So Much for catch and release

[C-Marshall]

Well said Adam,I agree.I too tournament fish and would like to see all fish released but everyone has a right to keep the legal limit.That said, there are better eating fish than bass! Who is too say what is right or wrong.JUst dont be too quick to judge someone else.

[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.

[MSD]

In my opinion, I see no harm in keeping bass or any other species of fish. I often see many bass fishermen who are fishing for crappie during the spring spawn and they are not practicing catch and release. It seems to me it's ok for them to catch a limit of crappie, but people who are not a bass tourney fisherman have no right to catch and keep "their" fish. We all pay the same price to fish and as long as the rules and regs are followed; i see no problem in keeping a limit of fish, be it bass, catfish, crappie or any other species.

[fisheater]

I love eating fish though i dont keep very many bass.I prefer to have good fishing in all places that i go so i watch what i take.But if i think one is hooked bad or i need just a few more fish for a good fish fry ill turn some bass into poo.

[LarryG]

What is catch and release? My practise is catch em unhook em, and put em back. Then we have the guys who catch em, cull em, get the limit in the live well, dragem all over th lake, and turn them loose in the launch areas. I fish for fun and relaxation, not acclaim.But no matter, you pays your money and you fish, and as long as you dont break the law, go for it.

[bevo]

mmmmm dinner.

[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

[RANGER519]

in my opinion the tournament fishing is hurting the bass fishing more than the guy who catches them to eat.we were camping & bass fishing at barren river a few years ago right after they had a big bass fed. or something tournament towards the end of the week we found a lot of dead fish all around the lake. i.ve noticed the same thing on cumberland & dale hollow. its made the fishing a lot tougher on these lakes. i do catch bass to eat along with crappie,bluegill & other fish.i feel like thats what the LORD made these fish for not for some guy to go out & win a tournament & make money off of them.
i used to fish tournaments to until it got to be where everyone was after the almighty DOLLAR & took the fun out of it.

thanks ranger519

[bull_bluegill]

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.

[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.

[DJD]

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).

Lol...actually I was being a little conservative! (inside joke)