HOW ABOUT THAT GOOFBALL WITH THAT NICE STRINGER OF DEAD BASS. SOMEONE TELL HIM CRAPPIE TASTE BETTER, THATS SAD!!!!!

I hear ya. The only way I'd keep a bass is if I was fishing a lake that was over stocked with LMs. And then I'd have a hard time doing it.
Heck, I start feeling guilty if I keep more than a couple crappie even.
Catch and Release is a great thing and I think we've come a long way from the mid seventies...but we still have a ways to go.

The man and his grandson did nothing illegal. They could have had a full limit but turned some back. For the amount of money that it cost to go fishing why not put some food on the table if that's what you need or like to do? I know bass fisherman that keep fish for they like to eat them and the law says they can. How many bass fisherman do you know that have killed a trophy fish just to hang it on the wall? In my opinion that hurts a lot worse than keeping a few good eaters. Bass are released more than any other fish in fresh water. Why because there is more money made off products to catch bass than any other fresh water fish so these big money organization's have done a good job promoting catch and release on bass. Is the limit set only for tourament purposes? The fish and wildlife have set length and creel limits to manage the resource and they vary according to the body of water and its best interest. Up until this year there were no regulations set on cats at buggs but the fish and wildlife stepped in in order to promote a trophy cat fishery. Why do you think God provided us with Bass for us to make money off them? If someone is abusing a resource it's one thing, but using it for its attended purpose is another. That man is not the only one with a picture on the catch of the day with bass that are intended for the table. Just something to think about.

I've seen a lot more dead bass floating in the water after a tournament than that man has on his stringer.
75% of these bass didn't even win someone some money.
I hope he had a blast with his grandson which it looks like he did. I just hope his grandson doesn't get on here and see your self centered comments!!!!!!!

They probably shouldn't be holding tournaments when the temps are above 90+ degrees, it's extremely hard of LM in a livewell. Also, pulling a LM out of 25' or more of water is stress on a LM due to it's air bladder blowing up from lack of pressure on it. Saved many LM's during a tournament by releasing the air bladder in a holding tank. If I wouldn't have done that, 95% of them would have been dead. Deep fishing, high temps and keeping fish in livewells all day, equals high kill rates.

last weekend someone had a bass tourny at the ramp i use alot. I came back in after 4 pm and counted 9 bass floating. what a waste.

Nature kills more fish than we will,of course its a good practice to catch and release but fish are good fried with hot sauce at times,as for LMB I do not like the taste and I have caught and released a lot of them over the years with old what I believe hook hole in their lips so theres another catch and relaese guy out there somewhere......Im sure he dont ride a Jetski though!

Not sure how many of you remember how thrilled you were when you caught your first edible fish when you were a kid. Proud as a Peacock when youi caught it and even prouder when you shared that fish with your family that night. Every kid in America deserves a grandparent that takes the time to get him out fishing

Caprandy,

The difference between nature and humans is, nature has a balance of the food chain...humans can wipe out that balance very quickly.

Fish and Game attempts to set limits to help control stock levels but sometimes it doesn't work without strong law enforcement on the water.

Been discussed many times.

Bass taste alright and I am more than happy to keep a few if that is all that is biting, just as I am sure there are more than a few striper caught by bass fishermen that end up going home to the fry pan. Nothing special (and certanly not sacred) about bass except that they have been promoted as a tournament fish.

The remarks about the illogic of holding bass tournaments in hot weather are correct, and there is no good reason for it except money. If you were really concerned about the fish, you would only hold tournaments in the fall and winter (and definitely not during the spawn or hot weather).

If the fish in the pictures were taken legally (which I am sure they were) and are within the regulations for keeping, more power to them and congratulations to those fishermen.

C&R is the individual angler's choice, and in some places and times, for some species, will kill almost as many as catch and fry (or more, if you catch and release in large numbers).

Hey all you just catch &release guys.Here's something for you to think about.The next time you are in the woods and the monster buck comes by,the once in a life time buck,just let him walk.You preach on one thing but do a complete 360 on other game.If the darn man and the kid are going to consume the fish,just let it be.I am a catch and release man on smaller fish.But those big ones are coming out the water.You all forget about the greed that takes over when a state record fish is caught and it dies.Oh but that's okay.Yeah right.Now that's a "GOOFBALL".If some of you are just going fishing just to throw them all back then you are as ignorant as you sound.There are people that save there money just to go fishing (and to take a kid along is even more special) because of how exspenive things have gotten.If that man and kid had there limit and took them home to eat,what an experience for that kid.You come on here and tell people how great it is to take a kid fishing,now look at you.How much two faced can you be?

BuggsMan,

I'm not understanding where you're coming from on your posting. I would never keep a record bass, period. If there was scales close I'd have it weighed, I'd measure it and take several photos of it and then release it again. With the fiberglass reps that they offer these days, you couldn't tell the difference between the fiberglass one vs the real one, so why kill the LM?
For every person that follows the guidelines from the Fish and Game, there's another person who is NOT.

As far as spawn fishing goes, I've always believed that they (F & G) should close off certain coves during spawn season to make them off limits to fishermen. I'm not saying close all of them, but at least have a few good spawning areas closed off to fishing. This would at least help some and yet give the people who want to spawn fish a chance to do it.
I like to spawn fish, but I don't like to take them away from their nesting site, I always C & R them back. If they've laid their eggs and you pull them off the bed, there's a good chance there won't be many eggs left even if you C & R since bream are always hanging around to rob the nest. And it doesn't take long for 2 or 3 bream to clear a nest of eggs. So I guess you can say I'm at fault too, when it comes to spawn fishing but at least I'm willing to meet halfway on a solution to it.
I'm sure F & G reviews the pressures of spawn fishing and monitors LM levels with regards to it. I'd be all for 50% of the spawning grounds being closed to fishing during the spawn.

River,

I'll tell you where i'm coming from.You have some people on here that believe in catch and release and when someone keeps enough for a meal or two,they want to rant and rave because it isn't what they believe should be done.Just like you said,when fish are spawning and all these no good tourneys are going on,the fish are taken away from their nest and there goes hundreds of fish for another day.But that's okay to do since it's them that's doing it.They don't realize the damage they are doing by taking fish sometimes up to two miles from their nest.If they are so much into catch and release then why don't they mark each fish and each spot that the fish was caught and take it back to give it some kind of chance?Could it be that the tourney is over and it's time to go home?So the fish aren't that important to them afterall.A bunch of hogwash is all it is.

But like i stated in the above post,that once in a lifetime buck wouldn't walk.I betcha on that.

Typical bass fishers thoughts he posted. I think bass fishers are really brainwashed, they buy a $20,000-$30,000.00 bass boat a rod that cost $50.00-$100.00 a reel that is about the same cost then spend $30.00-$50.00+ a day on gas to run up and down the lake at 60 mph cast all day till they can't move their arm the next day for what? A few 2-5 pound fish that they don't do anything with (well maybe kiss) tell their friends we did good at the lake? They think that a bass is "the fish" and anything else is nothing "trash fishing"? The bassmasters have them in their hip pocket spending money on their products or the products adv in their magazine or tv show. If you keep a bass which is legal to do they want to lynch you or call you names "GOOFBALL". Brainwashed is the only word I can think of that fits this.

The problem is that people think fish are just here for recreation and everyone should share the resource. By promoting catch and release the fish can be caught another day. I personally believe that this is the biggest load of manure ever. As some of you know i am a fisheries major in college, and if people would do a little research they would find that with the regulations on keeping fish there is no way to damage the fish populations in a lake as large a kerr. Here is another tid bit for all you catch and release only people. There is a direct correlation between the number of fish in a lake and the size of said fish. Meaning the less bass there are in a lake the bigger they will be. no ifs ands or buts. This is common knowledge.
So to help the fish keep them!

well, to tell ya the truth, i was mitey pleased when they put the 3 @ 14in. an 2 any size rule in...them 12- 13 inchers are good as crappie! but don't get me wrong... i've released 180+ citation size LMB, but when 90% of the population is 12-13 in....eat some! they delicous

I've caught the same fish 3 different times and enjoyed catching it each time. How do I know it was the same fish you might ask? It had 2 holes in it's mouth area that had a certain pattern to them and a slash on it's back area. 3 times 3 different days and if I would have kept it, I would have 1 chance of catching it. Plus I know someone else had the chance of catching also...since I released it the third time also.
I know it's probably hard for some to understand, but some people just enjoy the catch...if I'm in so much need of eating fish, I know where there's at least a dozen fish markets I can go to and it'd be a whole lot cheaper buying the fish than fishing for them.
Of all the fish I fish for, Bream is probably the only fish that I'd think about keeping. Rarely do I keep pan size channel cat and usually it's just one 2-3 lber..
If a lake is "stunned" by being over populated, then I'm all for everyone keeping as many as possible, but you'd think that F & G would issue notice to keep anything under 16" if that was the case.

Eat some, they delicious! Good point Fishdoc.

River Lizard,

We all can go to a fish market and buy some farm raised fish.But boy oh boy,they taste so much better when you catch'em yourself.Nothing like it.It's like going to the store and buying veggies when garden season is in,that home grown tomato is surely hard to beat.But you can go buy those rocks.It's your choice.If by some chance i go fishing and come home empty handed,then i don't think i will starve to death.Some like to eat the fish that they catch and some don't.Sometimes just watching all the dum dums go up and down the water five or six times is almost as enjoyable as catching the fish.

I don't see anything wrong with eating a bass. I grew up hunting and fishing and the rule was, "You kill it you eat it." If I hook one in the gills and he is bleeding real bad, we are having fish for supper. I just hate to see any fish killed and tossed.

Now this sounds a little sappy, but there is more to eating a fish than just getting a meal out of it. People have been eating fish for a very long time, and fishing is one of the most basic means of hunting for food. When we catch a fish, clean it, fillet it, cook it and eat it we have a deep rooted connection to it. 7000 years ago you could not go to the market and buy food you had to find it. and we feel the same satisfaction primitive man must have felt when he "brought home the bacon" Its about tradition more than just a meal. By the way how is it cheaper to go buy fish for $8 dollars a pound than to catch it. last time i checked i could pull 400 lbs of fish out of a lake with my $30 rod and reel and $3 dollar lure.

Fuel to get to the lake.
Fishing license.
Insurance on vehicle
Vehicle maint. cost
If using a boat,
boat cost
Boat insurance
Boat taxes
Trailer taxes
Rod and reel cost
Bait and accessories
Food for lunch

But if you can take 400 lbs out of the lake...I'm not sure where you're fishing legally at.

River Lizard,


Looks like you should be homeless if you want to break it all down.That house payment is killing you,that homeowners insurance is killing you,that car payment is killing you,that car insurance is killing you,that electric bill is killing you,that telephone bill is killing you.I could go on and on.None of the mentioned is as joyful as a day on the water.My only cost is vehicle insurance in which i have to have anyway. and gas.No house payments,vehicle payments or boat payments for me brother.I'm the guy on the water waving with a smile from ear to ear on his face.


Catch'em and Eat'em.

I could go with closed seasons during the spawn but I am a member of the CFC "Catch and Filet Club" and a card carrying member of the Hook em and Cook em club! They have bag limits for a reason, send the guys to jail who take two limits a day, they are out there every day doing it with Stripers and other fish I am sure

Buggsman I need to fish with you brother !