Yes, capitalism always has the best solutions to extremely complex environmental issues. (See: Pebble Mine) The reason I don't agree with private waters is because waterways, and especially rivers are not a closed system. The practices of Boxwood Gulch and similar places impact everything around them as well. The invasive species of rainbow trout that are stocked in these waters outcompete the native fish and reduce their historic ranges. The Greenback Cutthroat trout is native to the South Platte, but has been reduced to 1% of it's historic range and placed on the endangered species list because of practices like that at Boxwood Gulch. Any restoration attempts cannot be successful because of how hardy the stocked rainbow trout are in comparison. They were bred with the sole intention of being resilient. I believe that as fisherman it is our responsibility to protect the ecosystems that provide us this opportunity and being informed about the biological impact of our activities is the first step in doing so. You should read: https://www.amazon.com/Entirely-Synthetic-Fish-Rainbow-Beguiled/dp/0300140886 if you would like to understand the historical impact of our stocking practices throughout the US. Or just keep paying people ridiculous amounts of money so you can hold your trophy trout like it's your first time for internet points.
Fish will regularly avoid painful/stressful environments or actions, just keep a home aquarium and you can see these behaviors pretty readily in most of the species people keep except the incredibly small. Theres an excellent book of fish and pain also called “do fish feel pain?” .
The author has published a few scientific articles on the subject and her conclusion is that fish DO feel pain, and they might have the capacity to suffer.
Their continued research on the ordering of species and their development as an author eventually led them to tackle existential questions such as "do fish really exist???"
This article is outdated, within the last few years our understanding of brains and nerves has advanced quite alot and theres quite a bit of evidence to suggest fish DO feel pain even if its not in the way me and you do. Suggesting they may even suffer.
The prime evidence for this is a book written by professor victoria braithwaite called “Do Fish Feel Pain?” .
And a few other scientific articles.
Everyone should just get a field guide.
That is a smallmouth bass. They are fun to catch because they fight hard and are as dumb as fish get.
I don't entirely disagree with you but I just want to point out that fish absolutely do have complex emotions, this has been studied and proven many times over. If you're interested in the topic, this is a great book that goes into both the scientific side as well as the rational, yet emotional anecdotal side.
Think of it this way: fish have been evolving for, I don't remember the exact numbers but something like 50x as long as mammals. They have all the same basic structures making up their bodies and brains as us, with small differences. They have social relationships, societies, and even cultures to some extent. But you think they haven't developed emotions?
It's much more likely that we simply are unable to recognize them at first glance. Take a closer look at your tank, maybe. You might see something you recognise if you set your ego aside.
It is hard to find specific sources for certain water bodies (unless the water body is popular or well known). If you are in the states, I would suggest looking up a list of freshwater or saltwater species that live throughout the state. Try to find one with not just game fish but every fish found in that state( that way, the list will have micro species as well). After you catch a fish that you aren’t sure about ID wise, you can just refer to the list until you find the perfect match. These list are usually sorted by family’s of fish so finding what family the fish is from helps narrow the search. This helps get an exact idea on the fish species instead of thinking it is a species that lives no where near you. Also, although not necessary, I would recommend getting the Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes. A field guide of any sort is not needed but is definitely a helpful thing to have.
I also recommend this field guide:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0691120722/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_El7CFb86H2X7A
In addition to all the info it contains, it even lists the sharks in evolutionary order and has full color illustrations in one section.
Second this! Also while not totally what you were asking I got a huge kick from this reef fish ID book. If you're going to be doing any snorkeling/diving this really makes it all the more interesting!
The Peterson Guide 2nd Ed. is generally considered to be the best general ID book for North American freshwater species. Otherwise there is a Kansas Fishes book that looks good but I haven't used it before - that would be your best bet for more local/specialized info.
Despite the excellent answers your getting... there are to many small differences to try to explain. Just get a field guide. Faster and more reliable than reddit.
If you're interested in mating behavior, read Vladmir Dinet's book Dragon Songs. Hands-down the best description of crocodilian mating behavior and what it looks like you'll ever see.
for the very basics there are books made by Vic Dunaway however most of the pics are terrable . You may want a peterson guide like this one https://www.amazon.com/Peterson-Freshwater-Fishes-Second-Guides/dp/0547242069 this book is EXTREMELY detailed.
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It's a lot more fun if you do it yourself, and you learn more.
An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World https://www.amazon.com/dp/0300140886/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_jnPIBbWY3CNNT This book has some really interesting info about stocking programs and how/why they stock alpine lakes this way.
Poor fish.. Please educate yourselves about fish sentience and sensory systems. A great resource on the topic: https://www.amazon.com/What-Fish-Knows-Underwater-Cousins/dp/0374288216 A free read to start getting to know our scaly fellow earthlings: https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/factory-farming/fish/fish-feel-pain/
I really liked this book, and it's counterparts. This one has all the related books in the "users also bought section"
Reef Fish Identification - Florida Caribbean Bahamas - 4th Edition (Reef Set) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1878348574/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_gkowxbSEPQ258
It's got full color pictures of fish, and a bit of information on them. It's also easy to search for what you saw, and if you want more info, it can give you a name to Wikipedia.
Vladimir Dinets, a zoologist who had some really cool research on crocodilians and realized that basically, they're smart as fuck and have waaay more complex behavior than the scientific community had previously realized. He wrote a book about it, called Dragon Songs and it's very fascinating.
Victoria Braithwaite is one researcher I know of that has looked into this. She also wrote a book about it. Googling her and her research may help provide some clarity.
I enjoyed The Devil's Teeth although the author ruined the research project. The book has some good information and history of the Farallons.
Oh, and get a copy of this book to take too. I signed off over 1/3rd of the book during my first week there.
Huh. I just started reading Susan Casey's "The Devil's Teeth" which starts off talking about the white sharks of the Farallones.
She also wrote Voices in the Ocean about dolphins, which just came out in August. Great author.
In the field. Buy this field guide and whenever you catch a fish, look it up in here. Its a fantastic resource that I bring with me everywhere.
The Audubon guides are good, but I like the Peterson field guides for all my wildlife needs. The Freshwater fishes of N. America just got the new 2nd edition published, and I think they added like 150 species to it. They have great pictures, its organized very well, and has lots of great info. That's what I use. Just get the paperback version and beat the hell out of it!