Releasing fish

[willami]

I have heard that worms, fish and other lower forms do not have the brain capacity to feel pain the way we do; thus the expression, "No brain, no pain." Anybody have a comment on this?

Nothing good comes from trying to emphasize with animals on either side of the debate, they have no anthropomorphic characteristics but we give them human aspects in our minds. Sticking to science and not trying to think like a fish or a worm would be a good start. How would any animal survive without feeling pain? Can you take a night crawler into the sun, pour salt on it and poke it with a needle and say its not smart enough to feel that- or say its going through agony like we would? Neither is correct but the answer lies in the middle. I think fish feel and think in very primitive ways but they've been doing it longer then we have.
When I use live baits, I try to respect it and the fish as much as possible and sometimes slip up but I don't justify it or tear up when things aren't perfect.
Catch and release always does some damage to fish and people should have sympathy and follow basic laws of nature ; Would anyone in say that chocking a bird so it can't swallow then using it on the end of your line to catch fish is acceptable although to some it is? Views about fishing ethics are kind of like politics, largely based on where you live and the people around you.
Neither way is doing nature any favor, I clean up lots of line and trash and just as much of it is lure related where I fish, its just that worms containers are large, easy to see and float some and A-holes leave tubs of liver and so on, A-holes can be members of any group.
Poor wildlife management, growing population, pollution and so on are the real enemies of fish in America, but worldwide they're quickly loosing the war.

There's only one way to know what a fish feels and that's reincarnation. I remember hearing of something a Native American said ,like that, about hunting and fishing, basically if the time comes where he is now the pray captured and the animal is the man hunting him he will have made a equal or happy exchange. Maybe some among us, like the litterers and the wasteful, might even have to experience the worms perspective on the topic.
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