mikey, the last time I checked it is still a country which freedom of speech is permitted. I have my opinion and sign my name to it. The word sport is lost with you. lovfldx/rudy, a bit insecure and want to make this a pissing contest? I have nothing to prove to anyone, but I do have my opinion as what is sport and what is easy fishing. By the way it is the males that stay with the nest, but a pro fisherman would know that, no? But mikey is right because only an idiot would try to teach pigs to whistle.

What color is the sky in your world, man? Are you suggesting that no one fishes during spawn?? If the water is stained,,how do you know whether you are catching spawning fish or not? Should we develop a pregnancy test for fish? Inquiring minds want to know.

Yes, you are still entitled to your opinion but in my mind, what you are doing is harassment, plain and simple. If this event occurred on the banks of a river, you would be in violation sir. This debate is older than you or I and it has been decided by people that make the rules and regulations. If you don't like it then maybe you need to vote that way or run for office. From the sounds of it, you'd make a fine politician.

Doesn't sound like harassment to me. Let's everybody calm down. Let's remember that we all come on to this site cause we like to fish and most of us are good stewards for our local fisheries. There are great points to be made with each point. Bodies of water have been fished out because of harvesting, and good lakes have been ruined because of over-population. Taking a week off of fishing every month of the peak panfishing period is more than some of us can take. For some, it may be the only time to hit the water. At the same time, We have to be good stewards for our waters and fish. Make sure the males are getting back to the nest ASAP. They are the guardians. If the male is gone, so goes the nest.

We've all been in the situation (usually earlyspring to early summer) when, if we could find nest colonies, we could catch 75% of the 'gills there. But, I've found in the peak summer through early fall, Those same 'gills can humble you when ya try to catch them sight-fishing. At this time I usually go fishing at night. Then I can't see the nest and my catching usually goes up. In the daytime, if I'm sight-fishing nest colonies, my catching rate goes down drastically. No need to get heated gentleman. Let's all agree to try to do whats best for our favorite piscatorial pursuits in the best way each individual knows how. Stay educated.

Dis pan fishin section is serious biz.

i say we throw TreeHugger and Midnight Fisherman in a ring. Give the treehugger a branch and give the Midnight Fisherman an ugly stick. What fun this would be...

UFC style.... 3 rounds.


lol

give her a full moon

wilson, I've never really hugged a tree but I know where oxygen comes from and I'm grateful. But if "tree hugger" means that I care about the future of fishing then thank you for the compliment. Mike, it was decided by the people who makes the rules and regulations that hunters could shoot all the passenger pigeons and buffalo they wanted to.... how did that work out? Don't get me started on the politicians and how and why rules are made! Mike, in my mind calling me an idiot is harassment. I may have thought it but did I call you and Idiot? jagg, I agree that there is two sides to every coin and my choosing not to fish spawning beds may not save the fish and mike fishing spawning beds may have no effect. However, I was raised that I eat what I kill, not to keep FMs with eggs or bother spawning nests and do not shoot a PG doe or sow and don't shoot doves, ducks or geese while nesting and don't hit a woman. Yes, they are those that do and the sun still comes up every morning so maybe nothing I do really maters but I do it because I think it is the right thing to do and I don't depend on any politician to pass a law before I do what I think is right. I fish nearly every day and have fished all over North America for decades and I see things being used up and disappearing. I may not be part of the solution but I refuse to be part of the problem.

Where is" big daddy double digits" when you need him.

Patt, I agree with you. That's kinda my point. If we all educate ourselves with the subject matter, then being well intentioned fisherman that want to see this resource going strong for many, many more generations, we will do everything we can to protect it while we enjoy it. I am an advocate of selective harvest. Knowing what size and what sex to keep, and when to keep them. I usually don't keep any fish since I'm the only one in my family who eats them, but when I do, it's the average fish and usually the girls who looked like they spawned out. If I notice that a pond has a lot of stunted fish, I keep a lot of small ones to eat. The big ones are ok, but those small ones are just as tasty and ya feel good 'cause you're doing your part to bring back the "health" of a fisherie.

BAF: careful what ya ask for. My sides still hurt from that last episode!

jagg my friend, I fish with a few ol'farts and we keep a few for the fire when we spend days on the river but mostly support the catch and release however they must be caught and released properly for them to survive. Due to the growing fishing pressure this seems to be the future of fishing. The days when we could go out and take stringers full of fish daily are behind us and we must protect the sport for our future grandchildren. But you know all this, excuse me as I'm old and tend to ramble. Times are a changing and as fisherman we must look to the future and protect our own sport because the government looks out for themselves. I have no axe to grind with mike, in fact when I was young I shared his opinion but I got older. The hand sized sunnies rolled in corn meal and fried like french fries are yummy and help weed out the lot, as I manage several farm tanks and they can get over run quickly even with a supply of bass. But just as quickly you can rid a tank of sunnies. As you know we can not save the world but I have saved a few small tanks and some of the finest bass fishing in texas is right outside my door.

DAMN! All i wanted to do was post a few pics of fish that i catch during the full moons in the summer! I keep very few fish to eat! NO BASS at all!

I have a few friends with stock tanks, and when they ask me to keep some to cull the crop, I do! In all the pics on my photobucket page, the only ones that were in spawn stage were the bluegills/sunfish, and the vast majority of them were turned back. When i had enough light to see, most if not all of those went right back on the beds! I have been fishing this pond for over 35 yrs,and have NEVER seen any adverse effects from fishing it! In fact, rt now the sunfish are bigger, and there are more bass approaching trophy size, than there has been since the ponds were dug and stocked!(of which my dad and I helped with the stocking, btw).

Man, you can't try and do anything nice on here(merely posting pics and confessing that they were caught on full moon summer nights) without being attacked and lumped in with all the other destroyers of the planet!

Oh brother!

Rudy

I don't have an axe to grind either, as a matter of fact I never keep anything I catch (so far). But I don't think you can come onto a fishing forum and make a bold all encompassing statement like that. You just ruffled some feathers is all. Panfish spawn several times throughout the summer and to suggest that we shouldn't harvest them during this time is absurd, they are the most prolific fish in the ecosystem and they reproduce fast enough that I don't see a problem with it. Maybe on a small pond or stock tank but not in public waters.
I guess we'll just have to disagree with each other on this subject.

A very good debate that is why this forum is so great. The one thing everyone has in common is the love for the outdoors and the great sport of fishing. On thing I would like to add and I am sure you all can agree is I am seeing more and more trash on the water and on the banks of lakes, rivers, and creeks that I fish. I just wish there was a way to stop or at least control the garbage that is being put into the waters by irresponsible people. Good luck to all and keep fishing.

i knew it. uppity fly fisherman. went out to the trout stocking last year in dallas and bait chunked worms and corn and waylaid em good. the fly fishers were skunked . asked em if they want a worm they turned their nose up lolol

An ethical person does more than what is required and less that what is allowed. This is a good yardstick to measure ethics.