going fishing: do I kill the fish if I want to take it home?

[Filliam H. Muffman]

Depends on the fish and where/how you catch it. When I fish on the shore of lake when camping I bring a stringer, stake it by the edge of the water, put a link in mouth and out in front of gills so they can swim to get oxygen. If they stay alive until I am ready to walk back to camp, I whack them. On an ocean boat, either in a live storage bay or on ice. I have not done much fishing in something like a Bass boat, so I can not say much about that.

Note: some lakes on the West Coast have high mercury levels due to mining, do a little research before eating.