catch and release

[Edm87]

I do a lot of catch and release.  That being said I will keep some fish to eat too. Panfish reproduce like crazy their abundant nothing wrong with keeping em.  Same goes for smaller predator fish, etc. If you want keep trophy sized predator fish more power to you.   Nothing wrong with eating fish. Theres a reason that the DEC has fishing regs, to protect fish populations.   If guys need to get angry or preachy about something how about dealing with the slobs out their that litter and poach. 

[cnyiceboy]

I have to say when it comes to small water trout fishing I will put back 100% of the brookies I catch, But on the other hand perch  and other panfish when ice fishing all go home with me. Everything over 6 inches for perch will end up as table fair. My entire family eats it so nothing ever goes to waste. I be live just like religion keep your views or beliefs to yourself unless you want to hear others opinions on them. Good Or bad.

[ICE WANDERER]

          To each their own. If you want to throw it back do so if you want dinner then take it home as long it is a keeper. Don't let anyone make you do what you don't want to do. I thought we live in a free country, they haven't taken our fishing rights away yet.

[IceKing4]

I catch and release perch and crappies all season long... I catch them and release them into my bucket... Then eventually into my frying pan. You really can't keep a hungry guy from keeping dinner. Don't judge me for thinking that's it's more delicious when you catch it yourself!

[filetandrelease]

they're much better released to some hot grease ,winter is the only time i really keep any perch or eyes ,these days their is a lot less fish kept now that limits have been set in many bodies of water

[SPADED]

i love how everyone is getting fussy about this... as a C and R guy, i told my story on why i do it, and have never given anyone sh!t for keeping fish. i am getting the impression yall have gotten some "know it all" tell you whats right and wrong lol you just need to tell those people that its just like deer, if no one hunted them they would over populate and starve to DEATH in the winter, so its either they die slow or nice and fast and go to a good home hahaha

[fishermantim4]

last winter we had many stellar outings with the panfish, bringing home a couple hundred from our group, we justified it that, in our group we no longer were getting out in the early spring and getting them like we used to because all of us work outside and thats about when we get really busy is when the pannies fishing is best.  so we load up our freezers so we have some wonderful eats all year round, speaking of which im out of fish, other than a few walleye i'm saving for a special occasion.
i do practice c & r on some fish at some spots, steelhead i might keep one of the hundred or so i catch a winter, and salmon i'll try and keep a few for eggs and give them to friends.  bass go back unless they have a known consumer known beforehand. legal perch bluegill walleye and crappie go home with me.

[fish-e]

I am a catch and release guy.  I do however enjoy a few perch, bass and pickerel now and then.  I don't have a problem with people taking fish for dinner.  I only have a problem when I see some that have buckets full of fish.  They don't discriminate on species, or size.  I know there are laws that help govern what we can and can't take, how much and when.  But we all need to use common sense and leave some behind for our kids.  I know many places in Europe and Asia that have been over fished for decades and now the eco-system is unbalanced.  We, in North Amercia are very lucky and rich with all our lakes, rivers and streams.  Lets keep it full of fish, and balanced.  For us and our kids.

[SPADED]

i agree with FISH-E.. i could care less when people keep fish,thats why most people fish lol but i have seen guys with fish so small i thought they were using em as bait on another lake or something!

[Grumpyoldman]

Except for trout, I catch and release all. 

[jimski2]

In the mid eighties they put the New York Lake Erie commercial fishermen out of business. They were "raping" the lake. They took 20,000 walleye  and 600,000 perch along with tons of suckers, sheephead and other desirable species. In Erie County there were at the time 100,000 licensed anglers so the commercials were taking one walleye for every five anglers, not too bad. Sportfishing boomed for several years, then in the 1990's, things really changed for the worse. There were no successful walleye hatches from 1983 to 2003 when there was some success. The unharvested perch decimated the young walleyes till today. License sales dropped and fishing effort reallly dropped.
The point is this is not fish management. You have to have a balanced harvest to have success with your fisheries. If you want walleyes, you must keep the perch populations under control. Releasing small perch does not make it better, just more small perch to keep the growth rates down. The small perch are better for you.
The USA imports from foreign nations three trillion dollars of seafood annually so do your thing and keep our American dollars here. If you do not eat the fish, give them to someone who needs them. If there is a shortage of fish, you will not go out for them, but if there are plenty, go get some.

[Ranger_bound]

I hear you trapper, my problem is the ones that go back in the hole are dinks....