A personal dilemma....

[thefishingfreak]

same here. i got a fourty pounder easy' a few weeks ago at 1:00 in the morning. i'm paid up for the striper cup so the first thing went thru my head is "ohh yeah"that fish is gunna get me a pin". i'm killing it!!! no though to it at all,,, he's mine... then,,, reality sets in...
just as life is sucked out of the fish dying on the deck..
i'm like 'wtf' did i do that for?
can't weigh the thing in till morning, no wait,, i'm going offshore in the morining...
can't weigh it till the next night..
my local place doesn't weigh for the striper cup. so 30 miles to the next place..
kooler ain't big enough to keep it fresh..

darnit'.
i gutted it, iced it down, ate 1/2, and gave the rest to friends and family..

[numbskull]

Keeping big fish is a pain in the butt. It's bad enough if you are on a boat with ice, a water pump, and someplace solid to clean 'em. You've still got to peddle most of it away. But to throw a big fish on a beach in the summer heat, even at night, fish for hours more, then have to lug the thing out and deal with it after you have been up all night has no appeal to me. Releasing them is much simpler and more satisfying to boot.

[Slingah]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Keeping big fish is a pain in the butt. It's bad enough if you are on a boat with ice, a water pump, and someplace solid to clean 'em. You've still got to peddle most of it away. But to throw a big fish on a beach in the summer heat, even at night, fish for hours more, then have to lug the thing out and deal with it after you have been up all night has no appeal to me. Releasing them is much simpler and more satisfying to boot.

how true.....

[libassboy]

I havent kept any fis yet this year, if i get something above my personal best i will tho. Once you get over the i have something to prove to myself deal and get a few 30 and up, its alot nicer to watch them swim away. Now if i get a 50..u can bet ure arse im keepin it.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by numbskull

Keeping big fish is a pain in the butt. It's bad enough if you are on a boat with ice, a water pump, and someplace solid to clean 'em. You've still got to peddle most of it away. But to throw a big fish on a beach in the summer heat, even at night, fish for hours more, then have to lug the thing out and deal with it after you have been up all night has no appeal to me. Releasing them is much simpler and more satisfying to boot.

Good point. Just getting one to the weigh station is a freakin nightmare if you live a distance from a weigh station. Worse yet if you get home in the middle of the night and have to turn around and drive back because the shops were still closed when you were done fishing. I initially didn't enter because of this. I changed my mind and entered, and now its like you get torn between the efforts and the "is it worth it" part of the thing. There's more to it than just getting a good fish. You have to gamble too, meaning if you get a good one you have to make a decision to enter it or release it depending on your expectations for the rest of the tourney. I will tip my hat to whoever comes out on top, because there is more to it than just catching five good fish. When we are all climbing the walls next January, hopefully we'll look back and say "that was actually cool, I can't wait for next year." I know I will.