This is one of those Legal vs. Ethical issues.
I always C/R bass. Bluegill and crappies are much better eating fish than bass, and they're much more prolific.
I remember a lake that an uncle built when I was about 7 yrs. old. He stocked it, and let it sit about 3 yrs. before he let anyone fish it. When we were able to go fishing, it was fantastic. I caught a lot of really nice bass out of that lake. He was very generous with the lake, allowing several nearby tenant farmers to go there, and the caught and kept a lot of bass. I went away into the Navy for 6 yrs, and when I came back, it was a different lake. You were very lucky if you caught a bass. And if you try bluegill fishing, all you were able to catch were the little undersized bait-stealers that are a sign of overpopulation--due to the lack of predators, namely the bass.