Keeping Fish

[Steve6902]

Okay guys, I have my Hobie Outback all rigged up and ready for Rock season. I just have one small question. After you catch a big old pig of a rock, how do you transport/store it for the journey back?? Now I'm not talking little 25" and under. I'm talking about the big boys. So if you can share some insight or even a pic or two that would be great.

[yakscientist]

A little ambitious are we?

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[dirtyjake237]

Steve I usually set em all loose. Especially the big ones, most striped bass over 30 pounds are usually female and large females produce exponentially more eggs than smaller ones.
Just my 2 cents, I can remember about 30 years ago when the Striped Bass population was hanging on by a thread. I still believe we should impose a slot limit like they have for red drum.
Fisherman are stewards of the shared resource, if our forefathers had restrained themselves just a little bit we would be able to hunt wild Buffalo today. So that's why I fish rather than hunt, I can't release it for others and our grandchildren to enjoy later if I kill it.

[Mbae]

let the trophies go.. they dont even taste good. if you want a good eating size, take home a schoolie size.

[Yak Fish]

Okay guys, I have my Hobie Outback all rigged up and ready for Rock season. I just have one small question. After you catch a big old pig of a rock, how do you transport/store it for the journey back?? Now I'm not talking little 25" and under. I'm talking about the big boys. So if you can share some insight or even a pic or two that would be great.

You release it. We are generally conservationist minded and wouldn't keep fish over 30". It's not good for the species because they're part of the spawning migration. If you post a picture keeping a large fish like that, be prepared for a little backlash.

[ccchrisccc]

Highly recommend. I never go out with a cooler now.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C500BLQ/?tag=becore-20


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[supfisher01]

I definitely saw this thread going in a different direction in my mind.

[Steve6902]

Okay got it, let the big ones over 30" go, and don't post pics of me keeping a big fish or someone will be upset. Sooooo, how do you keep the under 30" fish in the yak?? I usually keep them on a stringer over the side. I'm kind of looking for some DIY ideas to keep them out of the water.
Oh and for the record, I hunt to. Also do CDP's.

[FishMoken]

I picked myself up a low end igloo cooler for my kayak this season, and a bunch of ice packs from work. It should do the job as I don't have to transport the fish more then a few hours. I had a stringer before but the water is just to hot during the summer. Hopefully I will put it to use when spring comes and can get some white perch.


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[Memory Maker]

Your question was how do we keep the big ones? .......... The answer is that most don't because they are the breeders and they don't taste that good. They are mostly for photo opts besides The 18" ones taste the best. If you want to keep one, that's up to you but it will be a pain getting it to shore.

[sega]

I personally don't have any intention of keeping a big breeding rock fish, but I'm not going to get into some guys business for keeping a legal fish that he's going to eat. If you're paying for a fishing license, and you're abiding by all laws and regulations set in stone by the people actually doing the research and keeping tabs on these fish, who am I to tell you you're wrong for harvesting a legal fish? If people on here are getting upset because cows are being harvested they should be gearing their frustrations to the charter boats limiting out every day, not the average kayaker who is lucky if he lands one cow a season. I understand some of us fish solely for recreational purposes, but there are others who are out there trying to eat.

[dirtyjake237]

Couldn't agree with you more Vega. If they would set a slot limit especially for the commercial net draggers all fish that grew above the slot would soon outnumber the smaller fish. Imagine catching dozens of rockfish over 30 inches in a few hours! I can personally attest to fishing in NC during the red drum spawning season and doing just that. I can't remember the last time I caught a red drum under 30 inches during their run. Everyone complained about the slot until they saw the results and the eco tourism dollars it produces. Another great example is the Snook fishery slot size imposed in FL.

[Steve6902]

I'm confused, I thought that MD had a slot limit. Has to be over so many inches and under so many inches. Then only one can be over 28". At least I think that's how it goes. I can't find the regs for 2017.

[supfisher01]

We don't have a slot rule now but we had one a couple years ago. The slot was 36"-40" were illegal to keep.

Now it is: for trophy season 1 fish per person per day over 35" and after June 1st you can keep two fish per day over 20" with only one of your fish being over 28".

[dirtyjake237]

It changes frequently, like Sega said according to the marine biologist and the DNR researchers. What controls the decision on those regs is a commercial fishing and charter boat "sustainable fishery" style of management. Don't get me wrong I'm not against someone keeping a fish. I just disagree with how and who the regs are catering to. For the next few months we can't keep any rockfish. That's not the case with red drum, year round slot is open.
NC and FL realized that the fish meat market dollar and the 30 person head boat at 50 bucks a person was not as profitable as the eco tourism or a guy paying 300 to 900 bucks a day for a person guide. The dollar wins the politics and who the law makers, marine biologist and DNR cater to.
We don't buy fishing licenses to buy the fish we eat. We buy the license to have public water access, and to pay the salaries of the law makers and DNR patrols stopping people from illegally harvesting a 5 gallon bucket of 12 inch dinks. Don't scoff I've personally had to call DNR about such an incident at Kent Narrows.
To get back to the point, striped bass must be landed whole and can not be culled. Keep em on a stringer or if you have lots of ice on your yak put em in it. If you have a along drive home fillet the beast at the dock, ask somebody if they want the carcass for crabbing so nothing goes to waste.