# Keeping of bass



## sploosh56 (Dec 31, 2008)

Does this tick you off? Unless the fish is of trophy size and they want a mount does it make you mad to see others keeping bass to eat when there are plenty of other fish, such as perch, to eat instead? It sure aggravates me


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## smartbass (Dec 11, 2008)

I couldn't agree with you more. there is no reason to even consider keeping a bass. half the time i am sure these fish don't even get eaten. they end up as garden fertilizer. i'd even go one further and say that if you want to mount it, then measure it it, weigh it, and still throw it back. I suppose if you had some sort of record fish on your hands, I'd make an exception, but 99.9% of the fish kept are of no threat to the record books. let 'em live and catch them again when they grow up!


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

doesn't tick me off in the least.bass are pretty tasty and where it's perfectly legal to keep them,why should i get mad at someone for enjoying their catch?



> there is no reason to even consider keeping a bass


sure there is.i just gave it.but if you don't eat bass,then you personally have no reason to keep them,and i pomise i won't get ticked off at you for releasing them so i'll have a better chance at catching dinner

ps............i don'tr have a garden so i don't need fertlizer


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

why "Murder" a poor old Perch, Catfish, or even a Crappie when there are so many Bass that need thinned out! mmmm, bass in the deep fryer, YUMMY


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## Carpn (Apr 5, 2004)

I see no reason not to keep bass to eat long as they are legal size...You would chit yourself if you saw what I've seen at southern lakes such as Lake Falcon in TX. Last yr when we where there in the evenings every boat coming in had a limit of bass they were cleaning....It looked like a cleaning table of walleye at Erie cept it was all bass..


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## walleye warrior (Apr 9, 2004)

I am a tournament bass fisherman, so I personally do not keep bass. However, I have no problem with people keeping bass as long as they are law abiding. I think alot of bass fisherman have a holier than thou attitude and I don't know where it comes from. It's a shame that people can't post and be proud of their catch without getting slammed on a message board. We do not know their particular situation. They could be keeping fish to feed their family because they don't have a job or have been laid off. Who am I or anyone else to judge them for that. There are laws in place for a reason, so if they follow those, they are ok by me.


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## johnny fish (Feb 20, 2005)

I am all for selective harvest, like they have suggested in in-fisherman with any species. As for strictly catch&release that is totally up to the individual just like what species they want to target on any given day they go fishing, and take a look at some of those old pictures from the early days of the BASS tournaments I don't think those fish were released. To honestly say that a certain species should only be C&R is like saying only hunt deer with a camera & use weapons on small game.


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## Tokugawa (Apr 29, 2008)

I'm strictly a C&R guy with bass. 

Sploosh - actually the opposite has a better chance of irritating me. When someone takes the big female, that is hard to replace. If they eat a bunch of 2 lb bass, that is easy to replace in a few years. Just my 2 cents.


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## AnglinMueller (May 16, 2008)

I personaly practice C&R but I don't really care if people keep thet're bass as long they are of legal size. 

The only time I get upset about it is if someone takes a pregnant female in the spawning season.


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## PapawSmith (Feb 13, 2007)

I fish tourney's and now days pratice C&R for bass but it was not always that way. When I was young and money was tight even "sport" fishing outings ultimately provided a meal almost no matter the species. Almost all fish, regardless of what the rumors are, are quite tasty caught out of the right waters and properly prepared. Muskie guys will hate this fact but Muskies were all but wiped out in Lake Erie in the early 20th century by commercial fishing due to their "excellent tablefare qualities". (Bass are one thing but I would never keep an uninjured Muskie).
I think the Mods should create a new forum called "Today's Catch" and all who can't stand to to see a cooler of their favorite fish can stay the hell away. Those that want to catch and eat more than just Walleye and Perch can proudly show off their catch free from condemnation.


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## FISHIN216 (Mar 18, 2009)

Its a SPORT fish. people spend years figuring them out and have so much respect for them that to see a cooler full of them just kills you a little bit. and my heart literally dropped when i saw that cooler. If you truly respect Bass you are most likely a C&R guy. bottom line. honestly it infuriates me to see some of "those" people throwing black bass in there bucket of perch, white bass, or Rock bass. I have saved about 5 of them from those "buckets" this year just because people are ignorant of the LAW


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## walleye warrior (Apr 9, 2004)

It is a SPORT fish, to you and me, and to most people on here, but it isn't to everyone. It is not our right to berate these people for keeping these fish when they are doing it LEGALLY. I agree 100%, and yes it fires me up, but it is not my place to tell someone else how to enjoy the outdoors. I always try to engage a person in a c&r conversation to try and persuade them to throw bass back, but I do so in a pleasant and unassuming way, so I do not offend someone who is technically doing nothing wrong.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Hmmm, I recall the LAW states I'm allowed up to 5 per day. 
I don't care for smallies and will throw all those back but LMB are in many cases much better than LE walleye and I see no problem eating a few of them.
I respect the steer I had for lunch but didn't have any problem eating it. 
The Hindu in the office next to me is pretty disgusted by me being a beef eater but I'm pretty disgusted with her plant eating as I don't eat plant matter.
To each their own. Live and let live.


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## FISHIN216 (Mar 18, 2009)

lewzer. I meant the fish they were keeping were by no means legal size and it was in May and June.


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## V-MAX200 (Oct 16, 2007)

I'm a tournament fisherman and i keep a few bass in the fall when I'm saugeye fishing. 12-15" bass out of cold water eat pretty good. I feel I let enough go through the spring and summer that I can keep a few in the fall.


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## NorthSouthOhioFisherman (May 7, 2007)

100% same on this one

Why keep a bass when there are other fish that taste better and can replenish faster


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## ohiomelvin (Jun 22, 2008)

i believe if its not on the wall its in the water


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## roger23 (Mar 7, 2007)

me too ,,I also feel the same About Walleye,I don't keep any over 24" very often ,,it takes them to long to get to the larger lengths,,I am not a meat hunter,,I can buy fish a lot cheaper than I can catch them for ,,I enjoy fishing ,,and of coarse catching,,I discourage anyone on my boat from keeping the larger ones ,,unless they are children then they can keep any thing they want,,of coarse opinions are like ass holes everyone has one,,


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## collegekid (Apr 28, 2007)

No matter how much oyu talk about this, things will not change unless laws change. I did a report on bass in college. SMALLIES have very very poor reproduction rates. Smallies should be protected more. Before eating a plate full of smallies please look up the facts. All hunters and fisherman should be educated on how their killing/eating affects things. Not against eating fish or animals at all, just know that there may not be anything to eat in the future if we are dumb about it.


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

sploosh56 said:


> Does this tick you off? Unless the fish is of trophy size and they want a mount does it make you mad to see others keeping bass to eat when there are plenty of other fish, such as perch, to eat instead? It sure aggravates me


honestly, you would do the fishery more justice by releasing the "trophy" and keeping the smaller bass. those bigger and older bass are more likely to lay many more eggs and by reproducing will keep those "freak genes" going. in the catfish world mounting/killing a trophy will bring you much scorn for those very reasons.


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## fishngolf (Jul 18, 2009)

Im a catch a release guy, the people pay for license and if they follow the regulations I dont care if they keep em. 

Well, I does bug me some to see people keeping alot of small 4"-5" crappie and perch..what the heck they going to do with them?. Should throw them back so they can grow up to a decent fillet size.. or be bait fish for the big fish.


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## Bassthumb (Aug 22, 2008)

I am C&R 100%. Even walleye. Love to eat them, I just am terrible at cleaning them and it becomes a waste. I have NO problem with people keeping smaller bass....under 3lbs. I actually think it helps grow bigger bass when some of the median population is thinned. Everybody has seen lakes with stunted bluegill and crappie......same thing can happen to bass. too many bass equal tons of 9 inchers. Now someone taking a 5+ pounder to the dinner table, that deserves a reprimand. Those fish need to be respected and released.

Bassthumb


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## The Saint (Apr 13, 2009)

C&R all the way ive caught 2 9LBS bass , i could of mounted them but i didnt have the heart thats my take on the the whole thing


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## Fishaholic69 (Apr 6, 2007)

I am a catch and release guy 100% of the time when it comes to bass,gills, crappie and steelhead. I will keep perch or walleyes tho cause they are pretty tasty (heard crappie was tasty but never tried it cause I never caught enough for dinner) no need to keep a smallmouth bass in my opinion tho unless you are starving or dying or starvation. its a sport fish and doesn't reproduce as well as the other tasty fish. have caught some decent sized fish but I just take a picture and put um back. as long as u are not breaking the law tho then its not up to me. to each there own...


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## spfldbassguy (Mar 23, 2009)

personally i see no reason to keep any bass unless it's gut hooked or somehow mortally injured in someother way.if someone wants a mount all they need is the measurements and maybe a pic.the only other reason i see to keep and eat bass is the practice of select harvesting when overcrowding becomes a problem.as you can tell i'm a strtict catch and release angler when it comes to bass.that's my personal choice and everyone else has to make that choice as well.the choice is theirs to make not mine.so as much as it may bother me to see it i can't change their minds so i keep my opinions to myself.


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## BassCrazy (Oct 11, 2007)

walleye warrior said:


> I am a tournament bass fisherman, so I personally do not keep bass. However, I have no problem with people keeping bass as long as they are law abiding. I think alot of bass fisherman have a holier than thou attitude and I don't know where it comes from. It's a shame that people can't post and be proud of their catch without getting slammed on a message board. We do not know their particular situation. They could be keeping fish to feed their family because they don't have a job or have been laid off. Who am I or anyone else to judge them for that. There are laws in place for a reason, so if they follow those, they are ok by me.


Good post.


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## jcustunner24 (Aug 20, 2007)

I'm strictly C&R with all smallies and all largemouth caught in public waters. I do help with selective harvest at a private lake I'm privileged enough to fish, but all the bigguns go back there as well. I don't have ANY issues with people keeping their legal limit of bass. The problem that exists is the people who keep EVERYTHING they catch, and don't care about limits or regulations. There are far too many of those people out there. I do agree with walleye warrior regarding the holier than though attitude, however. Too many people are far too judgmental of someone keeping a bass.


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## spfldbassguy (Mar 23, 2009)

there's people that people do keep absolutely everything they catch.they don't care for the simple reason is they're not bright enough to figure out that the fish aren't an unlimited resource.as far as some having an holier than thou attitude,the only thing i could think as to why is because the bass has been put on a pedestal.look at all the tv shows,magazines,etc,etc.so the bass is looked upon differently or it could be that they see and know alot of folks who keep everything and are worried there won't be anything left to catch.everyone is intitled to their own opinions and views.we just gotta try to get along while out there angling.


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## rod bender bob (May 19, 2004)

I hope none of the non-bending C&R guys are hunters LOL I'm pretty much C&R on bass since i have plenty of eyes and perch to eat. I will keep smallies that I think are going to die (they are absolutely excellent on the grill if you know how to cook fish) and we keep enough LM in FL for a fry. But I have no problem with fishermen who keep and USR legal fish. i believe the limit it too high for smallmouth at 5 but I try to work on that through the system, not by berating fishermen who are following the law. I have a lot more problem with fishermen who know what's best for everyone else than I do with fishermen who do their own thing within the law.


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