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Back in Kansas the wardens would let me keep a number of ducks over my limit. They had hunted with me and my Labrador enough and knew I sent him after cripples on the way back to the truck. Some were emaciated and I'd get rid of them, while some were fresh cripples and I would take them, rather than to let them starve and die in the marsh. Didn't hurt I could call birds in whenever they wanted to bag a limit quickly!
Here is my take on it.... I've been pulling crappies out of 60+ fow, and perch and walleye from 30+ for years.A) Reel them in much more slowly, then cut that in half. Savor the moment, C&R fishing is about quality, not quantity. You have a pretty good idea if you are fishing for the frying pan or not. If the fish is going to be released, bring it up as slow as you can. It is good practice anyway, easy does it with really big fish on light line. Learning patience when pulling fish up may very well help you land the fish of a lifetime some day.B) If the eyes are bugging out, toss it on the ice and eat it.C) If it floats belly up but it's eyes are in, blow in its mouth. It sounds stupid... I didn't believe in it at first. But blowing hard on it's throat pucker seems to do something for them. I have been using this season and have been seeing really good results.D) Shake the fish like it is a glass katsup bottle, give it two or three good jolts like you are trying to get katsup out of it's mouth.E) If it still won't go, you can try the toilet plunger action in the hole. I usually just toss them on the ice at that point.F) If you need B,C,D, and E more than a few times per trip, go back and read A again more carefully. Those tournament guys just want them to swim away. Fish floating next to the boat looks real bad.... They don't give a crap about what happens to them from there.Your experiences may vary, but this is what I've seen and done myself.
Reeling up slow is the key. The slower the better.
The nice crappie I target are in 35 to 40 feet of water, unfortunately, you catch a few small ones, and moving shallow is not an option, as the fish are deep. I fizz the small ones with a 20 gauge needle, and watch them swim all the way back down on my flasher. I hope the small hole heals, better than pushing them under the ice like 90% of the tools do out there, at least they have a chance.
Been out fishing Keyhole a few times this year before we got the snow. Noticed a couple perch dead under the ice. Stuck to the bottom of the ice. Water was 38 feet. Holes had been drilled in the area earlier. My guess they died from the air sack coming out of there throats. If I intend to fish water that deep I keep the fish. Most of the perch I catch the air sack is pushed from there stomachs. No need wasting fish. Seen to many people out there pushing them back down the holes. Catch and release is great but you r just releasing them to die later.
I went to big mak a few years back to do some walleye fishing. Was doing a little trolling surprised what I saw between 15 to 20 walleye moving in circles in 90 degree weather all of them over 8 pounds. Was one of the most discussing things I've had ever witness I say help them if their going to die anyway. It's worth a shot in my book.
I'm not so sure about that. I'd love if one of our game and fish biologists would chime in on this one. It's been said before but just because you see them swim back to the bottom - doesn't mean they will actually make it. Either way, it's not the end of the world if we kill a few fish here or there: by poking holes in them, bringing them up too fast and from too deep, or hooking them deep in the gut. The bottom feeders (crawfish) have got to eat too - some people automatically think it is a waste but it is all perspective... That is just part of fishing sometimes we kill fish when we would rather not have. Part of the game.
