Ol JohnnyBoy

WOW. Nice Fish. Congrats.

huntndemducks

all this about realsing fish dosn't ALLWAYS help some fish should be taken out of a pond or rive or it may become overpopulated with bass.........i have seen countless ponds with ponds and lakes with fish that dont grow over 15 inches because of everyone releasing fish some fish need to be kept

*JB*

Nice Fish! I don't care what anyone says. You can do what you please with that fish as long as it is within the legal laws set fourth by the state. So many people are so pro C&R they almost remind me of those tree huggin granola eatin hippies out West. IfYOU catch the fish, do what YOU want with it and don't care what anyone else thinks. I will catch my fair share of bass to take home. I actually love the taste of fish(bass, crappie, catfish) and will take home whatever I please.

buckhunter14

I agree with both of you, and appreciate you comments!

I take out quiet a few bass every year in the lake I live on. It is a 13 acre lake with little fishing pressure and when the smaller fish start to over populate, there are MANY less larger fish. In my mind, you can't beat golden crispy 14" bass nuggets.... My mouth is watering.

buckhunter14

I do like to keep bigger fish in the water though. Anything over 19" always goes back in, unless I am getting it mounted. - for bass -

I do believe that plays a part in the off spring.

indianahunter83

Well yeah... but in this case it obviously is not the situation.and JB you may call us tree hunging hippies but you could realize that we are more interested in there being quality fishing. If you want to keep all the big bass you catch then do it but 1) you would never be allowed access to my private ponds, and 2) you are severely limiting your chances at a trophy fish!

indianahunter83

I just get tired of people talking about what they are going to do and not thinking about how their actions will effect younger generations. 2 things that ruin a fishery are the people who take out to many apex predatory fish and the people that are strong enough to drag out a 12 pack of beer but when they are empty they are much to tired to pick up their trash.

*JB*

Okay, 1) He wasn't fishing your private pond, and I would never need to fish your private pond. Catching a nice fish out of a pond once, twice, three times a year, year after year isn't a real sense of accomplishment. If that is how you trophy fish for bass then more power to you. I am not here to judge you like you did buckhunter. 2) Keeping one or two fish isn't that big of a deal, and I don't like how people get their panties in a wad on an internet forum over such.

Bottomline, I don't like how people like yourself feel that they have the right to tell anyone else what they can or can't do with the fish they catch. If he isn't fishing on your property then I feel like it is best that you keep your opinion to yourself.

indianahunter83

You didn't keep your opinion to yourself. I never judged him, I just stated I hoped he let that bass go. You are right... keeping one or two fish isn't a big deal however keeping one or twoof the larger bass in the body of water is a big deal. I don't know how many of you saltwater fish but the advent of the slot limit coupled with the crack down on netting has caused redfish populations to soar. Keep your limit of 14-16 inch bass. Bass growth rates are such that they can get to that size reasonably quickly. The larger fish however are needed for spawning. I'm well aware that people will always keep bass. I just would rather see people eat the 1-2 lbers and release the 5+lber. Not for me but for the next generation of fishermen. I don't know if you have ever seen a 7 year old accidentily hook a 5+lb bass while bluegill fishing but what happens is priceless. That kid is left with a memory that will hook him/her into fishing for the rest of their life. By taking out larger bass we deprive the kids of the opportunity. I just want the next generation to have the opportunities we did.

*JB*

Actually, fishing may be worse today than it was 50 years ago. Why? Over population. Too many C&R nuts out there. I understand letting the "Big Girls" go, but not everything that is caught. I read an article, I believe in Bassmaster, where they asked a bunch of older pros if the fishing was better 50 years ago or now. Most all of them said it was better 50 years ago. Now this has a lot to do with fishing pressure, but it also has a lot to do with over population. Most fish are only gonna get so big, but when there are too many, they don't have a chance to get as big.