I was pondering the issue of fishing ethics and managed to stumble on the PETA site for angling. Moderates have been out of fashion for a number of years, while fanaticism is on the ascendancy…

“Yet it’s a fact that all fish flesh today is contaminated with heavy metals and other toxins. In fact, fish flesh is just about the most polluted thing that humans put into their bodies. On that basis alone, Christians should not be eating it.”

Whew, thankfully I have escaped their wrath – as I’ve been called many things while fishing but “Christian” ain’t one of them. On the lighter side of this pedantic message, I should reassure PETA that 90% of fly fishermen don’t eat their catch, rather – we go fishing with the intent of slamming chemically sharpened iron through a fish’s face, winching the SOB through the water, then suffocating the creature intentionally – all while we pose smiling for the camera.

Only partially satiated by this bloodcurdling act, we toe the carcass into the underbrush so we can catch more.

“…like every other animal, some people still think of fish as swimming vegetables…”

Nothing is further from the truth, angling literature is replete with references to how smart fish are using adjectives like; wiley, cagey, and discriminating. Only the fish-fowl brand of Vegans consider fish vegetables.

Fishermen know they’re going to Hell, what’s in doubt of is whether they’re already there or not. Fearing for your immortal soul? – $16.00 is cheap penance.