It sickened me as a long-time local fly fisherman, Colorado Rivers conservationist and member of Trout Unlimited (as well as many of my local fly fishing colleagues) to see the decision made by local spin fisherman Rob Thomas to legally kill the 28.5-inch trout he caught on the Animas River (Herald, July 8).

It is also troubling that the Durango Herald deems it newsworthy to promote this type of senseless killing of a local resource, specifically in light of the comments made by Mr. Thomas that the fish counts and reproduction in the river have been strained for several years, which is true.

It is an obvious fact the river has been under a lot of pressure over the years and more so with last year’s mine spill, and it is also a fact that “trophy size” fish counts have dwindled substantially in recent years. So why engage in and then promote this type of activity?

Many of us locals who fish the river a lot have an opinion, in spite of recent studies evaluating the health of the aquaculture that suggest “bug life” is healthy, as to why counts have dwindled, and it would be directly tied to this type of “catch ‘em and kill ‘em” mentality, some of it legal and a lot of it not legal (i.e. poaching).

Personally, I would have bought Mr. Thomas all the farm-raised rainbow trout he could stuff in his freezer if he had only photographed and released this rare and treasured Animas trophy rainbow to live and fight another day.

Tom Petit

Durango