Keeping your catch?......

[Scopex]

Reading through the posts on this forum it's pretty evident that many, myself included, prefer to see their catch (or most of it) returned to fight another day and not served up with chips, peas and tartare sauce!

 

Not that their is anything at all wrong with taking some fish for the table, I like a bit of fish myself and do take the odd one home from time to time, that is if catch owt! I also fish for pike and don't see a problem with keeping some mackys and freezing them up for bait to tide me through the winter months.

 

However this has got me thinking, what species would you take...........and how often?

 

For me it would probably only be cod,plaice,bass mackeral and possibley haddock and then only maybe a couple of times through the year.

[Norfolkdan]

If I'd take anything it would be a cod, bass, plaice or a decent sized whiting.

 

However, all I catch is small pout anyway

[Cranfield]

quote:

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served up with chips, peas and tartare sauce!

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I think this is disgusting, it makes me sick and sends out all the wrong messages. demon

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.I hate tartare sauce.

[FearTheHands]

I primarily go fishing to catch for the table.

 

If I have caught enough recently then I return whatever I don't have a need for. I also stock up on mackerel through the summer for frozen bait during the winter.

 

ANYTHING undersized goes straight back as quickly as possible. Once I have enough for my needs (not many) I then fish for pleasure.

 

Not that many go back as I don't catch that much!

[Scotty T]

This has always been a sensitive subject Scopex, welcome aboard by the way .

This may sound daft but I don't actully eat fish, apart from the local chippy, the reason being i'm not a huge fan of it, therefore 99.9% of what I catch is always returned, apart from the odd fish which I keep for my old Nan. Alot of people I speak to find this bizare as I am such a keen angler, and I agree, it doesn't really make sense, but I love my sport which is what it comes down to at the end of the day. If I caught a 15lb bass, or a 30lb cod they would always be returned, always. I realise its each to their own, and I havn't got a problem with people taking a few fish home for the table.

 

Scotty

[stavey]

Hello and welcome to the forum scopex.

As you have said you do a bit of pike fishing and from your forum name i guess you do some carp fishing as well maybe?

You will find there is a very wide opinion on this subject of taking fish from the sea by all sorts of people from commercials/sea anglers/sport anglers/ conservationists/professors of marine biology/bookworms/ and so on.

 

We all share the same concerns and we all have our own theory as to why the general allround fishing is not what it used to be, sometimes we agree with each other and sometimes we dont, just for the record i personally think that there has to be some sort of control brought in like bag limits on valued species such as bass/mullet/smoothhound/ id like to include cod" not so much on there sport fish value just because of the state of their stock situation, but it seems it is valued more with chips making it the top target for commercials and i am afraid thats where it will stay.

 

Enjoy your visits to the forum and i look forward to hear your opinions, just as a last thought i like yourself do a little freshwater angling from time to time and have taken the odd macky home for pike fishing, what would you think and what do you think others would say if i knocked a few roach or carp on the head from a local fishery and used them as dead baits for bass fishing, i wonder if people would view it in the same exceptable way as taking sea fish for dead baits for coarse fish, and if not why?......

[Guest jay_con]

I would keep anything I caught if I had a use for it. Cod for the table, makeral for bait and allottment fertiliser. I take other fish simply to weigh in at the fishing club. My philosophy is that a man with rod and line or even 2 million men with rod and line will not dent a fish stock. I dont see the point in taking something I dont have a use for except when match fishing.

[Ken Davison South Wales]

Hi scopex,

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

I am a bit like Scotty except I do like to have the occasional fresh fish supper.

 

A dab is my top choice here as sole are a bit scarce, a nice sized flounder or two pound bass also hits the spot on occasions.

 

When boat fishing a bream or cod is a nice addition.

 

Not sure how the laws stand relating to staveys' comment on keeping small roach for pike baits but I can see no difference myself.

[SpeciMan]

I've heard that cod don't always fare so well when put back. If thats the case is there a max depth from which they can be caught and returned unharmed? I've yet to catch one and need to know if its fruitless trying to put a large female 20lb'er back

[Grant]

Some really good comments here on sensible self imposed limits, but dont agree with Autumn on the keeping fish for a compeition.

 

If its one comp a year, then no problem in terms of impact, but my understanding is that there are loads of these, and loads of fish killed unnecessarily.

 

Not usually controversial, but really dont agree with this.