130yo sturgeon

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  • AmmoManAaron

    Master
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    37   0   0
    Feb 20, 2015
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    I-get-around
    Not Indiana, but still impressive.

    https://www.wsaw.com/content/news/G...9RiahaE38C8mhvJjh9DK3Hyw4GZcL65tKIYPMYBqVDk9U

    FISH17.jpg
     

    bobjones223

    Master
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    55   1   0
    Mar 3, 2011
    1,779
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    Noblesville, IN
    Okay,

    I am not trying to stir the pot or agitate anyone with my thoughts on this.

    I know it is 100% legal. I know it is a fun tradition and sporting activity but I struggle with killing something that is older than you. This is just the way I am.

    This fish was alive when James Garfield was president and Jessy James was still holding up stagecoachs.

    As said amazing fish, congratulations to the fisherman but it still makes me sad about the loss.:twocents:
     

    indygunguy

    Expert
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    110   0   0
    Dec 12, 2010
    1,338
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    NE Side of Indy
    ...I struggle with killing something that is older than you. This is just the way I am...

    I feel similarly about middle-aged obese guys (who couldn't run a mile or do a pull-up if their life depended on it) go to Africa and kill apex predators, for fun, at a distance, without putting their own lives in any danger whatsoever. It might be legal, but something feels seriously 'effed up about it.

    :twocents: :ingo:
     

    jy951

    Sharpshooter
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    40   0   0
    Feb 18, 2009
    611
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    I don't really see the point of killing the fish either. The older I get, the more sensitive I get about killing stuff.
     

    BigBoxaJunk

    Grandmaster
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    3   0   0
    Feb 9, 2013
    7,314
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    East-ish
    I was going to judge, but then I looked down at the plate of bacon and eggs that my wife brought me.

    That pig could have been spectacular, but to me it's only bacon.
     

    Fargo

    Grandmaster
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    13   0   0
    Mar 11, 2009
    7,575
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    In a state of acute Pork-i-docis
    Spearfishing doesn't really allow for catch and release. If I caught it on the line, I would let it go. If I had a chance while spearfishing, I would take it.

    I don't know why it would be preferable for its carcass to wash up rotten in a few years from whatever else killed it.

    Comparing a bunch of blue-collar Norwegian and German familes engaging in this long time tradition to canned trophy hunting is absurd. You all might want to spend some time up there with them before getting too offended. A lot of families up there, including a good number of my childhood friends, actually rely on wild game for a good bit of their food.
     
    Last edited:

    hoosierdaddy1976

    I Can't Believe it's not Shooter
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    16   0   0
    Mar 17, 2011
    6,469
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    newton county
    Congrats to the fisherman. I love watching dark house videos. I'm sure the fish will be put to good use. And while I get the somberness of an animal that old being harvested, it is a statistical anomaly that had gotten lucky over and over. Something was going to end that lucky streak.
     

    cg21

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    25   0   0
    May 5, 2012
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    If the people have the money to hunt in Africa and the animals are being managed responsibly & put to use, I don’t see the issue.

    if you feel that strongly about hunting them..... you must really be irate with zoos.... little booger pickers that can’t even tie their own shoes looking at caged animals.
     

    gregkl

    Outlier
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    33   0   0
    Apr 8, 2012
    11,868
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    Bloomington
    I put an arrow into a 60+ lb catfish in KY one night. We pulled it into the boat, took a picture of it. My brother said it would be a record and did I want to take it in for recording.

    Seeing that it really wasn't hurt that bad, I said "no, let this patriarch of Energy lake return. Maybe it will die of old age.

    I would still hold the record. But I don't care. I did have it and I have proof. That's good enough for me. I don't need my name in some obscure book somewhere.
     

    Brad69

    Grandmaster
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    0   0   0
    Jul 16, 2016
    5,104
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    Perry county
    I am kinda split on this one?

    1. Unbelievable Animal that was the top of its species shame to see it go?

    2. Better to go down in a blaze of glory than die of old age?
     

    Hawkeye7br

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    1   0   0
    Jul 9, 2015
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    Terre Haute
    I feel similarly about middle-aged obese guys (who couldn't run a mile or do a pull-up if their life depended on it) go to Africa and kill apex predators, for fun, at a distance, without putting their own lives in any danger whatsoever. It might be legal, but something feels seriously 'effed up about it.

    :twocents: :ingo:

    Hunting in Africa isn't about risking your life. They don't raise crops in a conventional manner like here in America. They manage their game herds and receive income by allowing licensed hunting. The license fees pay for village teachers and medical care, the villagers get the meat, the hunter gets the skin, teeth, and horns. As opposed to poachers that take the horns, leave the meat to rot, and the villagers to fend for themselves. Watch Jim Shockey sometime.
     
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    two70

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    19   0   0
    Feb 5, 2016
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    Johnson
    I feel similarly about middle-aged obese guys (who couldn't run a mile or do a pull-up if their life depended on it) go to Africa and kill apex predators, for fun, at a distance, without putting their own lives in any danger whatsoever. It might be legal, but something feels seriously 'effed up about it.

    :twocents: :ingo:

    Perhaps you would feel differently if you had any experience with Africa or any knowledge of the wildlife management issues there. Without those hunters that you so casually belittle, apex predators and even large herbivores would not exist long outside of a few Parks with sufficient anti-poaching personnel to protect them. Africans do not tolerate lions, crocodiles and leopards eating their livestock, their pets, and their villagers nor do they tolerate elephant, buffalo, and hippo destroying their crops without substantial incentive. With such a slim margin between feeding themselves or going hungry they can't afford to share the same idealized image of wildlife that many elsewhere do. Instead, Africans have proven more than willing to deal with wildlife their own way in the absence of the management, money and meat that hunting brings. Poison and snares, which are both indiscriminate and cruel killers are the preferred methods of dealing with those problems. Even when/where wildlife conflicts are not a serious problem, poaching, whether for bush meat or the illegal Asian trade of animal parts for traditional medicine, is a huge problem. Hunting provides management of problem animals, money and meat to incentivize the villagers to not only tolerate wildlife but to protect it as well.

    Here are a few recent articles to start with if you care to truly educate yourself about African wildlife and some of the problems that occur when they interact with villagers.
    Hyena Mauls 17 Year Old

    Group Declares War on Elephants

    Lion Terrorizes Villagers
     

    cg21

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    25   0   0
    May 5, 2012
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    Perhaps you would feel differently if you had any experience with Africa or any knowledge of the wildlife management issues there. Without those hunters that you so casually belittle, apex predators and even large herbivores would not exist long outside of a few Parks with sufficient anti-poaching personnel to protect them. Africans do not tolerate lions, crocodiles and leopards eating their livestock, their pets, and their villagers nor do they tolerate elephant, buffalo, and hippo destroying their crops without substantial incentive. With such a slim margin between feeding themselves or going hungry they can't afford to share the same idealized image of wildlife that many elsewhere do. Instead, Africans have proven more than willing to deal with wildlife their own way in the absence of the management, money and meat that hunting brings. Poison and snares, which are both indiscriminate and cruel killers are the preferred methods of dealing with those problems. Even when/where wildlife conflicts are not a serious problem, poaching, whether for bush meat or the illegal Asian trade of animal parts for traditional medicine, is a huge problem. Hunting provides management of problem animals, money and meat to incentivize the villagers to not only tolerate wildlife but to protect it as well.

    Here are a few recent articles to start with if you care to truly educate yourself about African wildlife and some of the problems that occur when they interact with villagers.
    Hyena Mauls 17 Year Old

    Group Declares War on Elephants

    Lion Terrorizes Villagers



    Thanks for posting this.... I will never have the means to hunt in Africa but the people that do are a large contributing factor to supporting those villages and conservation efforts.
     

    two70

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    Feb 5, 2016
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    Thanks for posting this.... I will never have the means to hunt in Africa but the people that do are a large contributing factor to supporting those villages and conservation efforts.

    No problem. Never say never though. Plains game hunts which include 3-4 animals can be found for less than many guided out of state whitetail hunts. Management hunts provide even more opportunity with an even lower cost.
     

    Notropis

    Plinker
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    0   0   0
    Aug 22, 2018
    98
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    NWI
    When I was just shy of 20, I was on a long fishing trip with my Dad in wilderness. We came across a sturgeon spawn (Lake Sturgeon). We could see thousands of pounds of sturgeon so naturally we tried to convince some to bite. Every fish we landed was considerably older than I and some maybe older than my Father. None were near the size of that fish. We didn't have time to stay and smoke these incredible animals but we respected them and my soul would allow me to nourish myself with one. I don't take it lightly but seems like part of life. I will die some day and feed something.
     

    bwframe

    Loneranger
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    93   0   0
    Feb 11, 2008
    38,170
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    Btown Rural
    I'm a meat eating fisherman and hunter. I've cleaned a few big turtles that were said to possibly be my age or older.

    I give pause and do my best to be noticeably thankful for the harvest and respectful to the animal.
     
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