catch and release

[carl]

Anybody read the article on catch/release in BASS TIMES? The writer talks about how successful c/r has been, too the point where it can be too successful. A case in point is an 800 acre impoundment 10 minutes from my house. The slot is 5 under 14, 1 over 18. One day I was shooting the bull with the Lake Super.,who told me that the lake was in a downturn because of too many small fish, and told me to take as many under 14 as I wanted. He said it would help the lake. The catch is the state creel is 6 bass per day, and if I got caught by the feds he couldn't help me out. Any thoughts on this, and have you had similar experiences.

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Carl is there anywhere close by where kids fish a lot? That would be the thing to do, take 5 under size bass each time you fish and take them to city ponds, or whereever kids may fish. I do this all the time, we have 3 small lakes where kids 14 and under fish. Johnnie

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Carl, here's a unique situation I got into once. A farmer called me and said he'd heard I was a good bass fisherman. He asked me to come fish his pond, that no one but his family ever got to fish it and it was full of bass. Of caouse, I agreed. I went to the pond and met the owner and then the problem came up. He told me that every bass I caught I should either keep or throw out on the bank. He said, one way or another all these bass are coming out of the pond, they were in his opinion eating his albino catfish. I was caught between a rock and a hard spot. I agrred to reove the fish. He had a large wire basket he keep bluegill and catfish in, each bass I caught went into the basket, then I took a bucket full of water and took five bass at a time (state limit) to a state owned pond and released them. Burned a lot of gas the four days I fished the pond. But, removed about 80 bass that were doomed to die one way or another. The largest topped six pounds. Finally, he was satisfied and I quit fishing the pond, hope a few bass survived.

[charger4404spd]

Good job Johnnie. I cant stand to see people just throw a fish up on the bank. Either eat it or throw it back.

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Skeeter, I don't even throw rough fish out on the bank. I keep thinking, if a kid had caught that they'd be really happy. Actually, it's illegal in Iowa to throw fish or dump bait on the ground, it's considered littering. We have a half acre pond here in town that the kids under 14 can fish. It never had much but a few under size bluegill and some bullheads, but I've been secretly stocking it with bass the past few years and it's paying off. The gills are getting bigger, the bullheads less plentiful ans one kid caught one of my planted bass, a five pounder. His Dad brought the boy and the fish to me so I could put his picture in the paper, which I did. That was a great reward for me. Good luck fishing this fall. Johnnie