Diving has ruined my fishing career

[dieseldude]

I'm posting this here because if(I stress if)I get any sympathy, it will be from the photog group.
So heres the deal. I havent been fishing since I started diving. We're talking about 3yrs. I have some gear & used to enjoy it quite a bit. I have a brother visiting from SanDiego & he put together an impromptu fishing trip. I think before I got there I was already of the mind that "I'm just along for the ride". I didn't even bother to get a daytrip license. My wife wanted to fish so I let her have at it.
We pulled out of Edmonds Marina & headed just south a ways to fish for bait. Here's where the diving started to interfere. The people fishing were directed to drop there bait to the bottom & catch flounder. They caught several fish but never did bring a flounder on board. Mostly I saw Rock Sole, maybe a Sandab or 2. I heard someone claim they had 2 bullhead. never heard of a bull head & was thinking bull something else as I looked at 2 pitifull pacific Staghorn Sculpins.
We left there & headed off to the Ling Cod fishing spot. They baited their "Flounder" which looked like something had swollen up inside the bellies now(do they have swim bladders?? I dont know) & plopped them in back to the bottom. someone got hung up at one point & gave a big "yank" to break free & reeled in some "sea garbage" aka plumose Anemone(now a dead anemone)
& I could feel a sick spot in my stomach as a potential dive site was being ripped apart one line at a time. They hooked 5 ling & got 3 in the boat. These are pretty much the only monsters I get to see on a regular basis. They dont look as threatening on the boat as they are clubbed to death with a midget baseball bat. We only had one keeper. 1 too small by 1 inch & 1 too big by several inches and other than my mixed up feelings about our purpose, it was a nice day on the water. My brothers wife caught the keeper & I took a fillet home. Kind of the old hunter adage that you only kill what you can & intend to eat. I still feel bad for the poor ling but I do admit he was tasty.
I hope that when my time comes & I get swallowed up by a bigger fish that he at least feels a moment of remorse for my kind & finds me a filling if not satisfying meal. In the mean time, I will catch my fish on film.
MJ

[fmerkel]

Uh huh, yep.
Used to love the sport. Now it would feel like clubbing Bambi.

Fritz

[PeninsulaDiver]

Uh huh, yep......

I can totally relate. I won't bore with details about prior hardcore hook & line addictions but for me to pass up a perfectly good speargun and pole spear I found at the Waadah fingers a couple weeks ago was the indicator that I was pretty much done.

...if(I stress if)I get any sympathy, it will be from the photog group....

And, I don't even have an adequate camera!

-Mark

[ArcticDiver]

Fishing or Hunting only for food. At some point in the chain someone has to kill the plant or animal I eat. I consider it a privilege to be able to do it myself, see that proper respect is granted and to see that it is processed properly.

I totally do not understand the kill for sport thing.

[LittleGoat]

I totally do not understand the kill for sport thing.

I have never understood that...

The one thing that I do is to thank the animal (if I have met it before butchering) for giving it's life to help mine persist. I know it didn't give it's life willingly, but I honor the life that was given for mine. My wife had a really hard time fishing and still does. The only reason she does it is because I enjoy it and that we thank the animal.

Never kill what you won't eat.