catch and release

[Cornbread]

I eat a lot of fish. I also release a lot of fish. I know what size tastes best in the various types I fish and I don't keep big ones because honestly they taste gross, especially bigger pike (pike over 8 - 10lbs), but big bass of both types are the same way too. I do use perch eyes because they work better than maggots by a long way but my kids know the rule, if you keep one for the eyes you kill it first and you take it home and eat it, no matter how small it is, you never waste a fish that you want to use a part of. Once we get a few for eyes, we usually only keep ones that are 10" or bigger. I have a ruler on my tackle box that the kids measure against and they know that if it isn't over 10" then back down the hole it goes. Pike and perch are our biggest targets but we also fish smallies, large mouth, trout, and mountain whitefish. We rarely if ever keep any bass, I personally don't keep trout because I hate the taste of trout and the whitefish we keep nearly all of for smoking unless they are too small. I can honestly say, I have never wasted fish nor do I allow my kids to waste them either. I like to see people take pics and release big ones, I dislike waste of any kind, be it fish, water, timber resources etc. but I don't get upset if people don't release what they catch so long as their conduct is legal. I just like to see people enjoying fishing, however they chose to do so.

[lundin-loading]

I release alot of fish, but when I get the feeling I keep some to eat. I just got a new smoker so I'm going to be releasing alot less trout I know that!

[Chasing Lunkers]

I only keep what I'm going to eat... Nuff Said

[coldcreekchris]

I eat a lot of fish. I also release a lot of fish. I know what size tastes best in the various types I fish and I don't keep big ones because honestly they taste gross, especially bigger pike (pike over 8 - 10lbs), but big bass of both types are the same way too. I do use perch eyes because they work better than maggots by a long way but my kids know the rule, if you keep one for the eyes you kill it first and you take it home and eat it, no matter how small it is, you never waste a fish that you want to use a part of. Once we get a few for eyes, we usually only keep ones that are 10" or bigger. I have a ruler on my tackle box that the kids measure against and they know that if it isn't over 10" then back down the hole it goes. Pike and perch are our biggest targets but we also fish smallies, large mouth, trout, and mountain whitefish. We rarely if ever keep any bass, I personally don't keep trout because I hate the taste of trout and the whitefish we keep nearly all of for smoking unless they are too small. I can honestly say, I have never wasted fish nor do I allow my kids to waste them either. I like to see people take pics and release big ones, I dislike waste of any kind, be it fish, water, timber resources etc. but I don't get upset if people don't release what they catch so long as their conduct is legal. I just like to see people enjoying fishing, however they chose to do so.

[oldschoolben]

I only keep what I'm going to eat... Nuff Said

good quote i took used to go fishung with a couple of guys kept every thing they caught no matter how small or big said they did it to have fish in freezer funny thing tho  they had fish 5 years old in freezer no longer fish with them

[cnelson]

A lot of people will argue about mounting a real fish compared to getting a replica done.i believe. in selective harvest as well,but i also believe if you catch a true trophy ,why not use the real fish? When you godeer or elk hunting and shoot a trophy you use the real hide and horns. 

[missoulafish]

The deer or the elk is dead, never to be seen again. Not so if you let a fish go.

[cnelson]

The deer or the elk is dead, never to be seen again. Not so if you let a fish go.

to each their own.main thing is the sportsman or women are following the regs.

[missoulafish]

Ya, might as well kill all the trophy fish just cuz the regs say it's legal. Conservation and preservation is up to ALL  of us. Setting an example for others to follow should be our main focus, not bonking the biggest and best fish just because the law says it's ok.

[cnelson]

Ya, might as well kill all the trophy fish just cuz the regs say it's legal. Conservation and preservation is up to ALL  of us. Setting an example for others to follow should be our main focus, not bonking the biggest and best fish just because the law says it's ok.

who said kill all.i said its alright to keep a big trophy every once in a while.  Jeez.

[missoulafish]

Not gonna argue, if everyone keeps a trophy once in a while, there won't be any.

[Jberg440]

I have no problem keeping a limit of walleyes or perch to feed my wife and I. That being said I do not waste what I keep and stay within the possession limits of the law. I rarely keep trout unless I have enough to run the smoker and they are fairly good size. 

[HolePounder]

Most fisherman(we are not all on this forum) keep every trophy size fish they catch,thats just the way it is.If that practice wiped out the species they would have been long gone years ago.

[missoulafish]

Man I love it when people do anything they can to justify not protecting the resource we love. It may be "the way it is" in places but that doesn't make it right, wether it is legal or not. Nobody said anything about wiping out a species but we are talking about wiping out the biggest most genetically superior specimens. How many 15 pound walleye, 15 pound rainbows, 2 pound perch and 25-30 pound pike you can pull out of any given body of water before they are gone?  Tomorrow I more important than today.

[fuzzydriller]

So are you saying you pass on a 400 class elk or 200 class mule deer for somebody else to enjoy? I don't see any difference between that and keeping a big fish.

[missoulafish]

So when you shoot that elk or buck, is it still alive? You guys trying to make that comparison, there is nothing to compare. Dead is dead. But I do see how you are only worried about yourself. Why keep a trophy fish if your not going to mount it? Even then a replica looks a 100 times better.

[HolePounder]

Keep throwing them back nobody is going to stop you.I follow the regs and keep whatever I want to eat,beyond that its nobody's business what I do with my fish.

[missoulafish]

Yup, great attitude. Really promotes the fishery for the next generation. Love the holier than though attitude. I'm guessing your one of those guys that wonders why you can't catch buckets full of giant perch any more.

[MatCat]

My guess is that the number of fish kept, not the size is the problem.  I noticed a big difference fishing in canada and here.  Walleyes and northern limits are low 2-3 fish a day and you can only keep the bigger ones.  Walleye over 20", northern over 22".  The lake we were fishing at they gill net commercially as well during the year, and we were catching 30-50 fish a day and and least half were legal size.  I don't know what that tells you, but when your average walleye there is around 20 inches, and here at tiber or fresno, or canyon ferry it is 14-16", I think we are doing something wrong.  I eat a lot of what I catch, but I'm not going out day after day keeping a 5-10 fish limit of everything every time I go out.  I know I can't eat them fast enough to justify it, and fish don't keep as well in the freezer anyway.  I was fishing the CF walleye tournament one year, while prefishing I kept 3-4 fish a day and had a couple of fish dinners, but the guys next to me were keeping 20 each day, and they did that for four days straight, I guess they were obeying the limit but come on.

[HolePounder]

Wrong again....


thats our keepers from Sat and Sun this last weekend on Canyon ferry,seems the fishery is doing very well.Me and the wife had perch for dinner the last two nights and those big fat jumbos taste great.You make think you are going to change peoples attitudes towards keeping fish by berating and belittling them but all you are doing is making yourself look arrogant.

[missoulafish]

Whatever you say HP. Conservation and preservation isn't arrogant, flaunting those pics in that context on the other hand is. I'm curious where the berrating and belittling is though. You obviously are going to do your own thing despite anyone else. Thankfully everyone isn't like that.

[MatCat]

Didn't really mean perch, they are going to survive whatever you do to them.  Look at smith lake near kalispell, perch fishing has been the same as it has always been for me over the last 20 years, you just catch 20 pike between every perch instead of the other way around now.  I can't imagine how many perch the pike eat all year, but there still seems to be plenty of perch in there.  Canyon ferry still has plenty of perch in it despite what anyone else thinks.  I don't believe I've seen a tremendous change in any perch fishery I've been to.  I went to Frances last year after they denied the perch assault tournament there due to the perch numbers and my group caught over 400 in one day that were all over 10", I bet we kept about 100 of them between the six of us, and my buddy who lives there catches them like that all year when he wants to. They are a forage fish that reproduce, well, like perch do.  I don't care if someone keeps 50 perch as long as they're taking them home with them, it's the bigger game fish that suffer when people are keeping that many.

[HolePounder]

We have been catching them out of CF like this for 10 years,every year the average size goes UP,I doubt many perch fisherman release jumbos for the good of the fishery.When you yank a fish off the bottom in 50 fow the chances of them surviving a release is minimal.ill keep "flaunting" my fish pics MF,if it offends you all the better.

[ship of fools]

Whatever you say HP. Conservation and preservation isn't arrogant, flaunting those pics in that context on the other hand is. I'm curious where the berrating and belittling is though. You obviously are going to do your own thing despite anyone else. Thankfully everyone isn't like that.

Every state has a governing body that sets limits they consider to be needed to insure the future of the fishery .....   as HP said beyond that its nobody's business what anyone does with their fish ...... if you have issues take it up with the DNR, DEC or whatever the governing body is   

[missoulafish]

Stay Klassy HP:)

[icefishnaddct]

Man I love it when people do anything they can to justify not protecting the resource we love. It may be "the way it is" in places but that doesn't make it right, wether it is legal or not. Nobody said anything about wiping out a species but we are talking about wiping out the biggest most genetically superior specimens. How many 15 pound walleye, 15 pound rainbows, 2 pound perch and 25-30 pound pike you can pull out of any given body of water before they are gone?  Tomorrow I more important than today.

These fish you speak of are past their spawning prime anyway, they aren't doing much for the resource anymore. more fish will grow and take their place. Not saying i agree one way or the other. I personnally would do replica mounts but that is only as of recently when i had one done. They do look very realistic. However i can also see how people want the actual fish. Replica mounts are NOT exact and in fact most taxidermists order a premade mold that is CLOSE to actual size from your measurements. point is = to each his own.

[oldschoolben]

i guess it depends on the lake some fisheries can support good population of big fish i usually let big bass go i dont like to eat trout but i do like perch and walleye and will take homr a mess of fish for me and the family to eat  k hav released more than i kept but i dont go fishing to much anymore to far and money tight so i usually keep the perch problem is i have not found them lol

[ship of fools]

These fish you speak of are past their spawning prime anyway, they aren't doing much for the resource anymore. more fish will grow and take their place. Not saying i agree one way or the other. I personnally would do replica mounts but that is only as of recently when i had one done. They do look very realistic. However i can also see how people want the actual fish. Replica mounts are NOT exact and in fact most taxidermists order a premade mold that is CLOSE to actual size from your measurements. point is = to each his own.

A little off topic but not really ......  one of the hunting shows had a segment on shooting elephants in Africa. Their statement was that they kill the mean old bast...ds that are no longer reproducing and are in fact hurting the whole herd and it is in the best interest of the species to eliminate them.

[oldschoolben]

looks like another thread on its way to being locked lol iceshaty might ban me lol

[doublehaul]

This is better than going to the movies. I better get some popcorn