So Much for catch and release

[mastin03]

must not be online anymore...i cant see it

[Col Forbin]

I think all bass should be released. They have become a true sportfish. There are plenty of other fish that taste just as good as bass, some of them you could catch, some you can buy at the store. If being legal is your only justification for keeping bass, you should reconsider. Just because something is legal, does not mean it is best practice.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

so if i buy bass or stock my own pond with them i shouldn't be able to harvest them because us bass fisherman think it's wrong?Maybe he is cutting back on his grocery bill,if so then i don't see em being wasted.If some aren't eaten or kept then they'll just die so what's the difference.besides if they came from barren nolin or rough he had his limit legally,if there were 15 strung up then that's different.i don't keep lm or sm usually but i don't think we should bash or hang who prefer to keep them.maybe he don't like gills there are some things we prefer to eat over others.jmo

[dh]

Ok, for all you uninformed people the state of Kentucky or Ky. Fish and Wildlife do not make the rules and regulations for our fisheries. The nine member commissioners who represent the nine districts in the state of Ky. make the rules and regulations so I kind of get tired of hearing that it is ok to keep a bass because the state says it is ok. If everybody that bass fishes kept a limit of fish one time a year, there would be no bass in our lakes. Bass fishing is no longer a sport for food,,there was $880 million spent on fishing last year in the state of Ky. Almost twice as much as hunting and no I don't agree that it is ok to keep bass out of our major res. We have the potential to have fantastic fishing for bass in the state of KY. but a minority of anglers are impacting the resource for the majority,,,even though they are as they say not breaking any laws.,,,and they keep doing it over and over again. I have witnessed this and the change is coming but it is a shame that fisherman can't police their own greed and instead need laws and regulations to do that for them when common sense will tell you that with as much pressure as we are seeing on our lakes that ever fish that is killed needlessly will have a large impact on the future of bass fishing. So all you tournament fisherman should be requesting that no dead fish be weighed in in any tournaments period. That rule would be for the fish and the future of the fishery. If we would all band together, and let the nine commissioners know what the majority of us want which is fish in our lakes for the sport of catch and release only then we could have it. Ky. seems to be slow for change to take place. Some of the best bass fishing in the nation is in California, Wisconsin, Minn., so check out their rules and regulations and you will understand why. Sorry for the long post, just letting off a little common sense steam. john

[tfmuch]

Again I must say you guys are no different than PETA here, \with out knowing it you are another special interest group primed and ready. You guys see them everyday, our country is run by them and this is how it starts, not everyone is a tournament fisherman. I still say they have the right to catch and keep what they want as long as they follow the rules. I sad before I practice catch and release, but if my mother wanted a mess of bass to eat, I would bring them home, might take a PIC of them. I think the guy took the Pic with the pose he had as a joke in referents to an incident with a newsmen pic that almost cost him is job last year at wbko. As I live in the USA I hate it when a small group of people try and tell me what to do. I fish tournaments and see lot of dead bass after weigh-ins pitched back in, pretty sad. Bigger tournaments haul them, fewer few are took home to eat, who would want to eat a bass that has been dead for 5 hours in a live well in 80+ water. Catch and release or take some home should be an Individuals right and should not be persecuted of it.

[Col Forbin]

[QUOTE=tfmuch;316794]Again I must say you guys are no different than PETA here, QUOTE]


I think that is taking it a little too far, comparing us to PETA. We truly appreciate our sport, and want to preserve the future of it. If you want to keep fish for food, why not fish for an easier to catch and much more abundant species that regenerates it's population much quicker. I am not so outspoken that I am going to protest at cleaning stations - but anyone fishing in my boat will follow catch and release. So we may be extremists when it comes to protecting the future of our sport and local fisheries, but radical animal rights activists, we are not.

Andy G. summed it up best "you go ahead and keep keeping fish. And wonder why you never catch 10lbers in ky."

In terms of tournaments, I think they should be more strict on dead bass. I think they should even pay a deposit $50 (for large tournaments). If they weigh in a dead bass, it is donated to preserving our fisheries, if not, it is refunded. Personally, I have never weighed in a dead bass in a tourney - and I think more tournament fisherman are becoming more educated in how to temporarily keep and release healthy bass.

[DJD]

"""In terms of tournaments, I think they should be more strict on dead bass. I think they should even pay a deposit $50 (for large tournaments). If they weigh in a dead bass, it is donated to preserving our fisheries, if not, it is refunded. Personally, I have never weighed in a dead bass in a tourney - and I think more tournament fisherman are becoming more educated in how to temporarily keep and release healthy bass."""
Yikes! I know you are just throwing out ideas here but that would be extreme. I have lost a few bass due to a weak/sick fish or just plain unfortunate circumstances like a tounge hooked bass and that penalty would be an insult. Dead bass at weigh-in's are a small problem no need impose more rules. JMO

[Col Forbin]

"""In terms of tournaments, I think they should be more strict on dead bass. I think they should even pay a deposit $50 (for large tournaments). If they weigh in a dead bass, it is donated to preserving our fisheries, if not, it is refunded. Personally, I have never weighed in a dead bass in a tourney - and I think more tournament fisherman are becoming more educated in how to temporarily keep and release healthy bass."""
Yikes! I know you are just throwing out ideas here but that would be extreme. I have lost a few bass due to a weak/sick fish or just plain unfortunate circumstances like a tounge hooked bass and that penalty would be an insult. Dead bass at weigh-in's are a small problem no need impose more rules. JMO

I was thinking more in terms of larger tours, $4500 entry fee - $50 is a drop in a the bucket, maybe $10 for a BFL. Just throwing out some ideas. Don't get mad because you catch some weak fish. (totally kidding - lol).

[dh]

dead bass at tournaments are a real problem when they are smallmouth or big largemouth in summertime tours. i have seen a lot of big s.m. weighted in tour. that were dead & was rewarded with big fish money for the tour. there are to many bass fishermen & tours. to allow dead fish weighted in tour cause most of the time they are the biggest fish. tours are supposed to be about catch & release live fish not dead fish. if you do not allow dead fish to be weighted, you can bet they will take better care of their fish, tour. fishermen will do just about anything to win tours. so they will find ways to keep their catch alive!!!! fishing is a privilege that we as fishermen need to take care of & the majority of us do but the minority who think it is their right to go out & keep their limit every time they go fishing have made fishing tough for all of us. so before you lay the blame for a decline in fishing on your favorite lake on ky f&w you might want to look in the mirror & see if you can see the problem jmo

[fishin350]

A lot of fish die days after tourneys.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

A lot of fish die days after tourneys.

hang at wax marina on nolin when there are 2 or 3 tourneys on sat and sunday evenings,and mornings after some night tourneys,there will be a few limits floating and usually you'll see some nice fish,much like the pic. some are talking like it's common place to see all sorts of people catching limits of bass,i see 50 boat tourneys with only mybe 6 or 8 limits average and most of them are seasoned bassers so i don't think the "limits" are leaving the waters like some think.i know i don't hurt the population many with limits

[Moose1am]

Catching deep fish and bringing them up to the surface from deeper than 20 ft will result in the fish being under extreme pressure changes.

This may or may not harm the fish. It depends on how fast you bring them back to the surface and the difference in depth, pressure and temperature. Increases in temperature of the fish can cause dissolved gases in the blood stream to expand and bubble out of solution. And when you decrease the pressure it causes the gases to expand. Bubbles in the blood stream in humans creates the disease called the "Bends".

Now fish are not mammals and are a totally different species so I am not really sure how these gases effect the fish.

But you have to know that Boyle's Law and Charles Laws are a fact of Physics. And a gas reacts to changes in pressure and temperature the same way whether it's inside a fish or a human.

The summer months are the worst time to go catch deep fish if you are concerned about fish populations.

And I am sure many of you who fish for deep water fish have noticed the fish's eye bulging out of the eye sockets and the swim bladder coming out of the fish's mouth. That should tell you that the fish is under extreme stress that may kill said fish.

A lot of fish die days after tourneys.