>>2533001>catch & release as your primary engagement with fishing is fucking weird and gay.This is a discussion about "fishing as sport," here ITT, not "fishing as profession." I'm not going to filet, de-bone, cook, and eat a dozen four- to six-inch brook trout. Secondarily, I can't be bothered; but primarily I want them to survive so that they can make more brook trout for me to catch, or even be caught by me again next week.
I think bassbros are some of the most contemptible and pitiable people on Earth (warning: /out/ bassbros probably already think you're me, KEK), but not because they practice catch and release. It's because they catch and release badly: banging the fish around on the bottoms of their boats, handling them extensively to obtain pics for Fishbrain and Reddit, chucking them back in like Frisbees, etc. The survival rate of bassbro-caught bass is quite low. I unhook and release fish quickly and with minimal handling, preferably never entirely leaving the water.
