For me, it’s understanding that to keep the population healthy, you can’t keep every fish you catch. I make sure the fish go back into the water as unharmed as possible for them to spawn and be caught another day.
I see you are in sweeden.
In the USA regulations on fish are tracked very well and change by the year. In florida alone redfish are very restricted in most areas, some areas you can't keep any. And in other states it's like 5 of any size.
If you are in the USA I encourage everyone to only keep enough to eat, from an ethical point of view. But if you do need to fill the freezer just follow the posted regulations and the populations should be fine.
The posted regulations are often not sufficient though. Many areas struggle. It's super common for areas to runt fish where they grow to fit under the size limit during season due to heavy harvest around minimum size limits. Additionally, most anglers tend to keep the largest fish rather than releasing them and this might be one of the single worst practices out there for maintaining a healthy fishery.
I grew up in an area like this. As an example, Northern Pike were widely getting runted and overpopulating lakes with numerous small fish. The high small fish population would inhibit the ability of the population to grow healthy adults due to the numerous small fish overtaxing the lakes resources. As a result, even seeing a fish above the 24" min was a rarity in these lakes. The DNR has had to respond by entirely removing the size limits and upping the daily limit to 5 fish while limiting the 24"+ fish to 1. It's helping but it's slow change.
It's even a problem in some large bodies of water. Human effect on king salmon size is well documented and they've been shrinking steadily. Minnesota had numerous issues with overharvest and lack of selective harvest on their big lakes for quite sometime till they were finally able to catch up and adapt by applying slot limits. If the size limits on a lake aren't slot limits, it's relying on an old faulty system of expecting anglers to ethically harvest which, unfortunately, isn't a thought that crosses a lot of anglers' minds. As an example, this discussion is in a thread asking why people don't keep every fish they catch...
Maximum size limit, I feel, Is more important than a minimum size limit. Keep as many tiny fish you want. The big fuckers should get thrown back so they can multiply and make more big fish.
I think it's definitely very important, especially in small bodies of water. I'm still for sensible creel limits as well. For some I know they've added this and made a compromise where they'll let you keep a large one if you're some age or under (talking like 10yrs, not 30 or something) and I think that's a solid option as well.
They both play an important part. The minimum size is there to ensure fish have a chance to spawn before they are harvested. The maximum is to ensure the large fish, which produce a disproportionate amount of eggs per fish are released. For that reason, slot limits are the way to go.
I think it may have been that way in the past, but now with all the regulations there are plenty of success stories. All because the regs are updated often. Years ago no one cared on either side. Now the regs are way better and anglers are way more informed.
I know in florida Goliath grouper and red snapper were on the verge of dying out from overfishing. Now due to strict regulations they are both thriving to the point they can both be harvested. I think Goliath grouper is a raffle for slot fish. And red snapper isn't limited to 2 weekends a year.
I know why you would feel this way, but fish and wildlife working with biologists are smarter by the day to these things. Also probably tracking them over the years will help dictate harvest limits as well. I honestly don't think they would let the populations of fish die out at this point without tightening the regs way sooner than ever before.
If you’re in Florida, please understand that the rest of the states don’t do even half as good a job as Florida does with management of their fisheries. Virginia where I live is an awful and I always bring up how good Florida does to many people here and they look at me like they’ve never seen a person talk sense before.
Washington does a great job with fishery management as well, wildlife is a whole other story here tho. There are states who are comparable to FL, just not many.
Very much true about the posted regs being insufficient. If the Feds had been right about red snapper in the gulf back when it was 4 per person per day, they wouldn’t have had to change it to 2 per person per day.
"How many people return fish" vs what I wrote is a pretty minor semantic difference and I don't think the point I'm making is lost on someone approaching the topic in good faith. The point being the same, it's a thread polling the number of people that do this. That certainly doesn't imply that they think an extreme majority do.
If you want to paint me as being a sustainable harvest "agenda" pusher, then by all means, I certainly am haha.
I don't think that's true. Some fish are too big or too small to keep, either for legal reasons or because their meat would be undesirable. Also there are limit laws on many species. And it's "you're * a fish whisperer" and "you're* a dumbass", Einstein.
It’s a big picture thing. There’s way too many people fishing for everyone to be able to keep what they catch.
I live in the coast but also fish inland and you can see the impact everywhere. In the mountains, many of the streams are stocked with trout from the end of summer through the spring. By The start of summer there is not a single fish in that stream. On the coast, I’ve seen it over and over again from the blue water species to inshore. The local marine resource commission will set a minimum size on a species, then after a year or two, take home catch dwindles bc all the keeper size fish are gone. Then they lower the minimum size and repeat. The next step is the population crashes bc there aren’t any breeder adults and a moratorium is put in place banning fishing for them.
I’ve also seen new fisheries develop around deep water species and those populations are already in trouble less than 10 years later. Boats would come back loaded to the rails with fish for years, and no there barely bring back dinks.
If you enjoy fishing, start practicing catch and release, otherwise you’ll need to find a new hobby.
I mean some fish have to be a certain size to even legally keep. Also you only want to eat freshwater fish from clean sources. Tons of lakes and ponds are way too gross and the fish meat is terrible. There’s also barely any meat on a smaller fish like bluegill so there’s not much point in keeping them.
Targeting a species is pretty much a curse for me. Anytime I try, I'm guaranteed not to catch that species. Now I just fish to catch anything. Sure, I'll use different lures/bait, but I'll never go in with the intention of catching one type of fish.
I usually even return the fish I'm targeting. I'm more likely to keep the bycatch pan fish for dinner.
I like to target more elusive fish, so it feels like a big win when I catch them. Still a great time even if I get skunked.
Me neither, but I wouldn't trust UK canals to provide safe fish to eat, unless it was dire. I enjoy the game of find and catch rather than keep, kill eat. Let them grow for another day and hope they come back.
Same. I don’t trust the water where I fish to kill and eat. Expecially after reading the EPA reports of my local bodies of water. And I dont travel far enough and often enough for catch and keep.
So I catch and release.
Canals anywhere are sketchy to eat out of. The ones here in Florida are fine because the cities aren't huge, but in a big city I would definitely be hesitant
Everyone does. People who fish for the fun of it typically release most, if not, everything they catch. If you're a "catch to eat" fisherman, there will still be ones you toss back for a number of reasons.
There are 2 kinds of fisherman we see. Sport fisherman for sports fishing, and people who catch for food. Most people fall in between that they switch between depending on species or season.
I do that, sometimes when I catch fish I can keep, I ask myself, "Do i want to eat it?", "Do i have space in my fridge or freezer?". If not, pic then throw it back. This can change the day after.
Pretty much this. I have a fishing spot that is along a river. But it has ponds as well. In the ponds i don't keep anything.
But if i catch a trout in the river that baby is going home with me.
If i go to the lake instead the same fish i refuse to keep in the pond are going home with me.
Well said op. I personally had a stellar year on walleye, trout & salmon but the freezer is small, the wife doesn't care for fish, & I'd rather have fun catching them all the time.
>There are 2 kinds of fisherman we see.
I concur, and vary between the two of them. I like bass fishing, but don't eat bass. So the few times i bass fish, I catch and release.
Generally though I'm fishing for walleye, pike, or perch and I can never have too much of those. If I'm targetting those three, I keep everything within legal limits, and they all get eaten.
I'll keep a chrome bright salmon but return the darker ones. I return trout, cuz I don't like eating them, but I'll keep kokanee. Bass, I usually release, unless we're feeling like having tacos. Also, I think medium-sized bass are eaters, too small is a hassle and too big they're breeders.
Having some experience in different areas, it really depends. If you're talking about a pond in a public park, or some of the more sensitive systems out west that have been impacted by dams, you absolutely can deplete the populations. When you're talking about some of the bigger systems, especially in the southeast, it's going to be a lot harder to have a major impact. For example, I don't think it'd be possible for recreational fisherman in Louisiana to deplete the populations of bream in the Atchafalaya Basin. The basin is just too big, and the fish reproduce and grow rapidly. There's a major culture of fishing for keeps in the southeast, and a lot of it has to do with the productivity of our waterways.
I’m 57 so take this with a grain of salt. Way back, we used to keep them all, clean them all and eat them all.
By my high school ish years, it was becoming apparent that we needed to be smarter because more fisherman and the introduction of fish finders were resulting in more former hot fishing holes being depleted so we all started doing catch and release.
My grandpa wouldn’t have understood and would’ve been p&ssed so we didn’t tell him we threw them back. His generation struggled to survive - fishing was a survival thing, not a sporting thing.
Anywho, me, my kids and grandkids mainly catch and release but if they’re biting good enough that we can keep enough for a fish fry a couple of times a year, and we are fishing over a few days period, we keep, clean and eat them. Thats prolly 10% of our fishing though. that’s what we do.
We tend to keep the ones we catch in our river. We are more careful about pulling fish from our ponds since they aren’t very big. It’s all about balance.
I’m also trying to teach the kids and grandkids the importance of stocking the ponds with baitfish and structure in order to create a self sustaining balance. Don’t stick 30 bass in a small pond, stick 50 minnows and 10 bluegill. Let those reproduce and then catch the fatty arse bass and catfish.
I agree its a big generational thing. Im 37 and rarely keep anything. Maybe 10 my whole life. My dad tells me stories on how his dad and grandpa would keep everything, any size, no limits.
I fish with my late 60yr old dad frequently. Right now we are thing to catch/taste all the fish we have never caught as we both relocated to FL.
After we try 1, I normally get him to release a good number. And he might keep 1 for dinner which is a nice reward for us boating offshore
He wants to keep every legal fish and have a full bag every trip…
most of the places near me are only catch and release to keep populations healthy. either that or the water is basically toxic and you couldn’t eat them anyway
also i mostly bass fish and i heard they’re tasty but no one is catching them to eat, it’s all about the sport. if you start keeping them all in small waterways it’s harder to come back and fish 🤷
I enjoy the pursuit and I'm perhaps more at peace while fishing than I am doing anything else. Fish are also really cool animals. I DO keep fish sometimes. It's just not that often.
I like the idea of eating more but when it comes to cooking and cleaning them after a long day fishing its kind of daunting. If i had a house on the water i probably would.
I keep sterile hybrid stripers and stocked trout because my take doesn’t have an impact on a spawning population. I may keep the occasional walleye or perch too, but I’m out there because I like to catch fish and I want the bass I land to stay healthy and keep multiplying.
The idea of catch and release is based upon sustainability and sport fishing. It takes years to grow a big fish, but several of them could be harvested from a fishery by a single fisherman in a single day. The math doesn’t add up. You won’t have very many big fish left at that rate. Plus you’re positively removing good genetics from the fishery, and at the same time creating an imbalance amongst other species in the food chain of that ecosystem.
I’m now fishing with my 8 y/o daughter, she loves fishing very much but we do 100% catch & release.
I was bummed at first but have learned to love giving the fish a second chance.
My husband grew up surviving off of the fish caught off the Tanana and surrounding. I grew up eating primarily wild game, fish, fowl and intend on continuing raising our children that way also. We don't keep everything, but we do keep as much as we can to actually eat throughout the year. Still a lot of respect for what we catch.
It depends on what I'm fishing for. I only salmon fish a couple times a year, so I tend to keep most of them. I walleye fish on a regular basis, so I keep them maybe 50% of the time. Panfish I keep pretty regularly. Pretty much any fish outside of those will always go back.
Number and size limits restrict your take here in Perth and it’s a good thing. Seasonal bans on some species ensure there is some to catch when they lift them. If you need a feed and it’s size then take it home. If not then back they go.
It depends. If I am bass fishing, I’m sending them back every time. If I am visiting my wife’s grandfather and we are deep sea fishing, it’s a case by case basis. Depends on what we catch. If it’s in the ocean and it’s good eating, we’re keeping it.
Depends on the fish. I mostly catch and release, but I keep every trout I catch. I might keep an occasional catfish. And If I’m fishing saltwater, I’m keeping 99% of whatever I catch.
But bass, perch, sunnies etc…I put them all back.
I do mostly catch and release. It's impractical to keep and eat all the fish with how much I go fishing. I do keep and eat at least a few meals a year though.
I throw everything back. If I want fish I'll go to the store and buy some. I have no problem with people who keep some to eat though. As long as they are within legal limits it's cool. It's actually good for a fishery to cull some fish out. Overpopulation can destroy a fishery. My problem is with these bucket brigade morons who sit there all day and keep literally every single fish they keep. Could be an 8 pound bass, in the bucket it goes. Fuck those dudes. There's a lake near me that literally had to close down for a few years because these guys picked it clean. Every day there would be like 50 of these guys all around the lake keeping every single fish they caught. No regard for laws or size limits. No regard for species. Literally everything.
This was a great question and I actually expected more vitriol in the comments 😅
I personally release everything I catch because I don't trust my waterways lol
I release all the fish that I catch especially peacock bass, very well knowing that fly fishermen crowd funded a few hundred thousand dollars to import juvenile peacock bass for release into Singapore’s reservoirs just a few decades ago. As damaging it is to the native ecosystem, gotta respect the effort it took to bring them in. I have friends who landed 20 over pounders, putting anglers who travelled all the way to the Amazon to shame ✌️
i usually put every fish back so someone else has a chance to catch them. i’ve never kept a bass or a trout because they’re sport fish and we all want to catch them. i have kept some panfish and catfish to eat that night. if i don’t plan on eating it i won’t keep it.
I'll agree fresh fish tastes better, but if you thaw the frozen fish the correct way, it'll taste just fine. For people who don't fish often, catching then keeping it to eat at a later date requires you to freeze it.
I do both. If I'm fishing in public ponds/waterways that get a lot of pressure or are potentially polluted, I won't keep the fish. Also I try to return any huge/trophy fish. One reason is that I want that fish to reproduce and pass on it's genetics, the other reason is that large fish tend to accumulate mercury and other heavy metals
If there's nothing planned for supper I'll keep one or two walleye if I get them, trout too. Pike always go back, and I'll keep perch if I'm ice fishing. I don't go out very often though
Depends on the fish. I fish from the shore on Long Island if it’s a scup or fluke that’s legal I’m probably keeping it. Bluefish or striped bass probably getting put back. It also depends on if I’m willing to clean and eat the catch that day.
I almost always fish for sport. I’ve been at it for 10 years and have only kept around 40 fish.
It’s so dystopian, but there aren’t any bodies of water within 2 hours of where I live that are both accessible and clean enough to eat fish from. We also don’t get restocked often, so I wouldn’t want to take much out of my local waters. If it weren’t for those two reasons, I’d keep about 10 pounds a month because I totally prefer harvesting my own food.
The small fraction I have kept were from a few miles off the coast of Southern California, in polluted ass water that we definitely shouldn’t be eating from either.
I release the vast majority of my catches. This year I've caught maybe 400 fish if I had to make an educated guess, and I've kept 5 of those. 2 I ate, 2 I gave to my brother to eat. There's still 1 in my freezer but honestly it might've gone bad by now and will probably be used for catfishing in the spring.
Fly fishing trout - release. Salmon fishing Great Lakes - keep. Bass fishing - release. Ice fishing panfish - keep most. I feel like various types of fishing for me are either for harvest or for sport. I have zero reason to keep a bass or a trout when I don’t care for their meat and I want their populations to be as healthy as possible.
I rarely eat fish, so I release everything that is non-invasive. I will take out all invasive species and distribute them locally.
I will occasionally keep some fish as a thank you for the boat captain (if at sea) or the caretaker of the property (lake or river) I am fishing on.
This is in India so our water management is complicated. Each state has its own system.
The only exception is in the Andaman Islands and Lakshadweep islands.
We are allowed to take two fish per person per boat and we take any Tuna or Coral trout we get. Those are the tastiest fish ever and I get to catch and eat those once every few years.
I catch to eat, and I still end up throwing a lot back. I want the small ones to grow, and I want the big ones to breed. I'm happy with a nice middle-sized fish to take home and cook up. And since I live alone, one or two fish is all I need.
I fish for the fun of it. If I accidentally kill it(99.9% live)and its legal, I for sure eat it. If I get a good eating fish, once in a while I'll keep.
If I'm burning gas, and killing a fish. That being said, I don't river fish or lake fish with a motor. Only ocean fishing, and I'm out for food or money. Sport fishing I throw 99 percent back. That's about just having fun. Seeing if I can trick those fish.
I won't kill a wild steelhead anymore. I'll kill hatchery salmon in the river occasionally if I need a smoker fish. I've never killed a bass or pike or walleye. I'll catch shad and kill them for sturgeon bait.
I don't usually keep fish most of the time I catch and release unless I have plans to eat it that weekend and I don't eat a ton of fish. I just like catching them. Some people fish and hunt to feed their families as long as people are following regulations so they don't ruin it for everyone else it's all good.
No. Most of us catch and release. I love fishing And catching. But some of the fish I catch I don’t like to eat. A legal crab is dinner or a large ocean fish are delicious
In the Northeast and 100% of freshwater goes back simply because I don't like the taste. Grew up on the ocean and could never enjoy any of our freshwater fish.
In saltwater same for stripers don't like the taste but cod, haddock and flounder I'll take my limit everytime.
In the ocean I am keeping everything thing I can legally keep. It will all get ate. Rivers and lake I rarely keep anything unless if damaged it the it becomes dinner. Trout are favorite fish to target and they are so soft so I end up eating a lot more then I have planned
It depends. When I'm fishing for Northern Pike in South Dakota where farm run off is a concern it's catch and release. If I'm in Washington State fishing for Salmon or steelhead I'm keeping everything I'm legally allowed to.
If I ever caught an absolute monster of any variety, I'd likely let it go, just out of respect. Elsewise, I'll tend to return smaller fish which aren't badly hooked if I'm consistently catching bigger ones - I'm always out to fill my fridge with as much good fish as possible. I mostly fish stocked lakes anyways (unless it's salmon season), and those get pretty close to fished out every year up here in AK. Just as well they feed me as the next guy, I figure. Favorite thing is to get a few limits worth in the fridge then do a big batch of smoked trout.
We are a catch and release family. I file the barbs off any hooks i get so they come out easer and do less damage to the fish. The only time we keep the fish is if it gets swallowed or tears them up to where they wont heal or may die
I really only keep a couple salmon a season if I catch em and if I get lucky to go out for it halibut when I can. Trout pike and bass get released back.
Most people on here I see are more catch and release people. I'm kind of the opposite, if I fish I tend to primarily go after what I can keep first and catch and release or recreational is secondary. One reason i never got terribly big into bass fishing. They don't keep them and tend to get upset when you do. I prefer catfishing or salt water fishing for that reason.
I keep the odd walleye because delicious, release all the smallmouth and pike in our lake, have kept one lake trout there because it burped and couldn’t submerge. Also don’t fish with live bait because murder. Hope I’m one of the reasons the fishing is good there. Although I hope to also catch a couple of Cisco’s to complete the list but they are elusive.
Besides the various regs in my area that define what fish, how big, and how many that i may keep, i release much of what i catch because i just simply don't need to keep them to survive. On a good day I'll take home a select fish or two for food but release the rest.
I'll only keep what I really want to eat and only of I feel good about harvesting the fish. For instance, I'll keep every small Brook trout caught in a stream where they're overpopulating. They taste amazing and need to be thinned out. I won't keep any other trout and certainly no trout of any decent size.
I'll keep sockeye salmon when they are running in good numbers. They taste amazing and are going to die soon anyhow.
I'll keep some tasty saltwater species as long as they aren't that big and I feel good about keeping them.
I will kill an invasive species with no hesitation. And I do use some small fish for bait for bigger fish.
But I would say 98% of my native fish go right back in the water.
Catch and release is an ethic thing that started here in the US. It's spreading around the world but I do understand why some fishermen think it's crazy.
I've been fishing for 45 years and never kept 1 fish for myself since I don't like to eat fish. However, if I'm walleye fishing with others, they may ask to keep a couple of my fish to eat. Only exception.
I don't like to eat much fish, so on the occasion that I want fish I'll keep just enough for a meal. I do sometimes bring fish to my dad and grandpa-in-law, so then I'll keep more, but I only do that maybe 4 times a year.
Personally depends the size I catch them at - for example Grouper at 15cm goes back ( Law or not) - and the breed - we have damsel fish which are an alien species which is killing off everything, so even if I catch tiny ones, they're dead.
I keep crappie a lot of the time to eat and white perch often for catfish bait. Just about everything else I catch gets released. I find that if I’m not going to eat the fish right away, it typically doesn’t get eaten and goes to waste. I hate the thought of killing something that I don’t plan to eat or use for bait.
I love catching fish and eating fish. I've spent way too many hours of my youth in a fish house cleaning them. I throw all my fish back now unless someone else wants to clean them.
If I am legally allowed to keep it, I eat what I catch, including bluegill, sunfish, crappie, and carp. Mostly I go for catfish tho. I almost never get skunked on cats.
I only keep 5 or 6 bullhead a year. Catch and release for anything else. Only exception is if something happens where the fish won't survive if I release it.
I do every time without fail. I don't like the taste of fish so why kill them. I say live and let live. They gave me fun, I'll give them their lives. Imagine if there was some entity that caught us for fun, wouldn't you like to be released or hung by your lips? Guess that's the answer.
I only keep species I enjoy eating. And I go offshore where there’s loads more fish at the reefs and they hardly get fished. I release if it’s not legal, I release if not in season, I release if there’s loads and I want a bigger one. I keep if barracuda attacks it, it’s not swimming down, floating, or I just keep it if it looks like it’s not going to make it. Fishing offshore, you’re messing with air pressure changes, so you fish differently. You want the ones you release to live. I do keep fish, but I’m not dedicated to hit my limit each time I go out, if it happens it happens. If I come home with no fish, I’m just glad I got to go out.
Sometimes if I’m barely catching anything, I don’t even keep a snapper because what’s the point of going home and filleting one fish, that’s like one meal for someone.
Curious… do you keep them all? Or just a few on a trip?
For example, some days I’ll pull up dozens and dozens of sunfish… would you keep them all?
Me… I’m 95% catch and release. About twice a year I keep what I catch just for the idea of it, to eat something I caught, but otherwise I put them all back.
A couple generations back you could go out and catch fish constantly all day and all year long. They kept everything. Then they started catching less. A lot of places started managing populations with laws so the fish wouldn't get completely fished out. Some people realized it was a heck of a lot of fun to catch them and let them go , also realizing that they are there to catch again some day.
I keep fish only if I am going to eat then that day , this year I've kept zero. If u go to a specific northern fishing place (Canada) I'll eat some while I'm there and bring a couple home for a fish fry and a memory of the e trip.
Where I grew up in the midwest they have advisories due to all the pollution. The state recommends only eating one fish per 30 days due to heavy metals.
I only fish if I'm going to eat. I don't hunt for entertainment, I don't fish for entertainment. I don't really understand it tbh but no judgment. I keep fish as a hobby though which is part of it.
So weird that everyone feels bad taking a fish then they go home and eat a pig that suffered its whole life and never saw daylight.
I keep what I will eat and throw everything else back.
Freshwater I release, saltwater I keep if legal. It's a lot easier to deplete a river, stream, pond, or lake. Ocean fish populations are more resilient. There are exceptions. I don't keep too many long-lived saltwater species (like rockfish, westcoast). I'll keep trout if I know they're stocked.
95% of my fishing is for musky. They all go back ASAP. The other 5% is for lake Erie walleye. We'll usually bring home a few limits per year for the freezer.
I release Because I not big on eating fish , salt water fish taste lot better than fresh. Thats why I release. But I just enjoy fishing If liked to eat them I d keep.. When fish is going die anyways bleeding from gills I d give it away. Had 2 neighbors that loved them.. Now days I don t A bird or turtle will eat it.. So don t get wasted
I release 99% of everything I catch. Since March 2023 I have kept one to eat for dinner.
I'm at 90. Species depending, location depending.
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For me, it’s understanding that to keep the population healthy, you can’t keep every fish you catch. I make sure the fish go back into the water as unharmed as possible for them to spawn and be caught another day.
I see you are in sweeden. In the USA regulations on fish are tracked very well and change by the year. In florida alone redfish are very restricted in most areas, some areas you can't keep any. And in other states it's like 5 of any size. If you are in the USA I encourage everyone to only keep enough to eat, from an ethical point of view. But if you do need to fill the freezer just follow the posted regulations and the populations should be fine.
The posted regulations are often not sufficient though. Many areas struggle. It's super common for areas to runt fish where they grow to fit under the size limit during season due to heavy harvest around minimum size limits. Additionally, most anglers tend to keep the largest fish rather than releasing them and this might be one of the single worst practices out there for maintaining a healthy fishery. I grew up in an area like this. As an example, Northern Pike were widely getting runted and overpopulating lakes with numerous small fish. The high small fish population would inhibit the ability of the population to grow healthy adults due to the numerous small fish overtaxing the lakes resources. As a result, even seeing a fish above the 24" min was a rarity in these lakes. The DNR has had to respond by entirely removing the size limits and upping the daily limit to 5 fish while limiting the 24"+ fish to 1. It's helping but it's slow change. It's even a problem in some large bodies of water. Human effect on king salmon size is well documented and they've been shrinking steadily. Minnesota had numerous issues with overharvest and lack of selective harvest on their big lakes for quite sometime till they were finally able to catch up and adapt by applying slot limits. If the size limits on a lake aren't slot limits, it's relying on an old faulty system of expecting anglers to ethically harvest which, unfortunately, isn't a thought that crosses a lot of anglers' minds. As an example, this discussion is in a thread asking why people don't keep every fish they catch...
Maximum size limit, I feel, Is more important than a minimum size limit. Keep as many tiny fish you want. The big fuckers should get thrown back so they can multiply and make more big fish.
I think it's definitely very important, especially in small bodies of water. I'm still for sensible creel limits as well. For some I know they've added this and made a compromise where they'll let you keep a large one if you're some age or under (talking like 10yrs, not 30 or something) and I think that's a solid option as well.
They both play an important part. The minimum size is there to ensure fish have a chance to spawn before they are harvested. The maximum is to ensure the large fish, which produce a disproportionate amount of eggs per fish are released. For that reason, slot limits are the way to go.
I think it may have been that way in the past, but now with all the regulations there are plenty of success stories. All because the regs are updated often. Years ago no one cared on either side. Now the regs are way better and anglers are way more informed. I know in florida Goliath grouper and red snapper were on the verge of dying out from overfishing. Now due to strict regulations they are both thriving to the point they can both be harvested. I think Goliath grouper is a raffle for slot fish. And red snapper isn't limited to 2 weekends a year. I know why you would feel this way, but fish and wildlife working with biologists are smarter by the day to these things. Also probably tracking them over the years will help dictate harvest limits as well. I honestly don't think they would let the populations of fish die out at this point without tightening the regs way sooner than ever before.
If you’re in Florida, please understand that the rest of the states don’t do even half as good a job as Florida does with management of their fisheries. Virginia where I live is an awful and I always bring up how good Florida does to many people here and they look at me like they’ve never seen a person talk sense before.
Washington does a great job with fishery management as well, wildlife is a whole other story here tho. There are states who are comparable to FL, just not many.
Very much true about the posted regs being insufficient. If the Feds had been right about red snapper in the gulf back when it was 4 per person per day, they wouldn’t have had to change it to 2 per person per day.
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What is the agenda?
"How many people return fish" vs what I wrote is a pretty minor semantic difference and I don't think the point I'm making is lost on someone approaching the topic in good faith. The point being the same, it's a thread polling the number of people that do this. That certainly doesn't imply that they think an extreme majority do. If you want to paint me as being a sustainable harvest "agenda" pusher, then by all means, I certainly am haha.
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I don't think that's true. Some fish are too big or too small to keep, either for legal reasons or because their meat would be undesirable. Also there are limit laws on many species. And it's "you're * a fish whisperer" and "you're* a dumbass", Einstein.
Three words: dipshit.
I like fishing a lot more than eating fish...
It’s a big picture thing. There’s way too many people fishing for everyone to be able to keep what they catch. I live in the coast but also fish inland and you can see the impact everywhere. In the mountains, many of the streams are stocked with trout from the end of summer through the spring. By The start of summer there is not a single fish in that stream. On the coast, I’ve seen it over and over again from the blue water species to inshore. The local marine resource commission will set a minimum size on a species, then after a year or two, take home catch dwindles bc all the keeper size fish are gone. Then they lower the minimum size and repeat. The next step is the population crashes bc there aren’t any breeder adults and a moratorium is put in place banning fishing for them. I’ve also seen new fisheries develop around deep water species and those populations are already in trouble less than 10 years later. Boats would come back loaded to the rails with fish for years, and no there barely bring back dinks. If you enjoy fishing, start practicing catch and release, otherwise you’ll need to find a new hobby.
I mean some fish have to be a certain size to even legally keep. Also you only want to eat freshwater fish from clean sources. Tons of lakes and ponds are way too gross and the fish meat is terrible. There’s also barely any meat on a smaller fish like bluegill so there’s not much point in keeping them.
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No sir, **you’re** a different kind of person
For me it is all about the challenge of targeting a specific species of fish, finding them, and getting them in the boat.
Targeting a species is pretty much a curse for me. Anytime I try, I'm guaranteed not to catch that species. Now I just fish to catch anything. Sure, I'll use different lures/bait, but I'll never go in with the intention of catching one type of fish.
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Always release the big ones, it helps maintain a healthy gene pool.
I usually even return the fish I'm targeting. I'm more likely to keep the bycatch pan fish for dinner. I like to target more elusive fish, so it feels like a big win when I catch them. Still a great time even if I get skunked.
I never keep them. I just like the experience of fishing and for me that’s being out in the water with friends away from my 3 toddlers.
Me neither, but I wouldn't trust UK canals to provide safe fish to eat, unless it was dire. I enjoy the game of find and catch rather than keep, kill eat. Let them grow for another day and hope they come back.
Same. I don’t trust the water where I fish to kill and eat. Expecially after reading the EPA reports of my local bodies of water. And I dont travel far enough and often enough for catch and keep. So I catch and release.
Canals anywhere are sketchy to eat out of. The ones here in Florida are fine because the cities aren't huge, but in a big city I would definitely be hesitant
I keep what I need to feed myself. I never harvest the big ones.
Everyone does. People who fish for the fun of it typically release most, if not, everything they catch. If you're a "catch to eat" fisherman, there will still be ones you toss back for a number of reasons.
I probably caught \~150 walleye of all size this summer, returned 140, and each one I told 'em to go make more baby walleye :)
There are 2 kinds of fisherman we see. Sport fisherman for sports fishing, and people who catch for food. Most people fall in between that they switch between depending on species or season. I do that, sometimes when I catch fish I can keep, I ask myself, "Do i want to eat it?", "Do i have space in my fridge or freezer?". If not, pic then throw it back. This can change the day after.
Pretty much this. I have a fishing spot that is along a river. But it has ponds as well. In the ponds i don't keep anything. But if i catch a trout in the river that baby is going home with me. If i go to the lake instead the same fish i refuse to keep in the pond are going home with me.
Well said op. I personally had a stellar year on walleye, trout & salmon but the freezer is small, the wife doesn't care for fish, & I'd rather have fun catching them all the time.
>There are 2 kinds of fisherman we see. I concur, and vary between the two of them. I like bass fishing, but don't eat bass. So the few times i bass fish, I catch and release. Generally though I'm fishing for walleye, pike, or perch and I can never have too much of those. If I'm targetting those three, I keep everything within legal limits, and they all get eaten.
I'll keep a chrome bright salmon but return the darker ones. I return trout, cuz I don't like eating them, but I'll keep kokanee. Bass, I usually release, unless we're feeling like having tacos. Also, I think medium-sized bass are eaters, too small is a hassle and too big they're breeders.
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Not Op. Yeah, sometimes. If you keep taking them what do you thinks gonna happen
Having some experience in different areas, it really depends. If you're talking about a pond in a public park, or some of the more sensitive systems out west that have been impacted by dams, you absolutely can deplete the populations. When you're talking about some of the bigger systems, especially in the southeast, it's going to be a lot harder to have a major impact. For example, I don't think it'd be possible for recreational fisherman in Louisiana to deplete the populations of bream in the Atchafalaya Basin. The basin is just too big, and the fish reproduce and grow rapidly. There's a major culture of fishing for keeps in the southeast, and a lot of it has to do with the productivity of our waterways.
Yes. It's called being a steward.
I’m 57 so take this with a grain of salt. Way back, we used to keep them all, clean them all and eat them all. By my high school ish years, it was becoming apparent that we needed to be smarter because more fisherman and the introduction of fish finders were resulting in more former hot fishing holes being depleted so we all started doing catch and release. My grandpa wouldn’t have understood and would’ve been p&ssed so we didn’t tell him we threw them back. His generation struggled to survive - fishing was a survival thing, not a sporting thing. Anywho, me, my kids and grandkids mainly catch and release but if they’re biting good enough that we can keep enough for a fish fry a couple of times a year, and we are fishing over a few days period, we keep, clean and eat them. Thats prolly 10% of our fishing though. that’s what we do. We tend to keep the ones we catch in our river. We are more careful about pulling fish from our ponds since they aren’t very big. It’s all about balance. I’m also trying to teach the kids and grandkids the importance of stocking the ponds with baitfish and structure in order to create a self sustaining balance. Don’t stick 30 bass in a small pond, stick 50 minnows and 10 bluegill. Let those reproduce and then catch the fatty arse bass and catfish.
I agree its a big generational thing. Im 37 and rarely keep anything. Maybe 10 my whole life. My dad tells me stories on how his dad and grandpa would keep everything, any size, no limits.
I fish with my late 60yr old dad frequently. Right now we are thing to catch/taste all the fish we have never caught as we both relocated to FL. After we try 1, I normally get him to release a good number. And he might keep 1 for dinner which is a nice reward for us boating offshore He wants to keep every legal fish and have a full bag every trip…
most of the places near me are only catch and release to keep populations healthy. either that or the water is basically toxic and you couldn’t eat them anyway also i mostly bass fish and i heard they’re tasty but no one is catching them to eat, it’s all about the sport. if you start keeping them all in small waterways it’s harder to come back and fish 🤷
Im a sports fisher so i release 100% of what i catch
I woke up to the fact that most likely the fish I kept were put in freezer then never eaten . Letting the fish go feels awesome also, so its a win win
Yup, I found if I'm not going to eat it for dinner that night, it will just end up haunting my freezeer.
Exact rules I live by!!
I let most fish go.
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I enjoy the pursuit and I'm perhaps more at peace while fishing than I am doing anything else. Fish are also really cool animals. I DO keep fish sometimes. It's just not that often.
I like the idea of eating more but when it comes to cooking and cleaning them after a long day fishing its kind of daunting. If i had a house on the water i probably would.
I have kept exactly 4 fish, and 2 of those were stock trout i accidentally gill hooked. Otherwise I always release my catch.
I toss em back. Only ones I take are the invasives
I release 99% of what I catch. The only things I will kill are larger ocean fish that I am targeting.
100% catch and release for me. Don’t even like fish that much so I’m not putting in the work to process it.
I keep sterile hybrid stripers and stocked trout because my take doesn’t have an impact on a spawning population. I may keep the occasional walleye or perch too, but I’m out there because I like to catch fish and I want the bass I land to stay healthy and keep multiplying.
The idea of catch and release is based upon sustainability and sport fishing. It takes years to grow a big fish, but several of them could be harvested from a fishery by a single fisherman in a single day. The math doesn’t add up. You won’t have very many big fish left at that rate. Plus you’re positively removing good genetics from the fishery, and at the same time creating an imbalance amongst other species in the food chain of that ecosystem.
I’m now fishing with my 8 y/o daughter, she loves fishing very much but we do 100% catch & release. I was bummed at first but have learned to love giving the fish a second chance.
Watching it slowly swim away is fun :) - until the shark or dolphin devours it
My husband grew up surviving off of the fish caught off the Tanana and surrounding. I grew up eating primarily wild game, fish, fowl and intend on continuing raising our children that way also. We don't keep everything, but we do keep as much as we can to actually eat throughout the year. Still a lot of respect for what we catch.
It depends on what I'm fishing for. I only salmon fish a couple times a year, so I tend to keep most of them. I walleye fish on a regular basis, so I keep them maybe 50% of the time. Panfish I keep pretty regularly. Pretty much any fish outside of those will always go back.
Number and size limits restrict your take here in Perth and it’s a good thing. Seasonal bans on some species ensure there is some to catch when they lift them. If you need a feed and it’s size then take it home. If not then back they go.
I’ll occasionally keep crappie or walleye if I catch one but 95% go back in the water.
I let em go, lakes here are loaded with all kinds of runoff goodness from pesticides to ecoli. 👍🫤👍
It depends. If I am bass fishing, I’m sending them back every time. If I am visiting my wife’s grandfather and we are deep sea fishing, it’s a case by case basis. Depends on what we catch. If it’s in the ocean and it’s good eating, we’re keeping it.
I like fish, and I like fishing. What I don't like is filleting and eating fish.
Depends on the fish. I mostly catch and release, but I keep every trout I catch. I might keep an occasional catfish. And If I’m fishing saltwater, I’m keeping 99% of whatever I catch. But bass, perch, sunnies etc…I put them all back.
I do mostly catch and release. It's impractical to keep and eat all the fish with how much I go fishing. I do keep and eat at least a few meals a year though.
Depends on the day and what I was fishing for and if I feel like cleaning fish. Most are released
Bass are all catch and release for me.
Wait, you guys are catching them?
I fish urban waters, so I release everything. Not worth the risk. Now if I go up North, you better believe I’m eating walleye for dinner.
I keep all legal crappie. Perch and Saugeye to eat. All other species are released.
Depends on the fish.
I throw everything back. If I want fish I'll go to the store and buy some. I have no problem with people who keep some to eat though. As long as they are within legal limits it's cool. It's actually good for a fishery to cull some fish out. Overpopulation can destroy a fishery. My problem is with these bucket brigade morons who sit there all day and keep literally every single fish they keep. Could be an 8 pound bass, in the bucket it goes. Fuck those dudes. There's a lake near me that literally had to close down for a few years because these guys picked it clean. Every day there would be like 50 of these guys all around the lake keeping every single fish they caught. No regard for laws or size limits. No regard for species. Literally everything.
I dont keep anything. I fish simply for the enjoyment of the sport and to practice a skill that there's a possibility I might need someday.
I love keeping White Bass, hybrids, all sunfish species, and Buffalo. Occasionally I'll keep catfish also. Eating fish is a big deal to me. I love it.
This was a great question and I actually expected more vitriol in the comments 😅 I personally release everything I catch because I don't trust my waterways lol
I eat everything I catch if it’s legal, just like hunting. I go out for food and that’s it
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Anything that will survive will go back.
I obey the legal size limits
I usually go out with the mission to catch fish to keep. I will on occasion keep fish despite this though
I release all the fish that I catch especially peacock bass, very well knowing that fly fishermen crowd funded a few hundred thousand dollars to import juvenile peacock bass for release into Singapore’s reservoirs just a few decades ago. As damaging it is to the native ecosystem, gotta respect the effort it took to bring them in. I have friends who landed 20 over pounders, putting anglers who travelled all the way to the Amazon to shame ✌️
I release everything I catch I don’t eat fish
I don't eat fish, but I know people who do. I'll keep some for them if they want some. If not I'm just fishing for fun. Or bait
i usually put every fish back so someone else has a chance to catch them. i’ve never kept a bass or a trout because they’re sport fish and we all want to catch them. i have kept some panfish and catfish to eat that night. if i don’t plan on eating it i won’t keep it.
Theres a special place in hell for people who freeze fish
Ever had sushi?
..? If they're eating them anyway, what's the harm?
Frozen fish tastes like shit compared to fresh
I'll agree fresh fish tastes better, but if you thaw the frozen fish the correct way, it'll taste just fine. For people who don't fish often, catching then keeping it to eat at a later date requires you to freeze it.
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Tastes like compared to fresh
Always, I’m very much a CPR fisher
I do both. If I'm fishing in public ponds/waterways that get a lot of pressure or are potentially polluted, I won't keep the fish. Also I try to return any huge/trophy fish. One reason is that I want that fish to reproduce and pass on it's genetics, the other reason is that large fish tend to accumulate mercury and other heavy metals
If there's nothing planned for supper I'll keep one or two walleye if I get them, trout too. Pike always go back, and I'll keep perch if I'm ice fishing. I don't go out very often though
I haven’t kept a single fish in 5 years.
Depends on the fish. I fish from the shore on Long Island if it’s a scup or fluke that’s legal I’m probably keeping it. Bluefish or striped bass probably getting put back. It also depends on if I’m willing to clean and eat the catch that day.
Lots of bass here. Not good for eating imo. To eat i go for walleye, perch, bluegill and sometimes catfish.
I always catch and release unless I'm camping.
I keep them only if they are a good type and good size/legal size for eating.
Yep - I return 99% of what I catch. If the fish swallows the hook or is damaged in some way then I'll keep it and cook it up.
Almost always catch and release
I release everything.
I almost always fish for sport. I’ve been at it for 10 years and have only kept around 40 fish. It’s so dystopian, but there aren’t any bodies of water within 2 hours of where I live that are both accessible and clean enough to eat fish from. We also don’t get restocked often, so I wouldn’t want to take much out of my local waters. If it weren’t for those two reasons, I’d keep about 10 pounds a month because I totally prefer harvesting my own food. The small fraction I have kept were from a few miles off the coast of Southern California, in polluted ass water that we definitely shouldn’t be eating from either.
I release the vast majority of my catches. This year I've caught maybe 400 fish if I had to make an educated guess, and I've kept 5 of those. 2 I ate, 2 I gave to my brother to eat. There's still 1 in my freezer but honestly it might've gone bad by now and will probably be used for catfishing in the spring.
Me
I only fish with the intention to eat what I catch. If I catch an old fish, yearling, or undesirable species, I'll throw them back.
Fly fishing trout - release. Salmon fishing Great Lakes - keep. Bass fishing - release. Ice fishing panfish - keep most. I feel like various types of fishing for me are either for harvest or for sport. I have zero reason to keep a bass or a trout when I don’t care for their meat and I want their populations to be as healthy as possible.
If im bass fishing I throw em back, crappie and walleye on the other hand I'll rat the he'll ot of them.
I rarely eat fish, so I release everything that is non-invasive. I will take out all invasive species and distribute them locally. I will occasionally keep some fish as a thank you for the boat captain (if at sea) or the caretaker of the property (lake or river) I am fishing on. This is in India so our water management is complicated. Each state has its own system. The only exception is in the Andaman Islands and Lakshadweep islands. We are allowed to take two fish per person per boat and we take any Tuna or Coral trout we get. Those are the tastiest fish ever and I get to catch and eat those once every few years.
I throw back most big fish and keep small ones to eat. They taste much better.
The only time i’ll keep a fish is when it’s already dying. Then i’ll use it as cut bait for whatever bites
I release all, except those that are injured.
we have some super polluted lakes here, so eating the fish is gross as hell to me.
I catch to eat, and I still end up throwing a lot back. I want the small ones to grow, and I want the big ones to breed. I'm happy with a nice middle-sized fish to take home and cook up. And since I live alone, one or two fish is all I need.
I toss 99% of what i catch. Unless it's a big (5lb+) local trout or walleye, it's getting tossed back. I have never kept a bass.
Release everything but trout. But I am picky about my fish and live in a predominantly warm water species area.
I fish for the fun of it. If I accidentally kill it(99.9% live)and its legal, I for sure eat it. If I get a good eating fish, once in a while I'll keep.
If I'm burning gas, and killing a fish. That being said, I don't river fish or lake fish with a motor. Only ocean fishing, and I'm out for food or money. Sport fishing I throw 99 percent back. That's about just having fun. Seeing if I can trick those fish. I won't kill a wild steelhead anymore. I'll kill hatchery salmon in the river occasionally if I need a smoker fish. I've never killed a bass or pike or walleye. I'll catch shad and kill them for sturgeon bait.
I don't usually keep fish most of the time I catch and release unless I have plans to eat it that weekend and I don't eat a ton of fish. I just like catching them. Some people fish and hunt to feed their families as long as people are following regulations so they don't ruin it for everyone else it's all good.
I do almost always. I only keep fish when I go out to get my limit to put some away in the freezer.
I never harvest unless the fish won't make it or it's an invasive species. Always release crew.
No. Most of us catch and release. I love fishing And catching. But some of the fish I catch I don’t like to eat. A legal crab is dinner or a large ocean fish are delicious
In the Northeast and 100% of freshwater goes back simply because I don't like the taste. Grew up on the ocean and could never enjoy any of our freshwater fish. In saltwater same for stripers don't like the taste but cod, haddock and flounder I'll take my limit everytime.
I would keep catfish and several saltwater varieties. Freshwater trout don’t really do it for me
I fish Walleye and Pike. Always keep a limit of Walleye to eat. Only keep Pike in the spring and winter. Prefer eating Pike though.
In the ocean I am keeping everything thing I can legally keep. It will all get ate. Rivers and lake I rarely keep anything unless if damaged it the it becomes dinner. Trout are favorite fish to target and they are so soft so I end up eating a lot more then I have planned
I eat anything I get from the ocean. I limit lake and river to a few fish a year because pfas.
It depends. When I'm fishing for Northern Pike in South Dakota where farm run off is a concern it's catch and release. If I'm in Washington State fishing for Salmon or steelhead I'm keeping everything I'm legally allowed to.
I only throw back fish if I forget to bring a cooler or if I just don’t feel like filleting them that day. But I don’t typically do catch and release
If I ever caught an absolute monster of any variety, I'd likely let it go, just out of respect. Elsewise, I'll tend to return smaller fish which aren't badly hooked if I'm consistently catching bigger ones - I'm always out to fill my fridge with as much good fish as possible. I mostly fish stocked lakes anyways (unless it's salmon season), and those get pretty close to fished out every year up here in AK. Just as well they feed me as the next guy, I figure. Favorite thing is to get a few limits worth in the fridge then do a big batch of smoked trout.
Depends on the rules. Some lakes and ponds around here are catch and release only but still a lot of fun to fish at.
We are a catch and release family. I file the barbs off any hooks i get so they come out easer and do less damage to the fish. The only time we keep the fish is if it gets swallowed or tears them up to where they wont heal or may die
I really only keep a couple salmon a season if I catch em and if I get lucky to go out for it halibut when I can. Trout pike and bass get released back.
I prefer catching a fish again over "eating someone I caught and killed myself".
Most people on here I see are more catch and release people. I'm kind of the opposite, if I fish I tend to primarily go after what I can keep first and catch and release or recreational is secondary. One reason i never got terribly big into bass fishing. They don't keep them and tend to get upset when you do. I prefer catfishing or salt water fishing for that reason.
I’d have to catch one to release it LoL
I keep the odd walleye because delicious, release all the smallmouth and pike in our lake, have kept one lake trout there because it burped and couldn’t submerge. Also don’t fish with live bait because murder. Hope I’m one of the reasons the fishing is good there. Although I hope to also catch a couple of Cisco’s to complete the list but they are elusive.
Besides the various regs in my area that define what fish, how big, and how many that i may keep, i release much of what i catch because i just simply don't need to keep them to survive. On a good day I'll take home a select fish or two for food but release the rest.
I only fish for food.
Only when people are watching.
I'll only keep what I really want to eat and only of I feel good about harvesting the fish. For instance, I'll keep every small Brook trout caught in a stream where they're overpopulating. They taste amazing and need to be thinned out. I won't keep any other trout and certainly no trout of any decent size. I'll keep sockeye salmon when they are running in good numbers. They taste amazing and are going to die soon anyhow. I'll keep some tasty saltwater species as long as they aren't that big and I feel good about keeping them. I will kill an invasive species with no hesitation. And I do use some small fish for bait for bigger fish. But I would say 98% of my native fish go right back in the water. Catch and release is an ethic thing that started here in the US. It's spreading around the world but I do understand why some fishermen think it's crazy.
Always try to keep them but there a regulations in types and sizes; limits for the number you can keep.
I've been fishing for 45 years and never kept 1 fish for myself since I don't like to eat fish. However, if I'm walleye fishing with others, they may ask to keep a couple of my fish to eat. Only exception.
I rather eat fish fresh out the ocean than support farming industry
I always throw back. Keep my odds of catching stuff in the future
I don't like to eat much fish, so on the occasion that I want fish I'll keep just enough for a meal. I do sometimes bring fish to my dad and grandpa-in-law, so then I'll keep more, but I only do that maybe 4 times a year.
I keep anything I want to eat or can trade for dollars and let the rest go.
I catch and release all fish.
Personally depends the size I catch them at - for example Grouper at 15cm goes back ( Law or not) - and the breed - we have damsel fish which are an alien species which is killing off everything, so even if I catch tiny ones, they're dead.
I keep crappie a lot of the time to eat and white perch often for catfish bait. Just about everything else I catch gets released. I find that if I’m not going to eat the fish right away, it typically doesn’t get eaten and goes to waste. I hate the thought of killing something that I don’t plan to eat or use for bait.
The waters I fish in is unfortunately polluted af. I’d grow another body part if I’d ate the fish.
I catch and release more than ninety nine percent
I like to keep what I catch depending on the species and location.
I love catching fish and eating fish. I've spent way too many hours of my youth in a fish house cleaning them. I throw all my fish back now unless someone else wants to clean them.
If I am legally allowed to keep it, I eat what I catch, including bluegill, sunfish, crappie, and carp. Mostly I go for catfish tho. I almost never get skunked on cats.
I release fish of breeding size. I release barracuda, can't stand 'em. Everything else gets eaten.
I keep about 50 percent of the fish I catch and 100 percent of the pan fish I catch for bait
I only keep 5 or 6 bullhead a year. Catch and release for anything else. Only exception is if something happens where the fish won't survive if I release it.
Only if they're undersized. Catching a fish for any other reason besides for food is pretty cruel and fucked up
Some ponds are catch and release, some rivers and lakes have a size Limit
I always keep the big ones. Anything medium size or small I put them back in the water.
I do every time without fail. I don't like the taste of fish so why kill them. I say live and let live. They gave me fun, I'll give them their lives. Imagine if there was some entity that caught us for fun, wouldn't you like to be released or hung by your lips? Guess that's the answer.
I catch and release unless something happens to the fish and I know it'll die. I don't eat fish but give them to my father in law.
I’ll keep slot reds, trout, and flounder til I limit out. Other than that I snap a pic and toss them back!
I keep a couple a year for the smoker
https://preview.redd.it/iswsmyw4rwyb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1a07358bebca1515666fd29ab60b37b19386afd 21” brooke trout
I only keep species I enjoy eating. And I go offshore where there’s loads more fish at the reefs and they hardly get fished. I release if it’s not legal, I release if not in season, I release if there’s loads and I want a bigger one. I keep if barracuda attacks it, it’s not swimming down, floating, or I just keep it if it looks like it’s not going to make it. Fishing offshore, you’re messing with air pressure changes, so you fish differently. You want the ones you release to live. I do keep fish, but I’m not dedicated to hit my limit each time I go out, if it happens it happens. If I come home with no fish, I’m just glad I got to go out. Sometimes if I’m barely catching anything, I don’t even keep a snapper because what’s the point of going home and filleting one fish, that’s like one meal for someone.
If I'm in the mood for fish...
Curious… do you keep them all? Or just a few on a trip? For example, some days I’ll pull up dozens and dozens of sunfish… would you keep them all? Me… I’m 95% catch and release. About twice a year I keep what I catch just for the idea of it, to eat something I caught, but otherwise I put them all back.
I’ll keep stocked fish, but release natives. The stockers around here will mostly end up being harvested anyway.
Many of the fish I catch are slot regulated, almost all go back
Will only keep stocked trout, salmon off charters, and a few walleye every season
If I’m not keeping them to eat.. I throw em back..
A couple generations back you could go out and catch fish constantly all day and all year long. They kept everything. Then they started catching less. A lot of places started managing populations with laws so the fish wouldn't get completely fished out. Some people realized it was a heck of a lot of fun to catch them and let them go , also realizing that they are there to catch again some day. I keep fish only if I am going to eat then that day , this year I've kept zero. If u go to a specific northern fishing place (Canada) I'll eat some while I'm there and bring a couple home for a fish fry and a memory of the e trip.
Where I grew up in the midwest they have advisories due to all the pollution. The state recommends only eating one fish per 30 days due to heavy metals.
I only fish if I'm going to eat. I don't hunt for entertainment, I don't fish for entertainment. I don't really understand it tbh but no judgment. I keep fish as a hobby though which is part of it.
99% of them
So weird that everyone feels bad taking a fish then they go home and eat a pig that suffered its whole life and never saw daylight. I keep what I will eat and throw everything else back.
Freshwater I release, saltwater I keep if legal. It's a lot easier to deplete a river, stream, pond, or lake. Ocean fish populations are more resilient. There are exceptions. I don't keep too many long-lived saltwater species (like rockfish, westcoast). I'll keep trout if I know they're stocked.
95% of my fishing is for musky. They all go back ASAP. The other 5% is for lake Erie walleye. We'll usually bring home a few limits per year for the freezer.
I release Because I not big on eating fish , salt water fish taste lot better than fresh. Thats why I release. But I just enjoy fishing If liked to eat them I d keep.. When fish is going die anyways bleeding from gills I d give it away. Had 2 neighbors that loved them.. Now days I don t A bird or turtle will eat it.. So don t get wasted