08-18-2023, 07:14 PM
(08-18-2023, 02:09 AM)Therapist Wrote: Soi!! What happened to the mess of fish you caught?? After a full day on the water, did you stand at the sink and fillet all those fish after you got home ?? I used to see the same thing at Yuba when there were jumbo perch. Folks would take several hundred of them in a day, standing on the ice for 8-10 hours, drive home, and stand at the sink for another 3-4 hours filleting fish, I doubted it then and I doubt it now. These resources are NOT unlimited, nothing wrong with taking a mess of fish, but a 100 !! Get real folks, no one is going to spend 2,3,4 hours processing fish after spending 6-8 hours on the water !! I can't see taking more than 2 dozen of any species, any where. I have filleted 2 dzn strippers at Powell and that is no fun !! 2 dzn jumbo perch after 8 hours on the ice was not fun, I guarantee 100 white bass after 6-8 hours on the water is not going to get done !! Use some judgment folks, take what is reasonable and release the rest !!
Don't assume that most people who harvest a lot of fish end up wasting them. I know there are a few bad apples but most of us use all the fish we harvest. I can process 1 fish per minute with my electric filet knife including skin off and trimmed. Last fall we ended up with 75+ nice perch in my cooler and I processed them all myself. After almost an hour and a half at the filet table I made a note to myself to not harvest that many next time. My shoulder and neck were aching after an hour but I kept at it until every last fish was done. I personally don't plan on putting that many perch in the cooler again unless I have help at the filet table but I still need 40+ to feed my crew. Instead of putting some extra filets in the freezer, I guess I'll just have to go fishing more often. Oh well.