Conference wahoo::fishing

    Sorry Ron, since I don't fish for sport, and rather for food, I
    keep the ones I catch.    
    
    K. Mikrut

I agree with Ron 100%.  It's not too tough to see the benefit of catch and 
release, it makes sense.  Especially since the states around here don't do
anything at all to control the bass population.

For those who haven't tried catch and release, give it a shot.  I was quite 
suprised at how good it felt the first time I released a big bass.  Releasing 
small bass feels good too, but there's nothing like lowering a 5lb bass back
into the water.   

I started fishing for bass during the spring of `85.  I ate every 1/2 decent 
sized bass that I caught that year.  During the winter I decided that I'd 
study up on my new favorite past time.  It didn't take long for me to 
turn into a catch and release advocate.  Everything I heard or read made
catch and release the obvious choice.

However, I have to admit, I did keep two last year, ate one and mounted a 
6lb 13oz'er.  This year I probably will not eat any.  And I may never mount
another trophy.  It'd have to beat 10lbs, so the odds of doing that around 
here are rather slim 8^(...  I don't feel at all bad about mounting the one
I have, looking at it sure helps get me thru the winter...!

Don Mac		smelt are for eating, bass are for release'n

    
    Good tips!  I knew a few and didn't know some others, like the ph
    problems, so I learned something, thanks!
    
    I almost always release what I catch.  Once in a while I'll keep
    a Salmon for supper.  The conservation efforts on Sebago seem to
    be working (one line/person in boat, 16" length, 3 fish daily limit)
    (Salmon, Tougue, Trout).  The catches are getting bigger and more
    frequent.  However, it's sad to see the amount of fish the old timers
    take out of there in the spring.  They come in May 1st and stay
    until June 30th.  In fairness, they do eat their catch, but there's
    six or seven of them,  so the pressure is heavy.  Heavy warden
    surveillance the last two years has kept them within the limits.
    This includes checks on the water, and "greetings" on the shore
    when they come in.  Maine has -heavy- fines for scofflaws.  I've
    heard as much as $50 per fish.  Last year I got checked -four times-
    by game wardens', the first time in 17 years of fishing on that
    lake.
    
    --Chris

       This month's Bassmaster Has a good article on catch and release
    in texas. It's called Share a Hawg. If you catch a big fish they'll
    take it to a hatchery for spawning purposes. If it survives, you
    can have it mounted (after spawning, at THe hatchery's expense)
    or they will release it. 
       A guide caught a state record Bass (17.67 lb.) and turned it
    in. Seems like a good program. Even if you have it mounted, some
    good stock eggs came from it.
                                                      Denny      
    

    This is a great subject to be talking about not only at this time of
    the year but at any time. I want to establish right off that I'm
    in favor of Catch and Release", and would encourage all fisher-people
    to adopt this method of fishing. I think we have a major problem
    at our door step! With all the new fishing methods and equipment
    that have been made available to the masses, the survival of all
    species of fish is in danger. Each individual has to take the
    responsiblity of conservation or we'll all suffer in the long run.
    I really appreciated the article, here in the notes file, and would 
    like to hear more opinions about it... 
          
    
    					Ice Out by the End of FEB.??????
    
    						Jim
    
    
    p.s. I was told once that "keeping and killing fish is like throwing 
    away your golf balls at the end of a golf game"!!!!
                                                       

    Well, I'm glad to see so many catch and release fans out there!
    I can say that being an all-fish fisherguy (yes, there are other
    things out there besides bass) that I believe in catch and release.
    I've even bent barbs on hooks (for trout) for easier release.
    Over the last couple of seasons Joe T. and I have been doing virtually
    all catch and release. The problem is our wives wonder what we've
    been doing. 
    At the show (Centrum) Doug Hannon spoke of a technique for conservation
    he called "SLOTTING". I sort of got the idea but if there is anyone
    out there who understands how it works and where it's used, I'd
    appreciate the education. Is slotting used anywhere in New England?
    Doug made it sound really successful..sort of a min/max culling
    plan rather than the ol' minimum we have around here...

    	I personally prefer catch and release.  The exceptions to this
    that I observe are:
    	(1) If I hook a fish in the eye.  After being in a private fishing
    lease pond for 5 years that probably only saw 1 fisherman a week,
    any fish (trout only) which had been hooked in an eye and released
    had a growth rate of about 1/2 the amount per year as the other
    fish of the same type in the pond.  All fish were stocked at the
    same time every year and came from the same hatchery, so this was
    (looking back on it) a good controlled experiment.
    	(2) Keep a fish hooked in the gills.  This is for trout anyway.
    Almost the same findings as above, if the fish lived.  I usually
    found approximately 70% of the fish I hooked in the gills (barbless
    hooks) dead within a week.
    	(3) Maximum of 1 fish each for my little ones (8 and 10 years
    old) unless we are going to eat them for the next meal.  Then only
    keep what they want to eat.
    	(4) Small brook trout in small streams above 7000 feet (asl)
    if they are shaped like torpedos (large head, small body).  This
    is a sign of over crowding and lack of food.  Thinning out the
    population somewhat is actually benificial.
    	(5) And this is actually the most important (I think anyway),
    *USE COMMON SENSE*.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out
    there who fail to possess this quality (or if they possess it, they
    fail to use it).  Therefore, laws must be made to make them
    use their own common sense.  
    
    		Can't wait for spring to try fishing for some warm
    water species. When your front door step is at 9000 feet and the
    water temp in the lake is max. 42, you just learn how to fish for
    trout.  So, looking forward to spring!!
    

    Ron,
    
    I just wanted to so thanks for the article.  I couldn't agree with
    you more.  This year I plan to do all my fishing with barbless hooks.
    All the articles that I have read on the subject suggests that the
    amount of fish brought to the boat are about the same if you use
    barb hooks or the barbless kind.  If thats the case barbless here
    I come.  I personally hate taking out hooked fish because it take
    so much time to get the barb free.  I figure anything has to be
    an improvement.
    
    Bring on spring and flyfishing!!
    
    			
    					Bart Lasky

    In reply .6 you asked about slotting? I beleive you are talking
    about a management tool used by the fish and game depts in some
    states to regulate the taking of fish. As best I understand it
    slotting is when they put a minimum lenth and a maximum length on
    fish that you are allowed to keep.
    	
    	In other words the fish has to fit in a slot. The young  fish
    are the fish of the future and it is understandable why we shouldn't
    overharvest them. In the years past the management tool used by
    the rugulartory agencies was to protect these young fish until they
    reached a certain length 12 " or 15" or any other length determined.
    
    Later we found out that if we overharvested the older fish also
    it could mean the end also since it is the the large fish that spawn
    and created all the young fish. 
    
    Hence the slot. The slot is not ultimately the answer either. It
    should be understood that if we over harvest any age group over
    a long enough period what will happen is  that the old will
    die naturally and there will not be any fish to move into breeders
    age group and we're back to where we started.
    
    I don't know if this has been enlighting or just hashing over old
    knowledge.
    
    I think that N.h. may soon use this type of management to control
    Lake Trout. Other than that the one fish that I think of where it
    is being used here in New England is Stripers. It is a modified
    slot system in that you are permitted keep one fish over the maximum.
    
    Stipers and Lake trout would in my opinion be places of where slots
    would and should be used. They both take many years before the fish
    become of age to breed and both don't seem  to be the type
    of fish that can be managed on a put and take method very well.
    
    We depend on their natural reproduction therefore it is necessary
    to protect some of the breeders also.
    
    Regards, Bear.

    Chris, to give your question on slots just a little more of an answer
    The slot is designed to limit the fish caught in a range. Texas
    has a slot that is different from lake to lake. Other states have
    slots that effect the whole state.
    
    Briefly, the slot is usually around 14" to 18". You may NOT take
    fish in this slot. The reason for this is that the little ones are
    abundant and renewed yearly, so you can harvest these without to
    much damage. There are also bag limits.....either 5 or 7. The larger
    fish over the slot can also be taken as they will be the older and
    more likely to die naturally fish. The ones in the slot are the
    main source for breeding and of course growing larger to become
    the "trophies" and record fish of the future. It was this concept
    that Hannon was explaining at the show.
    
    Here in the north, we would have to move the slot to something like
    13" to 16" because of the slower growth rates. A two pounder in
    Mass is probably around four years old, where in the south it would
    be a two year old. We would need to protect our bass a little different
    than they do in the south. They are a different strain of fish.
    
    Well that is slotting as it is used in the south. We have nothing
    up here, and the only way I see anything happening to preserve our
    fishing is, Catch and Release.
    
    It really makes me feel good to hear all the postive statements
    in this file. I've been advocating this for years and years, and
    its nice to hear all the support in here from some pretty good
    fishermen. 
    
    Don't forget to tell your friends..............
    
    Tight lines, Ron
    

    I actually read an article against catch and release in one of the
    prominent fishing journals (don't ask which one; I've bought at
    least 30 since the water froze).  The point was based on a hypothetical
    mortality rate of 20% of caught fish.  If the limit is 5 and the
    mortality rate is 20% and you catch 30 fish and release them all,
    (I should be so fortunate!) you've probably killed 6 fish so what's
    the better option?
    
    Of course, with proper handling, the mortality rate should be more
    like 2% (gleaned from another article in the same mag!).  But it's
    a point to consider.  Don't just throw them back.  You gotta treat
    'em right.
    
    Steve

    You know Steve, I see articles like that every once in while too.
    I don't know why they keep coming up except that maybe someone(s)
    just plain doesn't like having to put fish back in the water. If
    you see some of the old photos of the huge stringers of fish that
    were caught back in the 40's and 50's when only a small percentage
    of people fished, relative to now, this sport couldn't survive for
    more than ten years with that attitude today.
    
    You pointed out the key though, and that is handling the fish and
    releasing it properly. Now there is always going to be the fish
    that gets itself hooked so good that no amount of "handling" is
    going to save it, so what the heck, take that one home. It is going
    to die. But the use of barbless hooks, as mentioned already by several
    people is one way to cut down on this. Another I mentioned earlier,
    it treat them in your livewell for a while, and then turn them loose.
    
    The pro B.A.S.S. people did a couple of surveys a few years back
    because of all the hoopla surrounding the amounts of fish being
    caught in the big tourneys. They release all live fish after the
    tournment day is over. In one they had over 1300 fish caught and
    1289 were released over the three days. They studied the mortality
    rate of these released fish and found only 5 dead fish within the
    following week. Now if you have ever seen how the fish are handled
    at these tourneys, you would get a really good idea of how strong
    a bass is. They get flopped around and carted and crated all over
    the place before being let go, and for only five of them to have
    died is remarkable. Now I find it hard to believe that we don't
    do a better job of it when we let them go from our boats after having
    just caught them.
    
    There are other fish that are not as hardy as the bass, and the
    trout is one of them, from what I've read. Maybe the release-survival
    rate is lower for them. I don't know. But I do know that the bass
    can survive an aweful lot of abuse.
    
    Tight lines, Ron
    

    Ron, to add to your point of bass being tough. I've caught and
    have seen boated, a number of bass with plastic worm hooks, or
    various other lures still attached to them to include "tags"(from
    research foundations). All these fish were aggressive on the initial 
    pickup and fought hard to the boat. I agree with you, that if handled
    correctly the bass can be released, and the chances of survival are
    extremely high. Here's another point of interest: the club I belong
    to has an "anywhere" tourny once a year. What we do is fish from
    4PM on Sat. to 4PM on Sun. (it's during Sept.) as many hours and
    as many places we want to fish through out New England. The hook
    is that we can only keep 5 fish and they have to be over 16". I
    and others in the club have kept fish for dam near the full 24 hours
    and after the weighin they all swam away at the end of the tournament.
                                   
    
    					Jim

    I don't know how true it was, but I read a story last year about
    a guy in Florida having caught a good-sized bass that had already
    been filleted!!!  Pretty remarkable to live after having your sides
    cut off, let alone attack a lure!  Of course I can see how that
    might lead to a substantial increase in appetite, too.
    
    Steve 

    

    A guy I know in Arizona told me that he could sharpen his filet
    knife to such an edge that he could make a small inscision over
    the shoulder of the bass and pull out a small filet, and the bass
    for the most part could swim away. He went on to say that this worked
    so well that he had to be carefull not to try this more than once
    a year on the same fish because it "could tend to weeken" the critter.
    
    BTW he tells me he has the real title to the london bridge if anyone
    is interested.
    
    
    Garry      Plannen_the_sweep_down_south!
    
    
    

    	I don't think catch and release works very well. Last time I
    went bow-fishing, I let them go and they all died :-)
    	Actually, I've been a catch and release fan for a while now.
    I don't necessarily get a big thrill in releasing bass. I just
    have found other species that I prefer to eat. For me, bass fishing
    is a sport. Unfortunately, I do tend to play out the bass I do catch
    because I prefer to use lighter line/tackle. I also normally don't
    carry a net and don't like the idea of driving hooks through my
    thumb when I try to grab the bass by his lip. I try to be concious
    of the bass's slime layer too now that I know better.
    	I have gotten the impression from some people that they don't
    believe people actually catch and release large bass. Since action
    speaks louder than words, physically releasing a large bass in front
    of someone that normally keeps them makes quite a statement. I know
    you can't just find and take these people fishing, but by fishing
    with your kids in this manner, the next generation of bass fisherperson
    will not have the same problem. Hopefully, catch and release will be
    as common in the future as large stringers of throw away fish were in the
    past. I personnaly will see that both of my kids, and any other
    kids that go fishing with me, are indoctrinated into the ways of
    catch and release.
    
    RAYJ

    Actually the fine in Maine for illegal fish is $100 ea.....
    
    catch and release works very well, in the Yellowstone River one
    section has been catch and release for a couple of seasons now and
    the results are outstanding. This is extremely well documented.
    
    Bass appear to survive even better than trout/salmon do. Besides
    I never eat bass.....
    
    dave

    		My mind is made up.............;^)
    
    I just ran across some new numbers that I thought you might find
    interesting.....facts if you will. Call them more arrows for your
    bow if you wish.
    
    In the 40's after the war, about 10% of the population fished. There
    were a few laws then, mostly dealing with the time of the year you
    could fish. Spawing periods were sort of protected. Now 10% of the
    then population works out to roughly 1.4 million fishermen and women.
    (mustn't forget the fairer side)
    
    Today, there are around 62 million fisherpersons, or 32% of the
    population. And the bass is recognized as the most fished for species
    amoung these. Now we have created quite a few lakes in the last
    40 or so years, but that was mainly in the south and west. Here
    we haven't done much since the Quabin. The point here is we are
    running out of rivers to dam up and so even the waters will become
    a scarcier commodity in the future, let alone the fish in them.
    
    Was a time (even I can recall) that would go out on the lake and
    see maybe a dozen or two boats. Now there are more than a hundred.
    Not all fishing for sure, but certainly more than there were.
    I've only lived in Mass for a little over five years, but I can
    see it happening here in that short of time. And I'll bet every
    one of you can relate to this too.
    
    So, even more of a need for "catch and release."
    
    Tight lines, and leave them for future generations, Ron
    

    Hey Ron... I heard that you release all your bass but that you cut
    their tails off so that they don't go far and so you can recognize
    them the next time you catch them.  
    
    I really didn't believe that...but it was your partner who told
    me....
    
    
    
    
    
    ...now bowing out of the scene to listen to the rumble...

    
Yah...real sports use a tiny fillet knife to carve their initials in
the bass they have caught.....so if they catch them again they will know
it.....so forth....
                       E
         
    
    
    
    
    
    

    Ah Joe, you let the secret out...............I'll have to talk to
    my partner about what he's telling you....imagine, giving away some
    of my best tricks......
    
    Ron :^)
    

    This is an article in the Jan. issue of Bassmaster Magazine (actually
    an insert). I'm typing it in here just for the info on releasing
    fish. Some of this has already been covered, but its all here.
    
    RELEASING FISH**
    
    Black bass are fairly hardy creatures, but they must be handled
    carefully when caught, if they are to live to fight again.
    
    First, either land the bass by net or by grasping the lower jaw
    with thumb and forefinger. Never stick your hand, stringer, or any
    thing else in the delicate gills.
    
    If the fish has been netted, dont allow it to bounce around on the
    boat floor, possibly injuring itself. Take it from the net immediately
    by gripping the lower jaw.
    
    If the bass is too small to grab by the jaw, hold it firmly around
    the midsection. Before touching a fish in this way, many biologists
    and conservation-minded anglers wet their hands, fearing that a
    dry hand will damage the mucous skin-covering which helps protect
    bass from infection.
    
    Next, remove the hook or hooks carefully with your fingers or a
    needlenose pliers. If the fish has swallowed a hook, cut the line
    as close to the hook as possible. The hook eventually will rust
    away. However, says Bassmaster's senior writer/bass biologist, Bill
    Phillps (a stauch catch-and-release proponent): "If the fish is
    bleeding, I keep it. I don't think that it will survive."
    
    More and more bass fishermen who release all that they catch push
    down the barbs on their hooks so that they can can be more easily
    removed. Fish caught on barbless hooks often can be freed with even
    being taken from the water.
    
    Dont' toss the fish back into the water; release it gently. If it
    is slow to move, carefully fush or pull it through the water, thus
    forcing water through its gills to aid its revival.
    
    Should you decide to keep the bass, make certain the aerator is
    working properly in the livewell, and don't overcrowd the fish.
    Spotted bass in particular are susceptible to stress and will die
    easily, therebyy eliminating anyu chance at all that you might release
    them later.
    				Robert Montgomery
    
    (reprinted without permission)
    
    Tight lines, Ron
    

================================================================================
Note 710.0                    Don't Keep Them Bass                    No replies
PCCAD2::RICHARDJ                                     16 lines   5-MAY-1988 13:08
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whenever May and June roll around, I hear people talking about 
a big lunker bass they caught close into shore. What they probably
don't realize is that this is the spawning time for bass, and they 
most likely caught a female that is full of eggs. Years ago I read
an article about the potential of ruining the bass fishing in a 
pond by to many people keeping female bass that haven't laid their
eggs, as a result no future bass. It would be wise to consider whether
you want to keep that big bass you caught during May and June, especially
if you caught it in close to shore in the middle of the day. Generally
bass that are full of eggs don't really give the fight you normally
would get, their like pulling in a log. I know that bass start their
spawning when the water temperature reaches the right level, but most
fishermen don't carry thermometers with them so usually in Mass. its
between the first week of May until the second week of June.

Jim

    I read an interesting article over the weekend.  It mentioned how
    some fishermen don't fish during the spawning season, because even
    being an advocate of "catch and release", if the male bass is away
    from the nest even for a few minutes, it gives a chance for the
    bluegills to attack the eggs.
    
    Mike_L
 

    Maybe someone out there has an answer to something I've been thinking
    about for awhile.  It's reguarding the use of livewell catch and
    release formulas.  Just what is in that stuff?  Is it harmfull to
    humans?  I have a concern that a fish I may keep to eat may have
    been sitting in catch and release formular for a number of hours
    and released just before caught him.  The fish certanly will have
    taken some of the formular into it's system.  Is this a needless
    worry, or are we bieng slowly poisened needlesly?
    
    Gone fishin
    

    Glad this was brought up, this is a subject that I have meant to bring 
    up a number of times.
    
    Yes, C&R formula helps keep fish alive and yes, fish treated with C&R
    are not meant for consumption.  I don't recall the exact wording on
    the label, but they imply the fish should not be eaten.  I'd *assume*
    that the risk is elimiated in a short period of time after release. 
    
    Anyway, this means that if a bass treated with c&r formula dies in your
    livewell, it is wasted.  This bothers me.  
    
    I used to use c&r all of the time (during torunies), until once during 
    a long hot tournament I had a few fish die.  These fish were wasted.  
    
    If I had not used c&r formula I could have eaten them and they would not 
    have been wasted.  
    
    Note: I release my fish 99.9% of the time, but I am not "against" eating
    bass in general. I'll eat a bass if it dies or for example while I'm canoe
    camping, etc., but that's a whole-nother issue 8^)  
    
    It bothers me seeing fish get thrown away - ESPECIALLY during 
    tournaments!!  Tournament fisherman have high visibility during the 
    weigh-in and I think it's very important to show that we respect our 
    environment.
    
    Anyway, sure, C&R helps keep fish alive, relaxes them, etc., but 
    personally I'd rather just try a little harder to keep them alive without 
    c&r, rather than using it and risking them just being wasted.
    
    C&R is most often used in makeshift livewells (like large coolers)
    where it's easiest to put the water in once and let it stay there. 
    With a proper aerator you can keep the water oxygenated enough so this
    works fine - most of the time.
    
    What you cannot control is the water temp.  When the air temp is in the
    90's and the surface temp is in the 80's (which means you filled the
    livewell/cooler with real warm water to begin with) it's real tough 
    keeping a cooler sitting in the sun cool from par-boiling your bass
    - with or without c&r formula!
    
    But, buy using your aerator often, keeping an eye on the fish and
    changing the water as often as necessary, you can keep fish alive. 
    
    And with the right type of aerator and the right hose setup you can make 
    it real easy to change the water.
    
    Anyway, I'll climb off my soap box now. Fish treated with Catch & Release 
    Formula should not be eaten.  Therefore, in my humble opinion, C&R Formula 
    should not be used.  
    
    donmac

    I have to get some input from you guys on this. The other day I caught
    the biggest smallie of my short career (a real sturdy 18" - thank you,
    thank you..!), and transported via my Crawdad boat back to the dock in
    a 5 gal. bucket (I'm almost embarrassed to admit it). Of course the
    fish didn't fit real well in the bucket - kind of vertical and curved -
    and I didn't feel real well about doing it that way, except that I was
    not more than 1/4 mi. away and headed straight back as soon as I caught
    the fish to show it off. As soon as I got to the dock I lip-locked the
    fish, changed the water, put him back in the bucket, and carried my prize 
    up the driveway. After showing it off for a few minutes, and a picture,
    I took him back down to the dock and let him go. Altogether he was out
    of the lake for maybe 20 minutes, most of the time in the bucket. He
    seemed perfectly fine when I released him, but I am thinking that maybe
    I should think about getting something to replace that bucket. Sure he
    fit, but a little uncomfortably I think...
    
    Anybody else ever used one of those buckets? Any suggestions? 
    
    Thanks,
    
    Ed

    Ed, a cooler and a basspirator works great.  Luckily fish and game
    didn't catch you transporting that bass... they may have not believed
    that you were going to release it... donmac

    
    
    Ed,
    
       What you should do is fasten the stringer to your pants and swim to
    shore, that way the fish won't be out of the water...
    
       Seriously though, after reading Donmacs' reply, I take it that catch
    and release is mandatory.  Even so, the cooler idea is good one. 
    Smallmouth are extremely hardy fish though.  While canoeing fast from
    one place to another we always pull the fish into the canoe and then
    drop them back in the water as soon as possible.  We've never lost a
    fish doing this, although northern and walleye take a while to
    recuperate where the smallies seem hardly affected.
    
    Bear
    
    

    
     I find smallies very hard to keep alive all day in the summer in
    my livewell. I have to use the blue formula and ice to keep them
    from croaking on me in July.
    
      " Bassmaster "
    

    > Luckily fish and game didn't catch you transporting that bass... 
    > they may have not believed that you were going to release it... 
    
    donmac,
    
    You're right - I was not aware of the new release requirement at the
    time.
    
    Those basspirators - are they expensive? I didn't see any in the
    catalogs in my office.
    
    The smallies that I've caught in the past seemed to be pretty hardy,
    though they may not tolerate heat as well as largemouth, as Dave
    mentioned. Last year we had a small inflatible boat that was hardly
    used, so I would fill it with water on the dock and use it as a pool 
    for the fish I caught and wanted to show off or photograph later. The
    fish seemed right at home, but I'll have to come up with something for
    when I fish elsewhere - usually I just let 'em go right after catching
    them, but if I catch a trophy sometime... well, I can always take its
    picture and get a replica made. (If I remember to make sure the camera
    has film!)
    
    Thanks,
    
    Ed
    

Ed,

I recently installed a livewell in my boat along with a thru-the-transom
Basspirator.  The Basspirator sells for about $33-35.  The livewell was 
custom-made and ran me about $105.  Realize that you'll also have to install 
an overflow tube from the livewell to allow the incoming water from the 
Basspirator to exit.

WHat I did was cut open the middle seat in my aluminum boat and measured the 
inside dimensions.  The livewell fits like a glove down into the seat 
although I did use a few rivets to ensure that it didn't move.  I then used 
piano-type hinges on the seat to complete the installation.  Give me a call 
if you need more info.

-HSJ-

    Actually I meant to refer to the 'catch saver'( page 266 of the bps 90
    master catalog $31.97). This is what makes a cooler an aerated livewell, I
    used one for years before having a boat with a real livewell and it
    worked just fine, accept you have to manualy fill it and empty it.  
    
    Joe's custom made livewell with the baspirator is real slick, he did a 
    real nice job on it.
    
    donmac

    Joe,
    
    An installation like yours might be tricky in a Crawdad! I'm thinking
    maybe a big cooler and maybe a 12 volt portable aerator. But then I'll
    have to install a wiring harness to keep things from getting too
    cluttered in the boat. Maybe I'll just freshen and aerate the water
    myself if I need to...
    
    Thanks guys,
    
    Ed
    
    
    

    	I took my two oldest girls (3 and 4 1/2 years old) fishing this past 
    Sunday and in between taking kibbies off the hook every 2 seconds and 
    putting worms on every other second I somehow managed to land a few bass.
    
    	I told my kids if THEY caught a big one we'd take it home and eat
    it. When I hook into the first one I say "Look girls, here's a big one"
    and bring in a small bass (about 1 1/2 lbs.). I removed the lure from
    the fishes mouth, show it to the girls, and say let's let him go. My
    3 year old is saying NO !!! almost in tears. When I ask what's the
    matter she said she wanted to take it home and EAT IT !!!
    
    	So, kind of shocked, I made a stringer with my anchor rope and
    put him on. About 5 minutes later he gets loose and is gone, and I'm
    thinking, fine, no problem. Then I catch another small one (about 1
    lb.). Now the both of them want to keep this one. They even had me show
    it to them every 5 minutes to make sure it was still there.
    
    	So I'm thinking, I'll take it home, clean it and cook it, and when
    they don't eat it because they associate the live fish they saw me catch
    with what's on their plate it would be a lesson learned. WRONG !!!! They 
    loved it and want to do it again.
    
    	So much for that lesson :-( Actually, I did release 3 out of the 4
    I caught explaining that we had enough to eat and we'll let the other
    ones go so we can catch them next time.
    
    	RAYJ

Re -1>
        RayJ,
	Boy I can relate to that. Youngsters don't comprehend the benefits
of C & R. I've been negotiating with my boys (age 10 & 12) for years. The
best agreement I can manage, without pulling rank, is we only keep one per
trip.
	The youngest gets all pumped up about "feeding the family". The
oldest likes to outdo his brother and also to show off his catch. 
	I think its only a matter of time though before they change their 
outlook. My 15 yr old daughter, who killed her first deer when she was 11, 
is now heavily into ecology and won't harm anything unnecessarily. I guess 
its just a matter of what they are capable of grasping and the changes that 
they go through as they mature.	At any rate its interesting observing the 
changes.
Paul         

    Rayj
    
    I agree that for young kids its ok to keep them as long as you consume
    them.  I was fortunate in that I taught my kids from the very begining
    that unless they are 5 lbs or better we let them go.  I have the scales
    and rulers so we measure and then take lots of pictures and let them
    go.  The kids really have fun, mine are 9, 6 and 2.5.  We just went out
    the other day and they caught a parcel of small smallmouths all under
    a lb.  The problem I have is that the kids are so slow in hook setting, 
    that the hooks are usually too deep to remove.  I loose about a dozen 
    hooks each trip and unfortunately see  a couple of the ones released 
    floating later in the day. I am working on teaching them how to
    hookset, but when your baiting each hook every five seconds or cutting
    off a hook and retying you can't react fast enough to each fish.
    
    Even though a couple are killed each time we fish, I believe the kids
    are learning how to fish better and how to release for the future. 
    Sometimes you have to kill a few to save more?
    
    Brian
                       

    
    	Do you also practice C/R with all species or just Bass?  

Re:.39

Not sure if this is was intended as a general question.  I'll answer it as 
though it was.

I release:  BASS (LM,SM), PICKEREL, most TROUT any short fish, and even some
legal food-fishes (see note 1152.162)  I release most BLUEFISH after I have
enough for dinner (they don't keep well)

I keep for food: COD, flounder, some TROUT, some BLUEFISH, SMELT (YUM, YUM!!)

I keep for bait: MACKERAL.  Most of them get released, 'cause when they're
in thick, you can catch several hundred in a couple hours.


Tim

    I fish Salt Water, and i totally agree with the previous
    comments on C/R. 
    
    I keep "only" what we can consume in 1 meal. No frezzer keepers.
    
    If i continue to fish, and do not want them, i bring them close to 
    the boat, bring the pole down, let the line slack, and 
    they (so far) have shed the hook.
    
    I don't think handling them and bring them out of their enviornment
    is a good thing to do.
    
    
    The wasting of these resources has got to stop.
    
    JIm.
    
    

    	Re:40
    
    	I also threw back the kibbies. In general, I usually only keep what
    I intend to eat which is usually only big perch (white and yellow) salt 
    water fish (cod, cusk, wolf, flounder, some shark/blues/mackeral) and 
    smelt.
    
    	Unlike the previous note I will stock my freezer with certain fish.
    I have eatten smelt that have been in my freezer for up to one year
    with no noticable affect on the meat. I have also been out on the ice
    at night in wind chills below 0 to catch them. The ice and the fishing
    where I smelt fish is unpredictable so you get what you can, when you 
    can get it.
    
    	RAYJ