I saw some people fishing the other day in 16 degree Fahrenheit (-9 Celsius) weather at 4:30AM. They were not ice fishing with a little hut, but standing at the base of a bridge with no shelter or campfire. People are at that bridge fishing regularly when it is cold but that was the coldest temp I have seen so far. Why is it so appealing to them?
People don’t realize it but most fish that are thrown back die from their injuries.
I can’t find any sources to back up that claim, do you? The highest estimate I found was from Wikipedia
This varies wildly depending on what species and how it was caught. Fish with really thin lips like largemouth are generally perfectly fine after being released.