Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
Its genetics are gone? How do you figure; that thing has tossed its genetics all over the place in the decades it's been floatin' about. Now its time for it to get dead so the next round of its genetics can move up in the world.
Would you prefer it just wash up on shore as a carcass?
This isn't a 50 lb fish that still has a ton runway in front of it. I can see some frustration in things like that. We have a tendency to pass on good bucks when hunting in the hopes of them turning into great bucks. Putting a 70 lb fish back in the water may make some sense there. But that fish IS that great buck. And it's almost certainly near the end of its useful life.
20+ years and it's not been caught; that's plenty of time for one of those rod and reelers to have gotten it. Now it's pretty much on the way out either way so why you'd have a preference for it ending up hooked over just keeling over and washing up onshore somewhere is a bit of a mystery to me.
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If it can still spawn then it can still pass along genetics to its babies and hopefully more can grow to that size. But if it is passed its sexual maturity then you are right. It just saddens me to see a world record fish eaten instead of say in a tank at Bass Pro or something.
Like i said, I'm not going to tell you what to do with your fish. I just don't agree with eating trophies.