Why are so many bleeding hearts crying about catch and release fishing?

The money that fisherman spend to buy their license makes it possible for the fish and wildlife commision to stock species such as trout and salmon into our rivers lakes and streams. Due to mankinds encroachment into their natural spawning grounds they would not be able to exist with out sportfishermans money. So why don't all you bleeding hearts find a more noble and important cause than trying to save a fish from getting a hook in the mouth. Would the fish defend you if I snagged a hook in your mouth?

Why are so many bleeding hearts crying about catch and release fishing?
I agree with you 100%. In California, they changed the Rock Cod fishing rules so that you are not able to keep cow cods. By the time you realit up from 250 feet the fish is dead. But, you still can't keep it. So there goes a 40 pound cow cod floating off getting pecked by sea gulls. What a dumb %#@ rule. Why not "what you bring up you keep". Why not have a bag limit instead of letting a 40 pounder float off. I guess the people that make up the rules are a bunch of nonfishing nonhunting nonsmoking nonthinking beaucrats -- and I do mean Rats.
Reply:Probably because they either have not ever been fishing or if they have they suck and can't catch anything!!
Reply:a lot of species are not stocked by the city/state. saltwater fish aren't stocked either. many of these fish are caught by hundreds of thousands of people, and there is a chance of them depleting; although we love the act of catching, we keep the well-being of the ecosystem in mind.





we do have a lot of regulations by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and that is big reason why we throw a lot of fish back... and get fined.





if you listen to old men tell their tales of how good the fishing was back in their day, you would see that the fish population really has depleted. they used to catch sack-fulls of Barracuda from the piers and spear Black Seabass (endangered species in the US) off of La Jolla. nowadays, i'm lucky if i catch a few in a day.





here in California, the cities are highly populated and the fees are high. the sportfisherman's money does go a lot into the reproduction of fish and enforcement of regulations, and it is getting better with the combination of catch and release anglers. it's a good thing that the catch and kill anglers are here too, they do some balancing.





and the statement of fish defending us does not make sense.
Reply:I cry cause I don't like it. I want to eat the fish I catch
Reply:yeah, People used to catch fish and eat it raw, right off the hook. THEY'RE HIPPOCRATES! ALL OF EM'
Reply:if You dont protect the resource, then there is nothing to fish for. most lakes and, reservoirs, now have slot or, size limits in place to protect our choice of recreation. I have no problem with this. with the exception of Crappie, I usually release them anyway. for Me, it is the excitement of hooking up with and, landing the fish. it is the most enjoyable form of recreation that I know of and, I like to think that in the future, I can enjoy it with My grandson and, granddaughter.
Reply:I eat anything I catch! carp, bluegill, dogfish, crappie, bass, trout, whatever species, you just have to know what fish need a little extra help in the kitchen. I don't care what the bleeding hearts think! Most of them where abused when they were young and have some emotional issues.
Reply:I have to side with you on this point.





With the free world at war against terrorism it looks as if those bleeding hearts could find more appropriate things to ***** about and leave me alone to catch and release all the fish I can.





As you stated, we pay for the privilege.
Reply:misguided froot loops think fish feel pain like we do.this isnt possible because they lack the highly developed part of the brain that senses pain.they simply react to a stimulus.kinda like an animal rights extremist haha
Reply:I release them pretty much because I'm not much of a fish eater. I have no problem against those who keep their catches. In one place I go fishing I usually give any catfish I catch to this one guy who takes them home to cook.








Sadly there are alot of whiny treehuggers out there who just cannot stand to see someone else enjoying themselves so they make it their crusade to make sure everyone else is just as miserable as they are.
Reply:true. $18+ per year and i only fish in spring and summer.
Reply:Just imagine how they would get their panties in bunch if they knew about squirrel fishing
Reply:For some reason, unknown to me, some people just like to catch fish for the fun of it and release ALL of them regardless of size. I even have a friend that has a local fishing show on TV. They like the sport of it I guess. When we went fishing, as a child, it was for a fish fry!. The reason there are size limitations are the state wants to make sure that all fish species have a chance to get large enough to reproduce and self-populate the state waters so they do not have to add fingerlings to the state waters and wait to grow "fishing-size" fish. They want to do it naturally.
Reply:Again, saltwater fish are not stocked. The striped bass population along the eastern seaboard has been severely depleted and is only making a comeback due to heavy regulations and restrictions.





I fish a LOT and eat everything I catch. When the fish are in the 40", ~40lb range, it can be a real struggle to land them and a real struggle for the fish to even survive the ordeal (fish don't always just get hooked in the mouth: frequently they are deep gut-hooked or foul-hooked in the gills). So when people are out fishing for release citations after the state-regulated season has ended (with no intent to bring home fish), they're just injuring and possibly killing large fish vital to the continuance of the species.





Yes, it is a good idea to throw back fish under the legal limit. The fish you throw back today is the fishing trip of tomorrow.
Reply:sd_wtrmn says it well.


I spend money to catch and eat, I also look forward to an occasional trip to the Smoky Mts. for some native trout fishing.


In the areas where it is catch and release, the fish are bigger, healthier, the fishing is more sport. There are plenty of areas to keep them, but due to impact you can only keep a very small number.


I look forward to a trip to the Outer Banks for some fall red fishing.


When the big ones come in, and I mean the 30+pounders, they are released as they do not fit the slot limit. These are the breeders. Populations have increased greatly in the last 10 years since this was introduced.


To my knowledge, the fish I speak of are not stocked.


There are trout hatcheries, there are redfish hatcheries. But those fish never make it to the areas I speak of. These areas are still unstocked.


I own a small pond, that as long as a fisher person will stop and ask, I will let them fish. As long as they will turn loose the larger bass. This I do to maintain a balance of predation in the pond. If the large bass are taken, the bream will overpopulate the pond. This results in a die off by predation voids that are created by the bass being gone(birds, raccoons, Turtles, and more people) and a decrease in oxygen in this closed enviroment.


This is not a bleeding heart. I have eaten fish throughout my life, and I hope to continue. But the good ole days are gone.


I will amaze my grandchildren about tales concerning catching several hundred crappie in one day; but I did that when I was 12.


I am now 49, and have not caught that many since. I have caught my limits. But I have also watched the southeast dwindle in a resource that it will never fully recover.


As for your comments about catch and release? I dont know how to tell you this, but you are the mankind that has encroached. Deal with it by letting a few go now and then.
Reply:As a Professional Fisherman and not just Bass, it is important that I catch and release because when you have reached pro status, it is not hard to wipe out a lake or pond.
Reply:Point well made.
Reply:I keep only what I am going to eat. There are days I go out and release everything I catch because fishing is my stress relief. Catch and release if done correctly will not harm a fish but after yanking on a hook and causing bleeding from the gills the fish will die. Another thing is always makes sure your hads are wet before you touch the fish if releasing the fish.


I agree that there are more noble things the bleeding hearts could be protesting such as the incident in California where some Mexican immigrants flew the Mexico flag above the US flag which was upside down.
Reply:I agree 100% I pay a lot of money to do it unfortunately I usually release the because I am allergic
Reply:I agree with you, I am an avid angler, but I do eat what I catch. I do not practice catch and release unless they are undersized.