Mandatory catch and keep

A few of our So Cal private pay to fish lakes insist that if you catch a catfish by mistake while fishing for bass, you have to keep that catfish as part of your catfish limit. The bass are strictly catch and release which is fine. Some places also insist on you keeping any Bluegill you may catch. I don't want any catfish or little panfish to bring home. I spent good money to just have fun and try to catch a bass or two. If a Channel Catfish grabs my barbless spinnerbait or any other lure meant for bass (which they will do once in a while..they are predators after all), what I usually do is get down and carefully unhook it and let it swim away saying loudly "Dammit!", or let it slip out of my hand while "putting it on a stringer". Giving them away is another option, by they might not like that either. Any one else have this problem?

First of all, pay lakes will not catch you releasing a catfish or say anything to you.
Second the must keep fish is for trout. They don't want a person catching 10 trout
on power bait and then releasing them.
So catch and release a fish if you know for sure it is going to live, as
long its not a trout.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sodapop

First of all, pay lakes will not catch you releasing a catfish or say anything to you.
Second the must keep fish is for trout. They don't want a person catching 10 trout
on power bait and then releasing them.
So catch and release a fish if you know for sure it is going to live, as
long its not a trout.

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Well as some of you know, I try to release all the catfish I catch. So here is the breakdown of the pay lakes as "I" experienced them. Irvine lake allowed C&R on catfish for only 2 seasons. The last year it was in business it was mandatory to keep all catfish under 15-20 lbs. (they would enforce it!!!) SARL & Corona it was mandatory you keep all catfish. (they would enforce it) Jess Ranch would allow C&R on catfish. Here's the weird one, San Bernadino county lakes would on occasion tell me you had to keep all catfish you caught. Those were the rules of the pay lakes that I fished. I'm sure there are other pay lakes that I didn't fish that allowed you to C&R them but I never fished any of them.