Fishing For The Future

One of many crappie caught 4/4/16

While fishing the other day I began thinking about the importance of what I call fishing for the future.  As tempting as it is to take home every fish you catch, it is vital to think about fishing in a way that preserves this activity for future generations.  The crappie I caught were all pretty close to the size of the one pictured above and would have made an excellent fish fry; however, they were mostly females that were full of eggs.  As much as I was tempted to take these crappie home, I decided photograph some of them and return them to the water so they could lay their eggs and ensure that there would be more to catch in the future.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with taking your share of fish to eat.  In fact it is a good idea to keep some fish in order to allow room for other fish to continue to grow.  If we didn't keep some fish the waters would become overcrowded causing fish growth to be stunted, but during the spawn it is a good idea to return the female fish to the water unharmed in order to ensure there will be plenty of fish to catch in the future.

In order to do your part in making certain that future generations are able to enjoy fishing as we do, I encourage practicing Catch, Photograph, Release (CPR) fishing during the spring while the fish are spawning.  Together we can keep the sport of fishing alive.

-Any day in the outdoors is a good day