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I enjoy fishing, but rarely keep them to eat.

The exception are Kokanee, which are simply delicious. In fact, it's likely because Kokanee are so good that regular trout just don't appeal to me anymore. If I could find a decent place to catch Perch, I would love to fillet those, bread and fry them up...

Curious as to if others do mostly catch and release or keep and eat.
 
keep and eat.
If it hadn't been for Kokanee I would have never weighed more than 40 lbs!
Seriously however I have never intentionally practiced catch and release.
I don't care what anybody says I have seen more released fish go belly up than disappear into the depths.
Just like they made illegal the 'blunting' of deer with arrows so should they with catch and release.
It is harassment and results in a lot of dead fish.
I am sure many are going to argue my position and feel free to do so as this is my one and only post on the subject.
 
I fish for Cutthroat on the Couer D'Alene river and it is catch and release only. Barbless hooks, of course.

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If it hadn't been for Kokanee I would have never weighed more than 40 lbs!
Seriously however I have never intentionally practiced catch and release.
I don't care what anybody says I have seen more released fish go belly up than disappear into the depths.
Just like they made illegal the 'blunting' of deer with arrows so should they with catch and release.
It is harassment and results in a lot of dead fish.
I am sure many are going to argue my position and feel free to do so as this is my one and only post on the subject.

I agree, I believe it damages as many if not more fish than it saves.

This is a pretty good read on the subject: The Catch and Release Conundrum
 
Being from poor folks in the Deep South, the whole idea of 'catch & release' is foreign to me. If I get a fish on the line, I'm already thinking of how good it's going to taste.

Southern-fried catfish is my favorite. Wish I had a good place nearby to set out some trot lines.


This is one of my favorite pictures. Don't know whose kids they are, but it sure looks like a great day.

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I enjoy fishing, but rarely keep them to eat.

The exception are Kokanee, which are simply delicious. In fact, it's likely because Kokanee are so good that regular trout just don't appeal to me anymore. If I could find a decent place to catch Perch, I would love to fillet those, bread and fry them up...

Curious as to if others do mostly catch and release or keep and eat.

I don't prefer to eat fish. That said, I've been a fishing addict most of my life that required me to fish every spare moment. Day after day, week after week, year after year. I was always on the river. When I'd catch meat fish, salmon, steelhead, or sturgeon, I'd clean it up and give it away. Eventually I ran out of people that wanted free fish. So it caused me to fish less for meat fish.

I switched to pan fish, practiced release on everything, but once in a while a fish would die and I'd have to keep it. Nobody wants bass or crappie, so I had to eat it myself. I wont waste fish, so I ate it, but it's not ever my choice of food.

Then the squawfish thing erupted. Allowed me to fish night and day, keep everything I was targeting, and I didn't have to eat it. It was my salvation for a long time.

Eventually, I got older and tired, and I acquired some physical issues that caused me to not feel quite as safe in my boat, so my boat went down the road and I've mostly stopped fishing.

Another boring but true catch and release story...

I was in Florida, fishing on a party boat in the Gulf. My first fish was a much larger version of what I'd expect to find in an aquarium at the pet store. Pretty stripes and colors and all glittery, but I had no idea what it was. I threw it back in, and it was immediately gobbled up by a pelican. Caught another, threw it back, and it too was eaten by a pelican. The bait boy came to me and asked "what are you doing?" I said throwing them back. He said emphatically, nobody throws fish back. People are on this boat to catch their food. If you don't want them, give them to somebody else. Whoa!o_O









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I developed a food allergy to fish and seafoods when in my early 20s.

I catch and feed my wife.

I just don't fish, or catch very often.

Like once every 3-5 years now.

If I am fishing, it's probably at Horning's Hideout, and there is no catch and release there.

I miss fishing, if I were to start again, it would likely be catch and release. Likely bass or trout fishing though, as I enjoyed that the most when I could eat them.

I'm sort of grateful for the food allergies, as when I moved here I started working at Sportsmans Warehouse. Never did I know in my life in Nevada how much money fisherman of the PNW can spend on gear.
 
I keep most of the fish I catch and only release the ones that are obviously going to be OK. This applies to bass and trout. If it's one of the other salmonids, you better believe I'm going to eat it if it's legal to keep.
 
What about the Conundrum of catch and release on "Native" fish?
I agree, releasing caught fish isnt doing the fish any good, and any one who has caught Steelhead know how hard a fight they put up, and how much damage they do to them selves! I understand the need to preserve native species, but that released steelhead is likely going to die, ether from its injuries, or it becomes prey to its rivals, or the damn sea lions!:mad::mad::mad:
 
Springer Salmon are defiantly kept unless they're a native, but not without contemplating the stiff fines levied against the poor fool who gets caught with one.
 
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If the damn DFW would actually manage the fisheries properly, we wouldnt be having this discussion! Instead, they follow State paid biologist, and the Amy corps of Engineers, and the comercial fishermen, and WE the PEOPLE get royally screwed!
 
PNWguy; There's this little place called Minnesota where just about any patch of water will have Perch and or Blued Gills in it. A bare Gold Hook will put fish on the table!!!:):):)
 
I practice a bit of both. A properly released fish has a fairly high likelihood for survival. A poorly executed release and you might as well kill it , take it home and eat it. Where legal to retain I have zero problem with killing fish to eat and quite enjoy it myself. I also miss the catch and release steelhead opportunities we use to have on the Skagit and Sauk rivers when the native fish were plentiful and large and the crowds minimal:(.
 

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