“You don’t know how lucky you are to be out here” - Amen to that!

I never saw the pictures until today.  I'm guessing they must have bushwhacked into that lake.  Now I'm curios.

I read the article by Sam Cook which was in last Sunday paper.  He has been writing for the Duluth News Tribune for about 30 years and has written a number of books.  In Duluth he has a very good reputation and I think most people would say he is an honest writer.  Typically he does not write about the number of fish that were caught, but the fishing experience.  I was personally surprised by the number of fish he said they caught.  Sam Cook is almost an institution in Duluth and he writes on  a number of topics which have nothing to do with fishing or hunting.

As for counting fish, unless you have a paper and pencil and write down each fish as you catch it, you will lose count around 25 fish.  Not withstanding the comment that a true sportsman would not count his fish, I have used a pencil and paper to write down the number of fish, my partner and I have caught.  In one particular lake which has small northerns and bass, my son and I have caught 100 fish in about 7 hours of fishing.  We stopped at 100 fish.  My son has told me that I can't count fish anymore when we go to this lake.  Again unless you mark each fish as you catch it, there is no way a person can keep track of the number of fish unless you keep a running tally on  a piece of paper.

What I find personally surprising is that the whole group used paper and pencil to keep track of their tally of fish.

Westwood

There are differing philosophies on fishing.  Take me & my brother for example, we couldn't be further apart on the issue.  He considers it a failure to not catch fish.  I consider it a bonus to catch fish.  Sure I get a little dejected when I come up empty, but catching is not why I fish.

Niether is wrong.  The buddhist in me says that one philosophy is a path to suffering.   

The only time I keep count is for my spring trout trip.  I participate in a survey which helps the ministry to track whatever trends they track.  The APP Trout Survey also helps me decide where to go the next year.
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remember those grainy black-and-white photos from deer camps of yester-yore, with 5 or 6 deer hanging from a pole propped between two trees?

i have a vision of a battleship-strong cable strung between two centuries-old pine on either side of Pickerel, with 279 fish hanging down.

-- kypaddler