Just curious about the different reasons and how often you guys keep your catch and what specific species y'all keep...

I am pretty much a catch and release on largemouth bass. Plan on trying some crappie this winter, those will go in the frying pan!

Catch and release on all bass...might keep a few crappie or white bass for the pan. Depends on if I am in the mood to clean fish.

what about catfish? are any of the cat's you can catch in TX (mainly asking about Cedar Creek) good for eating?

The same for me, and the cats here are great, other than mud cat.

I solely keep only on a need for food. I don't care too much for fish and I am out there for fun and to relax. If I do get a hankering for some fish I will keep some sandies or cats or if someone asks me for fish for a fish fry. I will NOT keep LMB or SMB's and I will NOT keep something that will go in the trash.

I pretty much catch and release everything, I just fish for fun pluss I hate cleaning fish.

Crappie and White bass are kept when i'm fishing for them, course this is rare. I occasionally keep bass. But even then I try to only keep 14-16 " bass. Bigger go back in the water.

That being said, I think I have eaten 5 crappie and 15 bass this year. The Crappie from Conroe, the bass from Toledo Bend.

Harvesting fish now and then is good for a lake.

If it's legal, I keep them.

I only fish for bass and never keep them and yes to those that don't bass fish that doesn't make any sense to them. We did get into the crappie at a family reunion up in Missouri last April, kept over 150 of them for a big fish fry (had over 30 people in for the reunion). That was a special circumstance deal though as it was Dad's last fishing trip (cancer, passed in June).

Cats, sunfish, crappie, sandies, striper, and bass all end up in the freezer for later meals, whether for myself or with friends. Bigger kitties and sometimes bigger bass will get released, depending on what I've got in the freezer and in the boat already. If the freezer is empty and I've got 2 5 lb. bass, they're probably meeting the knife.

I release all catfish over 15lbs. I keep bass and crappie for the table (my wife LOVES bass)
If I am going to have a fish fry will keep my limit of cats that are under 5lbs.

why release all the larger fish?

I release just about everything but when i do keep them they are small ones (catfish)i release all catfish over 10lbs. So someone else can someday catch a big one if we all kept the big ones there would no longer be any to catch

I eat all the 10 lb green trash fish I catch , along with
all the legal crappie, a few 2 lb channels , lots of
redfish and spec trout that I import from LA.


MO