If I caught it tonight I just might let it go; if I catch it next July I hope the price is $2.50 a lb.:p

I guess I was a little harsh with the shutup and moron stuff. I apologize fot that. Grumpiness is an early morning flaw of mine you see. The truth is that you were making statements, not just asking a "simple question". However, you have just as much right to make a statement as I have to disagree with it and keep a trophy bass. Oh well, next time I'll have to make better use of my debating skills. And for what it is worth, it is commendable that you would release a 50# bass. I just don't think I would.

It's a real simple answer. " Because we can."

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

I can , I might becaue this is America !

you have your plan and I dont have a clue !
who is a redneck ?
if your sister and your mother are the same person you might be a redneck
if you have more than one brioken down vehicle ( farm equipment ) on your property you may be a redneck
If you have no teeth and that is fine with you you might be a redneck
if you purposely shave your head and walk backwards you may be a redneck no wait that would make you an ugly dog butt
if you think yall is a word you might be a redneck
if your family tree doiesnt have any branches you might be a redneck
so who is a redneck ?

:laughs:

Do you honestly believe that of these HUNDREDS of fish you've caught you've only killed TWO????

If I am Commercial then I will sell it! 50 X 2.00 thats a $100 fish!

If I was to catch one now, have no idea?? I guess i will have to go and get one and let you no.

When I catch my 50, I'm going to mount it on the beach :humpty: and then let it go........

mikey you wus :laughs:

He's the "only" fisherman who can claim that, because unless your an idiot, there is delayed mortality associated with this sport.

I've killed a 52, released a 55 and I'd likely release anything over 40 lbs short of a record fish. But I'd not get in anyone's face over it, as trophy fish approaching that size and age might not be big players in the breeding game anymore anyway.

Tight lines.

i have to say i am very surprised how this thread has gone. i saw it come up and let it run its course for a while before i decided to reply to see what the majority would say. it surprises me how so many poeple look at the beauty of that achievement and striped bass in such different ways. it seems this topic comes up about once a year and we have almost the same responses. this time i think it has learned more towards the wall.

i have witnessed many trophy striped bass caught, killed, and released. i look at the angler and how they appreciate the species, that particular fish, and that particular accomplishment to see how they look at their "sport". i've seen people catch that queen, revive her, and put her back in all while taking special care of that fish. they achieved their goal that night/day - fished hard (maybe), fooled this nice fish, brought her in to see her size, and release her to fight another day. will she live after she swims away? maybe, maybe not. they are not looking over their shoulder to see who will praise them first. i have seen others that look at the fish as merely a dollar bill or another animal and into the cooler it goes w/o even appreciating the fish at all. to me, that person should just be on a trawler as they do not appreciate this fine fish. is it their right to do what they just did to that fish? yes. do i yell at them or make fun of them for it? no. that is their decision, but i just look at how unappreciative they are for this species and this nice fish they just caught. it's sad honestly. why are they even fishing?

i've caught my share of queens. what happens to them? i bring her in, look at my fish, measure her if i can against my rod quickly, put her back in the water, revive her, and watch her swim away. i've had a couple that did not revive and i had to kill them. i hated it, but i had to do it. for the ones that did swim away, there was no better rush and feeling than seeing that tail slowly and methodically swim back into the depths knowing i fooled that fish. that's what i fish for. did i go and tell everyone, nope. maybe a couple close friends. i fish for me and my own goals, not to show off to everyone and try and "prove" my accomplishments or "success". i have my own goals i try to achive. i released many fish that would have placed in tournaments that would have paid hundreds of dollars for the placed fish. i cared more about that fish than a dollar bill. i have a lot less respect for the angler that goes shop to shop weighing a large fish just to show off what they did. you put in your time, caught that fish, congrats. weigh it, take a few pictures, and go on. it just looks disrespectful to our sport seeing that fish hanging there why the angler gloats over it <i>expecting</i> praise for their "accomplishment". if you catch that 50, want to weight it to make sure it is a 50, and then go mount it, go ahead. that's your choice. you finally reached that magic mark, congrats. but, it's the whole gloating over the fish and telling the world is what i will never understand and could care less about.

so, for me it's a lot more about the angler and how they present themselves after their accomplishments than it is about the 50. if you want to kill it, that's your choice. if i choose to release it, that's my choice. you choose to bring it to tackle shop to tackle shop to gloat over it, that's your choice to, but you just lost my respect.

i think we can have this same topic for other species magic "50" mark: a 23+ lbs bluefish, a 18+ lbs fluke, a 15+ lbs tautog, a 1500 lbs bluefin, etc.. i personally feel more people will release that 50 pound striper than any other species equaled "50".

What gets to me are the pictures you see of large fish hanging from a scale for pictures and people talking about how it was released to fight another day. I can’t say for sure that the fish don’t survive, but I’m assuming that the chances are pretty low (I don’t think I’d fair very well if I where hung by the jaw for a minute or two of pictures with a plastic bag over my head so I couldn’t breath). To me, if your gonna release it should be released as soon as possible and supported as evenly as possible during handling, ideally never being taken out of the water if possible. That being said, however, my first 50, if I’m ever fortunate enough to get one, is going on the wall.

Thankfully today ain't Sunday! I was waiting for a Nun to crack a ruler over my knuckles. I've gaffed/ netted:) 4 - 50's and countless forties; unfortunately for people that didn't always deserve them! 95% didn't realize what they had just caught! I even been the one congratulating them with a smile on my face, all while my blood was boiling. For those that spend the time and effort (please don't say and money cause that should have nothing to do with) to catch a fifty, please don't judge them on what they decide to do with that fish afterward, but on what they did leading upto that fish. Big fish much like big Bucks do strange things to a man when they meet!

GENTLEMEN,

I BELIEVE THE HORSE NEEDS NO MORE KICKING.

LIVE AND LET LIVE.

:o

This is a moot subject and we all know it. The law is the law and you can kill any legal fish you feel you need to. It all boils down to the anglers opinion of what that fish is. The matter at hand is what that fish is and what it means to you. We are discussing a fish that has made its life of 20+ yrs navigating one of the most inhospitable environments on earth. A fish that we have attemtped to kill with our pollution, to starve when we rob it of its forage, to kill for our own comsumption . Not to mention the natural predators and hazards of its life . To me and to some others that fish is a warrior of the sea. A fish that has battled and fought the good fight and won. Many call it the holy grail of bass fishing, and an awesome accomplishment it is. But then what is next? The ark of the covenant in a 60? Then the 70? The approach I take is to be the best fisherman I can, to fish with a clear conscience and to acheive my personal goals. The biggest thorn in my side is the guy who kills the big gal for the notoreity. Nothings peeves me off more than the man who sees this fish as a way to make a buck(this means rec. guys), the way to be the idol. If you have to measure your johnson by the size of the fish you catch you are in trouble. Ultimately it goes down to the personal choice of the fisherman. Kill it or let it go, my applaud for catching her. Flaunt it or use it to brag or make a buck and you are not a sportsman, you are a pig.