If I go to a property with this instruction (description) and I do not choose to keep bass, what do I do with the fish I keep from this property? Cleaned way to many fish growing up

I don't know if the guidelines are the same for all properties, but I just fished Hat & Star Ranch and was told to dispose of fish in an inconspicuous location, 100+ feet from the launch.

It's a dilemma, how to deal with harvest fish if you don't have a livewell.   What we did was was hurl the fish onto the bank, into brush.  My thumb is pretty deeply shredded from doing that.  Sometimes we had try to pin fish down in the bottom of the boat, under a tackblebox, until I could maneuver the boat to a place close to the bank and shoreline brush.  I didn't want to drag a loaded stringer around behind the boat, but that may be the best option, as it's hard to pin down fish in the floor of the boat and keep them from flopping around, making a bunch of noise.

Another option I was thinking about was maybe putting a bath towel in the bottom of a small duffelbag, or maybe a plastic box/Tupperware of some sort.  Use of plastic bags could keep the towel and duffel un-slimed.  A relatively thin, towel-lined Tupperware with a secure lid, or placed under a tacklebox, might keep the fish pretty confined and unable to flop hard.  

I'd be interested in hearing what other members do to handle harvest fish.

Good topic guys.  I have a small livewell where we just load them up until the end of the day where we either clean them at my friends house or throw them into the woods off of a road or into a pond on the way home.

I think dragging a stringer is the best way to do it if you don't have a livewell but another popular method is just to kill the fish then so he isn't flopping around in the bottom of the boat or wherever you plan to store them.  This can be done with a few hard smacks to the head from a hard object or just cutting the spinal cord with a sharp knife.  I'm not a fan of the bludgeoning method but it is effective.

The absolute worst thing you can do is to show "compassion" and release the fish back into the water when the harvest goals haven't been met as many of our lakes need to be harvested to allow the fish to grow in size.

Tight lines Gents,

Jackson

Jackson, cutting the spine is a good idea. Thanks.   Is it normally bloodless?  I'd thought about taking a knife to them, but didn't want to make a mess in the boat.  I'd rather do that than the stringer, I think, as those fish can make noise, and I'm a bit concerned of a bunch of stressed out fish dangling from my boat might send signals, via stess-related sent, for example, to other bass in the area.  Also, the stringer is one more thing for a really big bass to get fouled up in when trying to boat it.

I've drug bass on a stringer for the many years that I've been fishing from an 8-foot pond boat, and have never experienced not catching more bass while doing so. There is always a possibility of a fighting bass getting fouled in the stringer, but it's never happened to me. Sometimes I filet and freeze the fish once I get home, and sometimes I give them away.....I HAVE thrown them into the brush, but I hate to do that, and I think it might even be illegal.

I forgot to mention that, in east Texas, it's seldom difficult to find someone who would be thrilled to accept your fish as a gift. Simply pull into a gas station and ask other patrons if they'd like some bass to take home.

Tom, I've had more negative experiences with stringers & fish baskets than you've had.  Lost several good fish who wrapped around them, as a matter of fact.  And bad things can happen when you get into weeds and/or wood.

Much prefer a livewell, or a cooler.  Even if the fish are to be thrown up on the bank at the end of the day.  I've noticed that no matter where I place the fish, even on a remote island, they are never there the next morning.  Coyotes, raccoons, who knows?  But my great fear that they'll stink up the place just doesn't happen.

Interesting topic guys... my Dad raised me on catch and release of Bass , but eat the crappie, sandies, catfish... ive fished Lake Fork since the day it opened and it was definatelly a catch and release world there.. then i joined the club about 10years ago and still kinda hung on to the same beliefs, until a few talks with Steve after he took over our club... Steve has turned my thinking about  harvesting, as i have seen results on lakes like Deer Trail... i will always do catch and release on Lake Fork and large public Lakes i might fish,,, But the "proof is in the pudding" as the saying goes,, on our club lakes... it does increase the size and health of overall fish... even though sometimes i  want to go catch numbers over size... i noticed Tom said it might be illegal to just throw a live fish on the bank,,, it got me thinking, so i called our Game Warden for the North Texas area and asked him about it and he said its illegal on public waters But Not on private waters (which i figured was the case) cause i know our club would not support anything illegal... its all a personal preference,, but for me i wont throw a fish on the bank, but i sure will clean what i want and take some in to friends i have that will take them in a second... ALSO the Game Warden said call him any time and he will pick some up from me, for some people in need... and yes Tom its true , stop at any town on way home from fishing and there will always be some takers

You know, Phillip, my dad was the same.  We fished for fun AND for food back in the day, I guess due to tradition and the fact that fewer people could afford store bought fish & other protein back then.

Then came catch & release, now selective harvest.  Funny that these days a keeper is a small fish rather than a big one.  But the science is really clear that the old philosophy of keeping larger fish was really, really bad for the fishery.

One more thought:  Without a livewell, you can always carry one or two 3-gallon ZipLok bags and bludgeon the fish. I used to carry a small ball-peen hammer in my boat to dispense with needle-nose gar, and that would work for harvest bass, too....both quick and bloodless. You could always bludgeon and throw them back into the water, and I'm pretty sure that turtles or birds would eat them within a short period of time.

Good idea.  I've seen an obviously struggling 10 inch bass getting mobbed by larger bass, too.  Won't hit a dead fish, but love one in trouble.