What fish do you keep...crappie, bass, bream,catfish etc....?

[FalconSmitty]

Someone ask me about catch and release and I was just wondering what others practice with all species caught on a given trip.

I release 90% of my crappie. I only keep the hawg slawbs and hook swallowers. I keep anything over 3 pounds and most over 2 pounds but anything 1 pound or below goes back if it is healthy.
This article is about alabama but both of the lakes focused in it are on the border with GA. The power companies hold water to help the spawn on some lakes. Doesn't it seem like during what you think is perfect spawn time is the time they decide to keep the water low or run it up and down each day...I know I've read post about leaving eggs high and dry..

[crap-king]

keep what we will eat when crappie fishing - generally save a few cats for some of my neighbors but never more than 4
on saltwater keep within limits again what we will eat - flounder, trout (specs and grays), drum(red and black), will keep a couple of blues for the crab pot bait - will keep a few spots and mullet(whiting) if going to fry up that day

[Mo'nBack]

I was always a summer fisherman and we tried to keep enough crappie to freeze for the winter. I'm gonna fish this fall and winter, since I'm going to try and faze down or out my hunting, so I keep everything over about 9-10 inches. Don't freek out over that cause I've not caught alot this summer and we eat 10-12 fish per meal and I catch that many every 2nd or 3rd trip this summer. I'll keep a catfish or bass over 1lb if they hit jigs. Don't keep bream or anything else.

[rango]

i keep very few of the fish i catch anymore. i usually give em to who is fishing with me or my neighbor. not that i dont like em, cause i do, but i only keep enough for one fry or two in the freezer. we dont have a set standard we use to determing whats kept and whats thrown back. depends on what the catcher wants to do with it. sometimes i like having a mess of small fish to cook, so occasionally ill have a fry of small crappie. green carp, and catfish are usually thrown back. usually ill wanna keep the fish camp sized cats tho. sometimes i whack any green carp i catch with a hatchet and throw em to the cats when i get home. makes great cat food.

[TAE73]

If I am fishing for fun, I throw back all crappie over 12". Because I fish a few tournaments, my thought is you cant catch whats in your freezer. If I catch a catfish while fishing I will keep it also. Bass I throw back, unless someone is close by fishing for them. Then I will keep it, just to tell them how good they taste. I only keep what I plan on eating for that week.

[J White]

I usually only keep crappie, somewhere between five and ten is all I want
at one time. Rango and TAE73, I hear you on messing with the bass guy's
minds - I usually just hold it up and make sure they see it, then say
"trash fish" and throw it back, and try to look disgusted. I don't catch
a lot of bream, with the size baits I use and the way I fish, but when I do,
it is usually big enough to filet, so he goes in the cooler too. Cats, I try to
keep them outside the boat most of the time, unless the kids want a picture.

[gooch]

Crappie, Walleye, and flathead cats go to my house. Black and White bass go to the deer camp.

[Hitek]

A catfish never comes in the boat. They make a slimy mess in the carpet that I hate!! Normally only keep crappie and some good sized bluegill.

[Eager Beaver]

I will keep a lot of the Crappie that I catch on the private lake that I fish a lot. The President of the fishing club there told me to keep a lot of the fish that I catch to help manage them. The small mouth bass are catch and release and the walleye and Hybrids they monitor pretty close. When ever I have been checked on this lake they are looking for Walleye mostly. This Spring someone was loading up on Walleye and the sheriff was checking everyone to see if they had over the limit on walleye.
I have a lot of fish fries for different groups of people and friends. By this winter most of the fish in the freezer will be used up and the fish I get this winter will be for our own use.

[skiptomylu]

I don't keep bass very often, but will ever once in a wile. Crappie, catfish (eating size or if Flathead I keep any legal one up to about 25 lbs.) I keep freezer stocked with enough so if I want fish fry with family and friends. Any yellow bass that is reasonable size (not any very little one, but since they are small I keep most). Right now my freezer has plenty (probably enough to get through winter) and I do give some away especially to neighbors. Right now this lake is so low (down 9') I may not get to fish until early spring as it is, unless I go over to Sam Rayburn which is about 25-30 miles.

Don't fish saltwater now, but when I lived near Corpus Christi would keep any legal flounder, smaller legal reds and some speckles trout. Reds for blackened style and others for frying.