What Is Wrong With Keeping A Limit Of Fish

[abishop]

I will take a 9 or 10 inch gill anytime that is a big fish, where is your place of fish worship.

[Fish_Tko]

I will take a 9 or 10 inch gill anytime that is a big fish, where is your place of fish worship.

Abishop, i knew someone would think that sounded funny. I do consider 10" fish hogs first of all and do enjoy catching em' that size. My lake(s) of worship will have to remain undisclosed.

I guess i am confused with this discussion. If most people consider 10" fish trophies and turn them back (C,P,R) but won't keep anything less than 8-8.5" to eat. So then proper panfish procedure(PPP) would be to keep no more than 25 gills(average limit, or predetermined self-governing limit) from a size range of 8-8.5" any larger or smaller throw back for seed.i don't see how this works to any lakes benefit, by only keeping fish in such a narrow age class. How can one expect to get 10"+ fish if all the fish that people keep keep are 8.5" long? Just venting here and i know that most of my comments do not apply to people on this post.

[havejigwilltravel]

there is nothing wrong with keeping a legal limit of decent size fish.my family eats the fish we keep.

[dk_kon]

I gotta say nothing gets me going as much as when i see someone bringing down another angler just because he kept his limit.  It is becoming all to common on the ice and here.  It has always been my philosophy to let everyone set their own precidents.  If you don't want to keep them, thats fine just throw them back; but don't be a "holier than thou" fisherman and try to tell others what to do.  I guess what im trying to say is be generous with your comments not judgmental, you dont here me picking on you about releasing your fish do you??

[Multi-Master]

nothing wrong with keeping your limit.  I have an issue with the guys who take limits day after day after day.  Basically taking more than you can eat. 

If I go catch 25 panfish everyday of the week from a body of water how the heck am I ever going to eat that much fish. 

Personally I keep what I can eat but I'm not going to judge or slam anynoe for what they keep.

[adkbrookie]

There is hardly anyone who has the opportunity to fish everyday, let alone catch a limit everyday so i think you can throw those two criteria out. I don't consider myself a game hog by keeping fish everytime out and sorting for the ones i keep.

i just had a month straight that i could have fished every day if i wanted to. so legally i could have fished one relatively small lake, keeping 50 or unlimited perch depending the water and you are telling me that that wouldn't hurt the fishery . I believe that you could at least limit out every day on the king if you tried and got good at it. why not other places too? it is very true that most cannot fish enough to make keeping their limit every time they go harmful but some can. most waters cannot sustain heavy pressure.

i believe that it is the case that what is legal isn't necessarily ethical. read the in-fisherman article.

not trying to judge just giving my view and how i operate. i don't expect anyone to just conform.

[Fish_Tko]

i just had a month straight that i could have fished every day if i wanted to. so legally i could have fished one relatively small lake, keeping 50 or unlimited perch depending the water and you are telling me that that wouldn't hurt the fishery . I believe that you could at least limit out every day on the king if you tried and got good at it. why not other places too? it is very true that most cannot fish enough to make keeping their limit every time they go harmful but some can. most waters cannot sustain heavy pressure.

i believe that it is the case that what is legal isn't necessarily ethical. read the in-fisherman article.

not trying to judge just giving my view and how i operate. i don't expect anyone to just conform.

I am not saying that certain small lakes can't be overfished, but for most decent sized lakes (500 acres or larger),catching gills or perch ,that would have to be the exception and not the norm.

What about the great lakes and the thousands of charter captains in every port around the whole coast catching limits of smallmouth bass, perch, salmon, walleye,trout? Can the great lakes tolerate hundreds of thousands of pounds of fish being hauled out daily.Limits everyday, all season?

[PACKERBACKER]

Pay your money, buy your license, catch fish, eat fish or release fish. Stay within the legal limits of the law. Sounds pretty simple to me.

packerbacker

[papaperch]

I think some of the C & R fellows have the wrong idea about fish populations. Since nobody else has mentioned it. A body of water has its own way of governing population control. Its called FOOD. The lake will only support so many dependant upon its food chain. The idea that if everybody practiced C & R all our lakes would be burgeoning with 5 # bass and 10 # walleyes.
Somebody else stated here that some of the remarks are rooted in jealousy. I would agree and the ready willingness that some like to blame others for their failure.

I overheard one guy telling his kid around the boat ramp. " Yeah those guys in the boats catch and keep all the fish before they can ever come in close to be caught. " While we know this represents a total lack of knowledge about the sport. His kid
may or may not believe it. Really amusing is the people who rant about , the out of staters , a certain religion , a certain race , tournament  etc etc. Blaming somebody or something is just so much easier than working to become good at something.

I have no problem with someone who practices C & R. Maybe they do not like to eat fish or they prefer not to clean them. Just do not look down on others who do. Sorry to all for being long winded on this.

[jayswimmer09]

depends on the species for me. Big muskies ALWAYS go back, panfish dont

[polarfisher]

i honestly dont have any problem with the 25 a day limit on panfish (bluegill and what not), however i have written a few letters to the DNR about the 50 a day limit on perch that is in our state of michigan, and mainly for the fact that it is very difficult to catch lots of jumbo perch in lakes that you once used to be able to, and i really dont see why anyone would need to keep 50 perch in a day.

At the same time tho i wont give anyone **censored** for keeping their limit, they paid for a license and I'd hope they use it in any legal fashion they wish.

yea i know i NEVER catch jumbos like i use to  i would never keep any of them either so i would always have good fish in my now not so honey hole 

[Byron/PA]

Well, I have to chime in here.

I have long been an outspoken supporter of catch and release. However, I am not a snob or on some crusade to prevent you from keeping fish, although I would like more restrictive size/creel limits. Or at least limits that are better thought out, based on what's good for a fisheries instead of what the average license buyer wants.

Is there anything wrong with keeping a limit of fish?? That was the question, and unless you are strictly referring to the letter of the law there is no easy answer.
Here in PA, the creel limit on panfish(crappie, perch, bluegill, etc) is 50 per day, no size limit. I do not think there is anything wrong with someone keeping fish that they REALLY are going to eat. However, I see plenty of people with fish laying on the ice that are so small, I can not imagine that they are going to clean and eat them. Sometimes I see these same people over and over again, day after day, and I have to wonder how many of those fish REALLY make it to the table??

Sometimes I think that icefishermen, more than other anglers, need a pile of fish beside them to justify being out in such harsh elements(some one pointed that out earlier) and that is what I have a problem with. It IS the fishing and catching that you go icefishing for, isn't it?? I mean, if you sold your ice fishing gear, saved that $3.20 a gallon you pay for gas to go icefishing, you could buy allot of fish??

Last year, and the year before, there was a fuss made on the NY board about the Trap Attack series tournaments, and how it was going to have a negative impact on a small 1000 acre lake. The tournament limit was/is 15 panfish per team. But by law, each two person team could kill and keep 100 panfish per day(Hey NY'ers, is that correct?) At 150 teams, that comes to 15000 panfish a day................... would there be something wrong with keeping a limit then???

It's our fisheries, ourselves, our children and our grandchildren who will have what we leave them.


As far as the guy that would keep a limit of 10lb walleyes, would you send him a PM about a spot you had found on your favorite lake

It is not a question of what the law will let you do, it's a question of what you will let yourself do...................

Now, I will go have some perch fillets, and a cold lager.

[shawner]

     I'll jump in and say I think it's fine to keep a legal limit of fish. You bought the licence, you followed current regs, keep'em! I don't force my ethics on other ethical fishermen, If you don't follow regs or are unethical you should expect someone to say something to you, eventually regs change and so do ethics.

[dvsbruce]

There's nothing wrong with keeping a limit of fish. I personally keep every eater size fish I catch...I like to have as many as I can keep in the freezer. There's nothing better than winter panfish!

[gruntngrin]

I like to eat fish. So I keep fish to eat. Seems simple as long as its legal its ok.

[BlindSquirrel]

Can anyone explain to me what "the possesion limit" is?  I thought the possesion limit was how many fish you are allowed to keep in your possesion at home.  In other words if the daily limit is 25 gills, and the possesion limit is 2 X the daily limit, then you are allowed to only have 50 gills maximum in your freezer at any one time.  That is what I always thought it meant.

I see this one debated every year so I asked.  Here is the answer for NYS.


Benjamin,

Yes, you are allowed to possess more than the daily limit of a game fish in your freezer.  The laws regulate the amount of fish you can keep per day, not the total amount you possess from numerous days of fishing.  However, as a responsible angler you should never have more fish in your freezer than you intend to eat.

Michael Todd
Biologist I (Aquatic)
NYSDEC - Region 9

>>> 1/14/2008 12:18 PM >>>
I am trying to get an answer to a debate that frequently occurs.  Am I allowed to possess more than a daily limit of game fish frozen in my freezer, assuming they are going to be used as food?   
 
 
Thank you,
Benjamin W. Barry

[dk_kon]

I already added my two cents, but i just wanted to say thanks for starting the post.  Its interesting to read all the different takes on c&r.
Its also great to see that we can each weigh in without pointing our fingers at those on the other side of the issue.  Great post and Great responses thats why i love ice shanty.

[Strike_Zone]

       "NOTHING" if you EAT-UM.  "EVERYTHING" if they go to waste and get thrown out.

[wnybassman]

       "NOTHING" if you EAT-UM.  "EVERYTHING" if they go to waste and get thrown out.

About sums it up for me to.

A responsible sportsman will know when to keep, where to keep, what to keep and how many to keep.  But it ain't these guys we are worried about.

[Haywood]

When someone is with in the law, even if it isn't what I would do, it isn't my place to say a thing.  We get enough attacks from the PETA types, we don't need attacks from each other.  I don't think it is that there are a lot of holyer than though fisherman out there, I just think they tend to be more vocal.  I got a buddy who pulled that crap on my last year, 3 of us went out, caught over 400 crappies, I kept my 10, another kept his 10 and the 3rd guy told us we were ruining the fishery.  Now he can't understand why we don't invite him with. 
If someone takes you out fishing with their gear or in their boat, yeah, maybe you should abide by their rules, but otherwise, screw that.

[thechief]

there is nothing wrong with keeping a legal limit of decent size fish.my family eats the fish we keep.

I agree wholeheartedly........

[travisj88]

I'm amazed at some of your states limits and no limits.  Your states fisheries must be strong.  Up here in Alaska we have some pretty strict limits.  In our stocked lakes (which is most of our lakes in the interior) you can only keep 10 fish total with only 1 over 18".  Our main lake for lake trout you can only keep 1 laker and it has to be over 30" and you can keep 2 burbot.  Good luck to everyone in the tourney this year.
Travis

[FuzzyGrub]

FWIW, I basicly side with Byron/PA. 

In NY, the DEC is grossly undermaned.  Yearly surveys are probably only done (if they are) on large body waters.  Any adjustment to size/qty is a reactive adjustment, most likely after fisherman have long complained about low size/qty takes.  As far as pan fish go, NY has no hatcheries that support it, so a lake has to recover on its own.  Pan fish do recover quickly though.  NY stocks primarily trout/salmon, with walleyes a distant 2nd, and tiger muskies pulling up the rear.  Everything else can only be controlled by restrictions. 

Taking a limit of 10lb walleyes while legal, would bother me.   Given that is a trophy in many of NY waters, and culling is only allowed for bass, it would be highly unlikely. 

[Sluggo]

Taking a limit of 10lb walleyes while legal, would bother me.   Given that is a trophy in many of NY waters, and culling is only allowed for bass, it would be highly unlikely. 

Same here.  If someone want's to limit out on fish legally, that's cool with me.  But still try to be somewhat selective. 

The Ontario MNR fixed that for my region this year.  Walleye = 4 per day but only 1 can be over 18". 

[musky8it]

The only gills i throw back are gills under 8"(when the bites good) and under 7"(when bites bad so I have fish to eat). I will keep a small bass ever once in a while, but nothing over 2-2 1/2lbs. The larger ones don't have much of a taste.

Now for eyes, haven't been at maxintuckee(culver) lake for 2 yrs. But when i go, I keep any eye I catch, up to my limit, no matter the size(usually only catch just legal size ones). And thru the ice i have never limited out on eyes. Summer is a differant story, I limit in a few hours. Can't seem to find them in the winter

[Basskicker]

Personally,I release all the fish I catch....except keeper sized stripers.I just enjoy catching them.If there is an allowable limit you can keep,you should be able to keep them if you want!I do frown upon the people that keep every fish that has a pulse regardless of size.You get a group of these"bucket people",as we call them,on a small body of water,and they can do some real damage in a short amount of time!I take a camera with me for the memories,thats all I need........Just my 2 cents...Mike

[walleyewacker]

you have every right to possess your legal limit of fish, however the sportsman like thing to do is keep a few and some back, often times when a lake goes through a cycle where fish are scarce or small people that keep there limit all the time are the ones complaining. just my two cents, like i say you have every right to keep your bag limit

[Haywood]

I agree, I have a size limit that I will keep and I never keep more than I will eat before my next outting, but it's my opinion.  Unless it's illegal, it is not my place to say anything.  I have seen it happen in cleaning houses where so called fisherman will attack another for what he kept, and if it's not illegal, it's not right.  You go to work, you are told what to do, you come home, you are told what to do, the government tells you what to do, now there are a-holes telling you what to do when you are fishing.  Live to please others, that seams to be all that life is about.

[walleyewacker]

thats exactly it there are true sportsman and plain old meat fisherman, nothing you can do about it, like you said you have standards that you set and so do i, live by your standards and thats all that matters, i am about 85% catch and release but if i feel like keepin some for myself or grandpa who cant fish anymore i am gonna end of story dont care what anyone else says, probably jealous cause they cant catch there own fish

[Fish_Tko]

thats exactly it there are true sportsman and plain old meat fisherman, nothing you can do about it, like you said you have standards that you set and so do i, live by your standards and thats all that matters, i am about 85% catch and release but if i feel like keepin some for myself or grandpa who cant fish anymore i am gonna end of story dont care what anyone else says, probably jealous cause they cant catch there own fish

I agree with the  everyone living by their own standards part as long as its within the legal limits, except i don't think "true Sportsman" and "plain old meat fisherman" are polar opposites as stated above? If that's what you meant. I think a "plain old meat fisherman" is a true sportsman.