Your Take on Catch and Release?

[tattoobob]

I am a big fan of catch and release, I have noticed a great increase of the killing of big fish as the Striped Bass fisheries suppose to be strong. myself I don't eat any fish or shell fish so unless my Wife wants one all my fish get released.

What is everyone's thoughts on this?
Do you think the fishery is strong enough to loose this many fish a year or do we need to think about the future?

[basswipe]

I'm big on C&R also but I do keep the rare bass as I very much enjoy eating fish.I keep a few more blues for the smoker/grill.

If I take a keeper Fluke while plugging...ITS MINE!But that's very rare.

C&R is the majority here.

[Blitzseeker]

Tough question that no one on this site will ever agree on. My take:

1) I only eat fish I catch...I never order striped-bass in a restaurant as I don't know how it was caught...if I catch it I know it was on the up and up
2) I don't like the rules so I apply my own.....I release all large fish (over 25 lbs) that I catch and keep smaller keepers for the table on the rare occasions when I know I'm going to cook it that night...I don't put fish in the freezer because I've found too often it goes to waste

Those are the my own rules and I only apply them to myself. Anyone else can do whatever they want, in my opinion, as long is it is within the law (though I may not agree with it I keep my mouth shut).

If you break the law keeping shorts and I see you, I will call you in. Period.

[luds]

I doubt anything has changed as far as numbers of dead bass over the last few years. The only difference is that you see a few of them officially reported on the OTW page etc.

I think taking big fish in moderation is OK. I felt a little guilty when I took some big bass for OTW prizes and cash but then I saw a Charter Boat's report which was basically just pictures of hundreds of dead bass. I don't have any handle on how many bass and big bass there are out there but it's hard to see the large fish kills by commerical and charter boat anglers(not that the money is not tempting). At the same time this may be extremely minimal in comparison to the amount of fish taken by recreational fisherman each year. I would like to see the MA law reduced to on fish over 36" or maybe even 38" for recreational anglers.

[Bigcat]

99.9% C&R I might take one striper a season and one small tuna,everything else swims free.

[GonnaCatchABig1]

im not an eater either. plus i just dont have the heart to kill a fish. that blue i HAD to put out of it's misery crushed me for the night and i stopped fishing for almost a week. i get depressed when people keep em. but hey. they earned em. i havent landed a keeper yet. ofcourse my idea of a keeper is still 36" but i dont intend on keeping it when i do. UNLESS one of two things happens. 1. i was sent out for a cook out to catch a bass. or 2. the thing is absolutely massive. like 40-45#+. in which case (for me) could be the fish of a lifetime and i'll be damned if its not getting an official weigh in. and by then the options are mount it or eat it. so id probably try and get it mounted. just so i can have one. if i some how manage to catch something that big more than once.. the limit would go up. to say 50-55#+ before i would consider keeping another. and so on and so forth.

if i start hooking into the current legal size and larger often. i like blitz's idea on keeping the smaller end fish for cook out food. (ya know cause of that whole thing about the bigger females producing more eggs)

but other than a predetermined cook out meal or the whopper of a life time. they will all go back. i see no need in keeping every fish because you can. especially if you are one of the lucky ones who hooks into multiple of them each year.

[numbskull]

Many large bass (outside of commerical season) are killed because the fisherman's need to show off and feel good about himself, but those of us who catch and release everything, should recognize that we are killing fish too. About 1/10 fish we release die (those numbers go way up when the water is warm like now), and we feel good about ourselves for doing it. So how is it different?

[GonnaCatchABig1]

Originally Posted by numbskull

So how is it different?

ya tried to give him a fighting chance to back to his life. not too mention have 9 out of 10 survive is better than having 10 out of 10 dead.

edit on after the fact:
and let me clarify.. i'm not against people keeping em. i'm more against people keeping them excessively. for instance if a guy keeps 5 a week.. almost every week. what the hell do ya need with all that fish? i cant see anyone being able to stomach 100#+ of fish a week.

[shadow]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Many large bass (outside of commerical season) are killed because the fisherman's need to show off and feel good about himself, but those of us who catch and release everything, should recognize that we are killing fish too. About 1/10 fish we release die (those numbers go way up when the water is warm like now), and we feel good about ourselves for doing it. So how is it different?

very well said.

[shadow]

I love to eat fish and take my share.I almost never take two fish and when possable try to only keep the ones that are in bad shape,hooked deep or the ones that won't swim.I don't abuse the resoures,and do put plenty back.To me its is just wrong to put back a bass then go buy some cod.I love fish so I will eat my bass.

[Vogt]

I'll keep a few blues a year but thats about it. To me theres nothing better then watching the season's best fish pumping her tail back into the dark surf.

[Finaddict]

As a kid, I kept pretty much everything that came my way, and then when I got into college, I sold them. But there was about a decade or so that I released absolutely everything, never even considered it, even when people asked for them.

Over the last three to four years, I have started to keep a few every season, as I have a lot of friends and family that like fresh fish. I love to eat fresh fish that I catch, it's enjoyable to me and tastes good.

[Brother Brian]

I turn the hook 99.99% of the time. My opinion is twenty eight and above is too large to eat for a number of reasons. I believe in a slot for recs.

[cardnial77]

i may keep around 5 fish a season. i really enjoy eating something that i have caught. to me it is kind of like eating vegitables from your own garden.

[CANAL RAT]

just like when i go hunting i will only kill what i plan to eat. i also think that they should raise the bass size limit or introduce a slot limit.

[macojoe]

I am not a huge fan of Bass so I take very little, and what I take are 28" I think they are much better then the Large.

I just gave a friend all kinds of crap cause he kept a 47 pounder!!

[Nebe]

I used to let most of my bass go until Mrs Nebe came up with a striper chowder recipe that blew my nogen.... no bass is safe now. Im drooling tryping this

my own personal thoughts on the fishery is that there are a lot more people fishing now than there was in the moratorium days when you couldnt find a bass to keep, and those are the people who may not realize that these fish are not to take for granted.

[Rockport24]

I really don't know if the fishery can support the amount of fish that are being taken, but we can only go on the various studies that are put out there. I'm not arguing for or against anything here, but you guys that support raising the size limit or some other conservation-minded change in the law, on what do you base your point of view?

personally, I think size limits should be raised because I think it is always better to err on the side of conservation, really for selfish reasons...I want the fishing to at least stay as good as it is now for the rest of my life, the moratorium sounds like a horrible thing where guys had to go catch trout (god forbid) and I hope I never have to experience one in my fishing career. at the same time, I could just be blindly following the crowd, maybe striper stocks are as strong as ever and the 28 inch thing in Mass is more than sufficient....

[HESH2]

catch mostly schoolies.but all srtipers and blues i catch i release even the few keeper size fish i catch.the only exception is if i'm fishing with my son he wants to keep some fish to eat.

[zimmy]

I generally don't keep bass anymore as my wife is at the brood mare stage of life and can't eat em cause of the pcb's etc. That aside, I used to keep 1 or so a season and they were always smaller. Biggest I've kept is 34" and that was more than 10 years ago. I love watching the bigger ones swim away, part of the fun for me. If/when I get a monster, its going back if it has a good shot at making it. I would like to see regs like they have on drum in NC w/a slot and all big go back. However, that is based on emotion and the science is complicated so I don't know if that is best for the fishery. I would like to see us deal with all fisheries based on what is best ecologically, as opposed to what is best for certain interest groups. Our fisheries are so completely out of whack that our baselines as to what is normal are seriously skewed. I want to see in my life rivers filled with shad, Atlantic salmon and herring so thick you can walk across them, miles and miles of bunker and 80 lb stripers and cod. Not too much to ask is it?

[Chefskeez6]

As long as you fish within the laws you should feel free to take whatever you want. The laws are designed to protect the population.

IMO recreational anglers should have a slot limit or the limit should be increased to 36 etc

When anyone makes a statment like this what are they basing it on? Has someone done a study to indicate the population is declining and further restrictions are required? Even if such a study did exist does it also imply that the reason for this declining fish population is over fishing by recreational anglers?

Anyone who is a catch and release only angler who fishes with bait is a hypocrite IMO. Circle hooks have changed things a lot but any deep hooked fish or a fish bleeding from the gills is going to die.

With all of that said I keep only what I can eat without freezing it. This means if I go fishing late Sunday night and think I won't be able to eat it until the following weekend and I might have to freeze it I let it go. Does this mean I look down on the guy fishing on the rock next to me who takes home 2 fish over the legal limit regardless of what the size is? No. Even someone who fishes all year and fills the freezer doesn't bother me as long as they respect the fish and don't waste.

All recreational fisherman want a healthy fish population regardless of their stance on catch and release and think most would abide by and support any rules or decisions made based on real studies and evidence.

[Flaptail]

I have no problem killing a legal fish as long as there is a definite use for it meaning someone consuming it. I killed a couple larger fish this year after requests were made by non fishing friends who enjoy the taste of bass something which I do not.

That said I have had several fish in the 30 pound range that I could have killed or entered in the catch and release for the Striper Cup and a pin but unless they push the upper end of forty or more (sigh... one can only hope here on the Cape) they won't end up on a scale.

Unless you love to eat bass or sell commercially in season, keeping them to show off and take pics of is not my bag. Besides when you don't eat them or have someone on line ready to pick it up for them to consume they are a pain in the ass to try and unload.

But that's me, it's personal choice. I have caught and released thousands of them, usually sending them on thier way with a sincere thank you. That's my favorite way to get rid of a bass I caught.

[beamie]

Originally Posted by Nebe

I used to let most of my bass go until Mrs Nebe came up with a striper chowder recipe that blew my nogen.... no bass is safe now. Im drooling tryping this

my own personal thoughts on the fishery is that there are a lot more people fishing now than there was in the moratorium days when you couldnt find a bass to keep, and those are the people who may not realize that these fish are not to take for granted.

Eben, could you share the Mrs. recipe with us, sounds good.......

[The Dad Fisherman]

I keep a couple during the course of the year. I like fish and I like giving a few fillets to friends.

Last year I kept 3 this year I've kept 2.....probably keep 1 or 2 more before the seasons end.

A friend of mine once said "The Next fish I catch after the Freezer is full is the luckiest MF in the Ocean"

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by tattoobob

I am a big fan of catch and release, I have noticed a great increase of the killing of big fish as the Striped Bass fisheries suppose to be strong. myself I don't eat any fish or shell fish so unless my Wife wants one all my fish get released.

What is everyone's thoughts on this?
Do you think the fishery is strong enough to loose this many fish a year or do we need to think about the future?

Bob,

I’m not sure what your basis is for counting the number of big fish killed each year. Only the commercials have to document their catches each year, so the picture on the commercial front is clearer than that of the recs. I think there are a lot of big fish available, and the mostly anecdotal evidence we see/hear about the recreational fishery supports there being a lot of large available coast wide. The thing is, nobody knows on a given year where the schools of large will show up. There are patterns that repeat each year, but there are always wildcards in place too. Yesteryears hot spots can become today’s duds, like the cape has, and vice versa. This can skew people's perception of how good or bad the fishing really is depending on where you fish.

Personally, I still have a commercial license, but rarely sell fish. I do keep it (license) in anticipation of getting back into boat fishing at some point. The fish I kill now are only to be entered into OTW, vineyard derby, or if the fish is my largest for the season. That said, I’ve kept a 25# fish and a 34# fish this year while releasing a lot of teens and twentys. I released a nice fish in the 30# class a few nights ago because I had no reason to take it, something I might not have done in the past. If I take another fish this year it will have to be a potential derby winner, or considerably bigger than the 34 I have already. No need to take anything more for OTW, its pretty much over at this point.

[Saltheart]

I throw most back. I think its fine to take fish to eat as you need them and catch them. As long as you obey the legal limits , i have no quarrel with the fisherman who keep them.

[RIROCKHOUND]

I keep one if I want/need some fresh fish
I cant release it alive (had one the other night in current that wouldnt turn after 5-10min of trying)
OR
like BB mentioned, its my season best.
rest go back alive

I stay way below my legal limit, I dont think I've ever kept 2 bass in a week let alone a night, so I sleep fine.

[MakoMike]

As long as its legal I'm all for a guy doing whatever he wants with his catch. Its his fish so it's his call.

[The Iceman 6]

To each their own as long as it's all legal like.....

Ice

[EarnedStripes44]

Anyone here catch anything over 60lbs lately? Sizes like that are dissapearing.
Soon our sons/daughter might be asking the same questions about 50 and 40lb'ers...