Aunts Creek

[kwall]

Don't mean to strike a nerve Jim but wonder if you or any other Bassers would have even give that stringer a second thought if it was ANY other fish

[Champ188]

So if it's going to be about the kids lets teach them why we should catch and release and quit teaching them how you should be an idiot on the internet.

Mr. Flysmallie, you are a distinguished professor of that subject.

[Sac River Jim]

My whole point and the only reason I got involved in this is there's a right way and a wrong way to do things I don't wanna see anyone get a ticket when its preventable. Weve discussed how to separate fish a few times on the Stockton forum because a lot of guys take friends and family out on pontoons and all catch there limits and have learned how to keep them separate. That's what I call educational and productive. I just wish these kind of arguments wouldn't happen I've learned a lot from everyone on this site and just hope someone new don't get a bad taste in their mouth and leave over threads like this that take a bad turn. I want them to have the same opportunity to improve both their knowledge and skills as I have. Thnx for your input and point of view smallie. Bottom line is not everyone is going to see eye to eye but we can respect each others opinions and try to get along.

[dtrs5kprs]

Don't mean to strike a nerve Jim but wonder if you or any other Bassers would have even give that stringer a second thought if it was ANY other fish

For the record, I release all fish, 100% of the time. A big mess of multiple limits of crappie laying with dead eyes on boards bothers me just as much. Keeping fish right up to the limit is not selective harvest, it is poor stewardship, and unsustainable.

[kwall]

Baa humbug , you all need to lighten up --- yur really upset that those were BASS !!!

Besides if what you are saying is true there would be NO fish left in the lake --- the reality is we have great fisheries because of the work of the conservation/ fisheries department and most of us practice good harvest and release and another thing most people couldn't even catch a stringer of great looking BASS like that in a day , lol ---it's really ok to keep some bass for a few meals for crying out loud --- this post has run for a bunch of pages of people complaining about a few BASS , lol

[Sac River Jim]

Don't mean to strike a nerve Jim but wonder if you or any other Bassers would have even give that stringer a second thought if it was ANY other fish

yep sure wudda to me its not about the bass it is about an illegal stringer and i may be wrong if they clipped the fins on the fish to keep them seperated and identified. kwall youve been on the stockton forums long enough to know i dont really consider myself a basser i consider myself a fisherman and a sportsman. several of my friends tournament fish and i enjoy the friendly competition between us and i get lucky ever so often and take their money lmbo!!!!! Back 30 years ago I was a basser and a pretty salty stick at that Crap now i have trouble getting up and down off my decks it's a bite in the butt to get old lol!!!!!

[Seth]

For the record, I release all fish, 100% of the time. A big mess of multiple limits of crappie laying with dead eyes on boards bothers me just as much. Keeping fish right up to the limit is not selective harvest, it is poor stewardship, and unsustainable.

I don't agree with this statement completely for a few reasons. Reason one is that crappie need to be harvested or else you end up with an overpopulation of stunted fish. There are a ton of crappie kept from LoZ and Trumand every year, yet they continue producing nice limits of crappie every year. LoZ has actually been better the past few years for size than I remember it being in a while. As for the guy keeping a limit of fish to eat, do you take in to account that maybe he only does it a few times a year? I personally love to eat fish and do keep a few, but that doesn't mean I always keep what I catch. You are just assuming that because somebody caught a limit of fish, took a pic and posted in a forum that they are doing it every single time. I'd bet the guy that originally started this post doesn't always keep fish either even though he did this one time. Besides, if an angler is staying within the legal limits that MDC allows, how can you be mad at them? I'd see the point if they were keeping more than they are allowed. There are way more people out there that disregard length and creel limits that I worry about compared to folks who abide by the rules and like to enjoy a fish fry now and then.

[dtrs5kprs]

I don't agree with this statement completely for a few reasons. Reason one is that crappie need to be harvested or else you end up with an overpopulation of stunted fish. There are a ton of crappie kept from LoZ and Trumand every year, yet they continue producing nice limits of crappie every year. LoZ has actually been better the past few years for size than I remember it being in a while. As for the guy keeping a limit of fish to eat, do you take in to account that maybe he only does it a few times a year? I personally love to eat fish and do keep a few, but that doesn't mean I always keep what I catch. You are just assuming that because somebody caught a limit of fish, took a pic and posted in a forum that they are doing it every single time. I'd bet the guy that originally started this post doesn't always keep fish either even though he did this one time. Besides, if an angler is staying within the legal limits that MDC allows, how can you be mad at them? I'd see the point if they were keeping more than they are allowed. There are way more people out there that disregard length and creel limits that I worry about compared to folks who abide by the rules and like to enjoy a fish fry now and then.

There is a big difference between legal, and a good idea. I could go out and legally drink myself right up to just below the legal limit and drive, but that would be a classic example of a bad idea.

There is also a big difference between harvest, and selective harvest, as was taught by In Fisherman many years back. In that concept, an angler is being a good steward by showing some restraint, and self imposing a lower limit (or higher standard, ethically). Conceptually, it applies not only to the quantity of fish kept for the table, but also to which legal fish are kept, in terms of size, timing during the year (not keeping them during the spawn for instance) and perhaps sex. The resource is still utilized, the population is still checked somewhat, but more fish are left to reproduce.

There were also an awful lot of bass kept out of Truman, Smithville, and other lakes north of the Ozarks, and it really shows. Does not take much to upset the apple cart. LOZ is hard to compare to other lakes because it is so hard to physically fish it for six or months of the year.

[Iclass]

Comparing the legality of keeping a legal number of fish to driving buzzed might be over the top just a little. Selective harvest is as diverse as the number of lakes. There are some lakes where there is NO limit on the number of fish kept, some where you can't even fish, and some that are release only.

[dtrs5kprs]

Comparing the legality of keeping a legal number of fish to driving buzzed might be over the top just a little. Selective harvest is as diverse as the number of lakes. There are some lakes where there is NO limit on the number of fish kept, some where you can't even fish, and some that are release only.

The end result is worse, but the concept is precisely the same. Pushing the limit of good sense and self restraint.