Man I Hate

[pitchinthejig]

I HATE AND I MEAN HATE Hooking bass bad and killing them it makes me SICK I hooked a soild 7# fish right before dark this evening on a Lucky Craft jointed wake bait and she just inhaled it and you could see where it tore loose a few times and re hooked her in the gills and tore them to hell and back... she was bleeding so bad I put her in the live well and loaded it up with Release Chems and she just wouldnt come back so I took her home, cleaned it and fryed it for my little girl.. She always is with me unless its tourney time and she cried so hard knowing it died...

Anyone else like this? like it really truly upsets you really bad to kill a fish? Its part of the game some are gonna get hooked bad and die and thats just Bass fishing, I just REALLY try and keep it from happening and thank god it doesnt much or I would stop doing it probably it really makes me feel that crappy that I took its life for my fun.

I know I sound like a Tree hugger and trust me Iam not, Its just taking somethings life really bothers me, and I HATE hooking them in the eye really bad it bothers me a lot too...

Heres a pic of the pretty girl with my 4 Y/O holding her I got her to not be upset by making her be pretty and smile for the cam lol... But its sad seeing such a beautiful fish die.

[Bluebasser86]

The 6.5lb bass on my wall did about the same thing. I was fishing a small pond with a 4f fat A crankbait for crappie and she just inhaled it. The hooks were in her gills and with the long fight on light line and hot water temps she didn't stand a chance. I don't eat fish so that was the best thing I could think to do with her.

I don't know if I hate that more or seeing someone keeping big bass. I was fishing last winter in a powerplant lake in the outlet when a couple in a small boat anchored close to me. They baited up with shad and dropped them in the washout in the tailwaters. Wasn't long before the husband brought in a 6 pound largemouth and put it straight on a stringer. I tried to talk them into releasing it, even offering to trade some catfish or crappie for it but they refused saying that fish was their dinner. The fish kept jumping trying to get off the stringer. I had to leave because I was so mad I couldn't concentrate. I know there is no law against keeping big fish but it takes so long for them to get big around here that it just kills me. Keeping a fish that would have survived just to get a skin mount is just about as bad. Get plenty of pictures and some measurements and get a replica. It may cost a little more but it also lasts a lot longer and you don't have to kill the fish. Plus since all you need is a couple pictures and measurements you can take all the time you need to save up the money to get it done

[Eriewormer]

I agree with both of ya.. My 5 yr old and I went to a small campground pond and he landed a monster, turned the other kids and parents heads. I am still kicking myself for not having my phone or camera, but we let her go as always and hopefully we'll get that shot next year.

[J Francho]

So, one fish in a thousand you caught dies. Eat it, and forget about it. No one laments that hamburger they just wolfed down. I wouldn't get too upset, you let all those other fish go. Some may have not made it, either. One thing is for sure, all had the chance to make it. No fish in history survived release into Crisco Bay.

[SirSnookalot]

I don't get overly emotional over any fish that dies, if I did I would not fish in the first place and seek a new activity. I have no intent to kill them but it does happen. Your best efforts in reviving fish sometimes are all for naught. How do people feel upon the pain and stress caused to a fish?

[clayton86]

I hate it as well but I don't get to worked up over it I like to see them get bigger we got one in a private lake I fish we named him 1 eye we catch him every year he's pushing 7lbs now and we caught him 4 years ago and he was 4 maybe 5lbs wich for wny is pretty d**n good. Killing pike on the other hand got no prob with lol I had one the other week get my spinner trailer hook and main hook in its throat and straightend the wire out. I whiped out my knife and got it back and tossed it on the rope to give my boss. Gobys are equally bad I toss them in the bushes.

[Revo_Carrot Stix]

I agree with most. I take pride in releasing bass and impacting the water and surroundings as little as possible. When it happens, I'm bothered that day or evening as I take the day in retrospect...but it makes me a better angler or surgeon (if you will).

Like TDZ and BB, I get angry when other anglers don't share my mindset or respect for the waters - whether it's trash on the bank or a stringer filled with obiviously under-the-limit size or big catches. At least we're in a country where we can debate this topic and continue to do our thing as we fill our personal needs.

[quanjig]

Yes it upsets me to some extent, but in the grand scheme of things - birds gotta eat, turtles gotta eat ...............

[deaknh03]

So, one fish in a thousand you caught dies. Eat it, and forget about it. No one laments that hamburger they just wolfed down. I wouldn't get too upset, you let all those other fish go. Some may have not made it, either. One thing is for sure, all had the chance to make it. No fish in history survived release into Crisco Bay.

Crisco bay...

[grimlin]

My buddy keeps bass every once in awhile. He C & R more than he keeps that's for sure. But I never have a problem with people keeping bass once in awhile.I never get worked up about it...nobody else should either. A lot of people fish for food....been doing it for generations now.

[tomustang]

It's the nature of the game, what can be more said

[K_Mac]

This topic comes up often, and always stirs emotion. Catch and release is as much a part of bass fishing for most of us as buying more tackle than we need.

I agree that I am not happy when people keep bigger bass. They have beaten the odds, and should be released in my opinion. I don't let it ruin my day though. The folks that keep fish, big bass included, pay their fees and buy their licenses just like I do. If they want to keep them they have every right to as the law allows. I am always talking to folks about releasing bass, esp big fish, but at the end of the day it is their decision. There are many lakes where keeping some smaller bass will improve the fishery, and in those places I will sometimes keep a few smaller fish.

SirSnook is right. Fishing is a blood sport whether we like it or not. Fish are sometimes injured and not all fish survive the trauma of being caught. The fishing community generates millions to keep our waters healthy, and to preserve and improve fishing. I can live with that.

[pitchinthejig]

Bluebasser I totally agree it makes me SICK and SO MAD to see someone keeping bass to start with and would eat me alive if it was big fish. All my mounts are replicas I never do skin mounts because Im 110% C&R this is the first time ive ever brought one home EVER and its only because she died in the live well after me doing everything I could I turned on raw Oxygen, added Chems, some Iceto slightly drop water temps.. I have really good live wells in my Z-9 and know how to treat fish for release she just wasnt coming back she bled way to much to quick.

[J Francho]

You don't think you're overreacting a bit?

It's one fish, we all try our best, but nothing is perfect.

[pitchinthejig]

I mean I dont let it ruin my day or anything but I feel bad I dont like killing stuff but I love bass fishing and that part of it sometimes and you gotta live with it. its just it makes me feel crappy that I took its life.

[piscicidal]

Try Walleye fishing...

On Mille Lacs lake, they have this silly slot limit that requires you release all Walleyes (if I remember correctly) in the 18-26" range (which is about 90% of what anglers are catching). So all these gut-hooked Walleyes being drug up from 30 feet of water HAVE to released by anglers, even though they have virtually no chance of making it. Makes you sick to see miles and miles of shoreline littered with floating fish that could have ended up as table fare.

Point is...I wouldn't worry about eating one bass as long as I was making my best effort to minimize fatalities.

[Hyrule Bass]

wow, when did people become so sensitive about fish? if youre that worried about injuring or killing a bass then dont fish for them, plain and simple.

also, i dont see why people get mad at others for keeping fish so long as its done within the laws and regulations of your state and the particular fishery youre on. there are more bass than you can imagine in most waters, plenty to go around. its not gonna hurt the fishery unless its like a tiny small pond. if i were to catch a 10lb bass and someone came rushing over to see and then started pressuring me to release it, id most likely keep it just to tick them off and i dont even eat fish. now if someone just wanted to see it, id let it go. but if i catch i fish(legally) and want to keep it(legally) then i feel NO ONE has a right to come try and convince me to release it, sounds like unwelcomed harassment. i say just mind your business and dont worry about what others do as long as its legal. because really, its none of your business what i catch and keep. and i take this point of view knowing i dont keep any fish myself. just worry about what you can do about the fish you catch. i cant believe the nerve of some people approaching others asking them to release a fish that was legally obtained. it may be your belief and think its in the best moral interests to release the fish you catch, but it doesnt mean you should try and enforce your way of thinking on anyone else that thinks differently than you do...

[Raul]

I HATE AND I MEAN HATE Hooking bass bad and killing them it makes me SICK

Stuff happens, fishing is a blood sport and stuff happens every now and then, can´t take it ? there are other sports that do not involve accidental, ocassional killing.

[pitchinthejig]

Red Earth, The comment about mind your own business is dead on, If someone wants to keep fish thats them even tho its not right in my mind and many others as well but hey do what you wish but take to many big fish from a not so large lake and you will have issues after a while its a fact.... keep a fish just to do it to make someone mad? says a lot about some people in the sport.

Raul yes you are right it happens and it was the first nor will it be the last, my point in the post was to see how many others really truly care about killing fish that you didnt want to. I would guess 95% of real bass fisherman are C&R and care about releasing the fish healthy...

If my OP was read you would see where I said I know it happens and thats life but I hate it and it makes me feel really bad I hate killing any but really hate killing a good one. I have let 13LB fish go without even a picture as to get them back in the water lightning fast I want the fish to be in as good shape as it can be after I catch it. sure some are gonna die and some arent but when they do does it bother you or do you just not even think about it again was what I was getting at. it upsets me but if Im in a tourney my main worry is the Oz I lose for a dead fish so its not the biggest deal there is but it does bother me enough to try to prevent it any way I can. 90% of the time I fish Barbless hooks unless its tourney time and yesterday was a rare time I just tied on a bait that was in the tourney bag and it was barbed. I really wish the fish would have gotten off but of course it didnt, if that would have been in a tourney it would have came off first jump lol.

Anyhow Im not worried about it because some people express rude comment on a simple subject because this is the net and people like to run all different ways and turn it in to something different then what was Said/asked. I got what I wanted to know and thats most people care enough about the fish to have bad feelings of killing one and that makes me happy to know our sport has evolved in to a true sportsmans sport and C&R is at a high and hopefully gets higher!

Thanks all for the comments Im done with mine tho before people starting getting cranky about there views.

[rboat]

I have to agree with tdz on this. I hate to seriously injure or kill the fish that I spend much of my time and money on catching for the fun of the sport and the great feeling of releasing her back for the future. In our past history, fishing was mostly for food. Times have changed, you will save time and money getting fish at the store and you will be ingesting less mercury and other contaminents. I believe it all comes down to education, values, and traditions. When you learn the extreme odds in producing one big bass it is amazing we have any. With all of todays high tech fishing equipment, I personally feel they deserve a second chance. If you catch for food that is your legal right, I simply ask you keep an open mind and see both sides. A great photo is hard to beat and it really does feel good to see a champion fish swim back to his underwater home.

[North Ga Hillbilly]

You don't think you're overreacting a bit?

It's one fish, we all try our best, but nothing is perfect.

X2

[Bluebasser86]

I think part of what is so frustrating to see someone keep a big bass or to have a big bass die after being caught is we don't have any bass factories close by like some of you guys do. Probably the closest lake to me that most would know is Lake of the Ozarks and that's a 3 hour drive. Most of our lakes have relatively few large bass that tend to be difficult to catch. So to see one get kept or die is frustrating. I know some of them aren't going to make it and the more I fish the more fish I'll kill, but I do everything in my power to help big fish survive.

[MAD]

I am totally C&R also with bass, but I agree with Red Earth, I would be pretty careful who I approached about releasing a fish they legally wanted to keep.

Mike

[SirSnookalot]

I keep few if any fish I catch, I'm not all that fond of eating most fish species, especially bass. I love catching bass, but I love catching many other species as much if not more. As Red Earth implies, there are a lot of bass out there, I agree. I just can't seem to put bass on a pedestal above other species, it's a sportfish, nothing more.

[joshholmes]

i honestly do undertsand that feeling you get when a fish just cant make it. i remember catching my first pike and being so excited i accidentally kept her out of the water to long, and it was a decent 10 lb. pike too. so when i wen't to release it it couldnt get its back under the water and i watched it for hours struggling until it finally rolled over and died. that was really depressing. i always feel said when i gut hook a fish and i really only keep a fish if my family asks me to, which hardly ever happens, i remember when one bass i released swam away a few feet then couldnt move anymore so i grabbed her in my canoe and put her out of her misery. it happens, you havee to accept it