its also alot easier to lie about how big they were if you let them go.

i pretty much fall in line with what backbeach and redlite posted.

if you really want to do what is best for the bass, just stay home. your essentially making their lives miserable for your own enjoyment every time you catch one.

The short version is every legal group really should be taking less fish and every illegal group should be paraded before a judge.

Let a seasons' best go last night. It hasn't been an earth shattering season (but it has been fun).

Numby, not everyone can be hung like Bullwinkle, some people need to give Rocky a run for the money too.

I agree with you Jake, it's not just you. Fish are not toys and that's something to think about.

Getting out in the surf, catching a few fish and taking one home to eat is OK in my book. Trying to catch dozens and dozens knowing that there is always some C&R mortality leaves me scratching my head.

Ed

Good thing they dont have emotions...:uhuh:

ah, for me, stripers taste like muddy cardboard.

i haven't kept one in a while.

Someone answered already, but I'll elaborate. First, fish - and many other animals - are not like humans. They go on reproducing until they die. Fish just drop eggs in the water, so there's no need to spend years raising young. Just as importantly, the fish that reach the biggest size are 1. female, and 2. the oldest. Taking number one first, in population biology its females that are important.

When biologists to the math of reproduction, they literally don't count males. One male can fertilize multiple female's eggs, but each egg is needed to produce a new fish, so females are the important ones in reproduction. When you want to cull a population, like deer, you should really be shooting only does, not bucks.

The second issue is also really important in its own way. The biggest/oldest fish are the ones who have survived all of life's challenges. They are the most resistant to disease and infection, they survived their juvenile years of predation by larger fish, they've proved they can migrate up and down the coast, they can succeed getting food, etc. All of this proves that they have good genes. It's those genes you want in the next generations.

Think of it this way - if you owned an NFL team, would you want to stock your team with players from the college draft, or pick them from Pop Warner teams and wait for them? Some of the best Pop Warner players might become great pros, but most will never even play college ball. But players who have lasted the longest in organized ball and proved themselves in all levels of competition are the best bet. It's like that in life generally. And that's why I'm in favor of taking an occasional mid-sized keeper and leaving the big cows in the water.