Why bother catching 200 little walleye?

Ted DeWater caught and released this nice pike last summer

The comment to the previous posting is probably something a lot of readers are asking themselves. If all you are catching are little fish, wouldn't you move to a different location? I would like to answer that. The answer is no, at least not always.
It brings up the entire question of why do we fish at all? If all you want is fish in the freezer, then for goodness sake, go to the fish market and buy some. It's far cheaper. It's far easier. And it is guaranteed. Fishing is about none of the above.
Fishing is about fun. When you catch a fish on every cast, it's fun, pure and simple. If I was given a choice of catching lots of fish or catching just a few big ones, I would take the first choice. I'm going to turn all the fish loose anyway, whether they are big or small. Long ago I learned to only keep fish if needed for the next meal. That usually means one or two small-to-medium eaters.
Certainly I can eventually grow tired of catching just small fish and move off looking for bigger prey. But I'll leave the first spot feeling thrilled, just like I will feel after hooking and releasing some big bruiser later on. It's all part of fishing.
It's all fun.
Click to go back to our website
Click to see the latest on the blog