Good on you for keeping it. You are allowed to keep it, so why should you have to release it because it is 40"? The smile on that boy and his dad's face, and the memories they will share are worth more than any big fish!
If you notice, all the fellas that preach "release all the 40"+ fish" magically only catch 39" fish. At least that's what they post when bragging on this and the other board. They are also the same people who fish all summer and keep 2 fish per person multiple times per week. All those fish will spawn also. So the few 40+ inch fish they catch per year, will not spawn near as much as the hundreds of 18-28" fish they catch and kill. Too many dumb, fat rednecks on a soapbox with an agenda so they come across as conservationists. Problem is, they are only that way when it benefits them..
Thank you for the post and congratulations to the young man for his beautiful fish!
|