Can Anyone Explain ???

[Guest]

Just another thought-about helping to improve mortality rates. Take a look at how you fish, or better yet, how attentive you are. Do you put lines down and then just check them every once in awhile? If you don't pay attention, the fish you do catch are probably all gullet hooked by the time you get them up. You're much better off to be actively fishing and getting a good mouth/lip hookset if you want to help mortality rates improve. Just another 2 cents worth...........T

[Guest]

I am not from the SOUTH!! No disrespect taken.... Anyway, I think what is important here is that everyone has their own opinion on this issue and ways of doing things and everyones opinion should be respected. You may not like me taking fish for the freezer but I will do it anyway and I will eat them. Some people like CPR all the time, I dont and I dont like people telling me that I shouldn't keep fish. If your into it fine, but dont try to convert me cause I dont want to hear it.

[Guest]

Not to open a new can of worms but...

When catching fish to put in your freezer, remember that in MN Daily Limits and Possesion Limits are the same. If you have a limit of crappies in the freezer at home, you can't keep any more.

[Guest]

Not to signal you out hornhunter but were getting away from the original issue it is not the fact of taking limits of fish but the so called quality. I hope nobody is being disrepectful to you for taking limit of fish and I dont preach catch and release but would you, say keep a 10" walleye just to get your limit. Or if the 10"ers were hitting for couple weeks would you take your limit everynight.(Or 20+") I am thinking it would have an affect on the fisheries fertility. Just my thoughts.

Keep them coming but dont get to fired up.

[knoppers]

I am a little strange to some people as to eating fish, I don't care for fish, I eat fish about 2 times a year when we go to canada in january. but I love to fish, I catch and release almost everything that I catch, but will keep some to give to my parents. I have no problems with people keeping there limits, if they eat what they catch and not waste it. what I do have a problem with, are these people that have to keep absolutly everything they catch, and if they have a full freezer, they seem as thou they must also feed the world. why some people that have fish still in the freezer, but still have to keep absolutly everthing they catch, this amazes me. maybe its a macho thing, for self pride, who knows.

[upnorth]

I think it depends on the lake and how often someone takes fish. I am one of the fisherman that doesn't manage a limit evertime out. I catch enough fish for myself and my wife to eat, I am not slaughtering a lot of fish.

It depends on the lake as to what I feel a keeper is. I normally think of keeper walleyes as something between 14 and 19 inches, crappies 9 to 13 inches. I don't eat bass or northern so all of those go back.

I also fish for salmon and steelhead and trout. Things are little different for these. Steelhead are strictly catch and release and salmon is a put and take, so for salmon what I catch I eat. Trout it depends, on a little stream an 8 inche trout is a keeper, on some lakes it may 12 or 13 inches.

Fishing and catching are not one and the same. I can have a great day of fishing and hardly catch a thing(depends on the company I am keeping, or the peace and quite if I am alone).

I think that limits are to keep people from greedy overharvest on those days that you can't do anything wrong as far as catching fish goes.

Leaving too many fish in some lake results in stunted fish so harvesting can be a good thing. That should allow for less competition for food and thu better size.

[This message has been edited by upnorth (edited 01-11-2003).]

[crappie todd]

Laughing, giggling having a good time and all while catching fish. What a blast.
I am an avid complete crappie fisherman. On the lake I fish, rated as one of the top 5 crappie lakes in Minnesota., it is not uncommon for my self and My son, PCG, to go out and catch 150 + crappies in day... those are very good days. and at times mabey two or three. But even on the good days we don't keep a singlefish. . My purpose in fishing... Relaxing... rewarding...excitement.....enjoyment..being outdoors. winter summer spring and fall. And yep, at times, a definate meal of fish.
As long as my son cooks em... Hate my own cooking. I love to catch and I love to release. so the fish live to fight another day. I might be a
bit overweight, but it's not from eating everything I catch.
If I went to Red lake, as we did last year. I would keep some. And we did. but we did not keep everyfish we caught.
I fish to much for that.
The guy that goes fishing once or tiwce a year. Heck of course he should keep his limit abd have a good ol family fish fry....... Hope he has taken the kids with him too.
Crappie Todd
Crappies, Inc.

[almosthaddabite]

My wife and I were fishing Long Lake early in Dec. Two guy with Traps left about a half hour after we got set up. My wife walked over to their holes, came back got the scoop and auger and fished out 7 crappies that were laying under the ice. That was enough fish for us so we went home.

Maybe some of the experienced C/R guys, like Todd and PCG could give some of their tips on making sure the released fish have the best possible chance of servival.

We pinch the barb closed, don't fish over 24' deep and try not to pull the fish completely out of the hole if we are going to return it. I'm sure there is a lot more a person could do.

With the new crappie limit next year, some of us will be releasing more fish and I for one want to do it right. I have seen people release walleyes on Mille Lac as if they wanted them to die.

[blufloyd]

a couple words on the subject. 1st. yum. 2nd my somewhat scienterrific background leads me to believe that c+r works because it returns high level protein to the
gene pool. that 10 pounder you released dies and is excellent food for the chain.
I didn't fight my way to the top of the food chain to eat bushes.
and I haven't taken any fish home in recent outings either.and lighten up we will all regret it if dnr types think all the fish are in freezers.

did I mention yum.

[crappie todd]

almosthaddabite. You have a very very good point and a major concern with catch and release.
Your observation on the fish under ice is realistic. I have experienced the same. This occurs over deeper waters like 20-25 feet and is especially bad over yet deeper 30 feet plus waters.
It occurs in the fall at turnover period also. It generally affects crappies more but have seen it with bluegills. Bringing the fish up slower has helped.
The obeservation of the fish under the ice. 1st ice you can see it happening. But if the fish do not go down right away. we , and this sounds funny, but we work their mouth up and down. Flip em back in the lake head first, they scoot down as evidenced on the VEX.
Those fish you see floating under the ice. I have stayed in a spot long enough to see these fish recover and ultimatly scoot back down. Unless the fish was damaged and there are ones there eyes and bladder are. But if you work there mouths... they will go down.
I do not know what the mortality rate is for catch and release. But the observation your wife made from the fish under the ice is a good one. How those fish were treated upon release will determine their ability to survive.
If their mouth is open when you took em, then probably they would not have survived.
Try what I have suggested. I have never left a spot with fish remaining under the ice. They eventualy recover. Or appear to have gone back down.

Crappie Todd