Catch and keep 2024
KYbass1276 reply :
Did anyone happen to see that segment on basscenter this morning. I heard on guy say that he keeps them small or big didn't matter to him as long as they were legal I hated watching it. They should not be allowed to keep big fish during the spawn
guest reply :
This is a very controversial issue, but I believe that the fisheries managers know what they are doing. In Florida for example, it is legal to keep fish during the spawn and as the last classic shows, there is no lack in numbers or size of our bass. If a problem arises, slot limits, seasons or other corrective measures will surely be taken.
that being said, I am a pretty strict catch and release basser, but the key to the gentlemans statement IMO was "If it's legal". That is the only criteria we have the right to impose on others.
bassmasta7 reply :
I agree 100%, that segment also made me sick. Killing those monster fish (that I could have caught) are not even supposed to be good to eat because of mercury content. That also can ruin a fishery for that generation and generations to come.
KYbass1276 reply :
I don't mind if someone keeps a few smaller legal fish thats not the issue here I catch and release only myself I think the bigger fish 5pds plus should not be kept at least till after the spawn is over. Even at the classic atleast they were turned loose at the end in hopes of maybe being able to respawn agin next year I have seen this statement more than once on this forum big fish produce big fish. I don't have a problem with someone wanting to eat a couple smaller fish here and there but atleast leave the big ones there they can't be that good of a meal
RoLo reply :
I'm afraid I didn't see the segment you mentioned, which is neither here nor there.
However, anglers seem to forget that cow bass in their prime of life
are not necessarily the biggest cows in the lake. Every animal
in the animal kingdom reaches a point of vanishing returns.
It is not uncommon for whitetail deer over 10 years not to grow antlers.
Though it's steeped in nobility, the majority of bass over 12-lbs
that are released, never make it to the next spawning season.
Not for nothing, the lake on which I live has a slot limit between 15 and 24" (~8-lbs)
Roger
directlink reply :
I also thought that that was just a terrible segment. :'( I believe at one point the man they were interviewing said something to the effect of "i'm gonna keep it whether its 13 inches or fifteen pounds." That statement alone is what really upset me.
dodgeguy reply :
if you do not allow people to keep fish you will begin to give peta credibility.when you start making restrictions like that you give their arguements credibility.fisheries managers work hard to decide what limits are put into effect on our waters.how can we say it's ok to eat panfish but not a bass.it makes no sense.we have to trust and work with our fisheries managers to have the best rules possible.there will always be some harvest of bass.if it is done legally then we have no right to complain.if you think the limits are wrong then work with your fisheries managers to figure out what would be better.as long as a fisherman is complying with the regulations of the water he is fishing on we should not complain. a bass is not and will never be a sacred object.it is a resource and should be managed in a sensible way without our personal emotions clouding the facts.i myself release %99 of my fish.if i get a gut hooked fish that's bleeding and floating that fish is going in the barbecue.
Topwater_Popper reply :
that segment was awful. Nothing is wrong with keeping small bass. Keeping small bass will just make the big fish get bigger because they will have more food. But you should not keep any bass at all during the spawn.
Madhouse27 reply :
Catch and release fishing has certainly come a long way in a relatively short amount of time. It was not that long ago that most people who fished ate what they caught. That was a primary reason for fishing in the first place. Without the "meat fisherman" that came before us we may not be enjoying the sport as we know it today. Many of the early improvements in tackle and equiptment were driven by anglers desire to catch more and more fish albeit for somewhat different reasons than we do today. I admit that I tend to cringe when I see someone removing a nice fish from a body of water. I try to bite my lip because I understand that everyone has been raised differently. As usual Avid made a good point about keeping fish being legal and not imposing our morality on someone else. While watching someone fill a bucket with dead bass seems almost prehistoric, feel good about the fact that twenty five years ago nobody would have even noticed. Times are changing.
Minuteman reply :
I was planning on asking the first Fish and Game Agent I run into this year about keeping Bass in certain waters.
I've never thought much about until last year when I ran into a guy keeping a stringer of 15-18" Largemouth at one reservoir I was going to for the first time. He said there are so many that size in there that they needed to be thinned out. I didn't keep any, but I fished there about 10 times last year and only caught 2 or 3 bass bigger than 18". The last few times I went there 2 women were fishing and keeping their catch in a bucket. They where panfishing, but I may think about giving people some of my smaller legal bass this year at that lake if management thinks it will help the larger bass.
justtrying reply :
times indeed are changing.
i was at a friend's pond yesterday afternoon w/my wife & grandson. naturally, the grandson wanted to keep all the fish i caught. and, at this pond, it was no problem. i'll tell you why.
this guy told us before (and, again, as we were leaving yesterday) that he wanted anyone he let fish his pond to keep Everything they caught! he told us if we didn't want to cook them, just throw them over our shoulders into the woods when we caught them...do NOT put them back in.
his reasoning is that his ponds are over-stocked, the amount of fish needs to be depleted for large ones to produce, & if he's giving us the privilege to fish, we should at least honor his request to help limit over production of fish.
southern-tn-angler reply :
We use to in the past keep what we caught. About four to five years ago, we started the catch and release. Now if we are planning a huge fish fry for family, we take the kids and do alot of bream and crappie fishing. It is kinda like managing a deer herd. You have to take out a few does and smaller bucks to maintain a good "big" buck population.
We are thinking of keeping a few smaller legal bass and returning the bigger ones. However, until then or learn some other method, we will just release the bass altogether.
guest reply :
Avid hit the nail on the head as long as its leagal. I started catch and release over 10 years ago, mostly cause I dont like to clean fish I buy em cleaned at the local store Since Ive started catch and release Ive only killed 2 fish and I gave them both to people who were fishin for the table.
I guess fishin started in the first place b/c there wer no grocery stores and it was too haed messin with the bears for the best sites ;D So if soime one is harvesting fish for the table and they are within size and creel limits AINT NOBODYS BUSINESS BUT THEIR OWN
Muddpuppy reply :
There are some lakes around here that they were promoteing keeping smaller bass and it was a concern that by not doing so it may have an adverse effect on some of the overall populations in the future. On local private lakes and ponds the owners may insist on it.
Charlie Pack a pro/spokesman for Wal Mart and the Tadpole Foundation occassionally fishes on some of these private lakes around here on a some of his weekly TV shows. He has had to keep fish under X inches several times and states that is why on the show.
I believe there are really good management and stocking programs both private and state involved in this area and if they don't view it as a problem, I don't either.
I often run into older gentleman that will offer their catch to boaters, they love to fish, but have what they need already and it doesn't even seem to dawn on them to just throw them back since they still view fish mainly as a food source first and a sport 2nd. and hate to see their time and energy and a little pride in catching them to go to waste if somebody can use them. In their day throwing back a legal edible fish was unheard of and are still a big resource in some of our rual areas. I became more heavily into the catch and release aspect myself when I wasn't able to bend over long enough to clean them. I do beieve that you do need to take the specific lake population and fishing presure into consideration first before decideing what to keep.
There are certain lakes however, that being seen keeping a fish maybe most emphaticly frowned apon by other fisherman, no matter what the population.
Rattlinrogue reply :
I'm catch and release,but I don't have a problem with someone eating their catch.I did for many years.Problem is,big bass don't taste that good.If I were eating 'em I'd much rather have 10 one pounders.It's no crime where I live to keep a big bass during the spawn(18-22 inches must be thrown back year 'round),but all of the people I know fish for sport and throw them back anyway.
rboat reply :
I saw that show and it also made me sick. We have come along way in catch and release, but that shows we also have along way to go. IMO, bass fishing is a true american sport and is growing and we need to educate people (especially the young) on the need for catch and release and the need to keep the water systems clean. I do not feel we know enough on which size to keep and what to release. I have seen some fisheries devestated by certain slot limits and size limits that were supposed to improve the fishing.
If you want some fish for dinner, take some light tackle and catch panfish. This can be great sport. They are over abundant everywhere, reproduce like rabbits, and taste better than bass, or better yet support some american workers and buy some fillets at a local market.
IMO, killing bass in todays world is unnecessary and does not make sense. To do it just because we used to years ago is very shallow thinking. Many things used to be done in this country that proved to be wrong and were changed to provide a better future for all. I release all bass as quickly and as unharmed as possible so my son and future anglers my also experience this great sport.
paparock reply :
I hope the fisheries managers keep the populations both under control and healthy. What I don't want to see is the disaster that is being fostered as management in the oceans fisheries happen in freshwater. We all must take notice and a part in the care of our resources. If fishing to survive and flourish we need to take an active part. I was at the conference held at Bass Pro Headquarters that announced a national program to start a fisheries management initiative (similar to that used to help the ducks) to stabilize and enhance fish habitat, starting with Table Rock Lake, Missouri.
buzzbaitfool12 reply :
I am all catch and release..I released 4 over 9 lbs last year with the biggest going 12lbs, and Saturday caught one 7.7 and get her back into the water as fast as I could...I do not see the sense in keeping big bass, because first of all the taste like you know what and if you want to mount a fish you can get a replica and put the picture up underneath it to prove the catch if you must have one on the wall..However if someone wants to keep fish for food on the table that is up to them if it is in the legal limit..Avid agree with your post with just a little doubt..During the spawn it should be critical to let most bigger bass back so they can produce bigger bass for future of sport..There should be some law in place that says you must put back certain bigger bass back to help with the future..Just one country boys opinion..Buzz
Jitterbug55 reply :
QuoteI am all catch and release..I released 4 over 9 lbs last year with the biggest going 12lbs, and Saturday caught one 7.7 and get her back into the water as fast as I could...I do not see the sense in keeping big bass, because first of all the taste like you know what and if you want to mount a fish you can get a replica and put the picture up underneath it to prove the catch if you must have one on the wall..However if someone wants to keep fish for food on the table that is up to them if it is in the legal limit..Avid agree with your post with just a little doubt..During the spawn it should be critical to let most bigger bass back so they can produce bigger bass for future of sport..There should be some law in place that says you must put back certain bigger bass back to help with the future..Just one country boys opinion..Buzz
The correct term is "hook 'em and cook 'em".... Not Catch and Keep.... :
.
Whopper Stopper reply :
I hate to see guys that keep a big bass out of the lake that I fish. I just want to run up and knock the fish back into the water. But If a guy wants to eat what he catches, that's his business, not mine.
I love the taste of bass; but I can't hardly bring myself to clean them anymore.
I wouldn't really knock somebody's fish back in the water; unless it's a 10 LB bass. I think keeping one that big would be a sin. 
fishingrulz reply :
what angered me was that guy though he was a real tough guy.....grrrr i should plant a crank bait in him
guest reply :
What would ya'll think if a DNR decided to have a fish kill removing bass? That's possible if a majority of the bass got too big making it impossible for small bass to live there. A lake can climax and end up with no bass at all once the lunkers die off! Fisheries management factors in the state of bass maturity and how well the different size classes are distributed. Harvest in most and sometimes all size classes are needful, especially during spawn IF there are too many large bass. That's the main time they can be caught.
Leaving trophy bass in a lake doesn't necessarily mean that will ensure continued large bass production. If a lake lacks the genetics for trophy bass then that's where "share a lunker" bass get moved to, to put the genes in the population. But once the genetics is present, the best spawn size is 13-16", being healthier and more resistant to disease, the fish having less toxins, and fewer mutations.
I keep legal bass up to around 4 pounds in size. Larger ones have too much fat and those fillets get wasted, partly because they are too thick to fry to everyone's taste, so I leave those in the lake. We eat bass 2-3 times a week here, spawning or not, and so do most fishermen I know. There's one friend from Texas that is strictly C&R, but he gladly takes part in our fish fry gatherings. Except for tournaments I don't know of regular C&R here. And at those tournaments there is plenty of grumbling about not being able to keep the catch.
Where catch & keep is legal there is no scientific reason for C&R, spawn or not. If taking them during spawn was harmful, there woud be a season limit on bass. The fact is most bass taken home are taken during the spawn when bass are most available to average anglers. Once it's over many lose interest until the next spawn. Same goes for crappie enthusiasts. It's simply too tough for most to continue pursuing. From now through April the ramps remain full of folks going after bass, and the fish cleaning stations remain clogged. You stand in line. The trash cans overflow with large carcasses, and the grinders get choked up from putting 6#ers through. This goes on year after year with no destruction of the fishery.
Jim
RoLo reply :
The post by quachitaBA reminds me of Round Valley Reservoir New Jersey.
It was one of the few lakes in Jersey with a healthy population of smallmouth bass.
Unfortunately, the largemouth bass population was slowly overtaking the smallmouth bass.
In an effort to preserve the smallmouth fishery, the Game and Fish Division lifted all limits
on size and numbers for largemouth bass. Articles were written by local editors pleading
with fishermen NOT to return ANY largemouth bass to Round Valley Reservoir.
Concurrently, stringent restrictions were imposed on smallmouth bass, both size & number.
To make a long story short, in spite of unrestricted largemouth harvest, their efforts failed!
Largemouth bass continued to overtake the smallmouth bass, which today represent
a small minority of the bass, while largemouth bass dominates the fishery.
Any bass over 6 lbs is more than likely a "cow". Without a doubt, releasing a 12-lb cow
back into the lake is a highly noble gesture. All the same, it should be accompanied
by the reality that her chances of seeing one more spawn are rather slim.
Roger
alhuff reply :
my .2 cents.....can't afford to more than that....
i would agree on not keeping the larger bass...
smaller bass should be kept depending on the size of the lake/pond....you shouldn't keep too many
the same goes for bluegill and other fish....
without checks the fish, all fish, will increase in number and decrease in size...
Alfred
Matt Fly reply :
As long as its legal, its okay. We don't all have the same taste in music or what we watch on TV, the same with what our taste buds like as to what fish we eat. I mean in Japan, Carp is the better fish, the majority don't see it that way in the US.
Any time your cleaning bass at a large BASS event, your gonna hear some grumbling from the C & R guys. Don't you think that family deserved their annual spring break vacation to Amistad, in peace without verbal comments being grumbled their way. If I was him, I'd be a tough guy after the comments he has heard during the event. Its been going on for years, and our fisheries in TX are for all to enjoy, not just bassfishermen that are catch and release. Gill nets are legal on the Mexico side for years. Does the stringers look like those waters are suffering from all the kept bass?
Took 31 pounds with 42 stringers over 20 Sat to win Bass Champs this last Sat. one week after BASS was there. 197 teams.
Captain Cali reply :
I saw it and it made me sad. But if it's legal there is nothing anyone can do about it. I don't think it would hurt to keep some bass. I took my friend fishing and when he caught his first LMB he wanted to take it home to eat it. I didn't argue because he caught the fish, it was legal, and the lake has a very healthy LMB poplulation. Now if it happened around this time of year I would do everything I can to have him release the fish so he or she could get through the spawn.
guest reply :
I'd say virtually every bass fishery produces a certain net gain biomass of bass, so many pounds per acre per year. There might be a few in the negative due to no regulation/management. Nature is generally generous, but over-generosity by man and the lack of natural controls like upper food chain predators such as eagles or bears can result in too many bass per acre and a general decline in average weights. If too many fish are allowed to grow, the food source chain suffers and all fish suffer, and so will anglers who refuse to harvest some of that growth. It's no different talking gardens, tree farms, deer herds. If you don't harvest, natural mortality catches up sooner or later to deal with imbalances. Nature controls through disease, famine, genetic decline, all sorts of ways to reduce animal populations.
So what does the lake manager wind up doing when there's too many bass due to inadequate harvest, or average sizes decline because of too little forage to go around? Increase the creel limit. Those who do harvest benefit by taking more fish. When that limit gets high enough the harvesting anglers return.
The spawn is the most likely time of year to get at a huge segment of the bass population. Notice very few creel restrictions on lunker females. It's taken into account that some of them will be caught and kept. Doesn't hurt a thing unless regulations prohibit that. Although most of us are not lake managers, we are all part of the management team defacto when we fish within regulations. So do your part. Keep the lake healthy. Take some bass home and enjoy the delicacy of fillets you won't experience from going to Kroger for some frozen cod.
Jim
Vermonster reply :
QuoteI guess fishin started in the first place b/c there wer no grocery stores and it was too haed messin with the bears for the best sites ;D So if soime one is harvesting fish for the table and they are within size and creel limits AINT NOBODYS BUSINESS BUT THEIR OWN
Not too much more to add to this....... We are way more knowledgeable than 50 years ago in terms of conservation. If keeping and eating some fish would hurt the species, then we should be confident that our state Fish and Game Dept's would institute restrictions. As I said in another thread, you don't see many Deer being "Caught and Released", but whitetail levels are at an alltime high and keep going up and up, encroaching into our cities even........
SA_Mountaineer reply :
I don't keep any bass I catch.
Now big ol' catfish and trout...that's a different story. I'll keep and eat catfish and trout, but to me, I don't think bass is good eatin'
guest reply :
I've put on hundreds of fish frys and sometimes tried slipping catfish in on folks. The bass from clean clear water gets taken first unless there's some crappie fillets in the mix. You can buy catfish in most groceries and fish markets, but not LMBs. Under 4# they are a delicacy not matched by more than a very few fish species. Some folks prefer a stronger fish flavor, and that's found in catfish and stripers, but when bass fillets are fried up in peanut oil coated with some whipped egg and Potato Buds for a coating, will make a rabbit chase a dog. ;D
Jim
RoLo reply :
QuoteI've put on hundreds of fish frys and sometimes tried slipping catfish in on folks. The bass from clean clear water gets taken first unless there's some crappie fillets in the mix.
You've said a mouthful (excuse the pun).
The flavor of a given species may vary according to the lake source and method of handling.
In any case, I have eaten largemouth bass that tasted better than any crappie or walleye
I have ever eaten (catfish aren't even in the running). Furthermore, in spite of being a warmwater fish,
largemouth bass contain a generous level of beneficial omega-3 oil, normally associated with salmon.
Roger
guest reply :
I brought a cooler full of bass fillets home from Lake Erling near Springhill, LA a few years ago. The water was covered with slime, scum, pollen, duckweed, and was full of hydrilla. I fried up the first batch and everyone, including me, spit it out. It tasted like hydrilla smells, along with all that other smelly stuff choking the lake. Those became fish pancakes with lots of Tony's Creole seasoning. >
So yes, definitely, the same species can have a very different flavor. You might find it odd, but I don't eat trout. No trout from Oregon to Arkansas to Kentucky has tasted good to me. I can eat a striper once all the pink is removed, but my wife can't stand the smell of it frying or baking, so those are done on the grill outside. Even then I'm the only one in my family that'll eat it. That's a problem when you bring home a 40# striper, and I'm still eating on one caught last year. I smoke those and take them to work for lunches.
Jim
.ghoti. reply :
QuoteQuoteI've put on hundreds of fish frys and sometimes tried slipping catfish in on folks. The bass from clean clear water gets taken first unless there's some crappie fillets in the mix.You've said a mouthful (excuse the pun).
The flavor of a given species may vary according to the lake source and method of handling.
In any case, I have eaten largemouth bass that tasted better than any crappie or walleye
I have ever eaten (catfish aren't even in the running). Furthermore, in spite of being a warmwater fish,
largemouth bass contain a generous level of beneficial omega-3 oil, normally associated with salmon.
Roger
couldn't have said it better. I like the taste of bass much better than catfish. I'll almost never eat a catfish. I will take and eat small bass. I like In-Fisherman's take on it. Selective harvest. Take a few smaller fish for the table, and release the trophy sized fish to reproduce. The only time I take a large bass is when I've hooked it badly enough that it won't survive. It happens occasionally. Those fish end up on the table. The lake I fish most has a 14" limit. I wish it were lower. This body a water has a bazzillion 10"-12" bass in it. It would probably help the lake if some of those smaller fish were taken. I think, that in many cases, we've taken catch and release too far. There are a lot of bodies of water with way too many small fish. But, we all have to follow the rules. We all have to trust that our fisheries management people know what they're doing, and, do our part to help. There are many documented cases where local officials have implemented harvest regulations designed to improve the size structure of a particular body of water, only to have the plan fail, because most fishermen ignored the plan and released every fish anyway. This, in my opinion, is every bit as harmful, maybe even more so, than eating all you catch. Every body of water has a different dynamic. Generic rules make no sense. It would be a great idea to contact your local DNR, and find out what they're trying to accomplish with particular harvest regulations, and go along with the plan. If that means releasing every thing, then, do it. If that means taking a few fish for the table to help the fishing, then take a few for the table. If you don't like them, you probably know somebody who be happy to take them off your hands.
Having said all that, I don't fish for bass on the beds. There are some studies which suggest that catching bass off the beds interferes with the spawning process. So I don't try. Not all the bass in a given lake will be on the beds at the same time anyway. There are always some in both pre-spawn and post-spawn to target. That's just a personal preference. If you're trophy hunting, your best shot at a PB is probably a big female caught off the bed. If that's what floats your boat, then, by all means, go for it. As long as it's legal, it's none of anybody's business how you go about it.
paparock reply :
Catch and Keep or
guest reply :
QuoteI hope the fisheries managers keep the populations both under control and healthy. What I don't want to see is the disaster that is being fostered as management in the oceans fisheries happen in freshwater. We all must take notice and a part in the care of our resources. If fishing to survive and flourish we need to take an active part. I was at the conference held at Bass Pro Headquarters that announced a national program to start a fisheries management initiative (similar to that used to help the ducks) to stabilize and enhance fish habitat, starting with Table Rock Lake, Missouri.
Managing an ocean and managing a lake are two different animals. Most freswater fisheries reside in one or two states, so the management is based on the goals of the state fisheries dpt. In the salt water, there are not only many states, but entire nations have to agree. It's a miracle there is any management at all.
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