What would you do?

[Fishback]

I usually release all my fish, pictures or not. Once in a while I'll keep a trout to enjoy, but for the most part, I send'em home.

I wanna play devils advocate here just for a second.

What is the inherent difference between keeping a very large fish and harvesting a "mature" buck? Just like a large buck, an old mature fish is more suseptable to predation, illness, and natural death....isn't it? Why would it be so wrong to take that fish home and mount it or put it on the grill, just like we hang that 12 pointer on the wall and chow down them tenderloins.

Don't we use that same mentality when we go into the woods looking for the old buck with the thick antlers? Why shouldn't we let him walk just because he's old and has weathered the storm?

Just playing devils advocate here....

[nhtroutfreak]

I usually release all my fish, pictures or not. Once in a while I'll keep a trout to enjoy, but for the most part, I send'em home.

I wanna play devils advocate here just for a second.

What is the inherent difference between keeping a very large fish and harvesting a "mature" buck? Just like a large buck, an old mature fish is more suseptable to predation, illness, and natural death....isn't it? Why would it be so wrong to take that fish home and mount it or put it on the grill, just like we hang that 12 pointer on the wall and chow down them tenderloins.

Don't we use that same mentality when we go into the woods looking for the old buck with the thick antlers? Why shouldn't we let him walk just because he's old and has weathered the storm?

Just playing devils advocate here....

I was trying to get to that earlier in the thread.  I will generally keep enough fish for a meal, but sometime I throw them back.  You mean you can't shoot a 12-pointer and put him back in the woods?

[Mainehazmt]

pull it kill it bucket it call the papers the news media photo it craCK A BEER  CALL SOME MORE PEOPLE GET IT CERTIFIED!   and also hope it was also during a tournament!   more proof!

[nhtroutfreak]

pull it kill it bucket it call the papers the news media photo it craCK A BEER  CALL SOME MORE PEOPLE GET IT CERTIFIED!   and also hope it was also during a tournament!   more proof!

HAHAHA!!!  I love it!!!

[Chiefbush]

I normally practice catch and release and have taught my boys the same.  As a matter fo fact I did not keep one fish all softwater season.  That being said, a very large fish, record or not, is going in my bucket.