Several weeks ago I went out of town and on an open party trip and I don't want to name the boat or landing but it was south of L.A. We were catching a variety of fish and then got into some pretty WFO sand bass. Several of the anglers were throwing back the smaller sandies even though they were over the 12" size limit. The captain on this trip saw guys tossing them back and then lectured them saying "if you don't want a fish - it is going to go into someone else's bag." One of the guys quickly complied as it seemed he was overly pressured or maybe felt intimidated by the skipper. My feeling on the matter is that if you pay for a ticket and you catch a fish, then it is yours to do with as you please whether it be take it home or release it.

Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon? I think it is B.S. for a captain to denounce catch and release practices to enhance fish counts.

On the contrary, I have seen very good boats who when they get into hot calico bites, encourage people to release and especially encourage them to release calicos with eggs. I think this type of attitude is great and I applaud it.