Interesting article questioning the benefits of catch & release

[SLP]

I thought this was a pretty interesting read. Thought others might enjoy reading it.

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/...ease_bass.html

[Atomdata]

Interesting!!

But he mentions, "bass in the smaller classes (under the slot) must be harvested at a higher rate than currently popular."

Maybe I am misunderstanding...but wouldn't that be illegal?

Very good points about the difference in fishing from 20 years ago. I used to go fish in this area on a buddies boat and just in a few hours catch 5 -10 nice bass. Last week in a night tourny I caught 15-20 slots 13" but no keepers.

I have never kept a bass to eat. But not to say I would not mind taking a couple slots home occasionally for dinner. Illegal?

I also noticed he referenced the study on tracking bass and they return to their "home" which I had read previously. I caught a 5lb at Patoka last month way off a main point after bouncing a cb off a submerged stump. He had no visible marks from being caught before. I have been back to the same spot 4-5 times since and thrown everything at him and nothing. Did he learn or was he caught and moved (taken home)?

Somebody mentioned bass only remember things for 15 minutes....I call BS on that!

I really enjoy these type of debates about bass fishing....makes us start to think maybe we are being brainwashed by the marketing of the lure manufacturers......

Thanks for the link!

[SLP]

Maybe I am misunderstanding...but wouldn't that be illegal?

I didn't really understand that exactly either. I thought maybe he was implying that some limits should occasionally be relaxed.

I am not an expert on the subject, but I thought much of what he said in the article did make some good sense.

[Embrey]

Somebody mentioned bass only remember things for 15 minutes....I call BS on that!

i think a fish that got caught 10 minutes after breaking the line with the bait still in his mouth would agree with that

[flyfish]

... fish only remember things for 15 minutes...

That's what my wife says about me.

[SLP]

That's what my wife says about me.

LOL

Just tell here you are trying to think more like a fish

[numbuts]

i think it depends on the lake you fish and the reason for the slot. ky size limit is 12" but cave run lake slot is 13-16" making 12-13" fish legal to keep

[jastew]

i think it depends on the lake you fish and the reason for the slot. ky size limit is 12" but cave run lake slot is 13-16" making 12-13" fish legal to keep

Actually, whent there is a slot, you can keep any fish not in the slot range up to the bag limit. So at Cave Run, you can keep a 1 inch fish if you want.

[numbuts]

i would check with fish and game about that. barren river lake has a 12-15" slot and a 15" min size limit and you can only have 1 in the slot all others must be over 15"

[RoadToad]

i would check with fish and game about that. barren river lake has a 12-15" slot and a 15" min size limit and you can only have 1 in the slot all others must be over 15"

I think Barren used to have a slot, but it doesn't any more. Now it has kind of weird limits on large- and smallmouth bass:
• Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass:
15-inch minimum size limit except 1 fish in the daily creel limit or 2 in the possession limit may be less than 15 inches long.

http://fw.ky.gov/pdf/2012fishguideregs.pdf

But it's similar to a slot in one respect: When the biologists set limits like that, they WANT people to keep at least some smaller fish. It doesn't happen much, but that's what they're trying to encourage.

[sweetwater]

There are two different kinds of fishing slot limits, possession and protective.

Protective slots allows possession of fish over and under the slot range but forbids keeping fish inside the slot.

The much more common possession slot allows you keep fish inside the slot limit range but forbids possession of fish outside of the slot regardless of size.

To avoid confusion most states do not use protective slots.

The other kind of slot limit is how much money you can lose at the casino without making your spouse mad.

[RoadToad]

There are two different kinds of fishing slot limits, possession and protective.

Protective slots allows possession of fish over and under the slot range but forbids keeping fish inside the slot.

The much more common possession slot allows you keep fish inside the slot limit range but forbids possession of fish outside of the slot regardless of size.

To avoid confusion most states do not use protective slots.

The other kind of slot limit is how much money you can lose at the casino without making your spouse mad.

Here in KY, the only kind of slot I've ever seen is a protective slot.