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Not a fan of slots, don't care to be forced to release dead fish. If fish aren't going to make it they should be kept or at least count against your limit imo. Regs in ND are pretty basic with almost no size restrictions and I have no complaints about quality of fishing here. Would rather see limits decreased than add slots.
I don’t agree with slot limits while ice fishing because you have to measure the fish. When measuring fish ice fishing this usually involves laying the fish on the ice and keeping it out of the water longer than necessary only to find out you have to release it. I think most of us know what happens when you lay a releasable fish on the ice, you freeze off its slime layer and possibly freeze it’s eyes and fins causing permanent damage or even death of the fish. Now before everyone jumps my case just remember that fishing in general always has the potential to kill the fish if you C&R but we need to take whatever steps possible to reduce damage to the fish. There is no perfect equation for C&R we just need to do the best we can and slot limits through the ice in my opinion are not good for C&R.
I keep enough for a meal & then I throw them back. I don't freeze fish. If Im hungry for fish I go catch more. Fish are easy to get anytime of the year. Why freeze them ? frozen fish comes in a yellow box I don't eat trout too fishy
I watch a lot of ice fishing videos on Youtube and I see a LOT of catch and release videos.Jen and I are always sitting there asking each other why. I mean... It wouldn't even occur to us, unless they were not keepers or were breeders.But all the time, we are seeing eaters being tossed all day long and none kept too many time.We just dont get it.Anyone here that can explain this to me, I would listen with an open mind but I honestly just dont get it.
If you have a self sustaining fishery eating a few is fine. Where I am from most fisheries (pike, walleye, perch, whitefish)are declared vulnerable which means they don't have enough breeders to sustain the fishery and you don't get more breeders if you are keeping lots of eaters. Almost all our lakes for walleye are on a draw system, with slot limits and you have to put in for a draw to keep walleye. If drawn it is about 2-3 fish per year out of that lake for the year for that species and you only get 1 (walleye) draw per year. Stillwater trout lakes are stocked and most are managed as "put and take" fisheries and allow a harvest of 5 trout/day any size. Rivers are not stocked but most have very small if any harvest limits with slot limits. Our govt. for the most part refuses to put money into stocking with the exception of trout fisheries. I have always liked catching fish more than eating them and in our province "catch and release" is the only reason we have a fishery at all.
Buddy of mine did a lot of research over the last few years and found that even though the food savers work that there is a better option. He gets into freezers and stuff too. Really smart guy. Thought I would share. Looking to get one of these chamber vacs myself.
Lakes and rivers should be managed so people can take some fish home to eat. If they can't handle that and are catch and release only I will not be wasting my time there.
I fish over 50 days a year and rarely keep any but I have never wasted time fishing............... ...ever. Some of the best memories I have are when I am fishing with friends and family and deciding not to keep fish doesn't really effect my experience, but each to their own.
Stay within the regs and life is good And don’t waste a resource
Selective harvest is the way to go, whether you keep 5 or 50. I don't think anyone has mentioned the situation that occurs when too many of the big bull bluegills are taken out. Since their genetics are no longer very prevalent, the genetics from the quickly sexually maturing and slow growing bluegills replace the good ones.Some people may think that the lake/pond is full of dinks from over-population, but in fact, it is full of crap genetics because the greedy folks had to keep the 9"+ gills instead of the 7-8" gills. The meat from two 7" bluegills is probably close to equal to the meat of one 9" bluegill, maybe a bit more. And if more people did that, there would be plenty of eater fish AND picture-worthy fish for subsequent years.
What's the use of a limit then? Get your daily limit, take them home, put in freezer, go back out....I don't get it??
That's not how it works.Here in Alaska we have a daily limit. You cannot exceed the daily limit in any one 24-hour period.Then we have a possession limit which is two times the daily limit.That is to allow people to go camping and fishing, for a weekend for instance, then catch and keep fish both days.Beyond that there is no limit to how many fish you may have at home.But in order for you to have more than a possession of limit of fish on you you must either have all the information,( name address license number) of the other person who caught it or the fish must be preserved in a manner that makes them fit for consumption after 14 days.Vacuum sealed and Frozen, smoked, pressure canned, etc.Virtually everyone in Alaska puts up salmon in the summer when they are running and halibut from the ocean when they are available in the summer.If they didn't allow that we'd be bearing down on the capital with pitchforks and torches!But at no time are you allowed to exceed the daily limit or The possession limit.So no, you cannot run home throw them in your freezer and come back and catch a second limit.Not legally anyway!