Jim J Posted June 3, 2006 Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 to: All ISA Officers message: Dear Sir, I am writing to say that because of the efforts of the ISA, I overcame the temptation to keep, for mounting purposes, a 5 - 6 lb smallmouth that I caught in Rock Creek about 3/4 of a mile North of the pedestrian bridge in the Kankakee River State Park. I caught this beast on a chartruse twister tail on june 2, 2006. I have caught many smallmouth in my years of angling, and always practiced catch and release,but this fish was a monster. Not having a camera with me I was tempted, for a moment, but thought better of it. Because of your organization's efforts to preserve the habitat I was able to convince myself to do the right thing. (My friends will just have to take my word for it) Anyway, keep up the good work and happy fishing. Sincerely, Not Just Another Fish Story. (Steve Tarrant) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted June 3, 2006 Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 Three cheers for Mr. Tarrant! I hope you reap some some seriously good fishing Karma in return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Clifford Posted June 3, 2006 Report Share Posted June 3, 2006 I'd just like to say that "doing the right thing" in this instance is doing the "legal" thing, as smallies must be released during the spring closed season. I'm hoping the signs in that region are what made the difference in this case. The ISA put MUCH effort and expense into them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark K Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 True Mike and important point, but the fact of the matter is if this angler decided to break the law most likely he would have easily gotten away with it. Though illegal-not at effectively enforced. The great thing here is that he wanted to release the fish. That is about as big of a success as you could ask for. IMHO more effective than changing laws....at least in Illinois. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Smith Posted June 7, 2006 Report Share Posted June 7, 2006 The great thing here is that he wanted to release the fish. That is about as big of a success as you could ask for. ...well said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Thats the difference between hunter and killer. Congratulations to Steve Tarrant. That was a test. You passed it. That bass may grow to be a record. More importantly the breeding genes that that fish posseses will continue to be passed on. Great inspiring story to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 I don't want to blow our own horn too much ( looks tacky) but we started our business based on these exact principles; to keep these big fish in the water and preserve the memory in a great/affordable way. Always have a camera ready to go, use the highest settings possible, and look us up www.customfish.com. Again...I don't want to sound like a plug wh*r* here. We do what we do to ensure fish like that stay where they belong. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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