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Catch and release really does work
By Joe Kent
Correspondent
Published October 23, 2009
Often, we get some interesting stories from readers, and I want to share this one with you.
It came from Brian Castille, and here is what he had to say.
“I was checking out an online fishing forum and I clicked on an intriguing report. Inside it, I read that Brad Smith, of Kingwood, and his daughter, Rachel Smith, caught and released some bull reds near the Texas City Dike and even had a rod break on one of them.
“I looked at a couple of pictures they posted and noticed that the first bull red had a very unique line of spots on its body.
“Out of all the bull reds I have caught over the years, I have only seen one of that description, and it was from a Sept. 26 trip when my friend, Luke Addington, caught it while fishing at the jetties with me and my dad, Gerry Castille, as part of a 27-bull red day.
“As I looked at Brad’s picture a little more closely, I thought it looked a lot like the one we recently caught and thought it might actually be the same fish, but figured there was no way.
“Just for grins, I pulled out my picture to compare to his. I started looking back and forth and the pattern matched exactly in the two pictures, and I was very confident I was looking at the same fish we caught and released three weeks earlier.
“I was able to send a message to Brad and told him that he had a picture of the same fish we caught three weeks earlier. He admitted he was skeptical about it being the same fish until he looked at a picture I had showing the other side of the fish and it matched exactly, too. There is no doubt these are the same fish caught and released three weeks and 10 miles apart.
“What are the odds that someone catches and releases a fish at the jetties and three weeks later the same fish is seen in a picture on an online forum and it was caught 10 miles away?
“I would have to say very slim chances. It goes to show that catch and release works, too. Maybe that fish will be a guest back on our boat again someday?”
I would have to say the odds of that happening are slim. One point to take from this report is Castille’s comment that catch and release is working. Hopefully this will encourage the practice even more among sportsmen.
Love those fish stories.
Saturday, Serious Tackle is having its inaugural fall fishing clearance and sidewalk sale. Bargains galore and, as an added treat, several well-known celebrities on the fishing scene will be making appearances.
They include Capts. Chris Jamail, Michael LaRue and Billy Howell, along with Steve Jamail demonstrating his Goober line of soft plastics and the Flounder Pounder Brothers, Phil and Joe Ortiz. Phil will be giving pointers on flounder fishing and how to best employ the Flounder Pounder.
Doors open at 9 a.m. at the La Marque Outlet Mall, 14065 Delaney Road.
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