For What Reason Do You Not Release

[CHRISC]

I'm with Rich... 1) Buy a replica if you really feel the need to display a bass on you wall. A good digital camera does the trick as well. Frame an 8X10 photo and display for all your buddies and family members to see. 2) Bass don't taste good.

Keep a few to eat from time to time. That's fine. Just put the big females back. This will enhance our resources for years to come. And something else! Anyone mounting a 5 or 6 pound LM out of Cedar Creek, or any other lake, should be ashamed of themselves. What a joke! If you fall in this boat you either don't fish much or you lucked into catching it.

This topic heats me up so I'm going to stop now.

I still don't keep bass over 3lbs to eat, and I usually put the bigger ones back unless he dies on me or something, but I'm almost to the point on keeping my daily limit of legal size bass that I do catch, with the amount of tourney's that now go on the fish don't have a chance to reproduce and get big like they use to.. NO one is gonna convince me when you catch a fish especially a spawning fish and take it 40miles and beat it to death in the livewell that all of them are going to go ahead and spawn and live! So I'm starting to think well if someone is just gonna take the fish to a weigh in and it may die, why not just eat it so at least it wouldn't be wasted!! I think the state really needs to get a hold on the amount of tourneys that are going on in the lakes in our state!I'm not paticulary talking about Cedar Creek

[Embrey]

I still don't keep bass over 3lbs to eat, and I usually put the bigger ones back unless he dies on me or something, but I'm almost to the point on keeping my daily limit of legal size bass that I do catch, with the amount of tourney's that now go on the fish don't have a chance to reproduce and get big like they use to.. NO one is gonna convince me when you catch a fish especially a spawning fish and take it 40miles and beat it to death in the livewell that all of them are going to go ahead and spawn and live! So I'm starting to think well if someone is just gonna take the fish to a weigh in and it may die, why not just eat it so at least it wouldn't be wasted!! I think the state really needs to get a hold on the amount of tourneys that are going on in the lakes in our state!I'm not paticulary talking about Cedar Creek

oh now...tournaments are catch and release. fish dont die because of them. lol, yeah right.well said. i dont think anybody goes fishing just to fish anymore,and i would say 60% of the time i fish, they are everywhere. and i fish a lot

[jamesdenson]

oh now...tournaments are catch and release. fish dont die because of them. lol, yeah right.well said. i dont think anybody goes fishing just to fish anymore,and i would say 60% of the time i fish, they are everywhere. and i fish a lot

yea green and ky are perfect examples of how tournaments hurt the bigfish population only takes 20+lbs to win on either on about any night they have a tourny there. big fish are still there. also about 80% of fish caught are back where they were caught within 24 hours and about 15% are back within 36. this was results from bioligist that tagged and gps tracked bass that was took up to 90 miles away and released.

[Embrey]

yea green and ky are perfect examples of how tournaments hurt the bigfish population only takes 20+lbs to win on either on about any night they have a tourny there. big fish are still there. also about 80% of fish caught are back where they were caught within 24 hours and about 15% are back within 36. this was results from bioligist that tagged and gps tracked bass that was took up to 90 miles away and released.

id have a really hard time believing 80% of bass would swim 90 miles back to the same spot in 24 hrs

[Hlleonard]

Nobody can convince me that tournament fishermen don't do more damage to the bass population than the guys that take fish home to the supper table....I have never read anything that says" the best way to keep your fish alive and well is to haul them around in the livewell for 6 or 7 hours before you release them"...fishermen who don't do the tournaments and don't want the fish for dinner release them as soon as they unhook them.....nobody eats as many bass a year as there are that die in the tournament fisherman's livewell.

[Fast]

Nobody can convince me that tournament fishermen don't do more damage to the bass population than the guys that take fish home to the supper table....I have never read anything that says" the best way to keep your fish alive and well is to haul them around in the livewell for 6 or 7 hours before you release them"...fishermen who don't do the tournaments and don't want the fish for dinner release them as soon as they unhook them.....nobody eats as many bass a year as there are that die in the tournament fisherman's livewell.

I enjoy the excitment of tournament fishing but I must agree with your statement. Its a double edge sword. We love to return the fish so someone can enjoy catching the same fish another day, but we don't love them enough to forfit winning money or what ever the prize... which is a hypocracy in itself. This year I bought a place at the lake and have fished more than I have in years. I still love the excitment of fishing, but I do miss the compitetion of tournament fishing at times. I did not win many tournaments, so money was not a factor, but it was still exciting. Some companies buy land to grow trees cause they cause so much polution.. maybe fishing clubs do a lot for conservation because they know they are going to kill some fish! Who knows but it sounds good!

[Hlleonard]

I also fished some tournaments a good many years ago...was part of a small bass club and I enjoyed getting together with a bunch of guys and enjoying the day...I never really had the passion for competition fishing but never lost my love for chasing bass....Your honesty in this thread is refreshing...if seems most tournament fishermen want to crucify the guy that keeps what bass he wants to eat and any bass that isn't returned to the water is one less that is there for the next guy but regardless of what the other fellas say,bass is as good a fish for dinner as about any other... ( anybody want to swap recipes)
...now I guess I'll get nailed to the cross.

Guys there is plenty of blame to go around here and in the sheer numbers of bass that are caught in tournaments mean the guys eating fish for dinner are a drop in the bucket compared to the fish that die as a result of being caught in tournaments.

[Fast]

I also fished some tournaments a good many years ago...was part of a small bass club and I enjoyed getting together with a bunch of guys and enjoying the day...I never really had the passion for competition fishing but never lost my love for chasing bass....Your honesty in this thread is refreshing...if seems most tournament fishermen want to crucify the guy that keeps what bass he wants to eat and any bass that isn't returned to the water is one less that is there for the next guy but regardless of what the other fellas say,bass is as good a fish for dinner as about any other... ( anybody want to swap recipes)
...now I guess I'll get nailed to the cross.

Guys there is plenty of blame to go around here and in the sheer numbers of bass that are caught in tournaments mean the guys eating fish for dinner are a drop in the bucket compared to the fish that die as a result of being caught in tournaments.

Addressing your point of eating bass.. I have a friend that is asian who owned 2 restaurants and heard that he can cook bass or any fish that will melt in your mouth. I eat fish once or twice a week and ate bass this past march for the first time in many years... it was GOOD! It was a 3 day boys trip of 10 and we all catch and release but harvest enough for one good fish fry.
I do like asian food and while at their grocery store, I saw a tank full of 1-2 pound bass swimming...they were for sale at $7.99 a pound!.. so, some people really like the taste of bass..Where was my rod and reel when I needed it!!!

[the_donger]

Bass are like most fish, the big ones are nasty and the small ones are sweet. Keep the small ones and let the bigger ones grow bigger.

[Hlleonard]

I don't know about the taste of bass that is bigger than three pounds or so but those are tough enough to fillet....I can imagine how tough it is to clean a 5 pound bass....I did clean a bass years ago that was 21 or 22 inches long
that my neighbor had caught and kept to brag about then threw it in the trash..and if I remember right I struggled with that thing for half an hour....
I gave it to my mom and she said it was good.

[RICHYD4U]

Bass are like most fish, the big ones are nasty and the small ones are sweet. Keep the small ones and let the bigger ones grow bigger.

Exactly...the same goes with trout. The big ones aren't nearly as good as the the smaller ones. Those muscles toughen with time and usage, making for poor table fair.

I always said, do what you want as long as it is legal...as for me and my house, we shall C & R.

-Rich

[jamesdenson]

id have a really hard time believing 80% of bass would swim 90 miles back to the same spot in 24 hrs

all bass were not taken 90 miles and released and i just found another study that said only 34 percent returned to were they was caught so i would say it depends on if they were spawning or not if not there not as worried about going back to where they were caught.