If you really want some good quality data pertaining to this subject I would suggest you send an e-mail to Danny Garrett who is the WDFW Warm Water biologist in this region.  Danny is also a tournament angler and former WBC member.  

Dan.Garrett@dfw.wa.gov

Another great resource would be Chris Sargent who also was a WBC member and is currently a fisheries biologist in Alaska.  I'm sure Terry or Ron have Chris' contact infomation to ask him what his opinion would be on this matter.  Chris would be very honest and truthful on this subject.

Sorry I meant 2yrs Point is they get there very quick & then seem to grow slow after they hit 2lbs just what my personal studies have found 

Good points John.  But I can assure you, bass do not grow to 2 lbs in a year around here.  From what I understand it takes 3 yrs for a bass to get to a pound or so.  If your fact was correct, the 6 inch dinks I saw swimming around over the weekend would of been born say, 2-3 months ago   

BassAholic wrote on 04/26/12 at 16:46:27:


Now that makes sense. It's nice to be able to talk on this sensitive subject without raising hackles.  I believe if you are going to practice C&R you must educate yourself in proper handling and proper gear. As for selective harvesting, you need to educate yourself not only on handling and gear but on proper fish management to better understand what fish to take in regards to lake conditions. I don't believe a fishery can thrive with absolute zero harvesting. The same can be said with too much harvesting. There needs to be a balance

Selective harvesting is needed on some lakes problem is it needs to be managed & no one keeps track of how many bass are being taken Unlike salmon Do you have a punch card for Bass Also Salmon tend to die when caught they just are not hearty as bass when it comes to C&R.
Salmon are stocked & managed Bass are not. Salmon grow much faster then bass so the recovery of harvest is much faster. Bass grow to about 2lb in a year then only average 1/2lb a year after that.On the wetside of the state.
A 5lb fish could be 10yrs old. Taking those would be like cutting down the old growth trees.

C&R works & many 1000s of hrs & $ have been spent studying this. Tagging tracking & logging have proven it. If you think it does not then please link us to some prove otherwise I can fill this page with links to many studies that prove it does no harm & what happen when tournaments in the past had big fish frys at the end on the day. Watch a few bassmaster tournaments on TV they always are talking about management & how much better the fishing is now.

Bass are needed to keep bluegill perch & other fish populations in check If there are not enough bass then those fish will become a problem to trout eggs Bass eat trout also but they do not eat the eggs. Also note bass are opportunistic feeders & will go after the weak trout natures way of cleaning up. 

As for why C&R & what is our motivation I can only speak for myself. I can go out catch a limit & be done in 1-3hrs When I C&R I can fish all day & know that the next time I go there will be fish to catch again. The best part is its never the same one day to the next & I must figure out the puzzle every time.

Quote:

Yes to get proficient & the thrill.
monetary gain  you need to fish a few tournaments then you will realize that you lose $ even when you win.
Why do people compete in anything Why race cars your just going in circles wasting gas. Why play golf you just hit a ball then walk to it & hit it again.

scout637 wrote on 04/25/12 at 22:17:09:


Dan, Troy, your right. The mortality rates listed above were based on fish caught with standard J hooks which can easily result in "deep hooking". Circle hooks are designed to avoid "deep hooking and only hook-in around the jaw bone. This will greatly improve the fish mortality rate when released. J hook "deep hooking does have a mortality rate of about 50% or more. Avoiding the use of J hooks and maintain lip hooking will reduce mortality rate to less than 10%

On a lighter side... the recipe mentioned above can be used just as well with crappie, bluegill, walleye, perch, etc..

If someone fishes for "meat" it is obvious what his motivation is but when it comes to strictly C&R the motivation isn't quite as clear. It can't be fish preservation or you would never throw a hook in the water in fear of accidentally killing one. Could it be the thrill of the fight? I guess its possible to fish simply for the thrill of it. Maybe its to get proficient so you can win at tournaments (monetary gain). Or perhaps it's the need to beet that personal record in size. What ever the case we must realize that not everybody has the same motivation. This doesn't make someone a bad person worthy of a derogatory title. It just means their motivation is different than yours. As long as State set limits and restrictions are being observed I believe our fisheries will be fine.
I have fished a lot for salmon and I don't think I have ever met a salmon fisherman who practiced C&R. What makes C&R so popular with Bass?
is there truly a huge benefit or has it just been promoted so hard that it is accepted as "the thing to do"?

I think the discussion is being directed at the stress factors and while there is studies that point this out, the technology put into livewells, aerators and even oxygen supplementation and cooling systems in the hotter climates are quickly addressing these and lowering the numbers.....alot of information is still based on old numbers and old thinking but the fact is that while alot of folks dont like tournament fishing...it is BECAUSE of tournament fishing that all this technology is possible!!! Selective Harvest is always going to be a viable and required segment of any fishery and should be promoted but for alot of us its just a hard thing to do.....My 2 cents.

you cant tell me when i fun fish I kill 7 out of 12 fish I catch die after I release them.  Here is a study I've performed myself over 12 years of tournament fishing.  Fact in twelve years and countless bass caught and released into a livewell on my boat less than 10 have died ( not a fact as ten may be to high).  I haven't had a fish in my livewell die for at least five years.  So you're telling me that if I had relased those same fish into a incredibly less stressful natural enviroment with amble oxygen and space that 7 of those same 12 will die.   That my friend makes no sense. 

I have personally caught many fish with hook marks in their mouth that without catch and release would never have been caught. 

Catch and eat a bass I dont care, but I will continue catching and relaseing my fish. 

Troy

Dan's fact list:

Fact 1: Everything eventually dies.

Fact 2: Fish kept for food die immediately.

Fact 3: catch and release works. It has been proven thru the catch records of tagged fish. You can't argue with that. There is no way more than 5 out of 12 fish I catch die immediately.

Fact 4: you don't die from a pierced lip.

Fact 5: You got some bad info from a meat fisherman.

Nearly all studies show that there is at least some mortality in fish that are caught and released, as a result of the experience. There is a practical concern that anglers, thinking that each fish caught and released will almost certainly survive, actually wind up killing more fish than the angler who catches and kills enough fish for food, but no more. Thus a fisherman who catches and kills five fish, having one mounted and four eaten, has done less damage than a fisherman who catches and releases a dozen fish, of which seven die, unseen, a short time after they are released. Fishing tournaments, which require fish to be handled, are much less likely to see captured fish survive after release.
In other words, just because you see the fish swim away doesn't mean it will be there to catch another day.

Don't get me wrong, I do my share of C&R but occasionally I like to keep one (1lb or less). After all they are quite tasty

scout637 wrote on 04/25/12 at 15:33:44:


You should tell that to anyone who eats a bass over 1 lb.

If we really wanted to preserve the fishery we would all have to remove those gas engines from our boats. Think about it, you could spend the whole day practicing very careful catch and release while at the same time that 150 - 200 HP engine is spewing out pollutants that will effect thousands of fish eggs.    

Ah, but we don't want to kill our little bass. We know that they grow up to become big bass. We believe we are doing the "right thing." But we could be cutting off our noses to spite our faces. The real question is are we practicing catch and release, or reverse selective harvest?