Thought this might get someone's attention. Here's the deal......
I've been fishing for over 40 years, and have just recently (within the last year) found out that there's a bunch of bass fishermen out there that don't eat bass. In fact..... they call them "sport fish" and get VERY upset when someone keeps their catch. I'm absolutely floored by this idea. SO..... I did a little research on it. Here's what I've come up with:
The Catch and Release scam was created by the Pro Fishing $ports industry. At first it was all done in the name of Ecology because they were killing all the large size bass....after weigh-in.... the problem is.... as time went on they took it to an extreme and fooled a lot of people all for the pleasure and personal wealth of man NOT for the benefit of the ecosystem. Don't believe the media and the industry. SO...We should Keep AND Release.....only under the practice of certain rules. Our state has a Slot Limit....works very well. If you want a healthy population of anything, you must harvest. There needs to be a balance (keep some and release some).I love catching bass! I release probably 90% of the ones I catch. However, if I want a fish fry, it's usually bass that I keep. Why????.... because they are the most plentiful in my region. You can probably catch them on a bare hook around here. Not a real challenge, but a lot of fun to catch. The only fish around here that fights harder is a trout, but they taste awful (IMO). Anyone else come across this strange practice of people calling them a fish that should be "catch and release only"??? Please someone explain this? I have a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management, and I was taught different.
here's a great read: http://oxyedge-chum.com/catch-and-release-fishing-tournaments-b-a-s-s-history/
here's another great read: https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/catch_and_release_bass.html
