when do you keep bass?

[timothy_spain]

My folks love bass, so when about every other trip.  If I can actually catch them...

[NewAngler]

I keep'em whenever I feel like eating bass, which hasn't been in about 2 decades.

I'm already looking forward to having a winter fish fry this year. A co-worker and I were talking tonight about catching a mess of Okeechobee speck when it gets cold out. I'm sure a bass or two might fall into the bucket as well.

it doesnt get cold down there!

[alwayslooking]

whenever my wife tells me to,,,she says fish fry,,,i bring fish,,,always selective harvest, never trophys

[ValkyrieRider]

I'm like one of the guys above. I like pretty much any fish for eatin (besides carp). I'll keep bass every once in a while if I'm not stocked up on crappie in the freezer.

I don't keep big, old bass. Better to keep them spawning I think.

Most of the lakes I fish, it's illegal to keep anything 12-15" and the minimum is 15".

[CHEVYRIDAZ]

whenever my wife tells me to,,,she says fish fry,,,i bring fish,,,always selective harvest, never trophys

Same for me!!

[Big Bait Fishing]

i personally never keep bass...not even if they are gonna die...why??...one i really don't like bass and it would actually be more of a waste if i eat it...why??...because nothing in nature is ever wasted...if said bass is released & dies...it will feed something else...turtles, birds, raccoons, mink and whatever else...that just may need it more than I...

thats my story & i'm stickin to it

p.s edit i just noticed you said bout the same thing Albasser...

x2...or 3

I never keep them. Even if they're bleeding, dying, or dead, they go right back into the lake. Something will eat 'em.

that's how i feel !!! have never eaten a bass , never will ..... i ALWAYS catch and release , ALWAYS .....  

[TrippyJai]

I usually don't keep fish because I fish for the fun of it and enjoy being out on the water. If I had to keep a few because my parents ask me to bring home fish or if they get hooked badly, I'll keep it. As others have mentioned, none will be over 2 1/2-3lb size.

Also, there are better tasting fish to keep. Bass is not one of them.

[cart7t]

I kept a 7lber I caught 2 weeks ago and tossed it on ice. I was out around dusk getting ready to spotlight deer when I saw the fish swirl. Got it on a live minnow. We had barely got the cooler lid closed on the fish when a couple Bald Eagles flew within shooting range so we dropped them too. We wound up gut shooting around 6 deer later that night but could never find any of them. Hard to figure too, as much as they were bleeding. Anyway.

This past Sunday was a great Fish and fowl day for the smoker.

[Bankbeater]

Never.  I like the taste of cat, crappie, and bluegill a whole lot better.

[BrianSnat]

I keep them if I'm ice fishing (the only time I use live bait) and they are gut hooked and bleeding.  I'm not a big fan of the taste of the bass I catch in the summer, but bass caught through the ice taste pretty good.

Last winter I tried a new lake and was pulling in quite a few bass, mostly in the 3-5 lb range.  If they were lip hooked I threw them back. The rest  I felt kind of bad watching these nice sized fish die on the ice, but they did make for some nice meals.

[JigMe]

I will keep a bass if it is deeply hooked, other wise it will go back. They don't taste so good...haha...

[Quinte bass]

Keep such a noble fish...ugh!!!! You'll all go to hell....' alt='default_biggrin.png' alt=':D'>'>

[shootermcbob]

Never. I don't like eating fish, but I do like catching them!

[GRiver]

never keep anything, used to, just don't do it anymore

[angler1]

For me its never. Even if something bad like that happends, and it does happen sometimes and it hate it, (I am a CPR fisherman) I release the fish. I belive in the food chain. Where I am from you really should not eat ANY freshwater fish, so it goes back for a preditor to eat. Again, that's just my opinion.

[6pointbuck2003]

looks like this thread would have been a good one for a poll