What is a Sportsman?

I had a conversation early this morning with a fella at Everts. We were talking about eating flats…and catfish in general. By the way…he said then he cleaned a 25 lb Flathead years back…he got 7.5 lbs of fillets off of it.

Anyway, he made a statement that got me thinking.

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I’m not a sportsman, I’m a meat hunter.

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This was said in a humble way…not bragging at all…just stating what he thought was a fact.
This reminded me of last winter ice fishing on Winni. We were catching 15+ inch crappies. When I had one come out the hole, the fella next to me said…”Be a sportsman and put him back.”

The question I’m struggling with is…if I keep my legal limit of (any) fish…does that make me a non sportsman?

sports·man /ˈspɔrtsmən, ˈspoʊrts-/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[spawrts-muhn, spohrts-] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -men.

1. a man who engages in sports, esp. in some open-air sport, as hunting, fishing, racing, etc.
2. a person who exhibits qualities especially esteemed in those who engage in sports, as fairness, courtesy, good temper.

I think where I draw the line is that a “meat-hunter” makes it his/her goal to keep a limit every time out, while a sportsman is in it for the pure enjoyment. I keep a limit of fish here and there, but I release far more fish than I keep. Plus, I am concerned about the welfare of the fihsery.

To me, ethics and morals should be in the “true” definition of a sportsman. Unlike the two i ran into at the landing last night that had buckets with 27-30 5-8 lbs. Largemouth Bass in the trunk of their car to “eat”. Very sad if you ask me and illegal too.

Oh! I agree that one the game/fish laws are violated…the definition of sportsman stops!

Ralph, I’m now fishing 6 nights a week…surly wouldn’t be sportsman like conduct to keep fish every night…but what about the guy that only gets out 3 or 4 times a year and keep his limit each time? Is he not a sportsman?

A sportsman can keep a few to eat, but the main goal isn’t to fill the freezer. One of the reasons I moved here from Wisconsin is the meat hunting ethic is very much alive. I went on a Lake Erie walleye trip with some of my Wis. friends and we ended up three fish short of a two day limit. (Including the guides fish.) These guys complained about it all the way home. You’d have thought that we got skunked.

Minnesota tends to have better fishing, I suspect, because far more of us fish for fun, not the freezer.

Great question, Brian.

Hunting and fishing, IMO, is about the experience, not the bag limit. I know some people choose to not keep any fish of any species, they fish for the sake of fishing. That’s great, for them. There are other people who fish because they enjoy fishing and eating what they catch. That’s fine, too. Its THEIR experience, not mine. I choose to not kill big fish because its what I PERSONALLY believe is right. I get tremendous satisfaction from seeing a fish swim away after I’ve caught him.

I choose to only keep panfish and smaller walleyes when I fish. I usually will only keep enough for a fresh meal for my wife and myself. 10-12 bluegills or 2 walleyes makes a nice meal. Its what I want. Some may choose to keep more, some less. I’m ok either way, as long as the law is followed.

When I deer hunt, I choose to only shoot mature bucks or a doe for the freezer. Its what I want out of the experience. I have a brother in law who has never killed anything bigger than a yearling 8 point. If a 14″ 8 or 10 point 2.5 year old buck came by him, he’d shoot it, as it would be his personal best. I’d be happy as heck for him, too. I would probably let that deer walk, but that’s me, not him. I can’t dictate his experience.

I think we spend too much time fighting among ourselves about these sorts of things, when we should be supporting everyone’s right to hunt or fish as they see fit. The anti-hunters just love the in-fighting among sportsman. As long as what an individual is doing doesn’t harm the resource or deter another from his right to enjoyment, I say live and let live.

I dont think fisherman are being unsportsman lik at all by keeping what will be eaten. My guess is the Everts *meat hunter* was a sportsman too.. but it was his way of saying he was looking for fish to eat, not a trophy.

7.5# of fish meat around here.. That would be 2 fish fries the way Sherry and Tyler eat fish. She eats a mountain of fillets.. then picks at the leftovers cold from the fridge all night. She can easily put down 2# of fish in a day.(we dont eat fish that often)

With 7# of fish being 2 meals that get eaten, would I be unsportsman like by keeping 2 meals woth of fish on one outing when I decided to keep fish?

I look at “the meat” hunter, according to how I feel would be enough of a hunter to provide a meal for the family. my kids enjoy eating fish and so do I. I am one of those that fall in the line of 3 or 4 times out a year. and of those times there are many times I do not take anything home. But I still feel I fall in the sportsman category.

Granted I do not take home a true limit (me wife and 3 kids) just enough for a meal if the kids want it. I rarely keep them for just me to eat. but then again I would need to catch a a walleye in order to take one home for myself. just my 2 cents.

Broncs

I’m with Fred. I don’t keep fish very often because I get satisfaction from letting it go and I am not very fond of cleaning fish. However if other people go out and keep fish to eat, that’s a sportsman to me too. For some, that’s the experience and I don’t think it is my place to judge. To me, if a guy keeps the smaller ones, but releases the bigger ones, he’s a sportsman no doubt. And when a guy is more concerned with letting you know about the quality fish he caught and not the numbers, he’s or SHE a sportsman too.

Sportsman = a few fish for the pan(if you want). Had a great time, respects the laws and resources

Non-sportsman = years later still bragging about filleting a 25 lb flathead while fillets are probably still frosting in the garage freezer.
IMHO

Thought provoking view!

Mark, the way my post read is out of context. He was telling me how much meat comes off of a flathead…compared to it’s original size. I didn’t take it as bragging at all….if you would meet this older fella, you would know bragging isn’t his style.

Great thread! I also think the lake involved is a factor too. If you are on a small 100 acre metro lake and are taking home limits of 12″ crappies, then there might be issues with some people. When I make it up to Mille Lacs I have no problem taking home my limit of walleyes(qty:4). My fish are aways eaten within a few weeks of catching them. I don’t think it is a issue of keeping fish, it is just the few that need to pack the freezer to the brim. Just a friendly reminder, your daily limit is your possesion limit.

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Ralph, I’m now fishing 6 nights a week…surly wouldn’t be sportsman like conduct to keep fish every night…but what about the guy that only gets out 3 or 4 times a year and keep his limit each time? Is he not a sportsman?

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I wouldn’t consider the guy who gets out 3-4 times a year and keeps a limit each time a meat hunter. I think it comes down to exploiting the resource. That guy that gets out 3-4 times a year is not taking many fish.

Good point Hunting. I think that right there is also a definition of a sportsman. A guy who knows the resources of a particular lake and the pressure it receives. Based on that, keeps and releases accordingly.

A Sportsman is a person who respects the water, the fish in it, the land, and the animals in it. They use these resources when needed for food, but do not take more then they can use. Taking a quantity of fish for themselves and their family is of no concern.

I can count on one hand (if I had no fingers) the quantity of fish I have harvested this year. I fish and hunt for reasons unrelated to the quantity of game I bring home. The experience is much more worthwile to me then a meal

I have always said I would prefer to “hunt and release”, as I prefer to watch the dog work, watch a perfect flush and retreive far more then I appreciate a pheasant breast.

“Meat Hunters” can be Sportsmen for sure.

Sportsmen:

Don’t rape the resource
Don’t Litter
Are respectful of others
Are Willing lend a helping hand when needed
Share their experiences with future generations.
Respect the laws and those who enforce them.

I think the key word in any of these replies is “Respect”. Not just respect for the fisheries and environment, but also respect for what each person legally sees fit for themselves. The laws have the well being of fisheries in mind, they are not just random numbers plucked out of a hat. So as long as a person is respecting the laws and the environment, I think one must respect the fact that he is a Sportsman.

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Sportsman = a few fish for the pan(if you want). Had a great time, respects the laws and resources

Non-sportsman = years later still bragging about filleting a 25 lb flathead while fillets are probably still frosting in the garage freezer.
IMHO

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Mark;
you nailed this PERFECT!

Also, 7.5lbs of meat off a 25lb fish is about 30%. That is normal. Nothing wrong with it.

How much do you get off a 3lb walleye? 1lb in fillets?
What about the 4oz sunnie?
You only get about 40% meat off of a steer.
And, that 120lb doe gets you about 25lbs of meat in the tray.

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The laws have the well being of fisheries in mind, they are not just random numbers plucked out of a hat. So as long as a person is respecting the laws and the environment, I think one must respect the fact that he is a Sportsman.

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I disagree.

I think most bag limits are too high. Even on panfish. I went looking for bait the other day. Found some bluegills on beds. Many were actualy too big for flathead bait but I took about 10 medium sized fish. I got a bite on every cast withing 10 seconds. I felt bad about fishing beds, but I needed some bait and didn’t have much time before dark.

Three days later I went back and the area was full of boats everybody casting to the beds and I couldn’t catch a fish.

Unless there has been some solid research and thought put in to a specific body of water, I think broad bag limits are normaly set too high.

I’ve got tons of food at home. Swiming fish are much more valuable IMO.

RB.. Wisconsin as much more liberal limits on panfish than MN. There is nothing stopping you from bringing up that exact point the the WI DNR. Many states are orse yet, they havent figured it out yet. Go to PA.. you can keep 50 panfish there(sunfish or crappies).. people wonder why its hard to catch a fish mid summer(panfish).. its because they kept most of them that spring!

Minnesota panfish limits went down several years ago to 10 crappies, and 15? sunfish(I dont keep them, cant use them for bait ) which was a big jump from the 30 sunfish, and 15 crappies of the past. I think for the most part those limits are pretty reasonable… as is 5 catfish in a day, ony 2 can be flatheads, and 1 fish over 24″. That it a great way to control legal harvest ethics although I dont promote anyone to go out and take a limit… but is their anything wrong with taking some fish for a fry? I dont think so.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

I guess I must apologize. I have been used to Minnesota bag limits/rules which I have found to be quite reasonable, especially compared to other states. So if I may, I would like to correct what I have posted to read, “Minnesota Laws have fisheries in mind” One thing that really stood out is that other states, WI included, allows gamefish to be used as baitfish.

But in WI, a bullhead is also a gamefish. So we can’t buy bullheads at baitshops.

I agree on MN laws. Like I said, if the bag limits have been well thought out they are normaly much lower than those of other states.

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The laws have the well being of fisheries in mind, they are not just random numbers plucked out of a hat. So as long as a person is respecting the laws and the environment, I think one must respect the fact that he is a Sportsman.

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I disagree.

I think most bag limits are too high.

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They do seem high but are designed with the idea that you are allow to have a good day once in a while, but the greater percentage of people will not get their limit 90% of their days fishing(or hunting)….and the limits are set with this in mind.

Fish and game is managed for the taking, the rules just prevent un-sportsmanlike people from raping the resource.

What gets me is that there is always someone that has a garage freezer the size of a Volkswagon and love to show off their catch from the last 5 years. Its like poor mans taxidermy. In my little world, that is the definition of un-sportsman like….

ps:for panfish, I agree. Generally too high in Wisconsin!

Gordon K. –
Quote: (A sportsman can keep a few to eat, but the main goal isn’t to fill the freezer. One of the reasons I moved here from Wisconsin is the meat hunting ethic is very much alive. I went on a Lake Erie walleye trip with some of my Wis. friends and we ended up three fish short of a two day limit. (Including the guides fish.) These guys complained about it all the way home. You’d have thought that we got skunked.)

To me, this has absolutely nothing to do with Wisconsin!
There are people just like this in every state of the nation.

As for panfish limits in Wisconsin and true sportsman – I would love to see these limits reduced as I also think they are to high. But just try to get all of these self proclaiming true sportsman to go to the Conservation Congress meetings each spring and actually cast a vote for real sportsmans issues. (whatever they may be)

The spring conservation congress hearings are your one and only chance to have your vote counted. So where all these guys when they finally get there chance? Not nearly enough of them are attending.

Heck, if we get a polically correct issue on the agenda like hunting feral cats, the anti-hunting and fishing crowd out numbers the sportsman 5 to 1.

Getting these laws changed is a major challenge and its not going to happen overnight. From the time an issue like this is introduced as a referendum to the time it actually makes it into law can be several years or more.

Whatever state you live in, being a positive part of the discussion in one form or another is definitely, (in my mind) part of what being a sportsman is all about!

Joel “Boog” Ballweg

WI. panfish bag limit 25 in total. I don’t think that is much more liberal than MN.
GordonK, not to make this a state vs. state issue but you are way off base with your claim that MN. has better fishing because more people fish for fun. catch and release/cpr is alive and well in WI. Possesion limit is twice the daily bag limit so I would tend to say that filling the freezer would be breaking the law. The few people I do run into that talk about filling their freezer are usually people who do not get out much. A little education about the resource goes a long way.

A sportsman is never a glutton and gives back, when he takes. No matter the quarry.

big g

When it comes to flatheads, I don’t think following the letter of the law and no further encompasses what a sportsman is, whether you’re in MN,WI, IL, or IA. The laws do not include size and a sportsman knows his resource. Flatheads up here grow slow and the ones surviving into trophy sizes are few and far between. Knowing this and incorporating the good of the resource into the fishing ethic, a flathead fishing “sportsman” does not keep large flatheads for the pan, regardless of the fact that the law technically allows it.

I don’t believe that fishermen who fish 3-4 times a year don’t have an impact, either. They represent a large fraction of fishermen, and would wager that their impact upon the flathead fishery equals that of the nightly fishermen considering their greater likelihood to take full advantage of the limits. I think fishermen not targeting flatheads also take and kill a disproportionate number of very large fish because they’re freaked out that they caught something so big and want to show it off, or some such thing. That’s why an upper size limit (and I’d go with 32 inches – around 15+ pounds) would be a great thing. Fish above that size are not healthy for you anyway, and if you’re getting a mount, you don’t need the fish anyway with cats.