So Much for catch and release

[Bonefish]

I have to agree what is legal is legal, but as a kid growing up, when we caught fish we ate them because it cut down on the food bill, and it was cool in those days to bring home your catch to show and tell. But, now it hurts my soul to see SM and LM bass destroyed for no reason. It is a matter of what is the right thing to do. For me, I love the taste of the bluegill, crappie, Ky's and such, but would I eat a smallmoth or largemouth...its just not right for me. I feel the same with the big bucks. I would rather eat a small doe. The meat is much better.

[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.

[DJD]

If everybody with a fishing license made it a point to bring home a limit everytime they went bass fishing, though it would be perfectly legal, it would most definitely have an impact on the fishing. The state sets those creel and size limits, but they also count on the fact that there are plenty of catch and release anglers out there...believe that.

I'm a throw-em-back kinda guy for bass. I'll never fault a guy for a legal harvest, but I still think it's majorly important for us to promote catch and release fishing to keep things good in the future.

Great point! I have kept a few through my lifetime but not anymore. I won't keep another one to mount either....been there done that.

[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.

[kyjake]

Havent eaten a bass in years because I don't target them anymore but would eat them if they were caught.I wonder which kills the most bass,tournaments or cleaning and eating?
Jake

[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

[stockcars6]

i lived on barkley for most of my life.... i have seen a lot of bass kept and a lot a dead bass after tournaments i lived in kuttawa harbor and after a 100+ boat tournament, it was not unusual to find several dead bass... the stress on the fish is extreme and many die after the tournament, not to mention all the crank baits broke off in their mouth... with that said, some fish do need to be kept and i don't think as many are kept as most think

as far as who does the harm, i don't think many tournament fisherman are going to keep bass, and those who don't fish tournaments probably don't go out and catch 5 nice fish and keep them, people that keep small fish are doing more harm than those who keep keepers

i think the government does a pretty good job with the regulations, they are the ones with the information from the shock tests, if there was a shortage of fish, we wouldn't have the option to keep 5 bass

personally, i won't keep a bass from a public lake, there are plenty of ponds and strip pits for that... an ocassional meal of bass is nice, but i do not go fishing to put food on the table, though there is nothing wrong with keeping a few every now and then

if those bass came from a large public lake, then i am sick, if they came from a pond, i hope he left some for his next trip

[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).