Catch-and-Release Purist Emotionally Devastated After Fish Doesn't Seem Grateful

Dedicated catch-and-release angler Victor Barbless experienced what he described as 'a profound interpersonal rejection' on Saturday after a 19-inch rainbow trout he carefully revived and released showed absolutely no sign of appreciation, gratitude, or even acknowledgment of his existence. 'I played it gently,' Barbless said, staring at the river. 'I used a barbless hook. I kept it in the water the whole time. I cradled it in the current until its gills were pumping strong. I looked it in the eye and said, you're free. Go live your life.' The trout departed with a single tail flick, disappearing into the current without what Barbless had hoped would be 'some kind of moment.' 'Nothing,' Barbless said. 'Not a pause. Not a look. Not even the fish equivalent of a nod. I spent 20 minutes carefully handling this animal and it swam away like I was a rock.' Barbless's fishing partner, Elaine Tippet, observed the exchange from downstream. 'He was holding the fish and talking to it,' Tippet said. 'He does this every time. He wants the fish to know he's one of the good ones. The fish never knows. It's a fish.' The incident has prompted Barbless to question his approach, though not his commitment. 'I'm not going to stop releasing them,' he said. 'I just thought, after all these years, that maybe one would hesitate. Just for a second. Just a little hover near my hand to say, hey, thanks for not eating me.' A fisheries biologist, asked whether fish are capable of gratitude, responded: 'No. Not at all. Not even a little bit. Their cortisol levels drop when you let go and they swim away from the stressor, which is you. You are the stressor.' Barbless has accepted this information and plans to continue releasing fish while talking to them.