when do you keep bass? 2025

6pointbuck2003 reply :

I only keep my bass if they have been hooked deep and bleeding every where and they are going to die. When do yall keep bass?

frogtog reply :

When they die. If they are bleeding bad I will pour some coke or mountain dew in their mouth. This will stop the bleeding and I put them in the live well for a while then turn them lose if they survive.

Big Mike in Fl reply :

when I haven't had good fish in a while, we're consistantly catching good fish,and I feel like cleaning them... those three criteria together usually means not very often

Dock Master reply :

I personally never keep a bass, they taste nasty to me. If somebody is with me and they like the way bass taste I will give it to them only if I know that my bass is going to die after I have throw it back.

RoLo reply :

Yes, I frequently take bass home for table fare, but never remove trophy fish.

It's my opinion, that removing smaller bass can only enhance the ecosystem.

If I believed otherwise, I would release every runt.

BTW: I've never eaten any fish in any restaurant (including swordfish & grouper)

that were any more flavorful than fresh Florida bass!

Roger

done reply :

Quote

Yes, I frequently take bass home for table fare, but never remove trophy fish.

It's my opinion, that removing smaller bass can only enhance the ecosystem.

If I believed otherwise, I would release every runt.

BTW: I've never eaten any fish in any restaurant (including swordfish & grouper)

that were any more flavorful than fresh Florida bass!

Roger

I am with ya there Rolo. I will sometimes keep one or two for a good meal. However, trophies, never.

central.PA.bass reply :

whenever they go belly up

Mattlures reply :

I do the same as Rolo. I dont keep them very often but when I do they are the small keeper sized fish. I usualy let all of them go but there are a few lakes I fish that have a ton of small fish. So I do my part and harvest a few of them

ALbasser reply :

I never keep bass. Bass don't have much taste IMO, and every winter I catch enough crappie to last year round. Whether the bass dies or not, I will not keep it. If one does die I believe a catfish or another fish or even a bird will be able to make a meal out of it at least. I still hate to see a bass not make it :-[

Frog Turds reply :

i personally never keep bass...not even if they are gonna die...why??...one i really don't like bass and it would actually be more of a waste if i eat it...why??...because nothing in nature is ever wasted...if said bass is released & dies...it will feed something else...turtles, birds, raccoons, mink and whatever else...that just may need it more than I...

thats my story & i'm stickin to it

p.s edit i just noticed you said bout the same thing Albasser...

Stasher1 reply :

Quote
i personally never keep bass...not even if they are gonna die...why??...one i really don't like bass and it would actually be more of a waste if i eat it...why??...because nothing in nature is ever wasted...if said bass is released & dies...it will feed something else...turtles, birds, raccoons, mink and whatever else...that just may need it more than I...
thats my story & i'm stickin to it

p.s edit i just noticed you said bout the same thing Albasser...

x2...or 3

I never keep them. Even if they're bleeding, dying, or dead, they go right back into the lake. Something will eat 'em.

burleytog reply :

When I'm hungry.

swilly78 reply :

Ive kept one or two over the years, only because they were gill hooked or deep hooked and bleeding to death. Just dont care for the flavor.

Bassn Blvd reply :

I keep'em whenever I feel like eating bass, which hasn't been in about 2 decades.

I'm already looking forward to having a winter fish fry this year. A co-worker and I were talking tonight about catching a mess of Okeechobee speck when it gets cold out. I'm sure a bass or two might fall into the bucket as well.

JuniorFisherJJ08 reply :

anything over 12'' or anything under 15''. Now this is only if im hungry 4 bass.

Bigbub reply :

I keep a few small ones for table fare. Not bad fried up with hushpuppies! How does the Coke or Mtn. Dew stop the bleeding, never heard that one?

D4u2s0t reply :

I enjoy eating fish, but not as much as I enjoy catching them lol. I throw my fish back almost always, with the exception of being camping or on vacation and keeping a few for dinner. Here on my home lakes, I have never kept one.

grimlin reply :

Deep hooking and accidentally killing it I will. I've only had to take one fish home with me this year.It made a little nice lunch meal.

Tucson reply :

Approximately never.

bass or bass ? reply :

When I'm fishing alone or with just my partner on my boat, we release all fish unless badly hooked. If we are camping overnight on the shore, instead of staying on the boat, we keep some for dinner and breakfast. Also when we have a group fishing/camping trip, we keep everything for a dinner/breakfast fish fry. We fish for bass, stripers, crappie, and channel/flathead cats on all our trips.

ww2farmer reply :

I like to eat bass................and perch, and crappies, and bluesgills, and any other fish. When they are cut up into "nugget" sized chunks, battered and deep fried they all taste the same to me...............delicious. But to you original question, I keep a few limits of smaller bass (12"-14") each year. Largemouth only though, just can't bring myself to keep smallies.

Lobster Monster reply :

Never kept a bass for myself, but have kept several for my gf's parents. I have kept plenty of crappie, catfish and bluegill.

dauberangler reply :

Never, like the others have said, if it dies i leave it for another predator to eat.

tholmes reply :

Never. If I want to eat fish, I'll go after some walleye, crappie or bluegill. THey all make much better (IMHO) table fare than black bass.

Tom

roadwarrior reply :

Well, if it's going to die, I will keep the bass and find someone that

wants to clean and cook the fish. However, at "The Secret Pond"

we keep and kill every little bass we catch. If someone wants them,

they get a limit. Otherwise, on the bank for the scavengers. The pond

is lost and I haven't fished it this year. Too much catch & release.

bigbill reply :

Our goverment did a survey into the bass population. The report said to eat the smaller fish so the population could stay stable with the larger bass doing the most of the breeding.

Once a year I will bring home 3 smaller bass for my kittens to eat. I take in abandon kittens that i find in the woods while fishing. Some have been near death but i saved them. They love that first meal of canned tuna. That tells them they will be ok. I have them in pairs or more. One will always cry at first but the others like tell it to shut up were being fed. I have 5 left do to the yotes taking them. I need to fish for yotes soon. ;D

timothy_spain reply :

My folks love bass, so when about every other trip. If I can actually catch them...

NewAngler reply :

Quote
I keep'em whenever I feel like eating bass, which hasn't been in about 2 decades.
I'm already looking forward to having a winter fish fry this year. A co-worker and I were talking tonight about catching a mess of Okeechobee speck when it gets cold out. I'm sure a bass or two might fall into the bucket as well.

it doesnt get cold down there!

alwayslooking reply :

whenever my wife tells me to,,,she says fish fry,,,i bring fish,,,always selective harvest, never trophys

ValkyrieRider reply :

I'm like one of the guys above. I like pretty much any fish for eatin (besides carp). I'll keep bass every once in a while if I'm not stocked up on crappie in the freezer.

I don't keep big, old bass. Better to keep them spawning I think.

Most of the lakes I fish, it's illegal to keep anything 12-15" and the minimum is 15".

CHEVYRIDAZ reply :

Quote
whenever my wife tells me to,,,she says fish fry,,,i bring fish,,,always selective harvest, never trophys

Same for me!!

Big Bait Fishing reply :

Quote

Quote
i personally never keep bass...not even if they are gonna die...why??...one i really don't like bass and it would actually be more of a waste if i eat it...why??...because nothing in nature is ever wasted...if said bass is released & dies...it will feed something else...turtles, birds, raccoons, mink and whatever else...that just may need it more than I...
thats my story & i'm stickin to it

p.s edit i just noticed you said bout the same thing Albasser...

x2...or 3

I never keep them. Even if they're bleeding, dying, or dead, they go right back into the lake. Something will eat 'em.

that's how i feel !!! have never eaten a bass , never will ..... i ALWAYS catch and release , ALWAYS .....

TrippyJai reply :

I usually don't keep fish because I fish for the fun of it and enjoy being out on the water. If I had to keep a few because my parents ask me to bring home fish or if they get hooked badly, I'll keep it. As others have mentioned, none will be over 2 1/2-3lb size.

Also, there are better tasting fish to keep. Bass is not one of them.

cart7t reply :

I kept a 7lber I caught 2 weeks ago and tossed it on ice. I was out around dusk getting ready to spotlight deer when I saw the fish swirl. Got it on a live minnow. We had barely got the cooler lid closed on the fish when a couple Bald Eagles flew within shooting range so we dropped them too. We wound up gut shooting around 6 deer later that night but could never find any of them. Hard to figure too, as much as they were bleeding. Anyway.

This past Sunday was a great Fish and fowl day for the smoker.

Bankbeater reply :

Never. I like the taste of cat, crappie, and bluegill a whole lot better.

BrianSnat reply :

I keep them if I'm ice fishing (the only time I use live bait) and they are gut hooked and bleeding. I'm not a big fan of the taste of the bass I catch in the summer, but bass caught through the ice taste pretty good.

Last winter I tried a new lake and was pulling in quite a few bass, mostly in the 3-5 lb range. If they were lip hooked I threw them back. The rest I felt kind of bad watching these nice sized fish die on the ice, but they did make for some nice meals.

JigMe reply :

I will keep a bass if it is deeply hooked, other wise it will go back. They don't taste so good...haha...

Quinte bass reply :

Keep such a noble fish...ugh!!!! You'll all go to hell....' alt='default_biggrin.png' alt=':D'>'>

shootermcbob reply :

Never. I don't like eating fish, but I do like catching them!

GRiver reply :

never keep anything, used to, just don't do it anymore

angler1 reply :

For me its never. Even if something bad like that happends, and it does happen sometimes and it hate it, (I am a CPR fisherman) I release the fish. I belive in the food chain. Where I am from you really should not eat ANY freshwater fish, so it goes back for a preditor to eat. Again, that's just my opinion.

6pointbuck2003 reply :

looks like this thread would have been a good one for a poll

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