Gone Fishing, With a Firearm: A Cherished Sport in Vermont

Maybe Howard Dean should've told the gun nuts about this. And before anyone flames me, I'm a gun-owner - though I never thought about going fishing with my Glock.



The hunter's prey darted into the shadows, just out of reach of Henry Demar's gun.

"Come on, stand up and be counted," Mr. Demar whispered excitedly. "There was a ripple that came out of the weeds. There's something out there."

Dressed in camouflage, gripping his .357 Magnum, Mr. Demar was primed to shoot. But this time, no such luck. With a flick of its tail, his quarry — a slick silvery fish — was gone.

Fish shooting is a sport in Vermont, and every spring, hunters break out their artillery — high-caliber pistols, shotguns, even AK-47's — and head to the marshes to exercise their right to bear arms against fish.

It is a controversial pastime, and Vermont's fish and wildlife regulators have repeatedly tried to ban it. They call it unsportsmanlike and dangerous, warning that a bullet striking water can ricochet across the water like a skipping stone.

explosives like normal people?

And for the record, using a gun for fishing is spectacularly stupid, but I don't see what should be illegal about it.

I know a few guys who use a megger (high-voltage insulation tester) to fish. It's stupid, too.

offer. Well, they used to offer them. I don't think there's enough water in the Beaverhead River to allow for fishing anymore.

OKAY fishing devices--

rod and reel
cane pole
net
spear
spear gun (underwater)
(possibly) bow and arrow
(possibly) fish trap

NOT OKAY fishing devices--

gun
chlorine
dynamite, M80's etc.
poison
electricity

Last point--I hope they're using steel shot--something tells me that they aren't . . .

lead pellets poison streams and lakes, it hurts non-game species that the fish need to survive and thrive, it doesn't allow for 'catch and release,' it scares the hell out of wildlife disrupting breeding etc. and in my opinion, just doesn't follow the "code" of the sportsman.

I mean why not just buy some live trout, hang them on a fence, and shoot them with a .22?

The object is not just to bag a fish, it's to do it in a way that protects or improves the environment and becomes part of the natural cycle of predator and prey.

ice bullets, would that be acceptable to you

"Oh, I'm a danger to myself and others.
My cousins are as close as brothers.
I stay out in the rain all the time!
We're a danger to ourselves and others.
Screw the earth and steal our mothers.
Leave us in the woods and we're just fine.
We're a danger to ourselves and others.
Good livestock with better lovers...."

the invasive species are destroying our waters.

Every time I see a story like this, fly fishing becomes more attractive to me......