>>1526369Uhm ...
>>1526371This.
I've heard all sorts of claims from people that bass tastes bad, it'll make you sick, and other bullshit. The truth is that most people see bass as a sport fish, not an eating fish.
Basically, bass have become such a meme that people want to preserve its species more than most other kinds of fish. Black drum are completely unregulated, for example. I could technically go to my local river and catch as many as bite, regardless of size, and cull them all from the biome to fill my freezer, have a fish fry for dozens of people, and send everyone home with meat for their freezers, and it's fine because it's not regulated. But their numbers are declining, which does upset the natural balance a bit, and nobody really cares.
But take home one two-pound bass to fry for dinner, and you'll see people losing their fucking minds over it. Why? Because they think ever catch-and-release fish survives, and they want to catch that 2lb bass next year as a 3-pounder, and on until it's a monster. And they think the rivers will be loaded with monster bass if nobody takes them home, and everything will be perfectly fine. Loads of massive fish won't be out-competed, won't kill off smaller species, or won't be starved out by newer generations of bass.
