billmac

FM: Agreed. When I started watching tournament videos recently I was shocked at how roughly the fish were handled. I'm sure most of them get to the scales alive but I'm not so sure about afterward. If you fish, even if you are a dedicated catch and releaser, you are going to kill a fish once in a while. Some fish clearly won't survive, and others will no doubt die after you've released them, but we owe it to the resource to do as little harm as possible, and that includes how we remove the hooks, and not wiping the slime off the fish. I know this doesn't apply to bass, but I always shudder a little when I see someone holding a fish by the gills. It may be fine, but I don't like it. I never reach into the gills, even if it is just the gill plate.

Is fizzing necessary if the fish is immediately released?

I mentioned catching redfin mullet earlier in the thread, because that's what we always called them, but it appears the proper name is silver redhorse. They are one of the first fish people start catching after ice-out. They are also a common target for spearfishermen. I guess they are good eating if you can get around the bones.

In a few months, every fire station and rescue squad in the area will have bullhead feeds. Sometimes perch feeds. Maybe it's the area. Practically every smallmouth I've ever cleaned has had parasites. Rock bass also. Never seen them in walleye, pike, any bluegill. How come rock bass never seem to be a targeted species, even for panfishermen?

Good to know. Thanks.

I've never had or caught a carp, but some of my earliest fishing memories were bank fishing at night (with kerosene lamps no less) for redfin mullet. I think we kept and cleaned them but I don't remember eating them.

Pike are some of my favorite fish to eat (and catch, if I'm honest). They are a bit of a pain to fillet, but it's worth it. Walleye are the gold standard of game fish to eat but they are a bit of a boring fish to catch.

Besides not being a huge fan of eating fish, I really hate cleaning fish. But I won't release a fish that I know won't live. Just for the record, I posted this just out of curiosity about eating bass. I never imagined some might see it as an ethical issue. As far as I'm concerned if you eat your legal limit every single day it's perfectly fine.

I've looked at that B&D charger. It looked like it would work.

Interesting. Why would someone eating a big bass bother you?

Do you guys ever eat the bass you catch? For all that I've been obsessed with fishing for most of my life, I'm not a huge fan of eating fish in general, and bass are pretty low on the list of fish I do eat. Most of my experience is with smallmouth and by the time they are legal here in NY, they are wormy. Panfish, pike, and walleye are more appealing to me as food. I would only keep a bass if I didn't think it would survive being released, and even then I would have to cut the parasites out.

Check the state regs. I don't want to be a wet blanket, and perhaps I'm wrong, but I think it is illegal to specifically target bass before the season begins in NY.

So what about chargers? As I said, it was in my mind to just get a couple of float chargers (assuming I run two separate circuits, as we've been discussing). Good idea? Bad idea? Thanks.

Walmarts we do have, in abundance.

Just getting back into fishing, and now becoming obsessed again. 1. Figuring out my new (old) bass boat. I've wanted a bass boat for 40 years, so I can't wait to fix this one up and start using it. 2. Become reasonably proficient with my electronics. 3. Fish with my son, friends, and grandchildren.

That's a good idea.

I think that's fair. Obviously fish like weeds and dense cover. So just as obvious is if you want to fish that cover, you need to use a weedless lure. I should have made clearer that I'm interested in alternative ways to make a jig weedless other than a fiber guard, as opposed to using a non-weedless jig or simply not fishing weedy cover.

Well, to be fair, I don't think anyone is saying that fiber weed guards enhance hook sets. At best, they are saying it doesn't hinder hook sets, at least if you hit them hard enough. I fully accept that when using a fiber weed guard, you have to set the hook very hard. What I don't accept is that hard hook sets fully ameliorate the fact that the guard is "guarding" the hook. I think it must prevent some good hook sets. That's why I'm interested in some of the alternative setups that make the jig weedless without needing the fiber guard.

Not sure if it's true because it's hard to compare, but I've read that for their size, bluegills are more ferocious fighters than their larger cousins.

Of course there's no way to know if and how many fish are lost because of the weed guards, but I acknowledge that this is my perception. And I think there are always better ways to do this if we look hard enough. I took a look at the trashmaster and that looked really good.

Looks like there isn't one within 250 miles.

Any idea when the series ended?

Anyone remember Harry n Charlie from the old Bassmaster magazine? I got the 4 volume set of their stories up to the time of the printing. I was wondering how long they continued and if there was any way to find the stories I missed. I loved those things.

What happens to the fish that don't survive the tournament? Are they used in some way, or just discarded?

No. Never heard of them. Of course, I don't really have anything near me.