A couple days before I was in Minnesota, a place is known for its thousands of lakes. I was there basking along a couple of lakes nearby our home. Most favorite of two lakes out of five I have visited were Turtle Neck Lake (TNL) and the Snail Lake (SL). However, the area wise the SL occupied nearly 500 acres while the former was only half of it.
Anyway, I along with my friend-son who is eight years old, who has his own license for fishing, went to the turtle neck lake around 12 in the noon. It was a hot day, the temperature was hovering around 90 degree F, just a perfect day for the outdoor swimming and fishing activity.
Where we picked out a site to sit and fix our fishing rod and the barb was on a dock. My son was hopping a step as he walked on it, since he took of his shoes and started walking bare feet on the Aluminum paved dock was which was literally on a boiling point; so my son told me and jumped off from the dock into the water, asking me to put a towel at the end of the deck where we could sit on and fix the rest.
We initially sitting there dangling our feet into the water and engaging ourselves into a conversation talking about whether fishes would drink water or not and the stuff. As we did that, so many tiny fishes started biting our toes as the dead skins started attracting them to feed on. It was ticklish and thrilling at the same time, we enjoyed them utmost of our heart.
Within like a half hour we have caught three Basses weighing about three to four bound each. One of which, really heavy for my son to reel it off to the shore, was struggling and screaming out of his lungs in excitement, “appa, come on help me it is too heavy for me,” as I was taking a shot. Before, I could go and helped him, it was too late, the fish cut the barb off and writhed away.
Later on as we walked by the beach and looking for shells and the stuff. We found a frog laying on a leaf litter. I was so excited so my son. I asked him, if he wanted to hold and feel it, he said yes without a second thought. As I tried to catch, it hopped a couple times, however, I managed to catch it.
He was holding it gently while rubbing on it snout. Thereupon, we noticed the frog was not doing well by noticing a cut on its left hind limb. Perhaps, it had cut by the one of the motorized boats. Every homes, pretty much owns a boat in that state I believe. I had seen that day itself so many families single and group alike had a fun ride. A symbol of luxury and power the kind of boat they had it seemed. Anyway, I thought there itself, a spoilt people and a country with the surplus of everything to exploit at their will.
That poor frog visibly sick and about to die. That was when, my son asked me what we should do with the frog? Should we take to the doctor? I was standing there, confronting, how to answer to that boy without conflicting his belief of compassion and caring of the fellow living things. I told him, I believe we should leave the frog where we found it. So the nature would take care of it at its best care than what we could do.
Therefore, we left the frog carefully right there where we found it earlier. Before that, with the fish, we came to know really late that we can not take the fishes home, in spite of the license and associated money involved. Since, that particular lake is on the conservation measure of preserving Basses, whoever catching they were requested to release back into the water.
The question is, I do not know how strategically it is going to help them with the caught fish pulled out of the water and handled at times roughly in order to remove the barb out of its mouth, would it make out when it is released back into the water?
What I wish now altogether why they did not tell us at the first place not to fish for gaming.
Here is the question for you guys, What would you do with the sickened frog, when a little boy asked you the same question as my son had asked me?
What would you do with the fish you had caught and knowing that it is not going to make it out when you released it back?
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4 comments:
//More than adults children have a soft heart and I really appreciate your son;s concern about giving respect to living beings. //
That is true, what you are saying. Thanks, Doc. Hope everything is improving in a positive trend with you.
I thought there itself, a spoilt people and a country with the surplus of everything to exploit at their will.//
:) !!! anyway aren't you part of it?
here in india we fish (if at all we do..)we do it to eat and
not for "our" pleasure and then lament for their wellbeing! right?
//:) !!! anyway aren't you part of it?//
hmm... yea, perhaps I am not completely becoming one, that is why, still I talk about it. Not buying the idea of it, if you belong to the majority, you have to side with whatever they do. I prefer to stand off :-)
//here in india we fish (if at all we do..)we do it to eat and
not for "our" pleasure and then lament for their wellbeing! right?//
I remember fishing in my teenage years along with my friends a whole day at times. Though, as you said, we used to bring the fish home for the dish.
Here I did not know until someone told me that I can not take the fish home. That was the part made me to bring up this article.
//just check Praba,, theres something wrong in ur blog.. like it looks little haphazard. everything is in twos. //
Doc, I do not know what is wrong with it. Even I saw once Sam's and now Masilamani's sir post showing up in two with the "recent feedback at blogdesam main page."
I have to ask some1 what could be wrong. But the page is showing up just right, only the problem with feedback...
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