Catch & Release Spawn

[704gary]

I watched a fishing show about a month ago. They were fishing a lake in Wisconsin for small mouth bass and it was in a spawning catch & release
zone. I had never heard of this regulation before.
What is your thought on a catch & release only during spawning?????
I'm asking about crappie of course.

[shockley32]

I personally don't have a problem with it. I would still go fishing and be more than happy to put them back. I also don't have a problem with the creel limit being cut down during the month of April (example: Missouri limit (most lakes) 15 - during April only being able to keep 10). It would make the crappie fishing that much better the rest of the year!

However this would really, really, really hack a lot of people off. I would say 80-90% of the people around here can only catch crappie during the spawn, they live to see the crappie on the banks. If they can only catch the meal they love to eat during the spawn then let them keep their limits. Crappie tend to lay so many eggs it could possible do harm by limiting the catch during the spawn.

It will be interesting to see the responses. I could go along with their side.

Brad

[Mo'nBack]

This usually spawns (HAHAHA) a big debate in Louisiana every spring. We have a limit of 50 all year except on a few lakes. I don't have any problem with keeping them, but alot here do. The problem with those that do is that the 2-4 months before the spawn during the winter, they are tickled to go around and tell everyone that they and several others got together and caught and kept over 400 in one weekend with all of them over a pound and a half. They continue to do this most of the winter on every weekend. I'm not talking about people on here, but around my home town. MY arguement, when they get all upset at me for keeping 30-40 in one trip every 2 weeks in the spring, is that the same 400 they caught in each weekend during the winter are the SAME fish that would have spawned come spring. They never seem to get my side of it and want to argue it every year. There's not as many fishermen here that can catch them in the spring very good, but almost all of them can catch them in the winter. This is just my opinion and don't want to start an arguement on here (I get enough of that around the house.)

[LSUguy]

I'd be in favor of it, since there's many factors that come into play to announce a positive spawing season. Around here it seems no one knows anything about length limits or creel limits... I see constantly people filling 5 galllon buckets with brim, sometimes no bigger than a small goldfish, crappie being kept by the ice chest no bigger than 6-7 inches and largemouth bass loaded on stringers no bigger than a pound tops... multiply that by say 20-50 anglers a day and you can kill a body of water in no time.
I'd like to see daily limits set on the amount of fish you could keep and add in length limits, or even length slots. I enjoy catching fish as much as the next guy, but I rarely keep any... I catch and release almost 90% of the time i'm out... imo a good picture phone or digital is the most priceless piece of fish gear one can own, realease the fish for another day and save the memory for a lifetime... although every now and then i get a craving for some crappie or bass and will take enough home to feed us for the night.

[rocket rich]

I'm all in favor of catch and release. My boat has a catch and release crappie on it as does my Pontoon and my cabin is called Catch and Release. No one needs 50 large crappie a day. and never keep a crappie smaller than 10 inches

[Slipped Cork]

Im against it if the lake can support a generous harvest. If the lake cannot support the harvest then I am for some sort of regulations.

[SMITTY 58D]

Well as long as they dont go with a Punch card like they do for Salmon and Steelhead I'm ok. Fish are fish no matter when you catch them spring, fall, winter or summer. If I go out 1 time a month and keep 20 thats 240 fish a year. If I go out once a week on the weekend and keep 5 for dinner one night thats 260 fish a year. So who is taking more from the spawn? If I keep a 9 inch fish which is the minimum size on my lake or I keep a 12 in fish which one produces more eggs? If I keep all the aggressive males that bite who is going to set the beds up for the females? All these need to be taken into consideration but you know if you keep only what you need and throw back what you dont then I believe you are doing your part in conserving for tomorrow.