Do i have an unorthodox opinion on Killing fish (in general for all purposes) 2025
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
I realize my opinion on people who kill fish is probably like ... wow that's harsh they are just trying to eat .... but idk i just i get really REALLY upset about it. I don't know why ? idk i feel like i'm a dink for not being cool with it
Does anyone else feel heart broken to see someone take a big fish home to eat ? or a fish in general ?
Russ E reply :
It depends on the species of fish. catfish and trout are stocked in smaller lakes for the purpose of catching at keeping them.
I don't like the idea of people keeping large Bass. Plus in most U.S. waters large predator fish are high in mercury, so they are not that healthy to eat.
small fish are fine if it is legal. selective harvest is healthy for most bodies of water.
I don't personally keep any bass unless I gut hook it and it does not survive.
if I want to keep fish, i will usually catch a few panfish. It is hard to hurt most panfish populations.
MassYak85 reply :
My cut and dry opinion is they have a right to if they have a license and stay in the creel and size limit. And if the state has done it's proper research with biologists that have studied the local ecosystems then that creel/size limit, when adhered to, should not harm the population. In some cases (slot limits for example), harvesting certain size bass can actually improve fishing.
I have a little bit of an issue with people eating trophy fish, but again if they are doing it legally I won't say anything. But the way I see it....guys who are actively pursuing trophy fish are generally not the type who eat them. Guys aren't out there at 3am with 10 rods to catch dinner 99% of the time. If some guy who plops a bobber in after work catches a 5lber every few years and eats it, oh well, he can enjoy his small dose of heavy metals (or high dose if it's from the Charles ????).
Raul reply :
Here we go again ........
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 7/27/2018 at 12:17 PM, MassYak85 said:My cut and dry opinion is they have a right to if they have a license and stay in the creel and size limit. And if the state has done it's proper research with biologists that have studied the local ecosystems then that creel/size limit, when adhered to, should not harm the population. In some cases (slot limits for example), harvesting certain size bass can actually improve fishing.
I have a little bit of an issue with people eating trophy fish, but again if they are doing it legally I won't say anything. But the way I see it....guys who are actively pursuing trophy fish are generally not the type who eat them. Guys aren't out there at 3am with 10 rods to catch dinner 99% of the time. If some guy who plops a bobber in after work catches a 5lber every few years and eats it, oh well, he can enjoy his small dose of heavy metals (or high dose if it's from the Charles ????).
haha of course i realize it's legal 
would never hassle someone over doing something they are legally allowed to do ! don't get me wrong i might get upset and get my jimmys rustled but im not gonna go be a jerk just because someone wants 1 fish to eat
Stephen B reply :
While I don't get upset, it is not something I would do or recommend. Keeping some fish is healthy for the overall health of the lake in moderation assuming they aren't keeping the bigger bass. The only thing that truly upsets me is over harvesting fish especially when they include big largemouth. This truly bothers me and I have to try my hardest to not speak my mind to those people.
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 7/27/2018 at 12:54 PM, Stephen B said:While I don't get upset, it is not something I would do or recommend. Keeping some fish is healthy for the overall health of the lake in moderation assuming they aren't keeping the bigger bass. The only thing that truly upsets me is over harvesting fish especially when they include big largemouth. This truly bothers me and I have to try my hardest to not speak my mind to those people.
O trust me as a kid i saw some lady just taking a massive string of fish out of my favorite pond and if i was older i would have screamed at her from across the pond but as a kid i tried to respect my elders. There was a very long time where the pond was absolutely horrible to fish in could fish all day and get maybe 1 nibble. Now it's back to how good it was when i was a kid and i guess im worried people will flock to the pond through word of mouth
buzzbaiter83 reply :
I don’t like seeing people kill fish for the heck of it. I’ve seen people carry them around in a bucket to show off until they throw them away. I have no problem with anyone taking fish home to eat. I love eating fish. Especially fish that I’ve caught. I know where it’s been & how it’s been handled. Crappie, bluegill, Walleye, Catfish, white bass, & even the occasional spotted bass from our local lake that’s overrun with them. I don’t eat trophy fish though or even lm & sm bass. There are species that taste much better to me. I don’t like seeing people take trophy bass from a fishery to eat but that’s their right.
But then then again I love hunting game to eat & growing my own garden. I like being as self sufficient as possible. Catch & release is great and I do my fair share but to me fishing was invented for the purpose of catching fish to eat. I say to each his own.
scaleface reply :
Think what you want , as long as you dont hassle them .
jbmaine reply :
To me it's all about waste.
Hard to get ticked at someone who kills a fish to eat, when you buy fish to eat at the grocery store.
Easy to get ticked at someone who kills a fish just to show it off, then throws it away.
nosdog2 reply :
@MassYak85 summed it up perfect. I am 90% C&R, but I will certainly take a limit home for a fish fry from time to time.
scaleface reply :
Of all the things to get ticked off about , a person keeping legal bass in not among them .
ohboyitsrobby reply :
I'm almost exclusively a catch and release guy. Only time I ever keep a largemouth I when it's not gonna make it. I will keep some Kentucky's here and there but my home lake is bad overpopulated. Now crappie and walleye, their last mistake was to bite. I never keep over my limit.
burrows reply :
I don’t care what ppl do as long as they are abiding by the rules and regulations. You want to keep your bass wether it is to eat it or have it mounted I don’t care just don’t break the law and I keep to myself.
It bugs me when bedded bass are being scooped up but it’s mainly a lack of education for fish repopulation and reproduction. I try not to let it bother me. Now I won’t hesitate to call the DFW if I see someone breaking the law.
mattkenzer reply :
On 7/27/2018 at 11:57 AM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:I realize my opinion on people who kill fish is probably like ... wow that's harsh they are just trying to eat .... but idk i just i get really REALLY upset about it. I don't know why ? idk i feel like i'm a dink for not being cool with it
Does anyone else feel heart broken to see someone take a big fish home to eat ? or a fish in general ?
Do you eat fish?
J Francho reply :
I really couldn't care less, if they're within the law.
A-Jay reply :
On 7/27/2018 at 11:57 AM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:I realize my opinion on people who kill fish is probably like ... wow that's harsh they are just trying to eat .... but idk i just i get really REALLY upset about it. I don't know why ? idk i feel like i'm a dink for not being cool with it
Does anyone else feel heart broken to see someone take a big fish home to eat ? or a fish in general ?
No.
In fact I much prefer to see every legally licenced angler catch & keep a legal limit of bass (or most any fish) each & every trip they make.
It's good for the fishery.
Is it going to happen ?
Not a chance . . . .
A-Jay
Squarebill79 reply :
The problem is alot of people dont abide by the "rules and regulations". I have one of the numerous fishing apps on my phone(I wont mention names) and I can't tell you how many times Ive seen people keeping largemouth bass that are well under the length limit. It does make me cringe a little when people catch trophies and eat them but if its legal then I trust the fisheries biologists know what they are doing and there will still be others out there.
One time I was on a weekly trip, this particular lake has a 12-18 inch slot limit. Towards the end of the week the guy at the cabin next to me comes walking up with a bucket of three bass that were about 15 inches. I told him if he knew the lake had a slot limit, his reply was, "Well yeah, but weve been here all week and havent caught much so tonight we are going to have a fish dinner". To this day I regret not turning him in to the game warden.
Dens228 reply :
Do you feel the same way about cows, pigs, chickens??
Jaderose reply :
As long as a person is fishing and harvesting legally, my opinion does not matter. I have asked people to put back a large bass from the little lake I fish most of the time but if the fish is legal, that's all I can do. Ask. For myself personally, I do not like to kill things. Period. This is why I don't hunt. I simply don't enjoy it. I am not anti-hunting, anti-gun, or a vegetarian. I have killed for food and would again if I found it necessary but I am lucky enough for it to not be necessary for my or my families survival. The only people I WILL argue with are trophy hunters. People who kill large predators for sport. I think that is just wrong and I will always say so. Even with that, as long as the person is doing things in a legal fashion, there isn't much I can do.
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 7/27/2018 at 8:41 PM, mattkenzer said:Do you eat fish?
no i don't eat fish at all and probably never will
Choporoz reply :
On 7/27/2018 at 11:47 PM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:no i don't eat fish at all and probably never will
I sure hope that you aren't jamming sharp hooks into their heads and guts....or suffocating them by removing them from the water....I'm being sarcastic, but it seems that you may have to get past some issues...If you fish long enough, you are going to kill a fish...maybe many. Maybe you should face those concerns, fry up a nice walleye (legally caught, of course) and let us know how you feel afterward. I consider myself something of an advocate and a steward for the environment...and I try to approach fishing and hunting in as humane a manner as possible (for example, I'd never harvest something I didn't plan to eat.) But, its hard to imagine being a fisherman and not being able to deal with dead and/or legally harvested fish. Good luck.
Fishin Dad reply :
On 7/27/2018 at 11:47 PM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:no i don't eat fish at all and probably never will
You are missing out man, they are delicious! I don't eat bass however. On the menu: walleye, sunfish, crappie, perch. Yum
kenmitch reply :
See my sig.
Ksam1234 reply :
I’m kind of the same way, I dont like to see anyone now take bass and kill
them or any fish honestly but if it’s for food then I understands as Long as it’s legal. One of my favorite places to fish has a lot of Amish folk come and they take any fish and size and it upsets me. Or this older man Just last week I had to talk to. He was taking bass anywhere from 9 inches to 15 .. And he had 7 in a bucket. The legal limit starts at 15 ! Mind you if this was a huge body of water I wouldn’t care as much but this is a 50 acre lake.. taking so many fish can harm it.
WRB reply :
If you were raised as a child to appreciate natural and it's creations, to respect life and not waste it, killing animals like fish or game quickly for food shouldn't bother you. Killing animals and not respecting it and wasting it should bother everyone.
Tom
813basstard reply :
Doesn’t bother me as much as seeing someone using a spinning reel upside down. Now that gets me going. That’s over slot on ignorance
TOXIC reply :
The catch and release fever is good in some respects but bad in others. Your local DNR, based on established science and studies, know that in order for any fishery to be healthy harvest must take place. The amount and number of fish harvested are different on different bodies of water relative to their health and fish population. That's how you get size slots and creel numbers. That's also why harvest rates on smaller bodies of water can be higher. Have you ever seen a lake or pond with an overpopulation of fish? It's not pretty. Skinny, sickly fish are common as is a large winter kill in areas that get colder temps. I have fished a pond that was over run with fish. All were small and stunted. It had Bluegill, Bass and Crappie. The pond owner asked me what could be done. I told him that for 1 season, no bluegill that was caught should go back into the water and that there needed to be a number of Crappie removed as well as every stunted bass caught. He did it for 2 seasons and I personally brought home 5 gallon buckets of stunted bluegills and Bass to be used as fertilizer. They were too small to fillet. I also brought home many, many limits of Crappie for the table even though they were really smaller than I like. He just called me the other day (it's been 4 years) and asked when I was coming back out to the pond and that the populations were healthy and large. My point is that killing or harvesting fish is not a cardinal sin as many have come to believe. Look at the Asian Carp problem in many lakes and rivers. Few fish for them no one harvests them and they are a problem. Same with some carp although they are commercially harvested in some lakes. Just do some research and educate yourself before you adopt the mindset that every fish is sacred.
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 7/28/2018 at 1:05 AM, Fishin Dad said:You are missing out man, they are delicious! I don't eat bass however. On the menu: walleye, sunfish, crappie, perch. Yum
it's just not my thing is all
i feel the same way about land animals too (cows pigs etc.)
(not that a burger or hot dog isn't delicious more so i feel terrible about it) m
813basstard reply :
On 7/28/2018 at 3:03 AM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:it's just not my thing is all
i feel the same way about land animals too (cows pigs etc.)
(not that a burger or hot dog isn't delicious more so i feel terrible about it) m
I wish my wife had the same moral dilemma as you. Woman took out an entire generation of Hybrids one night.
Mobasser reply :
I grew up around a farm owned by my grandparents instill age 16 when they retired from farming. Fishing and hunting were a way of life. My brother and I hunted rabbits before school shot qauil and hunted deer also. We were taught never to waste anything and never did. Now each spring I catch crappie for the freezer and still do a little hunting too. Obey the laws, and respect the fish and game. I see nothing wrong with it.
burrows reply :
I always wanted to try squirrel but it’s not allowed here in California because apparently they can carry the plague here ????
scaleface reply :
On 7/28/2018 at 4:42 AM, Burros said:I always wanted to try squirrel but it’s not allowed here in California because apparently they can carry the plague here ????
That sucks . Squirrels are good .
Glaucus reply :
If you're taking big bass from a small pond, shame on you. If you're taking huge stringers of bass from a small pond, shame on you. Legal doesn't always = moral.
Rivers and lakes usually produce in abundance and I generally don't feel any sort of way about it. But it's easy to decimate a pond. And then it becomes selfish.
OCdockskipper reply :
I think I understand where the OP is coming from. One of the reasons I practice catch & release is that I have a lot of respect for largemouth bass as a predator & sportfish. As I spent years learning about them in order to catch more of them, I found I appreciated the characteristics that made them different from other species. Heck, the fact that you can land them by grabbing their mouth without hurting yourself is just too cool. That respect is why I treat largemouth with kid gloves, even if they don't need it. They are almost to the level of a pet for me.
That said, other species don't bother me to see people keep or keep them myself. Go to Lake Mead or Powell & they beg you to keep the stripers and I happily oblige. A mess of bluegill make a fine meal. Sometimes I find myself wanting to let catfish go just because they are so darn tough (durable) and they make me laugh when they squawk.
FishDewd reply :
I was at a local park the other week I don't fish at often because the fishing there tends to be really poor. On this trip I learned why that is. A lady was there when I starting fishing. At one point she gut hooked a small catfish and didn't have pliers. I had needle nose with me and managed to dehook the fish without too much injury for her. However, I expected her to release it cause it wasn't even 9" long. Nope. She walks over to the dock and pulls up a long stringer full of similarly sized or smaller catfish and added to it. That annoyed me quite a bit but I didn't say anything. Those fish werent even a decent bite imo. Maybe I should have or called tpw and reported it cause catfish legal limit starts at 11". But she left shortly after.
tander reply :
As long as a person catches are legal,no problem. I love to eat bass. I bring home the legal limit of small bass when I want a meal. In the small 50 acre lake I fish, the head of the wildlife dept. told me to never throw back any small bass up to the limit. If I didn't want it, give it away. Most lakes you need to harvest some of the bass if you want a good bass lake.
LionHeart reply :
On 7/28/2018 at 3:03 AM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:it's just not my thing is all
i feel the same way about land animals too (cows pigs etc.)
(not that a burger or hot dog isn't delicious more so i feel terrible about it) m
You feel bad about eating a burger or hot dog? I mean, like, for the animal?
Nah, gotta say I don't understand that mentality even a little bit. To answer your question, I don't feel that way about fish either.
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 7/28/2018 at 8:13 AM, LionHeart said:You feel bad about eating a burger or hot dog? I mean, like, for the animal?
Nah, gotta say I don't understand that mentality even a little bit. To answer your question, I don't feel that way about fish either.
i'm an animal lover i love animals just how i am how i was brought up and taught
Bassguytom reply :
It only bothers me when I see 4 guys in a pontoon boat using shiners and keeping everything of every size they catch. I still don’t say anything I’m not a game warden.
diversity210 reply :
The only fish I will sometimes take and eat are bluegill and crappie. For one they are just my favorite fish to eat. They are to tasty to pass up. There is also no size limit on them where I am and you can take up to 25. That tells me that the population is healthy and there is no problem taking them to eat. Call me naive but I kind of put my faith in the laws, regulations, and limit on the particular species of fish being caught. They take fairly good stats on how healthy and abundant certain fish populations are and determine limits accordingly. So i dont have a problem with people taking fish to eat as long as those fish are with in the limit of what is lawful to take.
Pickle_Power reply :
Bottom line is, if you fish, even if you release everything, you kill plenty of fish.
Jaderose reply :
OP...I'm curious about something......what happens when you accidentally kill a bass? It happens. I feel bad but it doesn't stop me from fishing. It has made me a better, more attentive fisherman to try to eliminate those incidents but it DOES happen. I'm surprised a person that feels bad about eating a cheeseburger even CAN fish. That is not criticism. Just seems surprising.
FCPhil reply :
I favor strict catch and release laws (for bass) on public waters. I think it is within the government’s jurisdiction to pass such policies (especially on manmade ponds and lakes not naturally created).
From a social standpoint I advocate everyone should catch and release (especially large bass) for the sake of the sport. I respect people’s right to disagree with me just as I have a right to tell them they should leave the fish.
Gundog reply :
It seems like the people on both extreme ends of this spectrum are just too hardcore about their beliefs. Somewhere in the middle is where I take my stand. Call it common sense or just being normal but if someone keeps what they catch and its legal, ok. If they release everything they catch, so be it. I release most of the fish I catch because I don't eat much fish anymore and I don't want to waste the resource. I've seen people catch and keep some big fish and even seen one guy with a limit of big smallies in a cooler on the Susquehanna. I know there are more in there and I can't wait to catch them.
scaleface reply :
A fellow gave me a hard time about keeping bass earlier this year and it got ugly . What was a pleasant day of fishing turned into a heated argument because of some jerk . Dont be like that guy .
Happybeerbuzz reply :
I know too much about agro-farming and buy too much meat from the market to even consider allowing myself to judge people who legally harvest meat from other sources.
geo g reply :
No I don't care about people taking bass legally. I personally never take bass since we have a mercury problem, and I am not fond of the taste of bass, and would rather eat a lot of fish before having a bass. The only thing that bothers me is when someone kills a trophy bass. Culling smaller bass can be a good thing for a body of water.
BaitFinesse reply :
I fish a state park pond with sign posted stating "catch and release largemouth bass only". I always get asked if I caught any keepers by other anglers and when I explain that you can't keep bass there and that It is catch and release only I just get a blank stare as if they cannot process the concept of catch and release. Luckily the thick vegetation keeps the poaching down or it would be a dead pond like all the others. On bigger bodies of water with more sustainable population the culling of the population through selective harvest is great but I don't participate in harvesting bass. I generally don't eat sportfish with the exception of an eater size walleye once in a while.
the reel ess reply :
I've had people ask me for a big bass before and just let it go in front of them. I hate to see a trophy or even one in the making go for food, but there's no law against it. Now, if they're trespassing, and I've seen that too, I'll report them. Those people are the worst stewards of resources because they know they aren't even supposed to be there. They're really thieves.
Here's how I look at it. If you catch a 6 lb bass, releases it and catch it later, that's two big bass, not one. No one could say it's the same bass. But it could be.
On the other hand, smaller bass make good fried fillets.
Spankey reply :
On 7/28/2018 at 5:17 AM, OCdockskipper said:I think I understand where the OP is coming from. One of the reasons I practice catch & release is that I have a lot of respect for largemouth bass as a predator & sportfish. As I spent years learning about them in order to catch more of them, I found I appreciated the characteristics that made them different from other species. Heck, the fact that you can land them by grabbing their mouth without hurting yourself is just too cool. That respect is why I treat largemouth with kid gloves, even if they don't need it. They are almost to the level of a pet for me.
That said, other species don't bother me to see people keep or keep them myself. Go to Lake Mead or Powell & they beg you to keep the stripers and I happily oblige. A mess of bluegill make a fine meal. Sometimes I find myself wanting to let catfish go just because they are so darn tough (durable) and they make me laugh when they squawk.
The way I feel about Smallmouth bass and Largemouth bass out here in PA. I can see how the OP has such a passion and regard for the bass. Please don't blow a gasket over it. As another post implied don't approach anyone over it not worth a possible bad out come. Not worth getting ugly over.
OP, I like how you mentioned about how you saw that pond rebound over time. Good pond that went bad only to rebound.
Stephen B reply :
On 7/29/2018 at 12:35 AM, geo g said:The only thing that bothers me is when someone kills a trophy bass. Culling smaller bass can be a good thing for a body of water.
I think this sum up how most people feel. As long as they aren't keeping more than the limit and aren't killing trophy fish, it has my stamp of approval.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I don't like it when someone keeps a large bass because the lakes around me hold so few, but there it's legal so it doesn't really matter how I feel about it. I really wish there were more slot limits for bass like there are for walleye up north to protect larger fish and allow anglers to keep the smaller, better tasting fish. Most limits make no sense except in a tournament format because they force anglers to keep larger, spawning fish that are higher in toxins and fewer in numbers.
burrows reply :
I agree^ specially when the bass are spawning. I don’t see that many ppl fishing for bass year round in most of the lakes/ponds around my town. When the spawn comes along you see them in droves scooping up and taking A bunch of bass and quality bass and that does bother me.
rejesterd reply :
On 7/27/2018 at 11:57 AM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:I realize my opinion on people who kill fish is probably like ... wow that's harsh they are just trying to eat .... but idk i just i get really REALLY upset about it. I don't know why ? idk i feel like i'm a dink for not being cool with it
Does anyone else feel heart broken to see someone take a big fish home to eat ? or a fish in general ?
If you've been fishing for a significant amount of time, you've killed some fish. You think because it was an accident that it makes it any better?
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 7/30/2018 at 9:23 PM, rejesterd said:If you've been fishing for a significant amount of time, you've killed some fish. You think because it was an accident that it makes it any better?
i don't believe i have killed any fish or non that i remember i generally work with a fish until it is able to swim away under it's own power. but you can assume that i have and maybe i have ? but like i said i don't believe that i have and i don't recall killing any
TOXIC reply :
On 7/30/2018 at 9:32 PM, Ralph Nicholas Vito said:i don't believe i have killed any fish or non that i remember i generally work with a fish until it is able to swim away under it's own power. but you can assume that i have and maybe i have ? but like i said i don't believe that i have and i don't recall killing any
Google "Delayed Mortality" that's what he is referring to. And I'll bet we've all had it happen.
BuzzHudson19c reply :
On 7/29/2018 at 2:14 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Most limits make no sense except in a tournament format because they force anglers to keep larger, spawning fish that are higher in toxins and fewer in numbers.
Bingo. It's like government bureaucrats aren't at all knowledgeable of the thing they write laws about, weird.
NY slot limits on stripers make me scratch my head.
To the OP. I feel bad if I kill a fish on accident, in which case I keep it and eat it. I wish people wouldn't keep big bass because I want to catch them someday. But they caught it, it's their prerogative. I'd rather let people have freedom and trust them to be educated on the topic.
Ralph Nicholas Vito reply :
On 7/30/2018 at 10:39 PM, TOXIC said:Google "Delayed Mortality" that's what he is referring to. And I'll bet we've all had it happen.
i guess it happens ? But I’ve never had a fish come back belly up i mean it’s a small pond i would probably find them if they did but again I’m not saying 100% I’m saying to my knowledge I haven’t
i don’t believe someone could change my mind from feeling upset about it i believe i could be more educated on the affect someone taking bass or any fish out of my favorite pond has But I don’t think i would be 100% fine with it
The Bassman reply :
On 7/28/2018 at 9:25 PM, Jaderose said:OP...I'm curious about something......what happens when you accidentally kill a bass? It happens. I feel bad but it doesn't stop me from fishing. It has made me a better, more attentive fisherman to try to eliminate those incidents but it DOES happen. I'm surprised a person that feels bad about eating a cheeseburger even CAN fish. That is not criticism. Just seems surprising.
Single hooks. Barbless hooks. Quicker hooksets with soft plastics. It doesn't matter. As much as I try, it's a crap shoot when a bass with his breathing apparatus fully exposed inhales a lure. I do use forceps rather than pliers because they're more precise. I'm convinced they don't feel pain.
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