A plead to the KDFWR

Please place a larger size limit on the smallmouth at Lake Cumberland, if I see or hear another person cutting up 4 and 5 pound brownies for food I think I'll just puke. I know I'm gonna get flamed by a few for this but why on God's green earth does somebody want to eat a **** big bass, they taste like crap, put them back PLEASE. Good heavens if they are that hungry I'll buy'em a steak dinner if they quit keeping every doggone bass they catch. I've got to quit looking at other sites and guide services photo pages it's just killing me. I'm sorry and I'm done but I had to vent, I wish they would put a 25 inch size limit on all bass or go to a slot like Dale.

I totally agree with you. Some people don't see the big picture...influenced by the "I" and "My" generation.

Totaly agree with you you there Mhall....A Bass over 12 inches taste's like crap...I know cause when I was a kid we used to eat anything we caught...Including big bass...But I learned that the smaller teh fish the better tasting they are...If you want food fish, catch a mess of Bluegills, Red Ear or Crappie....Maybe even some cats or if your into them Carp or Drum...Lots of other fish out in the waters to eat besides Bass...Put them back if you catch them and let someone else do the same....That way there will be Bass for all generations to catch.....

[quote=mhall;293343]Please place a larger size limit on the smallmouth at Lake Cumberland, if I see or hear another person cutting up 4 and 5 pound brownies for food I think I'll just puke. I know I'm gonna get flamed by a few for this but why on God's green earth does somebody want to eat a **** big bass, they taste like crap, put them back PLEASE. Good heavens if they are that hungry I'll buy'em a steak dinner if they quit keeping every doggone bass they catch. I've got to quit looking at other sites and guide services photo pages it's just killing me. I'm sorry and I'm done but I had to vent, I wish they would put a 25 inch size limit on all bass or go to a slot like Dale.[/quote]

I agree with you that it bothers me to some degree for them to be kept (for eating or for putting on a wall), but I disagree that they taste badly. They taste just like bluegill and crappie because they are in the same fish family.

I'm not advocating keeping them. Heck, I haven't kept a fish - bluegill, crappie, catfish, bass, or whatever in almost 2 years, but just disagreeing about the taste.

GREAT thread Mark!!! I need not say much because you've pretty much summed up how most everyone feels about the smallmouth...Heck, when I fish the farm pond that I regularly fish at I even tend to throw back the bass I catch there...it's just a habit of throwing them back, EXCEPT for when it comes to a REALLY NICE HAWG, and then I will put it on the wall...that day hasn't came yet for me. I'm sure I'll get blasted for my feelings about putting one on the wall, but I don't care...at least I'm not eating every keeper I catch.

i agree that something needs to be done but it will fall on deaf ears to complain on fishin .com to change things you will need to go to the source that has the ability to change. The commissioner for your district is David Godby who lives in Somerset Kentucky. He is one of nine commissioners that represent sportsmen throughout the state. Their names and address and phone number can be found at Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website. These are the people that decide what the regulations will be regarding fishing and hunting..If I felt as strong as you, which I do, I would contact these people and let them know how you feel. I have done that very thing in the past and will be doing so in the future to try and get the daily limit on small mouth bass reduced from six fish daily to two fish mainly on Laurel because a recent survey by F & W concluded that the majority of bass anglers would like to see that on Laurel. I feel that Cumberland would also benefit as much as the rockfish which has a two fish limit, why not the smallmounth bass, rockfish are being stocked sm bass have to reproduce on their own. jmho

[quote=mhall;293343]Please place a larger size limit on the smallmouth at Lake Cumberland, if I see or hear another person cutting up 4 and 5 pound brownies for food I think I'll just puke. I know I'm gonna get flamed by a few for this but why on God's green earth does somebody want to eat a **** big bass, they taste like crap, put them back PLEASE. Good heavens if they are that hungry I'll buy'em a steak dinner if they quit keeping every doggone bass they catch. I've got to quit looking at other sites and guide services photo pages it's just killing me. I'm sorry and I'm done but I had to vent, I wish they would put a 25 inch size limit on all bass or go to a slot like Dale.[/quote]


Now what we have got to do--> We have got to vote in real fishermen in our state Government--Then the problem will be solved :)

I'm with you, brother! Most of us on this board are in the Catch & Release camp. Most people, however, catch fish to eat them. It pains me to think about but it's true.

I just had a conversation with a dear friend who was telling me about a fishing trip he took to Canada several years ago. He said the fishing wasn't all that great. He said the guys he was up there with were talking about how great the fishing use to be and how they brought back huge coolers of fish. I said to him, "Maybe that's why your trip wasn't that great." He just looked at me with a bank stare...

Fishrgurl, don't tell people what kind of batter you fry your bass in to make them taste a good as a crappie... I just can't make sense of that.

Whomever buys a license is able to keep/eat/release what is legal. Do what you want with your fish, but I respectively ask that I, as a license buying, taxing paying, American citizen be able to do the same.

Hey...18" isn't big enough to keep??? If you want a true trophy fishery, make the limit 27". Then the lake will be FULL of smallmouth for you to catch and throw back. My main question would be why would anyone even bother to fish for bass in a lake where there are a ton of stripers that are on average MUCH bigger than any bass is ever going to get in the same lake? I throw ALL of those "trash" brown fish back as they are too small....even the 5-7 lbers....I wouldn't even keep an 8 for mounting. I know I'm gonna catch some flack from elnut for calling his brown fish trash.

[quote=fishincreek;293357]Whomever buys a license is able to keep/eat/release what is legal. Do what you want with your fish, but I respectively ask that I, as a license buying, taxing paying, American citizen be able to do the same.[/quote]

Yep!

I don't think it has anything to do with the "I and My" generation. 30+ years ago when I was starting, most people kept everything that was legal size. Mid 70's, catch and release started taking hold. Personally, I have no problem with someone catching and keeping their legal limit of ANY species. The majority of the stripers I catch go back. If I keep one its typically because I don't feel that it has a good shot at surviving (haven't fished in summer for them for several years). I would still have no problem if a partner decided to keep two 24 inch stripers if they fished in my boat.

For you guys are are so hard core "all bass should be released", do you do the same for crappie, walleye, stripers if you catch them by accident? Why is it that many bass anglers talk catch and release, but have no problems taking a bass off the nest and putting it in a live well for several hours to be released miles away?

Personally, I release almost all fish that I catch. Thats my choice. If someone wants a few for the table, that is their right and their choice.

Andrew

I grew up eating Large Mouth Bass for dinner. Dad always brought home fish after a trip to KY lake. Not sure how big there were as I was too little to remember and Dad cleaned the fish at the lake before he brought them back home on Sunday. As I got older and started fishing with dad I became more aware of the fish we caught. We caught and ate Sauger, crappie, catfish, bluegills, White bass and LM Bass. All tasted good when fried up and covered with butter and lemon juice.

These days I don't fish for bass that often. But times have changed. There are many more bass fisherman and much more pressure on the bass resources than back in the 1960's when I started bass fishing.

These days I stick with crappie for eating. If I catch a bass I normally have to return it to the lake since its undersized. But I will say that the small bass were good eating in the past.

And larger bass have a larger load of pollutants in their bodies than smaller fish. But that should be obvious to anyone as it's just common sense that older fish have consumed more pollutants. One good reason to return the older fish is to keep those pollutants out of your system. We have too many things that can cause cancer already, so why add more to the problem if you don't have to?

But I do believe in letting the professional biologist perform the research and then let them set the necessary standards.

[quote=fishrgurl;293347]I agree with you that it bothers me to some degree for them to be kept (for eating or for putting on a wall), but I disagree that they taste badly. They taste just like bluegill and crappie because they are in the same fish family.

I'm not advocating keeping them. Heck, I haven't kept a fish - bluegill, crappie, catfish, bass, or whatever in almost 2 years, but just disagreeing about the taste.[/quote]