Fish!

[Coolwater]

So here I was, on the maiden voyage of the Rudy, my canoe that I've named after my dad. The canoe behaved beautifully: no leaks, not tippy, and responsive. My friend Beth was in the prow, and after paddling the full length of the nice part of the canal, we decided that we would try going under the railroad into the un-dredged part of the canal on the other side.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/Coolwater/480px-Wabash_and_Erie_Canal_Delphi.png

The cleaned part of the canal is very nice, smooth and quiet; perfect for a first voyage of a used canoe and for teaching our friends to canoe. We weren't sure what to expect from the underpass, which was twisty, narrow, low ceilinged, and cave-like, or the canal on the other side. So, we eased into the dark underpass, and around the first bend, and through a lot of yucky weeds, when...


A FISH JUMPED INTO MY LAP!!

Boy, and he was a good big one, too! A foot-long small mouthed bass, and slippery as a tot in a bubble bath! By the time I had a good grip on him, that fish had jumped all over me. We debated eating him, but we didn't know how safe the fish in the canal are to eat, so I let him go. I'm sure he was relieved. We went a bit further into the underpass, and decided to back out and go get some lunch. We went to a small cafe and washed most of the mud off ourselves in the ladies room. I washed off a lot of fish slime, too. Phew! :p

But it didn't help.. When I got home, my daughter said, "Ewww! You smell like fish!" She was several feet away! Well, pity the other diners at the cafe!! :eek: I may never show my face in there again.

[appeace]

Now--mind you--I DO believe your adventure!:D
However, that has got to rank in the top 10 fishing tales I have ever heard;)

As someone who used to fish bass tourneys with her dad and hubby---what I wouldnt pay to have a foot long bass jump into MY lap??????:eek:

I dont know how you kept the canoe upright in all that confusion!:eek:

[Coolwater]

Is a foot long bass that unusual? Maybe I'll go back with a line and some bait! :D

[appeace]

A foot long small mouth isnt bad. They put up a heck of a fight--which is what I enjoy. My hubby likes the fish frying but I release so I can catch em again!:D
Here in Texas the length for keepers is 10in /a total limit of 25fish.
When my kiddos were small we would take them small mouth fishing and double hook their line, go to our fav spot and I would wear gloves so I could unhook their catch faster so they could haul them up as fast as their line hit the water!--They had a blast!
Course, being the tender hearted kiddos they were, we had to give the fishes a kiss and let them go swim--:rolleyes:

[Coolwater]

I'm a tender-hearted kiddo, then - also I'm not all that fond of fish. :D I'd rather let one go than discovered I've killed it for nothing, and we weren't sure we could eat this one. .

Did you know they've discovered that fish feel pain when they're hooked, even through their mouths? What a surprise! :rolleyes: I've never understood why folks thought that fish couldn't feel pain when everything else does. Very healthy food, though.

[L_Shell]

They have also discovered that Lobsters feel pain when they hit the boiling water.

[Coolwater]

Oh, that's just great. How do you kill a lobster before you cook it?

[appeace]

I never got that one either--about lobsters and clams, etc. that are not dead before boiling?????:(

I have never heard and research on fish feeling pain when hooked, however, I can say that I do try greatly to unhook as gently as possible in an attempt to cause as little damage as possible. There are alot of fishermen who simply cut off the hook and leave it because research has shown that the hook will simply rust out and the fish is unharmed.
Cant say Im going to stop eating fish but do try to make the process as painless as possible.

[Coolwater]

That's my perspective, too, peace.

[EvanStar4506]

Oh, that's just great. How do you kill a lobster before you cook it?

I have seen one way where you take a shape knife and stab it behind the head.

[Coolwater]

Oh, dear.

Where is behind a lobster's head? :confused: The dratted beasts have a carapace from mouth to shoulders! If I'm going to kill ,something, I want to do it properly!

Here is a good article, and this guy makes the same argument that most of the scientists I know do:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/11_01/lobsterDM0811_468x521.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-492557/Claws-concern-Scientists-suggest-prawns-lobsters-feel-pain-just-like-humans.html&usg=__cqZRGzk6ueTZQG1JE-UXkZdpv-c=&h=521&w=468&sz=117&hl=en&start=5&tbnid=gIb3Wie3jQfcbM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlobster%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

You want to hear something funny, you should hear a couple of neuropsych researchers arguing about whether rats laugh. Jaak Panksepp came to visit our friend Sue, and he made a good case, but Sue wasn't buying it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myuceywaOUs

[appeace]

While I do not agree that animals have souls, (the Word says they do not and do not go to heaven upon death), I do believe that all animals can feel to some extent.
Yes, we have been granted dominion over the animals, however, I do not believe that dominion grants us the right to be callous or cruel.
Could there not be found a way to euthanize said food animals which would not cause undue pain and suffering??
Im not a lobster person, but do enjoy fish. Surely as technologically advanced as we are there could be a more appropriate method found to accomplish this.??

[Coolwater]

I was reading various sites describing how to kill a lobster, and some of them are absurd, not kind at all. I think the quickest way would be to put the tip of a sharp knife or ice pick against the carapace, in the middle a little behind the eyes, and drive it home very forcefully and fast. It was suggested that because they are ocean dwellers and cold blooded, you could minimize even that by putting them in the freezer for a minute until they get too sluggish to move.

I think we are responsible for the well-being of all the creatures in our care, even if we eat them. Temple Grandin studied cows so that she could design a slaughter house that would make the cows feel happy right up to the last second. I met her on a plane, and she was quite serious about it, and showed me the design.

[appeace]

Good Grief!!--still rather cruel way to kill lobster:(
Think I will just stick to fresh water fish.
Cant some sort of sleep or knock out agent be used first????

Put them in a jar w/chloroform dipped cotton swabs---or something??

[Coolwater]

Dip 'em in chloroform and then in butter? Yecchhhhh! I don't even like the taste of the gas they use to "flame broil" the burgers at Burger King, let alone something like that!

[appeace]

Could one not just put them in a container with soaked cotton balls?? Would that still make a bad smell once cooked??

I think I will just stick to not eating them---:o

I dont like those burgers either! That smell is nauseating and the give me indigestion bad:mad:

[Coolwater]

Well, peace, if you're going to drug the lobsters, you might as well just put them in the freezer and let them nod off. They're cold water fish and it's what they do naturally in the winter.

I just got an image of you distracting the lobsters ("Look over there!"), and when they're all looking the other way, sneaking a roofie in the lobster tank. :D :D:D That image isn't funny when I'm thinking about my daughter, but it's hilarious when it's an effort to be kind to lobsters!

[appeace]

BWaaaaaa--roofie!:rolleyes:

Then would the drug--drug the person eating the lobster??;)
Hummmm--But Officer, I swear that lobster put something in my food!!--Ackkk:p

[Coolwater]

All your dinner guests would go to sleep! Very dull party.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. True story: this guy was frustrated that the weeds in his yard were growing beautifully, but his tomatoes were dying from esoteric tomato diseases like "blossom end rot" and "brown spot blight." What was especially unfair was that the healthiest weeds looked a lot like tomatoes. The guy got the idea to graft the tomato plants onto the weeds. It worked. The plants grew like mad, and the tomatoes came in big and red, but when he ate the first tomato, it killed him! It turned out that the weeds were nightshade! :eek:

[appeace]

:eek:

Yup--thats the king of thing Id do because I dont know one plant from another--Ackkkk:o

[Coolwater]

:D Over on APUL there used to be an emoticon we called the deady face! That's the one we need.;)

[Coolwater]

APUK, APUK! Not APUL. :rolleyes:

[appeace]

:D;)APUL=Adrian Paul United Ladies--hehe:eek:

[Coolwater]

Adrian Paul's United Loonies ;)