I have a friend that in his own opinion, thinks he is entitled to catch all the fish he wants, not that he ever takes more than his limit . i ve never seen him handle a fish with his hands, he shakes them loose with needlenose. another buddy and i have told him he s the main culprit in hook wounded fish, he states " i paid for those fish " this doesnt just happen on the big lake, but trout ponds as well. he ll fish a pond and take his limit everyday, and thinks nothing of it..like he says,, 'i paid for those fish " the reason i m putting this on here, is i am wondering,,am i wrong for calling him out on this ? is he actually right ? he ll be the first to point out some one else, but he can do no wrong . im still waiting for the clown to put his planer boards on his little boat for the trout ponds,,as he has a right to all the water too..and if you fish with him..and you happen to have a good one on,, he will speed up the boat..honest ! hell of a guy huh . so, what do you think ? i know you ll read it "MR TC" .

Doesn't sound like you like him too much!!!!! With that said on the other hand no problem w/ him taking his limit, his attitude kind of blows but he is entitled to his daily limit. Should educate himself on how to release the fish though, shaking off w/ pliers does a # on the fish!

I have a mixed reaction LH. Every fisherman in the state has a "right" to catch and keep their legal limit each day and choosing to exercise that right is a personal choice.

The statement "I paid for those fish" is not exactly how I'd like it to be said. He spent what like $20 for a license - does that mean he should devistate a fishery for the .25 cents he "paid for his fish"? I don't think so.

Furthermore he fishing license does not BUY him the right to waste a resource. It does not buy him the right to hook damage every fish he catches. Does your fishing license buy you the right to catch 100 white perch then leave them flopping on the ramp? Of course not.

The last piece is the corker. If he can't enjoy the experience of watching you catch fish as much as he enjoys catching them himself...time to find a new partner.

WE have all had someone like this in our lives key word "HAD" thankfuly not in mine anymore.Get shed of him and don't look back!!!BARRY

Comes down to values and morals. If he is your friend then you as his friend have the right to show or educate him how to properly catch, boat & release a fish with minimal impact to the fish. Part of being a fisherman or hunter is to practice conservation also. If he continues with current practices afterward then you would really have to question if he is a friend.

not that i dont like him,,thats not it at all,, he s actually a pretty good guy,, but i am hoping after he reads this he ll realize its not all about him,,i dont believe just cause you bought a license you should take your limit everday..catch n release is a good thing..theres only so many fish in the water..if its not hook wounded or in danger of dying , throw it back,,his claim to owning those fish is nuts.i prefer to think of this post as an eyeopener to his ridiculous claims and try and educate an ol timer to a realism that, his thoughts are wrong. other than that he s a good guy..just one of those guys that is" all about me " you know what i mean

I would simply explain to him that fishing even with a license much like driving a car is a privilege not a "right"!

Cool Water

i really have nothing against an old timer or anyone for that matter keeping fish if he is within the legal limits as long as he is eating them. but if he wants to be an idiot and not release his fish in a responsible fashion so the next guy can reap the rewards as well, then thats not right, they are not his fish, they are our fish. i remember a few years back keeping a brookie on the closing day, was the first brookie i kept in years, some snobby orvis clad guy taughting catch and release gave me the business, really ****** me off that day. i kept 3 salmon out of the 400 or so i caught last year, you know what, they were good and no way is that going to ruin the fishery. your friend needs to respect the fish he is releasing

i have no problem with keeping fish, i love to fish and eat them. i will never keep more than i will eat..i will bet i dont keep more than 3-4 limts a season..this buddy of mine will keep a limit each day and , NO, he doesnt eat them.,he s never even gutted a fish..he wears rubber gloves taking them out of the cooler so he doesnt get the" FISHY SMELL " on his hands,,,lol...no lie

Whats his number...? LOL