I noticed this story has made the mainstream news this morning:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2983045.stm. I am in for a battering from Rebecca, I always justified my angling, by stating that fish cannot feel pain, I am flumixed now.
I do practice catch and release, wherever it is allowed. My angling club banned catch and release because some people were releasing damaged fish, I think this has been reversed this year.
I would often use barbless hooks when fishing for native brown trout, but rarely do for rainbow trout, I suppose this is a form of racism.
I remember a fish in the Upper Bann he was picking off little Olives from the surface, I cast over him with a dry fly and he took it, I got him to hand, and released him. I sat on the bank for a while watching him and within a few minutes he was back hitting the olives, I cast over him again, and he took the same fly again. This was a wily native fish. This is the story I use to justify my position on angling, I find it is a bit more acceptable to people than calling them ignorant townies.