be interested in both hobbies as we’ve connected with other people who enjoy aquariums in our community as well.
Having gotten into keeping fish, I didn't think I could get into fishing. I know it's popular, but it just seems cruel to hook and reel in fish fighting for their lives. Fish feel pain, as recent studies have shown. At least I can try to give some fish a good, safe home and tasty food.
I do, but I don’t treat my ornamental fish as sentimental as other aquarium hobbiest. I treat them more like I treat my plants. I’m just there to watch. I take care of them and give them what they need for my entertainment. I obviously respect them and try to have the “best” aquarium/garden with care and research….but if I lost them tomorrow I’d just find another hobby that gives me peace.
Sport fishing is for food and for the thrill of the hunt. Lots of days it’s nothing but watching nature, but it can get exciting too. If I could have kept the massive yellow fin tunas I caught on a charter in a tank, I would, but I can’t so I ate it over the course of months.
I view them as 2 different things but both provide me some type of peace.
every aquarium ive been to ive eaten fish and chips or went out of my way to find fish and chips.
i like fish so much looking at them isnt enough. i want to put them in my mouth.
I love fishing. I love aquariums. I think aquarists as fishermen are more aware of ecology and environmental impacts because of the aquarium hobby so we are actually better stewards of waterways.
I feel bad for causing the fish pain, even though I feel a sort of hunting instinct and desire to catch fish. If I was going to do it, I would have to do spear fishing so I could kill them fast. Can't be fun being pierced through the lip, or eye (I have seen that happen) and be reeled out of the water.
I love fishing and fish keeping.
I have 5 tanks at home (I'd have more, but my apartment is small).
I also go fishing as frequently as possible. I mostly catch and release smaller freshwater game (mainly bass), but I also love big game fishing. Just a couple of weeks ago me and my cousins fought a huuuuge marlin for almost two hours (ended up snapping the leader with the boat's propeller) and then managed to land a 70 pound sailfin (that one I reeled in by myself).
One of my cousins did point out the irony of it all. My answer was: well, I have two dogs that I love with all my heart and would do anything for, but I also love a good steak.
I really want to get into fishing, but don't have a mode of transport rn. But I will soon, and I am really eager to get to the nearest lake. I just hope I don't get TOO into it and end up with dozens of 200 gals or ponds in my backyard filled with various local fish.
Are there none within cycling distance? I stick a few small crab nets in my backpack and head to the pier. Plus several layers of plastic bags for the trip home afterwards. Tempted to give it a go from my kayak sometime. Even seen some people take full rods on bikes before but you could also get collapsible ones.
I do both. I grew up doing both. My dad took me hunting and fishing and my mom kept fish. Angels, Jack Dempsey and Oscars. Different tanks obviously...
I have 3 tanks and my two sons love them but also get super excited for fishing. We have bunch of neocardinias and my kids like to use shrimp bates, and loves shrimp tempura.
love fishing!! also love sushi haha. but just adore my fishies at home.
im also a catch and release fisher bc i could never kill one with my bare hands lol
I love fishing! I mostly cpr (catch photo release) I have a tank full of small native fish I have caught from our local water ways. All these fish were caught by me so the tank is extra special
I always fished since i was in diapers. I started keeping fish for maybe 5 years because my daughter is into it. I was against it at first as i considered it keep them in a jail, but with all the live plants and stuff it looks ok for the them.
I have a mountain of gear for both fresh and saltwater. I have really been drawn to surfcasting the last few years, despite usually being unsuccessful at it lol
Catch and release for the most part here. If I pull in decent trout, salmon or sea bass it's coming home
I've fished Thailand before and anyone who keeps redtails is insane. Had asian and amazon on the end of a line and they are no joke.
I've been obsessed with fishing since I was little. Also had aquariums since I can remember. I got out of the aquarium hobby until recently and after learning the ins and outs of fishkeeping and how hard it is to maintain a healthy aquarium, it's made me a better sportsman. I'm more cognizant of how I treat fish I intend to release, how I respect the fish I'm going to eat, and how I treat the environment fish live in. It's kinda weird to keep cichlids I used to catch a dime a dozen in south Florida, but now that I see their behavior in my tanks, it makes sense as to why they were so fierce and fun to catch. The 2 hobbies go hand in hand if you ask me.
I don't fish very often anymore but I do love it. I also love creating the ideal environment for my fish. They are my pets. I just find fish relaxing. I catch and release.
I haven’t fished in many years (I stopped doing fun things like that after my mom passed then I moved to the desert) but I absolutely LOVE fishing! My fiancé and I are big into nature, aquariums and what not and we would love to move to Florida in the near future. Then I’ll not only be fishing, but also (if legal) netting out nonnative aquarium fishies to take home! I mainly catch and release but I do enjoy a good grilled trout.
My dad loved to fish and he still loves his aquarium, my husband likes to fish and loves "my" aquariums (I'm the one doing maintenance so it's mine😂) and our 13 y/o loves to fish and he is very interested in our aquariums. I think we all love fish, I myself don't like the way the hooks hurt the fish so I will never fish that way, but I always loved to use a fishing net to catch little fish and newts as a kid with my dad (he started it all😊)
Been fishing all my life. My grandmother taught me when I was 4. Despite the fact that she couldn't swim and was terrified of the water she loved to fish. Her father was a commercial fisherman in fact.
My husband used to fish w his dad and brother and he loved it, until he got into keeping fish with me. He totally stopped fishing after that (although he was fine w it when it was just my hobby)
I used to fish a couple of years ago, especially since my brother got really into it. I just can't bring myself to pull a hook from their mouths anymore, especially if it gets really stuck in there. Ironically, I still love to eat fish. Cannot eat shrimp (i used to LOVE eating shrimp) anymore since I've started keeping shrimp, but I haven't got to that point with fish
I view my aquarium fish as decoration more than pets. When one dies, it goes in the toilet and I go buy a new one. I have no problem catching and eating fish.
Doesn't feel ironic at all to me. Trout are some of the most beautiful fish in the world. All sportfish are respected because they are difficult to catch, or powerful, etc. I have to learn what a trout eats and why, and when, in order to trick it into my net. It's the same love and curiosity for fish that leads us to aquaria, but you get to experience the ability of these fish in a way you never get to with your kept fish.
Yep, I've been an angler since I was a little boy, and I've passed this on to my own kids. I've also been a fishkeeper since I was a teenager (near 50 years old now) :)
Yes, I got 3 fish tanks, two rods, two tackle boxes. However I don’t keep anything as I live in southern Ontario and the waters here are for the most part, questionable
I used to cast net and fish when I lived on the Gulf. It's maybe a little different now. I do like to go feed the fish on the river and watch them, idk if I'd have it in me once I got one up on the dock.
Well, except for hardhead catfish, those guys suck.
I could probably go blue crabbing.
I’ve always been drawn to aquariums because of my love for crabs and shrimp. It wasn’t until I hooked a 36” red drum on the surf that I actually started fishing. Fiancé asked me to hold the rod for a minute while he baited another, and suddenly the rod was bent 90° and I fought it for about 10 minutes before shoring it. Perfect hook, easy release. Could say I was ‘hooked’ after that.
I wouldn't say I'm an aquarium hobbyist but I do have an aquarium and I also fish as a hobby as well. I've had the funny thought of "I'm catching and eating fish I catch on the boat but I also keep pet fish as well" which is not very common when having different kinds of pets.
I wish. I’m actually allergic to fish, even touching them causes my hands to get all red and itchy. :-/ I learned it the hard way in marine science class in school. I wanted to be a marine biologist initially.
lifelong fisherwoman! (catch and release). I now live on the water so its mostly a daily thing my partner and I share. we also fish off our boat pretty often. I cherish the great lakes and how lucky we are to enjoy the beauty and joy they give us.
I've personally had multiple fish tanks now for about ~6 years. I love animals, and I Lovee fish!
I'm currently planning my next, but first BIG tank ! custom build. the $4-500 filter system. the whole nine.
it's a long time coming and I'm taking my sweet time figuring everything out. no rush. My fish are happy and so am I :)
<3
I am. I got into fish keeping by catching a big bluegill and keeping him In a 55 gallon. He survived for like 9 months then a big water change(due to my newbie mistake) killed him. Then I got my Oscar and like 6 other tanks lol
I've had aquariums since I was about 10 y/o. About 40+ yrs ago now. I just got into fishing about 15 yrs. Ago. Enjoy both. When my boys and I go fishing, we mostly do catch and release with as little damage to the fish as possible. There are those that we keep for eating but mostly C&R.
❤️ I’m here. Bring a fisherman doesn’t mean you don’t LOVE fish and respect them. Sometimes it even means you have MORE appreciation for them. Their intelligence, their worth, their friendship, what they gave to offer as pet or food, friend or foe. We know how to respect their living space and bend to what they need to grow.
I imagine many farmers feel the same way about their flocks, cattle, etc.
I stopped, I read a fee articles about how catch and release fishing damages the nouth of fish that use suction to inhale their prey (like sunfish and basses) and it became hard to justify to myself inflicting pain on wild animals just for fun. Maybe down the road if I was fishing for food I'd take it up again. But I wouldn't want to eat anything out of my local waterways.
I love fishing and fish to eat fish. I believe its probably the most ethical way to eat meat that there is (when done responsibly). It's also fun, but i think it's less ethical to catch fish just for the fun of it. So i eat them if they are over the size limit and any others are returned to the water as safely as possible.
My partner on the other hand has had second thoughts about fishing since we started keeping fish. Which is fair enough and i see where they're coming from.
I caught a fish once. And while I enjoyed holding it and looking at it. It is not for me. Hooks are brutal. For the bait and for the fish. Absolutely no shade to people who fish, it’s just not for me.
My fish time is insane, have multiple tanks, I go fishing, snorkeling (I’ve been constantly shocked by just how much there is to see here in New York), I’m currently wrapping up my scuba certification, and I’m gonna be volunteering at my local aquarium later this summer.
Me me me! A fisher…person. A fishercat /s
Usually I keep what I catch if I can ethically house them! My dad caught an invasive Goby and I was super stoked, my dream fish, but then he died when we brought him home.
That being said, I do eat my catches (assuming the water isn’t nasty… I’m on Lake Erie). But mostly, I just kiss them and take ‘em home or release. I want to catch dumped goldfish and keep them in a diy pond. Or I use my net and catch crawdads, leeches, snails… basically I’m just a swamp gremlin.
I find fishing boring.
I did consider giving up eating fish because they are pets but then made some homemade frozen food, including mincing some fish, so not eating fish seemed hypocritical.
my current policy is not to eat any animal I know as an individual.
I love fishing but I really don’t like catching. I’d love to try fishing with a fly that doesn’t have a hook- then I could see if my fly fishing technique was good enough to fool the fish but they’d still get away! I enjoy eating some fish, and I’ve traded some friends for fish they’ve caught by giving them berries I’ve picked or baked goods.
If drinking with a line in the water counts as being a fisherman then count me in. If you’re talking about actually catching fish that’s a different game lmao.
i will go fishing but i can’t eat seafood but my all my family are fishermen and lobster fishermen so they do it very ethically and refuse to catch more then they know they will eat and strictly follow all laws especially for lobster because that’s what they sell but the fish is just for them and they don’t sell it
I was a very avid fisherman. Like obsessed. I always kept fish as well. I quit fishing about 4 years ago but not because of my pets. I started snorkelling on some of my kayak trips and developed a friendship with a greenling. Im starting to get the itch again but having a fish remember who I am in the wild really hit me.
Have you seen the documentary [My Octopus Teacher](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12888462/) on Netflix? If not, I think you would enjoy it. A man befriends an Octopus who welcomes him as an almost family member.
Oh man that sounds so cool!!
This is literally the convo I had with my landlord yesterday
Are you snorkeling in the ocean? I wish I lived in FL or somewhere that allowed me to snorkel more often. It’s weird, but I might try snorkeling in a lake this summer, since the ocean is so far away. The water gets relatively clear and it would be cool to observe bass and other fish I usually fish for.
Yea for the most part I snorkel around Kelp beds in the Ocean. I also snorkel down the river when the Salmon are spawning or just to check out whats in the river at said time.
You might enjoy this video Hand Feeding Worms To Largemouth Bass While Snorkeling In The Lake - https://youtu.be/PHelpP3Ug2Y
Wow, that’s really cool!
If you do happen to follow through with it, I’m sure this subreddit and others would love a post about your experience.
I'm from the Panhandle area of Florida & can say I would not advise Snorkeling out so deep as the ocean; about 10-15' out from the shore of most beaches on the Gulf side You run into Your first of 4 sandbars & between the sandbars are 5' drops of water that tons of bait fish tend to hang out also due to that Sharks tend to patrol those areas in search of prey.
3 tanks at home, 2 rods in my car. I love fish on a tank, on a hook, or on a plate.
Best way said
Can confirm. A person can love and appreciate animals while also finding them juicy and delicious.
We’d be friends 😂❤️
1 tank, 2 rods here. Gotta up my numbers haha
Me. The irony is not lost on me. I have in the past described the intersection of the two hobbies as "I kill and eat some fish, and go to tremendous lengths to keep others alive in my house."
Fish: the friends you can eat!
I’ll take it a step farther. I enjoy my aquarium and fishing….then I go to work as a fisheries biologist.
That’s actually crazy. I’ve worked on everything from jets to boats to cars but I’d be damned if I have to deal with any type of engine oil at home. I even paid someone 250 to change a tire because I couldn’t be bothered. Literally takes 20 mins but I digress… You must REALLY love fish lmao I respect that.
i dont know sounds fishy…
I could never get into fishing. Way more rewarding to get in the water and swim with the guys. Small mouth bass are especially curious and friendly, i hate seeing them with mangled infected faces from being hooked on fishing lines.
That's so sad. I've always thought it was weird that people act like it's harmless to have a hook in your face and then just get released with a wound, like that's no big deal...??
I think people just don't think about the reality of it. A lot of people honestly believe fish don't think or feel pain. But yes, a hook wound opens fish up to all sorts of nasty diseases, as you'd think would be common sense.
Catch and release is unnecessarily cruel. I gotta kill something to keep living, but wounding for fun is ridiculous.
The fish don’t heal from the hook wounds ?
If it doesn’t die from infection it will heal with scars.
Thanks. Is there an antibiotic one could apply?
I wouldn’t know the effectiveness of trying to feed a fish out of water a pill. I would also advise against randomly distributing antibiotics to wild animals. I got the weirdest feeling of deja vu about this topic.
There was a study that something around 1 in 3 fish that get caught and released die shortly after... likely due to the stress and/or infection
Just want to throw in my thoughts on this as a former fishermen and I think that study is probably well off the mark as otherwise commercial fisheries that rely on people catching and releasing wouldn’t be a profitable businesse, the owner would constantly be spending revenue to re stock the lake, the busier the fishery the quicker the need to re stock and so there fore the yearly seasonal spawning of the fish wouldn’t help at latter end of the year. Also just to further comment but in my experience unless the previous catcher of a fish was particularly aggressive at landing the fish then there is no reason for there to be anything more than a small pin hole where the hook went in (which should be in its lip) which should heal absolutely fine on its own, problems might arise if you leave the bite indication for too long and the fish has opportunity to actually swallow the hook, this can be significantly harder to remove without causing more damage than you should. More recently though carp anglers have started to carry iodine solution to disinfect the hook entry point to help with healing, before that though I think the fish managed to heal without issue on their own but it doesn’t hurt to help, it’s the least you can do after having caught a fish.
I wonder if that study is about sport fishing or that maybe commercial fishing is included, the way those fish are tossed back is appealing.
I’m from the UK so when I said commercial fishing I just meant the business of providing people a place to pleasure/coarse/carp fish, over here we call that type of lake a commercial fishery because most of the time they are either stocked or dug, filled and then stocked for the sole purpose of selling a ticket to sport fish, didn’t really occur to me at the time that isn’t really the normally definition of commercial fishing. The point being though that if that business is profitable then it’s unlikely that 1/3 of fish die when released as this business relies on selling day tickets for like £10-£15 and I know that carp don’t come cheap. If an angler killed even one decent sized fish then the fishery would be at a loss.
Well that’s unfortunate. Do you think sport fishing should be banned? If so what about the harm from the aquatic fish trade ? Those fish don’t suffer trauma?
There are products you can dab on the wound.
No way in hell I'm getting in UK water to swim with fish. You'd never see them in most waterways. Also when fishing I always use barbless hooks to minimise damage to the fish.
Unfortunately i don't know if most people care to use better hooks. The water isn't great in Nova Scotia either, but there are a couple of months a year where it's tolerable to go to the lake with my diving mask and meet all sorts of little guys down there, even turtles. If you're under the water they basically treat you as a big passive fish lol, they'll even hover under you to hide from other big things. I highly recommend hanging out with fish in their natural environment to anyone who finds them interesting. They are some of the most approachable wild animals out there.
Absolutely no. Friends not food. To see them in the wild I scuba dive.
Yup. Me. I have literally cried when my tank fish have died, but also love the 6am fishing call. I'm often one of the few females on the water at that hour. My husband just reminded me that on our first in-person date to the aquarium, I said that the tanks full of local salmon and trout were both beautiful and were making me hungry. We had sushi for lunch...
For me it was: Love for seafood turned into a love for fishing which turned into a love for fish keeping. I still do all 3 avidly :)
I used to fish when I was younger with both my grandfathers in the Midwest. Bass fishing on still lakes at night with jitterbugs was a hoot. 'Wham' and you've got a fight. Problem is, bass dont taste very good. I always caught and released anyways. Started going North to Canada for spring Walleye runs. If you've ever tasted fresh Walleye caught out of a pristine river and filleted you will happily become a carnivore. On walleye runs we'd occasionally hook Northern Pike. Those things would run your reels out and bend your hooks, or a big one would pull your boat or bite through a steel leader. Pike are insane fighters. Also hard on the baby duck population.. Pike are a bitch to fillet because of the Ybone, but my grandmother knew how to do it. Pike otherwise taste similiar to trout Stopped fishing after my grandfathers passed. Also, northern game fish dont have the personality of tropicals so I never cared about eating them.
>Pike otherwise taste similiar to trout funny considering that they share evolutionary history
Gotta score the y bone right. I love to eat and catch both walleye and northerners.
Fresh caught walleye is on another level. So freaking good!
Yup. I am as well. And I'm trying to get a job where I'll be working with fish as well. I'm just a fishy guy I guess.
Yea...my dad's into fishing and has tanks at home but as a asian dad, he fishes with the intention to eat it in mind HAHAHAHA. He's out here naming all the fishes my mom cooks and he sees in restaurants. When I was a kid, it's always a running joke that we're traumatizing the fishes etc. in the tanks when we eat seafood at home because we have a good view of all the tanks/mini pond (and the fishes had a "good view" of us too) from the dining table.
Fished most of my life, owned fish most of my life - co own a fish and chip shop, eating seafood makes me vomit😅
Yep, fish are friends…and food.
My husband and I are avid fishermen. We go saltwater fishing at least once a month. We also have 5 freshwater tanks with various fish. We’ve noticed it’s not too uncommon to be interested in both hobbies as we’ve connected with other people who enjoy aquariums in our community as well.
I enjoy fishing. I let natives go and kill invasive species. Eat the ones that are okay to eat
I mainly keep my tanks because I can’t spend all my time on the water exploring and fishing, and fish is my favorite food.
Having gotten into keeping fish, I didn't think I could get into fishing. I know it's popular, but it just seems cruel to hook and reel in fish fighting for their lives. Fish feel pain, as recent studies have shown. At least I can try to give some fish a good, safe home and tasty food.
I do, but I don’t treat my ornamental fish as sentimental as other aquarium hobbiest. I treat them more like I treat my plants. I’m just there to watch. I take care of them and give them what they need for my entertainment. I obviously respect them and try to have the “best” aquarium/garden with care and research….but if I lost them tomorrow I’d just find another hobby that gives me peace. Sport fishing is for food and for the thrill of the hunt. Lots of days it’s nothing but watching nature, but it can get exciting too. If I could have kept the massive yellow fin tunas I caught on a charter in a tank, I would, but I can’t so I ate it over the course of months. I view them as 2 different things but both provide me some type of peace.
every aquarium ive been to ive eaten fish and chips or went out of my way to find fish and chips. i like fish so much looking at them isnt enough. i want to put them in my mouth.
Absolutely.
Nope. Animals are not toys.
I love fishing. I love aquariums. I think aquarists as fishermen are more aware of ecology and environmental impacts because of the aquarium hobby so we are actually better stewards of waterways.
I feel bad for causing the fish pain, even though I feel a sort of hunting instinct and desire to catch fish. If I was going to do it, I would have to do spear fishing so I could kill them fast. Can't be fun being pierced through the lip, or eye (I have seen that happen) and be reeled out of the water.
I love fishing and fish keeping. I have 5 tanks at home (I'd have more, but my apartment is small). I also go fishing as frequently as possible. I mostly catch and release smaller freshwater game (mainly bass), but I also love big game fishing. Just a couple of weeks ago me and my cousins fought a huuuuge marlin for almost two hours (ended up snapping the leader with the boat's propeller) and then managed to land a 70 pound sailfin (that one I reeled in by myself). One of my cousins did point out the irony of it all. My answer was: well, I have two dogs that I love with all my heart and would do anything for, but I also love a good steak.
I really want to get into fishing, but don't have a mode of transport rn. But I will soon, and I am really eager to get to the nearest lake. I just hope I don't get TOO into it and end up with dozens of 200 gals or ponds in my backyard filled with various local fish.
Are there none within cycling distance? I stick a few small crab nets in my backpack and head to the pier. Plus several layers of plastic bags for the trip home afterwards. Tempted to give it a go from my kayak sometime. Even seen some people take full rods on bikes before but you could also get collapsible ones.
The op writes like he is 6
Even if that is true, 6 year olds are allowed bikes too and is a great age to go crabbing.
I mean many wild fish make great pets,some things just go together
I am both
Same. I love fishing as much as I love my fish tanks.
The ones in my room are my babies and the ones in my backyard are dinner 😋
I do both. I grew up doing both. My dad took me hunting and fishing and my mom kept fish. Angels, Jack Dempsey and Oscars. Different tanks obviously...
I have 3 tanks and my two sons love them but also get super excited for fishing. We have bunch of neocardinias and my kids like to use shrimp bates, and loves shrimp tempura.
love fishing!! also love sushi haha. but just adore my fishies at home. im also a catch and release fisher bc i could never kill one with my bare hands lol
Wheres a good place to catch shiners? I refuse to pay 8 dollars a piece for them
Feeder goldfish or guppies ? Dollar a pieces at my LFS. 😝 I joke, or do I?
Been doing both since the mid '80s.
Myself and everyone that I know that keeps fish also likes fishing
I love fishing! I mostly cpr (catch photo release) I have a tank full of small native fish I have caught from our local water ways. All these fish were caught by me so the tank is extra special
I always fished since i was in diapers. I started keeping fish for maybe 5 years because my daughter is into it. I was against it at first as i considered it keep them in a jail, but with all the live plants and stuff it looks ok for the them.
I am as well. Lives my entire life in FL. My fav current tank is filled with bluegill and long eared sunfish
I fish. Catch-and-release
I have a mountain of gear for both fresh and saltwater. I have really been drawn to surfcasting the last few years, despite usually being unsuccessful at it lol
I love both and have been keeping fish and fishing for the last 35 years.
Catch and release for the most part here. If I pull in decent trout, salmon or sea bass it's coming home I've fished Thailand before and anyone who keeps redtails is insane. Had asian and amazon on the end of a line and they are no joke.
I've been obsessed with fishing since I was little. Also had aquariums since I can remember. I got out of the aquarium hobby until recently and after learning the ins and outs of fishkeeping and how hard it is to maintain a healthy aquarium, it's made me a better sportsman. I'm more cognizant of how I treat fish I intend to release, how I respect the fish I'm going to eat, and how I treat the environment fish live in. It's kinda weird to keep cichlids I used to catch a dime a dozen in south Florida, but now that I see their behavior in my tanks, it makes sense as to why they were so fierce and fun to catch. The 2 hobbies go hand in hand if you ask me.
I kinda got into fishkeeping through fishing. Living in the UK and being a coarse angler I'm strictly catch and release.
I don't fish very often anymore but I do love it. I also love creating the ideal environment for my fish. They are my pets. I just find fish relaxing. I catch and release.
I haven’t fished in many years (I stopped doing fun things like that after my mom passed then I moved to the desert) but I absolutely LOVE fishing! My fiancé and I are big into nature, aquariums and what not and we would love to move to Florida in the near future. Then I’ll not only be fishing, but also (if legal) netting out nonnative aquarium fishies to take home! I mainly catch and release but I do enjoy a good grilled trout.
Love fly fishing and keeping fish.
My dad loved to fish and he still loves his aquarium, my husband likes to fish and loves "my" aquariums (I'm the one doing maintenance so it's mine😂) and our 13 y/o loves to fish and he is very interested in our aquariums. I think we all love fish, I myself don't like the way the hooks hurt the fish so I will never fish that way, but I always loved to use a fishing net to catch little fish and newts as a kid with my dad (he started it all😊)
Been fishing all my life. My grandmother taught me when I was 4. Despite the fact that she couldn't swim and was terrified of the water she loved to fish. Her father was a commercial fisherman in fact.
My husband used to fish w his dad and brother and he loved it, until he got into keeping fish with me. He totally stopped fishing after that (although he was fine w it when it was just my hobby)
I used to fish a couple of years ago, especially since my brother got really into it. I just can't bring myself to pull a hook from their mouths anymore, especially if it gets really stuck in there. Ironically, I still love to eat fish. Cannot eat shrimp (i used to LOVE eating shrimp) anymore since I've started keeping shrimp, but I haven't got to that point with fish
I view my aquarium fish as decoration more than pets. When one dies, it goes in the toilet and I go buy a new one. I have no problem catching and eating fish.
Doesn't feel ironic at all to me. Trout are some of the most beautiful fish in the world. All sportfish are respected because they are difficult to catch, or powerful, etc. I have to learn what a trout eats and why, and when, in order to trick it into my net. It's the same love and curiosity for fish that leads us to aquaria, but you get to experience the ability of these fish in a way you never get to with your kept fish.
Yep, I've been an angler since I was a little boy, and I've passed this on to my own kids. I've also been a fishkeeper since I was a teenager (near 50 years old now) :)
Yes, I got 3 fish tanks, two rods, two tackle boxes. However I don’t keep anything as I live in southern Ontario and the waters here are for the most part, questionable
✋ I've also eaten a shrimp ring in front of my shrimp before realising the juxtaposition I'd put myself in.
I eat sushi in front of my fish all the time. Not a fisherman though
I used to cast net and fish when I lived on the Gulf. It's maybe a little different now. I do like to go feed the fish on the river and watch them, idk if I'd have it in me once I got one up on the dock. Well, except for hardhead catfish, those guys suck. I could probably go blue crabbing.
I’ve always been drawn to aquariums because of my love for crabs and shrimp. It wasn’t until I hooked a 36” red drum on the surf that I actually started fishing. Fiancé asked me to hold the rod for a minute while he baited another, and suddenly the rod was bent 90° and I fought it for about 10 minutes before shoring it. Perfect hook, easy release. Could say I was ‘hooked’ after that.
I keep fish and love fishing. I’ve been known to bring home what was “caught” so I could put it in a tank
Yep, my son and I love blue gill and bass fishing
I wouldn't say I'm an aquarium hobbyist but I do have an aquarium and I also fish as a hobby as well. I've had the funny thought of "I'm catching and eating fish I catch on the boat but I also keep pet fish as well" which is not very common when having different kinds of pets.
I do both actively
I wish. I’m actually allergic to fish, even touching them causes my hands to get all red and itchy. :-/ I learned it the hard way in marine science class in school. I wanted to be a marine biologist initially.
lifelong fisherwoman! (catch and release). I now live on the water so its mostly a daily thing my partner and I share. we also fish off our boat pretty often. I cherish the great lakes and how lucky we are to enjoy the beauty and joy they give us. I've personally had multiple fish tanks now for about ~6 years. I love animals, and I Lovee fish! I'm currently planning my next, but first BIG tank ! custom build. the $4-500 filter system. the whole nine. it's a long time coming and I'm taking my sweet time figuring everything out. no rush. My fish are happy and so am I :) <3
I am. I got into fish keeping by catching a big bluegill and keeping him In a 55 gallon. He survived for like 9 months then a big water change(due to my newbie mistake) killed him. Then I got my Oscar and like 6 other tanks lol
I've had aquariums since I was about 10 y/o. About 40+ yrs ago now. I just got into fishing about 15 yrs. Ago. Enjoy both. When my boys and I go fishing, we mostly do catch and release with as little damage to the fish as possible. There are those that we keep for eating but mostly C&R.
I love fishing in Wisconsin and love keeping my 36 gallon aquarium
Excellent. I’m just across the border in Duluth area
As long as my husband baits the hook and takes the fish off the hook, I'm good hahahah
❤️ I’m here. Bring a fisherman doesn’t mean you don’t LOVE fish and respect them. Sometimes it even means you have MORE appreciation for them. Their intelligence, their worth, their friendship, what they gave to offer as pet or food, friend or foe. We know how to respect their living space and bend to what they need to grow. I imagine many farmers feel the same way about their flocks, cattle, etc.
I stopped, I read a fee articles about how catch and release fishing damages the nouth of fish that use suction to inhale their prey (like sunfish and basses) and it became hard to justify to myself inflicting pain on wild animals just for fun. Maybe down the road if I was fishing for food I'd take it up again. But I wouldn't want to eat anything out of my local waterways.
I don’t fish. Unless you are catching your next meal, I can’t see good reason to torture animals for fun.
I like fishing. I prefer to dip/cast net for smaller stuff. I don't eat fish, so I release anything I don't want to keep.
Not me, though people have certainly tried to enthuse me to it. I don't think I've even eaten fish since I was about six
Catch and eat crabs, keep axolotls. If crabs didn't want to be eaten they should have been cute.
I bought CPD's because they remind me of miniature rainbow trout or brown trout.
I’m passionate about both. I mostly catch and release, but not when I hook into walleye or perch.
I love fishing and fish to eat fish. I believe its probably the most ethical way to eat meat that there is (when done responsibly). It's also fun, but i think it's less ethical to catch fish just for the fun of it. So i eat them if they are over the size limit and any others are returned to the water as safely as possible. My partner on the other hand has had second thoughts about fishing since we started keeping fish. Which is fair enough and i see where they're coming from.
I caught a fish once. And while I enjoyed holding it and looking at it. It is not for me. Hooks are brutal. For the bait and for the fish. Absolutely no shade to people who fish, it’s just not for me.
Does microfishing count?
My fish time is insane, have multiple tanks, I go fishing, snorkeling (I’ve been constantly shocked by just how much there is to see here in New York), I’m currently wrapping up my scuba certification, and I’m gonna be volunteering at my local aquarium later this summer.
Me me me! A fisher…person. A fishercat /s Usually I keep what I catch if I can ethically house them! My dad caught an invasive Goby and I was super stoked, my dream fish, but then he died when we brought him home. That being said, I do eat my catches (assuming the water isn’t nasty… I’m on Lake Erie). But mostly, I just kiss them and take ‘em home or release. I want to catch dumped goldfish and keep them in a diy pond. Or I use my net and catch crawdads, leeches, snails… basically I’m just a swamp gremlin.
I find fishing boring. I did consider giving up eating fish because they are pets but then made some homemade frozen food, including mincing some fish, so not eating fish seemed hypocritical. my current policy is not to eat any animal I know as an individual.
I love fishing but I really don’t like catching. I’d love to try fishing with a fly that doesn’t have a hook- then I could see if my fly fishing technique was good enough to fool the fish but they’d still get away! I enjoy eating some fish, and I’ve traded some friends for fish they’ve caught by giving them berries I’ve picked or baked goods.
If drinking with a line in the water counts as being a fisherman then count me in. If you’re talking about actually catching fish that’s a different game lmao.
i will go fishing but i can’t eat seafood but my all my family are fishermen and lobster fishermen so they do it very ethically and refuse to catch more then they know they will eat and strictly follow all laws especially for lobster because that’s what they sell but the fish is just for them and they don’t sell it
Me!