Not Happy with my Dad

[I Put The O in Pro]

My dad and I love to go fishing together aleast once a week.  Not all the time but alot he will keep 5 fishing I seen him keep from 14 to 22 inches of bass unless we are on a lake with a slot.  I have tried to talk to him about this and he thinks he still needs to keep them to eat.  He is old school I guess, but is he really hurting the lake and not giveing the bass a chance to get  trophy size or just leave him alone about it.   Or do any of all have any ideas on what to tell him that might make him stop keeping the fising.,

[Kozak]

Tell him that the bass in that given body of water are poisonous and known to be deadly for humans to consume due to radioactive materials laying on the bottom of the lake.... ;D

Or, just explain how catch and release allows the growth of trophy sized fish and gives you the chance to catch it when it grows bigger.  Bass tend not to grow while sitting on a dinner plate....

I'm 100% catch and release but I see no problem with someone keeping a COUPLE of bass as long as they are abiding by the rules and the lake has a healthy population.

[FishingJames]

Yeah, the only way to make him stop is to explain to him what catch and release does, but there is nothing wrong with keeping a fish to eat.

[vicdotcom]

I say give your dad some slack and let him keep his legal limit. As long as he isnt breakin any laws there is no harm in it. It isnt like hes taking home a string of 50 bass or something.

If you are still fishing with your dad, then I am sure that he has done a lot of things right in his life and deserves to enjoy his fishing anyway he sees fit. He might not be in it for "the big one" but the joy of catching (and eating) his fish.

The way we see life and recreation isnt at all what he may have grown up with. Does it make your view on fishing any more valid than his? What about in 20 years, your son tells you how fishing is cruel because science has in the future has proven that it hurts fish and causes them pain.

As far as impacting possible trophy size bass in the future.  That depends on many more factors than how many bass he keeps.  Size of lake, foodsources,  pollution, predators etc.  Sometimes keeping fish can even help grow bigger bass in certain conditions.

Well I know that you didnt post to hear this all. but I felt strongly about it because I would give anything to have the chance to fish with my dad, even if he took home every fish he hooked. Youll get a lot of good advice on how to talk to him here, but my vote is to sit back and enjoy.

Also, would you throw a possible record fish back for the sake of catch and relese just so someone else can catch it if it becomes bigger also?

Again, sorry if it seems harsh or unwanted soapboxing. Its just something I feel strongly about.

Vic

[frogtog]

What he just said.

[ventureboat]

Jeez vic, that was awsome. Im 41 years old, and have been fishing since I could tie a knot, and have never once been fishing with my dad. He's still alive and fairly healthy, (which I'm very thankful for), and retired. He plays golf :-/. Not my cup of tea, but I tried it. As for the thread, go to dads for dinner and watch him enjoy!!!

[roadwarrior]

I say keep all your legal limit if you like, but the 2-3 lb bass are the perfect size for a nice fillet.

8-)

[daviscw]

If he is just keeping the small ones it is actually good for the bigger bass.

[fishbear]

Well I know that you didnt post to hear this all. but I felt strongly about it because I would give anything to have the chance to fish with my dad, even if he took home every fish he hooked. Youll get a lot of good advice on how to talk to him here, but my vote is to sit back and enjoy.

What Vic said....  I would give anything for my dad to still be alive to go fishing with, no matter if he kept the fish or not.

Just enjoy the time you have with him, trust me these times are not replaceable.

[JDPgator]

I would suggest that you accept that he has another other points of view. Most of our parents had to do this on an occasion or two with us, so turn about is fair play.

In this case it would be a shame if this difference of opinion detracts from you enjoying your time with your dad. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

[skillet]

Everyone else covered this pretty good!!! Enjoy your time with your Dad...

                                  As Ever,

                                   skillet

[packman]

drill a hole in the live well.

wait i was not thanking ;D dont do that.

[Grey Wolf]

It's your Dad , just enjoy the time together!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fishfordollars]

My dad and I love to go fishing together aleast once a week. Not all the time but alot he will keep 5 fishing I seen him keep from 14 to 22 inches of bass unless we are on a lake with a slot. I have tried to talk to him about this and he thinks he still needs to keep them to eat. He is old school I guess, but is he really hurting the lake and not giveing the bass a chance to get trophy size or just leave him alone about it. Or do any of all have any ideas on what to tell him that might make him stop keeping the fising.,

Let him read your post and the responses. Then have a discussion with him.

[surfer]

Ask him one question.  If you keep the 6 lbers then where will the 7 lbers come from?

If he enjoys trophy fish then this should ring a cord with him.  If he doesn't care about trophy fish then just enjoy your time with him and keep him on one lake.

[tyrius.]

Catch and release is WAY too emphasized.  Selective harvesting is actually a GOOD thing for most bodies of water.

[Raul]

My dad and I love to go fishing together aleast once a week.

It would have been great that my dad shared my passion with me, he wasn 't the outdoorsy kind of guy, we had little or nothing in common.

Not all the time but alot he will keep 5 fishing I seen him keep from 14 to 22 inches of bass unless we are on a lake with a slot.

As long as he 's not keeping fish under the size and ammount the law allows him to do it 's his prerogative and priviledge to do so.

I have tried to talk to him about this and he thinks he still needs to keep them to eat.

It 's his business, as long as he 's not breaking the law.

He is old school I guess, but is he really hurting the lake

Have you got any evidence to back up that statement ?

and not giveing the bass a chance to get trophy size

The only way fish get to trophy size is if there 's enough food for them, in a predator rich environment very few fish reach to trophy size, there are more trophy size fish where there 's less predators.

or just leave him alone about it.

If he were doing something illegal or asking you to keep your fish then you could say something to him otherwise better the issue not be a point of conflict in your relationship with your dad.

Or do any of all have any ideas on what to tell him that might make him stop keeping the fising.,

Enjoy the time you have with your dad, you never know the wealth you own until one day you loose it, there 's absolutely no gurantee that he will be here tomorrow.

[weknowhowtolive]

Everyone else has said it but...

If he's keeping legal sizes and numbers, then chances are he isnt hurting the lake. Also, keeping smaller fish might actually help the larger fish. You could also catch a bunch of crappie if you have them in your lake and eat them because, well, they just taste way better than bass.

[CJ]

He probally is helping the lake by keeping smaller fish. Now, if he catches a 5-7 lber and wants to keep that one, tell him you'll put it in the well for him.  

Mr. Bob Lusk could shed some good light on this one. Raul made some great points though. Bass need alot of forage to become big. Little bass take that needed forage away from the bigguns'.

[Daniel My Brother]

I like the way Vicdotcom thinks.  

I would like to see all big fish released...BUT if I didn't catch it, it's not my choice.

[The Rooster]

Everybody here for the most part has said something to the effect of "leave dad alone and let him do his thing" it seems. So I won't say that, and I won't tell you how to talk him out of it either.

All I really want to say here is this thread makes me think about my dad and how I'm so glad I do still have the opportunity to fish with him even though we don't get to go as much as I'd personally like to. I realize now while he's still alive that one day he will be gone and I need to make the most of this time.

When I'm out there fishing with him I see him do things in fishing that I don't do and think it would be better if he didn't also. And no, one of them is not keeping fish cause he doesn't do that. But my point here can be applied to your situation too if you think about it.........I'd never say a word to him cause I feel that will take away from his enjoyment of the day and when he's gone, hopefully a LONG time from now, I never want to look back and have any memories of doing that. Enjoy the time you have with him and make lasting memories that you will want to keep.  Those are the REAL keepers of any fishing trip anyway.

[mostbass]

I agree, enjoy your time with dad while you have the oppertunity to do so.  The man is responisble for giving you life, I think he deserves some fish to eat.

[KYntucky Warmouth]

Your dad sounds like mine, if it's of legal size, it goes in a cooler.  But everyone's right, I enjoy the time I spend with my dad on the lake and I think that really is the reason to go fishing with him.  Luckily, my dad isn't a bass fisherman, he's a fisherman period, if it bites, he'll catch it and prefers crappie, bluegill, catfish, and walleye over bass but he still keeps a limit of what he calls "eaters" (12" and under slot at our local lake) if they're biting good, he says they taste better than the larger ones.  I have, however, made some progress as to the fact he's been releasing larger ones after I expressed my opinions on catch-and-release.