At some of my club tournaments in the 1970s we would keep fish and have a big fish fry, especially on two day tournaments. No one really worried about releasing fish although we got dirty looks from local anglers. But that gradually changed so now almost all the bass we weigh-in are released alive.
When Linda and I got our first bass boat in 1974 we had a rule that any bass we caught over about three pounds was released. Smaller bass were kept to eat. We let the bigger bass go mostly because they just don't taste as good, but also to try to protect bigger fish.
Catch and Release Is Almost A Religion
Catch and release is now almost a religious experience for many bass fishermen. Killing a bass upsets them almost as much as it upsets a PETA protester. They will go to extreme lengths to try to revive a bass that is dying.
Does catch and release really matter from a biology standpoint? Maybe. A bass kept and cooked definitely does not survive to fight another day. Some that are released do. But catch and release has problems, too.
Catch and Release Problems
Releasing large numbers of bass in a small area like is done at boat ramps and marinas hosting a lot of tournaments can overcrowd an area, putting strain on the food the bass eat. Crowding can lead to spread of diseases. So the long term effects of catch and release can be bad for an area.
Delayed mortality of bass often hides the real numbers of fish that die. Bass that are stressed by being hooked, fought, landed, placed in a live well, ridden around in a boat then taken out, put in a bag, dumped on scales then dumped back into the lake may be alive when they hit the water but die hours or even days later.
The science behind catch and release is somewhat questionable. About half the 12 inch long bass in a big lake will not survive the next year of their life, regardless of fishing pressure. Nature takes care of them Heavy fishing pressure on a small body of water can hurt populations but what percent of bass on a lake measured in thousands of acres are harmed by tournaments?
Releasing all bass can harm rather than help a lake. Spotted bass in lakes like Blue Ridge and Jackson where they are not native often overpopulate, crowding out native populations of smallmouth and taking the place of bigger largemouth. Spots are so aggressive that five one pounders may take the place of one five pound largemouth in many cases.
The catch and release mentality keeps fishermen from helping out managing a lake like Oconee. Biologists say we need to remove bass shorter than 11 inches in Oconee to keep overcrowding of smaller bass down since Oconee is an infertile lake. But very few keep those small bass, making it impossible for the slot limit to do its job.
It is easy to blame a lot of things for not catching bass on a fishing trip. If blaming tournament fishing or fishermen killing bass works for you, use it. But in reality the bass are probably there for you to catch. After all, those tournament fishermen had to catch them somehow and tournament results show someone will catch a lot of bass somehow almost every time.
Keep a few bass to eat if you want to. Release most of the bass you catch to make you feel good and as a PR tool. But don't condemn anyone for enjoying a few bass filets.
