String or Swim (Long Read)

[Russ757]

Read this one on TKF, great read! I too have not caught a trout 30"+ (or over 26 for that matter) but i would definately release the beast. That first pic is great! Is it yours? Thanks for the post JP, great as always!

Russ

[MarkoChavs]

Very vivid. Love the fluidity of the whole thing....

True, honest, and deep...

Awesome read. Thanks for sharing such insight.... I am terrible with words so saying "words can't describe what i feel" would just be.... dumb... lol

But I love the honesty and openess, among other things...

[jpchavez23]

Well my family loves fish and for the most part I always bring back the fish to distribute to them. I remember my first bull red that I caught. I tagged it and kept it and it made a wonderful family gathering and meal as we baked and ate it (luckily this one had no worms) and it made for good memories of us all together eating and such. If I were to catch a trout that big my first instinct would be to keep it but at the same time, I want to release it as well. That is why I am conflicted!

There are plenty of trout in our bays that are good eating size. No need to keep a trophy. Same applies with redfish.

You and I share the same views. However, you express them 1000 times better than I ever could.

I promissed myself that I would get a replica made of the first trout I catch that goes 25"+. I am stuck at 19.5", but we all know that could change on the next cast.

I don't know how you feel about this, but someday in the future I would really enjoy picking up one of my favorite fishing periodicals, grabbing a morning cup of coffee and thumbing through it to see the newest jpchavez write up. I am a fan. Please don't stop what you have started.

Thank you for the compliments. I don't think I could ever write professionally, although I love writing. I wouldn't want to be bound by deadlines and all the other commerical factors that come into play when you are forced to write. I write when I'm inspired or feel strongly about a topic whenever that might be. I think people enjoy my ramblings because I'm passionate about what I write. I don't plan on stopping any time soon because I enjoy what I'm doing. I love the challenge of turning feelings and thoughts into words and feel there is still a lot of room for me to improve.

Well said! Now, are those pics from Galveston bay? I have never seen water clarity like that before. Maybe I dont get out enough (no doubt about that), but I'm always fishing in chocolate milk!

The middle picture was taken in Rockport and the other two were taken in Galveston Bay. One in West Bay and the other in Upper Galveston. During the winter the water can get extremely clear in our bay system. I can recall times when I've been in 6' or 7' of water and could see my anchor on the bottom.

Read this one on TKF, great read! I too have not caught a trout 30"+ (or over 26 for that matter) but i would definately release the beast. That first pic is great! Is it yours? Thanks for the post JP, great as always!

Russ

Thanks. Yes, that picture was taken last winter in West Galveston Bay.

[Torque]

Jhua,
it's your money to do with as you please as long as you don't soil the environment. Sharing memories with your family is important.
That being said, I would encourage release of large trout. We want them out there reproducing so that more large trout will grow. As stated by JPChavez, plenty of decent size fish out there to eat. Now, if you are talking bragging rights, get yourself a camera and take lots of pictures. Then you can brag and at the same time, know that you have a chance to catch her again.

[Jhua]

I should have clarified a bit. Whenever I fish alone or with a buddy, I take one or two fish home and tell my family it was a bad day regardless of how it was. Whenever I am with my family, they tend to keep everything. My family came from Vietnam (though we are chinese so that's kinda weird) and fish is a staple into their diet aside from rice. [insert asian joke here] :P They caught fish to eat and to eat alone. When they started fishing here, they kind of passed that mentality to me when they started to bring me along. I am beginning to break away from that mold and fish for sport and the thrill of something stripping drag off my reel. It is that sense of excitement that keeps me coming back. My family doesn't know that kind of fishing and I am only beginning to understand it. I will commit myself to releasing the big trouts because you are right, there are plenty of other fish for us to eat. I will try to pass this new mentality to my generation within my family because I don't think my older members of my family can understand this. Thanks again for the wonderful read and it has certainly given me food for thought.

[Curmudgeon]

Nicely put. Thanks for the clarification!

[Texfish]

I know it's an old thread, but what a great read !

Thanks for posting.

[gsb]

Yep, a great read. I usually release trout over 20", but that is my choice. Encouraging others to release larger fish is an investment in the future of our fisheries. Rock On.

[Moe]

Just read for the first time! Excellent read JPC!
I'm also a believer in realeasing trout over 20". I might keep one or two over 20", but rarely.
Conservation of the resource, indeed!

[Rollo]

Most fisherman will never experiance the thrill of a fight with a truly large trout,the journey to adulthood is mined with unimaginable close calls and even though she could possibly reach such truly large size,shes still a small fish in the pond she swims, Having witnessd first hand the devastation that mother nature herself can inflict ,I wondered if the spcies would be able to rebound and to her credit The Weakfish is really pretty strong and has made a pretty good comback It took time and any thing we do can make a differance in what our children catch tomorrow, So those who catch and release,Thanks and for those who have her on for tonight I say enjoy!!

[Gulfcoast13]

Very nice!

[jpchavez23]

Thanks for all the kind words. I wrote this piece last winter. I've caught and seen a few big trout since then but still not THE FISH I'm looking for.

My biggest fish this winter...




A buddy with a solid trout...


Another solid trout...


Here's a couple photos of a trout my buddy caught last weekend...




I'm still out there looking...

[scumLORD]

maaannnn dduuuuuddeee, if i catch it i can play god wit it dummy. Aint like there is some kind of heb right down my road i can get food at stupid. fishin' is about killin, out smartin that creature and just takin its stupid little life. what are you some kind of liberal hippie?

I've caught and released plenty of trout over 5 lbs this winter maxing to 7, catching multiples in one session. If you have that mind set of keeping a big trout makes your wiener bigger, then do the rest of us a favor if you can afford it, go buy a corvette. Or a rig that we all want, that you potlick in.

[buoy37]

If you have that mind set of keeping a big trout makes your wiener bigger, then do the rest of us a favor if you can afford it, go buy a corvette. Or a rig that we all want, that you potlick in.

I like it. Rep sent!!!!!

[JT]

I tend to believe that all the 25" to 30" trout around here are probably safe and don't have too much to worry about.