Catch and Release

[AlabamaSpothunter]

25 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Some people enjoy eating a largemouth bass sometimes.  i get it.  enjoy!!

 

i wont crap on a person if they are looking for a meal.  way to hypocritical with me eating the occasional steak, or Halibut.  again..enjoy.  

 

there is a perfectly good reason why there is a limit on bass.  which i dont even know, since i think a largemouth bass is NOT delicious, and the ones i fish in are in bodies of water i wont eat from anyways. 

Exactly, good luck eating Bass or any other fish from public bodies of water.   You can't eat the fish out of the Coosa imo.     

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Exactly, good luck eating Bass or any other fish from public bodies of water.   You can't eat the fish out of the Coosa imo.     

I have! Yum yummy 

[Darth-Baiter]

they spray Roundup in the CA Delta.  very effective on the huge weed mats.

 

i am not eating a bass from the Delta.  i like my face with only TWO EYES.  hahahha

[Bankc]

I like to think the bass worship us as gods.  They're just living their lives, eating lunch, when a demon worm or minnow bites them back from inside their mouth.  Then it drags them across the lake, and out into the heavens.  Luckily for them, this giant monkey-god grabs them out of the air and removes that mean demon worm/minnow and releases them to go back to their lives.  

[FrnkNsteen]

2 hours ago, Bankc said:

I like to think the bass worship us as gods.  They're just living their lives, eating lunch, when a demon worm or minnow bites them back from inside their mouth.  Then it drags them across the lake, and out into the heavens.  Luckily for them, this giant monkey-god grabs them out of the air and removes that mean demon worm/minnow and releases them to go back to their lives.  

I've wondered myself if bass know we are the ones that caught them, or if they appreciate us saving them from the hook they got stuck on. ?

 

As for eating fish,.. I have no concerns with eating small bass, though I don't do it often. Usually only when on our trip to Ontario and want to do a fish fry, the slot sizes are so tight and can only keep so few that we keep anything we can to feed the group. Walleye. Northern, small Smallies, or Crappie are all game. 1 good Northern goea a ways, but 14" - 17" Walleyes or 14" Bass take a few to feed everyone.

 

The only other time is springtime in friends personal ponds while the water is still cold that are trying to control population of small bass.

[Koz]

6 hours ago, fin said:

Wildlife photography is very similar to hunting (without the killing). Depending on the equipment, the photographer may have to get in even closer than the hunter to get their shot. The lengths some photographers go through to get a shot is crazy.

Those Planet Earth documentaries on *** America are amazing. It's also great to watch the episodes on how they made those documentaries and what the camera operators went through to get those shots.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 minute ago, Koz said:

Those Planet Earth documentaries on *** America are amazing. It's also great to watch the episodes on how they made those documentaries and what the camera operators went through to get those shots.

The making of shows were the best ones in my book, and specifically the dude who spent TWO YEARS of his life in some of the worst conditions on Earth to capture images and footage of Snow Leopards, and then he ended up getting one of the most epic/iconic hunting sequences in wildlife photography history.   Every human should have to watch that series.

 

[T-Billy]

6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Well then consider me Howard stern 

Nope. I like you. Can't stand that guy.

 

[steve carpenter]

Some of the ponds I fish are overpopulated with small bass. I do cull and eat those fish. taste good to me and   often helps improve fishing for larger fish, A pond has limits on how many pounds of fish it can adequately support

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

The making of shows were the best ones in my book, and specifically the dude who spent TWO YEARS of his life in some of the worst conditions on Earth to capture images and footage of Snow Leopards, and then he ended up getting one of the most epic/iconic hunting sequences in wildlife photography history.   Every human should have to watch that series.

 

So the snow leopard can kill stuff but it’s taboo if I do it? I like to eat too, Especially when I don’t have to get it from the store. Fishing > shopping 

[Woody B]

7 hours ago, gimruis said:

I would not advocate for filling your live well with 20 inchers you intend to release later, only to take a glory photo later for all to see.

 Or after carrying them around in a live well all day stuff them in a sack to weigh them for a "mines bigger than yours" contest.   

 

Regarding eating bass,  there's warnings on a few of my local lakes stating not to eat Largemouth Bass for more than 1 meal per month.  The reason is supposed to be PCB's.   The sign specifically states "Largemouth" even though the lakes are full of spots.  I'm pretty sure there's no warnings about any other species.   I'll look at one of the signs this weekend.   Are Largemouth bass or black bass in general more likely to carry pollutants than other species.   I would think bottom feeders like Carp and some Catfish would be exposed to more pollutants like PCB's or mercury than predators who normally feed on live prey.   

 

I don't keep bass.  I've never had one mounted either.  My PB was over 10.  I've caught several over 8 pounds.  I released them all.   If I catch a bass that's injured or accidently injure a bass bad enough I don't think it will survive I put it in my live well then give it to someone who's fishing at the landing.   

[casts_by_fly]

6 minutes ago, Woody B said:

 Or after carrying them around in a live well all day stuff them in a sack to weigh them for a "mines bigger than yours" contest.   

 

Regarding eating bass,  there's warnings on a few of my local lakes stating not to eat Largemouth Bass for more than 1 meal per month.  The reason is supposed to be PCB's.   The sign specifically states "Largemouth" even though the lakes are full of spots.  I'm pretty sure there's no warnings about any other species.   I'll look at one of the signs this weekend.   Are Largemouth bass or black bass in general more likely to carry pollutants than other species.   I would think bottom feeders like Carp and some Catfish would be exposed to more pollutants like PCB's or mercury than predators who normally feed on live prey.   

 

I don't keep bass.  I've never had one mounted either.  My PB was over 10.  I've caught several over 8 pounds.  I released them all.   If I catch a bass that's injured or accidently injure a bass bad enough I don't think it will survive I put it in my live well then give it to someone who's fishing at the landing.   

persistent chemicals accumulate in fatty and organic tissues/compounds. So bottom feeders or prey eaters it doesn’t matter. If you think of the food pyramid, every fish on the top had to eat all of the ones on the bottom. All of the bottom pyramid fish have accumulated the chemicals. Now the top of pyramid fish are accumulating the bottom pyramid fish. The more you eat, the more you accumulate. 

8 hours ago, the reel ess said:

It could well be that a hook didn't cause that damage. But I do feel bad when I hurt an eye. I know it's not a death sentence. I remember I caught a 5 pounder with my dad about 20 years ago. 5 was a big bass on that lake. It had one bad eye and bleeding sores on it. I nonchalantly threw it back and he asked me why I didn't have it mounted. I told him I could never forget how bad it looked. I haven't kept a bass to eat in a couple years. Never had one mounted, just pics. I fish a lot of smaller places that could benefit from someone taking bass out.

same here. I seem to eye hook about one per year, always from the inside out with a bigger hook. 

[gim]

31 minutes ago, Woody B said:

I've never had one mounted either

In 2006 I caught a new PB largie in the heat of August. It was on a wacky rig and it swallowed the hook. I removed the hook as fast as I could and tried to revive that fish for 15 minutes. Unfortunately, it died. It was just too warm out and I hooked it too deep. I had a skin mount of that fish made, mostly because there was nothing better to do with it and it was also a PB at the time.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

58 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

So the snow leopard can kill stuff but it’s taboo if I do it? I like to eat too, Especially when I don’t have to get it from the store. Fishing > shopping 

If you like eating Bass, more power to you.....I never aimed my post at offending anyone, rather just sharing my personal thoughts on a matter I feel passionate about.    

 

There should be an understood "you" in this thread in regards to culling to maintain a healthy Bass fishery as well.     Only as a kid did I fish small ponds with that problem.....mainly Golf course ponds.  

 

Lastly I'm a salt and fresh water fisherman......I keep every snapper, grouper, cobia, and a few other species I'm legally allowed to.     I'm not a PETA type obviously, I just believe in only killing what you eat.  To me I would never eat a Bass outside of an emergency situation.....I'd much rather catch Bream or a smaller catfish for that purpose anyways.   

[CrashVector]

Pond bass = always released unless fatally hooked.

 

Lake bass= 2-4lbs go in the cooler.  All others are released.

 

Bayou bass:  1-3lbs go in the cooler.  Anything else gets released.

[TnRiver46]

I wouldn’t eat them if they weren’t so delicious. Bass, bluegill, catfish, deer, turkey, quail, all of it. I can’t get enough 

[gim]

3 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Every human should have to watch that series

I’ve seen all of them. Planet Earth, Planet Earth 2, Blue Planet, Pole to Pole, etc. My favorite recent one is Hostile Planet. There is a fair amount of footage at night time with special infrared cameras.

[CrashVector]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I wouldn’t eat them if they weren’t so delicious. Bass, bluegill, catfish, deer, turkey, quail, all of it. I can’t get enough 

 

My favorite....is rabbit.

 

I'd trade any fish, deer, quail, etc for rabbit.  Squirrel is a close 2nd.

[gim]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I can’t get enough 

I get enough wild turkey. Choking one of those leathery things down is actually MORE than enough for me lol.

 

Pheasants and grouse are pretty good.

[CrashVector]

2 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I get enough wild turkey. Choking one of those leathery things down is actually MORE than enough for me lol.

 

Pheasants and grouse are pretty good.

 

I almost ran over 5-6 of em with my car last Friday ?

 

Never understood the appeal of turkey hunting.  They ARE rather leathery and gamey.

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, gimruis said:

I get enough wild turkey. Choking one of those leathery things down is actually MORE than enough for me lol

My buddies do it two ways. One is soak in Italian salad dressing for 24 hours, then grill hot and fast on kabobs with onion and pepper. The other was a recipe from the meat eater guy, a copy of chick fil a nuggets. I also had it in college a couple times in a deep iron skillet on a campfire , oh my was that good 

[gim]

7 minutes ago, CrashVector said:

Never understood the appeal of turkey hunting.  They ARE rather leathery and gamey

They are a blast to hunt in the spring when they’re strutting. And even though there are a lot of them around, they are very difficult to get into shotgun range.

 

Most people that have never tried wild turkey have no clue what they taste like. They all think they taste like a butterball or Jennie-O on Thanksgiving. They taste nothing like those.

 

Most people don’t realize they sleep in trees at night either. LOL

[AlabamaSpothunter]

16 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I’ve seen all of them. Planet Earth, Planet Earth 2, Blue Planet, Pole to Pole, etc. My favorite recent one is Hostile Planet. There is a fair amount of footage at night time with special infrared cameras.

My other big hobby is 2A.....and for years I've been going back and forth between buying GenIII NV, or a nice FLIR monocular.      Now that I'm back into fishing so heavily, I'm thinking the GenIII stuff makes more sense haha.    Wonder if anybody fishes under NODs.   I mean you hunt/shoot under them, why not fish under them.

[casts_by_fly]

18 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

My other big hobby is 2A.....and for years I've been going back and forth between buying GenIII NV, or a nice FLIR monocular.      Now that I'm back into fishing so heavily, I'm thinking the GenIII stuff makes more sense haha.    Wonder if anybody fishes under NODs.   I mean you hunt/shoot under them, why not fish under them.

thats not a half bad idea. My eyes are pretty good at night but an IR assist would be awesome for really tucking it tight into cover. 

[WRB]

Every time C & R is discussed the crazies come out of the woodwork. Killing Animals for food isn’t any different to going to the grocery store to buy the same food.

Both deer and bass are a renewable resource, killing them for food is a choice, not a crime. Killing bass by releasing a dying fish isn’t sporting it’s a waste of food that the angler who killed it should respect, it gave it’s life up.

I would rather buy my fish and meat today but if I fatally injure  a animal I am hunting or catching it goes home to eat.

I have 4 fish mounts, 3 of the 4 died from over handling and are skin mounts,1 is a replica mount that represents my 5 PB bass listed. 37 lb Musky caught=with my wife on her dads 4th of July Birthday party, 10 lb 2 oz Rainbow trout caught as a 12 year old, 12 lb 4 oz NLMB that couldn’t be revived in 1971. 

Tom