What do you do? C&R or Catch & Keep?

[crappie66]

Most fish I catch are kept and eaten.  I do tend to release the larger catfish because they taste nasty.  I don't eat bass but I do clean them and give them away, I wish more people would do the same.  Catch and Release for bass is in my opinion hurting many fisheries, I have also seen several articles from studies stating the same thing.  The bass are becoming over populated with to many 12 inch bass.  In the old days when people kept all the fish the lakes produced more quality fish, because there wasn't such an overcrowding of bass.  The overcrowding of bass not only hurts the bass population, but also hurts other species that inhabit the waters.  If the lake has a large population of shad, then catch and release works great because there is an endless food supply, but if no shad are present catch and release is only ruining the fishery.

[rojo]

At my house we prefer to eat the bluegills and sunfish but have friends and relatives that like any panfish. So I keep between 15 to 30 of the fish of the day to fillet and vacuum pack and freeze. Love to catch those gills and sunnies. Generally throw back the green carp and snakes. Don't like to clean more than 30 at one time.

Ron

[mike692]

Most fish I catch are kept and eaten.  I do tend to release the larger catfish because they taste nasty.  I don't eat bass but I do clean them and give them away, I wish more people would do the same.  Catch and Release for bass is in my opinion hurting many fisheries, I have also seen several articles from studies stating the same thing.  The bass are becoming over populated with to many 12 inch bass.  In the old days when people kept all the fish the lakes produced more quality fish, because there wasn't such an overcrowding of bass.  The overcrowding of bass not only hurts the bass population, but also hurts other species that inhabit the waters.  If the lake has a large population of shad, then catch and release works great because there is an endless food supply, but if no shad are present catch and release is only ruining the fishery.

This is an excellent post. I often wonder how effective catch and release really is.

[sbfpa_Mike]

I agree with Crappie 66 also.  A big prob we have is the states putting restrictions on the smaller "eaters" and letting people keep the larger "breeders".

[mike692]

I agree Mike. I think there should be some type of slot limit in alot of lakes I fish. For gamefish that is. For example, in a certain lake that I fish, there are loads of stunted northerns. I probably caught over a hundred through the ice this year, and saw another 50 caught, without a legal one hitting the ice. They need to allow anglers to keep pike between say 15-30 inches. All fish smaller than 15 and larger than 35 or so are released. You could use the same idea in other lakes where there are too many largemouth or walleye.

[Jigwiggler]

     I do both.  Most of the fish I keep are pulled through the ice.  This is because the chance of successful release is much less when it is below freezing and because I think they taste better then.  All I keep are panfish, walleyes between 15 and 20" and a few cats.  I will keep a bass if it is bleeding badly but would much rather catch them than eat them.  Everything else goes back.

[broken rod]

depends on if i spent all my food money for the week on bait  but mostly CPR

[THETROLL]

I keep most of the fish I catch. I will eat fish a couple times a week, especially during the summer months.

[nuke1neil]

I used to keep quite a few fish,mostly gills,perch,and crappies.I would give away most trout because they are'nt my favorite and people who don't fish that I know love them.But now I throw most fish back because when my 6 yr old daughter was about 2 yrs old she developed a severe allergy to fish.Just my luck!I fish thru the ice also, so we would eat fish year round every other week or so.Her allergist tested her and said we cannot even cook it in the house.If she sits at the table with cooked fish,she gets hives on her body within 5 minutes.If she would keep breathing in the vapors or eat it,she would have a reaction like people get when allergic to bees.You don't know how much you like something til you can't have it !!!Funny thing is she LOVES to go fishing with me.I'm real careful that she does'nt touch them,or that I don't get slime on anything that she touches,so I have to wash my hands in the lake or stream real good after I unhook a fish.Also we carry an injecter like for bee stings with us just in case.Raw fish smell does'nt seem to affect her.I think when she gets bigger she will be able to wear surgical gloves and take her own fish off the hook.On the subject of keeping bass,we have a local lake where the bass have to be 15 in.to keep.This lake has an awesome population of nice bass.A lot are just under 15 in,and are fun to catch,plus there are a lot of bigger ones in there.Also this lake has the biggest panfish of all the lakes within driving distance.I don't really care for the way a lot of people look down their nose at other people who keep bass.Your average fisherman does'nt catch that many legal bass in my opinion,(like we do,we are above average,right?) I never keep bass by the way.

[wny angler]

release / n pike,trout ,musky,catfish,bass

keep a few walleye,crappies,perch and gills

[MCfishnut]

I do about a 90 % release, I am into the thrill of catching and photo.  There alot of all you can eat perch places on Friday nights in Michigan City.  So I take the easy way out, no cleaning just fun.  I normally give my fish to my fishing buddy if he wants them

MCfishnut

[baginwal]

Everything gets released except medium size smallmouth bass and over 9 inch perch.  We do keep a few Kings in the fall (neighbors love salmon!.......I don't).

[kerosenecounty17]

I read a quote recently and decided to look it up.

From Wayne Klemz, "power stick" of "Ice Team":

"Go out and have fun, but don't break your toy.  If you break your toy, you don't have anything.  If we over-harvest, we're breaking our toy."

It's a good way to put it.

kero

[jyoung]

99.9% of everything I catch goes back, I'm a die hard musky fisherman and every musky I catch goes back, But in the summer when the temps are to high for muskies I fish for hybrid bass and I'll only keep a couple of those for my grandmother(only because she loves em) But even with the hybrids I release most of them.
Good hunting, Jeff

[wyogator]

I keep walleyes, perch and crappie. I don't always keep my limit though. I agree with strike-zone on limits.  I did keep a few lakers from ice season. I probably won't anymore after tasting them.  All flyrod caught trout are released unless I am camping. I release about 80% of my fish. I release all largrmouth bass, no exceptions.