OASHABASSMAN, I do not hunt deer or keep any fish I catch and I fish 3-4 days a week..
I’ve kept out of this because I don’t have a decent answer but.... Sunday I was fishing a small local lake. No one just “happens” upon this place, it’s pretty well hidden. 2 older men watched me catch 4 fish on 5 casts (I had a batch of 3.5lb schoolies cornered) and they immediately went into bent pole pattern! Next thing I know they’re practically pushing me out of the spot! I’m in a 18’ tin, they’re in a 20’ glass boat.
I heard one guy say, “don’t worry, we’ll get you some dinner”. Next thing I know one of the guys catches a 2 pounder and throws it in the livewell. They’re high 5’in each other and I’m like WTF?
Im sure they were locals, what they did was legal, but yes it chapped my ass!
Will the lake go under? Absolutely not! I just didn’t appreciate the tactic they used. I moved to another spot to where they couldn’t see me any longer. I left a really hot bite because I didn’t want them following me.
The good part? The week before I helped a man video and release a 10lb3oz fish from that lake for the FWC lunker program! He’s a local too and I was glad to help! I’m glad the 2 pounder was eaten and the 10 pounder went free!
2006 Triton SP-185, 2006 Evinrude Etec 90, PowerTech NRS3, Garmin Echomap Plus 73CV & 93SV
Mr. OSHABASSMAN..............there is a flaw in your analogy, you can catch a bass and take a picture of it and then release it for another day or have a fake bass made to represent your catch. You can not shoot a deer regardless whether a doe or big buck and release it back to the wild. That is the nicer part of fishing versus deer hunting.
Figured I jump in on this since I moved here 3 months ago. Seems to me I've already seen a local with an icebox full of pregnant female bass. I couldn't care less, every bit his right to harvest some fish but my question is this; is it just not cool when the "foreigners" kill the fish or everyone? The foreigner comment by the way wasn't racist. Tasteless perhaps but not racist. The other part I'm wondering about is if you could choose would you take the $51 Billion of revenue and the 1.1 Million jobs tourism creates in Florida or have a few extra 10 pounders swimming around? I've got no skin in the game as I am in fact just a tax paying transplant but I figured I'd ask. After 11 years in Japan it sure is nice to return home and hash out real problems with fine bass anglers such as yourselves. Either way I am proud to call you all brothers and would be glad to help you on the water if you ever needed it and sure hope you would return the favor regardless of our 10 pound differences or American regionality.
Dan Mitchell
2011 Stratos Champion Elite 202
2021 Mercury Pro XS 225
Disney - Mouseville one of the worst things to happen to central. Just an old Florida guys opinion.
Central Florida that is.
It's not that hard just impose a tax. Why not a snowbird tax? A sportsman's tax? Why not make money off it instead if whining about it on the internet. Cant believe the way things exploded in Florida the last 25 years this wasnt done. Could have rebuilt the states garbage infrastructure with the money