Practice Catch and Release

[kuipie]

Have you ever considered the following:

Over an 8 week period, 100 boats on the water with 2 fisherman who catch 5 Bass each, and don't release...that is 8 weeks x 100 boats x 2 fisherman x 5 Bass = 8000 Bass

This is why I can't understand why some fisherman do not catch and release.

[Shannon]

It's rather sad to see anglers loading there hatches with the fish that we have become so fond of.
What makes me so mad are the idiots that say "oh there are plenty of fish in this dam what are one or two going to do", the problem is that these anglers take out big fish as well.
I spent a few years deep sea fishing off Durban and you will not believe how badly the fish stocks off Durban have disappeared, this is the ocean now imagine how easily a dam can be damaged and how quickly.

A female bass will lay eggs according to her size, i.e. the bigger she is the more eggs she lays, but big fish also pass on "Big Fish" genes, if we remove all the large fish out of a dam we might just remove any future possiblity to ever have large fish in that dam again.

Also consider the fact that Bass are now classed as an alien and unwanted species and are therefore not protected. In years gone by wildlife departments stocked our dams with bass for the sake of improved revenue (and obviously with a push from SABAA).
If one of our dams bass populations collapsed it would be impossible to restock the dam as it is now against the law to do this.

You say "oh that will never happen", go and look at some fisheries management in the USA and you will see that hundreds of their dams have already had this happen, including dams like Lake Toho, which now is one of their most sought after dams but only after Billions of Dollars was spent to save the dam. If it happens here we will all hear the stories of how that dam was once a great dam to fish.....but!

Weigh your fish, take a picture, take measurements and get a replica made if you really need to impress your friends.
Personally I find it far more impressive to see a big fish swim free so that one day another angler can have the "priveledge" of catching it and maybe even breaking the SA record.

There are many fish that would probably have been close to the world record by now had they been set free. A world record would be worth far, far more than bragging rights for a 4 or 5kg fish.

[Guest]

i believe catch and release is a good thing...if managed corectly...at dams like inanda i think the bass fisherman do a good job of keeping the bass populations down and with all the bass classic ...fish offs.... casts for cash.... ten grand challenges...no money is put back for research just pockets lined with cash.

if you look at the stats for the inanda classic you will notice that every year the first 3 to 5 places are 3 and 4 kg fish and from there up to 20 th place are 2+kg fish.i just wonder how long this will continue before we start seeing a decline in the size ... the comps are not all bad... if the organisors put their results together in one database you would be able to see trends over the years of what is happening to the bass populations in the different dams and cut back on comps to minumise pressure on certain dams ...tell this to gerry leach and ken ainslie and see what response you get... you will see how conservative they are by the response you get :lol: :lol: :lol:

the small dams around the country are being stocked with bass all the time i hear a lot of people talking of how some farmers are requesting that fishierman come and harvest bass because the populations have exploded and need to be taken out.

the problems that i see at the dams are not onlly the bank anglers who at albert falls and midmar at this time of year are harvesting more bass than you can imagine....it is the bass fisherman as well... i watch fisherman fighting fish for longer than they need to ...if its 1.5 kg or bigger the poor fish is put through the ordeal of being netted then touched all over while photos are being taken put on the carpets while the camera is being sort then the hook removal ordeal a lot of the time the hook is stuck in the fishes throut because the person was sleeping or waited for the second or third knock before striking....

something that i see at the dam ...which really gets to me is when i see people catch a big fish put it on the deck take it back to the camp site or home with them to show everybody take pics weigh it then throw it in the deep freeze or the dustbin what a waste

i keep my livewell fill at all times so that if i catch a big fish and decide to take a pic i can land it as quickly as possible put it in the livewell while i sort myself out getting the scale or camera

if i kill a bass by mistake i take it home and eat it...if i have bass for diner i only take what i need and i dont take fish over 1 kg.

i hear stories from people who have fished inanda years ago where there were shoals of monster bass you didnt need a fish finder you just drove around the dam looking for the shoals and they hammered the bass and of course took them home...

management ...research and a little consideration on the fishermans side when catching fish is required....

[robdog]

Catch and release is the only way we will be able to sustain our fish stocks and fortunately it is becoming much more popular.

[Lukas]

I do believe catch and release will help but hook and cook is not the big bass enemy. As shannon said the fact that it is an alien species is already a huge problem as government will not support the future for bass. I still believe the biggest enemy bass or any aquatic animal has in this day and age is pollution. There is no control over excess sewage and then unskilled municipal workers divert it to our river systems killing millions of fish including bass. It take months or heavy rains to clear this system again and then the rehabilitation process takes even longer.

Fact: By the year 2014 there will be a need for 40000 civil engineers, technicians and artisans to guarantee that basic infrastructure does not collapse. All the qualified engineers have resigned or were replaced by incompetent city council family members or buddies, regardless of qualifications or skills. These engineers are not part of the cycle and needs to be replaced. Some refuse to return to councils due to the way the system has changed and the money available. They get paid more for being consultants.

Top ten bass enemies in my opinion.
Bass Enemy no 1 : Pollution
Bass Enemy no 2 : Pollution
Bass Enemy no 3 : Pollution
Bass Enemy no 4 : Pollution
Bass Enemy no 5 : Pollution
Bass Enemy no 6 : Pollution
Bass Enemy no 7 : Pollution
Bass Enemy no 8 : Dept of Nature conservation.Bass Enemy no 9 :
Bass Enemy no 9 : Hook and Cook brigade
Bass Enemy no 10: The way bass are handled when caught and the released.

[Guest]

Lukas,
China has 20 million soon-to-be engineers, where they going to go? Africa! Our children don't have the drive the chinese have, they are going to work for the chinese eventually, GUARANTEED! And our children are still taught afrikaans as a second language at school! If you are an afrikaans family and your kids go to an afrikaans school, that's your heritage and unfortunately you've just got to work harder than the others and learn afrikaans, english and chinese/mandarin. When is our education system going to catch on to this? Post 2010, what happens then?
My boys and I have been learning chinese in the way of pc based language games like the 'Talk Now' series. I wish we started earlier, they are already 6! My oldest isn't interested in learning chinese, I've missed the boat there, it's too late for him.

[Lukas]

Fishton, that is quite a statement but come to think of it you might have a good point. I will defenitly look into it 8O . Thanks, not just a fishing web site...current affairs too.

[pomerob]

Learn how to do the job in zulu, do the job, then errrrrrrrrrrrrrr this pisses me off. I am busy with warnings for missing work as we speak/ type.

[Guest]

Pomerob,
I know how you feel, and talking about learning other languages. The only reason you will ever need to speak a 'local' language, is to know what shit they saying about you!

[Guest]

Fishton, that is quite a statement but come to think of it you might have a good point. I will defenitly look into it 8O . Thanks, not just a fishing web site...current affairs too.

Lukas,
Yes it is, and it can be misunderstood, especially by afrikaans speaking members. But it is not defamatory in any way. I speak fluent afrikaans and also went to an afrikaans school for a number of years.

[robdog]

If you spend any time in Moz or Zim or Zambia, you will see plenty of Chinese living and working there! What you are saying makes sense Fishton

[Shannon]

What has speaking chinese got to do with "Catch and Release" other than that they are the people eating the planet.

Lukas I agree that pollution has a devastating effect on fishing, fortunately for us here in Natal we haven't been affected that badly.......YET!!!

I you do feel the urge to take a few bass home to eat, rather take the smaller ones under 1kg, In Inanda for instance there are too many of these smaller fish. A slot limit would decrease the smaller fish in the dam allowing the average size fish in the dam to increase, but not if we are all killing the larger fish.
Inanda has an average size fish of about 500g whereas Albert falls has an average size fish of over 1kg and getting bigger.

[Fab]

Touch wood, but in all my bass fooooshing years, I have only had one fish die on me...

Even my 4kg was ceremoniously released..... :lol: :wink: Fit and healthy to live to fight another day!!!! :lol:

By the way... I just need to add this in and will probably add it to all my posts for a while so that you all get the msg.... My cell fone was taught that it cannot swim and is not water proof so I was unable to wish my BF.CO.ZA buddies a merry Chrismas and "fab"ulous new year as your numbers are on my fone and not my simm card or memory card.... :? So don't think I didn't think of all you buddies out there, I just didn't have the numbers to sms u and wish u a good one.... You guys have my number, so pls sms them to me with your names so that I can add it to my contacts....Thx!! :wink: :wink:


:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Guest]

Shannon,

Below is a breakdown of what was discussed in this forum:-

Q. Why do we practice catch and release?
A. So our children and their children can still enjoy this fantastic sport.

Q. What other than 'hook & cook' is killing our bass?
A. Pollution and lack of support from the government.

Q. We understand that bass are 'alien' fish, but why is pollution becoming such a big problem?
A. There is simply just too many of us and the only thing standing between raw sewage (poo) and the tap you drink from, not even mentioning the luxury of bass, is an engineer.

Q. Why is our infrastructure on the brink of collapse?
A. Because the best engineers have left this country and the 'people' running it at the moment are incompetent and the future 'local' engineers look even worse.

Q. So where do the Chinese come in?
A. Quote Lukas "Fact: By the year 2014 there will be a need for 40000 civil engineers, technicians and artisans to guarantee that basic infrastructure does not collapse". We do not have these future engineers lined up, China has. Chinese will be running africa in the not too distant future, it's already happening, big time. Open your eyes and read some literature on current events. Therefore, good engineers = good water = good bass.

Q. Quote Shannon "What has speaking chinese got to do with Catch and Release?
A. Chinese only speak Chinese, and our children are going to be working for them, and that is our future. They are going to have to explain to their chinese bosses why it is so important to save our bass. Imagine the translation going wrong, "bass good?", "Yes", "oh ok, good eating".
<img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_142_3.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0">

I'm sorry I confused you there, call me anytime for assistance (0825582719).

[Shannon]

Fishton or should I call you "Team Bass 'n Chips".
Thanks for that I'll put you on speed dial!<img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_11_6.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D36%252F36_11_6/image.gif">

What can we as anglers control?
1) Looking after our fish
2) Combining forces with Nature conservation groups to force the goverment to do something about pollution
3) And that's about it.

If the Chinese are going to fix what our incredibly talented experts can't, let them come. Just don't let them near a tackle shop.<img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_2_109v.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D4%252F4_2_109v/image.gif">