Release vs Keep

[bigastrout]

I release my fish if I don't plan on cooking them directly after I get home. If a fish hits the freezer, its next destination is the garbage a few months later.

So true. I quit the practice of freezing fish years ago the freezer would either break down and I would lose them or they would be so freezer burnt they were not edible. I always feel like it's bad carma to have fish go to waste like that and I have to pick up alot garbage to get the bite turned back on. If I am not going to eat it today I dont keep it.

[Rob1]

Native Texan here. WA is a wonderful place to live, I'll probably die here. In the south the bass population got really low back in the 70's. That's what brought on catch and release imho. I release 100% bass. If I want fish to eat I enjoy Walleye and Crappie. I really like catfish, not bullheads but the elusive channel cats. I've heard that Boyer Park on the Snake down by the grain elevator holds them year round. I'll be there next Friday trying my luck. Anyone see the red Stratos 176 around come say hi.

Yea C'mon

[glastron876]

I try to practice CPR when possible. If I KNOW that the fish will not survive - gut hooked or otherwise - I will keep them, but it just depends on what I am also fishing for and if I am fishing for dinner or for fun.

*** Just an FYI - I noticed a couple of people mentioning limiting out, etc. Check the regs - Limiting Out doesn't necessarily mean the fish you keep - Limiting Out IS whatever you have caught, released or otherwise, depending on if you are fishing Lake, etc. I only say this because I have noticed quite a few fishermen at the lakes that determine LIMIT by what they are keeping on their stringer. Most of us more experienced fishermen/fisherwomen know this already - so I suppose that I am mainly mentioning for the New Anglers.

STATEWIDE FRESHWATER SPECIES RULES (pg. 33)

In lakes, ponds, and reservoirs: No min. size. Daily limit 5. When fishing with bait, all TROUT
(except STEELHEAD) equal to or greater than the minimum size are counted as part of the daily limit
whether kept or released.

[wolverine]

I grew up eating fish 3 days a week. My dad was a fishing fool and considered eating his catch as part of the overall experience. As a trout fisherman I'm mainly C&R with my fly rod as they are easily released when they are lip hooked. When I'm plunking the paste baits I keep a lot more as ther trout often swallow the bait. Small legal walleye are my favorite eater so their next stop is the fry pan. I prefer fresh fish to frozen any day. I freeze triploids and salmon until I get enough to fill my Bradley smoker. I try not to fish lowland lakes with large populations of planter trout with bait as I don't like to eat them and feel guilty releasing fish that are probably not going to make it. I can eat largemouth bass but I rarely keep them (unless they are from a lake thats managed for trout). I like smallmouth bass on the table if they're fresh caught.
I've been guilty in the past of turning frozen fish into freezer burned fertilizer. So I limit what I keep and enjoy what I do keep. Of course it helps that I am able to fish a couple times a week.

[fishunt83]

Over the past two or so weeks. I have been releasing all my fish. I have noticed when I am going to release, the hook comes out with ease or just falls out before I get them in the boat. But when I keep the fish, seems like the hook tied itself in a knot inside of the fish. Anybody else feel this way?

[bpm2000]

I c&r 99% of the fish I catch a year probably. I used to keep planter trout (I ate one this year..) but they taste like s**t IMO so it doesn't happen too often either. I think as long as the person keeping fish has the overall fishery in mind when they are keeping fish (releasing trophies, spawning fish, etc) then do whatever you want. I don't agree with "limits" as the end-all way to go about deciding what you keep (one lake here might not support the same statewide limit as one lake there, etc) but the law is the law and there isn't much I can do about that.

[cjanak]

Like many other respondents, my decision to keep a fish is generally based on a) whether or not I like eating the fish in question, b) the likelihood that I’ll eat the fish before it spoils, and c) if I feel like cleaning fish later that day.

I believe that buying food from a store alienates the consumer from the animal that died so they might eat. Consumers that harvest (kill) their own food however, more fully appreciate that a living creature died to provide that food. I eat store bought meat all the time, but eating meat I harvested myself feels more honest.

Several people mentioned fishing regulations in this discussion. I’d like to add that ethics and law are not always consistent. Something isn’t right simply because it’s legal. For example, in most states it is legal to shoot ducks on the water. Yet practitioners of “fair chase” hunting believe that shooting a duck on the water is unethical. In the same way, I contend that the decision to keep or release a fish should not be solely based on the regulations, but also on your own personal ethics.

[Stonedfish]

While most the time I practice c & r, I do like to eat fish also. Nothing wrong with taking fish home to eat. If it is fresh, it is best. All the fish I bonk are clipped steelhead and clipped silvers I catch while flyfish off the beaches of Puget Sound.
Brian

[panfisher]

as someone who grew up in the midwest (mn). we had our times when if i didn't catch fish. we didn't eat. so i love eating (fresh) fish. for a family of (7) that was alot of fish. fortunately i don't need to do that any more but i still like to eat(fresh) fish. so when i do get the chance to bring home some panfish and the occasional bass i do. properly prepared they'll last awhile in the freezer. what usually up sets me is seeing some one put a fish on a stringer, hall it around all day, then decide that they don't wish to take it home so they throw it back. seen some pictures with a guy holding up a stringer of bass only to say that all were released. that doesn't make any sense to me. if a fish goes on a stringer it should be retained but not used as a means of culling your catch. live wells are different. <')//<

[bustin]

I agree with you Panfisher. When placed on the stringer that should be the time that you would have made the decision to keep the fish. If the fish is to be released it should be done as soon as possible to protect the fish.

[littleriver]

For those who don't like to eat catfish then you might want to try the following....


Cut boneless filets into fairly thin strips.... if the catfish is small just use the whole filet, but if it's
a 3 or 4 pounder you'll have to slice the filet right down the middle to get it thin enough..
larger fish produce filets that might have to be sliced differently... but you don't want your strips
to be more than about 1/2 inch thick or so...

dredge each strip in milk and then
seasoned corn meal...
then pop into some oil that's been holding at about 350F in a shallow
pan on the stovetop....

even my kids will each catfish cooked this way and they are generally not big fish eaters.. any kind of fish...

if this still doesn't do it for you let the thinly sliced filets soak in milk overnight before trying
the cornmeal coating/fry in shallow pan routine....

[A9]

I practice CPR (catch photo release) on many nice fish...
75% of my time trout fishing is at one particular lake, and its selective gear rules, and you can keep ONE fish OVER 18 inches, and I do get a handful of 18 inch and over fish (lost what looked like a 28-30 inch fish today) and I release em...I'm usually just not in the mood after going fishing to go home and mess with the fish and filet it and cook it...But I do take a trout here and there, I prefer a saltwater fish to a freshwater fish any day...So my catch in the saltwater is almost always for keeps...Lings, Rockcod, salmon, etc...

[Kamloops Chaser]

I don't catch and release when i'm fishing ( unless its closed to harvest ) Just like i don't shoot then try cpr when i hunt..Its all in the freezer for us.

[Toni]

I fish for the food most of the time unless they are too small.
I don't like to eat catfish so I don't fish for them. I like Salmon, Perch, and Crappie. If I get bluegill or Bass I would let them go. If I get Trout I would save them for smoking because that is the way I like to eat them.

[the1fishingpro]

Im the kind of guy that Fishes for fun rather than food. I love steelhead and salmon the most, but If I happen to lose 1 at bank, its the fight I was looking for...not as much the food. I never keep bass/trout/panfish/or anything else. If I ever happen to keep a Bass or Trout, It would specifically be because Mounting Purposes only or Self inflicting damage to the fish.

Why kill Trophy Trout or Bass, when later in life someone else might experience the Fight from that same fish!

Save a Bass....Kill a Salmon!

[A9]

I don't catch and release when i'm fishing ( unless its closed to harvest ) Just like i don't shoot then try cpr when i hunt..Its all in the freezer for us.

Hooking a fish is different then shooting a bullet through an animal....

If it wasn't for Catch and release practices, our fish runs would be a lot lower...

I encourage anyone to safely release any fish they do not intend to eat. If everyone took their limit and left, our fisheries would be much worse.

[Derrick-k]

Alot of time the salmon steelhead and trout I catch can't be released, they where injured when I hit them on the head with a rock.


c&r keep the one's worth keeping.

[Toni]

Alot of time the salmon steelhead and trout I catch can't be released, the where injured when I hit them on the head with a rock.


c&r keep the one's worth keeping.

LOL

[JimLyons]

I release most of my fish, I do like perch and crappie though. I agree if you are not going to eat them let 'em grow. Some people tell me it is mean to catch and release, and I tell them it is not as mean as the frying pan. It is hard for me to believe that a deeply hooked fish on bait will survive if released. I have to sometimes renet fish I hooked and released on barbless hooks. For me the fun is over when they are in the boat.

[lskiles]

I know that mine is not a popular view on this subject, but I will weigh in all the same.

I keep almost all of the fish I catch. I tried to target bass for a while, but found that the gear is more expensive than I can afford and the fish do not taste as good as pan fish or trout. So if I did catch an accidental bass I would release it…not likely though. This brings up another thought. How many trout would I save if I killed the predator bass I caught?

I target pan fish and trout. The reason that I keep the fish I catch is that I can not really afford to fish as often as I want to and when I do catch fish it helps to supplement my food budget.

I would also like to catch a catfish. I am told they are very tasty!

Lewis