Opinion on people keeping Big Fish to eat?

[LVLDVL]

I don't believe that anyone down on their luck relies on fishing to make sure they don't starve to death in their sleep. Fishing takes time and money to do - unless they are using a tree branch, the seemingly always available on shore discarded Mister Twister curly tail, and discarded braid line that always seems to coil around my shoes when I'm fishing. Also, fish is a poor calorie ratio to the amount of work it takes to get fish. A roll of French bread or pack of Hawaiian Sweet Bread (mmmmmm...) provides more calories, costs less, and less work to prepare. Potatoes and rice are also dirt cheap in terms of price per pound. And if someone is really that famished, time and money are not to be wasted driving to a lake and fishing. Throughout human history, when times are tough, humans always relied on starchy carbs, broth, and vegetables/roots, all of which are cheaper, more energy-rich (sugar/glycogen), and less work than meat-based diet. Corn, beans, rice, potatoes - these got humans though famine.

[Gundog]

3 hours ago, rboat said:

Here is my humble opinion. Please don't be a hater.

Around here predators eat so many bass, that fisherman are not needed to control populations. I hear many say, if its legal to keep bass, then it's ok.  Have any of you ever questioned who made the law on the size and number to keep? Are all lakes and rivers the same in your state so that the law will work perfect for every body of water? How often is the law checked or amended? The DNR in most states is highly under staffed due to budget cuts and they have a hard time checking bass populations to ensure the laws are working properly. Each year we see mother nature control bass populations through predators, lack of food, floods, drought, extreme heat, or extreme cold. I am not saying laws are not needed, They are. I simply state that because it is legal, that does not always mean it is the right thing to do.

The highway speed limit is 70 mph all year. If the highway is icy, 70 mph may not be the right thing to do, but legally you could.

I do not keep any bass. I enjoy this sport to much to negatively affect it. If you need to fish to feed your family, panfish are more abundant and easier to catch and because they are smaller, will have less toxins due to bioaccumulation than their larger cousins. If you want to keep bass that is solely up to you. 

I have heard results of water testing on some of our lakes and i would not recommend keeping and eating any of those fish. You may glow in the dark or grow some extra eyes. 

That last part about glowing in the dark makes me think you are from my neck of the woods. PA has a huge pollution problem in most bodies of water but especially in our rivers. I like that you brought up the fact that many states (mine included) have the same rules about size and amount you can keep on all bodies of water. This doesn't make sense. Smaller bodies of water don't have the same protections from overfishing that bigger lakes do.

[MRBAMA57]

Last spring I caught my PB and my brother was with me.  She was on the bed so I let her go very quickly after taking a photo.  My brother had a fit and wanted me  to keep her. I reminded him that I caught the fish and it was my right to release the fish or not. If he had caught the fish it would have been his personal right to decide to release her or not.  I personally always catch and release.  I have tested my live wells for operation but have never had a fish in them.  It is all personal preference as long as you are within the law. 

[IndianaFinesse]

On ‎8‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 0:35 PM, iiTzChunky said:

I know they're boney.

 

On ‎8‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 0:56 PM, Neil McCauley said:

The Y bones are very heavy and you lose a lot of meat if you don't take the time to pull them out with pliers.

 

That's actually a myth, bass don't have any Y-bones at all, and I would know by the number of bass I have cleaned.  I prefer to eat other species of fish like crappie and white bass, but there are a few ponds that are way over populated with 8-12 inch fish that are stunted and need to be thinned out.  I take a limit of dinks home from those ponds home every time I go, simply because that is what the ponds need in order to have enough food to go around so that it can grow bigger bass.  I sometimes eat them myself, but usually I give them away to someone who loves to eat fish but can't afford to buy fresh fish and doesn't fish.

 

[iiTzChunky]

2 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said:

 

That's actually a myth, bass don't have any Y-bones at all, and I would know by the number of bass I have cleaned.  I prefer to eat other species of fish like crappie and white bass, but there are a few ponds that are way over populated with 8-12 inch fish that are stunted that need to be thinned out.  I take a limit of dinks from those ponds home every time I go, simply because that is what the ponds need in order to have enough food to go around so that it can grow bigger bass.

 

I really need to do that for the pond by my house, there's so many in there you always catch somthing, but that's because they're all starving for food. Not nearly enough frogs to go round 

[rboat]

20 hours ago, S. Sass said:

I'm not hating on anyone for their opinion. True everyone has opinions but to be parading misinformation around is to me just as bad as keeping fish is to you all. 

It is like this line you said.

How in the world does everyone know you keeping your limit or even a few legal fish is negative? I hear some that think no one should keep bass directly associating that to taking fish will negatively affect it. As if they know this as fact. The point is neither side generally has a clue if they are negatively affecting the fishing. Unless you are in on the studies and managing of the water or possibly read some recent article(s) with sources from a valid study none of you have a clue other than an assumption. Just like this article will show you sometimes to many Bass or other fish need to be removed. http://www.bassresource.com/fish_biology/stocking_adult_bass.html But the misinformation just keeps being repeated until some think its gospel. Man has been eating fish since the beginning of time. I seriously doubt we will run out of Bass. Unless Sasquatch people come out of hiding. 

Well I tell ya what I have seen many a guy/gal in icy conditions pass me and a few minutes later I see them as they sit in the ditch. Did they break the law, no. Was it the right thing to do? Maybe maybe not. You shouldn't care its not any of your/my business. I stop and check on them and/or pull them out and move on. Do you know those people? No so quit judging them. They may have very good reason for going faster than you think they should. Could be sick or hurt or pregnant. You don't know could be anything or nothing.

Maybe these people fell on hard times and they are trying to feed their kids. How would this look. You assume you know all, start griping at a legal person fishing to feed their family and your worried about a sport fish. I believe they have a name for that these days. Women use them monthly.  Or worse yet you catch a bullet as you caught the wrong person at the wrong time in his/her life. Over a stupid bass that you had no business with and wasn't yours to start with. 

What is it these days where everyone thinks they need to be in everyone's business. Not everyone that lives on this planet fish for sport only. Glad for those that do I do at times as well. But it would be a big mistake, and I hope it doesn't happen, where someone comes up to me and tries to get crappy about me legally keeping my fish.  

Sorry S. Sass, I did not mean to offend. I was not parading misinformation, simply an opinion. For every bass that is kept, there is one less bass in the world, to spawn and be caught again by another angler. To me that is a negative. Again my opinion.

Also, anyone speeding in unsafe conditions, no matter the reason, is endangering their life and other innocent travelers. Again my opinion.

[CNYBassin]

As long as they hold a fishing license, it's none of my business. Where I do make it my business is when I see people taking out under-sized fish. I too have fished public reservoirs where people come from out of town, and they beat the banks throwing everything they catch in buckets. The issue is they're taking 8 to 10" bass to eat. I don't know why, but they are. This is illegal, and these people do not care. They go to Walmart or whereever is closest to buy a license, and they don't read up on the regulations afterwards. These are the types of people that can do major damage to a otherwise healthy population, and it irks me to no end. One time I was able to successfully alert the DEC to a guy who had caught 45+ crappies, and was bragging about it at the boat launch. The legal limit is 25. I called the DEC, and to my surprise the officer showed up quickly and caught the guy packing up. Needless to say his day was ruined. 

I have a major issue with people who don't follow the rules on our waterways. From speed limits, to pleasure vessels ripping past small motorless craft at 50mph because they simply don't care, to people taking illegal fish. It rubs me the wrong way, and all I can do is alert the lake association of whatever body of water I'm on, and the state DEC. Besides that though, I don't care if people are taking the fish they catch, as long as they don't exceed the limit, and the fish are legal size. That's their right. If I'm fishing a lake where the locals have an arrangement to catch & release, I will respect their wishes if I'm an out of towner. Most places I go to like this, there's a local bait shop, and I always pop in to ask questions prior to getting on the water for the first time. I personally do not keep bass. Some do, and they have every right to. The only fish I take out of the water for consumption are Walleyes, Salmon or Crappie. Besides that, I'm a catch & release guy who was raised to respect wild life and to only harvest what you intend on eating. 

I don't like to see people keeping large female bass, but it's simply not my place to challenge them. They are legal to take. Just because I don't do it doesn't mean I get to go around policing others for doing something that's entirely legal. I take pride in keeping what I catch as healthy as possible when I release them back into the water. I follow the 1 minute rule when keeping a fish out of water, and I work hard to ensure another angler will get an opportunity at the fish I caught & released one day. It's sort of an unwritten rule of the bass world, and all you can do is politely ask others to consider catch & release fishing, but if they decline... that's there right, and you move on.

[Jaderose]

I'll give a little different take.  Do I like seeing people keep big bass?  No.  With that said, the little lake I fish the most (approximately 80 acres) has an 18" OVER limit.  Meaning you can't keep the bass unless they are OVER that!  Huh?  I've asked our DOC agent about this and she just shrugs and says she doesn't understand it either.  I've told her many times it needs to be UNDER 15 to keep and leave the big girls for us Sportsmen.  Luckily, most of the "keeper" people are cat or crappie fishing and I simply don't care about that

[Scott F]

One thing many serious fisherman fail to understand is that the DNR has to take into consideration everyone who buys fishing licenses. A high percentage of those who buy fishing licenses are people who want to eat what they catch. When restrictions make it difficult to keep anything, those who eat, (who like bigger fish too) complain and stop buying licenses.  The DNR has a tough time trying to keep everyone happy.

[Jaderose]

4 minutes ago, Scott F said:

One thing many serious fisherman fail to understand is that the DNR has to take into consideration everyone who buys fishing licenses. A high percentage of those who buy fishing licenses are people who want to eat what they catch. When restrictions make it difficult to keep anything, those who eat, (who like bigger fish too) complain and stop buying licenses.  The DNR has a tough time trying to keep everyone happy.

The Illinois DNR has a tough time doing anything.  One of the reasons I, an Illinois boy for 40 of my 48 years, moved to Missouri

[Dye99]

I don't keep bass. I fish for the sport, so everything goes back.

But if I was to one day decide to eat bass, I would not eat the old fat scared up ones, Id want the younger ones.

As long as its legal then its not my business. 

[Tommy Pugh]

I think it is up to the individual as long as they are obeying the laws on the limits. That being said I know that people use a ton of small bluegills for catfish bait. I hate seeing the small ones taken out because they have no chance to get to a good size. Also, at one lake I fish they have a contest for big bass of the month. So, pretty much any bass over a couple pounds is put in the livewell or on a stringer and walked to the office to weigh and register it and by the time they get back they have no choice but to keep them. 

[Catch 22]

On ‎8‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 1:16 PM, fishballer06 said:

 

Preach it brother! 

Someone else who feels the same pain.

 

On ‎8‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 0:10 AM, Gundog said:

My opinion is that its not as simple as "its legal so its ok".. If its a large or even mid-size lake with a healthy population of bass then its something I'm not against. But small lakes can be killed by keeping large or even average size bass. Unfortunately I've seen this in a local lake and the lake hasn't recovered yet. If you live in a state where warm-water species take a back seat to trout stockings you can't expect any help from state agencies who are suppose to use the money from fishing license sales to improve fishing for all people who fish. Not just the guys who fish for trout.

That warm water ==cold water battle has been going on for 35 years that I know of. The stigma of "TROUT OPENING DAY" in Pa sells a ton of licenses so the PGFC will apparently never give that away.Roll with it! 

[gim]

Part of what makes bass fishing great in my opinion is the strong catch n release ethic amongst most bass anglers.  Same can be said about muskie and trout anglers too.  There are generally two kinds of anglers out there: sport anglers and meat hunters.  I think that for the most part bass are not targeted by meat hunters (at least around here where there's walleyes and perch) but if someone wanted to fry up some muddy foul tasting bass filet they could do it.

[blckshirt98]

I don't keep freshwater fish other than trout (from stocked reservoirs) to eat.  If someone keeps a fish within their rights because they purchased a license, it's their right to do so.  I'd like to see larger females released not just from a recreational fisherman's point of view, but as someone who has read up on the importance of the larger females to a fish population (how long it takes for a fish to reach that size, how many eggs they produce when they spawn, etc).  If I'm talking to a friend about or taking a friend out fishing I'll let them know why it's important to let the larger females go, but a random stranger I'll leave them alone as it's none of my business.

[Choporoz]

On 8/11/2016 at 0:05 PM, LVLDVL said:

My opinion: screw these people who keep any bass over 12". ....

While there's a lot of variables from lake to lake, many (most?) would benefit from harvesting 12" bass

[Gundog]

6 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

While there's a lot of variables from lake to lake, many (most?) would benefit from harvesting 12" bass

This is true. The lake that I fish at most has this problem with overpopulation of small bass. However, in my state the governmental agency does the exact opposite. They impose whats called a "Big Bass Program". It means you can't take any bass that is less than 15 inches. Stupid, I know, so there is an overabundance of 12-15 inch bass and fewer large bass. 

[fishballer06]

2 minutes ago, Gundog said:

This is true. The lake that I fish at most has this problem with overpopulation of small bass. However, in my state the governmental agency does the exact opposite. They impose whats called a "Big Bass Program". It means you can't take any bass that is less than 15 inches. Stupid, I know, so there is an overabundance of 12-15 inch bass and fewer large bass. 

I wish PA would create a slot, like what most of Canada has on walleye. I think it should be something like six fish limit in the 12-16" range. And then you can keep one fish over 20". 

This would allow guys to keep a trophy fish for mounting (although I prefer reproduction mounts, others would argue). And then I would also be willing to bet that a majority of the people who are keeping fish to eat aren't catching many fish over 16", so this would still allow them to harvest smaller fish and it would help the overall population. 

[WIGuide]

Although I know it's their right to do with their catch what they please, it still makes me cringe hearing about someone keeping a big one. Up here it takes a long time to grow a bass into the 4-5 lb range. 

[Josh Smith]

I will do whatever is best for the fishery if legal, and d**n what anyone else says. My favorite lake was ruined by the catch and release everything mentality. It has the habitat to be a prime lake, but few of the bass are large enough to keep. The panfish are stunted too.

There really needs to be a slot limit.

Josh

[the reel ess]

I don't keep big fish. And by big I mean over 3 lbs. I usually keep nothing because I'm fishing from a kayak and it's a hassle to keep them. When I got to one place the fish are stunted and my buddy tells me to keep them all, put half in his basket and keep the rest.

[South FLA]

My rights stop where they start encroaching on the rights of others!  So if I am fishing and someone catches a bass, bluegill, etc and its legal to keep and they choose to keep it, then so be it!  Its not my place to use my paradigm to judge his or her actions.  In your position, your mom wanted to be nice and you as her son respected her wishes. So you in my opinion you did the right thing and respected her in front of total strangers.  However, you could talk to your mom later and say "Hey mom, I believe XYZ (explain your logic) and thought that in the future if anything like this happens, I would feel better if I could release the bass."

Not to hijack the thread, but what do you fellas do when you know a bass isn't going to make it because it was gill hooked our otherwise and is of legal limit?

I keep'em since I have a cousin that will eat anything, and he sure fries up a nice bass and even if my cousin wasn't around I would keep them.  However, I know some friends and relatives that no matter what release them, to be part of nature's cycle.  I see it as waste, they see it as feeding other animals (turtles, fish, gators, etc),  By the way small bass are much better than HAWGS to eat!

[Nice_Bass]

On ‎8‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 2:09 PM, Neil McCauley said:

Yea, yea, I see this posted a lot in this thread. No one is criticizing poaching or anything illegal though. Obviously "they have the right" to keep their limit. What is up for debate is the unwritten ethic about keeping fish. I could catch and keep my limit every time out but I never do. I try to be strategic about keeping fish in a way that has as little impact as possible. I know a specific spot on Lake George with tons of huge pumpkinseed sunfish. I keep a few and move on, I don't want to over-fish it. There are probably hundreds down there but I try to only take 5-6 each trip because I value the spot so much. When I'm catching tons of rock bass in the spring, likewise I try only to take a few of the bigger ones. Any time I catch something rare- like, in my lake  a Northern Pike or a Crappie- I am sure to return it carefully. There is an ethic about how you treat a fishery that goes beyond laws and regulations and everyone approaches it differently. That's what's interesting to hear people explain.

I hate unwritten ethics of fishing as much as I hate unwritten rules of baseball.

There is nothing ethically wrong with keeping your legal limit of bass for food.  Plain and simple.

the only thing that would be ethically wrong with keeping your limit would be if you are not going to be able to eat it or filet it properly and create a waste of the resource. 

Honestly in my opinion we keep bass at a higher pedestal than they most likely deserve simply because of the sport that we have placed upon their heads....

Personally I keep my fish keeping right in line with you as well though...and I do keep bass from time to time.  Don't fish weedy lakes much so my bass always taste pretty much bland quite frankly.

 

[Josh Smith]

On ‎8‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 10:50 PM, LVLDVL said:

I don't believe that anyone down on their luck relies on fishing to make sure they don't starve to death in their sleep. Fishing takes time and money to do - unless they are using a tree branch, the seemingly always available on shore discarded Mister Twister curly tail, and discarded braid line that always seems to coil around my shoes when I'm fishing. Also, fish is a poor calorie ratio to the amount of work it takes to get fish. A roll of French bread or pack of Hawaiian Sweet Bread (mmmmmm...) provides more calories, costs less, and less work to prepare. Potatoes and rice are also dirt cheap in terms of price per pound. And if someone is really that famished, time and money are not to be wasted driving to a lake and fishing. Throughout human history, when times are tough, humans always relied on starchy carbs, broth, and vegetables/roots, all of which are cheaper, more energy-rich (sugar/glycogen), and less work than meat-based diet. Corn, beans, rice, potatoes - these got humans though famine.

A young Tom Mann kept his family in protein during the Great Depression by fishing for sunfish. The world record largemouth bass won a small cash prize (IIRC) and then was used for food -- again, during the Depression.

Fishing for survival has been done for thousands of years, way before anyone knew what a calorie was. Were I to fish for survival, I'd use a number of techniques, including rod and reel.

Fishing for food does not have to use up the calories you claim, nor does it have to cost what you claim.

Josh

[BrianinMD]

Am I the only one wondering why this thread continues?