Catch & Release Discussion

[dsafety]

Imported from a previous thread.

Originally Posted by dsafety
Good point but the bottom line is that we should never take more than we can use. If someone can consume 100 lbs of fresh fish in a week or two than they should definitely keep that much fish if they can catch it.

On the other hand, if you harvest more than you can use and a bunch of it ends up in the freezer only to get tossed out when you catch your next big fish, that is wasteful. It makes no sense to me to kill a fish and then send it to the land fill.

To me, there are two great things about fishing... catching and eating. The catching part ends when you get the fish to the yak. If you need the meat, stick the gaff. If not, take a photo and release the fish.

It does not matter if you are one guy on a kayak or part of a large group on a PB, the rules should be the same. Take what you need... use what you take. It's as simple as that.

Bob

Driftwood Responded:

"Nobody should judge how much fish one can consume in a certain amount of time. Fish doesn't last long in my freezer. I would have no problem keeping two 52bl Y.T. caught in the same day and only post one. that would be enough fish for 6 months. If you use a food saver the fish Will stay almost fresh for a year.

I would love to practice catch and release. My problem is the same as 95% of kayak fishing guys out there. I spend HUNDREDS of hours on the water and maybe catch one or two Y.T. a year if I'm lucky. last year I caught two 30lb Y.T. on the squid run which lasted for about 3 days.

If i would of caught 5 Y.T. during the squid run I would of kept them all - because that would have been itttt- for the whole year. The squid run only comes once a year and last for maybe three day. If your lucky enough to fish in that small window, good for you! and if your like me, (no fish catching fool) I hope you catch your limit!! OK, maybe 5 would suffice."

Dorado added:

"Thanks for the incite and concern for people taking more fish than you wish,Bob, I've never released a Yellowtail in my life! I only stop fishing for them when I get limits or my arms fall off! I may practice catch and release on yellows someday but not "today".

Bob again:

While I am disappointed that apparently a significant number of people whom I respect do not share my opinion on the subject of Catch and Release, I think it is great that we can have this discussion.

First I have to admit that while I support the practice, I have never actually released a big YT or WSB either. I have only caught a few YT and only one WSB. In each case, I wanted the meat so harvesting was a no brainier. Would I have released the second or third fish had I been lucky enough to catch them on any of those days. You bet. But maybe that's just me. I know that others share my point of view because I have watched a few guys release some really nice fish.

We may disagree on a number of issues relating to this subject but I hope we can all agree on this. Our fisheries and particularly La Jolla, may be in great shape today but that is due to a large degree to the fact that fishermen have become much more responsible than we were just a few years ago. This needs to continue. If we abuse this resource it could be taken away from us. Witness the recent MLPA sideshow.

Bob