Makes me sick. 2024

fourbizz reply :

I am a member of a certain other "international masters" site and there is a guy from my area that thinks he's cool. Tries to get me to fish with him. He has caught 4 big fish recently.

15-4 ounces...VERY VERY DEAD

11-6 also very dead. please note the other large fish lying on his tailgate

10-8 and 9-3, not sure if they are dead. he said what town he lives in and what water he fishes, they are not close, and he is wearing waders. this says to me that he is in a float tube. so he didn't trailer them in the livewell, then drive back to the lake and release them.

So infuriating. Big dead fish really bum me out. I don't want to hear any of that "within the law" "his right" crap either. That may very well be the case, but I am also well within my rights to call him a d-bag for murdering multiple trophy fish. It is really really disgusting and I hope he falls down a flight of stairs and lands on a rake.

Furthermore, despite my attempts to ignore this a-hole he keeps trying to get me to fish with him. NO WAY! Meat hunters of this magnitude make me so indescribably ill. Thats why we blank out our backgrounds and take pictures super close to the shore, or looking at the sky. These meatbags are the ones in our backyard, looking at our pictures. Any one of those fish could have been a buddies first DD or PB, or crap, my PB! My thirteen is still swimming around, and it is my honest hope that someone gets to stick her as a 15.

A plethora of obstacles overcome over the course of 10+ years for a fish to reach that size and some a-hole has to kill every one he catches. What is the likely hood of a bass living to be that size? 10,000:1?

Now there are those old timers that have fished for thirty years and finally get their 10 somethin, and it goes on the wall, and there won't be another. Thats cool, I mean it would be so much better if she lived too, but one in a lifetime is at least reasonable. Then there are people like this that have to kill any big fish they catch. To what end? Make sure there are a few less swimming around?

Now that was a rant!!! But I feel much better. If anyone comes across this guy on that other site, I encourage you to think about your stance on the subject.

Jay

feels like punting this guys cat onto the freeway

Dan: reply :

Can't you install live wells on float tubes? Maybe he did that. I'm not saying it's likely, but it's a possibility. If you are indeed right (which seems more than likely) than I agree with you, it's irresponsible.

David P reply :

Man, what BS.

I was fishing the other day with some older guy, he had never fished the reservoir I was at, so Nicely, I showed him how I was catching some bass. After an hour he FINALLY pulls out a 14 inch bass (No where near the gorgeous size of those ladies).

He pulled out a black trash bag, dropped the fish in the bag, and left it on the dock, while I sit there, and listen to a fish flopping on the dock dying. I was seconds away from just grabbing the trash bag, and throwing the fish back in the water and running way.. But I was dumb and didn't =(

I know how you feel four, and not to mention, those fish are 10000 times more rare, and jeezus christ any of those fish would have been my PB.

fourbizz reply :

I hear ya dude.

Remember though, there is a line you do not want to cross. Voicing your opinion to the person (which I do, sometimes with tact, sometimes without) is a good thing. But if you cross the line and try and physically do something about it, I don't think thats right. They ARE within their rights to keep fish and we are within ours to object.

KU_Bassmaster. reply :

Hate to see the front yard/back yard/kitchen pictures :'(

David P reply :

Quote
I hear ya dude.
Remember though, there is a line you do not want to cross. Voicing your opinion to the person (which I do, sometimes with tact, sometimes without) is a good thing. But if you cross the line and try and physically do something about it, I don't think thats right. They ARE within their rights to keep fish and we are within ours to object.

"I wanted to" - Doesn't mean I would

But G D, I beat myself up for giving him advice, if I had known, I would have not said I word to him.

I caught 3 bass in front of him, all 15-17 inches, and he said "How come you don't keep them", and I told him...

After that, he still kept the bass that he caught after all of that.

Oh well, people will be people, I just wish I didn't have to hear the fish dying 2 feet away from me.

Cravin reply :

Dominion Dan..

No live well on the tube. Some people use a stringer, In our club you had to use a net bag, Its much easier on the fish. We always used a boat to get to our tubing spots and put our catch in the live well. Also you would receive a stiff penalty for dead fish.

RecMar8541 reply :

UGH I have an issue in this direction also. The lake I live on coughs up about 12-15 fish a year over 10 for me. My neighbors think Im about as close to being a living breathing KVD as you can get to the real thing(I am so not, trust me). I dont ever fish with the neighbors (one exception), because EVERYTHING they catch goes in the fryer. I have gone to great lengths to save the bass here including making my own 100 gallon live well complete with pond pump, cooling and recirculation. I use chemicals to destress the fish, and return about 99% to the water. Most of the pics you see of my fish are inside the house, they come from the livewell into the house(usually dark outside) then back to the livewell and then the lake(30seconds away).

Very few of my neighbors have much big bass sucess in our lake, which is fine with me! It has proved a great fishery and I want it to stay that way!!

Recon

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

so,.....what's his email? I'LL fish with him, no problem. Doesn't mean he'll be making it home that night,...but sure,...I'll go pop his float tube in 30 ft of water fishin' with this guy.

Sickening. :-/ >

jomatty reply :

so senseless. i dont have anything against someone keeping a few 12 inch bass or a mess of crappie but keeping a bass of any real size is just unimaginable. have you asked him about it and heard his response? just hard to imagine how he could justify this sort of thing.

i mean its kinda beside the point but has anyone ever eaten a big bass, they are disgusting. and skin mounts start to look like crap after awhile, so even if he was somewhat unethical its hard to imagine why he would do this.

especially in cali where most fishermen seem knowledgable and c&r seems to be much more prolific then other places like florida.

anyhow very sad and im sure frustrating

grimlin reply :

No offense guys,but what's the difference in keeping one for mount and eating one.Michigan has a limit of 15" before they are keepable and also have a "closed season" meaning we can't or aren't suppose to be targeting them.The "Keep" limit also helps. What does make me mad are the ones who keep bass that are way undersize and over the limit catch and know better.I ran into 2 old farts about a month or so longer ago who was doing the illegal netting thing and was catching tons of tons of small undersized fish and keeping every single one.What can a 6-8 inch walleye or bass do for supper?That can't be more than a 1/4 pound of meat.I approched them about it and needless to say it didn't turn respectful.

While i'm really big on C & R and rarely ever keep fish.I can't say i'm completely sick at somebody keeping bass.As long as it's a legal keep i don't see anything wrong with it.Alot of times i won't tell the guy next to me how i catch fish,for the simple fact i know they will just keep it if it's legal or not.If i don't know who the person is "i'll just say hi,what are you targeting and good luck".I too told somebody where the fish were and the idiot was keeping everything from undersize to over the limit catches,after a long conversation about sizes/limits and whatnot.I thought he was a decent respectable person,guess i was wrong.I said to myself "never again am i doing that".

I hope i'm not crossing my bountries or coming off disrespectful since i'm new here.I think we Bass fishermens just love our big bass and want to keep them around as long as possible.Nothing wrong with a little catch and keep for some people as long as it's done rightfully..afterall it does help balance our fisheries.This is all my opionion.

roadwarrior reply :

Just pitiful... :'(

This isn't about C & R, I think it's fine to keep small fish and ONE trophy fish (as long as they are not smallmouth 8-). As far as I'm concerned, this thread is about environmental rape. That slug is not a "bass fisherman" and he is not a sportsman.

Replica. reply :

A slot limit would help, but only if the morons obey the laws.

Avalonjohn44 reply :

Nothing is going to stop that guy from doing what he is doing, short of somebody violating his rights. What he's doing is no different from the pickup truck full of illegal immigrants siene-netting a lake or pond and keeping every single fish of every type and size that they net - an all too common sight in NoVa (Goose Creek Resevoir and areas around Algonquin Park have been ruined by fishing of this type). It is abhorrent. Somebody should snap his rods, slash his float tube and dump his tackle box in the lake.

RecMar8541 reply :

please forward me his name and email. I would love to send him pics of my pond, and all the 8+ fish that come from there, then invite him to come belly boat it......(please see my gators video) p.s. what do you think would be the best way to get chicken parts to stick to a belly boat??

grid reply :

I hope that one day I catch a DD or close. It will hang on my wall but it will be her fiberglass clone. I'm glad technology has advanced to be able to do this.

What this joker is doing is not sportsmanlike at all. He's acting like a b**ch waving it in front of your face then not sharing. Take a pic, show it around. Be proud! But let it go so maybe one day somebody else can catch her and "take a pic, show it around. Be proud!

T-rig reply :

Why is it that people that keep the fish allways catch the big one's?

This is a shame and I dont consider this guy a fisherman but a bass killer!

Looks like some of those females are still full of spawn!

=Matt 5.0= reply :

Go fishing with him, stick a Hog.

Then release it in front of him while he stares at you and cries inside.

Seriously, why keep these trophy's? Get a fiberglass replica if you want a dead fish on your wall.

senile1 reply :

Fourbizzle stated:

Quote
It is really really disgusting and I hope he falls down a flight of stairs and lands on a rake

I think this comment is still the best reward this fellow could receive. You have to wonder if people like this can put two and two together. Doesn't he ever stop to think what are the results of his keeping every pig he sticks? Or does he just not give a d@#$?

BaitMS reply :

To play devil's advocate...

Do any of you know the whole story about this guy? It is beyond me the way you react to anyone that keeps a bass. As a biologist, it is good to keep some fish. Harvesting fish makes"room" for other fish to grow. It also keeps systems from becoming overcrowd. However, this is rarely the case in large systems. Yes it takes a long time for fish to reach this size, but if your state agency is managing and monitoring the lakes and reserviors in your area PROPERLY, many fish of this size will be available. Especially, in California where laws are very strict and many anglers are knowledgable of whats going on. California also has a climate were fish can attain this size rather fast compared to other locations. Bass strain (florida, northern) also play a big part in this growth as well as species composition within a system. If the bass have other fish (other bass species) that utilize the same resources it does, it may not have the ability to reach these sizes. But, this is what the fish and game departments are trying to accomplish based on requests of the many usergroups that are trying to satisfy.

With that said, there are several types of fisherman: recreational, commercial, subsistence. Most bass fisherman are recreational fisherman. They are fishing for the fun of it. They enjoy spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to catch bass. Commercial fisherman rarely target bass, but this is because of harvest restrictions. Then there is the subsistence fisherman. This person is fishing to feed themself or their family. This has been going on since the start of time. The law allows these people to catch a specified number of fish (based on species) as determined by sampling performed by your state game and fish agency. It looks to me as if this guy is prepared to clean these fish for FOOD, but I do not know the whole story.

Not to to burst any of your bubbles, but if you didn't know most of the waterbodies that you are probably fishing in (other than natural lakes up north) are reservoirs. Do you know what the primary purpose is for creating a reservoir? It is for water retention. It is NOT FOR FISHING!! Fishing is just a benefit of the creation of these systems. So consider it a PRIVILEDGE to have a place to go fishing. Stop wining about what other people are doing and rely on yourself to "DO THE RIGHT THING" as you feel morally obligated to do. Then depend on your state agencies to manage these systems responsibly.

To say this guy is not anymore of a "sportsman" or "fisherman" than any of you is WRONG! He is involved in the same activity as you. How do you know that the fish that you are catching are not dying because of foul-hooking, stress because of being hooked and "played" to the boat, contracted a virus because you put it in your livewell and you had other bass that had the largemouth bass virus (LMBV), died after you drove around the lake for 6 hours during a tournament with them in your livewell, slung the fish around and took pictures. How many of those fish that you caught off their "bed" this spring actually had a succesful spawn? All in all, YOU, yes you INDIRECTLY kill fish too. So, what makes you any better than this guy? At least he got a meal out of it (hopefully).

Before you go and criticize this guy why don't you look at the bigger picture, rather than the picture in front of you. Yes, you have the option to return or not return that fish to the water, but that is PERSONAL PREFERENCE! Don't knock someone because they chose to keep a fish. Last time I checked it was legal (within the limits of the law).

Fish Chris reply :

Jay, can you send me a PM with a link to that site ? Is there a way to send this guy a PM ? Honestly, I'd have more "questions for him, than comments"...... First and foremost being.... Why ???

Fish

senile1 reply :

Quote
To play devil's advocate...
Do any of you know the whole story about this guy? It is beyond me the way you react to anyone that keeps a bass. As a biologist, it is good to keep some fish. Harvesting fish makes"room" for other fish to grow. It also keeps systems from becoming overcrowd. However, this is rarely the case in large systems. Yes it takes a long time for fish to reach this size, but if your state agency is managing and monitoring the lakes and reserviors in your area PROPERLY, many fish of this size will be available. Especially, in California where laws are very strict and many anglers are knowledgable of whats going on. California also has a climate were fish can attain this size rather fast compared to other locations. Bass strain (florida, northern) also play a big part in this growth as well as species composition within a system. If the bass have other fish (other bass species) that utilize the same resources it does, it may not have the ability to reach these sizes. But, this is what the fish and game departments are trying to accomplish based on requests of the many usergroups that are trying to satisfy.

With that said, there are several types of fisherman: recreational, commercial, subsistence. Most bass fisherman are recreational fisherman. They are fishing for the fun of it. They enjoy spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to catch bass. Commercial fisherman rarely target bass, but this is because of harvest restrictions. Then there is the subsistence fisherman. This person is fishing to feed themself or their family. This has been going on since the start of time. The law allows these people to catch a specified number of fish (based on species) as determined by sampling performed by your state game and fish agency. It looks to me as if this guy is prepared to clean these fish for FOOD, but I do not know the whole story.

Not to to burst any of your bubbles, but if you didn't know most of the waterbodies that you are probably fishing in (other than natural lakes up north) are reservoirs. Do you know what the primary purpose is for creating a reservoir? It is for water retention. It is NOT FOR FISHING!! Fishing is just a benefit of the creation of these systems. So consider it a PRIVILEDGE to have a place to go fishing. Stop wining about what other people are doing and rely on yourself to "DO THE RIGHT THING" as you feel morally obligated to do. Then depend on your state agencies to manage these systems responsibly.

To say this guy is not anymore of a "sportsman" or "fisherman" than any of you is WRONG! He is involved in the same activity as you. How do you know that the fish that you are catching are not dying because of foul-hooking, stress because of being hooked and "played" to the boat, contracted a virus because you put it in your livewell and you had other bass that had the largemouth bass virus (LMBV), died after you drove around the lake for 6 hours during a tournament with them in your livewell, slung the fish around and took pictures. How many of those fish that you caught off their "bed" this spring actually had a succesful spawn? All in all, YOU, yes you INDIRECTLY kill fish too. So, what makes you any better than this guy? At least he got a meal out of it (hopefully).

Before you go and criticize this guy why don't you look at the bigger picture, rather than the picture in front of you. Yes, you have the option to return or not return that fish to the water, but that is PERSONAL PREFERENCE! Don't knock someone because they chose to keep a fish. Last time I checked it was legal (within the limits of the law).

BaitMS, (to play angel's advocate to your devil's advocate )

Many of us do believe in selective harvest. This is the whole point of conservation and it is a proven concept. You can't maintain the health of a population of fish without it. But many of us who have been on this forum for awhile know that if fourbizzle is complaining about this guy, the complaint probably has some merit. We've had some good debates about when to keep a bass and when to release it, but many of us feel strongly that keeping a bunch of trophy fish is detrimental to the chance for others to do the same thing. I understand that some trophy fish are close to their death bed anyway, but in California, I'd say that 9 - 15 lb'ers still have some living to do. I would release them.

As for fish dying after I release them, that is a possibility but chances are they will live if I release them immediately. Statistics that I have read show that even under tournament circumstances where fish are released after weigh-in, the percentage that die generally runs 4 - 8 percent at most. Don't get me wrong. I worry about the effects of tournament fishing too. But if I keep that trophy the chance is 100% she will die.

Fish Chris reply :

What I know about this guy, is that he is apparently killing as many big bass as he possibly can. It is beyond myself also, when guys get bent out of shape about a few "small fish" being kept (Selectively Harvested) from bodies of water where it might actually help the quality of the fishery. {well, I guess its not really beyond me.... they obviously just need more education on SH}

But in all of my years of trophy bass study, I have yet to find a place that was just so overpopulated with huge, 10 to 15 lb bass, that this became a problem ! Selective Harvest should have nothing to do with trophy sized bass !

Next, if this guy is in "need of food" there are places where he could more easily stick limts of 2 to 3 pounders, every time he went out. It would be simply illogical to fish for "big fish" if you were hungry.

You asked > How do you know that the fish that you are catching are not dying because of foul-hooking, stress because of being hooked and "played" to the boat, contracted a virus because you put it in your livewell and you had other bass that had the largemouth bass virus (LMBV), died after you drove around the lake for 6 hours during a tournament with them in your livewell, slung the fish around and took pictures. How many of those fish that you caught off their "bed" this spring actually had a succesful spawn? <

Here's how I know; Because every year, my trophy bass buddies and I continue to "re-catch" and positively identify, big bass which we have previously C/R'd. Of course there is always a posibility that one of these fish might suffer a fatal injury, or stress level from being C/R'd, but I feel that this can be kept to a minimum with proper handling, and by being prepared.

Now, I have a question for you BaitMS, forget about all the other anglers for a minute, "How bad would my buddies and I have hurt 'ourselves' if we had chosen to kill all of the big bass we have caught" ? I know of a couple ponds where I believe we could have probably reduced our own odds of future trophy bass catches, by "more than" 50% ! Fortunately, we are not into "self-punishment".

Yes BaitMS, you are correct that the guy is within his rights. This is why I try to never hit them with the "slamming approach". I believe that if this guy knew what most of us hard-core trophy bass anglers knew about trophy bass fisheries, he would decide, on his own, to do the right thing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BTW BaitMS, you were saying you are a fisheries biologists ? That's cool :-) I have several buddies who are fisheries biologists, including the Ca DFG Cheif Fisheries Biologists (ret.) Dennis Lee, and In-Fisherman biologist and Editor, Steve Quin. Both really good guys, and extremely knowledgeable......

And the fact is, I know enough to talk with them at an 'almost' equal level. Hopefully we can do the same ?

Peace,

Fish Chris

aggiebassin reply :

i hate to see that. i believe in slective harvest and keep some small fish from the private lake i fish. you have to keep some of the smaller fish to prevent overpopulation. but to keep a fish like those.... :'(...i just don't get it. i can maybe accept keeping one to mount (although i would just take measurements and get a fiberglass replica)

this guy has to be eating these fish....which to me makes no sense really. smaller fish are more tender and have smaller bones. not to mention giving yourself and others a chance to re-catch this fish after some weight gain.

that is one of the things i like more about fishing than hunting, (and i am a very very avid hunter) is you can release your trophies

Cravin reply :

My view is that yes the Biologist do keep good tabs on the fish population, My problem is that I know some places I fish will never see a Biologist, Not to mention the ones that do I rarely hear of the great work they've done for a specific body of water I've fished. I buy a fishing license every year that goes toward this and upkeep of the lakes and yet I still cant get a clean port-a-potty or cleaner facilities. I think it pays for someone to mow the grass!

If this guy was to kill fish of that caliber around here I most definitely would be up in arms. I don't want to wait till the next generation of fish reach that size when it could be a confirmed swimmer at a hole I currently fish. If he is that hard up for a meal I'll pay him to stay off the lakes. Roman Noodle is not that expensive.

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

When he is done catching all teh big bass he will wonder why and since he is not into it for fun he will move onto other recreation's and get tired of small bass .After about 2 yrs the pond will have big bass waiting as long as another slop fisherman dont come around .I have seen asians keep anything they catch and even eat raw fish,minnows around here in Maryland>all we can do is keep fishing and hope that more ppl do what we do it is fun to release a big fish while some arsehole is standing there with his tongue out....

BaitMS reply :

Like with anything, there is always going to be a "knucklehead".

But as I said before and will say it again, Rely on yourself to "DO THE RIGHT THING".

Fourbizzle,

Take this guy up on his offer and "educate" him on the importance of big bass. Educate him on catch and release and its importance genetically on the rest of the population. Lakes and reservoirs are "closed" systems. This means genes from outside the population of an individual system are not going to be incorporated into the stock. Look at the example of Texas Parks and Wildlife and their Share Lunker Program. They understand the importance that these big fish provide (genetically). Determine if he really has a vendetta against trophy bass. If so, there may be legal action. Give him examples like Fish Chris (which I'm sure he's aware of) and fish that he has caught and released to catch again.

FishChris,

You are correct about hurting yourself if you removed these fish. But, it was your choice as a resposible angler and proponent for the sport of bass fishing. Some people dont have these standards or they have alternative reasons for keeping these fish. For this, we may never know why?

Dan: reply :

Quote
Nothing is going to stop that guy from doing what he is doing, short of somebody violating his rights. What he's doing is no different from the pickup truck full of illegal immigrants siene-netting a lake or pond and keeping every single fish of every type and size that they net - an all too common sight in NoVa (Goose Creek Resevoir and areas around Algonquin Park have been ruined by fishing of this type). It is abhorrent. Somebody should snap his rods, slash his float tube and dump his tackle box in the lake.

I've seen that happen at Algonkian Park. The worst that I've seen it was at a place called Lake Accotink. I've seen tons of people keeping any and everything they catch there, stuffing their catches into all sorts of containers, including gatorade bottles, yes, they were stuffing a half dozen sunfish in gatorade bottles. I know they are just sunfish, but come on, what's the point in doing that?

fourbizz reply :

I WILL NOT FISH WITH THAT A_HOLE.

I wouldn't be able to stand it if something he learned from me led to another dead fish.

Fish Chris reply :

Well hey now, I don't hardly fish with my best friends, so I certainly can't see myself fishing with that guy either..... But I would like to talk with him, and see if I could educate him in a friendly manner.

I would have to assume he likes, and is proud of catching, big bass..... Or else, why would he be taking photos to show off on the internet. I'd just like to show this guy photo proof of some C/R's, and re-C/R's, and to explain to him how few 15's their are in some of these little ponds.

If a pond has five 15 lb bass, and you remove one of them, your odds of catching a 15 lb bass will go down by 20% ....... As if catching a 15 lb bass were not tough enough to begin with !

Sure, one could argue that the 10 to 14's will eventually grow to be 15's..... but when your dealing with such low numbers of fish to begin with, it only takes a couple less knowledgeable (or just flat out, uncaring) anglers, to completely eliminate "everyones chances" at sticking a huge bass, himself included !

Peace,

Fishj

BASS fisherman reply :

Quote
Just pitiful... :'(
That slug is not a "bass fisherman" and he is not a sportsman.

I agree 100%!!!

RecMar8541 reply :

hrm...well....considering the guy is wearing a nice championship ring, and judging by the looks of that trucks tail lights it looks pretty new, he appears to be nicely dressed enough, I figure he could probably buy fish. So now, I dont know how good a fishermen you fellas are, but my bass generally pound for pound is pretty d**n expensive once ya figure all the tackle gas etc etc, and I catch several dds a year....so as a food source try hot dogs. Hell pound for pound steak is probably cheaper. So lets not go the whole feeding the family route.

Another question I would have is slot laws. when lakes start to show signs of population issues dont they usually impose slots.... wouldnt that show the importance of leaving large fish intact? (this is a question and not intended to be sarcasm)

Fourbiz ^5 I dont think I could fish with him either.....

SuthernProg reply :

That makes me ill. I hooked a bluegill in the eye with a pop-r the other day and watched him swim in slow lazy circles until he died, I felt terrible. Same goes for the few other fish I gut hooked, gill hooked and belly hooked. I hate hurting things like that in the pursuit of pleasure.

Prog

FatBoy reply :

Hey 4biz, why don't you direct this guy to BassResource.com and this thread? I'd like to see what he thinks about all this!

(Just trying to stir the pot a little more ;D ;D ;D ;D)

the ohh face reply :

I always C&R myself, I dont even like eating fish. I dont like to see other people keeping large fish either. That said, whatever else the guy is he catches some impressive fish.

Tom Bass reply :

If a man catches a bass and keeps it and does it legally...That is his right. While I would argue against him doing that and not eating or giving the fish to someone to eat.

Just for the record I C&R all of my bass. I have done it for years. But I will fight for anyone's rights to keep their fish provided their intentions are within the law and they are going to eat it or give it to some one that will.

I apologize for my first post on this matter. After reading it and other following posts I must agree that I came off brash and in reality I made my point very badly. I'm sorry but this thread touched a nerve with me and I got personal with friends that I haven't met yet. Please accept my apology.

Tom

Hookemdown. reply :

Well here's what MAKES ME MAD! >

Yes, it does bother me that he kept several trophy fish, but it's the way some people actually "kill" them. If your going to harvest the fish, take him out of the water..then Bop, hit him on the head with a rock or something, don't just let him flop around in a bag and "drown" to death. Our serial killers get better deaths than that.

Gotta Love It reply :

Quote
"Makes me Sick" is a good title for this thread.
It makes me sick that a bunch of self righteous pogues pass judgement on a fisherman that probably knows more about bass fishing than many here will ever know. Furthermore, if he caught them legally he was within his rights, and he paid for those rights with a license, to keep them.

Some of Y'all have no freakin' clue about "fishing" do you? Fishing started out as a means of catching FOOD. Not Sport. Do you think that an Indian in 1760 that enticed a trout using a piece of cat gut gut as a line with a wooden handmade hook with a grub on it caught a fish and said "Hey, that was cool....let me preserve the earth and release this piece of meat that could feed my family so I can sportingly catch another for fun while my wife pounds corn into cakes so that we can eat while I while my days away catching these fun things.....?"

No, I don't think so.

If a man catches a bass and keeps it and does it legally...That is his right and you have no say in the matter.

If you want to catch bass and release them that is your right.

But who are any of you to judge or dictate what a man does when he is fishing as long as he does it legally and he stays within the guidelines of the law.

If a man catches a fish, kills it and then takes it home to his driveway and takes a picture who are you to judge that?

Just for the record I C&R all of my bass. I have done it for years. But I will fight any one of you that begrudges a man his right to keep a fish even if it's for a photo op and a place in the freezer.

Step down off your podiums people. The attitudes of the posts that I have read here in this thread are elitist.

Oh, By the way, If I have offended you I truly meant to.

Hey Tom Bass... is that you in those pics?

Tom Bass reply :

Not one of you asked what baits he was using to catch the big ones......Shame, Shame Shame

Tom Bass reply :

No Gotta Love It. That ain't me. I'm prettier than that....I have a face. ;D

LCpointerKILLA reply :

I CAN'T BELIEVE NO ONE MENTIONED THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT BIG BASS

I once read an article in Field&Stream that discussed very large bass. It compared them to people that grow 7ft tall and huge, and how rare this is in nature. Biologically the bass that grow this size are just as rare as humans this size. The vast majority of bass will not reach the 10lb+ size. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW is that big bass (just like big people), carry a domanant trait to thier offspring. This means the huge bass' offspring are likely to grow huge like thier parents. Simillar to how tall people have tall kids. If this guy continues to wipe out the big bass population in the lake, it will be much harder to catch one this size in the future. This guy needs to know this and maybe he will stop.

It's just so ignorant, I can't believe it.

GolfCoursePondMan

fourbizz reply :

So tom, to summarize:

We can't voice our opinions on what we find highly immoral, yet you can.

If we don't like it, you'll fight us.

Way to go big dog!

guest reply :

Quote
Just for the record I C&R all of my bass. I have done it for years. But I will fight any one of you that begrudges a man his right to keep a fish even if it's for a photo op and a place in the freezer.
Step down off your podiums people. The attitudes of the posts that I have read here in this thread are elitist.

Oh, By the way, If I have offended you I truly meant to.

Yo TomB.

What's with the grandstanding and the deliberate intent to offend? You will "fight any one of you that begrudges a man his right to keep a fish"??????????????????............................Please. :-?

4biz was ranting fer sure, but you've been around here long enough to see and hear similar attitudes about killing trophy bass.

You disagree, that's cool but let's keep this debate within something resembling reason.

I seriously doubt that the guy needs these fish to eat. He keeps them for the same reason a kid wants to keep his catch. Namely so he can show it off.

I agree that "talking" to him would probably be fruitless, he would no doubt get defensive, but directing him to forums dedicated to C&R might help him to mature as an angler.

peace.

avid

justfishin reply :

Dude, if I see someone keep some bass and they are going to eat them, I say have at it. That does not bother me at all. If someone catches the fish of his or hers life time and wants to skin mount it, I say go for it, but, the pictures you have posted with that guy and those big dead fish turn my stomach. I would put those pics in plain view in every local marina, publication and convey what that guy did to every swinging di** I knew. That dude is a bottom feeder in my eyes. :-?

Ozarkie reply :

I think everybody that fishes whises for that big fish. I know I have caught and KILLED a couple. But did my doing so hurt the fish populations as bad as bed fishing?

I am also stuckbetween a rock and a hard place. I am a taxidermist mostly fish. I do a bunch of skin mounts everyyear. Yes the people could have a fiberglass replica but to them its not the same.

To others plastic is fine. But with plastic you have a copy of a fish hundreds of others have, same fish just finished different and painted different.

We all know pictures lack and no matter how carefully you handle a live fish you will have mortalities.

I also fish for trout and during the spawn in an unnamed river I caught eight nice browns that died, I tried to revive them but even with the best I could do they died. Hell these fish never left the river bank but did fight hard on light tackle. So they died, so I kept them. Someday maybe I can get time to finish my own stuff. I willnot fish for spawning trout anymore to many died.

Same for bedding bass you are killing next years crop when you fish beds.

One thing certain you cannot legislate morality and to kill a big bass is up to each persons guilt or no guilt. The person keepin a lot of big fish all the time probably will still keep the fish no matter what the law says.

When I was younger I would catch and keep anything that bites my lure, I still might keep a trophy of sometype these days, maybe not big or maybe if I am lucky big.

Trophy bass or trophy deer? What is the real difference?

Maybe next time I will be a catch and release deer hunter! NOT!!!

Guys on another board think I am bad for keeping limits of stocked trout, always rainbows except the spawners and I will not fish them anymore. Hell trout are released just for that and yes we eat a lot of trout, hey they are good when cooked in a deep fryer!!!!

To kill or not to kill that is the question.

Ozarkie

Cravin reply :

Man that got me hot!

but I'll just say I respect your opinion and disregard your insults. I don't feel I need to go to church this weekend since I've heard enough preaching.

There are plenty of people with just as big attitudes here so I'm opting out before mine shows.

OK......Thinking Happy thoughts.......Ahhh...Better!

GatorBK reply :

Well I have a question

What would George Perry have done with those bass?

And What did George Perry do with his bass?

fourbizz reply :

George Perry was not a modern fisherman,, George Perry caught that fish during the depression, George Perry was poor, George Perry's family was hungry, George Perry is irrelevant.

Cravin reply :

Thats a good question. If you look at the bottom of the link it shows he kept them and being in the 30's I don't think they were using C&R. What would you do? I'm sure the thinking was a lot different then and I'd probably keep them.

http://www.mrlurebox.com/GeorgePerryBass.htm

KU_Bassmaster. reply :

Quote
Well I have a question
What would George Perry have done with those bass?

And What did George Perry do with his bass?

What bass ;D ;D ;D

T-rig reply :

Quote
George Perry was not a modern fisherman,, George Perry caught that fish during the depression, George Perry was poor, George Perry's family was hungry, George Perry is irrelevant.

I 100% agree! How can you compare a native american to a modern fisherman! Off course fishing was done for food but we live in the 21st. century and people should know better!

GatorBK reply :

Well I tell you what the economy now is relevant I was born Poor and worked hard for what I have I wasnt born with a silver spoon in my mouth I was born with a fillet knife in my hand .

I appreciate the bounty the man above provides , I eat bass heck yes I do , I fed my family many meals of fish even an 11 pounder and a 9 pounder I caught one day . There was no fan fare no pics just a great meal the me and family enjoyed

Do I waste bass NO that is disgusting and sickening as long as the guy ate them I see no harm done those bass had plenty of time to pass on their genes in that lake.

How do yall hunt a deer ? with a tranqulizer gun?

I dont keep spawning bass if I can help it but I did catch a couple the other day that should have been spawned out here in FL but they werent . I thoughrouly enjoyed them they were tasty

And you know what I was so thankful for my meal I even fried the bass roe ...

Yep thats right those aint hushpuppies the edge of the plate I ate 10000 bass in 2 bites!

Bash me I dont care I will continue to eat a bass if I want to and feel good about it since when did they become endangered?

T-rig reply :

I bet that 9lber and 11lber were tough! Why would you eat such big fish? Smaller fish are much tastier!

GatorBK reply :

why... because I was raising 3 kids and a girlfriend and was living in the Mountains of NC and the economy wasnt that good and I was starting my own business

, And they were good eating they werent tough , Filleted and cut into chunks and deepfried they were white flaky meat. We ate several meals off those 2 bass . Do I keep many big ones NO and dont try to keep spawning bass either . I let several 5 to 8 pounders go this spring and have only kept 12 bass out of 250 plus i have caught this year.

I used to raise a garden , hunt kill 5 or 6 deer a year and fish as well . One of the tastiest fish I ever ate was a 64 pound Flathead catfish.

I really enjoy the food put here for us to eat and am thankful for it

Fish Chris reply :

Let me just put it this way, MOST of us would love to catch a big fish. MOST of us understand that when a big fish is removed from our waters, it reduces our chances. We ALL understand that it is a fishermans right to kill a big fish, should he catch it. But MOST of us can see no valid reason for killing a big fish on purpose.

It is also an anglers right to walk across a bunch of broken glass barefooted..... but that still doesn't mean it's a very smart thing to do.

All this said, I still stand by the belief that MOST of the anglers that do kill big fish, would probably not do so, if they knew, what many of us do....... and so I believe that it all comes back to education.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is their nobody here, besides myself, who can stay so calm about this subject ? Why is it that 90% of the posters want to hang the guy that kills big fish ? And then 9% want to hang that 90% for interfering with an anglers rights.....

And 1% (that would be me) wants to have a friendly chat, and help to educate the catch and kill angler, so that he can, and most likely would, make the right decision, on his own ?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And BTW, I have strong reason to believe that the particular angler in question, caught these fish from a pond that I have fished, and will fish a bunch more in the future. So, he has "directly hurt my chances"...... and yet I still don't take it personally. I just can't believe that the guy fully understands the consequences of his own actions, for himself, and for others.

EDUCATION !!!

Peace,

Fish

T-rig reply :

Quote
why... because I was raising 3 kids and a girlfriend and was living in the Mountains of NC and the economy wasnt that good and I was starting my own business
, And they were good eating they werent tough , Filleted and cut into chunks and deepfried they were white flaky meat. We ate several meals off those 2 bass . Do I keep many big ones NO and dont try to keep spawning bass either . I let several 5 to 8 pounders go this spring and have only kept 12 bass out of 250 plus i have caught this year.

I used to raise a garden , hunt kill 5 or 6 deer a year and fish as well . One of the tastiest fish I ever ate was a 64 pound Flathead catfish.

I really enjoy the food put here for us to eat and am thankful for it

Does BK stand for Burger King???? ;D

GatorBK reply :

Quote
. Does BK stand for Burger King???? ;D

Yep it does " Home Of The Whopper" since you wanna know ;D

And Fish Chris there is always an upside to him keeping those , It will give the larger bass that are in there a chance to get even bigger .

I have found that the largest animals come from areas where they arent over populated .

Fish Chris reply :

Hey BK, okay, so you were borderline homeless. That would have been totally acceptable then buddy. If I saw that you were in that bad of shape, I might have given you one of my 10 lb bass ;-) LOL

But on a serious note, to anyone who likes to eat fish of ANY species;

There are very few places in this country where their are no heavy metals, or toxic chemicals present in the water. MOST of these chemicals cannot be shed through a fishes normal metabolic processes. What this means is, the longer a fish lives, the more of these heavy metals and / or toxins will accumulate.

So, smaller fish are ususally healthier / safer for you and your family as well. This is evidenced by many of the health warnings which will often say things such as:

A person should eat no more than 3 meals per month of Largemouth Bass "under 17" in length" and no more than 1 meal per month of Largemouth Bass "over 17" in length"........

Just some food for thought,

Fish

Cravin reply :

I agree Fish Chris..It's a knee jerk response for most of us who have been down this road a million times with the the same bad attitude response from both sides!

It just brings back sick feelings if you've ever had a hole that's been fished out, This has happened to countless people here I'm sure.

It just seem flat selfish even though the people that take them don't see it that way, I can see how they would think that if you grew up eating bass. I just wish they would spare the hogs but I don't see that ever happening.

I nicely agree to disagree.

grimlin reply :

Quote
So, smaller fish are ususally healthier / safer for you and your family as well. This is evidenced by many of the health warnings which will often say things such as:
A person should eat no more than 3 meals per month of Largemouth Bass "under 17" in length" and no more than 1 meal per month of Largemouth Bass "over 17" in length"........

Just some food for thought,

Fish

This is why i rarely eat seafood or fish.I do love a good fish or seafood every once in a great while,but my family hates it.I've seen people become sick off fish big times.Where i fish the main thing people go after is bluegills,yellow perch or walleyes,which in my opionion taste better than bass.

You know i've never caught a bass over 3 pounds yet...I sure hope i'm not the only one here who practices C&R because then i may never get a chance to catch a big one.That would make me sad.

senile1 reply :

FC stated:

Quote
And 1% (that would be me) wants to have a friendly chat, and help to educate the catch and kill angler, so that he can, and most likely would, make the right decision, on his own ?

Be careful. You don't want to strain that shoulder from patting yourself on the back. It'll make that next pig you stick much harder to bring in.

While I agree with you on not bashing one another on this thread, I believe education isn't a panacea for every problem. Sometimes there is no answer. Some people really don't care. Many people still have unprotected sex with strangers after being educated. It takes all kinds to make this world go around and there is one kind that won't change, no matter the education received. I'm not saying this guy is that kind, but if he is sticking pigs like this it would seem that he is a knowledgeable fisherman. C&R has been around for years, so do you really think that he hasn't heard of its benefits? It's a possibility but I would say it is unlikely. I do agree that we should try to educate people but once that is done, what's left except threads like this and public pressure to do the right thing?

(To those who eat fish, I am speaking of C&R of most trophy fish. I believe in selective harvest. See my earlier post.)

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

Quote
Well I have a question
What would George Perry have done with those bass?

And What did George Perry do with his bass?

Eat them if u eat um i dont see no wrong but this guy is parading um like hey look ,Id never eat bass .If this guy throws um in the bushes after the pics ya he deserves anything negative AND deserves a 1/0 hook up under his thumbnail

Cephkiller reply :

:'(

Fish Chris reply :

Hey Senile1, I hear what your saying, and I somewhat agree. For those people who won't ever change their minds, I think we should just forget about them and move on, directing our attention in the direction it will do the most good.

But hey, when you said > but if he is sticking pigs like this it would seem that he is a knowledgeable fisherman. <

Hmmmm. Depends on how you look at it. Honestly, I think I could grab just about any dummy off of the street, put him on the right Cali trout pond, at the right time of year {either with a swimbait, or a small, soft plastic Bluegill pattern} and teach him the bare basics of what he needs to know, to catch a giant bass.

And along those same lines, I do believe that sometimes, "especially nowadays, with the Internet", people sometimes learn too much of the "big stuff", too fast, before they really have any kind of foundation to rest it on.

Just a few more things to ponder....

Peace,

Fish

senile1 reply :

Good point, Fish Chris. He's learned how to catch pigs, but maybe he hasn't been exposed to the ideas and methods that will maintain a trophy fishery.

5bass reply :

This horse has been dead for awhile now.....

Long Mike reply :

Fourbizzle make a very strong point, but, so does MS bass. If a person is fishing for food, then he should keep all he can catch within legal limits. I have a relative who lives barely above the poverty line. He hunts and fishes every chance he gets, and then consumes it all. If he saw me catch and release any decent sized fish, he would probably try to choke me to death.

justfishin reply :

Fourbizzle, I am a little disappointed in you. Have you no compassion? This guy obviously needs counseling and therapy for his embarrassment over his very small wee-wee size. He is over compensating. Please relay this message to him, that he needs to take the first step in the handling of his problem with his little wee-wee,LOL. Its obviously a Freudian problem. ;D ;D ;D

ejtaylor822 reply :

I am with some others on here. If he wants to eat them, or maybe mount one, OK. His perogative. However, to catch, kill and throw in the trash? Now, that's a different story. I do not consider him (or others that do this) sportsman and/or fisherman. To kill something because you can or want to, well, to me, they are just not wired straight.

Eddie

guest reply :

Quote
Guys on another board think I am bad for keeping limits of stocked trout,

I had to laugh when I read this. I was in a fly fishing shop on Long Island a number of years ago. there were a few of us BS'n like fisherman do in a tackle store.

Anyway, there was this one guy who was rabid C&R. "All trout must be released" He went on to add that if saw someone with a creel, he wouldn't even say hello to them.

I maintained then as I do now, that C&R is a good thing, but keeping a few fish now and then is not gonna hurt anything. Especially stocked trout.

He went mad dog. I mean it. He started ranting and I could swear he was foaming at the mouth (ok, so I exaggerate a little) but his tirade was blistering.

He couldn't seem to understand that these fish got to the river in a truck along with a couple hundred thousand others, and that the state does it specifically so anglers will have trout to catch and keep.

He just didn't want to hear it. And our "discussion" was on the verge of getting ugly.

So, the moral to the story is IMHO

there are fanatics on both sides of every issue.

As far as I am concerned this is more often about being macho then any real awareness or consideration for conservation and common sense.

Tom Bass reply :

Everyone,

I went back and modified my original post. After rereading this entire thread I realize that I came across like a complete jackass without actually thinking about what I was writing when I made my post. I added this to the original and here also:

While I still believe a person should be able to keep fish that they catch there ethical issues involved as well. If they are keeping them to show them off and throw them away I am in agreement with all of you that this person needs a talking to. If they are keeping them for food. That is okay in my book but I would encourage them to keep the 1 or 2 pounders and let the big fish thrive.

Avid,

Your comment to me after my first post really got me thinking. Thanks for not verbally kicking me in the shins.

It's funny you mention trout fishing and your encounter with that man regarding the trout fishing and keeping stocked trout. One of the reasons I think I got so bent out of shape over this thread was my encounters with Flyfishermen in Califonia a few years ago. They are a very elitist group and prone to doing all kinds of crazy things in regards to protecting the trout, even stocked trout, from being harvested or caught in ways that they do not deem to be approved by their code. They are elitists of the worst kind. I have had run ins with them and I guess I thought this thread was running in an elitist fashion and I reacted inappropiately.

All,

I do have one thing to add though that disturbs me. Last weekend was the Wal-Mart FLW Bass Fishing Championship. The tournament was held on Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and High Rock lake simutaneously. After weigh in, which were conducted miles away from the lakes, the fish were returned to the lakes. This weekend, yesterday and today, there were lots of dead bass all over the shoreline at Blythe Landing on Lake Norman. I counted 13 yesterday in the span of a football field and today there were more that had washed ashore and the black vultures were having a field day. All of these fish were 2-4 pounders when they were alive. Judging from the decomposition I would say that they had all been dead for close to a week. I took a few photos but I don't know how to post them.

Perhaps the people that participate in and oversee these tournamnents need to reevaluate their handling of these fine fish. To me it would be just like the guy that catches them and photographs them only to let them die. Something to think about.

Take Care,

Tom

fourbizz reply :

Thanks Tom. You're a good guy in my book.

WhiteMike1018 reply :

What a shame.

I honestly have no words right now.

Quote
feels like punting this guys cat onto the freeway

LOL @ that

Gatorbassman reply :

Quote

All,

I do have one thing to add though that disturbs me. Last weekend was the Wal-Mart FLW Bass Fishing Championship. The tournament was held on Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and High Rock lake simutaneously. After weigh in, which were conducted miles away from the lakes, the fish were returned to the lakes. This weekend, yesterday and today, there were lots of dead bass all over the shoreline at Blythe Landing on Lake Norman. I counted 13 yesterday in the span of a football field and today there were more that had washed ashore and the black vultures were having a field day. All of these fish were 2-4 pounders when they were alive. Judging from the decomposition I would say that they had all been dead for close to a week. I took a few photos but I don't know how to post them.

Perhaps the people that participate in and oversee these tournamnents need to reevaluate their handling of these fine fish. To me it would be just like the guy that catches them and photographs them only to let them die. Something to think about.

Take Care,

Tom

Tom,

I will tell you the reason that there were so many dead fish. FLW uses Rejuvenade as a water treatment. Rejuvenade has things in it known to irritate bass and causes stress. I can't believe they are still using this stuff. They have killed a bunch of fish in the past and are under investigation in one state for a unusually high post tournament death rate in a tournament last year. I have seen first hand what Rejuvenade does to a bass. It causes them to jump around in the livewell and injure themselves. It also causes limited blood flow to the gills due to the stress. At the end of a tournament last year I was able to compare the condition of fish that were kept three different ways. (Rejuvenade, Please-Release-Me, and recalculated water) The fish that had the Please-Release-Me did great. They were calm and had no injuries. The ones with recalculated water weren't doing that bad either. They had a few injuries that we treated but they were fine. The ones with Rejuvenade were a whole different story. The first thing I noticed was how hyper they were. Then I saw the injuries. Almost all of them had them. But the most disturbing thing was the line of white at the ends of the gills. This is caused by limited blood flow and it means that they can't get optimum oxygen. I wish that there were some way we could get FLW to stop using that stuff. You should report this to your State Fisheries Biologist.

Bass-mania reply :

Quote
so,.....what's his email? I'LL fish with him, no problem. Doesn't mean he'll be making it home that night,...but sure,...I'll go pop his float tube in 30 ft of water fishin' with this guy.
Sickening. :-/ >

hahaha, nice...but i see this kind of killing all the time where i fish, and its taken its toll on my favorite fishing lake. The people WERE taking 19+ inchers out about 10 years ago, now...to come across a 19+ is rare to never, 19+ would now be quite the site on my lake...which is sad, because some people just don't appreciate big fish, nor fishing and conservation. I personally don't keep fish...occasionally a perch, but if i want fish, ill drive to the fish market. Its pathetic, and it makes me sick.

preach4bass reply :

A couple of weeks ago a buddy of mine went to Guntersville with a group of over 20 guys from KY to go bass fishing. They are strictly catch and release at their home lakes, but at Guntersville they keep everything they catch. Thankfully, the weather messed them up and they didn't catch as many as they could have! Still, every year they go and fish for several days and bring hundreds of bass out of the lake (because they're not hurting THEIR home waters).

There's only one word to describe that: SELFISH

biteme reply :

Are you guys kidding me with this, maybe he needs the food stuff! Does anyone know what it cost's to go fishing these days? Here on the West coat we're up to 3.30 a gallon for gas. Almost every place that has fish like that will cost ya about 15.00 to fish. Now lets add the tackle to catch hawgs like those. Odds are he's throwing some swimbaits that cost a pretty penny. It would be cheaper to run to the store and buy a nice Tbone!

The more of this stuff I see and meet guys like this they seem to have the show off complex. They're looking to impress the guy next door. Fourbizzle, I would love to take this guy fishing. Just to ask him why! Then go over why its a good idea to release fish like those. If you can make it happen hit me up. AKA fishonandon

Glenn reply :

Ok guys, the same things are getting repeated over and over here. So let's move on.

fyi - there's a ton of articles on this site in the "about bass" section regarding limits, selective harvest, keeping bass vs. release, etc. etc. Great insight on how it all works together to make a very healthy fishery.

Thanks!

Glenn

jomatty reply :

i almost hate to mention this because it is so obvious and no thinking person would be confused but...

bringing up american indians or george perry...nothing could be more irrelevant. comparing the landscape and population of then and now is ridiculous. even talking about someone from the 70s or 80s would be irrelevant because they were just not as well educated as we are today and didnt know the consequences of their actions. comparing a relatively miniscule amount of native americans fishing strictly for substinence in areas that are so much less inhabited and "wilder" then anything we see these days could not be more irrelevant. personally if is saw a wooly mammoth walking down the road i wouldnt hunt it but i dont begrudge those who hunted them when they were around for doing so. thats about how relevant american indians and george perry is.

the whole food fishing argument is ridiculous. if this guy needed to supplement his food source then he certainly wouldnt be targeting big bass. not only that but judging by truck and such he is doing fine. if i ever needed to track down a meal i dont think i would go throw a hudd all day and try to catch a 15 id get some plastic worms and know im gonna catch enough for a couple meals.

edit:

sorry i didnt see glenns closing of this thread when i posted and didnt mean to keep beating on this dead horse but just got a kick out of the american indian analogy

justfishin reply :

Usually I am very conservative in my post in here but, this time I am going primal. Let me apologize first hand to Glenn and all of the mods and anyone else this offends but, let me make one thing clear on bringing home and killing these big fish for bragging rights. First to the guy whom did this, you are a not a sportsman by any definition of the word. Secondly to BaitMS, shut up stupid. :-?

Glenn reply :

Off topic replies have been moved to [link=http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1178635688]This Thread[/link]

NCSenko reply :

Now let me preface what I'm about to say with that I am an almost exclusive catch-n-release fisherman. I have kept one fish my entire life and that was, at the time, my largest bass ever and there were no such things as replica mounts, only skin mounts.

I much as I would like to see those beautiful fish released back to be caught again this guy has his rights. Now I'm not a hunter, nor am I against hunting, but I'm sure many of you are hunters. If you think of this in those terms then how can you disagree with him. For those of you that hunt think about all the arguements you use to justify what you do to those people in society that look down upon you for hunting animals. Most if not all those arguements apply here.

fourbizz reply :

I have hunted all my life. Hunting is not without ethical management either. Obviously releasing the animal is not a possibility, but selective harvest is not only possible, it is VERY important! I have yet to kill a trophy Elk, but I would only get a bull tag every few years, as opposed to the people that just go out and bang away at 6 points every year.

There are hunting zones that are much much better than some others. Why is this? Of course habitat, human population densities, predator concentration, available food, and other things come into play. But most often, these zones are managed in a way that greatly reduces the overall number of animals killed and to an even greater extent, limits the amount of trophy class animals that are harvested.

You may not be able to release the animals you kill, but you are most certainly capable of DECIDING which animals to take.

When it comes down to it, that is the nature of this whole issue. Decisions. Often, the best decision, is an educated one.

bassassinator reply :

Yeah, I get pretty torqed over this too. I have people tell me about the big ones they caught over the weekend and when I ask "what did ya do with it", the response is usually "I fried it"! We dont have many lakes with an abundance of big fish here is NW MO so my deal is to leave the big ones always! If ya want to eat some, great, but kill the smaller fish and leave the biger ones for the sport.

Here is a fish story....a true one, I threw a spinner into a log on a flat in Smithville last year.....a hawg hit that sucker like a ton of bricks...it was by far the largest bass I have ever hooked into....as it came to the top I really got excited. It could have swallowed a soft ball with that mouth! Really! No kiddin!

Anyway as I was getting the net I was thinking as soon as I get it into the livewell, I will call the wife to bring the camera, take several pics from all angles, I would get all the proper measurements and let it go. They make real nice replicas now days and I would have the pictures to back up my claimes. Well........she took a run, wrapped her self around a trot line (abandoned and untagged) and flipped free before I could get to her. (I will cut every abandoned trot line I see from now on)

The moral of the story is that we can leave even the big ones for next time.

guest reply :

comparing the ethics of hunting with the ethics of fishing is the classic "apples and oranges" scenario.

One has nothing to do with other.

Ky_Lake_Dude reply :

It is so sickening.

When I catch my first bass over 8lbs I'm taking length and girth an gettin a fiberglass replica.

Cephkiller reply :

I can't believe this discussion has gone on this long. What this guy is doing has nothing to do with selective harvest. That is a straw man argument. Selective harvest is removing smaller fish to allow the large fish to get bigger. Killing these hogs to allow other fish the chance to grow large - that is ridiculous. What he is doing may be legal, but it is certainly unethical. Condoning his behavior by saying it is legal will not work. I can think of countless examples of legal behavior that I condemn and I'm sure most of you can as well.

I think the emotional responses have clouded the issue here. I know I am certainly tempted to pounce on this lowlife chastise this individual myself, but if we all stop attacking and defending this man maybe we can reach a consensus. Can we at least agree that what this person is doing is harmful to the fisheries he frequents in however small a way? Can we agree that he and others who enjoy catching these large bass would be better off if he changes his ways?

guest reply :

Quote
I know I am certainly tempted to pounce on this lowlife

cool, can I watch?

Troutfisher reply :

I'll bring the popcorn and drinks. BTW I'll be in the back room selling the bets. I'm in for Cephkiller.

kodiak reply :

I am an avid quail hunter. Any quail hunter who is a sportsman will never knock down the covey lower than 5 birds. I consider this the same as selected harvest for bass.

New Bass Man reply :

Lots of good points. I believe the thing to remember is that everybody who fishes are not necessarily sportsmen. Most of us on this board bass fish as a sport. Of course, we have a certain point of view about releasing big hawgs so others can catch em and have the fun we did. But we are in the club so to speak. We know the rules--written and unwritten.

There is another camp of people who pleasure fish to keep the fish they catch. They stock their freezers for the winter. Nothing wrong with that. These people buy fishing licenses just like we do and I don't recall my license restricting how big of fish I can keep. Where is it written so ordinary fisherman know they shouldn't keep big bass? People keep big catfish and nothing is ever said. Big muskie--nothing. Big croppie. People keep big fish all the time.

So I have a question for the sportmen. Should we impose our code of conduct on pleasure fishmen or those who have no problems keeping a fish or two? And let me say, I have no idea what that gentleman is doing with those fish.

Nobody will ever win this debate because there is no absolute right answers. It all comes down to what you believe. And what you believe depends on what camp you belong. The best we can expect from this discussion is a better understanding of the opposing point of view. Iron sharpens Iron, right? Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I hope we can learn to accept other view points that may differ from our own. Something I learned from Colin Powell. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position fails, your ego goes with it. He also said, you can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.

Cephkiller reply :

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Big muskie--nothing.

You obviously haven't spent time around the same muskie fisherman I have. They make the vitriole expressed here about bass look like child's play.

Replica. reply :

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Big muskie--nothing.

You obviously haven't spent time around the same muskie fisherman I have. They make the vitriole expressed here about bass look like child's play.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota if a big muskie stays in the boat, you go in the water. Catch and release of big muskie (of legal size) is an unwritten law.

cart7t reply :

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I hear ya dude.
Remember though, there is a line you do not want to cross. Voicing your opinion to the person (which I do, sometimes with tact, sometimes without) is a good thing. But if you cross the line and try and physically do something about it, I don't think thats right. They ARE within their rights to keep fish and we are within ours to object.

Why don't you fish with this guy and try and modify his behavior towards keeping these big bass?

Even if he's float tubing, the fact someone else is along to be able to take a photo of the thing while you're still on the water certainly couldn't hurt.

BTW, those meat shows do nothing to me. I'd be embarrassed to post shots like that on any bass fishing forum.

Red reply :

Quote

Quote

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Big muskie--nothing.

You obviously haven't spent time around the same muskie fisherman I have. They make the vitriole expressed here about bass look like child's play.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota if a big muskie stays in the boat, you go in the water. Catch and release of big muskie is an unwritten law.

i think they are making the minumum length limit for muskies in MN go up from 40 to 48" i know the biggest fish i ever caught wasnt even a keeper!! 36 1/2 inches

FisshhBill reply :

Before I will fish with someone I don't know, I'll ask 1 question: "If you catch a 5 lb Plus bass, would you have a problem letting it go"? I the answer is yes, then "You Ain't fishin' with me"! >

Lucky Craft Man reply :

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Big muskie--nothing.

I do a fair share of muskie fishing and know several guys who muskie fish exclusively and keeping a big muskie is unheard of. These fish are almost worshipped and to kill one is about as bad as any crime you could commit.

The good news about that guy eating all those fish is with how water quality is going, he may develope a build up of mercury and his fishing days maybe cut short...

edbassmaster reply :

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so,.....what's his email? I'LL fish with him, no problem. Doesn't mean he'll be making it home that night,...but sure,...I'll go pop his float tube in 30 ft of water fishin' with this guy.
Sickening. :-/ >

LMAO!! Me Too. I caught a 2 lb bass at the local rez and some terd wanted it. I threw it right in the water in front of him and said " Sorry dude, I throw em back " If I ever catch a DD, I will get pics, kiss her and toss her. Id rather see her swim away than dead on my wall.

Glenn reply :

Off topic replies have been moved to [link=http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1178981838]This Thread[/link]

10007

Makes me sick. 2024

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