Do fish feel the pain??

http://www.islamoradatarpon.com/

This debate has been going around for as long as we can remember. Many anglers including myself are hoping that fish do not feel the torture when we engage them in a Tug of War. 

I recall a fishing encounter from one of my buddy anglers. He was fishing along a river in Germany when a Trout took his bait. The Trout was landed after a few minutes and was released as it is not a keeper. He tracked the movement of the fish and saw it returning to the same location. In curiosity, he cast the fly right back at the same spot. Amazingly, the fish took it again. Again, he landed and set it free and the fish swam  back to the similar hideout. Not convinced, he cast to the spot once more and the once again the same fish took it. Since then, he has been fishing guilt free. 

http://troutderby.com/

Is it really the same fish? I can only take his assurance that it was. 

Recently, there is an article that attempts to cast the myth away. Done by international researcher they have concluded that fish do not feel pain.

Personally, I feel that the article is not convincing enough as it is highly possible that fish can react to pain in a totally different way than what we expect. 

See what you think about the it, here is the link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2261424/Anglers-finally-hook-scientists-settle-age-old-debate-fish-feel-pain.html

Do drop a comment, if you have any related story or opinion. Cheers and keep fishing!