Catch and Release

[Keithscatch]

Man nice fish you are holding there. Just wish the situation was different.

Can you please help me understand why you would kill a fish like this? I mean, I really struggle to understand why folks catch a monster such as this and simply want to keep it. Honestly I try and I try but seem to come up empty each time. I mean can't be to eat unless you like eating rubber. Mounting? Well, replica's look better and last a lifetime not just a few years. Just seems the benefits of releasing a fish outweigh the negatives of keeping it.

I want to congratulate you for the fish but would prefer to bend you over my knee instead.. Please consider the impact it is to remove such a fish from the fishery let alone the fact that the fish is no longer capable of spawning or no longer capable of providing the same awe and excitement she did for you for another angler. :'( :'( :'(

Sorry but it always hurts me to see trophy bass taken from a lake. Nothing personal to you just it just hurts to see it.

For those who think replica's do not look as good. Please check out the work of these guys. I used them for my personal best and it looks awesome. lake fork taxidermy

[Captain Cali]

Nice catch.

I'm with Keithscatch on this one. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume the lake is just over that fence and the fish was released (unless you state otherwise).

[Troutfisher]

Oh come on.  If he wants to keep a fish every once and a while, I don't believe people should be right on him about it.  >

[Keithscatch]

Trout fisher,

We are not talking about "a fish" we are talking about a TROPHY FISH. Keeping a fish now and then is fine and probably helps the fishery. Keeping mature, trophy sized bass is bad for the fishery. Besides, that fish was likely caught multiple times over it's long life. This person was blessed with a amazing fish that beat the odds numerous times over by reaching this size. Most do not reach this size even in southern states. Why shouldn't the fish be released back into the lake? As much as I love to catch big bass I like to see others catch them too. Like Fish Chris on this site has said many times. He forgets the times when he has caught 50 bass in a day but never forgets when he has caught trophy sized fish.

While I am not in the same league as he is as far as catching fish like he has, I can concur though with my own experiences. In fact, if someone showed me a picture of one of the many 7lb+ bass I have caught I can tell you exactly where I was, what lure I was using, what the weather was like that day, I can even see the strike or the moment it happened in my mind. I will never forget those moments. Why would we want to deprive those memories from someone else just so we can keep the fish? That is what I just do not understand. I can understand this mentality more 20 years ago when taxidermists didn't have the technology and skill to re create a replica of the fish. Now with this technology and skill and craftsmanship equal to or in many cases better then skin mounts why would an angler want to keep the fish?

I realize the state allows large fish like this to legally be kept so this is not a legal issue with me. Just makes me sick to see it and I can't help it. I wish it didn't bother me but I would be lying if I said it didn't.

[Troutfisher]

It doesn't bother me.  I enjoy keeping some fish, and releasing some fish.  Maybe he wanted this fish to eat.

Fish are fish, man.  I'll bet there are more than that fish that size that are still in that same lake.  There'll be more fish that size.  If he decides to keep this one, regardless of it's size, it's not the end of the world.

If I catch real big fish, I would probably photograph them and let them go.  However, it doesn't mean that I have to force my mindset on someone else.

[craigaria]

The way I look at it is that 20 years ago there were no digital cameras or digital scales. Most people kept every fish they caught (even trophys). They sure didn't have replicas back then either. I remember seeing pictures of my dad and grandfather with stringers with 50 fish on them and countless pictures of them holding trophy fish in the driveway. I don't think many people practiced catch and release at all back then. The only proof they had of there catch was to take the fish home and show them off... With that said, there has still been plenty of trophy fish to go around even before catch and release. Personally, I release all my catches (after I weigh it and take a pic). If I catch a record fish, I'll keep it so the record will be official. I think catch and release is definately the way to go and I have nothing but respect for people that return 'monster' trophy bass back to the water, but it doesn't bother me to see him keep that one. What does bother me is to see people that keep every fat fish they catch just to show them off, even if they aren't going to get them mounted. A picture works just fine... Congrats on that bass, it sure is a hog! I bet it'll look great on the wall. 8-)

[Troutfisher]

Thanks for the backup man.  This is the exact thing I'm trying to imply.  

[KU_Bassmaster.]

I'm with you guys as well.  

I am 100% C&R and although it does break my heart to see a fish like that killed ....... He did nothing illegal.  So what can you really say????  All you can really do is bite your lip and maybe inform of the benefits of C&R (especially a fish like that).  Since he did nothing illegal, that's all you can really say.

[craigaria]

I just think that it's funny... When I first saw this post, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone started dogging him for keeping the fish.

[Troutfisher]

lol I know.  People need to be concerned about catching their own fish!!!  ;D

[craigaria]

However, I do wish it was me that caught it.

Me too!

[Troutfisher]

Agreed!

[buzzbaitfool12]

Nice fish..and me three..I agree with my buddy..it is his peragative to keep or not..Ask Craig I shake to get even the smallest fish back in the lake but it is his decision...Only thing I can say is when you are not catching bigguns anymore it might be because there are none left..What color water was the lake what did you catch it on and how hot was it..This should give people motivation to get back on the water..Only way to catch big fish is to fish..

[Captain Cali]

So what is wrong with someone asking what motivates a person to keep such a fish? No one said there were any laws broken. Some of us just wonder why someone would keep a trophy bass and not release it. How is that getting off topic? The bass was killed and we wonder why.

You guys are right...everyone has every right to keep legal fish. But 3 people have already mentioned they wish they caught it. Well guess what...now no one else will catch it.

Selective harvesting is one thing. Harvesting trophy bass is another. But at least she wasn't loaded with eggs.

[tmwadswo]

Details...

fish: on my wall above my head, as we speak. by far, my biggest

lure: chatterbait, black/blue...first time i took it out of the package

Keithscatch:  that fish is alive and kickin in that second picture, boss.  i had a 50gal trashcan available, so i filled it w/ enough water to cover the fish about 2 times his height, stuck him in the back of the truck and hauled him straight home where the pictures were taken.  Replicas are about $220ish around here, and the mount was about $225.  I did go to that link you posted and, to be honest with you, they don't look anywhere near as good as the actual mount I have hanging right here, in my opinion.  They're 'too' perfect looking or something.  This bass's tail is sort of chopped up in places, etc etc.  Besides, how can a replica look "better" than the actual fish except if by "better" you mean "more perfect fins, no marks of any kind, etc etc"?  The only real attraction I can see in a replica is the life expectancy

I've never in my life mounted any animal, this is the only one, so i really don't feel as bad as I believe alot of people are trying to make me feel on here.  I believe that catch and release, as well as selective harvest, are essential to the health of a fishery.....but there ain't no way i'm throwing an 11lb bass back when it's the only one i've ever caught and more than likely ever will catch, y'all are eatin them poppy seeds.  Last week alone I caught 1 8lb bass, 2 6lb's, and 1 6.5lb and you will see none of those hanging in my room.  Also, I probably eat about 2 or 3 1 pound bass per year, I'd say, so it's not like I'm depleting any fisheries (those are the only ones i keep at all).

tmacdaddy:  hey man, yeah i go to NCSU.  doing my last year there this coming year.  I graduated 2005 w/ electrical engineering and computer engineering degrees, and shortly i'll have the MS in electrical engineering.  plenty of good places to fish, but i don't wanna post them out in the open, so post your email and i'll get w/ you, buddy.  i caught this fish back home though, not in raleigh.

ALL:  sorry to upset some of you.  just wanted to show you a picture of a pretty good lookin fish.  i enjoy lookin at pics of big bass

[Guest bigtex]

Thanks for sharing your pictures and keep them coming.  I, like yourself, enjoy seeing pictures of fish that other members/anglers catch.  Again, great catch.

[Nate]

nice catch. congrats!  

[jtbassman]

Nice catch man.

I'm sorry to see that you're a state fan.

No, jusk kidding, I think we should team up and just hate Duke.

GO HEELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Keithscatch]

Well, thanks for claryifying the fish's health in the second shot. Looked like the bend fish get when they have been dead for a while.

Believe me the fish Lake Fork Tackle does do not show up well on their site. I agree their site doesn't do justice of the quality of work they do. When I mean better then the original keep in mind that I have seen some shoddy skin mounts that were painted poorly. They still have to be painted. Then look at them in 10 years and compare that to a 10 year old replica. No comparison in my mind. MIne is 10 years old and looks like it did when I got it. Just dustier

Tex, bro, I post comments like this much like you preach about the Lord. Same with me. I do so in hopes that someone might in fact think about it and next time decide not to keep such a magnificent animal. Sorry to see people justify it..I guess just different sides of the issue.

TM, I am sorry that releasing an 11lber is crazy to you. But an 11lber can turn into a 17lber possibly. It just has to live long enough and eat enough. Letting go 6lber and 8lbers is no different then letting go 11lbers. Maybe that 11lber is the 6lber you let go before? or the 8lber? never know.

Anyway, no offense meant, not trying to belittle you or make you feel attacked. Just simply offering you another viewpoint to think about that's all. If that offends some folks then what can I say. Not going to apologize for my passions and releasing  big bass is one of them.

[Troutfisher]

Glad to see you kept that fish, tmwadswo. It'll be a great mount.

Now if only I can get one that big....  

[Bassassasin12]

Nice fish, Really a beauty. I respect what you did but I also respect Keithscatch's opinion and I know I would have thrown it back. But you didn't break the law and you didn't eat it and you are entitled to your opinion.

Once again very nice fish, Double digits come few and far between, guess that's why it's hard to see that fish go.

[tmwadswo]

Thanks for the feedback, everybody (although it would be great if this hadn't turned into a C&R crusade for some folks, but I guess everyone has to have some sort of 'cause').

Note to all:  If you're going to place a disclaimer in your post saying something like...."no offense meant, not trying to belittle you or make you feel attacked"...please make sure that your posts before and after do not include a statement like "I am sorry that releasing an 11lber is crazy to you."  Such a statement does not logically make sense in light of the first statement.  In saying that you are "sorry" someone holds a certain idea to be true, you are saying that you pity that individual because he holds that particular viewpoint.  That is in fact belitting to that person.

I think folks see that big fish being mounted and become upset because they assume someone who would mount a fish like that has to be completely anti-C&R, which is obviously not the case.  Only one I've ever mounted, fellers.

[fishingrulz]

Ok, First WOW! THAT THING IS HUGE!!!! NICE CATCH!!!!!

ahhhhhh...Now that i've got that out of my system i'd like to say that first everyone is entitled to thier own opinon. I too would have let that fish go. I'm broke i'm not gettin a replica or a mount! ;D so no sense in me keeping it.

On a more serious note, i'm not gonna tell you that you should or shouldn't let a fish of that size go. Because honestly I think that doing what you do (eating a few 1 pounders) actually improves that fishery. It helps cut down on the whole overpopulation issue. You can sit here and say that a 7 pounder could be this, or grow to this weight forever. I'm not happy that the fish is dead, but what I am happy for is that you. Its good to see that you understand that you won't come across an 11 pounder on every trip and that a fish that size is keepable, but at the same time 6,7,8 lbers as un common as they are they are a lot more common than an 11lber. Its not like you keep everything you catch. The smaller fish (6,7, and 8s) that you let go can grow up and take the place of that 11 pounder. Is keeping a fish that big going to kill the fishery? no. Is putting it back going to help it? maybe, maybe not. I would have let it go because would feel guilty about killing it, and I would want to keep that fishes genes going. The biggest lake on Long Island is 249 acres. That a medium sized pond in some places. An 11 pounder being put back is gonna help a small pond a lot more than a big lake. Smaller bodies of water don't have these type of fish. On Long Island an 8 or 9 pounder is like catching a 13 or 14 pound bass in the south. He kept the fish...no sense in arguing about it now...its over with. It sucks for the fish. but instead of putting him down try to congratulate him. Preaching to him about catch and release is meaning less...he practices it. Just not as much as others.

All that aside congratulations. I'm happy for you that you caught that bass. Its something that not everyone gets the chace to do in their life. WAY TO GO!  

[tmacdaddy055]

11 pounds is going to be one of the biggest and oldest fish in just about every body of water, except for in california lakes where they just have an endless buffet of trout. So in reality that fish, unless it was in an extremely well managed body of water wasn't going to live very much longer and in turn probably wasnt goin to get that much bigger. But anyways, my email address is taustinj@aol.com, and information on any body's of water would be great.

thanks again, taylor

[Troutfisher]

You got a good point there.  I agree.