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I keep enough to eat and have a couple meals in the freezer and let everything else go. I think you have to catch and release or there will be nothing left for our future. Love doing that ice fishing and having people ask me why letting them go. Same with walleye fishing - so funny. No one needs freezers full of fish and giving fish to everyone they know. Horrible for future generations. Plus, fish tastes so much better fresh!
I am not disagreeing but let me play Devils advocate Selective harvest / catch and release is a modern concept in the big picture. Maybe 30 years ago it caught on and I didnt see it taking off till maybe 20 years ago.With that said...Before then, there were far more sportsmen doing far more fishing than is the case today.Back in the day (before C&R) people would keep everything and limits were certainly liberal where I grew up.If it is a fact that there will be no future without C&R.... We would already be there, due to the fact that there was never a C&R mindset just 60 years ago.My belief and what I have seen is that the health of a body of water will dictate the amount of pressure it gets and when conditions are poor, pressure will drop and numbers will regain. So in the big picture.... while bodies of water can see periods of gain and decline in fish populations, they cannot (generally) be fished out and therefore, they will rebound. The opportunity for the individual (during rebound) is/can be greater as fish numbers/sizes increase without the high fishing pressure and competition. This affords a "next generation" to have opportunity even greater than the previous.Another reason for not limiting catch (staying within the law) is the results that come from under fishing, which is the same basic effect that is achieved through catch and release. The end result (we have all seen it) is a stunted growth of all fish within the body of water due to their food chain being depleted by overly large hatches.... which eventually leads to the elimination of the slower maturing fish in that body of water, leaving only fast growing dinks.Finally, there are bodies of water that cannot be effected with a rod and reel. Waters so large (such as the Mississippi) that area's just cannot be approached by the average person. Area's that have no access or hard access are effectively nurseries for the surround waters. I live very near such a body of water where 1/3 of the lake cannot be accessed but is the best area of the lake.This lake has extreme pressure (bordering on insane) and yet, fish numbers and sizes continue to increase. Selective harvest on this particular lake is basically worthless to the health of the lake itself.While this nursery area comes about due to management (prohibited access) there are many waters which have the same situation going on without specific restrictions, due to their size or difficulty of access.
But there were more fish back then...could even things out a bit.
For me this is a very easy answer, I can't clean them. I have tried and I get queezy doing it so if I keep anything I have to take them to my dad or brother. I only keep them IF they are in the mood to clean fish.
Now THIS is interesting!I get that some people have a simple guttural reaction to any number of things but I have never heard of your condition before.I take it eating fish isn't the issue here? Just the processing...Yes?
Then you have people like me and my kids and they want to play in the fish guts. They also can't wait to see the dead deer every year
Were there? I am asking seriously.In the late 1800's and early 1900's there were commercial fishermen providing fish to the country without regulation (for the most part) and that fishing practice simply destroyed waters and rivers by the time real regulation came into existence.I personally have not seen anything more than a rise and fall in numbers of fish in certain bodies of water and changes in fish in a given lake, due to ecological changes which have nothing at all to do with man. Simple Eutrophication.
Someone may have mentioned this already, but to answer the OP question, I think the reason you see so much catch and release on youtube is because a lot of those guys make youtube videos for a living. All they do is fish. I keep a lot of fish but if I got to fish every day I'm sure I would release a lot more.
There were not far more sportsmen catching/keeping far more fish. The data is there. Review it.I wonder how the Atlantic Cod population feels about selective harvest?
Totally get that. That said...I watch (subscribe) to a lot of people and a large majority keep maybe 1 fish for every 3-5 videos or none at all.I am not hating on them... I just cant believe they are that burnt out on fish, as pertains to eating them.If I didnt keep something to eat (every time) I would just quit. I like fishing but I fish for more than enjoyment.
Not everyone likes eating fish that much. I generally spend 50-80 days year on the boat, depending on weather and other things, but might keep 3-4 fish all year. It's purely recreational for a lot of people these days.
I dont get that but I dont have to, is my opinion This is what I was asking in the O.P.Best to you Catch 'em up!
Hoping so. This wasnt a very good year, at all. We are into a drought pretty badly around here. I mostly river fish for rough fish, and the water was so low I couldn't even float my jon off the trailer at any of the local boat ramps for a good part of the season this year.
If your could fish everyday I would and I would keep my limit everyday if I could. I would eat fish and venison 365 days a year
[/b]Maybe I dont get it because I (like you) think the natural meats are the best meats.Jen and I pretty much dont buy any meat unless it is chicken or shrimp and not too often those two.I appreciate funding my life style and what keeps me alive. I dont appreciate paying over and again what I am totally capable of providing for myself. I dont go to restaurants or eat fast food, making my catches and kills all the more important and enjoyable.
If I could fish everyday I would and I would keep my limit everyday if I could. I would eat fish and venison 365 days a year
I have done the reviews LOLA simple review of the great depression can point straight away to over fishing, in light of the alternative to starvation. Thats just one example. Atlantic Cod issues are based on commercial fishing. Not what we are speaking of. Not what I am speaking of in this thread.