Replacing caught fish with new correction

[sherman51]

when I catch a fish that I'm going to keep it goes in the box with its throat cut to bleed out. so I'm not going to do any culling myself. I fish the central basin and keep larger fish to go towards my limit but would much prefer the smaller eaters. but on the central basin there are a lot of days you just don't catch that many smaller fish. I personally don't believe in culling fish. I believe once you keep a fish be it bass or walleye it should be counted as part of your daily limit. but that's just for me. if the law allows others to practice culling then I'm not one to say its wrong. I do practice some catch and release on the central basin and I believe fish caught from the deep water on the central basin has a high mortality rate. but its not as high as keeping everything I catch. so each person must decide for themselves what is ethical for them.

[ebijack]

Well like mentioned, if your within legal rules, no harm no foul. BUT! I will state that after fishing tournaments and working tournaments for well over 40 yrs, there are some of us who know how to take care of fish and keep them alive for 8 hrs in a livewell and running 40+ miles in rough waters. Fizz fish ONLY if required and as a last option. And do it properly! Most boats out there do not have livewells large enough to keep say 5, 8lb walleyes alive and well for very long let alone 5 4 to 6lb smallies alive that long. There are things that can be done to help if folks want to invest in proper care of their fish. First off plug your livewell overflow so the fish DO NOT slosh back and forth. Keep the livewell full to over flowing onto the floor. Try putting a plastic bead in a partial full glass of water and shake the glass. Then do it completely full of water and see the difference. Keep the fish weighted to belly down/up right position in the livewell so the fish can burp out any excess air in it's bladder using clips on it's fins. Recirc only when not running, Recycle when running. As soon as you get off plane, refill the livewell! To state some basic's.

[pimplepounder]

I agree with everything that ebjack said here. It takes awareness and understanding of how to use good systems and methods to keep fish healthy and alive for a full day on the water.