catch and release

[oldschoolben]

just wondering how many of us do this i have been catchubg and releasing most of my life i keep some to eat  but release bigget fish for another day whats your opinions

[double_a85]

If I am not going to eat it... they go back down the hole. I keep only enough trout for a fresh meal... don't like trout once they have been froze. On walleye/northerns/ling/ect. I keep enough eater size fish for a couple nice meals... never caught any hogs worthy of release in that regard--- new to those species of fishing.

[fishermantim]

Here in Massachusetts we have many "put & take" ponds where the state stocks them with trout because they cannot sustain a trout population on their own. That means that every fish stocked in that pond is intended to be caught and eaten. Although some fish are released, they cannot reproduce due to the water quality and the other fish species in those ponds.

Generally if I am not going to eat the fish, and the fish hasn't been injured from gut hooking it will be released.

I will release trophy fish (which I have done after taking a photo for my own records) so that someone else will have the chance to catch that same fish.

[pike_fisherman]

I am a firm believer in catch and eat (selective harvest) but also let a fair amount of fish swim away to fight another day!

[Mogi]

I definetly release more than I keep. Typically keep a a dozen or so trout to smoke at the end of the season. I keep perch when I'm craving perch. More often than not they go back. Another thing is I'm always so dog tired when I get back from fishin the last thing I feel like doing is cleaning fish. That keeps a lot of them swimmin.

[oldschoolben]

i will keep a mess of perch and bring home pike .my wife and kids live to eat fish so j bring enough for a dinner

[That Guy]

I keep if I'm with friends that want to have a fish fry after we get
Home or if I'm in the mood to cook that day and the only
Thing I keep are perch walleye and crappie unless I go somewhere to catch a bunch of big bluegills other than that everything goes back and alot of times when I'm being lazy and don't feel like cutting fish they
Go back too, keeper walleye are the only ones that I would say I always keep

[oldschoolben]

I keep if I'm with friends that want to have a fish fry after we get
Home or if I'm in the mood to cook that day and the only
Thing I keep are perch walleye and crappie unless I go somewhere to catch a bunch of big bluegills other than that everything goes back and alot of times when I'm being lazy and don't feel like cutting fish they
Go back too, keeper walleye are the only ones that I would say I always keep

ya crappie and walleye along with gills are hard to beat lm getting hungey lol

[elktalk101]

Occasionally I will keep a few for a friend but 99% of the time I place them back into the lake for more fun next time.

[BoonDockin]

For the most part I release keep a few here and there to eat or have smoked

[jiggin365]

I'll keep my limit of walleyes if they are 14"-23".  Keep all the perch over 9" that I feel like filleting.  Once and a while a northern if it happens to be between 4-8lbs.  Crappies get kept on occasion.  Whether I keep fish or not also depends on the fish in the fishery (population, average size).  Kokanee from Georgetown are usually given away for someone to smoke.  Most everything else goes back to get bigger. 

[SpitzoMT]

I think the quote in my signature says it all..........!!!!!

ON EDIT: The last fish I remember keeping was a nice cutthroat I caught in a mountain lake back in about 1997. The only reason I kept it was to try a BBQ trout recipe that one of my buddies had told me to try out. I remember it being quite tasty, but I prefer to eat salmon or halibut. Through all my years of fishing, I guess I've just learned to appreciate the fact that I'm given the opportunity to catch fish everywhere in this great state & I would just as soon release them so I may catch/release them again another day. Getting out into the great outdoors of Montana is what it's all about to me.....Fishing, catching/releasing fish is just an added bonus!!

[oldschoolben]

glad to see allot of us release alot of what we catch for another day

[BigSage]

Kept 4 perch for my wife and I, and released most of my catch today.

[doublehaul]

Selective harvest- Keep a few smaller fish for the table and release those trophies. IT's all about education-educate those you take fishing and promote C.P.R. fishing (catch photo release).

[fridayfish]

for now until I start to catch more I plan to keep most. i usually let the small one go so they can grow big for another day. if I catch a big one I worship it all the way to the frying pan than while eating it I think wow I caught this. on the blackfoot of coarse I let the bigger ones go and it does feel good to watch them swim away. other times when big fish get away im mad but I cant help feel a little good for the fish who almost died but didnt. but that's not the same as catch and release. after I start catching more I will practice more catch and release. but for now id like to fill my smoker.

[Montana89]

I am new to the sport of ice fishing and am completely addicted already lol. however i am an avid fly and spin fisherman as we'll. When it comes to trout i pretty much always put them back. For walleye, perch, pike i will keep them if you can get a reasonable sized fillet. it really depends on the situation for me if you no the populations are healthy and you enjoy eating that particular species why not. nothing is better than consuming something you acquired with your own two hands.

[Kevinski406]

up at Bynum I have seen people just making piles of small perch and just leave them there....

WHAT A WASTE! If I see any of you out there doing this I will personally drill holes around you until you fall in. No i do not carry a rescue rope.

[MatCat]

Keep some, release some, just depends on how hungry I am.

[HolePounder]

If you see people wasting fish call the warden.

[gso12]

If you see people wasting fish call the warden.

I agree

[rkymtnfisher]

Catch and release is an interesting subject. I personally believe it should be decided on water body and species specific. If you catch and release on an overpopulated piece of water you are helping reduce the average size. Not what  most of us want right??? On the other hand if you are fishing a piece of quality trout water that  has been invaded by a predator species such as pike or a heavy feeder and breeder like carp then I think you help the sport fishery if you kill every one of the invasive species you catch. The coyotes, birds and other animals will feast on them ... nothing wasted. What I am getting at is that I would like all of us to think twice about catch and release just for the sake of it or just to say we did it and not for a logical reason that improves the quality and quantity of fish for all of us..   your thoughts?

[rkymtnfisher]

Catch and release is an interesting subject. I personally believe it should be decided on water body and species specific. If you catch and release on an overpopulated piece of water you are helping reduce the average size. Not what  most of us want right??? On the other hand if you are fishing a piece of quality trout water that  has been invaded by a predator species such as pike or a heavy feeder and breeder like carp then I think you help the sport fishery if you kill every one of the invasive species you catch. The coyotes, birds and other animals will feast on them ... nothing wasted. What I am getting at is that I would like all of us to think twice about catch and release just for the sake of it or just to say we did it and not for a logical reason that improves the quality and quantity of fish for all of us..   your thoughts?

[rkymtnfisher]

Catch and release is an interesting subject. I personally believe it should be decided on water body and species specific. If you catch and release on an overpopulated piece of water you are helping reduce the average size. Not what  most of us want right??? On the other hand if you are fishing a piece of quality trout water that  has been invaded by a predator species such as pike or a heavy feeder and breeder like carp then I think you help the sport fishery if you kill every one of the invasive species you catch. The coyotes, birds and other animals will feast on them ... nothing wasted. What I am getting at is that I would like all of us to think twice about catch and release just for the sake of it or just to say we did it and not for a logical reason that improves the quality and quantity of fish for all of us..   your thoughts?

[coldcreekchris]

fish I catch are a major part of my diet....as a general rule I let the bigger ones go....seeing fish on the ice is never pleasant..especially when they have their eyes cut out while alive..to tip a jig..when a maggot can achieve similar results....sometimes I even see piles of 7 inch perch on the ice which is insane.....in overpopulated areas a 7 inch perch can eat a large number of 2 inch perch...so by throwing it on the ice...you are actually contributing to the increase of the population.....perch speaking.....if I want a trout in certain areas that have a few diferrent species..i'll keep the brookies(char) and bows and release the cuts....it all depends.....rkymtnfish er is sounds like you have a considerate philosophy.....the guys dumping the perch and such probably are noy going to change....and may even be a little defensive if confronted......I.ve seen kind old grampas..decked out in their plaid wool...leave a pile behind.....I suppose the herons...coyotes and such appreciate it.....I personally would never waste fish...but there are so extreme views on this topic.....most are acting out of what they believe to be the best for the fishery.....a few are just heartless.....educatio n is key....and regs are regs.....it is illegal to waste.....

[Montana89]

Yea don't hesitate to call 1-800-TIP-MONT there really nice. Its the Wanton Waste law. If you kill a game species in the state of Montana you have to utilize that animal or its illegal. Cant stand when people kill for the fun of it.

[oldschoolben]

i agree about the perch allot of small perch at least thats what i catch lol

[Tacojuan]

It depends on where I'm at and the size of the fish. Id never eat a trophy and if I did keep one, it would be to mount it. Fort peck I'm less picky about what I keep because of the abundance of good sized fish and the numbers that exist there. Smaller lakes on the other hand that have a few nice ones but mostly dinks I throw most back and keep smaller fish. Sometimes keeping a couple fish can be better for a fishery than throwing everyone back, it all depends on natural recruitment and the size of the body of water. Smaller fish taste better anyways and the big ones are funner to catch, it should be pretty easy to figure out what to do.

[MTHarpooner]

If I'm fishing a stocked lake, I'll keep the pan-sized ones until I have enough for a meal or two, and always release the lunkers and dinks back in. If I'm fishing a stream of "wild" unstocked trout, I'll release anything that isn't hooked badly or on the way out because of me dropping it on a rock or some other dumb thing. Where my fish-n-game money is going to stock fish, I have no problem with keeping dinner. But I think "wild" fish deserve more consideration. That said, I'll eat bass no problem (especially stripers), but I've got a buddy who is from Missouri who believes that they are purely for sport and not for the table. Go figure.

[Robbi]

Fish are a staple in our diet.  That being said, we keep limits of walleye.  I only keep perch if they are big enough to fillet, which for me is 10 inch and over.  Pike, if we keep any will be larger than 4 lb.  I've never caught trophy fish, but would like to think I will take a picture and release it when I do.  (that 10 lb walleye is coming) I rarely fish for trout anymore, but do hit the creeks a couple times a season and will keep a few for people I know that like them and can't get them on there own.  I never waste anything, if I take it, it gets used.....