Catch and Release

[Muskie Matt]

I have real problem with those who leave 100 dink perch on the ice
Ranger

Ditto on that.  I guess those who leave the  fish on the ice and leave them there when they leave are  fishery management wannabes'.  I love the arguement "throw bigs ones back, keep the little ones", but then others say the exact opposite  Nothing wrong with keeping them either, it's the waste that bothers me, or the illegal fish kept, too many fish kept, using too many tip-ups etc.  I see it all the time in Mass and I get their plate # and call the fuzz to straighten it out.  I can't begin to tell you how many 100-200 acre ponds that get fished right out because of this.  And the same people who keep EVERYTHING, complain years later that there aren't any fish.  Go figure.

[foot-in-hole]

The limited popularity of ice fishing - along with the few weeks we get to do it each year - gives the fish population a pretty good chance of making it through the winter. If we are really concerned about keeping a healthy fish population in our lakes, me might consider what has happened to so many of the Adirondack lakes - they certainly weren't fished out.
Eating some of what you catch is generally good for a population of fish - If a fishery becomes overcrowded with a particular species, they tend to stay smaller and have weaker reproduction numbers.