Angling ethics are subjective. Yes, there are laws on the books. But those statutes are applied based upon a consensus. At times, appeals to empirical data might even enter the picture. All of that to say, fishing regulations aren’t natural law. But common sense does factor in when making moral judgments.
For example: I’ve walked the line with using bait with my fly rod at a few memorable moments.
Now, there is a difference between the ethics of using bait and laws prohibiting it. I believe that in all of the following anecdotes I was well within my legal rights. My actions may not stand up to your personal scrutiny, however. Consequently, I only ask that you read these accounts with some grace. After all, I was fishing. You know how that goes.
The Lizard Hopper
My small university campus had two ponds. The smaller of the two was surrounded by cattails and contained some sizeable largemouth bass. Being in South Carolina, there were all manner of creatures in and around the water. Lizards were the most exotic. They also were prone to leaping into the water from the vegetation when a person parted the tall plants in order to cast. The result was one of the most tantalizing topwater displays imaginable. The serpentine wiggle and the pulsing waves from the frantic swimming was something no lure, let alone no fly, could replicate. And the bass loved it.
