Interesting Fish question.....

tell them its illegal

 

Wheres the pistol whip with your fishing pole option?

 

Lake Arrowhead is inside Lake Arrowhead National Forrest... isn't that a Federal Offense? You even so much as feed an animal and in the slammer you go.

 

after what I've seen some adults do that's nothing, just kids having some good clean fun, let em be.....I understand the poor fishes position but it is part of growing up ... they could have been selling drugs or torturing the fish, at least they were "trying" to keep them alive

 

You touch it or them and it can be called battery or theft. Call PETA.
Call these guys. They'll take care of the problem.
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kids will allways be kids. Let them be.

 

Where's the "kill all the kids and throw their bodies into the lake to feed the fish" option?

Kids these days, got no respect for their elders, they all need to be taught a lesson....

No, I'd probably just "accidently" punt the cooler into the lake. "Oops! Sorry...."

 

I guess ya'll forgot you were kids once.

 

I don't forget that. In fact, I clearly remember listening to, and learning from, adults. I let more than one animal, reptile, fish etc. go because someone told me they wouldn't live in the jar,sock,hat,shoe box, etc. that I caught them in.

 

I was in a similar position last year, i was walking my dog around a lake and came across 3 lads who had a small bucket that was full of little frogs i tried to laugh with them about it and asked them to leave the frogs who were suffocating go but they just laughed at me, so i walked away and came back around to them approx 30 mins later and they had even more frogs in the bucket so i just walked up to the bucket and threw it in the lake releasing the frogs,i answered no1.

 

Ask them to dump the cooler and that's all. What if you were to try and grab the cooler and one of the kids jumps on your back and you hurt him? Or worse, falls in the lake and can't swim? You're screwed for life over a fish?

...and if there (just so) happens to be a Ranger nearby or within cell range, send them over to help the little darlings find the lake!

Try to use it as a lesson for your own kids if possible. You can't teach everyone, especially the "Kid who pulls the wings off the moth" (We all knew one of those!)

 

You did the proper thing. It's good to point out to the children that the fish need more water for oxygenation and need to be released, but, ultimately, they are the ones that need to make the decision. Unfortunately, these kids sound like many/most -- they'll need to see the consequences of their actions before they 'wise up.'

 

I don't know about your area, but MANY lakes I have fished at post signs that tell you in no uncertain terms not to release panfish back into the water.

Bluegills, sunfish, etc tend to overproduce & choke out the larger fish in some lakes.

 

They're dead now.

 

You can't really reason with kids - they just dont see things the same way adults do. Maybe they didnt care about your suggestion or maybe they are too stupid to think to do it, or maybe they wanted to kill the fish.

I would have asked them to release the fish because its the right thing to do, and see what they do (just stand there and wait for a response). If no response, I'd directly ask what they are going to do. If they gave me a hard time about it I'd tell them to release the fish just DO it. If they did it accomodatingly, I'd probably try to think of some way to reward them for doing the right thing. I dunno - give 'em a big fish I caught or buy them ice cream if theres a place near, or give them a cigarette (you can never be too young to experiment).

Its easy to apply adult emotions to childs behaviour but you gotta remember they dont think like adults do and their inaction may have been ignorance or forgetfulness not necessarily defiance of your request.

My .02

 

haha... give 'em a cigarette, right on! That's probably what I would do.

 

I'd give them a choice:

1.) Let the fish go.
2.) I'll call the authorities, have them let the fish go for you, and then you can explain it to your parents.

 

Awe come on. I remember being a kid, going to the local pond, and catching 4 inch fish (?type), and putting them in a bucket too. Did it every weekend, never ate one. Usually let them go. Once I took them home and threw them in the pool. Hell, I didn't know fish didn't like chlorine. They survived for a week. There was ZERO malice involved. I was a kid...

Just leave the kids alone. Its not like they are tying firecrackers to a cats tail, or lighting a dog on fire...

 

A good beating for the children and a dump back in the lake for the fish.

 

These are good kids, they are not doing a godderned thing that billions of other kids their age haven't done, and will continue to do.
The poll does not have an option for what I would have done, which would have been trying to turn their play into a learning experience (frog behavior/life/difference between frog and toad/insects they eat/how it all interrelates to the bluegill and the bass/how birds fit in to the picture/the importance of water to 'life' of all types, i.e. 'no water/no life')
But that's just me.