05-24-2011, 06:48 PM
Hula.. thanks. it was a good time. it was a reunion of sorts from a bunch of us that used to fish up there together years ago. Utah, Arizona, Nampa, Boise, Meridian, Eagle were all represented!
we have this debate constantly on the UT board. My personal take is.. if it is a legal fish, caught legally, then it is every fisherman's right to choose. I appreciate your kindness in your response. some guys on the board get down right nasty when you keep a bass.
if we catch a big fat female that is obviously loaded with eggs, we let her go. if it looks slimmer, we keep it. Or if it gets hooked deep and is bleeding. that happens a lot in the wind, you don't always get a good quick hook set. We did return several keepers. As a general rule, we try to return anything over 15 inches and try to just keep the 12-14 in range for frying.
I would like to hear your thoughts on it, as well as some of the other Idaho guys. Lots of people think the smaller 12-14inchers need to come out. Some people give you a scowl if you even think about. I am not a biologist, just a fisherman that loves to fish and eat fish. So if anyone wants to KINDLY give their opinions on what is best for the fishery, i would love to hear it and learn.
thanks again Hulapopper...
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we have this debate constantly on the UT board. My personal take is.. if it is a legal fish, caught legally, then it is every fisherman's right to choose. I appreciate your kindness in your response. some guys on the board get down right nasty when you keep a bass.
if we catch a big fat female that is obviously loaded with eggs, we let her go. if it looks slimmer, we keep it. Or if it gets hooked deep and is bleeding. that happens a lot in the wind, you don't always get a good quick hook set. We did return several keepers. As a general rule, we try to return anything over 15 inches and try to just keep the 12-14 in range for frying.
I would like to hear your thoughts on it, as well as some of the other Idaho guys. Lots of people think the smaller 12-14inchers need to come out. Some people give you a scowl if you even think about. I am not a biologist, just a fisherman that loves to fish and eat fish. So if anyone wants to KINDLY give their opinions on what is best for the fishery, i would love to hear it and learn.
thanks again Hulapopper...
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