Do You Eat Your Bass? 2024
Lord Castlereagh reply :
It seems as if almost nobody eats their catch. Is this a misconception on my part? Crappie are supposed to be fabulous, and they are, but honestly, I can tell VERY little difference between bass and crappie.
So who eats 'em, and who lets 'em go?
Thanks
scaleface reply :
It depends on the lake . I like to eat bass but selectively harvest them .
N Florida Mike reply :
I cull a certain amount of bass from my lake to keep it from being dink city. I don't keep fish over 16 inches. I have a friend at church that loves bass on the bone, so I keep some for him sometimes.
I prefer bass filets. because I believe the skin of bass gives them a muddy taste.
We catch a lot of saltwater fish that are better than bass. I like bream and catfish better than bass too.
I have no problem with people keeping bass as long as they obey the law.
NHBull reply :
Anything that I don’t think is going to make it, finds it way to folk that can use a free meal
blckshirt98 reply :
I don't eat much freshwater fish besides hatchery raised trout. I let the bass/crappie/bluegill all go, but I'll eat almost any saltwater fish that's edible and legal.
soflabasser reply :
I rather eat grouper, snapper, hogfish, lobster, and other delicious seafood that I catch than eat a bass.
BrianinMD reply :
Not a fan of bass as table fare, there are better fish to eat out there. Will usually go for crappie, yellow perch or walleye if I am looking for a fish fry.
Keeping your legal fish is no issue though if you like them. A lot of fisheries can use some of the smaller legal fish removed. Some may act like its a mortal crime to keep any bass but they are just way overboard on catch/release.
Mike L reply :
If it's not Walleye I'm not eating it.
Mike
LonnieP reply :
Trout is the only freshwater fish that I'll eat.
Graham reply :
Never tried em, don’t intend to.
sully420 reply :
Nope
lo n slo reply :
no, but i have fed a few to some ospreys and one eagle
Catt reply :
Why certainly ????
Glaucus reply :
Nope, and I negatively judge those who do. My opinion, which matters little.
Cak920 reply :
Despite putting a hook through their mouth and dragging them through the water I have a soft spot for fish. I almost always catch and release. I occasionally will go fishing for whitefish, bluegill , or catfish and keep a few to eat. The bass by me don’t taste that good.
Sam reply :
No. Never.
Release all of them.
Happybeerbuzz reply :
Bass and catfish are delicious. However, they are not as delicious as I am lazy. I only harvest fish I don’t think will survive so as not to waste and the occasional striper for my mother.
optimator reply :
I do not.
Glaucus reply :
Bass are friends, not food.
volzfan59 reply :
I do not, but I'm not a big fish eater. As long as they are legally harvested, I have no problem with people that do. I have given bass to people fishing from the bank that looked like they needed some help.
Burke reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 6:44 AM, LonnieP said:Trout is the only freshwater fish that I'll eat.
Same here for Freshwater. Yellow Tails are something I will eat when Im at the west coast on my brother's boat.
Junger reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 6:44 AM, LonnieP said:Trout is the only freshwater fish that I'll eat.
Gotta try Northern Snakehead!
Goldstar225 reply :
You bet. I don't stock pile but I do enjoy a good meal of bass.
FishDewd reply :
I've only ever eaten one, and I got my butt chewed out on here over it, but I still think I made the right choice in the end. I am a good cook, so the little guy did not go to waste. Not catfish good, but still pretty good. I won't do it again though. Next time I'll just toss it for the turtles to eat. They are apparently hungry in this pond I like to fish at. I caught a turtle yesterday on a hotdog that had seen better days. Poor dude had two front legs missing, no wonder it was hungry!
Bluebasser86 reply :
I wish I liked them, but freshwater fish and my tastebuds do not get along. More than willing to take someone who likes to eat them to several different lakes I frequent to keep both our limits of fish under the slot for them to take home. I'd rather see the guy taking home a limit of 12 inch under the slot fish to eat than the the guy who kept a 10 pounder last winter to put on his wall from power plant lake that will just be skinned and the rest thrown out, when it could have been measured, photo'd and released. The same guy probably would have scolded and scoffed at a bank angler for keeping a 5 pounder to eat. Keeping those little fish is good for a fishery, keeping those big spawners is not so great.
frosty reply :
I don’t normally, I usually don’t keep anything unless I’m going fishing with the intent to bring some home, then I’m usually targeting bluegills.
DINK WHISPERER reply :
Never. Catfish is the only freshwater fish I eat. I will keep a few small ones for friends that do eat them once in a while.
mattkenzer reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 4:12 AM, scaleface said:It depends on the lake . I like to eat bass but selectively harvest them .
Yup, this .... ^^^^^ ....
Maybe twice a year when the buddies come to visit.
burrows reply :
Sometimes depends on the body of water but I prefer crappie or cat fish.
TOXIC reply :
Touchy subject. DNR tells us that you have to harvest bass to keep the population healthy but conservation tells us to put them all back. I don't begrudge anyone for keeping their legal limit. I would hope they only keep the smaller class fish to keep the genetics of the bigger fish alive. I have kept and eaten them but I much prefer any number of other freshwater fish for table fare. They just taste better to me. Gills, Crappie, Ring Perch, White Perch, Walleye, Pike, Northern Snakehead, Wipers, Sand Bass and catfish (if prepared properly) all taste better to me than Bass. That being said, if I kill it, I eat it. Nothing should go to waste.
NYWayfarer reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 4:39 AM, NHBull said:Anything that I don’t think is going to make it, finds it way to folk that can use a free meal
Same here. Those folks are usually my in-laws.
Bass to me are a sport fish. There are so many better tasting freshwater fish IMO. Trout, Perch, Salmon, Crappie, Bluegill, Catfish and even Tilapia. I would keep all of those before a Bass. Given the choice I prefer most saltwater fish, fluke flounder, cod, tuna, etc. over freshwater fish.
Plus I am too lazy to clean my catch so I get my fish from where God intended me to, the supermarket!
LonnieP reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 10:53 AM, Junger said:Gotta try Northern Snakehead!
We have snakeheads here in Virginia although I've never caught one. You're supposed to kill them if you catch one.
Bigbruce reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 8:32 PM, NYWayfarer said:Same here. Those folks are usually my in-laws.
Bass to me are a sport fish. There are so many better tasting freshwater fish IMO. Trout, Perch, Salmon, Crappie, Bluegill, Catfish and even Tilapia. I would keep all of those before a Bass. Given the choice I prefer most saltwater fish, fluke flounder, cod, tuna, etc. over freshwater fish.
Plus I am too lazy to clean my catch so I get my fish from where God intended me to, the supermarket!
Was going to post almost this exactly. Sometimes I’ll clean catfish, but for the most part I’m to lazy to keep them. If someone is near that’s wants to keep catfish or sunfish I usually give them away.
Troy85 reply :
I keep enough for a meal every few trips out. Always the smaller fish, if its over 2lb I release it always(unless its hooked bad and won't survive).
N Florida Mike reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 1:43 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I wish I liked them, but freshwater fish and my tastebuds do not get along. More than willing to take someone who likes to eat them to several different lakes I frequent to keep both our limits of fish under the slot for them to take home. I'd rather see the guy taking home a limit of 12 inch under the slot fish to eat than the the guy who kept a 10 pounder last winter to put on his wall from power plant lake that will just be skinned and the rest thrown out, when it could have been measured, photo'd and released. The same guy probably would have scolded and scoffed at a bank angler for keeping a 5 pounder to eat. Keeping those little fish is good for a fishery, keeping those big spawners is not so great.
Exactly !
Junger reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 9:21 PM, LonnieP said:We have snakeheads here in Virginia although I've never caught one. You're supposed to kill them if you catch one.
Yeah they are all over the Potomac tributaries. If you're fishing for bass in the weeds, you'll eventually catch one. You don't HAVE to kill them: https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/snakehead/
QuoteAnglers are required to report snakeheads kept but are not required to kill them if caught and immediately released. Snakeheads must be dead if in possession (contained in live well, cooler, etc.) However, the Department asks that all snakeheads be killed if possible.
the reel ess reply :
I rarely eat what I catch from the kayak because it's a hassle to keep them and the family don't like them as much as I do. So I end up eating three helpings trying not to waste any. When i go with my buddy in his Tracker, he keeps everything bigger than 3/4 lbs. and smaller than 3 lbs. He lets all the trophies live. This is a 30 acre private lake and he can keep 60 fish if he wants to. There's not much danger of that happening because the bass don't bite that well there. He also crappie fishes there as well and does keep them all, every time. Anyway, I like the way they taste from clean water so, yeah, I'll keep some.
I really prefer grouper, snapper, sea bass, triggerfish, stripers and the like. I like the meater fish better than the fishier fish, if you get my drift. Crappie are much better eating than bass.
TnRiver46 reply :
I prefer bass over crappie just because a bass has big flaky meat where crappie just falls apart, sometimes even before you cook it. I love cooking largemouth bass for people and not telling them what it us until after they have already proclaimed it's the best fish they have ever eaten. I've never had anyone say that about a catfish or a trout. Also several studies have found hatchery fish to have higher contaminant levels than wild fish. Usually this is because they feed hatchery fish ground up wild fish and they have no diversity in their diet. In my opinion, y'all can keep your supermarket fish from China and I'll eat out of the river
TOXIC reply :
You know in Japan they sell them as food fish live in the markets. ????
J.Vincent reply :
No, as a sport angler I release every Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass I catch. I've heard about underharvested waters, which become over run by smaller bass and bluegill, but in most situations in healthy and balanced fisheries with other predatory fish like Northern Pike and Musky, this doesn't happen. I also don't like the taste of Bass and see enough people harvesting them, so I don't feel the need to harvest bass for food.
WRB reply :
The Catch & Release religion is starting to see the Lght of Selective Harvest.
To all you who believe every bass you release survives, the mortality rate rises with the water temperature, the warmer it is the higher the post mortality rate is, over 90 degrees is nearly 100%.
Largemouth bass taste different then Smallmouth bass and all fish taste differently do to the water quality and food sources they eat. The key to eating any fish is how soon it's killed, cleaned and refrigerated.
Bass are a renewable resource and managed to be harvested within limits set by the states and local biologist.
I am all for releasing big bass that are healthy and keeping a few to eat occasionally or injured fish I know will not survive. Releasing injured fish is killing the animal, eat it or give to someone who will.
Tom
the reel ess reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 11:38 PM, Active_Outdoors said:No, as a sport angler I release every Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass I catch. I've heard about underharvested waters, which become over run by smaller bass and bluegill, but in most situations in healthy and balanced fisheries with other predatory fish like Northern Pike and Musky, this doesn't happen. I also don't like the taste of Bass and see enough people harvesting them, so I don't feel the need to harvest bass for food.
That's mostly correct about major public impoundments. But it's really not the case with ponds. They can become so overrun with dinks so quickly you can't take enough fish by hook and line to reset the balance.
Bankbeater reply :
I don't eat bass. I like cat, bluegill, and crappie much better.
PourMyOwn reply :
I probably eat one or two a year-always ones I've caught while ice fishing for perch. I only keep them if they're obviously not going to make it.
J.Vincent reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 12:02 AM, WRB said:The Catch & Release religion is starting to see the Lght of Selective Harvest.
To all you who believe every bass you release survives, the mortality rate rises with the water temperature, the warmer it is the higher the post mortality rate is, over 90 degrees is nearly 100%.
Largemouth bass taste different then Smallmouth bass and all fish taste differently do to the water quality and food sources they eat. The key to eating any fish is how soon it's killed, cleaned and refrigerated.
Bass are a renewable resource and managed to be harvested within limits set by the states and local biologist.
I am all for releasing big bass that are healthy and keeping a few to eat occasionally or injured fish I know will not survive. Releasing injured fish is killing the animal, eat it or give to someone who will.
Tom
100% Mortality rate for Bass caught and released in 90 degree or warmer water ? Is this accurate, or a typo ?
fissure_man reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 8:01 AM, Glaucus said:Nope, and I negatively judge those who do. My opinion, which matters little.
It’s an interesting moral stance that would lead someone to cast judgement on sustainable and humane harvest of bass, while presumably having no issue with (and taking considerable pride/enjoyment from) impaling that same fish with a barbed hook or hooks, forcefully dragging it by its hook wound into an atmosphere it cannot breath, hoisting it up by its jaw for pictures, touring it around all day in a dark, tiny box, sizing it up against his/her friends' 'trophies', then releasing it to hopefully survive, but occasionally die from the trauma, as nature permits.
This would be akin to a judgemental anti-hunter who buys their meat at a grocery store, and then enthusiastically participates in a hypothetical “catch and release” form of hunting, where animals are not (usually) killed, only maimed and tormented for a bit. Animals are friends, after all.
It’s not a pretty picture, but isn’t this fairly close to reality? Fishing is a blood sport. For those that would oppose it, doesn't catch-and-release fishing seem far more twisted and inhumane than sustainable harvest would?
@Glaucus, how do you rationalize it?
J.Vincent reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 12:06 AM, the reel ess said:That's mostly correct about major public impoundments. But it's really not the case with ponds. They can become so overrun with dinks so quickly you can't take enough fish by hook and line to reset the balance.
I agree in some situations or ponds, this can be a problem
LionHeart reply :
I brought home a few bass to cook a while ago. My wife loved it (she typically doesn't like fish), so now before I go fishing she always says to 'bring home supper,' and makes me take a cooler.
The other day, she was actually upset because I didn't bring home any fish. I told her that I Don't need this kind of abuse, getting skunked hurts bad enough as it is.
I'm certainly not against eating bass, that's why God gave them to us. Most days I prefer to release them.
the reel ess reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 12:50 AM, Active_Outdoors said:I agree in some situations or ponds, this can be a problem
I have a buddy with a maybe 4 acre pond that is badly out of balance. We've discussed rigging up our own shocking method to remove a large quantity of fish. The bass are almost all under 3/4 lb and the bluegills are too big for them to eat. Both species are competing for the same prey. It has advantages as well. The fish are so hungry they're really stupid. And you can target both species with a Rooster Tail and a lightweight spin combo if you like. I've caught 50 bass there in a couple hours before. I try to cull the smaller fish by only using big baits, but the dinks will still bite them. I was introduced to that guy by my wife and the first day I fished with him I caught a 6.5 lb bass, which I put back, on a frog. But I haven't caught more than 5 fish over 2 lbs there in the last 14 years. That's how badly it got out of balance.
While on the other hand, I have another friend with a pond that has much better average size bass in it. A 13 pounder has been caught there! The state record is 16 and change. And almost no one ever keeps fish there. I always use that as my ploy to get into a place. When I ask permission, I'll say "Hey if you're worried about people taking too many fish, I won't. I'm only in it for the fun and to catch a monster."
Elkins45 reply :
I will keep a fish that I don’t think will survive, but for the most part bass are for fighting rather than eating. I would much rather eat catfish or crappie.
WRB reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 12:44 AM, Active_Outdoors said:100% Mortality rate for Bass caught and released in 90 degree or warmer water ? Is this accurate, or a typo ?
Accurate as the report it came from. I believe it was a study in the 2018 conservation summit by Hal Schramm and Gene Gilliland. If I can find the link will post. When the DO levels fall below 3 mg/l bass can't survive and occurs when water temps rise above 90 degrees.
Tom
Fishingmickey reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 12:02 AM, WRB said:The Catch & Release religion is starting to see the Lght of Selective Harvest.
To all you who believe every bass you release survives, the mortality rate rises with the water temperature, the warmer it is the higher the post mortality rate is, over 90 degrees is nearly 100%.
Largemouth bass taste different then Smallmouth bass and all fish taste differently do to the water quality and food sources they eat. The key to eating any fish is how soon it's killed, cleaned and refrigerated.
Bass are a renewable resource and managed to be harvested within limits set by the states and local biologist.
I am all for releasing big bass that are healthy and keeping a few to eat occasionally or injured fish I know will not survive. Releasing injured fish is killing the animal, eat it or give to someone who will.
Tom
I haven't read the report but I have a hard time believing the 100% mortality rate. Some of our power plant lakes here in Texas reach well over 90+ degrees and are heavily bass fished. I believe that you'd see hundreds of dead bass floating in these lakes if the 100% mortality rate is correct. I'm not trying start a BS war.
Thanks,
FM
WRB reply :
Bass are capabable of swimming to locate water they can survive in unless they are held captive in a livewell. This report was a study of tournament caught bass and post release mortality rates.
You may recall what happened to Ike during the 2006 Classic tournament when his livewell circulation pump quite and his bass died.
Bass in the wild can get under green weed mates that produce DO during the day time, it's cooler and oxygenated naturally.
Not a fan of Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. biologist, Hal Schramm I do respect.
Tom
NYWayfarer reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 11:28 PM, TnRiver46 said:In my opinion, y'all can keep your supermarket fish from China and I'll eat out of the river
You wouldn't if you saw some of the rivers around my way. They have been dredging to get rid of contaminants for years. It will be decades before the fish in them become safe for human consumption.
J.Vincent reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 1:21 AM, WRB said:Accurate as the report it came from. I believe it was a study in the 2018 conservation summit by Hal Schramm and Gene Gilliland. If I can find the link will post. When the DO levels fall below 3 mg/l bass can't survive and occurs when water temps rise above 90 degrees.
Tom
Yes, I would love to read more information regarding this topic and I agree with you, not all bass released after a tournament will survive. I've seen as many as 5% floating at the release tank on Great Lakes tournaments in July. But I was always under the impression, that most tournament bass mortality had more to do with catching Bass in deeper 20 and 30 foot water and the air in their swim bladder.
WRB reply :
Low levels of DO kills hundreds of thousand if not millions of wild fresh water fish, including bass, in their natural habitate every year during extended heat periods.
LMB can easily rush from water over 20' to the surface and return quickly without any harm, they do it everyday. What causes extended air bladders from pressure change is quickly changing more then 1 atmosphere of pressure and kept in a livewell so they can't return to the depth they were at.
Largest tournament post release mortality was at Falcon Lake in Texas during a summer event, heat and low DO was the cause.
Tom
Catt reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 1:40 AM, Fishingmickey said:I haven't read the report but I have a hard time believing the 100% mortality rate. Some of our power plant lakes here in Texas reach well over 90+ degrees and are heavily bass fished. I believe that you'd see hundreds of dead bass floating in these lakes if the 100% mortality rate is correct. I'm not trying start a BS war.
Thanks,
FM
Power plant lake are the thorn in fisheries biologist side!
OkobojiEagle reply :
I'm fortunate to live on lakes with abundant populations of walleye, perch and crappie. I choose not to eat bass, but would do so before consuming boiled crustaceans...
oe
WRB reply :
The LMB from SoCal deep clear structure lakes are good eating fish compared to LMB from warmer weedy water lakes with less water quality. C & R works in SoCal because the pubic lakes get tremendous fishing pressure without bass being restocked. Recreational anglers kill their bass for food, the bass manage to maintain a decent population.
My in laws thought bass were not good to eat preferring walleyes. I cooked my in laws some local bass and they like it saying their bass tasted weedy and mushy. Walleye is an excellent eating fish out of the same lakes bass don’t taste good, so I get it.
Tom
Yeajray231 reply :
On 5/11/2018 at 4:54 AM, soflabasser said:I rather eat grouper, snapper, hogfish, lobster, and other delicious seafood that I catch than eat a bass.
Most folks don't have this luxury!
RPreeb reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 5:25 AM, Yeajray231 said:Most folks don't have this luxury!
Yep. Not a lot of grouper here in Colorado waters. While I agree that grouper, snapper, hogfish and others are truly fine dining, if I want fresh caught fish, it's going to be from fresh water. There is a real issue with that here in that Colorado is still on the kick of protecting little fish (most areas walleye, LMB and SMB are protected below 15"), and only allow harvest from 15" to 21", then it's shut off again above 21" with the exception of allowing a single large fish 21+ to be kept. Like many of you have stated, this seems to promote ponds full of dinks while it's nearly impossible to find anything that's legal to keep.
I had the same issue years ago fishing for brown trout, with a 15" limit. I could catch 14" fish all day and never sniff a keeper. It tells me that there is something a bit off in their management plan. I do understand some of the problem, with a lot of fishermen and not a lot of water to fish (Colorado's climate is semi-arid), but seems like a guy ought to be able to catch an occasional legal keeper.
Then there is the issue of returning a badly damaged fish to the water. Keep it and you are breaking the law, return it and it just dies to be food for the bugs. I'd rather be able to keep it for myself in that case, but it's not an option.
soflabasser reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 5:25 AM, Yeajray231 said:Most folks don't have this luxury!
Yes most people live away from the ocean so it can make it difficult to eat fresh caught seafood. Still where there is a will there is a way and many northerners come down to South Florida for the lobster mini season, catch a bunch of lobster, and eat them while on vacation. As for eating bass, I am not against it as long as someone has a freshwater license and follows the slot size for the location they keep bass.
On 5/12/2018 at 6:17 AM, RPreeb said:While I agree that grouper, snapper, hogfish and others are truly fine dining, if I want fresh caught fish, it's going to be from fresh water.
The hogfish is by far my favorite fish to eat and I am grateful to be able to catch them since they are delicious! I even prefer hogfish over the lobster,shrimp, and crabs which gives you a idea how good these fish taste. With that said, I have eaten bass before and they taste ok.I rather eat crappie, walleye, yellow perch, and bluegill if I lived in Northern states and could not fish the sea to harvest my own seafood.
gimruis reply :
I don't care for them. Walleye, perch, and trout are all better options here in the north country. Plus up north a bass takes longer to grow than it does down south and there is no supplemental stocking of bass in MN.
LxVE Bassin reply :
Depends on the body of water and it must be cold water. Big bass get taste mushy so I prefer them right at the legal limit.
NorcalBassin reply :
So much mining happened in the watersheds of the lakes I typically fish that I pretty much don't eat anything from them. However, I have zero issue with anyone wanting to take home their limit of 12-14" bass.
lonnie g reply :
I usually don’t because they have more of a fishy tast. If I do I put them on the grill on tin foil with lemon pepper, they are great then!
NittyGrittyBoy reply :
I'm all catch and release, unless my 70yr old Grandpa wants some fresh fish. I'll keep 5-6 dinks
I live by the motto "let em go, let em grow"
FishDewd reply :
I think to some extent it can help a pond to harvest a few now and then... if they are all competing for food then none of them will grow that trophy size. I've raised catfish for a long time so I know what I''m talking about there. The big cats I let go... the ones 10-18" get pan fried and are delicious. I honestly don't see bass being any different. The small mouth taste pretty good fried, not on the level as a catfish or perch, but hardly muddy or anything despite coming from muddy waters here. Like anything it's about moderation and respect for the population. Don't take the really small ones or big ones.
TXNate31 reply :
No. I release all of them so they can grow bigger to catch again. And i negatively view people that do keep them since there are generally much better options than culling the pond that people like to fish of catchable bass because they're greedy and selfish.
Hog Basser reply :
I live right by the Arkansas river, but wouldn't eat a thing out of it. Whenever we get a hard rain, the city sewage treatment plant runs over into the river. The EPA has fined and mandated the city fix their wastewater issues, our city just excels at kicking the can down the road. And our sewer bills are skyrocketing as a result.
Have a private fishing lake on the other side of the state, I keep and eat everything between 10-15 inches (unless it is an absolute football) to keep from getting too many dinks. The local biologist advised us to remove 1000 lbs of bass per year out of it to keep it healthy.
the reel ess reply :
On 5/12/2018 at 2:41 AM, NYWayfarer said:You wouldn't if you saw some of the rivers around my way. They have been dredging to get rid of contaminants for years. It will be decades before the fish in them become safe for human consumption.
You think your local rivers are more polluted than the Mekong River? At least you know your local river. I don't eat fish from our local rivers and reservoirs either. Maybe crappie, but they're on the list of safer fish, considering PCBs and mercury contamination. Farmed fish are lacking in omega 3 fatty acids and aren't healthy either. The "steelhead" sold in Sam's has to be dyed pink because it's grain fed. You might as well eat a lean steak.
frosty reply :
On 5/14/2018 at 9:57 PM, TXNate31 said:No. I release all of them so they can grow bigger to catch again. And i negatively view people that do keep them since there are generally much better options than culling the pond that people like to fish of catchable bass because they're greedy and selfish.
Seems a little much to view people negatively for keeping a few bass. If they are keeping huge ones or more than the limit fine, but keeping 5 bass isn’t going to ruin a healthy pond.
AggieBassin10 reply :
I don't unless the pond or lake is in need of it. Sometimes you have too many smaller bass that the "let'em go, let'em grow" motto can't work. The fish simply can't expand their size or numbers cause there are too many small fish. In that case it's helpful to harvest fish in the 14"-16" range (if fishing public water with state wide limits) and 12"-14" range (if fishing privately waters with permission) this allows for the size and health of the bass population to increase. I only do this though if the body of water I am fishing is in bad shape
MIbassyaker reply :
As a youngster, I ate my first bass -- a smallie -- along with a nice channel cat and a sauger that also came home with me from the river. My two brothers and I did a taste test, and we all preferred the smallmouth.
Nowadays I don't eat bass mostly because I don't feel like carrying them around and cleaning them. And, as nobody else in the house likes fish much (other than the dog), there is not much gratitude to be earned by doing so.
buzzbaiter83 reply :
I don't mind to eat small spots if the lake is crowded with them. I don't eat largemouth or smallmouth. I'd rather have a mess of crappie, walleye, or shellcrackers.
Hook2Jaw reply :
The negativity of the C&R guys is unreaaal. d**n ye, d**n ye to heck, eater of bass!
I do, on occasion, eat largemouth along with whatever I can scrounge up for a fish fry. They're few and far between, but very much tradition here.
YoTone reply :
Ive eaten LMBs from a Chinese restaurant and have to admit it was pretty good.
Raul reply :
Do I eat my bass ? Hell, YES ! Bass ceviche is yummi ! Those pound fish that seem to be so abundant in my everyday lake are delicious deeply fried.
Do I kill and eat every bass I catch ? Nope, actually it’s been years since I had to kill a bass so I haven’t eaten one in many years.
I have nothing against people killing and eating their fair share catch, that’s why we have limits, if biologists say you can keep X amount of fish of X size/weight it’s up to you if you want to excercise your priviledge.
I bet gators in the south and them teethy toothy critters like pike up North eat more bass than the people that keep a few ones.
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