Saying No To The Bucket Fishermen

[SoFlaBassAddict]

The "bucket fisherman" who keep fish within the limits of the law have every right to do so. Not giving them your fish is completely reasonable, but condemning anyone for doing something that is legal to do, whether they are Latino, European, Asian, Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern, just like you , or very different is a waste of energy. I once kept some small bluegill from a local lake to fry for my parents. It was all we could catch, and was the last time I had the chance to do it. If you would have told me to get food stamps instead of keeping legal fish, you would not have liked my response.

Well said.

[Stasher1]

I'll occasionally leave the bass gear at home and spend an afternoon (or morning, evening, night, etc) chasing bream with a 3wt fly rod. On those days, I'll typically offer what I catch to the "bucket fisherman". Bream are plentiful where I fish, and if someone is deperate enough to fish for their supper in a county pond that's too polluted to swim in, they need all the help they can get.

I've only had one person ask for any of the bass I catch, and he's a good friend who has been having a lot of finacial problems over the past few years. Instead of giving him fish, I gave him a rod, reel, terminal tackle, and a variety of soft plastics from my past orders from ***. What he decides to keep and eat is his business.

^^^

Don't you just love how former site supporters are black-listed when they're no longer paying members.

[Basspastor]

When I shore fish I'll sometimes ask if people want what I catch when it's pike, sunfish, or crappie. Usually I release the bass, but not always. If one of the "Grumpy Old Men" wants some I'll give them fish if they are under 14". And I gave some last Sept to a funny black woman, she didn't care for me releasing the bigger fish, but wasn't pushy about it.

I do enjoy it right now when people catch bass and grumble about having to throw them back.

[200racing]

im happy to give my catch away if i don't plan on eating it.

its a public resource not my personal fishing hole.

if i can make someone day better while im enjoying my hobby than its a win-win.

[Caver]

One time this guy kept bothering me for my fish on a local pond when I was throwing them back. Finally he asked me for like the fifth time and I took the fish, bit off it's head, sprayed its blood all over my face, and yelled "FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!" at the top of my lungs. No one bothers me anymore.

[Clash City Rocker]

I will only take fish at times to feed my feral kittens that i find while fishing. People don't like it when i throw back the 2lb to 5lb bass. I seen some guys taking 3'' sunfish to eat. Tell them to get food stamps if its that bad.

What a shame for you to suggest to a man taking it upon himself to feed his family, that he should go on government assistance instead.

[Tony Monticelli]

next time tell him he can have all the sunfish i catch..

also ask him if he wants skates.. those things i prey to find someone who will want them.

[ATRoberts]

I don't see anything wrong with giving away a few fish if I don't plan to keep them. I rarely keep any but will often offer them to someone else. I have never had anyone ask me for any. You can normally tell the one's who need a few fish to eat versus those who don't.

[iceintheveins]

Nothing wrong with keeping small bass where they are abundant to overabundant. But keeping a nice bass? Why? I personally can't see why anyone would rather fish for stocked trout than bass. Soo boring.

[Tony Monticelli]

Nothing wrong with keeping small bass where they are abundant to overabundant. But keeping a nice bass? Why? I personally can't see why anyone would rather fish for stocked trout than bass. Soo boring.

that's an easy question to answer, its all about the steak. marinade that up and slap er on the grill.. but for bass id rather a nice big stripper than a green boney thing anyway. them black sea bass also is some good eatn.

the only little fish i like is bookie trout the smaller the better there like french fries, fry em up take em down head and all.. unfortunately there a 5 fish limit round here so it takes a few weeks to get a good meal.

[Scorcher214]

There was only one time I gave bass away. There was this old lady with a cane pole fishing. She must have been 90. She asked if she could have it and I gave it to her just because shes 90 and still fishing. I hope Im 90 and still fishing! I've been asked other times. One guy got a ticked off because I threw one back instead of giving it to him. I was still only C&R season, even if it wasn't that guy wasn't gettin nuttin.

[North Ga Hillbilly]

was fishing a small pond packed with bucket fishermen usually ( stocked trout)

Most stocked trout are put there to be caught without the expectation that they will live on to reproduce. Here in GA if you release a trout, its got about a 5% chance of seeing the next season.

I also have to agree, tell a guy to go get on food stamps and I expect you will be leaving with a long term reminder of your rude stupidity, and rightly so. Supplementing a families diet with legally caught fish is an honorable way to get through tough times, one less mouth filled by Uncle Sam.

NGaHB

[WookieeJedi]

Nothing wrong with keeping small bass where they are abundant to overabundant. But keeping a nice bass? Why? I personally can't see why anyone would rather fish for stocked trout than bass. Soo boring.

I make about a 2 hour drive into Arkansas to catch trout. They are delicious and I can usually limit out in less than an hour. The limit is 5, but I take 3 kids with me, and they all catch fish. I also use the trout to train my kids on detecting a strike, we don't use bobbers.

Trout have other uses too, when they stock them in the Ouachita below the dam on Lake Catherine, the stripers go nuts for them.

[AndyPlaysDrums]

Read this thread last Sunday afternoon and thought, "Hmm, this has never happened to me."

Monday morning, fishing for smallies at a local pond and there's another guy there drowning nightcrawlers. Nice guy, we chatted and fished, and while he was telling me there was nothing biting, I could tell I was playing something that was likely sitting on a bed just out of sight. After a couple losses, I finally catch it. He comes over as I'm taking the hook out and admiring this beautiful 2lb. class smallie and says, "Can I have it?". All he had to put it in was a net, not even a bucket. I was like "Really???". I said there was no way in hell that I was going to take a spawning smallmouth out of that pond, and I put it back. He took my spot when I was leaving and said he'd keep it if he caught it. Fine, not my control, I guess...

[NCbassmaster4Life]

Read this thread last Sunday afternoon and thought, "Hmm, this has never happened to me."

Monday morning, fishing for smallies at a local pond and there's another guy there drowning nightcrawlers. Nice guy, we chatted and fished, and while he was telling me there was nothing biting, I could tell I was playing something that was likely sitting on a bed just out of sight. After a couple losses, I finally catch it. He comes over as I'm taking the hook out and admiring this beautiful 2lb. class smallie and says, "Can I have it?". All he had to put it in was a net, not even a bucket. I was like "Really???". I said there was no way in hell that I was going to take a spawning smallmouth out of that pond and it put it back. He took my spot when I was leaving and said he'd keep it if he caught it. Fine, not my control, I guess...

I guess some people just need to be educated on how important it is to release such a fish.