different opinions

[ratherBfishin]

I have a question who would mount a bass.....vs releasing it. What size would the fish have to be for you to keep it...I had a friend one time catch a 6lb bass and brought it home and ate it.

 

[Buoy-Master]

Who says you gotta keep it to mount it? </p>

Replicas are the way to go. Get some good pictures, length, girth or weight and make a few calls...the fish can be let go right there after you catch it.

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As for him eating it, he has that right I guess. I'd let it go myself.</p>

 

[ratherBfishin]

I mean who would keep it to mount it or get a picture and release it( For scrape book or replica.)

 

[Pointer 78]

I've come to respect the fish I'm attempting to catch. The reason I carry a digital camera with me at all times is so I can have a record of a good fish. I would have its picture taken then release it no matter what the weight and have a replica made. However, I do not begrudge anyone taking a legal fish home to eat or mount.

 

[DHaun]

Personally, I am a big proponent of CPR (catch, photo, release) to share the fishery and hope to help educate others to do the same through conservation-minded posts on CFF. However, I realize its anyone's right to keep/harvest what they legally catch and I like to keep a limit or 2 of crappie each year.

I released my biggest bass at 10lbs and my largest smallmouth at 6lbs. Someone gave me a mount of a 5lb bass years ago (they were going to trash it) and it was nothing but a dust collector in my garage that I eventually threw out myself when the fins got brittle and fell off.

My opinion is to get a replica if you want a tangible trophy, however, recording the event with the written word (fishing report) and a pic provides the best history to be shared with others

 

[ratherBfishin]

I feel the same way . My largest LM was about 8lbs I took a picture and let it go. I just wish I could do this when I am hunting.

 

[Fishin' Junkie]

I agree w/ the idea of CPR. I carry a measuring tape, the kind a tailor uses, in my boat just in case I ever catch one big enough to have a replica made. However, its still in the package. emoLaugh

 

[Fishin Fool]

I agree with catch, photo (if you can) and release. I've got people in my family that have had fish mounted only to toss them years later. Whats the point? You have the memory.

 

[Buoy-Master]

Eat Spwaaaaats...photograph the rest

 

[polo-dog]

From what I have heard, replicas are the way to go. From what's been published, the world record bass 22lbs + was taken home and eaten too. That's no big deal but the smaller bass usually taste better anyway. Catch and release with some harvest mixed in is the way I think it should be. If you are starving and you need something to eat or you just like to have some fish to eat from time to time I think that it's great to eat what you catch. Over harvest and harvesting real lunkers probably is not in the best interest of the fishery.

 

[hl&s]

Release them !! I need all the help I can get emoBigsmile

Catch,Photo, and release. Pictures tell a thousand words and you can show or post them anywhere.

 

[rsimms]

As usual, I'll represent the opposing view. emoDoh Biologists set size and creel limits to protect a "self-sustaining resource."

Imagine you're growing a field of watermelons... you have a dry year and poor soil conditions. Your watermelons don't grow as big as you would like. Would you leave them in the field in hopes they'll grow bigger? No, absolutely not because you know that they won't grow bigger. They'll simply die and rot away, going to waste.

The same can be true for wildlife populations. There are limits to what our waterways can sustain. Many, many bass are going to die every year from natural causes which means some fish WON'T grow bigger. You might even catch a bass that once weighed nine pounds that now weighs six pounds. He (or she) is on the downside of life and is actually losing weight because it's old and feeble.

I trust biologists to have set size and creel limits such that we can have healthy, growing "watermelons." Yet it is absolutely OK for us to "pick" some to take home and eat, or mount.

Does that mean I'm opposed to catch and release? Of course not. But I do believe that 100% catch & release is more of a psychological feel-good measure than biological. If it makes you feel good, do it by all means. If a replica mount makes you feel best, do that.

But if you want "the real thing" hanging on your wall, you should have it... no matter how big or how small. I'm staring at a 4 lb. largemouth hanging above me right now. It was the first bass of any decent size I ever caught in high school. That mount means more to me than the 10-pounder hanging on the opposite wall.

ratherBfishin - you should keep and mount whatever size bass you are proud of for whatever reason.

I respect those who believe in 100% catch-and-release. All I ask is that they also respect those who choose to pick a few watermelons every now and then.

 

[Andrew]

I don't keep fish for only two reasons. First is i haven't eaten a fish out of this river/lake since i was a young teenager around 25 years ago. Second is i just don't like that kind of home decor having animals hanging on the wall. Nothing agains't it just not for me plus my girlfriend would never come back over so it would put me in a bind. Catch n Release was a novel idea back in the early 70's when Ray Scott first started it but nowdays its hurting some lakes by not keeping them. Big bass decline in fertilization when they get old and big so they aren't going to be reproducing big bass anyways since they have no good genes left to pass on. I prefer to take pictures myself.

 

[fisherpal2k]

 Hey ratherbfishing. It is all a matter of prference. I personally have a couple of fish mounted and a deer head or so. But that is me. I haven't had a fish mounted in some few years now. I carry a tape and try to take my camera along just in case that monster comes thru. If I ever get another one mounted it will probably be a replica mount. </p>

I do take fish to eat and I don't worry about what anyone thinks. Don't really matter to me unless they are the ones sitting at the table when they are cooked. My main rule is "if you complain about the cooking you are not only welcome to do the dishes and cleaning when I am thru it will be expected".

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 God made a perfect world and then man messed it up. So what we do to try to save the fish or create habitat or whatever is always a benefit to the fish and the fisherperson. Just don't waste the great resouse that is available to you and don't worry about it.

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[Davo]

I personally release everything. Several reasons, among them is that I really suck at cleaning fish and would rather just buy some at the store. I do have a fish mounted that I caught when I was 12, but it's at my mother's house (along with deer heads), because my wife isn't a huge fan of animals on the wall.....go figure. I like pictures alot, I get several angles and of course hold it closer to the camera. Now if someone wants to take a 10lb bass home to eat, that's his choice and I won't get on his case. I think it would be better for him to take it home to eat than to get it skin mounted, at least it won't go to waste. The replicas are a great alternative for someone wanting a physical trophy.

*side note*...I don't catch enough big fish for this to even be an issue either.emoBang

 

[fisherpal2k]

  Oh now listen to Mr. Modest Now!</p>

  Hey ratherBfishin, don't let him fool you. They don't call him MR. CONSISTANT for just any old reason!</p>

  How about that Davo!

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