Catch & Release Vs. Keep and eat

[FD.]

Catch them legally, license, limits, ect, then do what you want with them.

Personally, I am lazy and hate cleaning fish.  We do keep a few a year because my wife likes the taste, so she cleans them.

Thanksgiving vacation last year, Taylor was killing 2 lb spots at West Point Lake.  We saw an older couple fishing from the public dock.  They were not catching much and had a cooler with them so I assumed they were fishing to keep.  Taylor, my giving daughter, suggested we give them what we (mostly she) were catching.  I thought that was a good idea and they were very grateful.  So I do harvest occasionally, but not often.

[FordNFishinLover]

Honestly in my mind dude. As long as your obeying the rules of the area your fishing and keeping legal fish, id say dont let anyone bother you about what you keep and dont keep.

Personally i can defenitly understand keeping some smaller 1-3 pounds too take home and eat, but anything above i think is worth throwing back and getting bigger to catch later!!

Plus many places need the 1-2 pounders thinned out. So if anything your helping the body of water to make some bigguns!

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

Actually the real problem I have is that I mostly fish small lakes and ponds.Recently some new guys have discovered some of these holes and have to my knowledge been taking out fish every single time they are there.I have heard reports from several residents that they are also taking more than the legal limits and keeping 6 and 8 lb girls.Ever since then me and anyone I fish with are having serious problems.

I have contacted the dept.of wildlife to investigate.What else can I do? The problem now is that they have literally raped the water so badly that I doubt the game warden will ever catch them in the act. Many evil little plans have come to mind to deal with them, but I am not a teenager anymore LOL.

It doesnt take long to trash a small couple acre lake by constantly taking the bass out and especially taking out the breeding stock.Some people just dont'even realize what the hell they are doing or plainly they just don't care.They will just go on to the next place and butt rape it too.

Just venting here :-/ I think it really sucks that I USED to have a nice little place to go that is close to home,no gas usage.A place where I can try out new lures and techniques and also teach people how to fish and have the distinct possibility of catching something over 5lbs almost every time I am there.

I don't want to seem like I am a total keeper hater.I just want people who fish small waters to be careful what they take out.The day will soon come when you sit there with your thumb up your a-- and wonder why the heck nothing is biting.

If it's a stunted dink hole then by all means fire up the skillet and get your old lady to peel some taters.

[bmuskin]

FWIW I release all of the larger ones, due more to fear of mercury levels than anything. I have no problems keeping fish to consume, but I personally eat trout, crappie and cats, not real fond of bass, smallies although are better than lmb. If I were regularly consuming fish from any body of water I would keep tabs with the local game and fish people as they monitor the water quality of the water. Most fishing regulation have warnings on the amount of fish consumed. I live in WV and am fortunate to have clean fisheries for the most part, but I wouldn't eat anything from the kanawha, or ohio river. Good luck and good eating, fish are a great food.

You mentioned the Kanawha and Ohio sounds like Parkersburg to me. PHS class of 1984. Live in Kansas City now. Miss good old WV go back sometimes and visit some family but don't get there enough.

I am 42 & I remember when the ohio river had no fish except carp and cats. Full of shad now so it is a lot cleaner if you don't mind a little C8.

[snapper G]

I keep most of the bass i catch if they are over 1.5lbs, they should have spawned plenty of times and dose no harm to the lake i fish at, it actually helps it!

Here is a link to explain why:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1218799995

This is a post that i just put up recently  

Please answer link  ;D

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I keep most of the bass i catch if they are over 1.5lbs, they should have spawned plenty of times and dose no harm to the lake i fish at, it actually helps it!

Here is a link to explain why:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1218799995

This is a post that i just put up recently

Please answer link ;D

I think you might want to read up on some info from a qualified professional...

Eating bass over 1.5lbs because they have already spawned a number of times?    :

Keep what you want within the legal limits, but your line of thinking is wrong.

[Grey Wolf]

I keep most of the bass i catch if they are over 1.5lbs, they should have spawned plenty of times and dose no harm to the lake i fish at, it actually helps it!

Here is a link to explain why:

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1218799995

This is a post that i just put up recently

Please answer link ;D

[grimlin]

Great thread, nice tone and

excellent advice!

8-)

I agree....I can't figure out why another forum couldn't take this tone.

C&R or keep and eat...doesn't bother me.I don't think anybody could have said it better than lknbassman did.

The only thing that bothers me is people running up to me on every single catch trying to convince them to give them my catches.I've gotten to the point where i really don't want to go fishing until i find myself a boat or someplace nobody else goes to.

[shorefisher]

I just hate how some posts sound almost hateful, maybe it is just me, but I think there is way to introduce those that are unaware of catch and release and still come across as friendly - just my opinion.

It seems like a lot of people these days are infected with the holier-than-thou virus. Don't let the hate of a few idiots ruin your time here.

That being said, I never keep any of my bass because I just don't like the taste. Watching some of the city folk coming to the ponds and just filling buckets with whatever they catch drives me crazy though.

No matter what you do to an animal, do it with respect.

[mdmaynard]

Well I have sat back and read all the posts on this thread and it just makes me that much more glad I stuck around.

As has already been mentioned, great tone, great feedback from both sides of the coin.  

I asked in sincerity and I got my answers and even learned A LOT along the way.

I understand both view points now and I have a new found respect for catch and release.

Thanks to everyone that responded and even bigger thanks for keeping it friendly and not making anyone feel bad for their opinion.  I have a great respect for each of you and appreciate each view point.

so to sum up my rambling post....

THANKS AND THANKS AND THANKS AGAIN  great feed back and keeping it friendly and honest at the same time.

[zbigbadaaron]

Bass are horrible tasting so i don't eat them.

But its a different story if its walleye, bluegill, salmon, or trout.

[douglasd]

I'm fairly new to bass fishing...I was raised on hook & bobber bluegills with either earthworms or waxworms. So I look at it this way: I don't catch enough bass yet to make a difference one way or the other. I mean, 4 to 6 bass a year is not going to ruin the bass ecosystem in my area if I decide to eat them! Maybe when I get to the point where I catch them every time I go out, I may feel different...but until then, they're going home with me.

For me, half the fun of fishing is the eating. But like I said, I was raised watching a bobber, so if and when I start catching a lot of good sized bass, I may feel differently.

[Terex]

I know there are people who have an irrational hatred for those that take home large freshwater fish for consuming.  Yet, if it is within the boundaries of the law, I see nothing wrong with it.  

That being said, I enjoy the taste of fresh lmb, smb, trout, panfish, and catfish.  If the fish is of legal size and I have room in the freezer I keep them.  

[avid]

I now release all we catch but I still wonder what harm there is in keeping a few here and there for food.

as with most who replied, I agree that there is nothing wrong. So don't sweat it. The controversy really is about bigger bass. It is true that the bigger bass in any given system are females who lay the most eggs. It is also true that keeping a few of these fish on occasion will do nothing to damage an otherwise healthy fishery.

The only requirement is that you stay within the law. After that it's up to you.

Lots of people love to get on their high horse and condemn what other people are doing, even if it is completely legal, and ethical. It's a fact of life that this routinely goes on in the world. BassResource.com is no exception.

You don't need to hide, nor justify keeping any fish that is legally harvested for food.

If the big fish in a major system are under too much pressure then the F&W people will restrict keeping them through slot limits. If it is not a major fishery, say a small local lake, then let your experience guide you. Are you and others regularly catching 4 lbers and bigger? If so, rest assured there are 8 lbers and larger in that lake and keeping a 5+ pounder once in awhile will do no harm. If, on the other hand you and others (check the local bait stores) rarely catch a fish over 3-4 lbs. then releasing all larger bass may be a wise decision.

Again I say, if you stay within the law then you have no need to feel any remorse. If you surpass the legal requirements well that's fine, but preaching to others that they do the same, is arrogant, and a general pain in the ***.

[Catt]

What amazes me is how many people know the benefits of catch & release but know absolutely nothing of the benefits of selective harvesting.

[adclem]

I do both.  I will release really good size fish and keep a few of the smaller fish just to try and help thin them out.  As one person stated selective harvest.  We do it with deer and a lot of other animals, so that the populations stay healthy.

Later,

[wowyo]

I'm pretty much a catch and release guy, but I see nothing wrong with keeping a nice fish to eat.   As long as what you're taking is within the boundries of the legal code laid down by fish and wildlife dept.... there should never be any shame.

[IDbasser]

I am an almost all catch and release. I will keep a few smaller ones once in awhile to eat. There is nothing wrong with it. I do release most of the time.  I have only kept bass once this year, I have crappie in the freezer to eat.

[Eddie Munster]

Study was done a couple years on my subdivision lake (big pond actually) and it advocated the removal of most bass caught under 13" to promote growth of 'trophy' size fish. I asked the HOA administrator what 'removal' meant and he said basically 'get them out of the lake'.

Well, I personally am not eating fish that came out of a subdivision lake due to the chances of chemicals from lawns, septic field drainage, etc. being transmitted to the fish. Also, I am not going to kill a fish just to increase the chances of getting a trophy sized fish in that lake. I've thought of approaching several homeowners with ponds to see if they wanted these fish but haven't worked up the nerve, so for now I release them all back.

I think as others may have pointed out, the ill tempered tone mdmaynard felt is from guys suggesting it's wrong to keep a bass for the sole purpose of putting it on a wall which short of a world record fish, I wouldn't keep it.

[avid]

"selective harvest" is a valid means of regulating the population of any game species.  You say "hoa" as in "home owners association"

and that is my only concern.  It's likely these guys know nothing about how to manage your lake for trophy bass.  The end result of all this culling of smaller fish could very well be damage to the fishery.

[Joe Boss]

My brother lives on a 50 acre lake. The lake management company that monitors the lake sends out a notice telling them to please keep or just throw up on the bank certain size fish in order to maintain a healthy environment for the larger fish, so there is something to harvesting for food.

I fish for sport so I practice catch and release. I don't think I could follow those lake management company rules and throw a fish on the banks to die. Seems like such a cruel way to treat an animal.

When I am in the mood to eat fish, I go to the supermarket. When I want fresh fish I go Fluke and Flounder fishing with my Father-in-Law. I see nothing wrong with keeping and eating what you catch following all the rules and regulations.

[Daniel My Brother]

A friend of mine has a farm with 6 ponds. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, and pond manager. My 3 biggest bass this year (any my PB) have come from these ponds.

He opens 3 of his best ponds to the girl scouts and boy scouts in the spring, and let's these kids, and their parents, keep whatever they want within legal limits. Most of the folks who come are worm and bobber fishermen, and they catch a lot of nice bluegill and the occasional bass. Sometimes a kid will catch a big bass and the whole group will go absolutely nuts! It's really neat to see.

Last year a kid caught a 6 pounder and another caught a 4 pounder.  Both fish were taken home and mounted. Many other 2 and 3 pounders were kept. This drove me crazy, but the kids loved it.

I asked my friend why he lets them harvest big bass from his ponds and he had 2 responses. First, he says, they've been doing it for years and for every big one they pull out, another one always seems to take it's place. Second, they were having so much fun that he just didn't have the heart to tell them to put it back.  

He's not looking to raise a state record, he just wants ponds that are fun to fish and offer a good chance at a lunker. That's exactly what he's got.

[Cableman]

catch and release! Unless of course I'm hungry! ;D

[FR0G]

Myself, I wouldnt be able to eat a largemouth. I guess I appreciate them that much.

[tyrius.]

Myself, I wouldnt be able to eat a largemouth. I guess I appreciate them that much.

Then why do you ram a hook into their mouth, pull them to the surface, suffocate them, take pictures of them while they're suffocating, then put them back and hope that they don't die from any complications from the fight?       ;D

Sorry, just thought that was funny.  Hopefully, it is taken as an attempt at humor.