Let's get the debate started

Ok, guys/girls me and a few buddies have been talking about this for the past few months. Should we release fish over 2 lbs? Give me your reasons for and against please. Not looking to start any fights but wanted all of your honest opinions. I can see the benefit in releasing them but I also know how hard it is to release a possible fish of your lifetime! I have kept the 2 pounders I have caught in the past but was seriously considering releasing any that I catch from this point on, to hopefully catch that 3 pounder in the future.

I personally think the should be released. Unless you intend to mount one. I don’t like to eat the larger fish. And I feel at some point with our sport growing as it is. We need to get more in the conservation mode. Take a picture and put it back. Let them lay all those eggs to make more fish for us to catch in the future. I know a lot of folks will disagree with this but that’s how I feel.

When I wanted to keep fish, I use to keep every legal fish I caught. Now I don't keep many over 13" - 14" and release all the big uns.

I’m not sure what I would do. I would first have to dry my pants....then we’ll see......


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Originally Posted by fishervet

I’m not sure what I would do. I would first have to dry my pants....then we’ll see......


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lol!

I am in the Boat with Vet --- Never caught a 2 Pounder --- Big Brother said you can NEVER trow back your first fish -- no matter how little it is

Anything under 11" I throw back into the lake. Anything over 11" I let go into the fryer. Caught plenty of 2+. Never caught one 3lb, but if I do, I'll snap picks and throw it in the live well with the rest.

We as a group? No. You admit that you've kept them in the past. Maybe some of us have never caught a 2 pounder (myself included) and would like to keep one. Just because you're reformed NOW doesn't mean you get to push that on others. I don't mean this in mean way, by the way. I see it in the offshore fishing community a good bit. Guys start off killing and keeping everything they catch and move up to stuff like billfish and suddenly look down on anybody that keeps fish to eat.

With that being said, I think a 50 fish limit is ridiculous. Yes, I've heard the argument that maybe it's someone that fishes once/twice a year and they'd like to keep that for the freezer or something. That's a small percentage, I think. I don't think they make a dent in the population. It's the die hard/experienced guys that really kill a lot of sacalait...probably in the high hundreds or thousands per year. Hell, I never catch 50/person. A good trip for me is 15-20/person and that's generally way more fish that our family of 4 eats without having to freeze some. I think the limit should be 25 or less. But, our biologists have deemed 50/person is sustainable so who am I to argue?

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Originally Posted by hthoang

We as a group? No. You admit that you've kept them in the past. Maybe some of us have never caught a 2 pounder (myself included) and would like to keep one. Just because you're reformed NOW doesn't mean you get to push that on others. I don't mean this in mean way, by the way. I see it in the offshore fishing community a good bit. Guys start off killing and keeping everything they catch and move up to stuff like billfish and suddenly look down on anybody that keeps fish to eat.

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Obviously, you don't know me and I see you are a minnow on here so I will give you a pass on your statement about me pushing my beliefs on others. I don't care if you keep the fish or throw them back. I simply put this on here to start a discussion. By all means, if you want to keep every fish you catch (within legal limits), keep them.

I simply brought this subject up because me and a few close friends were discussing it and wanted to know what the rest of the people on here thought. If you took that as me pushing my beliefs on you, I sincerely apologize.

Like I said, I didn't mean that in a mean way. I've seen it in just about every outdoor chase-from fishing to hunting, etc. Everybody starts off just wanting to catch or shoot, and then keeping everything they catch/shoot, and then thinking maybe we shouldn't be keeping or shooting everything. I actually agree with you about not keeping everything and letting them grow/multiply. My personal limit is enough to either eat without freezing or enough to give to a few close friends/family that might not fish. As to your specific question, unless you're managing your own private pond/lake, I don't think it makes a difference in quality of fish unless there's an across the board restriction-like a 12" size minimum on north MS lakes.

My thoughts on this is I would like to see a minimum size limit established and reduce the limit. Personally I don't try to keep small fish, my self imposed minimum size limit is 10". As far as the #2 plus fish they have evaded me, what is the average length of a fish that weight? Then again after fishing 2 of the COE lakes in Miss. and having to put back 11 3/4" fish, that is tough. Keep the big one if you want or put it back and maby someone else will have a big fish story.

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Originally Posted by hthoang

Like I said, I didn't mean that in a mean way. I've seen it in just about every outdoor chase-from fishing to hunting, etc. Everybody starts off just wanting to catch or shoot, and then keeping everything they catch/shoot, and then thinking maybe we shouldn't be keeping or shooting everything. I actually agree with you about not keeping everything and letting them grow/multiply. My personal limit is enough to either eat without freezing or enough to give to a few close friends/family that might not fish. As to your specific question, unless you're managing your own private pond/lake, I don't think it makes a difference in quality of fish unless there's an across the board restriction-like a 12" size minimum on north MS lakes.

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No problem man. And it took me YEARS before I caught my 1st 2 pounder. It was just a thought to consider.

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Originally Posted by Skippa Chippa

My thoughts on this is I would like to see a minimum size limit established and reduce the limit. Personally I don't try to keep small fish, my self imposed minimum size limit is 10". As far as the #2 plus fish they have evaded me, what is the average length of a fish that weight? Then again after fishing 2 of the COE lakes in Miss. and having to put back 11 3/4" fish, that is tough. Keep the big one if you want or put it back and maby someone else will have a big fish story.

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Chip, the ones we catch that are 2 or over tend to be 15 1/2" to 16". But I have seen them as small as 14 1/2", just depends on how much shad they are eating or how many eggs they are carrying, that's one of the reasons I brought the debate up in the 1st place. A 2 pound fish will produce a ton more eggs than say a 10" fish will.

I’ll add one more post... For the record, I’ve caught exactly ONE crappie that weighed over 2#. I weigh any crappie that I catch that’s 13” or bigger just for reference. I prefer cleaning 11-13” crappie. I also don’t keep legal “small” crappie. I’ve turned a bunch of 9- under 10” fish loose too even while fishing to keep fish to clean. Basically if I have to measure it, it’s going back.

My views aren't posted to try and convince anyone to do it the way I do.

What's a 13" one weigh? Curious. 13" is about the length on a healthy black crappie that starts to look pretty impressive. I've always guessed about 1.5 or so for blacks, little less on whites.

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Originally Posted by Fish on Line

I am in the Boat with Vet --- Never caught a 2 Pounder --- Big Brother said you can NEVER trow back your first fish -- no matter how little it is

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What are you up Larry? Sent you some a message I got a new phone and lost your phone number.

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Idk, if it's a big nice healthy fish I'll sometimes throw it back. I threw back a two pounder today, I kept some 2 pounders sunday so I just don't know. Crappie are pretty prolific.

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I keep enough for a fry, all others go back, If that means 3- 2# or 6-1# that is the ways it goes for me. 90% of my catch goes back in the water- most of the time. Some days, if it is very slow then I keep the catch, if any!

I will enjoy reading this thread.
I will say I’ve caught many 2 lb fish. More than I can count. I have also caught a few 3 lb fish. I’ve also... [emoji12]
Not important to me. Me or one of my boys has eaten every single one of them and I will continue to do so until the state of LA changes something. Fish are food at my house.... quit chasing trophies when I found my wife. [emoji16] can’t eat horns either.

But yeh, I agree for the fisherman and the wants of those fisherman for their children, conservation would be key.
A lot of peoples fishing situations are diff. though. I don’t believe fishing a “lake” or fishing a river system are the same. * 75% of the larger fish I’ve caught have been in some kind of land-locked water OR water that is landlocked for long periods of time bf being affected by rises in river level and or dams.
Or is it damns?

Either way, the right people have to give a damn?

I’ll abide by the rules set until my boys are grown and then back to the fun ?



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And an afterthought, I believe fisherman who want to catch an abundance or more frequent ratio of bigger fish, they rarely catch, might consider tossing back smaller fish they catch in an over abundance.
Still live and let live


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In south Louisiana 2 lbs are hard to come by I will keep it if I am lucky enough to have one thump my jig. That being said I don't keep anything under 10" not enough meet to keep. I would like to see a minimum 10" state wide.

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From a conservation standpoint, it probably varies widely from one waterbody to another. Factors such as fertility, varying water levels, fishing pressure, and access to where the fish live, would make a standard set of rules ineffective. Factors such as pollution might(should) affect how many fish of which species we eat in a month from a given body of water.

That said, I'm a "reformed" bass fisherman, so most of the time I don't keep my fish. But sometimes I keep them, especially crappie and speckled trout. I'm sure on some bodies of water, fishing pressure has a major effect on populations. On others, such as Larto or Toledo Bend, the effect might be on a certain area of the lake, but because of size and fish populations, the effect would be mediated by fish migrating in from other areas.

On deep lakes such as Lake O The Pines, they require to keep all crappie caught in winter, because the are usually caught from deep water and have very poor survival when hauled up from deep and released.

The short answer is it varies!!

This is a very interesting debate you started Dewayne, to be honest I haven't really gave it much thought before. I usually don't keep anything under 10" but everything over is going in the livewell. I don't get to fish much except for the weekend so I stock up when I can.
Where I fish we usually catch a few over 2 lbs each year and these lakes have plenty of pressure so I guess I always assumed that if I don't keep it somebody else will catch it and it'll end up in their grease. All that being said, I sure would like to catch a 3 pounder one day. (I know these lakes hold some, I missed one off the net this past spring.)
So now I'm going to have to think twice about putting a 2+ lb fish on the table or just take a pic and let it go to grow and hope to catch it later. Hopefully I'll have my fair chances to make that decision over the years ahead. Good food for thought Shadow, thanks for bringing it up

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Originally Posted by hthoang

What's a 13" one weigh? Curious. 13" is about the length on a healthy black crappie that starts to look pretty impressive. I've always guessed about 1.5 or so for blacks, little less on whites.

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99.9% of the crappie that I catch are black crappie. It would take a very thick 13" fish to weigh 1.5 lbs. Most of them weigh in the 1.2-1.3 lbs. In my experience the weight/length charts are on the heavy side. I've caught quite a few 15" or larger black crappie. As I said earlier, only one of them was over 2 lbs. It was a 15 1/2" fish and weighed 2.37 lbs. These are extremely well fed crappie too.

Glad you brought this up Shadow!
I have caught lots of over 2#, I always let them go.
In my mind a 2# probably lays over 10 times the number of eggs that a 10 inch” fish does.
That’s a swag!
Maybe D10 will see this and give us some real numbers.
So in my mind the 2# er are more experienced and have a better chance of raising us more Crappie.
I prefer to eat a 10-12 inch fish.
I haven’t caught a 3# but I’m trying! LOL


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I'd say it depends on da waters your fishing and what time of year. HTH

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Originally Posted by shadow

Ok, guys/girls me and a few buddies have been talking about this for the past few months. Should we release fish over 2 lbs? Give me your reasons for and against please. Not looking to start any fights but wanted all of your honest opinions. I can see the benefit in releasing them but I also know how hard it is to release a possible fish of your lifetime! I have kept the 2 pounders I have caught in the past but was seriously considering releasing any that I catch from this point on, to hopefully catch that 3 pounder in the future.

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i keep them if they are big enough to filet period

once these crappie tournaments started, crappie fishing has slowly started to slide down the path of bass fishing and deer hunting - all about trophies and I hate to see it

Keep enough to eat today all the rest back in the lake. Will release a big one if have enough small ones. All fish accumulate toxins with age. Larger fish will produce more eggs and more fry survival


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I agree with some of the others about throwing them back for conservation reasons. My family really had rather eat smaller filets, it just seems like they crisp up better. However we love to catch the big uns!!!

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Originally Posted by RLCRAPPIE

I agree with some of the others about throwing them back for conservation reasons. My family really had rather eat smaller filets, it just seems like they crisp up better. However we love to catch the big uns!!!

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I love those small ones also....I try to throw back anything under 10"....taste better also...

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Originally Posted by yankar

Keep enough to eat today all the rest back in the lake. Will release a big one if have enough small ones. All fish accumulate toxins with age. Larger fish will produce more eggs and more fry survival


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A lot of people say that. Then you can look back and see they don’t follow that.……
There will be a hundred fish spread across the cement or tail-gate.
And I don’t blame em. But I also don’t say otherwise.

If the books say I can catch 50 every day, and I fish let’s say 5 days in a row, and am able to catch 50 good fish each day, I’m keeping em. That is so many less trips to the grocery when times are hard.
As far as the toxins go... yeh.
Check out your local water advisories.

Know it’s cliche but Mother Nature can handle her own when you don’t lock her out. I truly believe that.

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Last February, I caught my first 2#er , so I mounted it.....If I catch another, I will probably take a pic & release it.....depending on where I’m fishing.
One point to ponder is it takes a crappie 4 years to reach 10 inches in South.This is from 2 Fishery Biologists, not my opinion....So, if the 2#er is released, how much longer does it have to live?
On a side note, I only keep 10” in or better and would like to see daily limit go to 25/30


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Maybe this will help Attachment 360290

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In my experience that chart, for black crappie is too heavy for the length on average. If you caught those length fish on their heaviest day of the year, maybe but it's still pushing the envelope. I need to start recording weights and lengths and make a chart of my own.

Here's a little food for thought:
Attachment 360358

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Originally Posted by FurFlyin

In my experience that chart, for black crappie is too heavy for the length on average. If you caught those length fish on their heaviest day of the year, maybe but it's still pushing the envelope. I need to start recording weights and lengths and make a chart of my own.

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It's just a general approximation there Elmo

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Personal conservation and legislated conservation are two different things. Personal conservation is up to the individual but I hate to see legislative conservation based on what people think or feel. I like scientific biological data to make big changes like that

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I am 60 and all the old timers I have fished with have said since I was born "Keep ever white perch you catch or they will take over".
There are slow days that I wish they would have taken over. I do release all 13-14" females in the spawn. Other than that I keep what I can eat fresh, never frozen from the lake. Keep what you choose and just have fun. BTW, a 3lb will go on my wall if I live long enough to catch one.

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Originally Posted by theygotaeat

It's just a general approximation there Elmo

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I know but it's generally too high. rotfl

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Originally Posted by FurFlyin

I know but it's generally too high. rotfl

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Probably all depends on body of water.

I've caught several 14 to 14.5" whites that went 2 to 2.25 lbs. Heck my only 3# went 16.5". Those were all spring fish too though

I haven't weighed and measured a fish all year but I'm 100% positive ouachita river fish this year would beat this scale as well for blacks and whites. They been extra fat...

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