If they are legal then it's up to you. I mostly catch and release but for each of us it is a personal choice. I grew up back when there were some really big stringers of fish taken before catch and release was even a concept talked about around where I fished. Enjoy your fish be it for the fight or the fillet.

I Catch and Release around here because the fish are not good to eat, and that is a shame because i have caugth some nice panfish and have seen bass also that would make a nice meal. But the River here in PA is so full of polution is not worth it. I dont like when people get bent over shape about keeping a fish that is withing the legal size.

C&R is a good practice, but to achive balance sometimes we need to keep fish, I dont agree in keeping a fish for no reason. Either Eat it, mount it, as long as you make use of it.

I think we have gotten off the track here.  I don't know many anglers who think it is wrong to keep some fish that you catch.  And those who may not like it realize that if the law says it's ok, then it's ok.

But killing 11 bass in one trip?

In Texas the limit is 5 bass. Anything over that is a violation.  I don't care if it's private land or not.  The landowner and his guests have to abide by the law.    Those of you who say it's not a problem are supporting violating game laws.

I know it sounds like I'm on my high horse, which is soooooooooo not me, but I gotta tell ya, in my book killing 11 bass in one outing is nothing to brag about.

PS.  I eat fish all the time (mostly tuna and salmon) but yes, I kill and eat some of my catch every year.  Not bass, but only because they taste lousy compared to snook, tilapia, mahi mahi (dolphin) and grouper.

To me it's all about respect.  For the law, and for the bass.

Bigtex, you seem like a decent guy, but you asked a straight question, so I gave you a straight answer.  

Hope thats ok by you.

avid.

On any managed fishery, if C&R isn't part of the lake plan, it doesn't improve bass populations. Outside of being a prescribed management tool where needed, C&R is more of an ethical and emotional issue. If slot and size limits leave room for harvesting large females, then the managers are not worried about damaging future generations of bass by their removal. In most fisheries there is little doubt hundreds or thousands of excess fry per acre are possible each year, potentially destroying the forage base. Fortunately nature sees to their removal as food for bass and other fish, as well as natural mortality. Whether 1 million big females produce full beds of hatching fry or just 2-3 beds are successful, if environmental conditions permit, the bass population is continued regardless of what anglers do. Enough survive unless something very significant happens, like a sudden water temperature drop killing fry, or the lake level drops 5 feet leaving fry with no hiding places. If that gets out of balance the managers change the harvest rules. We have plenty of total bass here, but low the high water ruined two spawning classes, so we have a minimum 13" size limit. Taking a 25" bass isn't going to be a threat to anyone.

Consider that over the whole year around 80% of largemouths inhabit deep water and remain out of reach of most anglers not adept at deep structure fishing. We mostly target the 20% that make up the shallow water population. For a day a year a large deep water female might come up shallow to spawn, giving you a very brief window to catch her. It's highly unlikely that even just 1% of those deep dwelling females are cacheable. When one is removed shallow, a hundred more line up to take her place. Those are mostly never caught, just growing larger, dying large.

I harvest 6 bass a trip (limit), throwing back all over 4# for two reasons. Larger bass don't taste as good as smaller, and older bass accumulate more toxins. We don't have a problem with toxins here, but it's a good principle to go by. I don't spend money mounting bass, but did it for years until a fire burned an office building behind my house holding them, including game animal mounts, photos, high school trophies, mineral collection, arrowheads, lapidary machine with tons of agate and other semi precious gemstone material, books, collector baits, and other prized collections.

As for taste, our clear water bass are as tasty as crappie, hardly anyone able to tell the difference except by size of fillet.

Jim

You're right, Bigtex.  It doesnt seem right for someone to chastize you about keeping some bass when they turn around and post a pic of a pile of dead panfish (or carp, or whatever).  It is all a matter of where you are fishing.  If you fish a small, isolated body of water, well then you wouldn't want to keep everything you caught, because sooner or later the fishing is really going to start to suck.  If it is a larger body, especially one that is fed by other bodies, then you might not have to worry about it so much.  The best thing for people to do is be concientious and observant of what they are doing and how it will affect  future fshing there (i.e. I have no problem loading an icechest full of snapper because, there is no way I'm going to deplete the population, but at my local watering hole, I will only keep once every couple of months because there are only so many fish in there).  If you are using your best judgement, then don't worry about what other people are saying, because you know what you are doing.

I'm a believer in slot limits. Those 14-18 inch fish reproduce faster than the Osmonds....And I certainly don't care to eat big bass - besides, why would you want to take Shaq out of the gene pool?

That just leaves the little tasty ones. Bring on the corn meal!

I think we have gotten off the track here. I don't know many anglers who think it is wrong to keep some fish that you catch. And those who may not like it realize that if the law says it's ok, then it's ok.

But killing 11 bass in one trip?

In Texas the limit is 5 bass. Anything over that is a violation. I don't care if it's private land or not. The landowner and his guests have to abide by the law. Those of you who say it's not a problem are supporting violating game laws.

I know it sounds like I'm on my high horse, which is soooooooooo not me, but I gotta tell ya, in my book killing 11 bass in one outing is nothing to brag about.

PS. I eat fish all the time (mostly tuna and salmon) but yes, I kill and eat some of my catch every year. Not bass, but only because they taste lousy compared to snook, tilapia, mahi mahi (dolphin) and grouper.

To me it's all about respect. For the law, and for the bass.

Bigtex, you seem like a decent guy, but you asked a straight question, so I gave you a straight answer.

Hope thats ok by you.

avid.

Avid, I'm not going to try to start an argument but you might want to check the laws again regarding privately owned ponds. As long as you pay your taxes and pay to have those fish put into your pond then there is NOT a limit on what you can catch. Those words came from a Game Wardens mouth. I asked him about it yesterday. His name is Dan Hill and he mainly works the Cass County area.

I have posted before and I believe that some might have read past it so I will say it again, I do not keep bass from public lakes.

Now, as for the "killing of 11 bass in one day" goes, keep in mind that those will last me a while. Whats the difference in keeping 2 bass every other trip or so. It will all add up to the same amount at the end of the year.

I do respect your view points Avid but those are your views. You have your opinions and I have mine. I will not change my ways and I don't expect for you to change yours.

I also want to point out that I do respect the law. Just because I keep bass doesn't mean I have no respect for the law. I am within the law.

I know it sounds like I'm on my high horse, which is soooooooooo not me, but I gotta tell ya, in my book killing 11 bass in one outing is nothing to brag about.

avid.

I wasn't braging about the bass.  I was telling the members how well I did on the chatterbait.  

Well, if that's the law in Texas then so be it.

I stand corrected.

avid

In Tx, as long as you are legal, I don't care what you keep, its your right.

The biologists keep watchfull eyes on harvesting, like the Amistad piece on all the bass being cleaned by families during the Elite event and Mexico allowing gill netting on their side.   I am sure if they thought the lake couldn't handle that much harvesting, they would implement restrictions.

As a weekend warrior that likes the local tourney trail, I always practice catch and release with bass.    If I want a mess of fish, I can catch whites, stripers, crappie, or a good mess of cats anytime.

Hookem

Matt

BigTex As far as ponds go they're your fish. As for, lakes I wouldn't set out to keep fish caught on "all" lakes around here for one reason or anouther, but we do have at least 5 state hatcheries across the state on top of the private ones so you keeping a few along off of some of them shouldn't upset the balance. The numbers they produce and release annually are staggering and the management is closely watched. A few years ago there was growing conceearn that people weren't keeping enough fish from some of the lakes in this area and the effects it might have in the future. Not everywhere is like that though, and the laws and views differ in each area. I spent alot of my time growing up in the mid west and I remember when they didn't really even have any lakes much less bass of any numbers in that region. And just because somebody releases all the ones they catch does't mean that they all will live anyway. I would much rather see somebody catch a few fish and use them for food then as turtle fodder, like I've seen many times following some C&R Tournements around here. Your always going to get some oppossition anytime you fish or hunt whether it's catch and keep or catch and release.

I don't mind if someone keeps the the legal amount and size of the fish they catch. It's the occasional morons you run across here and there that keep any size and as many as they can catch that irritates me.  

In Tx, as long as you are legal, I don't care what you keep, its your right.

The biologists keep watchfull eyes on harvesting, like the Amistad piece on all the bass being cleaned by families during the Elite event and Mexico allowing gill netting on their side. I am sure if they thought the lake couldn't handle that much harvesting, they would implement restrictions.

As a weekend warrior that likes the local tourney trail, I always practice catch and release with bass. If I want a mess of fish, I can catch whites, stripers, crappie, or a good mess of cats anytime.

Hookem

Matt

Yall must be misunderstanding me.  I DO NOT KEEP BASS OUT OF PUBLIC LAKES.  I only keep the ones that come out of my personal ponds or a friends pond with his permission.  

I am glad that there is a bag limit on public lakes.  You have more people fishing in public waters which need to be watch closely.  Without limits on the amount of fish coming out there is no telling what would become of that lake.

[quote

Yall must be misunderstanding me. I DO NOT KEEP BASS OUT OF PUBLIC LAKES. I only keep the ones that come out of my personal ponds or a friends pond with his permission.

I have posted before and I believe that some might have read past it so I will say it again,  I do not keep bass from public lakes.  

I have a tendency to ruffle feathers all the time on the C&R debates.

1'st if it's my pond, unless someone else wants to pay my taxes, fertilizer bills and other expenses involved, they ain't got one dang word to about what I keep or throw back.

2'nd if the DNR fisheries ask people to please keep all small bass, and not release them I don't. I probably catch and keep a couple of hunder 12" - 13" bass a year from Clarks Hill.

Now, where I do have a problem is keeping a big bass just to take it home and show it off or hang it on a wall when they already have several on the wall, many even the same size.

I feel a true sport fisherman should know his waters. Know what the recommendations are for catch and release and follow them. If the bass population is limited and they ask you to release them or only keep a few to eat, then do just that. If they ask you not to release small fish, then don't, you are only hurting the lake because you have a mindset that all bass should be released.

There is no bigger advocate of catch and release than me. I've ticked a lot of people off fishing with me when I refused to let them put a big bass in my live well and told them they would either release it or hope it's big enough to tow them back the the boat ramp because they wasn't getting back in my boat with that fish. However, I still keep and eat a whole bunch of small bass, when the population supports that.

After all, what other kind of meat are going to be able to eat the probably cost you well over $1000 per pound to eat. I figure that's about what each pound of bass I eat cost me.

Contradictory-  kept 200 hundred bass a year.   Yet "biggest advocate of C&R.

As long as your friends are legal, why should you keep your bass and they can't keep theirs.

And that makes you the biggest supporter of catch and release.  200 bass a year and I don't care where they came from.

What that makes you is a dictator.    Do what I say, and not what I do!!!

I have no problems with anyone keeping a legal creel, even 5-10lbers.     The state fishing biologists, the ones with the degree keeps an eye on our public waters, and they know more than most of us pleasure/tourney fishermen.

I don't want a 10 lber eaten, but I have no right to verbally attack anyone on doing so.

[quote

Yall must be misunderstanding me. I DO NOT KEEP BASS OUT OF PUBLIC LAKES. I only keep the ones that come out of my personal ponds or a friends pond with his permission.

I have posted before and I believe that some might have read past it so I will say it again, I do not keep bass from public lakes.

You stated it twice very boldly I think people know that, there just stateing there opinions. You started the topic so you should be open to what people have to say

I went fishing this morning and did fair.  I caught 8 bass and 2 crappie.  They were all caught on a baby brush hog, junebug color.  

I didn't even keep one fish.  LOL   I managed to take one picture before the batteries in my camera went dead.  Here is a hint to all members----check the batteries before leaving the house.  LOL

25.1 happened because of C&R.  

sorry dude! i didn't mean to come off that way. i should have taken into consideration that in texas bass fishing is A LOT bigger than in new york. see here in ny i try to let people know the desperate need for Cn'R. reason being is that over the years the bass population has declined badly, so much so that the bass season doesn't even start until the first Sat in June(2 days ago) to protect bedding fish. in texas the bass population is simply better. you have to understand that taking 11 bass of that size in texas probably wouldn't hurt the overall population at all but here that is a lot of nice fish! a 2 pounder here is probably caught a lot more times in its life than one there because of the size of the lakes. the biggest lake on long island is 249 acres. also there are a lot less fisheries all together so each one is pressured that much more.

none of that really matters it was my fault for realizing the differences between here and there. my mistake and sorry!

I think the key ingrediant is private lake.  

We cull our private lakes constently.  This year alone I have either moved or knifed over 200 Bass that were 14" or less (and that is just me) out of a buddies new pond to make room for us to start bringing over the bigger fish from his other ponds (4lbs or better).

It is the public lakes that make me look twice, especially when they are low Bass population lakes to begin with.  But if you keep fish and it's within the guidelines of the lake then have at it!  

nice bass in the pic too

Although I keep a very few bass to eat I do think that with the explosion in bass competions the resource could become stressed. I don't believe anyone has a grasp of delayed mortality from catch and release let alone tounaments. There is no scientific data in this but it seems to me that the average size of bass has gone down on lakes that are heavily tournament fished.

There is some scientific data that shows bass confined in live wells during hot weather have a higher mortality rate than in cool weather.

I keep very few bass during the course of a season and none from lakes that with heavy tournament pressure.

for you guys to consider.

Do you like to catch big fish ??? Okay... forget about everyone else, just for a moment. Allow yourself to think selfishly for just a minute. It's okay :-)

I know a lot of guys have a hard time believing it's hardly possible, let alone likely, that they might C/R a fish, then someday down the road, catch that very same fish again !

I know my trophy bass buddies and I used to think this was just an incredible, amazing, bombastic thing ! ....... but as time has passed, and we continue to re-catch (and positively identify) fish which we have C/R'd before, we have come to see how we are single handedly, and directly inproving our own fishing !

Here's one I caught last year, then again, about 3 weeks ago:

Here's a whole article on the subject of C/R's, and re-catches and releases:

(make sure to scroll down, for several more examples)

http://www.trophybassonly.com/id50.htm

Anyway, regardless of what the next guy does (because whatever he does, that is his personal right) I release the big ones, because I like to catch big(ger) ones. For me to do anything else would be counter-productive, and simply illogical.

Peace,

Fish

none of that really matters it was my fault for realizing the differences between here and there. my mistake and sorry!

I do the same thing.  I don't realize when posting that there are big differences in the states that we live in.  I think a whole lot of people do this as well.  I'm blessed to live in a state that has a high population of bass.  

Fish Chris---- I'm for C&R myself.  I never said that I wasn't.  I just like to keep a few as well. I don't keep everything that I catch. If I was to come up on a monster like that one in your picture I would release her back into the water. I have never kept one in the double digits........wait a minute.....I have never caught one in the double digits. LOL

Great job Fish Chris.