PLEASE HELP!!!

I witnessed a VERY disturbing sight yesterday while fishing one of my favorite lakes! Yes the bass are beginning to spawn and with a little work you can catch some very nice trophy bass while bank fishing! While getting ready to return home last night I witnessed a young man with two HUGE 5+ pound female large mouth bass ON A STRINGER! I was shocked and extremely upset and disappointed, when I spoke to the young man about taking trophy fish during the spawn he told me "well they are for my grandma and you can't buy LMB filets in a store! I explained to him that he was destroying the fishery but catching and keeping trophy fish during the spawn and could he please release them and catch some smaller 1-2 pound fish. He seemed very disinterested and walked off. When I turned around I saw him revive the largest fish and release her! I thanked him and went on my way. Trophy fish over 6 pounds in community lakes are very rare. WE MUST ALL TRY TO PROTECT OUR FISHERIES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS! Please don't keep fish during the spring spawn and if you do please try and keep only the fish in the 1-3 pound range and release ALL TROPHY FISH BACK TO THE WATER!

Wtf? Please don't breath any more air, you are releasing way too many co2 and killing off the earth, I think you should start carring a tree around to replace all the air you stole from rest of us

You obviously don't have much fishing knowledge Mahoro because he is exactly right. Catch em and take a pic but release them so that they can produce more fish for the future.

If it's a community pond, the best way of doing this is to put up a sign "Large mouth bass catch and release only".

I don't think by preaching releasing the trophy bass will do any difference. That's no law forbidding people to keep spawning trophy bass.

Hmm I wouldn't think they would have tasted all that good anyway, I've always thought when they get that size they start tasting more muddy.

Tell me where is the pond at. I'll go and protect those fatty

Dare ya to post this in the bass forum!!

I have bass fished my whole life. Was it a lake or a pond? If it was a lake and he kept two bass on a stringer,I dont think he hurt the eco system of that lake. Most bass fishermen pretty much practice catch and release anyway. He caught dinner for his grandma. Right on!

2 bass isn't going to hurt anything, it certainly wont destroy an entire fishery, even if he caught the ONLY 2 big bass out there--which isn't very likely--it would just make room for the other medium sized bass to get more food and become bigger.

Let the kid feed his grandmother.

If it's such a crises it wouldn't be legal to keep bass at this time of year.

Not to stir things up but what happens if you gut hook a big bass during the spawn and it is bleeding real bad and its most likely going to die. I guess if that is a risk maybe we shouldn't even fish during the spawn right.

Its just a fact that some people fish for the meat and some fish for fun. Were lucky we get to catch and release. You don't get to catch and release that trophy buck when your hunting.

Green carp eat good too.

This is a tough one...I'd let me go though...

If as you say, it was on a lake, I don't see the big deal.

In any case, I wouldn't call a 5lb. LMB a "trophy fish".

nailed it!!!

You might find a little more sympathy on the green fish worshipping forum. I really don't distinguish between species that much. I think all our native fish have a right to live in our waters and one species deserves as much respect as another. They also all have the right to enter my belly. The state has set limits, and as long as those are respected, it's nobody else's business.

I know it is hard for some folks to wrap their head around the fact that some folks fish to eat.

Reggie

Do what you want if you have a license and following the regs, but I find fish eat better that are closer to the minimum size required to keep.

For example, you couldn't pay me to eat a 30/40/50/60lb blue cat for numerous reasons, but the 3-5lb's fry up nice.

I also show respect towards large fish of all species that have proven to have better genetics to grow bigger to keep a better gene pool for a more sustainable fishery to future generations.