Whatever happened to “Catch and Release”?

[Sea Dangles]

I haven't been fishing long but have invested a lot of $$$ into gear,gas etcetera and it almost becomes a break even to keep some fish.It's always nice to invite the neighbors over for some eats or give some fresh filets to family or even hunting friends that reciprocate with game.Right now I'm down to maybe three vac bags of @ 2-3 pounds each.Hell I bought a foodsaver just to keep it nice so yeah,it's become a way of life.Why should I buy previously frozen tilapia filets when I can eat something I dream about catching all winter?Not to mention losing sleep as well as $3.00 a gallon for a 100 mile round trip.Plenty get sent back because I hope to striper fish with my kids when I get older and I don't feel I take more than I'm entitled to.
As for the second question;personally I'll let the #30's go and pose with and eat the #40's.They do not taste as good as the 30" fish but they still are good eats.
And lastly I've never belonged to a club but intend to join Newport and Narragansett and would do so with the hope of giving something back to the fishery.Not to mention adding my name to any piece of hardware imaginable

[shadow]

I lose respect for a guy who's standing in a photo holding two very large fish. I can't see keeping two fish of any size in one night. I love to eat bass yet only keep one fish a month usually under 20#. my two largest fish this year were relased.why? because I already had fish in the freezer. I really cant say I would of released a 40 or larger with or without fish in thr freezer thoubasically I don't like to see waste or abuse legally or illegally.

[inTHERAPY]

I love to fish. It's an obsession! I am a conservationist, not a preservationist. It sounds a bit hypocritical to criticize a fisherman for taking his/her 2 fish whenever they want. I do not even comprehend why someone would question "why do you keep....?". If I want to eat it, sell it, give it away, show it off, so what?

[Raider Ronnie]

After reading some this tread I tried to add up how many bass I filleted this past season and I estamate in the hundreds
But I work a LOT of charters and Paying customers want their 2 fish to take home !!!
SORRY !!!

[parker23]

I keep a few fish/month. Most are in the 28"-32" range. 1 fish of that size feeds 2 people, 3 very large meals. I freeze the leftovers for cakes and chowder. Larger fish are just too big for a small family. Giving away fish to neighbors IMO 1/2 the fish are wasted because a lot of people do not cook fish at home. If I do keep a larger because of hooking issues, I will give fish to family and good friends that I know will cook and eat within 24 hours.

I caught a few small tuna in late July. I ate it every night. I gave 2 nice steaks to a good customer/friend and the steaks are still in his F%*&^%%$$ freezer. Frozen Tuna steaks, I wanted to kill him, but he gives me lots of $$$ every year.

This year I kept 2 fish in one morning due to deep hook sets and excessive bleeding. Both fish were in the 40" range. I called 10 friends and made a feast on the grill that same day.

1 fish a week is fine for my family. Some weeks I will release all because I need a break from bass.

Someday, I will keep my lifetime fish as long as it exceeds my father’s catch of a 64# bass in 1966. My mother just made him remove the mount from the living room after 39 years and made him relocate it to his office. I personally thought she was committing a mortal sin, however, dad has to live w/her.

90% of the large fish I catch will not be lifted out of the water. They are quickly unhooked, revived and splash water in my face when they are ready to go. If I have a fishing partner to operate the camera great, if not I have the memory store in my fishing side of the brain.

[rhodyflyguy]

i probably kept 20 or 30 bass this season. all of them went to a foodbank and people who love fish. the same can be said for fluke, blackfish and tuna. overall i personally kept 2 or 3 bass, 1 small BFT, 7 or 8 fluke, and 3 or 4 blackfish.

[JoeyM]

Originally Posted by parker23

I caught a few small tuna in late July. I ate it every night. I gave 2 nice steaks to a good customer/friend and the steaks are still in his F%*&^%%$$ freezer. Frozen Tuna steaks, I wanted to kill him, but he gives me lots of $$$ every year.

nothing wrong with frozen tuna....think about this, all the fish in the tokyo fish market is sold in the frozen state, and we know how fanatical they are in regards to tuna quality. pretty much all the commercial tuna are flash frozen, which means all the tuna in japanese restaurants across the usa was once frozen.

sashimi from frozen tuna is delicious. no reason to be mad at him...your friend can enjoy it over months, while yours is all gone.

[JoeyM]

Originally Posted by Slipknot

I for one would love to know where that figure is arrived from. And also if it includes all the bycatch dead stripers in that total. I am not that surprised by it since there are thousands more times recreational fishermen than commercial fishermen fishing for bass, so why not say that recs kill 5 times as many? What difference does it make which group catches the lions' share?

those figures are easily obtained from the NOAA fisheries website. and for 2004, it's actually about 81%, 2003 was around 76%.

commercial harvest for all states for striped bass totalled about 6 million lbs. in 2004.

recreational harvest was about 26 million lbs. in 2004.

i dont think those figures include bycatch.

but that info is out there too if you do a little research. for example, for 2003 according to the atlantic states marine fisheries council, recs landed 76% of the fish and this is broken down as 48% harvest and 28% discard. commercial harvest was 24% total divided as 18% harvest and 5% discard.

no matter how it's worded i think his point was rec's kill more bass total, and most rec's probably think, "commercial fishing kills so many fish, it won't matter if i keep all the fish i can".

but the people get mad when they see commercial pics like this (2005 NC commercial fisherman, this was supposedly his whole season's catch):



even though recs ultimately kill a lot more bass...

btw, i really know nothing about this subject. the internet is an amazing thing though. i can pull up these numbers with real references and it took me about 5 minutes of research.

as for me, i prolly kill more bass than the average rec fisherman (always within legal limits)...and i dont feel bad about it at all. absolutely not a single ounce of my fish is wasted. i dont even filet fish cuz that wastes too much meat (ton of meat in the head and backbone). we eat every edible portion of the fish.

[clambelly]

Originally Posted by JoeyM

need more ice on those fishys!

[JoeP]

I don't think there is a really good reason to keep a large fish. With the apparent shortage nowadays of those very large fish I think that every one we can keep alive is better for the fishery.

If the reason to keep a fish is to eat it, I agree that keeping 12-20 LBers or so is a better option. If the reason is to mount a personal best, I think there are enough places around to get a "fake" mount done that will duplicate the fish in a lifelike manner with just an inches measurement & weight estimate or picture if that is available. I don't see the point in killing a big fish just to mount it.

Personally, I don't keep any fish - both because I'd rather see them swim away & because I never feel like leaving my spot to go put the fish down & then having to clean it in the middle of the night.

[GBOUTDOORS]

Pete-G the experts would be DR John Reardon head of marine bio at U-Mass 30 yrs, #^&#^&#^&#^& Hickney Mass division of marine fisheries, Gb Jr marine bio Mass division of marine fisheries. Now I am not saying they are right but me being just a dumb old fisherman will bow to thier years of knowledge and work in the field and go with it. That and it does seem to make sence to me,and every time I ask I get the same answer also as you said they say that the eggs from the older larger fish do not do as well.

[Mr. Sandman]

I for one can’t understand how on one hand some of you make it a “sin” for any rec fishermen to keep a bass but it’s OK if that same rec purchases a $60 permit, can take 30 or 40 fish per day to pay for his gas and fishing expenses? Because of tradition?…oh, yeah, and while doing so turn the cheek and allow them to cull out just the big ones and totally ignore the SB black markets and by-catch dumps.. Sounds hypocritical to me. You support commercial SB fishing but think recs should put all theirs back. I am with Goose in this one…Fthat.

MM? Are you from PITA? From a lifetime of fishing for bass it is my personal belief (no technical evidence) that the SB is a pretty hardy fish. It does not die very easily. This is not a brook trout in a clear stream. This is a sturdy ocean going fish that can take a lot of abuse from other critters in its environoment. Also, it is also easy to lie using statistics. “100% more” of an insignificant number is still insignificant. But you put the 100% in bold type and it creates an illusion of a problem. Is it or will it cause a problem? I hope before he publishes anything more he has accurate scientific technical FACTS that have been reviewed by others working in this field before he spews personal opinions on the subject. I doubt that weighing a fish for a few seconds kills them. I have seen and caught SB swimming around with a huge bite taken out of them from a seal and it healed only to be caught and released again (by me). I doubt picking the fish up will kill it. Give the SB more credit then that. Not to put words in his mouth, but what you actually saying is not to go fishing. That is the subliminal message you are sending. Anything we do seems to incur some mortality and since that is so bad the only thing to do is not go fishing and just stay at home. Again, I am with Goose…Fthat.

And the 80% number...is pure BS, they haven't learned to count yet no less do percentages.

[SandyPtMayor]

valid points by all, respect our sport for it's our tomorrows...