I read a lot of posts where somebody says "Fishing Was Great". Would love to hear some better definitions of GREAT FISHING. Tell us what a great day is and what a great week is.

Great = better than good, much better than poor, almost as good as awsome;)

derrek.

"It's the weaseling out of things that sets us apart from the animals.... Except the weasel."
- H.J. Simpson

Well, it's very subjective, but for me it's consistently catching fish with some ocassional hawgs thrown in. For walleye, I think "great" fishing has to be at least a couple hundred caught over the course of a week. I've had a couple of days when two people caught over 100 in an afternoon. I'm sure others have done better than that, while some of you may have never caught more than a couple dozen in a day and probably thinking we're telling tales. Which brings back to my point....it's all subjective.

If I've learned something it's that the fishing is usually described in terms of the best that the body of water can turn out, and not usually in terms of what it kicks out on average days...

Rockpt:

What are the daily limits in those areas where one can catch at least a couple of hundred walleyes in a week? OK - so that's a facetious question. However, if you could catch a couple of hundred walleye in a week, how could you rationalize killing so many fish when you could only harvest so few? The fact that released walleyes swim away after release affords no guarantee that they survived. Statistically, the numbers that die after catch and release are both disturbing and thought provoking. Some published research estimates the percentage as high as 30% (at only half that rate 30 fish die out of 200 released). Consequently, should we, as responsible fishermen, define great fishing in such terms (at least 200 walleyes in a week)?

So what's a guy to do? You wait all year for your one week up north, spend 500-$1000 bucks for a cabin, boat and motor and the fishing just happens to be great. But you are still looking for that 30" Eye. Are you supposed to quit fishing on your 3rd day of the week just because you are catching fish?

There's lots of things a guy can do and all are to do with being careful how you treat the fish. Treat 'em gentle, carefully remove the hook(s), if the bite's that good refrain from using crank baits with multiple treble hooks, try not to haul 'em up from deep water and don't keep 'em out of the water any longer than necessary. These all help to reduce the mortality rate.

I don't have to catch a 100 fish to have had a "great day' fishing. I have.... but I've also had great days with very few fish. If the company's good, the weather's good and the jet skiers are all in school.... it's a great day! The fish are a bonus! JMHO

TeeDub:

Couldn't have said it better.

A lot of those stats are created based on fish released after a tournament. Those fish have spent considerable amounts of time in a live well. Those stats are probably very accurate. I think the statistics for immediate release are quite lower.

Absolutely true, and on top of that, the water temps in Canadien sheild lakes are typically cooler most of the year and the fish are typically caught in shallower water as well. Catching them shallower allows for shorter fights which equals much less stress, and the fish can get acclamated to the water much quicker upon release. I'll interject one more thing. Most folks (not all), that are spanking 100 fish a day are usually accomplished fisher folk and have a better grip (no pun intended) on how to handle and release fish properly, especially when catching bigger fish. It makes all the difference in the world.....

Thanks for the support and explanations guys. I had no idea I'd start something like this with my response. retire55, it's pretty much universally accepted that a guy can continue to fish until he's kept his limit. I watched Babe Winkelman last night on the Outdoors Channel...he was at God's Lake in N. Manitoba and he and a buddy caught and released over 30 eyes all over 26" in one morning. Was he wrong for doing that? When I'm catching and relesing I use barbless hooks, bring them up slow and most times the fish aren't out of the water more than a few seconds. If I get a bad bleeder or one that isn't going to survive, into the cooler it goes. When I'm at my limit, I stop fishing. How bout' we get back onto the point of the post....how does a guy define great fishing.

Great comments guys.....I believe that the mortality rate on fish can be lowered significantly by the use of barbless hooks . You can release most fish on a barbless without even taking them out of the water or touching them....and contrary to some peoples belief you dont lose fish on barbless if you keep constant pressure on them.