# Self Sufficiency/Living off the Land or Off the Grid > Fishing >  Catch and Release.

## Sarge47

A fellow asked me some time back if I practiced "Catch & Release?"  I said "sometimes."  He asked me what I meant by that and I responded this way:

"If I catch a fish that's below the legal limit, then, yes, I release them.  If they're legal, then I keep them.  I don't throw away dinner!  If they're either a Carp or an Asian Carp, regardless of size, then I feed them to the cats!"  He seemed a bit put out!    :Creepy:

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## Rick

I either catch and release or eat them. I don't know that I'd do that with a dangerous invasive like the Asian Carp. They might get fed to the birds. I've yet to catch one.

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## Sarge47

> I either catch and release or eat them. I don't know that I'd do that with a dangerous invasive like the Asian Carp. They might get fed to the birds. I've yet to catch one.


Here in Illinois both the Mississippi and the Illinois River are  swamped with the A.C.!   :Saddam:

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## jcullen24

> He seemed a bit put out!


I don't know why, perfect answer!   :airhorn:

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## Rick

Or explain it's the only way you can keep your latent urges to kill in check. Either that or it's the drugs. Hmm, could be both.

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## hunter63

I practice 'shoot and release', and if I practice long enough I might get good at it.....That count?

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## JPGreco

I usually release when I used to fish as I didn't care for fish.  I just wish I had known about filing down the barb.

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## Sarge47

> I usually release when I used to fish as I didn't care for fish.  I just wish I had known about filing down the barb.


You don't need to file it down, just squeeze it down with a pair of pliers.     :Cool2:

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## Winter

Invasive species need death. I did see of "bizarre foods" some Minnesota residents that had a way to make carp yummy. They brined it, smoked it to get rid of the oil, and then cooked it. He was happy, but, he eats fish testicles so...

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## Rick

Not cool....

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## Old Professor

Carp are very good to eat if you first remove the "mud vein" ie: the lateral line and skin them. Soaking them in water with some baking soda helps as well.

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## Jimmyq

As a kid I fished with a neighbor and his dad, they were from the Czech republic and were amazed that carp weren't considered a game fish (hence no regs for size or bag limits). They ate them happily, I did too but man they seem to have a lot of bones. Not sure how the old dude cleaned them up, beyond watching him gut them I don't remember any other treatment beyond the tedious scaling. We used to fish for them with a home made 'dough' type bait on double bar bottom fishing rigs. 

 To stay on topic, I have released a few fish, accidentally  ;-)

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## Old GI

"Catch and Release"?  That's what my ex did!  Oh, you mean fish, nevermind.

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## pgvoutdoors

> As a kid I fished with a neighbor and his dad, they were from the Czech republic and were amazed that carp weren't considered a game fish (hence no regs for size or bag limits). They ate them happily, I did too but man they seem to have a lot of bones. Not sure how the old dude cleaned them up, beyond watching him gut them I don't remember any other treatment beyond the tedious scaling. We used to fish for them with a home made 'dough' type bait on double bar bottom fishing rigs. 
> 
> To stay on topic, I have released a few fish, accidentally ;-)


While working in the outfitting business I use to receive fishing equipment catalogs from European distributors that highlighted Carp fishing as big of a sport as Bass fishing is here.

On Topic: I practice catch and release most of the time.

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## Rick

Jim - you can cross score the bones and pressure cook. They all but dissolve. Or at least they are edible.

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## Sarge47

I knew a guy who filleted the Carp then did what Rick said.  He liked them okay.  I had caught one and gave it to him.  He didn't suggest that we let it go! When I hunt, I only hunt for food, the same with fishing.  I don't throw away dinner.     :Laugh:

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## Aurelius95

I went fishing last weekend.  It was clear we were going to reach our limit of trout (8 per day, per person), so there were a few I hooked on the lip that would suffer no real harm that I released.  It allowed me to catch some more.  If the hook goes way down, I keep 'em, as they will most likely not survive.

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## Jimmyq

The Carp are usually energetic fighters too, compared to the rainbow trout I have caught over the years.

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## Thaddius Bickerton

I suppose I fall into the keep n eat clan most of the time.  I will cull if I catch ones bigger later on and don't want that many.  That is why I prefer a basket over a stringer.  But ya got to allow I mostly fish for bream or bass.  Southron style isn't like the trout streams 

OTOH, given that I like trout, I would probably keep n eat them too.

Thad.

as far as carp, Europeans seem to like em,  maybe they ought to start fishing safaris to the southern impoundments.  Plenty of carp for them and we get rid of them.

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## natertot

I only catch and release if I don't have a meal. I just can't imagine letting a good bite to eat go down the stream!

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## Sarge47

> I only catch and release if I don't have a meal. I just can't imagine letting a good bite to eat go down the stream!


Don't you mean "if you HAVE a meal?"     :Confused1:

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## Sparky93

I've heard the asian carp are good eating, but don't have a bunch of meat for their size once you get done cleaning...

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## Wildthang

> I've heard the asian carp are good eating, but don't have a bunch of meat for their size once you get done cleaning...


Yeah the Chinese eat so many of them, that they are not taking over their rivers like they are here! We need a new China town by the Mississippi river!

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## LowKey

When I fish in the lake, I always catch and release even though you can keep anything under two pounds and legal length. They limit the fish to two pounds not cuz there are a lot of them, but because older fish concentrate toxins that may be present. It's too built up around here.

Surf fishing is a different matter. Because of all the regulations on Striped Bass, I use circle hooks if I'm fishing for them or know they are going to be in the area. Circle hooks don't gut hook the fish, it catches them in the lip (or not at all more often than not). But a Striper has to be 28" to keep. You want to return schoolies with as little damage as possible. You can't highgrade either. Serious fine if you keep one in the water on a stringer now (which I used to do if I caught one on the first cast and had hours of fishing left to do before walking back off the sandbar.) You also can't remove the head or fillet them until you get them home.  
Due to the weight issue on a keeper, even gutted and de-gilled, I have to really want to keep one to hump it all the way back to the truck. My favorite fishing spot is about a mile walk out on long sandbar. Sugar soft sand if you happen to return at high tide.

Fishing for blues, that's usually dinner. Wire leader and a good strong hook for those puppies.

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## tipacanoe

I fly fish, barbless, and haven't kept a fish in several years unless it is bleeding.  I usually only fish fresh water here, and if you are going to keep a fish, you must kill it as soon as you complete the catch, so there isn't any culling allowed.  I have other types of tackle, but prefer to fly fish even if the catch is lower in numbers.  If I wanted a meal, there wouldn't be any hesitation to keeping one that is legal.

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## Batch

When I fished as a kid we kept some panfish. Then when I got into bass fishing I was almost all catch and release. I fished literally everyday for at least a decade. The nearest fishable body of water down here is usually not far. The canal from my mom's house was 2 houses down to the west and a block and a half to the east. I have to walk about twenty five feet from the back door to the lake out back. When I first moved into this place in the late 80's, I fished out back in a jon boat every night. All catch and release.

When we get to saltwater fishing, well, that is a whole different story. We kept our limit on the good eating fish and kept our limit on the legal not so good eating to our understanding fish. We took those to the Chinese fish markets. where they were taken past boxes containing red eared slider and yellow bellied sliders. LOL When I eat Chinese food I never ask what it is I am eating. I don't like to be lied to, if it tastes good just chew and swallow and enjoy! LOL

Now, lately I have been meaning to try some things. Gar tenderloin and snakehead are said to be real good eats. I also want to do a wild ceviche using wild citrus and a fish caught in the back country. Just need to find a wild substitute for cilantro. 

We have huge carp everywhere. Around here right now the ficus are dropping figs. The carp love those things and catching a 10lber is literally nothing. But, these carp are trifoloid grass carp and must be released immediately unharmed down here. All you need to catch them is a couple of ficus berries on a hook.

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