I will say this much in this person’s defense. Everyone who fishes is guilty at some point of miss handling of released fish. It’s just the nature of the sport. After all, we are using a sharp metal hooks to catch fish. And to those who only flyfish with tiny flies and barbless hooks, you can’t be certain you’re releasing your fish unharmed every time regardless of how you handle the fish after the fight. I know this because of line wraps or overplaying of fish in the hopes of not breaking your tiny leaders.
There are no current laws that I’m aware of that this person is violating granted he is in possession a fishing license, and on public water. So we can complain all we want about his methods, but he is within the law.
That being said, when you use those types of lures, you’re bound to kill fish. This is why a rarely use those types of lures because they are a pain in the butt to release fish with them. And as others have said, there are other spin fishing methods that are just as good and safer for the fish.
