Do You Handle Bass (or other species) That You've Caught....?

[IYAOYAS]

I try to handle them as little as possible. I haven't had a fish die on me since my buddie's livewell failed in a tournament on Jordan 3 years ago and we had 20+ pounds of fish in the box on the way to weigh in.

[Bird]

In my mind catching a fish is much more stressful than releasing the fish.

We're punching a hole in their mouth playing them out.

I've actually had up to 5 hooks buried in different body parts throwing a jerkbait.

Then after the hooks are removed 

They are held up and forced to pose , sometimes even kissed against their will.

Then FINALLY their naked pictures show up all over the Internet exposing them.

Oh, and calling them fat is supposed to be a compliment. 😁

Every time they go to eat,

The process can potentially start all over again. 

The life of a Bass.

[Pat Brown]

1 hour ago, Crow Horse said:

Dr. Emoto might disagree with your approach......😁

 

 

 

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Asymmetrical forms with lots of blurby circles and tunnels and bubbles can be beautiful and interesting to one person while star mandala things can be kind of contrived and boring to another... But I do think it's good to be kind and spread goodness in the universe! I was only kidding about abusing the fish verbally LOL

[Crow Horse]

My point is that with careful and proper handling we can reduce or eliminate one stressor in the fishing process. "Proper" is  left up to the individual to define.

 

I'd have to take issue with the "dominion" concept unless it's definition included, stewardship, guardianship, and protector.

 

[Catt]

Growing in rural Louisiana wildlife & seafood are part of our food source. Not because we're poor but because we Like it!

 

We were taught at a young age not to waste or abuse any natural resource.

[Logan S]

I've had people in my boat talk about this same stuff...Only to death squeeze a pickeral or sunfish and chuck it away in disgust if they catch one by accident. It's silly.  

 

If 'handling' was as bad as some seem to think, then tournament release sites would be dead zones...Instead they are hotspots.  

[TOXIC]

I handle fish with reasonable care. I lip them out of the water over a couple pounds, net them if over 4, don’t jaw jack them, don’t lay them on the deck and get them back in the water as soon as possible.  They live in a pretty hostile environment.  Let’s remember bass are not an overly fragile creature either.  I’ve caught many with large wounds from turtles/snakes/birds or whatever predators they have.  As for the all fragile slime coat concerns remember, these fish spend a lot of time on or in wood, weeds, rocks and laying on the bottom. I’ve caught many with mud caked on their belly.  Look at their tails when they spawn, ripped to shreds.  Their slime coat is pretty resilient.  And if poking them in the mouth with a hook caused so much trauma, in the lake they would starve to death because most all of their food sources have claws, pinchers, and spines as defense.  I’m not trivializing good fish care but sometimes it can go a little to the extreme.  Do what makes you feel good and is beneficial to the fish.  

[Darth-Baiter]

I try.  I try hard to be sympathetic to the creature I just put a hole into its face.   hard to walk back that hole, so I do my best from there. 

[MonsterZero]

15 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

 

Rereading everything I can see that it could be interpreted that I was downplaying the slime coat, which was not my intent.  My comment was merely on the quality of the water.  It's my opinion that when I touch the fish only in the mouth and only with one hand I am handling the fish more safely than anyone who uses any kind of net and I believe "science" supports this opinion, but I understand if you disagree.  Regardless, I am proud to know both of you and support your opinions.  The fact of the matter is that we are granted dominion over all manner of beasts and that is the law in every state of the Union.  Unfortunately, I see a significant percentage of fisherman who abuse that legal right and act without respect for fish, other fishermen, or the earth.  I hope you can understand that we (you, I, and everyone that has responded, I think) share the same principles and I hope you'll try to understand and respect the fact that we approach those ideologies differently.  We can't force others to practice catch and release because killing and eating these fish is both legally and morally acceptable.  Catch and release is not a higher moral ground.  It's only a personal opinion.  

Again, you are using scripture to justify your view point. Not only is that against the rules of the forum and nonsensical, but that viewpoint got us into the ecological catastrophe we are in the midst of now. We were not 'granted dominion,' we grew big brains, built guns and dams and blacktop, and subjugated everything else. Man's tendency to hold himself above all other living things on some kind of pedestal, immune from the consequences of his own actions, is absurd. We are talking about the difference between treating other living things with respect and consideration, albeit living things that we actively utilize (and yes, exploit) for our leisure. What is morally acceptable or not is entirely subjective and cannot, by nature, be quantified.