Kill or release?

[Night Eyes]

If you catch a rockbass do you toss it on the ice or let it go? are they a junk fish that can damage a pond or lake? when i fish in Canada they tell me to kill everyone i catch.

[Rebelss]

If you catch a rockbass do you toss it on the ice or let it go? are they a junk fish that can damage a pond or lake? when i fish in Canada they tell me to kill everyone i catch.

!!??! Rockies? They're good fish!!! I've eaten hundreds of rockies!!! If you aren't going to eat them, throw them back! They do NOT damage anything, anymore than a sunfish would. (They're a member of the sunfish family) We like 'em down here in Minnesota!

[Bellybuster]

other than the goby I've never heard of killing any fish for anything other than consumption.
   To further that, in my zone it would be illegal and due cause for a warden to release you of ownership of all your gear, including the vehicle that got you there (seldom happens but has before).
   Just because some guy on the ice thinks they are junk fish doesn't mean they are invasive or harmful to the ecosystem. I would suggest leaving the biology to the biologists. If they consider them a problem they will handle it with a targeted kill.
    On the other hand, read the regs for the zone you were in, maybe there is a viable and legal reason for it but I kinda doubt it

[snapozz]

other than the goby I've never heard of killing any fish for anything other than consumption.
   To further that, in my zone it would be illegal and due cause for a warden to release you of ownership of all your gear, including the vehicle that got you there (seldom happens but has before).
   Just because some guy on the ice thinks they are junk fish doesn't mean they are invasive or harmful to the ecosystem. I would suggest leaving the biology to the biologists. If they consider them a problem they will handle it with a targeted kill.
    On the other hand, read the regs for the zone you were in, maybe there is a viable and legal reason for it but I kinda doubt it

i totally agree

[Rebelss]

other than the goby I've never heard of killing any fish for anything other than consumption.
   To further that, in my zone it would be illegal and due cause for a warden to release you of ownership of all your gear, including the vehicle that got you there (seldom happens but has before).
   Just because some guy on the ice thinks they are junk fish doesn't mean they are invasive or harmful to the ecosystem. I would suggest leaving the biology to the biologists. If they consider them a problem they will handle it with a targeted kill.
    On the other hand, read the regs for the zone you were in, maybe there is a viable and legal reason for it but I kinda doubt it


Good reply. Makes me wonder who "They" is... When in doubt, ALWAYS read the regs.

[JokersWild]

some people around here kill sheephead.  I am in no way condoning needlessly killing a fish when it wont be consumed(unless its a gobie, and "consumed" means by humans, not seagulls or pelicans).

[Night Eyes]

"They" where the locals who i rented the cabin from, i never ate one but don't knock it till ya tried it right. and i know the kids have fun catching them.

[alaskaruss1]

All I can say about Rock Bass is try them you will like it. They surely are not perch but they ain't bad. 

[eroknroll]

Happens alot with whitefish here in montana, guys, throw them up on the bank, they think it lowers the competition for other trout.(even though they are a native species, whereas browns and rainbows are not) Same thing w suckers, no one releases those. Guys on the missouri slaughter the invasive carp with bows, and then toss them on the bank.  In yellowstone lake in the park, lake trout are hated because they have desimated the native cuttthrout trout. they were illegally introduced.  The park service spends 2 million dollars a year trying to gill net the fish by the tens of thousands, and if you fish for them there are no creel limits, and you have to kill everything you catch. In the end something eats the fish if not a human, not to mention not all the fish we release survive. 

[mealworm]

i have much respect for the mighty rock bass, i can't bring myself to eat them so i just put them back,they do put up a good fight

[redruff]

We catch them a lot in the summer with sunfish, we let them all go..
They are a running joke with my family..the red eyed devil fish!

[Kevin23]

I like the taste of rockbass. Once they hit 8" there is enough meat to justify cleaning the bone filled critter (imo). I say you keep the ones you catch and EAT THEM.

[howesfc]

Rock Bass are fun to catch and good to eat.

[RowdyRay]

!!??! Rockies? They're good fish!!! I've eaten hundreds of rockies!!! If you aren't going to eat them, throw them back! They do NOT damage anything, anymore than a sunfish would. (They're a member of the sunfish family) We like 'em down here in Minnesota!

Not everyone, because I've heard so many people say they'd never eat them. They give you a million reasons too. I just laugh because they've obviously never tried one. Usually tell them to try one and then come back and talk to me. They're great.

They are a little different to clean compared to a sunfish. They have a very hard rib cage. Most everyone I know saves the meat above the ribs or back I guess, cuts around the ribs and the down the tail. You end up with a strange looking filet, but worth it to me.

[Trevor]

I used to fish those back when I lived in Ontario around 1994.  At that time I was lucky to be able to afford a spool of line as this was kind of a low point in my life.  I would entertain myself for hours just jiggin' them off the pier in the Welland canal.  The water was kind of gross so I didn't eat them(obviously I wasn't TOO hungry then   ) but sure was fun when it's your only access to water.  At that time my only mode of transportation was a bicycle.

Anyways....to answer your question I definitely threw them back.  Years later and now a father of three, I think they would be a great species for kids  

[#1bassfisher]

If you catch a rockbass do you toss it on the ice or let it go? are they a junk fish that can damage a pond or lake? when i fish in Canada they tell me to kill everyone i catch.

If your not going to eat them let them go.

[63110]

I would think they are a good food source for the muskie, northern, and walleye.  Don't know why the locals would want to release them.

[Kevin23]

I would think they are a good food source for the muskie, northern, and walleye.  Don't know why the locals would want to release them.

Musky, northern, and walleye dont like to eat bluegll, crappie, and rockbass. They prefer bass, shad, shiners, minnows, ect. Fish with soft bodies and no spines.

If you have a l lake with bass northern and bluegill, the northern are going to take a bass over a bluegill every time.

[Rebelss]

I used to fish those back when I lived in Ontario around 1994.  At that time I was lucky to be able to afford a spool of line as this was kind of a low point in my life.  I would entertain myself for hours just jiggin' them off the pier in the Welland canal.  The water was kind of gross so I didn't eat them(obviously I wasn't TOO hungry then   ) but sure was fun when it's your only access to water.  At that time my only mode of transportation was a bicycle.

Anyways....to answer your question I definitely threw them back.  Years later and now a father of three, I think they would be a great species for kids  

Wow...That was me back in the late 70's...no jobs, nothing anywhere. Did what you could to make a buck. Catch some fish to have a meal. Took your mind off of things for a while, too. I had great fun catching a pail of rockies. Good fighting little fish...and kids love to catch 'em. Oh, and RowdyRay..you're right about cleaning them...that fat, big backbone is a pain to work around. I always ended up with lots of chunks I used to call "Rock chips". Put them all in a flour/beer batter and into the deep fryer, until you had a pile 'o chips...Hmmm..maybe I should of starting selling 'em...I'm getting hungry now....

[slipperybob]

If legal, then use it for bait!

[edfalc]

some guys around here throw pike & perch on the ice and leave em for da Eagles..

ive never understood that thinking......if im not gonna eat it , i wont kill it

[Trevor]

some guys around here throw pike & perch on the ice and leave em for da Eagles..

ive never understood that thinking......if im not gonna eat it , i wont keep it

Can u do me a favor the next time you see that?  Drag those guys out behind the proverbial shanty and educate them please 

[Irrgang131]

Dont kill the rockies...what did they ever due to you other than make you think you caught something else when you get a big one....

[jiml]

I only keep what I will eat.  Everything else goes back in the water.  I agree with leavng the biology to the biologists!  If the wildlife managers want to cull a certain species they will publish it as a directive....as with the Goby in certain areas.  I fished up in New Hapmshire last season for Brown Trout and Bows and there were dozens of dead pickerel laying in the ice.  I caught a few pikerel that day and put them back....some guy came over and said I should not put them back because they kill the trout.  I told him that they are my fish to do what I want with and he got po'd and said the pond was his home territory and they want to keep the trout!!  What an A%^ this guy was!  HIS home territory?!?!?  I didn't argue with him...being out in the middle of nowhere and all but it was definately a public body of water.  never ceases to amaze me that some bumpkins think they have the credentials to be a wildlife manager and tell others what to do with their fish!

[stevekreis]

if your not going to eat them at least throw them in your garden , they could feed you one way or the other. steve kreis

[Wiener]

Don't kill something just for the sake of killing it.

There are plenty of us out there that will eat the rockbass, whitefish or pickerel.

If God wanted rockbass killed, he would have listed it as the 11th commandment.



Wiener

[shadfish]

I can't stand when people kill fish for no reason. 

[bunnyasassyn]

i cant tell you how many times ol' rocky has saved me from gettin skunked out there..throw em back if youre not gonna eat em they arent hurtin anything!!

[eroknroll]

Just understand that you might one day release a fish that will die because of the fight that you brought to it in the name of sport. That fish will have died in vain i guess.  Actually in parts of europe they consider it inhumane to catch a fish and not eat it, for the same reason i believe.  It is illegal to practice catch and release there, go figure...

[carcaju]

Musky, northern, and walleye dont like to eat bluegll, crappie, and rockbass. They prefer bass, shad, shiners, minnows, ect. Fish with soft bodies and no spines.

If you have a l lake with bass northern and bluegill, the northern are going to take a bass over a bluegill every time.

walleye love perch which have bigger spines than any sunfish member and they do eat sunfish as well so do the pike family . although they prefer fish with soft rays in their fins they will eat anything that fits down their throat i have caught walleye and pike with all types in their gut.