Killing bass?

On May 30, 3:55 pm, Olebiker wrote:
A friend directed me to a local fishing web site. One of the
discussion pages was about freshwater fishing. I was amazed to see
pictures of guys holding up stringers of dead bass like it was still
1954.

I don't think I have killed a bass on purpose in over 20 years and I
don't think I know anyone who still keeps bass. Do any of you folks
eat bass?

Dick Durbin


No, I don't eat bass and I release everything I catch. Perch, crappie,
bluegill, bass, everything goes back into the drink.

"Olebiker" wrote in message
oups.com...
snipDo any of you folks
eat bass?

Dick Durbin
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I eat bass. Managed harvest is part of the game management strategy of every
state game and fish commission. To some extent, it improves the health of
the ecosystem.

I have no scruples against harvesting game fish and serving them up for the
family. I would estimate that 95% of the black bass I catch go back in the
water, as do all the northern pike and the occasional musky. I happen to
like the taste of bass, especially battered and fried. I fillet a good
number of the legal-size walleye, striped bass hybrids, white bass, and
striper that come my way, too.

The C&R principle is so deeply ingrained in tournament anglers these days
that I often watch them release dead bass along with the lives ones after
the weigh-in. It seems like a waste (as well as creating a PR perception
problem) to see decent-size bass floating away on the surface for the next
hour or so. They'll not be wasted, of course; turtles will benefit from the
act, certainly. But sometimes I'll take an ice chest with me to a weigh-in
and will receive some of the fish that are weighed in dead. I live in a
neighborhood with many elderly folks, and they welcome a plastic bag of
fresh bass fillets, too.

I recall a medium-size lake in Arkansas where the G&F officer requested that
tournament participants toss every bass under twelve inches up on the bank
to die because the lake was over-populated with stunted largemouth. The
forage base was inadequate and the number of bass over three pounds was
steadily declining. If more anglers practices Catch & Keep in that case, the
lake's ecosystem would have benefited.

So, back to the question... killing bass? Yes, I do. I don't give bass any
special status. They're right in there with all the cows, hogs, chickens,
sheep, deer, doves, rabbits, squirrels, quail, shrimp, crab, lobster, and
other fresh- and sal****er fish that show up on the dinner plate and that
people kill on my behalf. Add to that all the plants that are killed for me
and the animals adversely affected by their harvest, and one could easily
make the case that death and destruction are part of my daily diet. That's
life.... and death.

Joe
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On May 31, 8:14 am, "Joe Haubenreich"
I eat bass. Managed harvest is part of the game management strategy of every
state game and fish commission. To some extent, it improves the health of
the ecosystem.

Joe,

Good call on changing the title of the thread. I thought about that
last night.

I guess what got me about the pictures was the fact that these guys
were harvesting four to seven pound fish. That's their breeding
stock. Where do they think the next generation of bass is going to
come from? As the old folks back in the country used to say, "Don't
eat your seed corn."

On May 31, 8:14 am, "Joe Haubenreich"
I eat bass. Managed harvest is part of the game management strategy of
every
state game and fish commission. To some extent, it improves the health of
the ecosystem.

Here in MI (rusting away with the slow decline of the auto industry), we
have a keeper size of 14". So, all those 11, 12, and 13" bass I catch have
to go back in the water. When I manage to get one of those 18 - 21"
beauties, I can keep them under law but it just doesn't seem proper to pull
out a bass that size. They grow slowly in northern waters and these
survivors deserve a better fate than my deep fryer.

With the limitations of the law and some amount of moral responsibility to
the breed, I have decided to return them all. I don't know enough about
fish management up here to know if a slot limit would even work in MI.

On May 31, 8:39 am, Olebiker wrote:
On May 31, 8:14 am, "Joe Haubenreich"

I eat bass. Managed harvest is part of the game management strategy of every
state game and fish commission. To some extent, it improves the health of
the ecosystem.

Joe,

Good call on changing the title of the thread. I thought about that
last night.

I guess what got me about the pictures was the fact that these guys
were harvesting four to seven pound fish. That's their breeding
stock. Where do they think the next generation of bass is going to
come from? As the old folks back in the country used to say, "Don't
eat your seed corn."

Bass here start spawning at about 12 inches so a four pounder has
spawned at least three or four times - its genes are already in the
gene pool. I personally don't keep bass over two pounds but it has to
do with ease of cleaning rather than any desire to preserve brood
stock.

Ronnie

http://fishing.about.com

"Ronnie" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 31, 8:39 am, Olebiker wrote:
On May 31, 8:14 am, "Joe Haubenreich"

I eat bass. Managed harvest is part of the game management strategy of
every
state game and fish commission. To some extent, it improves the health
of
the ecosystem.

Joe,

Good call on changing the title of the thread. I thought about that
last night.

I guess what got me about the pictures was the fact that these guys
were harvesting four to seven pound fish. That's their breeding
stock. Where do they think the next generation of bass is going to
come from? As the old folks back in the country used to say, "Don't
eat your seed corn."

Bass here start spawning at about 12 inches so a four pounder has
spawned at least three or four times - its genes are already in the
gene pool. I personally don't keep bass over two pounds but it has to
do with ease of cleaning rather than any desire to preserve brood
stock.

For eating purposes... back when there was no size limit and the bag limit
was ten I would keep them from 10-12" as they were the best tasting. The
smaller ones taste more like panfish. Not quite as much flavor as a
bluegill, but a similar flavor. The bigger ones are kinda tasteless to me.
They make a good platform for the addition of other flavors to create
culinary works of art, but they don't have a lot of their own flavor.

I pretty much don't keep any bass unless they are gut hooked these days
simpley because the ones that are legal to keep (13+ inches) have started to
lose their flavor. If I want fish to eat I'll go out on a summer morning
with a couple kids and try to nail a boat limit of the small schooling
stripers we get around here.


--
Bob La Londe
Fishing Arizona & The Colorado River
Fishing Forums & Contests
http://www.YumaBassMan.com



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Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Occasionally
"Olebiker" wrote in message
oups.com...
A friend directed me to a local fishing web site. One of the
discussion pages was about freshwater fishing. I was amazed to see
pictures of guys holding up stringers of dead bass like it was still
1954.

I don't think I have killed a bass on purpose in over 20 years and I
don't think I know anyone who still keeps bass. Do any of you folks
eat bass?

Dick Durbin

Depends on the body of water.
Some small to medium lakes often need to have certain sizes (usually small)
culled out to avoid stunting and achieve balance.
Some private lakes may have such populations and low fishing pressure that a
few people aren't going to affect things significantly no matter what they
take out.

Bill

"Olebiker" wrote in message
oups.com...
A friend directed me to a local fishing web site. One of the
discussion pages was about freshwater fishing. I was amazed to see
pictures of guys holding up stringers of dead bass like it was still
1954.

I don't think I have killed a bass on purpose in over 20 years and I
don't think I know anyone who still keeps bass. Do any of you folks
eat bass?

Dick Durbin

Yes, they are very tasty



"Olebiker" wrote in message
oups.com...
A friend directed me to a local fishing web site. One of the
discussion pages was about freshwater fishing. I was amazed to see
pictures of guys holding up stringers of dead bass like it was still
1954.

I don't think I have killed a bass on purpose in over 20 years and I
don't think I know anyone who still keeps bass. Do any of you folks
eat bass?

Dick Durbin

Because of my age and health, I don't fish anymore. I never did like the
taste of bass especially the large size. In California, we encourage
"catch & release" I'll settle for bony bluegill & crappie. The fish is a
Corvina taken out of the Salton Sea. Great taste. Because of the high
saline content, Corvina have just about disappeared. Still lotsa
croaker, sargo and tilapia.(Dick)