01-03-2020, 03:00 PM
I agree this is a problem. I don't agree they ALL die, and there are ways to make it so they don't. I absolutely REFUSE to keep every single 4" bluegill I catch at Mantua in the Spring, though. Same with every white bass.
We could all both spread the word AND get some education. PV perch coming up hard from 30 feet is different entirely from 50 feet. Adult lake trout horsed to the surface from the deep depths, that almost certainly kills most of them. However, I've seen large saltwater fish coming up from a hundred, or more, feet deep released by knowledgeable captains and crews, and I have recently l tried to adopt some of their methods.
I won't lose much sleep in waters where certain species are over populated and stunted, although taking them home to eat is definitely a MUCH better option and should be practiced and encouraged. Learning to process 8" perch isn't that hard with Youtube around.
I now have one of those ice fishing "depth-finders", (the 2 oz.-plus weights with the clip, 98 cents at Walmart) attached to the line on a spare rod. I tied a big, long-shank Aberdeen-style hook above that such that the point points DOWN, and the line ties conjugal to the shank. Visualize the point of the hook points DOWN. I mashed the barb with pliers, too.
If you are in water shallow enough, just toss em back. If you are in water deep enough to matter, hook that rig in their lower jaw, and drop the sinker down the hole. If you are SO deep that they come up shell shocked, with bulging eyes and tonic muscles, absolutely, take them home.
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We could all both spread the word AND get some education. PV perch coming up hard from 30 feet is different entirely from 50 feet. Adult lake trout horsed to the surface from the deep depths, that almost certainly kills most of them. However, I've seen large saltwater fish coming up from a hundred, or more, feet deep released by knowledgeable captains and crews, and I have recently l tried to adopt some of their methods.
I won't lose much sleep in waters where certain species are over populated and stunted, although taking them home to eat is definitely a MUCH better option and should be practiced and encouraged. Learning to process 8" perch isn't that hard with Youtube around.
I now have one of those ice fishing "depth-finders", (the 2 oz.-plus weights with the clip, 98 cents at Walmart) attached to the line on a spare rod. I tied a big, long-shank Aberdeen-style hook above that such that the point points DOWN, and the line ties conjugal to the shank. Visualize the point of the hook points DOWN. I mashed the barb with pliers, too.
If you are in water shallow enough, just toss em back. If you are in water deep enough to matter, hook that rig in their lower jaw, and drop the sinker down the hole. If you are SO deep that they come up shell shocked, with bulging eyes and tonic muscles, absolutely, take them home.
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