I have strange ethics when it comes to the consumptive use of wildlife, both hunting and fishing. Here are some things that I have thought about when it comes to the ethics of fishing. These ideas are intended as suggestions; I don't want to preach but I do want you to be aware of how I approach fishing and why.
It has been shown that walleye that hit artificials and are released survive better than fish that hit live bait and are released. This is because live bait tends to hook fish deeper, causing more injury. It has also been shown that bigger fish hit artificials, so if you are fishing catch and release, artificials are the way to go. If I am fishing for perch or something else that I intend to keep, I use live bait because it can be more effective in terms of numbers.
Besides that, I don't like using vertebrates for bait; it just doesn't seem right to me. If you use mostly artificials, you don't have to buy bait every time you go out, which is nice. But, artificials are usually more expensive.
This is strictly to reduce injury to the fish. I have never caught a fish by just the front hook, so I don't believe that it is necessary to catch fish. If you only have the back hook, you only have one hook to remove from the fish, which gets the fish back in the water faster. Also, that front hook can't get caught in the net if it isn't there, which speeds up the process. Finally, that front hook tends to hook fish in the eye, gills, etc., when they bit the rear one, which just causes more trauma to the fish.
If it's a big bait, like a #14 Husky Jerk, I leave the middle and rear trebles on and only remove the front one. This is because northern often hit the bait in the middle, and you'll miss quite a few fish with only the back hook.
This is to reduce trauma and release time as well. Treble hooks are difficult to get out of a fish, especially if they are hooked deeply at all. They tend to catch again once you've gotten them loose and really make things difficult. I don't believe I have ever missed a fish because I had a single hook on a spoon.
In many locations (like Alaska), single hooks on spoons are the law for salmon fishing.
If you are catching a huge number of small panfish and none of a decent size, then there are probably too many little fish and not enough predators in that body of water. Keeping those little guys, even if they're only a bite or two, will help the population get healthier.
The big fish are the reproductive individuals, the ones that ensure that there is a population next year. By harvesting big fish, you reduce the reproductive capability of the population. For this reason, minimum size lengths are asinine and 20 years out of date from a management perspective.
I enforce a self-imposed "slot limit." A slot limit is one in which you keep fish bigger than one size but smaller than another. For instance, in most ND waters there is no minimum size for walleye or pike. In walleye, I keep fish between 13" and 20". Smaller aren't worth cleaning, and bigger are nearly always experienced reproductive females and so go back in the drink. In northerns, I keep between about 20" and 28-30", or between 2-5 pounds. Again, smaller aren't worth it (because of those stupid Y-bones) and larger are good reproductives.
If you decide to follow this plan, you'll have to figure out what sizes you want to return to the water and which sizes you're comfortable keeping. I don't know how the ages work on bass. I throw all bass back because they grow very slowly and a fish that's legal in most waters (16") is too old for me to be comfortable eating. I probably will keep some, but I have never fished where they were terribly common and so just feel better about throwing them back.
The exceptions are panfish, in which I keep pretty much anything, and fish that are deep-hooked or have swallowed a bait. If the fish is bleeding badly there's no point in throwing her back. I once kept an 8-pound northern because she had swallowed my favorite Shad Rap. I was sick about it because it was in the spawning channel and I figured she was a big, egg-laden female. Well, luckily she had already laid her eggs for that year. That brings up the next point.
This has two parts: fishing spawning areas for eaters and catch-and-release.
I think it is extremely unethical to keep fish caught in spawning water in the spring. Huge numbers of big, healthy, old fish are harvested every year because they are concentrated in tight areas and hungry. I fish these areas, but I release any fish that isn't terminally hooked. It's great to fish these areas as long as you're careful.
The other part of that is especially crucial with bass, which defend nests. If you are fishing bass over spawning beds, it is crucial to get those fish back in the water quickly so they can defend their nests against predators. Otherwise they'll not reproduce because all their eggs will have been eaten.
Don't filet the poor bastards alive. Lots of people do but it's almost unbelievably cruel.
Back to Handling Your Catch
Back to the Table of Contents