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culling...thoughts?


jigglestick

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o.k. here we go. i was wondering as i read into city slickers post, the one where he got @#$%^ slapped for keeping a limit of fish, what does every body think of culling fish, and sorting through a limit. tossing back certain fish to up their average size, or for any matter at that.
i know this may sound like i am just trying to swat a bee's nest, bet lets see how this goes for a little while. i think we will get some interesting feed back. i do not believe i have ever seen it discussed.
maybe we could at some point enter what ever the regulations have to say about it.
dumb idea? we'll see. it's got to be more exceptable than my "beer" post. smile.gif

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keep your stick on the ice!! jigglestick I.B.O.T.#5 have you clamped today???

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This is something that I have been guilty of in the past, both from a livewell and a bucket. I am very carefull not to disturb the slime on the fish, a small net works good. I would never release a fish if it looks distressed or is injured.

Ron

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I have a "minimum" and Maximum size in mind before I even step on the ice. These are my personal "slot limits". If I catch a fish in my "slot", I keep it. If the fish is to small (or to large) I release it right away.

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"I'd rather be fishing"

Mike

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Hey Jigglestick, you stirrin the pot again! Even though I headbutted you once we'd probably get along in the world.
As for culling I don't because I almost never keep a limit. Just tonites dinner. However if kept lively in a livewell I see nothin wrong with this.

Brian

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jigglestick,
I've never had to worry about that but let me say I think it's a great question and I can't wait to hear some of the comments. I'm very new to the forum but I think city slicker was ripped a new backside and I'm not sure if it helped the forum or not.

Take care, BD110

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i spent some time looking through the regulations, and i find nothing that adresses the topic. the closest i find, is that no fish may be transported including in the live well of a trailered boat. there was an exception, that fish meant for the home aquarium, with proper documentation maybe transported live. also, a legal angler under the age of 16 may transport live fish, of about a half dozen speices including bass, rock bass, and yellow perch, but they may not be more than 10 inches in length. i don't quite get that one.
back to the original topic. since it does not seem to come to a legal definition of what is right and wrong, i think it comes down to a sense of self policing, and concience.
i guess how i feel, is if the fish is kept in the best of health, ie areiated livewell, then i cant see anything wrong with a little sorting. i don't believe after you have piled a schmidt load of crappies in a five gallon bucket, they could be considered fresh and lively. i guess though if an individual made a portable live well, it would be suitable for on ice use. besides that, i hate frozen fish!
i have to say that i have sorted fish, years back when fishing sunnies, and all we could get into was the dinks, then we started picking out some nicer eating size fish, and took some smaller fish out of the fish basket. bad? i don't know. i guess some thing about sorting just bothers me. maybe i can't put my finger on it.

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keep your stick on the ice!! jigglestick I.B.O.T.#5 have you clamped today???

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When you get into culling fish, the only time I would EVER consider culling fish is in a tournament, and would have to have been in a properly aerated live well. When I do keep fish,if I have a fish in the bucket or livewell its not going to get culled, too risky. If you keep a fish, keep it. I do have slot limits and such for my person as well.

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lunker, why would it be o.k. in a tournament, and not anytime else?or should i say why would it not be o.k. any time, but it would be exceptable in a tournament. i can see the obvious reason for doing so, but wouldn't it be equally as risky/stressful to the fish any time?
personaly if i see a fish in the live well, and he is getting along fine, i have every bit of confidence of survival if released.
just kicking it around.

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keep your stick on the ice!! jigglestick I.B.O.T.#5 have you clamped today???

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If your true intentions are to maintain the fishery(s), then having a pre-determined (personal) understanding what you plan to do with said fish is key.

I always know what I plan to do with fish caught before wetting a line!
NEVER AFTER....unless of course you bring in a trophy for mounting purposes etc.

I think relating this to stream trout fishing is always in the back of my head when fishing for other species wading or from a boat.

98% of the time trout go back. I never give it a second thought. If I want to eat some, I fish to eat, keeping smaller trout for the grill.

This is pre-determined well before adorning my waders.
I translate this to other fishing outings too!

Keep the rods bendin'!!!

Jim W

[This message has been edited by Jim W (edited 12-30-2003).]

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The key which has been said before I believe is to have a predetermined slot in your own mind and just to follow that to the max. For instance ice-fishing for Craps I like those 9-10 sometimes 11 inchers that and I haven't gotten any yet this year so I'll wait and see. For eyes if its 14" or up to 22" it's mine as generally I only catch and keep a couple. That and I love smallies/hate wallys so removing them helps my smallies.........at least that is what I tell myself.
But as for Jim's post if I am fishing trout in a river (there really is only 1 around Brainerd) I let them all go.....unless of course it's gut-hooked etc. Because if I want Trout for meal I will just go to one of the lakes in the area as they are stocked and the trout are put there for a purpose.

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Tight Lines,

JP Z

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I do what Minnetonka stated. When im fishing for northerns my size is 21" to 26" any under or over goes. In the summer its just fun to let a big pike go, sometimes they take off so fast you get your shower in before you get off the lake. grin.gif As for sunnies I normally let the really big ones go (ones over 10"). I have been told they have been living for over 8 years alreay so they might as well live a little longer.

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AKA PikeEye 300

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When I ice fish I pop the fish I'm keeping on the noggin to put them out of any misery they may have before I put the knife to them.

I too have a personal slot and anything else goes right back into the water.

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Chells

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I read an article in a magazine a couple winters ago (matter of fact, I still have it) where a guide was promoting culling perch while fishing before even hooking them with an underwater camera. He was pulling the bait away from the smaller fish and allowing the big ones to inhale his offering all via video. Now if you ask me, this isn't fishing at all. What have we degraded this sport to when you have people actually writing about doing these things in a magazine? The only reason at all where I can see it being a valid procedure is when fishing really deep for perch. You might avoid having to keep alot of smaller fish because they horked their bladders on the way up and didn't recover. And with the reduced limits, this would be a shame. But to actually choose which fish to hook with a camera? Whaddya think about this? Is this fishing or is it cheating?. It surely isn't against any laws currently published..........

I fished last Saturday and caught alot of perch and small walleyes. I released them all because they were too small. If I had caught some that were in my personal slot, they'd have been released into the grease.

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This topic is an important one and falls in line with selective harvest. People fish to catch fish (#1) and perhaps eat fish(#2). Many here have stated that they have a personal slot for the fish they keep and that is good. Culling though- and we have all done it!- is not such a fine practice to get into. The less the fish are handled, the greater the chance for a successful release.And that would apply to the livewell as well. Fish in close confines get beat up banging into each other and pressurized water flow washes off thier slime. As far as legal goes, I think that once a fish has been "possessed" (as in placed in a livewell or a bucket), the fisherman is required to include it in his daily limit and he cannot return it to the water in exchange for something bigger or better. Best check with your local CO regarding that issue.

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Sure life happens- why wait....The Crapster....good fishing guys!
[email protected]

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Jiggle, I did not mean to say that culling outside of tourneys is wrong. I just personally don't do it. I believe all of the fish in my livewell stay healthy, I just think doing it as little as possible is good, in my case in tourneys only.

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Hey guys, I had the exact same question and was unable to find any specifics in the regulations book, so I fired off an email to the DNR.
Their response was pretty straight forward... "It is illegal to cull fish in Minnesota."
I did send them an email back, asking if this is printed in the regs book, and suggesting that if its not, it should be spelled out more clearly.
Hope this clears up the confusion.

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i would like them to point out where it says that. i'm sure it has a statutory number.
did you ask what about in tournaments?

interesting.

thanks for the leg work!

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i'd rather have a bottle in front of me than have a frontal lobotamy!! jigglestick I.B.O.T.#5 have you clamped today???

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Tbone, I did that one time with a aqua vu I borrowd from a friend. I set it up in another hole and then jigged a waxie in another hole. I felt like I was fishin' in an aquarium. There were tons of bluegills, and after getting a few, I decided it would be more of a challenge to try NOT to catch em
so when they tried to bite, I would yank it away, then drop the jig right on their head to spook them away, and other things like that. but that little hook was so sharp that even though I never set the hook, I still had to pull one out now and then. Then in the middle of my game, one of the biggest crappies I ever saw charged on the scene and inhaled my jig! I set the hook and my jig popped right outta its mouth and it just slowly swam away like nothing ever happened! LOL!

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simul iustus et peccator

><}}}("< ---><!>

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I am on board with minnetonka, I have my own personal "slot size".
One of the things I notice on this board, if you ask a question, more than likely you will get unsolicited answers that have nothing to do with the original question. I basically ignore these answers, and focus on the answers that have to do with the question. I felt sorry for cityslicker, Too many people think their way is the right way and everybody else is wrong.
Jigglestick,
Thanks for starting this thread, I have wanted to say that for a long time....

Danny

[This message has been edited by danny berg (edited 01-06-2004).]

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d.b. that's why i get the big bucks smile.gif

i know i'm starting to get a little sick up and fed of these self imposed politicaly correct police. buy your license, and obey the laws. be kind in the process. and every body who wants to tell me how i should do it, ... when i want an opinion i will ask. i have my own personal guidelines most of the time, and they are not because some one told me that is the way i should do it. it is the way i want to do it. there are at times exceptions, but not very often.
it is an intersting question, though about the culling being against the law in mn, and throwing the tournament aspect into the mix. i'd still like to see where the law is written. confused.gif

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i'd rather have a bottle in front of me than have a frontal lobotamy!! jigglestick I.B.O.T.#5 have you clamped today???

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