Selective Harvest

[fishballer06]

I don't eat fish, but I will keep some fish if I have friends who want some fish. I mostly keep crappies and perch if they're over 10", an occasional  bass in the 12-15" range, and walleye in the 15-20" range. 

[Chris S]

What do you mean by old bay?

Try this if you want to spice it up!! 

http://www.tonychachere.com 

[Inflatable Raft Bum]

I often take bass that are downright tiny.. (They gotta go)

They have the closest to crappie tasting little fillets out there.

Give me the dinks, they fry just as well (better in fact) than the typical eater size bass.

Sometimes i judge by fight too. If they really put up a good fight, well sometimes they have earned their freedom

[MO_LMB]

I think selective harvest is neccessary to maintaining a healthy fishery. 

[Bluebasser86]

I wish I liked to eat fish, there's some local lakes that could stand to lose a few hundred fish under the slot limit. 

[K_Mac]

There is no question that selective harvest is the right answer to maintaining a healthy fishery, whether on your local pond or the deep blue sea. The lakes with slot limits clearly clearly show how effective this practice is.

[JeziHogg]

I strictly fish bass, once and awhile ill catch a walleye if im drop shoting or ripping a hair jig. Lets just say if that walleye is legal it will never again swim freely l.

[Bassun]

I personally practice CPR pretty much exclusively, however, I completely agree that selective havest is essential for a thriving fishery.  I just rarely eat fish so I put them back.  I've seen many small ponds as a kid that were just plumb full of gill's and dink bass but had few keepers.  Then, you could go to a different pond where the "old guys" would keep a mess of 'gills to eat quite often and voila - suddenly you had bigger bass.  I'm sure they kept a few dinky bass too, but the effects of overpopulation were and are obvious. 

 

I've seen some of the local farmers literally throwing bluegills up on the bank when they catch them just to thin out the numbers.  I thought that was bad, then I saw an example of far worse impact.  Without naming locations, a semi-local catfish pond was bought by an adjacent landowner.  They apparently had trouble keeping people out of the pond -- so they poisoned it.  They litterally killed all of the fish (and we're talking some massive catfish too) just to keep people from fishing it.  That was by far the worst I've seen. 

 

BUT - it is also a fairly common practice to completely drain a pond that is out of control and restock with prefered fish.  Some people will poison a pond as well to restock but they then have to deal with the cleanup of the fish kill... but at least they are restocking, not just killing fish to keep people from fishing for them.

[.ghoti.]

I don't think I've ever been to a lake or pond where selective harvest would be a bad idea.

 

And, I've been to many that would benefit greatly from the practice.

[Missourifishin]

This topic brings up a couple of questions for me. There is a friend of my family who owns a small lake. I fished it quite a few times in 2012. The only one that fished it regularly was the friends young daughter, and no on besides me ever harvested a fish to my knowledge. There is still a decent population of healthy sized catfish. And he claims that someone once caught a large bass. But after fishing all day on several occasions, it seems to me that the only species that is healthy there is the catfish. I would catch TINY bass and bluegill all day, without any being "keepers". What should be done there? I guess I could help him thin the heard and have a big fish fry. But cleaning all of those tiny fish would be an absurd amount of work, relative to how much meat I'd get from each of them.

Second question, which is basically a similar situation: A close family member recently bought a house where he shares an 8 acre lake with 2 neighbors. And in the 16 years that the houses have been there, no one has ever fished the lake other than a few kids that the previous owner of this house let come over and fish. We're pretty sure there are catfish, but we didn't attempt to catch cats much before summer rapidly turned into winter. All we've caught are tons of bluegill and a couple of crappie. And only a few of the bluegills have been keepers.

The two situations I described are clear cases of lakes suffering from overpopulation. But what course of action would you advise my family member and friend to take?

[WRB]

The term Selective Harvest was coined by In-Fisherman. It means exactly what it says. You harvest selectively to enhance the fishery population of catchable fish.

If your fishery biologist set length guideline you follow their advice.

Tom

[J Francho]

I'd say there are more factors at play that the average angler, let alone a fisheries biologist, cannot make a blanket, general recommendation.  I do not trust that all wildlife agencies' creel/size/slot limits and seasons are not in line with some financial or political reason, though some are based on the notion of conservation.  I follow the rules when it comes to that, and release just about all bass, barring some mortal injury to the fish.  I will say, that if the population is in such bad shape that harvest or release determines the overall health of the population, then you might have bigger issues with that water.  Bottom line, catch and release will never hurt things, even with delayed mortality.  Harvesting may help, but it may hinder as well.

[HoosierHawgs]

This topic brings up a couple of questions for me. There is a friend of my family who owns a small lake. I fished it quite a few times in 2012. The only one that fished it regularly was the friends young daughter, and no on besides me ever harvested a fish to my knowledge. There is still a decent population of healthy sized catfish. And he claims that someone once caught a large bass. But after fishing all day on several occasions, it seems to me that the only species that is healthy there is the catfish. I would catch TINY bass and bluegill all day, without any being "keepers". What should be done there? I guess I could help him thin the heard and have a big fish fry. But cleaning all of those tiny fish would be an absurd amount of work, relative to how much meat I'd get from each of them.

Second question, which is basically a similar situation: A close family member recently bought a house where he shares an 8 acre lake with 2 neighbors. And in the 16 years that the houses have been there, no one has ever fished the lake other than a few kids that the previous owner of this house let come over and fish. We're pretty sure there are catfish, but we didn't attempt to catch cats much before summer rapidly turned into winter. All we've caught are tons of bluegill and a couple of crappie. And only a few of the bluegills have been keepers.

The two situations I described are clear cases of lakes suffering from overpopulation. But what course of action would you advise my family member and friend to take?

 

I would definitely harvest any undesirable fish you catch. Whether they are small, or are u desired species, take them and fry em up! But I would not take every dunk either. Take enough so that the population is no longer stinted, but not so that you take all of them. Just keep the population below the tip population limit

[WRB]

Fishery management by state fishery biologist is far better than no fishery management. If a lake , river , etc., has a limit established or a slot limit, it is usually determined by surveys of the fishery or a state wide blanket regulation.

You can either ignore regulations or abide by them, your choice.

I know from experience with musky fishing in Canada, the catch and release ethic was missing back in the 70's, they had a 3 fish limit and minimum length regulation of 40" where I fished. Today the same area has 1 fish limit and 45' minimum length and the musky population has rebound to where it's better today.

when I started bass fishing in California there was a closed season between Oct 31 to May 1 and 15 bass limit of 12" minimum. Today the limit is 5 bass, open year around and 12" minimum length, except where slot limits and 3 bass limits are in place. The bass fishing is better today than it was back in the 50's and 10 X the number of anglers.

Regulations work, good fishery management works when anglers follow the rules. Bass are a renewable resource, if keeping bass to eat within the regulations doesn't damage the fishery, no harm or foul is done.

I am an advocate of catch & release within reason, it's OK to keep a few bass to eat and handle bass with respect and care. over harvesting big bass is something that bothers me because there are so few of them.

Tom

[J Francho]

 

Fishery management by state fishery biologist is far better than no fishery management.

 

Oh, I agree Tom.  I've just seen all kinds of regs passed that are completely unrelated to "fishery management." Great Lakes trib limits on trout, lack of C&R bass fishing (still a closed season, except summer) in Region 6, closed season on Oneida Lake (recently overturned) due home owners' assoc.pressure, restriction on sales of lead tackle, 15" limit for black bass on Black Lake, there's more, and I don't want to get too political.  Just to say, if it's about "fishery management," then I trust the biologists, but if ti's not supported by research, or a part of a study, then I'm against the idea - any idea that limits my ability to enjoy this hobby. 

[Inflatable Raft Bum]

I would definitely harvest any undesirable fish you catch. Whether they are small, or are u desired species, take them and fry em up! But I would not take every dunk either. Take enough so that the population is no longer stinted, but not so that you take all of them. Just keep the population below the tip population limit

I need to get better at this.. I need to keep the short&thin fish,.. Not just the short fish.

[HoosierHawgs]

I need to get better at this.. I need to keep the short&thin fish,.. Not just the short fish.

Short fatties are my favorites!

[SirSnookalot]

Down here in Florida certain species have been over fished.  Not this is would have chance of happening but I would be in favor of artificial only for some species.  Some of the fish I target daily I don't catch everyday, but live and cut bait users have far less difficulty, see it happening all the time.  It does go further than that, the wasting of bait rotting on shore, people do not always pick up after themselves and use only what they need.  Then there are the fish with no limits, the more of them taken out the less gamefish come around, all the fish are important to the food chain.  

 

Over the last few months this issue has been bothering me quite a bit, I have pretty much have disassociated myself from that element, even my good friends.

[Bassun]

This topic brings up a couple of questions for me. There is a friend of my family who owns a small lake. I fished it quite a few times in 2012. The only one that fished it regularly was the friends young daughter, and no on besides me ever harvested a fish to my knowledge. There is still a decent population of healthy sized catfish. And he claims that someone once caught a large bass. But after fishing all day on several occasions, it seems to me that the only species that is healthy there is the catfish. I would catch TINY bass and bluegill all day, without any being "keepers". What should be done there? I guess I could help him thin the heard and have a big fish fry. But cleaning all of those tiny fish would be an absurd amount of work, relative to how much meat I'd get from each of them.

Second question, which is basically a similar situation: A close family member recently bought a house where he shares an 8 acre lake with 2 neighbors. And in the 16 years that the houses have been there, no one has ever fished the lake other than a few kids that the previous owner of this house let come over and fish. We're pretty sure there are catfish, but we didn't attempt to catch cats much before summer rapidly turned into winter. All we've caught are tons of bluegill and a couple of crappie. And only a few of the bluegills have been keepers.

The two situations I described are clear cases of lakes suffering from overpopulation. But what course of action would you advise my family member and friend to take?

 

 

To echo the sentiments loosely posted above, I would be remiss to offer advice on "what" to do without a study of the fishery in question.  I would suggest contacting your local DNR and have them ***** the fishery.  (You can provide them with catch logs and they can advise from that alone if needed, provided the logs are through.)  They should be able to advise a short and long term plan of action to correct the balance of the lake(s). 

 

You may be in a situation where you actually need to introduce more predators, vs just removing a stunted population.  Surely, it does sound like your looking at an overpopulated fishery resulting in stunted growth and resourse depletion ultimately creating a situation where the "target" fish are not succeeding.  I suspect that keeping some bluegills to "thin the herd" a bit, and introducing mature bass to the ponds both would help lead to a better fishery.

 

There is tons of information about pond management here:  http://mdc.mo.gov/your-property/improve-your-property/pond-improvements

I would look at the PDF "Missouri Pond Handbook" and pay close attention to pages 43-45.  They give examples of what different catch rates represent and what the general corrective action should be.  Of course, that is only part of the equation for effective pond management, but it's a start.

[Ratherbfishing]

When/where the bass are stunted, i tend to harvest a stringer of bluegill when I can instead. 

[powerduster]

I have no problems with people keeping their catch. Generally, when I'm fishing freshwater then it is most likely catch and release. Instead of taking home and cleaning fish, I rather just go relax for a few hours and come home nice and clean. I do enjoy fishing for and keeping channel catfish and bullheads, but mostly it's just bass fishing. Saltwater fishing is a completely different story. I admit that I keep nearly everything I catch. Saltwater fish just tastes that much better to me. To tell someone that it would be nice to let the fish go comes across as rude and disrespectful. I'm talking from experience here. I had one memorable encounter that ended with the man cursing his butt off at me, which in turn made me get loud. I'm like the nicest guy in the world, but harrassing me and getting angry for keeping a few croakers and kingfish made me lose it, lol.

[SirSnookalot]

I have no problems with people keeping their catch. Generally, when I'm fishing freshwater then it is most likely catch and release. Instead of taking home and cleaning fish, I rather just go relax for a few hours and come home nice and clean. I do enjoy fishing for and keeping channel catfish and bullheads, but mostly it's just bass fishing. Saltwater fishing is a completely different story. I admit that I keep nearly everything I catch. Saltwater fish just tastes that much better to me. To tell someone that it would be nice to let the fish go comes across as rude and disrespectful. I'm talking from experience here. I had one memorable encounter that ended with the man cursing his butt off at me, which in turn made me get loud. I'm like the nicest guy in the world, but harrassing me and getting angry for keeping a few croakers and kingfish made me lose it, lol.

 

What annoys me are the people that take home fish that have a high bag limit or no limit at all.  Pure meat hunters fishing with chicken rigs (3 hooks) and bait.  It isn't like they come out once a week, it's the same people 5-7 days a week.  Legal yes but IMO abusing a natural resource, some where down the line it will effect the food chain.  Some of these people sell the fish, that's illegal as they don't have a commercial license.  Talking to these people is futile, so I don't, I just try and be where they aren't.

I've been fishing Florida saltwater 30 years, the last 10 almost daily, the fishing is no where like it used to be.

[grampa1114]

Not my favorite topic but it did catch my eye and I read through the comments....some fish, mostly trout, when caught and handled, can more readily, loose the protective slime that keeps them alive. Those I tend to keep, although rarely caught.

 When asked to help produce a fish fry(generally annually) I tend to aim for Largemouth bass within the 12.5" to 15" range. These are keepers but not breeders who will not be missed in the reproductive cycle.  Fileted and egged and breaded before frying makes them well worth the effort.

Keep in mind that if you don't harvest an occasional fish then PITA may be right when they say we are just harrassing the fish.

[ww2farmer]

This year, once the algae blooms cleared up and the water dipped into the 50's this fall, I took home a limit of small 12" keeper bass (largemouth) on two separate occasions..............they were fantastic. Soaked the fillets in salt water for a couple hours before I cooked them, then dipped them in the beer batter with a ride in the hot oil,and they were as good as any fish I have ever ate, including bluegill, perch, and crappie. I am going to make it a point to do it again next fall when the water cools off. Cleaning 5 bass beats cleaning 3 times as many bluegills or perch.

[mjseverson24]

I guess I might be alone on this one but I believe selective harvesting is neither good nor bad for an ecosystem, it is a case by case basis. But I also believe that selective harvesting overtime severely damages a fishery. Not that the fish population will be in bad shape necessarily, but over time the harvesting of fish will change the genetic makeup of the the fish population. the fish that are typically caught and harvested are fish that are designed (genetically) to be more aggressive and accepting of the types of lures and baits that we use. by harvesting these fish we are basically breeding out the more aggressive and easier to catch fish, and allowing the ones that we have not yet learned out how to catch to breed. Over time the quality of the fishing on that body of water will suffer due to harvesting regardless of weather people think they are responsible or not... the fisheries biologists job is not to maintain a fishery, it is to maintain a healthy ecosystem its the fisherman's job to catch the fish their job is to make sure fish are in the lake... 

 

Mitch