Bass Recipes: Sport Fish?

[captainbelly]

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

[david in va]

 I don't eat fish, and I don't clean them for others to eat. So  I turn them loose

[slonezp]

This should go well 

[tander]

I don't think it is bad to keep some fish every so often to eat, I love bass to eat. I like captainbelly release most of the bass I catch. However, at a city lake I fish, the head of the Game and Fish told me to keep my limit every trip. He a told me if I don't want them, to give them to someone else. The lake is out of balance because no one is either fishing it or not keeping their limit. Catch and Release is good but not all the time.

[BuzzHudson19c]

I keep maybe 2 bass per season. Usually ones that get gut hooked bad and wont make it. Some of the lakes I fish are packed with 1-2lb bass. Those spots could use to be thinned out to let the others get bigger.

 

 

[everythingthatswims]

I think it is generally accepted by the bass fishing community that removal of smaller class fish will benefit a fishery, although it is more complicated than keeping a limit of legal fish.

 

Labeling catch and release as a scam on the other hand, I'm not sure about.

[MassYak85]

I'm not sure how you can call it a scam, certain fisheries would be wiped clean and ecosystems would collapse if unrestricted harvesting was allowed. That being said many fisheries can see benefits from selective harvesting so it can be a good practice. I'll eat bass occasionally, I think they taste good, but it's usually smaller ones around 2lbs, or ones that I know aren't going to make it. 

[Angry John]

I catch a lot of fish as i fish a lot and i dont keep any because the wife will not let them in the house.  I have several people in my neighborhood who like fish.  I will bring a few home if i gut hook one early in the session.  I keep 2 lb and less fish if i am doing this and what ever size the bleeder or gut hook is.  If the fish is over 3 lbs i will let it go and wait and see.  I come back to the spot before i leave to check if they have made it at lest that long.  I have had them go belly up on return and i just toss them in the boat.  I wish all lakes were managed actively and established slots for healthy management.  I also think that the slot should be allowed to be kept for tournaments for weigh in and release.  They charge for tourneys so that money can go to help manage the lake.

[WRB]

This the type of thread we see when the OP's water is solid and cabin fever sets in.

Stirring the pot so to speak.

Tom

[IndianaFinesse]

I'll pop the popcorn...  

[Catt]

Having lived through that era of tournament fishing & personally knowing many of the founders & Pros, I'm fairly confident your thread & related articles are not 100% accurate.

[Deleted account]

I don't see a conflict here. States make laws governing the recreational harvesting of fish caught. Anglers can choose to keep any or all of that limit, or release every fish they catch. Everyone is going to have an opinion on these actions. What am I missing?

[NHBull]

Sometimes I wish I could just throw a hook out and have a fish jump on ?

[Oregon Native]

Ahhhhhhhh.......it's Monday...bye the way the popcorn was good.  Personally.... I think LMB's taste like mud.  Have eaten spots....not bad.  Do what you want...obey the laws.  If you really want to eat a lot of them....move to Oregon....bass is trash back there....it's a slime rocket state!

[The Bassman]

The primary reason I catch and release is the hassle that goes with keeping fish.  ( I don't fish from a boat).  When I was a kid I brought many a smallmouth home dangling from my bike on a stringer.  Easier to c/r then go to Long John Silver's.

[J Francho]

New guy stirring the pot.  Wrong place for that. We have several articles and videos dealing with the topic of fishery management that don't stoop to insulting one method or another.

[NYWayfarer]

When I am hungry I get my fish from where God intended us to get our fish...the supermarket!  Joking

 

I am strictly catch and release. I fish for the sport and I am the only one in my household that likes to eat fish. I am also too lazy to clean them so back they go after being caught.

 

My fishing partner however does take a few Bass now and then to eat. I see nothing wrong with obeying the laws and legal limits when it comes to taking fish to eat.

[DomQ]

Lol if some people didn't practice catch and release here in Toronto and the GTA I bet there would be nothing left to catch with the way most ethnic people fish around here. Its really sad to go to a small lake or pond and see guys with 4 lines out reeling in anything and everything that's on the end of their line and keeping it. Call the MNR but it takes them so long to get there that by the time they do everyone's gone and you can't do anything but give your statment and that's it. But hey, niptipping is a thing for a reason I guess...

[J Francho]

1 minute ago, DomQ said:

ethnic people

Please.  Let's not go there. 

 

In fact, we're done here.