catch and release?

[T-roy 120]

Does anyone practice catch and release? I keep fish to eat sometimes and sometimes I put em back. If I catch a monster I always put it back. And if Im really on em I keep only fish around the size limit.
Do you guys think that we might take to many out. I dont know. Or maybe take to many larger fish out. The bigger fish are the ones that produce more eggs. I would probobly keep more fish to eat if I knew I wasnt takeing to many out. What do you guys think and what are your practices?

[rednecksooner]

i dont keep near as many as some people that i fish with. that may be because i only eat fish when they were caught the same day. dont know why thats just me. but back to ur question, i believe that the crappie are so plentiful and reproduce in such large numbers that (in the waters i fish anyway) that it doesnt hurt anything to keep as many as is legal. thats why they have limits on number and size. if the biologists thought it would hurt the population they would change the regulations. thats just the way i look at it.

[deathb4disco]

I release virtually everything I catch (haven't cleaned a fish in over 25 years!)
I occasionally give fish away to others but never keep any for myself. I think it's fine to keep fish, though, as long as you observe the legal limit.

[Mo'nBack]

I keep all the bigger ones and release all the smaller ones. I've read in several places that a crappie 1 1/2 years old and older, eat their young at a large rate. This would be about a 1 1/2lb fish and bigger. Even though they put out more eggs, there's way fewer of them survive the feeding frenzy by mom and dad.

[#1tigerfan]

only keep ones i can knock a fillet off each side

[gabowman]

I release most of what I catch. I'll put up 10-15 messes for the months I dont fish and will usually keep about a mess a week to eat. Me and my son prefer fish on the bone so I'll keep enough of the small ones for us and a few larger ones to fillet for my wife and daughter. Everything else goes back.

[MAINEIAC]

Keep enough for 1 meal a week & freeze enough for 1 meal a week over the winter months.

[SkeeterJeff]

We usually have a 10" minimum to keep, throw the rest back. We have kept 9.5/9.75 if the fishing is slow. A 10" fish here in Indiana is a pretty nice one. (At least for us!)

Jeff

[bentpole]

Brought home 14 today,I'm like REDNECKSOONER,I just keep what I'm going to eat while they are fresh. I know we threw back more than that today,
Don't see why anyone would want to keep more than they need to eat.
As an ol' woman told me once " If enough is plenty,Then why do you want more than enough?

[jstlovtofish]

I'll only keep enough to eat as well. I also try to keep a few bags in the freezer. I have this rule that if I don't catch at least five then I don't keep any. These days I have come home fishless. I'm still learning these cooler water tatics.