I'm pretty much catch and eat but. I love fishing and all that it has to offer, which includes food for the table. I'll release fish that are small and/or record setting, or do not have any retention. If all fishing was catch and release I wouldn't participate in an activity that became purely all about the pursuit and nothing about the result. Just like many long established "traditions", that were hand down by our forefathers...catching fish and keeping them is now looked down upon by some. It's like you have to hang your head down when talking to catch and release only elitists. I used to fish the Crow/Castle regularly when there was some retention but I can't bring myself to fish the rivers now that there is zero retention even on non-native fish such as Browns and Rainbows. I'm on board with zero retention on endangered species such as Cutties and Bullys but to release a legal fish that appears to have life threatening injuries is just not ethical in my opinion.
|