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User Panel
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IA, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 2:43:29 PM EDT
Been fishing my whole life. Was always mostly catch and release and just for fun and sport.
With the way everything is in the world now a days and with myself getting older I find myself wanting to do a more old fashioned and natural way of life? Is that weird? I've recently gotten back into hunting and have been enjoying and consuming the crap out of that! Now that my kids are old enough the whole family loves to go fishing and I would really like to start filling the freezers with all the game meat and fish I can. We have eaten fish both fresh and salt water so I don't think it will be a problem at all. Anyone else do it like that? |
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OH, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 3:20:16 PM EDT
[#1]
For me, it depends... There is a lot of decent fishing around my area... It I'm always weary of what's up stream... One of the lakes I have always liked a lot, recently had a large biowaste spill a few miles up stream. A lot of shit was released into the water... I have yet to see a single report from anywhere about testing the water or the fish... Pretty sure I'm not eating anything I catch in there anymore. But I still know some other, seemingly clean spots.
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Posted: 2/16/2023 3:27:00 PM EDT
[#2]
I live north west of Augusta so the Savannah river/Clark's Hill is very close. Anything below the Strom Thurmond dam I'm not eating. I'll eat a couple out of the lake but not very often.
The smaller rivers here are fairly clean. I'll eat fish out them with no worries, but always keep an eye on any news about fish kills or possible accidental chemical releases. |
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IA, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 3:40:59 PM EDT
[#3]
You guys bring up the only problem I have been thinking about and that is the "health" concern possibilities.
I am central Iowa area so heavy heavy AG. Which has me concerned with run off etc. And like you said not so many studies on if its safe or not? I would have to assume it is. I mean I know about all of the nasty shit that goes into the production animals and the things that happen at the production plants. Thats why I only get custom farm slaughter to table beef and pork and chicken. I suppose I need to do a lot more research on this. I am guessing it is no worse for me then most of the shit they pass off as food at the grocery stores? |
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Posted: 2/16/2023 3:41:10 PM EDT
[#4]
I'll eat bluegill if they are big enough to fillet. I release everything else.
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Posted: 2/16/2023 4:08:17 PM EDT
[#5]
Back in ya go...
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IL, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 4:16:54 PM EDT
[#6]
I like fishing.
I really don't like eating fish. So c&r. |
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Posted: 2/16/2023 4:28:42 PM EDT
[#7]
Im a yak basin' guy.
We take great pride in catching, taking a photo, measuring and releasing as fast and painless as possible. Last year we were chasing smallmouth and brought a new guy out with us who has been bothering me about going out. Caught a beautiful 3.5-4lb tiger smallie and immediately killed it on his boat. Said he loves to eat bass. Needless to say he will never go out with us again. Im not against eating trout, bluegill or pike but largemouth taste like an old boot, and smallies take a long time to get huge. Through them back for another day and another rush. You do you, and Ill do me, but Im not going to take time out of my tournament practice days to put you on fish you plan on killing. |
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Posted: 2/16/2023 5:03:26 PM EDT
[Last Edit: LoudLyle]
[#8]
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Posted: 2/16/2023 5:07:53 PM EDT
[#9]
Kokanee - eat em all
SM Bass - mostly release. I'll eat some of em. Trout - if I can tell they are hatchery planters, I release them all. Wild fish...I'll eat the Browns and the Cutty's (when theyre legal to keep) Perch - eat em all |
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IA, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 5:14:45 PM EDT
[#10]
Thanks for the replies so far guys.
I’m thinking channel catfish, walleye, crappie stuff like that. Probably not bass or anything crazy. |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 5:27:55 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By LoudLyle: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/493363/9127403D-AA03-4C7E-AC5E-961E01B776BB_jpe-2713452.JPG We absolutely eat what we catch. That's some good eating...... |
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Posted: 2/16/2023 5:29:36 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Ambridge77]
[#12]
Not since I moved back to the 'burbs.
 But it used to be mostly freshwater fish (bluegill, catfish, perch, smallmouth bass, trout, walleye), squirrel, domestic poultry, wild rabbit, and (less frequently) deer.  C&R applied to undersized game fish, and any carp. 
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Posted: 2/16/2023 6:26:04 PM EDT
[Last Edit: TxRabbitBane]
[#13]
With bass, usually C&R but occasionally do a meat run. I throw the big ones back.
If catching crappie or big perch, eat them all. Catfish, eat them unless they’re too big. Reds or brown trout, eat. Walleye are some of the best eating anywhere. |
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IA, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 6:32:29 PM EDT
[#14]
Ate them all when I was growing up. Usually catch and release now. That might change these come in the single serving size.
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VA, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 6:50:56 PM EDT
[#15]
When I fish, I fish with the intention of eating everything I catch (within game laws obviously).
That said, I don't fish much because most of the fish around here that I would want to catch isn't safe to eat thanks to PCBs. |
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TX, USA
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Posted: 2/16/2023 7:53:51 PM EDT
[#16]
I'm not spending hundreds of dollars and going 60 miles off shore to release a bunch of 30 lb dorado.
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Posted: 2/22/2023 5:03:11 PM EDT
[#17]
I fish year round. Open water and ice.
My wife and both daughters will fish open water, and occasionally on the ice to. We eat plenty of fish, but are always practicing selective harvest as well, especially with walleyes over 19" and bluegills over 9". Our primary table species are walleye, perch, and bluegills. Occasional pike and crappies, and every once in a while a smallmouth from the missouri river in the fall. |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 2/22/2023 5:18:07 PM EDT
[#18]
Yes,
Crappie, saugeye, catfish, perch and sand bass. The rest I release. |
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Posted: 2/24/2023 1:35:45 PM EDT
[#19]
C&R largemouth always. May eat a spot now and again. But for fish, i only really keep catfish or crappie.
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Posted: 2/25/2023 11:00:12 PM EDT
[#20]
Both.
I've been eating them +50 years, I haven't died yet.
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Posted: 2/27/2023 11:38:40 AM EDT
[#21]
C&R’d a bunch this weekend.
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Posted: 2/27/2023 3:49:18 PM EDT
[#22]
Here in Florida - the recommendation is to only eat base once a month....and an 8 oz portion at that...
you just have to be carful these days... Red |
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IN, USA
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Posted: 2/27/2023 4:24:51 PM EDT
[#23]
I keep everything that is legal for me to keep. If it falls within the bag or size limits into the livewell it goes.
Bluegill, crappie, small & largemouth, pike and walleye. and anything that I missed in between. I love keeping largemouth the most because it pisses of sport anglers. Love bringing in a nice 5-8 pounder in to the fish house. Haven't caught a musky that legal to keep yet but can't wait till I get a 50" to throw on the cutting board. The most insane thing to me is that there are people who go to all the trouble of catching fish to just let them go... |
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Posted: 2/27/2023 4:36:14 PM EDT
[#24]
C&R on all except nice crappie or trout. Maybe a slab bluegill or two now and then.
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Posted: 2/27/2023 4:40:54 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By guyina4x4: I like fishing. I really don't like eating fish. So c&r. This. |
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Posted: 3/1/2023 2:32:23 PM EDT
[Last Edit: dangerdan]
[#26]
Depends on the species and size of that species and if I feel like cleaning fish.
Majority of the time, Ill plan to keep something. I prefer saltwater.....its my favorite fishing....theres a lot more species avaliable on the coast and you just never know what you're about to catch whereas I can pretty much guess whats going to be on the hook in freshwater. That said, I'll only keep fish that are from flowing waters....lakes and rivers (freshwater). I never keep anything from a pond. And if the lake has a power plant, I usually don't keep fish. One of the local lakes around me with a power plan, the fish have high mercury levels and its suggested for catch and release only. Consumption is at your own discretion. |
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Posted: 3/1/2023 2:45:43 PM EDT
[#27]
I always catch and release. I love to fish but I do not like eating it.
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Posted: 3/1/2023 2:47:55 PM EDT
[#28]
 When I catch a fish as glorious as a Michigan Steelhead I release it quickly. |
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Posted: 3/1/2023 2:55:58 PM EDT
[#29]
Here, most lakes are stocked. If we're fishing in a lake, either trolling or ice fishing. They are food. Primarily trout of one variety or another.
Kokanee salmon are food, they go in the cooler. Rivers are wild fish, so catch and release. Invasive fish (mostly northern pike in our area get killed regardless of lake or river) |
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Posted: 3/1/2023 3:14:40 PM EDT
[#30]
Not really safe to eat stuff caught out of many areas. Pretty sad how we've polluted our rivers, lakes, and streams.
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IA, USA
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Posted: 3/1/2023 11:34:28 PM EDT
[#31]
Really enjoying the posts so far guys thanks!!
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Posted: 3/2/2023 7:59:06 PM EDT
[#32]
I prefer eating them but I don't always have a good way of keeping them. I have a bigger kayak this year so I may be able to keep them easier now.
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Posted: 3/2/2023 8:31:50 PM EDT
[#33]
I will add that I'll keep rainbow trout from a pond.
Only because those were released by TPWD and they'll die anyway in the summer |
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Posted: 4/1/2023 6:11:26 PM EDT
[Last Edit: cancard]
[#34]
 We catch and release. The boy loves fishing for catfish. Hot dog and jello is his bait of choice. 
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Posted: 4/1/2023 8:48:25 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cancard: https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/474231/7AE186DE-0028-4F0C-9D8E-097B79F28AC4-2766874.jpg We catch and release. The boy loves fishing for catfish. Hot dog and jello is his bait of choice. Nice hawg. |
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USA
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Posted: 7/25/2023 1:23:59 PM EDT
[#36]
Salt water yes.
Fresh water, not so much. I like striper from the lake other than that not many freshwater fish get me interested in eating them. I did just stock some ponds on the farm with catfish though so I might give them a try next year. |
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Posted: 7/25/2023 1:28:06 PM EDT
[#37]
I only ice fish. So mainly for perch, crappie and smelt. So anything legal sized gets eaten. Lake trout go back as they taste like oil here and we can't legally keep bass in the winter.
Pike of decent size get eaten as well. I'm not going through all the work to cut up a pike unless it's 6-7 pounds or better. |
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Posted: 7/25/2023 1:38:02 PM EDT
[#38]
Bass goes back in.
Eat everything else especially saltwater fish. Sea trout, pompano, whiting, reds, and others are dang good eating. We have a clear creek that turns out some of the best tasting panfish anywhere. |
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Posted: 7/25/2023 2:31:27 PM EDT
[#39]
I eat everything I keep, but don't necessarily keep everything I catch.
Small fish, those outside slot limits and trash fish get released (invasives like armored catfish get killed and tossed on the bank). Everything else gets eaten. If it pisses off the "sport anglers", tough shit. |
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Posted: 7/25/2023 4:23:16 PM EDT
[#40]
I have about 25# of yellow cat I froze before my trip. It will all get eaten.
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Posted: 7/25/2023 6:48:30 PM EDT
[#41]
I caught this catfish but I let it go, I heard they're good eating, maybe I'll keep the next one.
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Posted: 8/2/2023 8:01:20 PM EDT
[#42]
Freshwater is mostly C&R. Saltwater, I'll eat what I can. Most of it has to do with the wife and kiddo. They're pretty particular about what fish they like.
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OH, USA
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Posted: 9/29/2023 7:15:13 PM EDT
[#43]
Mostly catch and release here
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Posted: 10/4/2023 8:13:23 AM EDT
[#44]
The fresh water fish here aren’t fit to eat due to high mercury levels and other contaminants that I can’t pronounce so it’s catch and release.
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USA
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Posted: 4/3/2024 9:22:02 PM EDT
[#45]
I have gotten more into fishing the last two years. I don't really care for bass or most pan fish so I don't bother keeping them, I do some striper fishing in the winter and they are fantastic, also catch some lake trip while on an annual fall hunting trip but the limit on those is 2 per day so they don't go far. I have not tried catfish as an adult so im holding my choice on that one.
I have been thinking of doing a charter trip to bolster the freezer up with some fish. Have plenty of venison and grass-fed beef. |
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NC, USA
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Posted: 4/5/2024 11:50:42 AM EDT
[#46]
Fish out of my ponds I eat. Wild trout out of the mountains, I have only eaten one. Only 4% of native southern brook trout get over 7”.
The genetics were decimated by the 1930’s. The only surviving brook trout were in the highest head waters. Genetics go downstream a lot easier than upstream, esp in streams with lots of natural barriers. So the genetics of the surviving brook trout in NC are those adapted for tiny streams where being big is bad. I recall reading that most Native southern brook trout in MC die of starvation in the very nutrient poor streams. |
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Posted: 4/5/2024 12:08:21 PM EDT
[#47]
Mostly C&R, but if it's a fish I really love and can't buy in a store (Speckled Trout) I will limit out day after day and fill my freezer.
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/5/2024 12:41:44 PM EDT
[#48]
Freshwater C&R 100% of the time, with the exception of Walleye from up north. They almost fall in the cold salt water category death rate. Those suckers are pretty tasty.
Warm salt water C&R 99% of the time except when the Mahi bite is fire. I will taco those little bastards before they would ever make it to the freezer. I also live on the warm saltwater so I get on the water basically daily. Cold salt water fish get bled and put on ice immediately if they are an edible legal fish. My freezer contains Salmon and Halibut. There is no more versatile fish than a halibut and lingcod is amazing. Disclaimer---I live on the water on the West coast of FL and frequent WA/AK often. Fishing's kinda my jam. |
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Posted: 4/5/2024 12:50:23 PM EDT
[#49]
depends on what im fishing for
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