I love big fish but I don't ever want to tell anyone that they are less of a person if they don't go after and catch them. To each his own.

I love small eater/box fish but I don't ever want to tell anyone that they are less of a person if they don't release all the fish over 10#. To each his own.

Whack, I suppose you have read some of my thoughts in this thread before. I am becoming very muckh involved in my buddys fish/deer farm and I have worked for one other one in the past. I do know what folks will pay for stock no matter what it is as long as they think it is superior.
In reality those folks paying for those fish/animals make up less than 1/4% of the folks that fish public waters. Those folks don't need to or even want to for that matter. I love big fish but I don't ever want to tell anyone that they are less of a person if they don't go after and catch them. To each his own. the one thing I have said in the past is that when a fishery is pressured too much and the big fish seem non-existent then those of us that go for them will stop. Its like supply and demand. When the supply goes low then the demand will drop. I for one am not going to burn this 3.60 a gallon fuel to chase bait and burn in the boat if the chances are super slim for a good fish.
When folks back off the fish make a comeback...its like our pathetic federal government.
The part of the Brazos river had very few flatheads 25 years ago (according to all of the old timers I talk to) and now it is full of them. When the numbers slump I will lose interest and stop wasting money chasing them. It's that simple.

that speaks volumes & to me is what this whole argument boils down to ... if everybody could just get a hold of that right there


can you imagine a quote like the following in a thread like this from certain folks?

No one should have to release all fish over 10 lbs.

The question remains, If more BIG fish were left as breeders would that make the catfish in our lakes bigger and stronger and better off?

well i think the one thing leaving more big fish as breeders would do is just that, leave more big fish as breeders ... hit or miss on whether or not it would all around make the catfish in our lakes bigger, better & stronger

liberalism is a mental disorder

Albert,
Your posts are all one sided. We all know "You don't believe the verdict is out on releasing big fish". You are like a broken record , anytime someone talks about releasing big fish.

hope you are as vocal at the tournament next weekend when you are "person 2 person" with the people you so dearly love to imply are ignorant on here.

i dont care what you do in your own boat

ok ... let's discuss this


boils down to a buncha propaganda that has been around for so long that most did not witness it from the start so therefore can't seem to get a grasp on what it really is

catfish guides have played a big roll in this creepin' into catfishin' circles ... these guides take out huge numbers of what have been labeled "EATER FISH" ... what is a eater fish? ...

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation (ODWC) has been collecting abundance and growth information on blue catfish
populations around the state over the past several years.

Total mortality rates (the percent of the population that dies every year by both natural causes
and angler harvest) generally ranged between 20 and 30%. This is a relatively low rate of
mortality compared to other sport fishes (total mortality rates for largemouth bass are usually
around 50% and crappie mortality rates can be as high as 80%). However, because blue catfish
grow so slowly, very few individuals ever make it to �trophy� size even with the low mortality
rates........
These large blue catfish are very rare which makes them very valuable. We encourage anglers to eat the 1-5
pound blue catfish and take pictures of the large blues and return them to the lake unharmed.