It's ok to keep bass, catch and release gone too far?

[chuter]

 

[radarmonkey]

Sounds like common sense to me.

 

[PBramble]

So they put a 14" minimum and say there's too many? Most of the bass I catch are only around a foot. Maybe lower the minimums and remove the catch and release only at close to home waters and you see more taken. JMHO, I'm not a biologist.

 

[OHJEEZE]

When I used to fish, I practiced "catch and eat"!

 

[Oklahomabassin]

Look at the amount of bass they raise in hatcheries to stock while at the same time say they are over populated. They have to appease the bass tourney guys (big money) crying for more bass and bigger bass. Those same guys also throw a fit for anyone who keeps a bass for the table.

They should have focused on intense study and managed harvest to lower the Northern strain in select lakes before they started heavy stocking of Florida strain bass. Otherwise they are feeding a big portion of native bass with the stocked fingerlings.

Trying to make management sense with many of the Bass anglers is a lost cause. If they don't catch as many or as big as they expect, then the lake needs more Bass. Habitat, Forage be damned. Stock more Bass!

 

[Cowbaby]

Look at the amount of bass they raise in hatcheries to stock while at the same time say they are over populated. They have to appease the bass tourney guys (big money) crying for more bass and bigger bass. Those same guys also throw a fit for anyone who keeps a bass for the table.

They should have focused on intense study and managed harvest to lower the Northern strain in select lakes before they started heavy stocking of Florida strain bass. Otherwise they are feeding a big portion of native bass with the stocked fingerlings.

Trying to make management sense with many of the Bass anglers is a lost cause. If they don't catch as many or as big as they expect, then the lake needs more Bass. Habitat, Forage be damned. Stock more Bass!

Ha I can one up that one. Our lake has some mercury in it which they blamed on naturally occurring which was another lie incidentally.

For a few years they did not recommend eating any of them. Must have gotten a silt layer over it now as they say all fish test below permissable limits and are safe to eat..............Except the BASS. Clown world.

 

[Hodrod]

When I used to fish, I practiced "catch and eat"!

Me Toooooooooooo...!!!

 

[VarmintHunter59]

I don't often ask other people's opinion about what I should or should not do.

 

[Shinneryfarmer]

A 6 acre farm pond I use to fish many years ago had alot of bass. Many people fished this pond on a catch and release basis. Most you would catch were 8 to 12 inches and I mean on almost every cast. Fun yes but the owner wanted quality fish so he had somebody I don't remember who exactly do a survey and make recommendations. The pond had 8 times the sustainable population of bass for proper growth. So catch and eat was implemented over 3 years for all bass less than 14 inches. I fished that pond in the fourth year after catch and eat was implemented. Though the action wasn't every cast but the size of the bass increased tremendously. Sixty percent of the bass that were caught the 4th year were 15 inches or larger. More is not always better.