I'm with frank
 

Just got done reading frank daignaults article in the fisherman... I must say I agree with everything he says... We all need to do or part snap a pic and gently place back. Let's stop putting a bounty on their head and celebrate their release.. Agree or disagree

I agree and I am 99.9% C&R

I haven't kept a fish in 3 years

I kept three last year.. Not ging to do it this year... I fell in love with scup
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Agreed. I don't eat fish but I'll keep one for a cookout on occasion. Maybe one or 2 a year but it has to be between 32 - 36".

I have no problem with fish going to the table nor do I have a problem with com rod and reel guys. I'm not at all a fan of weigh in tournaments, but that's my opinion. To each his own.

What is the best range to keep? Is there one?
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best range to keep? 18" - 20"; if they got hooked in the gills and are bleeding bad. Who the heck wants to eat an old lady?!

Steve

I don't always eat fish, but when I do I eat cod.




Who am I kidding I pretty much eat them all, no blues though.
But I keep about 4 bass a year for my parents, they love them and anything they want I will try and get them.

Daignault preaching C&R now is right up there with Michael Vick advocating for animal rights.......... although maybe that is a bit unfair to Vick.

I have yet to read what Frank wrote ,,,
But George U R 2 Funny , sounds a little like Flaptail :uhuh:

i'm strickly c&r but have no trouble with people who want to keep some fish to eat.i fish alot and all the guys where i fish all c&r.always barbless.don't believe in kill and weigh tourneys for bragging rights,seen more big fish caught nobody ever heard about.

agree 200%

I'll keep them when I feel like keeping them and I'll release them when I feel like releasing them.


and don't need to feel guilty with either choice

Of course that assumes you catch 1 to begin with :biglaugh:

My general trend, is obviously dead, severly gut hooked fish come home, the rest go back. this ammounted to ~3 fish last year. I can live with that

i do get a kick of frankie d advocating c +r. saw his name on many a slip.
i do agree on the keep one for the table thou.

Well put, numbskull. I think every picture I've ever seen of him shows him dragging a bass out of the water or up the beach with his hand firmly planted up under the gill plate. I doubt he was planning on releasing any of those fish.

Well, Yeah...That's a given. :hee:

but many a fool in his youth has become wise in his old age.
It was a good article and he sums it up by saying -

greedy coms, bad regulations and reckless sport fisherman (noting people wanting to be the latest internet hero or win kill tournments )are all to blame for the ALMOST certain collapse of the fishery.

can anyone honestly disagree with that?

maybe best eating but larger is better for the population. Ensures that they have had a chance to breed a few times.

I agree with his article and I am generally a fan of his, but I remember just a few years back he was saying that the poeple crying decline were just in if for themselves and that the fishing was better than ever. I'm glad to see he has switched his point of view...

It is also kind of ironic how he is basically calling out the striper cup for allowing comms to fish it and the whole bit, yet, it is modeled after the Schafer Cup, which, if I'm not mistaken, he WON bunch of times, most likely as a comm...

i love the part were he says that the atlantic fishieries managment should take over protecting the seals that way they wouls be gone........

I agree with protecting the fish and practicing C&R. Like many others, I keep a couple of fish a year for the table and carefully release the rest of them. If the stocks decline that badly, it's bad for everyone. I just find it ironic that the author of the article is someone who's made a living off of having his picture taken with dead bass. Maybe he has had a change of heart, who knows. Or maybe he has an ulterior motive.

How many guys on this site used to fish for dough? I think there are several who have said they don't think killing all these large is good. I think anyone who sees the errors of their past weighs (sic) and stands up to say it is wrong deserves some credit.

Also, Vick stopped cause he got caught in an illegal act. Daignault and everyone else were doing what was legal. I think alot of them really believed that their catches were too insignificant to wreck the population. Now they know that they were wrong.

Maybe if enough people read the article and believe him to be truthful and sincere, they may just practice more C&R.
And there's also a chance that he started this increased C&R movement to decrease the number of large fish, thus leaving more for him/his group should they parttake in the Striper Cup?

Remember a leopard can't change its spots.
A man can change his ways, but it usually take a major event to make them change!

Yes, your points are fair and I, too, sold fish decades ago.

My point about Daignault is that for him striped bass have existed for his profit or his ego. I don't think that has changed, and even if it has he should recognize he has no credibility at this point on the issue.

The killing of these fish for ego or profit has always been the problem...both commercially and recreationally. It is a valid use of the resource, but it is still the problem. As long as people profit financially or REPUTATION wise by killing and exhibiting large or many fish that will continue. Daignault is the poster child for that use of striped bass. When killing striped bass no longer creates monetary profit, or ego enhancement (much like the way LMB release is the norm), the fishery will be safe......or safer. Franky will likely credit himself for that as well, which is likely what he is setting himself up for now.

I kinda think Frank is too old to care too much about catching big fish. He's been there and done that.
I also think we give ourselves too much credit sometimes for population changes. Why are striped bass any different than rabbits or other animals whose population changes based on a whole bunch of variables. All the famous bass clubs closed more than 100 years ago because stripers were scarce, do you think the few thousand people fishing recreationally then caused that collapse?
After that bunch of BS I need to admit that I keep few fish and do think we should limit our catch, not catch our limit.

Last year, I put in zero effort (Had gotten married and just bought a house). Had maybe 20 keepers for the year, and kept 3. Percentage is really high due to not all that many fish caught (didn't fish many nights)

Year before I had at least 150 bass. Again, I kept 3. (2%)

I think that is reasonable.

C&R is the key to sustainability, along with preserving big baitfish like herring and bunker.

The aforementioned individual is not wholey responsible for 60"s and 70's rape of the commercial striped bass fishery, and the rec. striped bass fishery, but he is in the top ten.

Forgive me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that last year I hardly saw the words catch and release on here. This year its everywhere. As an example, look at the debate that just happened on how to run a C&R tourney here.
That said, I believe "to each his own", and the people who eat the fish because it helps them financially have every right to eat them. We don't have many rights left.
Those who really care about thier survival will limit thier kill when they can. Another thing, shore and boats, what is the percentage they take vs. commercial? I dont know just a point, especially when you take into account the amount of needless/overkill. I just think now, EVERYONE KNOWS what is going on, thats why its a hot topic

FD's article was not on conservation. it was on his assessment of the decline in stocks based on the large numbers of large fish over 50 caught the last few years and the similarities with the decline before the moratorium. No different than what Clammer, Piemma, Nebe, RIR and other old timers (:rotf2:) have been saying for the last few years.

he attributed the ongoing decline to what I posted earlier on. He was not preaching conservation, just stating his assement which has been shared by many on this board.

I doubt that Frank could find 9 other guys who'd want to fish with him. :rotf2:

Seriously---if you mention his name to a lot of guys down-Cape, better cover your ears if they're sensitive. ;)