While I am a big catch and release guy myself, I will argue to look at participation levels of when people can keep big fish from when they cannot. The trophy season has very high levels of participation over the short period of time because people can catch and keep big fish. I see this with my charters too. People are asking when the season opens to keep fish. When I offer earlier season catch and release trips 9/10 say they want to wait until they can keep the fish even if I offer the C&R only trips at a discount. Sportsmen have a long tradition of celebrating the biggest fish. There are a lot of charters who charge more during the trophy season because of the demand to catch and keep big fish.
|