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Which Freshwater fish do YOU eat?


Ryan D

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Id guess I catch somewhere around 500 fish a year between may and november, and thats both fresh and salt. I may keep 8-12 fish, and probably 2-3 of those are only kept because they were hooked in some odd way and the chances of dying strike me as high. I can easily live with that ratio, if someone else decides to keep half the fish they catch, thats their personal choice.

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Walleye, in my opinion, is the best tasting freshwater fish there is. The thick chunky white meat is excellent. In fact I enjoyed some fresh caught walleye last night. In the early spring I will keep a brown trout or 2 during stocking if they are hooked too deep and i am hungry.

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LMB's that are released back into the wild, in many situations, especially in the northeast, are the reason for the downfall of many native species. The Bass that many of you love so much are the reason for declining native trout numbers in New England. Illegally introduced species installed in wild waters for the purpose of sport is killing the ecological system in the little wilderness we have left. There are examples of this all over Maine. The introduction of Bass into the Rapid river has literally assaulted what was once quite possibly the finest trophy fishery in the entire country. It is because of the urge to install a foreign fish and grow it to large size that a River legendary for 5 pound plus brook trout has trouble maintaining itself today. I'm sorry for the rant. I don't have a problem with Bass, or bass fisherman, but I hope people understand the harm that is done when you start monkeying with nature. People are supposed to eat some fish, and certain fish are supposed to be in certain places.

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Walleye is the only one I eat. And not much at that. Go to Canada, stay at a cabin on the water with a grill on the front porch. Drink some good brew while cooking the walleye/looking out over the water. Sit a bit waiting for the evening muskie bite.

 

Can't get any better than that.smile.gifwink.gif

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are catfish anything like walleye in terms of taste?

Also, how big do they get? I had a good sized one that 5 people all said was around 18", + or - an inch. It would have been how heavy at that size?

Also, its head seemed to be the largest part of him, being maybe 5 or 6" wide.

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I fish often, usually do well, and almost always practice catch & release. The exceptions are when gut-hook a trout or catfish from somewhere with very clean water. They come home with me...Typically 3-4 fish a year. Eveything else swims away. If I gut-hook a bass, I'll let him have the hook.

Spot-chasing, Croc wearing, bucket hauling, clambrella rigging, cell-phone jabbering Googan mugger.

DSL07016GS

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I release everything I catch but that is just me. Why does it make you sick that some people take something home for the table? As long as a person follows the regulations as far as size and number taken what is your problem with that? Perhaps you should do a little Fisheries Biology research. Releasing everything caught does not = LMB becoming huge.

 

maybe you didnt notice but almost all the fish people eat are small gamefish crapie, trout, sunnys, and perch. these are what what the bigger gamefish feed on thus making lmb, pike, walley, and smallmouth bigger. you should fresh water fish for fun not for food. go saltwater fishing if you want to keep fish. i dont care what you read but i have fished many lakes that are cath realse and the fish get much bigger because you dont have a 100 fools with worm and floater keeping everything that comes by.

I DONT KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS BUT AFTER ALL THIS TIME ................. IM STILL KIND OF A BIG DEAL.
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o0o0 yeah and midge you dont think all the people keeping the fish helped decline your once great trout river. but maybe one day it will be known as one of the finest lmb fisheries in the north east. althouh that species doesnt belong there it is a part of evolution. its just survival of the fittest.

I DONT KNOW IF YOU KNOW THIS BUT AFTER ALL THIS TIME ................. IM STILL KIND OF A BIG DEAL.
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maybe you didnt notice but almost all the fish people eat are small gamefish crapie, trout, sunnys, and perch. these are what what the bigger gamefish feed on thus making lmb, pike, walley, and smallmouth bigger. you should fresh water fish for fun not for food. go saltwater fishing if you want to keep fish. i dont care what you read but i have fished many lakes that are cath realse and the fish get much bigger because you dont have a 100 fools with worm and floater keeping everything that comes by.

 

 

So because you fish a couple of lakes where they practice catch and release and there are big fish the rest of the world should fish freshwater for fun not food? Is that your position? From what you stated any one who fishes with a worm and a float is a fool or is it people who keep any fish at all who are fools? Also, anything I read or researched that is based on hard scientific data is meaningless? Oh, one other little piece of information that might help you understand how short sighted your position is. Bass pike and other gamefish that grow to trophy size eat many things other than sunnies,crappies and small trout. Some of them are bait fish, (shiners, shad etc.) crawfish, snakes, lizards,worms, all types of insects, ducks,waterdogs,frogs, mice and even eachother. Did you know that taking a certain amount of fish out of a body of water actually is a good thing?

"We aren't At Large, we're just avoiding the police.."
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So because you fish a couple of lakes where they practice catch and release and there are big fish the rest of the world should fish freshwater for fun not food? Is that your position? From what you stated any one who fishes with a worm and a float is a fool or is it people who keep any fish at all who are fools? Also, anything I read or researched that is based on hard scientific data is meaningless? Oh, one other little piece of information that might help you understand how short sighted your position is. Bass pike and other gamefish that grow to trophy size eat many things other than sunnies,crappies and small trout. Some of them are bait fish, (shiners, shad etc.) crawfish, snakes, lizards,worms, all types of insects, ducks,waterdogs,frogs, mice and even eachother. Did you know that taking a certain amount of fish out of a body of water actually is a good thing?

 

 

Nitro doesnt need my back up on this, cause his arguement is based on fact.

I'd just like to add that most people eat the smaller "gamefish" like crappie and bluegill cause they just taste way better than large and small mouth bass.

YMMV

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Nitro doesnt need my back up on this, cause his arguement is based on fact.

I'd just like to add that most people eat the smaller "gamefish" like crappie and bluegill cause they just taste way better than large and small mouth bass.

YMMV

 

kind of ironic for me, im one of the only people here whos eaten bass, and ive never eaten a bluegill or a crappie. Crappies [black] are also calico bass, correct?

Anyway, i caught a really good size one today, had to be maybe 10 or 11 inches, threw it back, still seems small compared to a 3 pound lmb....

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I never said that the river didn't get fished out at one point. I'm sure that had a lot to do with it, but There's no way that I can except an argument that the introduction of a species by means of truck and bucket is part of evolution. If you try to convince me that the bass got there because the nature of the land changed and they swam there themselves, I will listen, but people wanting Bass in a certain river is not evolution, it's greed. Hopefully the efforts of today will save the river for tomorrow. There's still a few 8 lb+ Brookies kicking around in there if you hunt for themwink.gif

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I never said that the river didn't get fished out at one point. I'm sure that had a lot to do with it, but There's no way that I can except an argument that the introduction of a species by means of truck and bucket is part of evolution. If you try to convince me that the bass got there because the nature of the land changed and they swam there themselves, I will listen, but people wanting Bass in a certain river is not evolution, it's greed. Hopefully the efforts of today will save the river for tomorrow. There's still a few 8 lb+ Brookies kicking around in there if you hunt for themwink.gif

 

 

Great point! The introduction of any species without careful consideration for the existing ecosystem is not a wise thing to do. It seems that areas with native Trout and Salmon have taken a beating everywhere in the US.

"We aren't At Large, we're just avoiding the police.."
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