Keeping a small bass?

[Sam]

I, too, was somewhat uncomfortable that the young man retained the fish.

However, after reading some articles I also understand that by removing a few dinks from a body of water may be a good thing.

As long as he kissed it then all is OK!

[.dsaavedra.]

c'mon...lighten up! it was his first bass and the thing was tiny (not saying that in an offensive way). the removal of that bass did nothing to the ecosystem...if anything it helped it.

[JT Bagwell]

c'mon...lighten up! it was his first bass and the thing was tiny (not saying that in an offensive way). the removal of that bass did nothing to the ecosystem...if anything it helped it.

But was it Legal?

JT Bagwell

[Troutfisher]

*sigh*

Does it ever end?

:

[Hookemdown.]

*sigh*

Does it ever end?

:

Only after RW sees it.

[Guest avid]

He was a kid, all excited about his first bass.

The last thing we want to do is jump on him.

Let him enjoy the moment.  so long as we don't scare him away, he will be coming back and get the message.

Am I the only one on the boards who ever kept a short, or one out of season?

[JT Bagwell]

I never saw the kid, the post, the picture, the fish and etc. I just asked if it was legal.

JT Bagwell

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

JT- Prob not

But,.....this is where WE , as adults, EDUCATE him as to the laws and also the ethics of this sport.  Like Avid said, it was his FIRST bass and that in itself is pretty cool.  We got another youth who is hooked, let's not scare him away with criticism.

[Cajun1977]

man who cares...are some of youll gonna start up a minuteman group and go after people who keep bass ;D there was a time when i frowned upon the keeping of a bass, and there was a time when i kept a bass,but i cant worry what everyone in the world is doing ,last time i checked you are allowed to keep a bass...plus isnt the kid in south africa or something geez how is this gonna hurt your  fishery? im not ranting but the whole why did you keep it thing gets real old real fast :)have a nice day everyone

[BaitMS]

As a fisheries ecologist keeping fish is actually encouraged. Fisheries managers monitor lakes and set fishing regulations accordingly to make a lake as productive as possible. However, bass fisherman have developed the mentality that removing any fish is going to be detrimental to the system. This is why regulations are set. We want you to harvest the smaller and larger fish. The fish "in the slot" are protected and as these fish grow the slot can be moved up or removed. The decisions are made based on the monitoring of the system by nets, electrofishing, creel surveys, etc. If more people would actually keep bass they would see a dramatic increase in the size of the bass they would catch. Oh, and all lakes and reservoirs do not have length limits. These are usually set by the tournament groups.

LBH, In the "other" post everyone was congratulating the kid except you. Why do you take this approach? Do you have any formal training that makes you an expert as a fisheries biologist? Why dont you ask some questions before you assume. Who cares if he removed one small fish. IMO, It is not going to have any affect on the lake he is fishing. Were you always a catch and release fisherman?

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

LBH, In the "other" post everyone was congratulating the kid except you. Why do you take this approach? Do you have any formal training that makes you an expert as a fisheries biologist? Why dont you ask some questions before you assume. Who cares if he removed one small fish. IMO, It is not going to have any affect on the lake he is fishing. Were you always a catch and release fisherman?

Well, First of all, if you read ALL the replies, you would have seen mine from yesterday (below)(from page 2 of the other thread)

Excellent job Matt!!

Now go get another one!!!  

However, when I realized that some guys might not realize Matts age and situation (first bass ever) and start to criticize him for keeping the fish, I stepped in and educated instead of criticized so all could see how we tend to try to lead & educate the youth instead of putting them down here at BR.  (much like you did in your reply) I did that in the reply brlow (from other thread)

Matt- I want to take just a second to fill you in on a couple things that you need to know now that you have found out how to be successful with that rod and reel you have.

Here, in the states, Bass have to be of a certain size to be legal to remove from the lake/pond.  We all understand that you wanted a pic of your first Bass and you'll be glad you have it 20 yrs from now, trust me, but before you go and turn into a pro, you need to learn your local laws regarding the harvest of Bass and the size limits.  The usual minimum size ranges from 12-16".

Also, read up a little about "catch and release".  Educating yourself on these topics will help you understand the water you fish and will help you from doing anything detrimental without knowing.

You did a great job buddy, keep it up!!  

So,....I GOTTA ask,.....What are you talking about??? :-/

(One thing I've never been accused of is putting a kid down, I don't get it)

I also understand that harvesting certain fish can be helpful to an ecosystem but I am not the expert on which sizes from which body so I follow the rules and guidelines set by the people who do, my state agency.  I merely suggested he learn how to do the same and check up on his local laws.

And lastly, yes, I've always been a catch and release fisherman with the exception of my commercial sales of Giant Bluefin Tuna, Striped Bass and various shellfish.

[Other.]

As a fisheries ecologist keeping fish is actually encouraged. Fisheries managers monitor lakes and set fishing regulations accordingly to make a lake as productive as possible. However, bass fisherman have developed the mentality that removing any fish is going to be detrimental to the system. This is why regulations are set. We want you to harvest the smaller and larger fish. The fish "in the slot" are protected and as these fish grow the slot can be moved up or removed. The decisions are made based on the monitoring of the system by nets, electrofishing, creel surveys, etc. If more people would actually keep bass they would see a dramatic increase in the size of the bass they would catch. Oh, and all lakes and reservoirs do not have length limits. These are usually set by the tournament groups.

LBH, In the "other" post everyone was congratulating the kid except you. Why do you take this approach? Do you have any formal training that makes you an expert as a fisheries biologist? Why dont you ask some questions before you assume. Who cares if he removed one small fish. IMO, It is not going to have any affect on the lake he is fishing. Were you always a catch and release fisherman?

You did a great job buddy, keep it up!!

That is a congratulations. I am not sure if you read that or not but that is a congratulations.

LBH was just educating the kid that it was most likely agginst the Regulations to keep a fish of such a small size. Education is a good thing I really do not see why you are thinking like that.

[BaitMS]

Yes...you did congratulate him on catching the bass, but at the END of your post after you INDIRECTLY told him that he should not keep fish. Catch and release is not as important as fisherman make it out to be. If the rules that are set by fishery personel are followed, healthy systems will be available to all. This is why he should read the rules and regulations of the systems he is fishing.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

I congratulated him early this morning in my first reply to the thread,I even quoted it above for you.  If you aren't going to take the time to read replies, I'm not going to bother.  I have nothing to defend here, moving on.......

[Bassn Blvd]

I think you did a good job LBH. I wanted so bad to somehow tell that little boy just what you did.  Nothing wrong with him keeping that fis but I hope he ate it and didn't just throw it away.  If he threw it away then he needs a good talkin to, and I don't care if it was his 1st bass.  Nothing wrong with eating a fish although I release all mine. But thats just me.  Actually if I could trust the water system them I too may keep one to eat.

[fourbizz]

Don't sweat it LBH.

I have noticed that "baitms" has a habit of this self righteous soap boxing.

I love 2lb spotted bass. I wish everyone that caught one kept them all.

[LCpointerKILLA]

BaitMS should have read 4 bizz's warning: Don't be stupid. It will hurt.

[Glenn]

You guys are too busy assuming 2 things:

1.  That it's NOT a slot-limit lake (slot limits are very common; and you can keep smaller bass in a slot limit)

2.   It's a public lake.  If it's a private lake, state regs do not apply.

3.  (ya, I know I said 2, but I'm the Admin, I can do that ), This is rather petty, honestly.  Let's move on please.

[George Welcome]

And to think this petty trivial nonsense comes during this seasonal time.

[MemphisFisherman]

man who cares...are some of youll gonna start up a minuteman group and go after people who keep bass ;D there was a time when i frowned upon the keeping of a bass, and there was a time when i kept a bass,but i cant worry what everyone in the world is doing ,last time i checked you are allowed to keep a bass...plus isnt the kid in south africa or something geez how is this gonna hurt your  fishery? im not ranting but the whole why did you keep it thing gets real old real fast :)have a nice day everyone

minuteman bass keeping haters group! I love it!

[Micro]

Only a couple of lakes in my area have slot limits.   Otherwise, anything goes.   I keep a bass now and then.  Otherwise, If I want to eat fish, I like to catch a mess of bluegill.   But i don't see anything wrong with keeping a bass occassionally, and certainly not for a young feller and his first bass.  That's why God put 'em here.  

[just1more]

Long ago my Grandsons caught a 4 inch bass which we took home and put into an aquarium (later we released the same fish back into the lake). That fish taught me a valuable lesson that has helped me put many a bass in the boat over the years.

To feed it we dropped a night crawler into the tank and of course it stretched out to about 7 or 8 inches. That little bass immediately attacked the worm and started inhaling it. After swallowing in about a third of the worm it just couldn't get anymore in so it spit it out and wouldn't touch it again. We went outside and got a tiny lizard from under a rock and dropped it into the tank and the bass attacked it immediately. Now when I get a hit on spinner bait and I miss setting the hook I throw crank bait etc. Some times blessing come in small packages!

[roadwarrior]

Welcome aboard!

8-)

[just1more]

Thanks!