Southwick Assoc. reports 18% release all, 60% release most, and 21% keep most or all. Where do us Bassholes stand on this? Also please indicate whether you mostly fish where C&R is required, or optional, and whether you only release spawning fish.
To keep it simple please enter for the fishery you mostly visit through the year.
If I'm fishing for me then I release every single fish I catch. If I want to eat fish it will come from Long John Silver's or Captain D's. Maybe Mr's Pauls from the local grocer's freezer.
If I'm with my brother, or fishing the lake near my uncle's house then I may keep some fish on occasion so he can have them. Both my uncle and my brother do eat them, but not all, and usually just cats or trout, crappie and bluegills, an occasional bass mixed in. I'm sure they'd keep a limit of bass if they could but catching keepers on our lake is harder to do than you'd think. All bass have to be minimum 15" long on both local lakes we have that are any good.
My uncle and my dad both grew up fishing and eating what they caught. My brother was introduced to the sport through dad (as I had no real interest growing up), and now he likes to eat them as well. But me personally I was introduced to the sport some years later through a friend (he begged me to go and swore I'd love it, HE WAS RIGHT!!!) and he was catch and release all the way so that's how I became as well. When I fish with my brother and we do keep any I found out that I do not enjoy cleaning them and do not care for the taste, so to me doing this is pointless. I respect those who do wish to keep them as long as they abide by what is legal. However I will never keep one for myself, even if it was a trophy, I would just photograph it and release it again.
I release 99% of the fish I catch. I enjoy fishing for the fun of fishing and like to help preserve that for years to come. Once or twice a year I will go out and hit a school of smaller spotted bass here on Lake Martin and keep 20 or 30 of them to eat throught the year, along with some Crappie when they get to biting good in the spring and fall. I wont keep a bass that is in spawin, or prespawning stages, just personal preferance, as well as I wont filet a fish over 2 pounds. The only fish that I absolutely will not release back into the water are Mudfish and stripe. The stripe are over run down here on Martin and actually hinder the bass because there is a great competition for baitfish between the 2 species.
I release all, unless I think one will not survive, I usually hold one like that in the livewell to see if he will make it or not. Even at the public lake we fish here, where they want you to keep them, I dont, I enjoy catching them too much. C&R is not required anywhere I fish.
C&R for me!
BUT... (that's right)BUT.... I would keep a fish if it was record or close to it, as most of us know or assume ,that no one would believe it anyway, and no pictures or weight would do you any good, I'd keep it and call are local F&G.
the section of river i fish most we can't keep trout or salmon anyway ,so if i ever hit that record I might get locked up for stringing it up and tyring to keep it alive while i wait for dept. of fish and game.
Due to my increased luck walleye fishing, I need to amend my previous response.
The only fish I keep now are walleye, perch, gills/redears. Now, I don't do this because I think bass are more holy than other fish. And I don't do it because some call it a sport. I do it simply because my freezer is full of better eating fish and bass would get passed by for other fish. Same with catfish. I used to really enjoy my fried catfish, but next to a plate of perch or walleye, I am not eating catfish.
Now if my walleye fishing deteriorates, I will once again keep all the keeper bass I need to so my family can eat fish every week. I enjoy both large and small mouth bass, but next to those other fish, they don't stand a chance.
I never kill a fish that I don't intend to eat.
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