while i agree that it takes a long time for bass to grow up (this is one of the reasons that i like panfish so much), it is going too far to call someone who keeps a bass a 'selfish moron'. in fact, a population needs some of its top members removed from the pool on a regular basis in order for the rest of the fish to stay on a healthy growth track. with no pressure at the top, all you end up with is a stunted population. there is an article about this very thing on page 35 of this year's digest.
http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/pdf/2013/digfsh13.pdf
the idea that all bass should be tossed back, every time, is about 40 or 45 years old, and like most other ideas that we had 40 or 45 years ago... we have learned more since then and know better now. not keeping all the bass, not keeping none of the bass, but keeping a large bass occasionally is the best thing for your bass lake. really, bass are one of the species that cries out for a slot limit.
