Catchin' and Cookin'

[The_Sasquatch]

How do you all feel about eating the fish you catch? A while back I went to C&R strictly for a couple reasons. Mostly, I didn't want to deal w/ cleaning the fish Honestly, I'm starting to think about fishing as a means of eating again. I wouldn't kill wild or natives, just stockies, but how do you guys feel about this? The reason is, you know cost of living is constantly going up, I'm soon going to be going from a family of three to a family of four, the grocery budget for us is tight already for my family. If I could provide one meal a week, or even a meal every two weeks, it would be a great help to my family. I don't hunt, I'm a fisherman. How do you all feel about this? I imagine opinions are pretty divided here and in the FF community.

 

[Gorosaurus]

Well frankly, if the need is there, don't base your opinion on what unrelated forum-goers think? It's legal, it's traditional, and if fish are going to die, I'd prefer they go to a family that needs them!

I mean, it's a little silly to have the conversation at this point in the year (as native and holdover fishing is strongest); I'm not even sure where I'd go to find stockies after these floods and heat waves.

I personally don't have any hang-ups with people keeping fish (assuming they paid for their right to, and followed ethical practices in retrieving their quarry!). If a family member tells me that they'd like a few trout for an upcoming recipe, I'm happy to provide that.

I've not done enough cooking to find a consistently good recipe myself, but most on this forum recommend frying. Sounds good next spring!

 

[jayL]

Eat the hell out of stocked trout and steelhead imo. Anyone that cares is being a c&r zealot. They are stocked because the stream can't support them, and they are stocked to be harvested.

I've never killed a wild fish, but have no real hangups about it, within reason. I'd like to kill and flame-roast a few wild brook trout on a backpacking trip one of these days.

I hate to see a guy taking a limit out of a place like penns or BFC, or any other big valley streams (and I dislike TT regulations), but the occasional harvest is manageable for most of those streams imo.

 

[govtmule]

I think you need to consider a couple things...

is the stream a further drive than the store? how much further? will i be using extra gas to provide a few fish that i might catch? what happens when i get skunked?

I'd say fish for the pleasure of getting out and keep a few if you catch them, I wouldnt "rely" on it though. However if you have a stocked stream 5 minutes away that you can clean house you may be looking at significant savings come spring.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Oh yeah I'm not looking to rely on it. I was just thinking, I fish some streams that have some stockers in it that just die out in the heat anyway. It would save me some money (I'm already driving there to do the fishing), and I could bring home some food for the family while I'm at it. Didn't mean to make it sound like its a dire need. Just trying to be more efficient and economical.

They stock a bunch of places in Oct., and on Approved Trout Waters they have an extended season starting in Sept. Thought I'd at least give it at try and see if I can actually COOK a trout!

 

[jeff]

Just remember that some of our stocked fish aren't the healthiest things to eat. I think they recommend eating no more than 1 stocked trout per month from some hatcheries because of high levels of carcinogens. Don't know how much stocked fish I would be feeding little ones. I could be wrong but it is something I would look into before I put my family on a stocked fish diet.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

One meal per week according to the comission's website.

 

[csoult]

I say that if you want to keep them, then keep them as long as they are stocked. I don't believe in keeping wild fish, but that is just my opinion. Now on the other hand in the late stocking (October) the fish will typically survive to be caught again and again. Even then, Jay is right and they will eventually die and not reproduce anyway.

 

[pete41]

If it is legal and you want to,do so with no apologies needed.
However,unless you are using a stick,twine ,bent pin and worms let us not rationalize how fishing ,hunting or any of our other hobbies save us money-lol
We only go around once, Sas.Enjoy.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

It would save me money this way.

I'm already going FFing at the stream, so the expense is already there. If I keep some fishes, its less groceries I have to buy.

Now if things were REALLY dire, I'd just stop spending money on FFing. Things ain't that bad though.

 

[MKern]

No doctor is going to tell you not to eat fish. Japanesse people eat fish daily and they are okay.

I would avoid process chicken nuggets and prepackaged foods for my kids way before I would worry about a fresh fish diet.

 

[SBecker]

I say, if you are hungry for fish, eat them up. Just as long as you are going to eat them. I do not care if they are wild or stocked. If you want to eat trout, go ahead and do it. just do not keep them in your freezer for a year, then throw them away.

 

[buffalo]

This may be a little ‘of topic’ but I couldn’t resist;
One of my favorite days in the bush includes a backpack with all the fixings’ to include; my Boy Scout mess kit, potato, sausage, olive oil, water, a good cigar and a flask of Dewar’s. After I catch a couple pan size stockers, I build a small cooking fire, throw some sliced potatoes and sausage in a pan for a while then stuff the trout with the sausage finish browning the potatoes and fry the trout. Enjoy a fine repast, and then sit back with a good cigar and a nip of scotch. …. Life is good!
Buffalo

 

[Swattie87]

Don't have a problem with it as long as it is done within the rules of the system, as other posters have mentioned. I generally don't keep any fish I catch just out of the hassle of cleaning them, and I wouldn't intentionally keep and kill a wild fish. I generally prefer saltwater fish species for the table anyway, but with that said there are a few scenarios where I'd keep a trout...just hasn't happened in a while:

1. If I found a BIG stocker in an otherwise wild, unstocked stream...that fish would be coming out. I mean big enough to do some real harm, 15-16 inches or bigger probably. Anything smaller, even if stocked and clearly out of place, I'd probably still release.

2. If I injured a legal sized fish (wild or stocked) to the point where I was certain it wouldn't live. Even if I had my doubts, I'd still probably release it and give it a chance, but if there was no doubt in my mind I'd keep it.

In both of the above scenarios the water quality of the stream would play a role in my decision as to whether to eat it. Most mountain and clean limestone streams I wouldn't have a problem with, but there are many stocker streams (Quittie for example) that I wouldn't eat a fish from.

This is a well timed thread for me...I have a camping trip scheduled in the Poconos with my college buddies (and wives/girlfriends) this coming weekend. One of them is a legit C&R fisherman as I am, however the other two fish maybe once or twice a year and I'm certain will want to keep a few trout for the campfire. I obviously want to hit a couple wild streams up that way that I know about, but at the same time I don't really want them to keep any fish out of those streams. Granted those streams could certainly absorb a few fish being kept, but still I don't really want to see a gorgeous wild Brown or Brook end up on the grill. I may try to take them to a stocker stream first to try to pick up a couple stockers before hitting the wild streams. It's a camping weekend, not a fishing weekend, so the time to fish will be limited though.

 

[jeff]

MKern wrote:
No doctor is going to tell you not to eat fish. Japanesse people eat fish daily and they are okay.

I would avoid process chicken nuggets and prepackaged foods for my kids way before I would worry about a fresh fish diet.

I guess it all depends on where you get the fish from Mkern. Would you eat the fish out of the Schuykill River below Reading? See "skookie poopie" thread in conservation link. There is a reason that there is an advisory on stocked fish in Pa. They find unsafe levels of PCB's in many of them. So a fish diet is good only if they are free of contaniments or eaten with caution and or under acceptable levels.



.http://www.fish.state.pa.us/fishpub/summary/sumconsumption.pdf

 

[Swattie87]

buffalo wrote:
This may be a little ‘of topic’ but I couldn’t resist;
One of my favorite days in the bush includes a backpack with all the fixings’ to include; my Boy Scout mess kit, potato, sausage, olive oil, water, a good cigar and a flask of Dewar’s. After I catch a couple pan size stockers, I build a small cooking fire, throw some sliced potatoes and sausage in a pan for a while then stuff the trout with the sausage finish browning the potatoes and fry the trout. Enjoy a fine repast, and then sit back with a good cigar and a nip of scotch. …. Life is good!
Buffalo

That sounds great Buffalo.

 

[SBecker]

jayL wrote:

I've never killed a wild fish, but have no real hangups about it, within reason. I'd like to kill and flame-roast a few wild brook trout on a backpacking trip one of these days.

Flame roasted brookies on toothpicks FTW at daddios house.

 

[jayL]

Nah, I want to subsist on my catch. That's where the multi day hike comes in to play.

 

[FarmerDave]

There is a consumption advisory on inland fish mostly because of mercury content. Even perch and bluegills carry and advisory, but the advisory varies by species.

But guess what? the fish sold in the grocery stores have the same contaminants and sometimes more. but they don't feel a need to tell anybody about it.

some farm raised fish have other contaminants like PCBs.

For men, especially old farts like myself, it doesn't matter nearly as much. We could eat it every day and not have a negative effect. The advisory is mostly for children, pregnant women, and women of child bearing age.

You can also reduce the amount of mercury by proper cleaning and preparation of the fish.

 

[FarmerDave]

The_Sasquatch wrote:
It would save me money this way.

I'm already going FFing at the stream, so the expense is already there. If I keep some fishes, its less groceries I have to buy.

Now if things were REALLY dire, I'd just stop spending money on FFing. Things ain't that bad though.

Besides, women on average tend to be bad at math, and you might be able to sell the saving money by fishing idea to your wife. unfortunately my wife isn't quite that bad at math.;-)

I do however save money by hunting since i can walk to hunt, don't need a license, and "process" My slug gun was cheap and has paid for itself a couple times over.