Thread: To keep or release

If I'm crappie fishing I'm eating them! I catch crappie for eating.

I always heard you hurt a lake worse by keeping the males???
Maybe someone with a phd in fish could give an educated answer here??

Originally Posted by jmeador

I believe in the theory of take what you need so the ones left can grow.

That is all I'm trying to say. I am fortunate enough that I can fish pretty much whenever and as often as I want. I am not condemning anyone for keeping the fish they catch anytime of the year. I just think, for me, as much as I fish and as many as I catch I can afford to release some during the spawn. Please don't think I am saying everyone should release their catch during spawn.

I hook and cook 12" and over. The rest can make baby's.

Originally Posted by Dee F

I always heard you hurt a lake worse by keeping the males???
Maybe someone with a phd in fish could give an educated answer here??

The males guard the nest and young fry,the females spawn with several males .This is from stuff I have read over the years,as long as you don't try to "stock the freezers"on every trip,the fish will be fine.The corp dropping the water during the spawn and leaving the eggs up on the bank will hurt more than what you catch.

Originally Posted by spindle

That is all I'm trying to say. I am fortunate enough that I can fish pretty much whenever and as often as I want. I am not condemning anyone for keeping the fish they catch anytime of the year. I just think, for me, as much as I fish and as many as I catch I can afford to release some during the spawn. Please don't think I am saying everyone should release their catch during spawn.

SPINDLE, I made a comment about water to grease. After I get a couple of limits in the freezer, I don't catch and release. I just catch 15 or 20 and go in. We have a few older folks who can't fish any more that we give fish to. I try to get enough to last me to the next season. I never have a fish in my freezer over 7 or 8 months old. I admire you for being conservation minded. But, I don't know if it helps on the big reservoirs. So many going through the spillways in the winter. When I was a teenager we slaughtered ducks on a daily basis. 20 years later we started killing 2 or 3 per hunt. That's when we re-thought our thinking and realized that there wasn't and endless supply out there.