PHhunter Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 This is my first post. I want to first say how much I enjoy this site and the reports. I don't want to stir up to much controversy here but I have a concern about all this catch and release/ fish killing talk. Several of you guys really get upset about people who keep bass to eat or if they kill fish by putting them in the livewell for whatever reason. However you are the first to brag about catching a big walleye and taking it home for dinner. What's the difference. I realize that walleye taste better but don't you have a double standard. Hey I turn loose bass and keep walleye too but I also do not chastize those who want to keep bass and eat them. Too each there own within the law.
rps Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I will speak only for myself. After all, my opinion is mine. Others are entitled to theirs unless it is wrong. I catch and release bass. I love to fish for them, but I don't eat them. My decision not to eat them is based on culinary reasons, not ethics. I catch and release trout, except sometimes I will keep one or two for a single meal. Even then, I am choosy. I try to find fish with color to their flesh as evidenced by their external color. Fish that have been in the river/lake for some time taste better. I usually keep trout in the one per person size range. I keep and eat legal size walleye. They are delicious done any one of several ways. I keep only what I can eat without freezing. My ethics dictate that I not keep or kill what I will not eat and eat soon. I suppose the only glitch in my ethics is that I fish for fish I have no intention of eating. I can live with that moral dilemma.
Danoinark Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Good discussion points Hunter and welcome to the forum. This is just my opinion which won't even get you a cup of coffee if you added 2 dollars to the pot, but I think it has much to do with when Lee Scott raised bass fishing to new levels with the B.A.S.S tournaments. He probably had more to do with warm water catch and release than anyone else. Now i will end and let someone who really knows the definitive answer give you their thoughts. Dano Glass Has Class "from the laid back lane in the Arkansas Ozarks"
denjac Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Too each there own within the law. Hunter, you said a mouthfull!! Well done. Dennis Boothe Joplin Mo. For a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." ~ Winston Churchill ~
Dutch Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 If you will research catch and release you will find that Ray Scott invented it. It was a publicity gimick to make his tournaments look better. Now people have bought into the hype. Morals and ethics don't enter into this equation. If it is legal and I want to eat it I will. I rarely eat any of the black bass because of the way they smell. I do eat some other species and with the cost of fuel I may start eating more.
Gavin Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 The way I see it. Killing a fish in a legal manner is not an immoral act. Its a choice that is made based upon your own chosen set of principles. The principles that guide your choices to release or kill a fish may be different than mine and thats is OK by me. Its not a moral choice, so do whatever you think is right. Cheers.
Whack'emGood Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 Ethics and morals should enter (in some degree-- be it big or small) into everything you do on this Earth. Thats just common sense. If you're making a decision to do "whatever you think is right" that is using ethics. "Success builds confidence, and you have to learn to trust your instincts and forget about fishing the way a tournament is supposed to be won. I'm going to fish my style and make it work for me." -KEVIN VANDAM "Confidence is the best lure in your tackle box." -GERALD SWINDLE "A-Rig? Thanks, but no thanks. If I can't catch them on the conventional tackle that I already use, then I guess I just can't catch them." -LK (WHACK'EM)
techo Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I guess I agree with most of the others. It is legal to keep fish and as long as your legal.....do what you want. I don't keep any fish. I would rather catch them again. I do think if you catch a big humongous trophy fish, then it would be good to let that particular fish reproduce. They don't taste that great when they are large anyway. Even walleye are better eating when they are a bit smaller. The great walleye lakes like Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods promote catch and release for the larger walleye. I would rather see them eaten than floating around a ramp the next day. Tim Carpenter
Whack'emGood Posted July 23, 2008 Posted July 23, 2008 I just deleted my previous post... It is pointless to talk about C&R really. Either you beleive in it and practice it, or you don't. I don't want to get into it-- I get tired of talking about it. Bottom line is-- I am a bass fisherman and I always practice C&R. "Success builds confidence, and you have to learn to trust your instincts and forget about fishing the way a tournament is supposed to be won. I'm going to fish my style and make it work for me." -KEVIN VANDAM "Confidence is the best lure in your tackle box." -GERALD SWINDLE "A-Rig? Thanks, but no thanks. If I can't catch them on the conventional tackle that I already use, then I guess I just can't catch them." -LK (WHACK'EM)
Trav Posted July 24, 2008 Posted July 24, 2008 I dont know if anyone pays attention to my signature, but I have an interesting quote by Ray Scott concerning Catch and Release. He doesnt claim to be the founder of the Catch and Release and gives full credit to a group of fisherman. "May success follow your every cast." - Trav P. Johnson
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