What do you do with your catch?

[huckelberry]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

My Grandmother would whip my @$$ if sh knew I threw back a nice striper or spottail.

 

[ebry710]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

My Grandmother would whip my @$$ if sh knew I threw back a nice striper or spottail.

I think that is the key. Black bass, stripped bass, catfish and ling cod are dinner and the freezer. Trout and any fish that cannot be filleted are nearly always released (I do like trout that much). When the freezer is full (it has never happened), if I don't feel like cleaning them or when I am fun fishing, it is catch and release.

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

I caught a pair of 22" Redfish on Sunday, plus a speckled trout and five catfish. I don't eat the catfish but have friends who do, so I gave them away. I had Redfish for supper last night, and will finish what is left of it tomorrow night. The Speck was small, so I will probably make a snack of it later this evening.

I release fish that are under legal size, or are too big for my taste (big Reds really aren't all that great to eat), but could never understand the "catch & release" thing. LOL - all I can think of is one ticked off fish talking to another .... "yeah, I was mindin' my own business, eatin' some shrimp and this moron hooked me, dragged me all over the place, ripped a hook out of my mouth (man, did that hurt!), and then threw me back in the water! What is up with that?"

I'm that moron.

 

[ebry710]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

I guess it depends on if the reach for fishing is fishing or fish. I talked to another fisherman about Lake Sonoma. He said one of the problem this lake has is people keep the fish they catch, thus slowing the populating of this lake.
In the Sacramento Delta sturgeon of making a come back because you can't keep fish over 6' thus allowing the mature fish to reproduce.
Hat Creek in California has fly fishing only with barbless hooks. This keeps population of trout up.

To a fisherman this allows endless fishing, but no fish. To man who only eats fish, these rules are a waste of time, because no fish. Who's Right?

 

[flflats]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

hey serrano4657 a better way to get back at that ray is to eat em. No really down here in the south when you think your eating scallop your really eating punched out rays. James

 

[LongLine]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

100% C&R and I don't critize anyone for keeping their legal limit and doing whatever they legally want with them. (keyword: "legal")

Tom B.
(LongLine

 

[Bard1]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

I will usually keep a limit. 5 trout, 5 grouper. I do not get out a lot and when I do catch a limit, I will keep and freeze for a family fish fry!

I keep what I need. But yeah man I love them Gulf trout!!

 

[UnregisteredUser]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

I was raised by a tournament fishermen, we released nearly every fish we caught. Now that I live near a "Top Ten" wild trout river I am forced by law to release most of the wild trout I catch. I do however make many trips into Arkansas to a stocked steam and I keep only enough to make a meal or two.

I was shocked to learn the MO has a eight trout limit for possession. I fount this out while stocking up for a fish fry, at that time I only had 87 trout in the freezer.

 

[bugman1964]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

Most fish get released unless they are deeply hooked, won't survive and are of legal size. Big ones always get their pic taken and then released. Just don't have the heart to kill an older one, some species take a long time to grow big. If I do keep fish for eating, it is usually fish that are just of the legal limit (stockers freshwater), or if fish are plentiful such as with lake trout or in the smaller slot limit for stripers.

 

[RCNO]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

I usually keep all I catch thats legal. I have a few family members that cannot fish but love to eat em. I will stock up my freezer during the winter and then start giving away to elderly and family who cannot go for whatever reason.
I also throw a castnet for shrimp and peel and freeze a couple hundred pounds for the same reasons. It isnt hard to catch a hundred lbs or so of shrimp in a night, with the ability to catch even more on some nights.
We have limits of 25 Speckled Trout over 12", and 5 Redfish over 16" with only 1 being over 27". The bigger fish I will throw back as they are usually full of worms and arent as tasty. I fish alot, but very seldom catch my limits.
Keep in mind, Im 19 miles from the end of the road, with nothing but marsh and water beyond that. I can hook up my boat and be in the lake making the first cast inside of 30 minutes, and its a 15 minute boat ride for me.
Down here in South La. alot of the fish are illegal to sell.
Dave

 

[MonkeySea]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

Depends primarily on the species...all freshwater fish, catfish, bass, crappie, bluegills, etc. are all catch and release because I don't enjoy eating them.

Salty species like flounder, striped bass, tautog, mahi mahi, black sea bass, on the other hand, provide delicious tablefare and I don't hesitate to put a legal limit of keeper sized fish on ice.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

As often as we get to go and as little as we catch, we eat every dang legal fish we get.

Only once have we ever limited out on a single species.

I used to be a consultant for a fisheries conservation organization and understand what hurts the fishing population and what dosen't.

Catching a few fish several times a year does not hurt anyone.

 

[PaulyV]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

Fly fishing..I catch and release..Flounder , striper, tautog, Keep the limit and eat. Trout..I do keep my limit and feast..large ones get released..with a photo first...I will catch a stringer full( 3 on a hook) of bluegil, crappie and perch. This is labor intensive fileting..but dammmm..there so good!!!!!

 

[Floatsum]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

Depends on species.
Bluefish - keep all over 8#,, dog food
Stripers - keep 1 or 2 per year
Winter flounder - Eat all of legal size (yummy!)
Fluke - eat about all legal size
Tog - eat all over 4# (fairly often)
weekfish - C&R (they're rare now days)
Sea (black) Bass - eat over 14" (rare)
Scup - save 2-6 per outing if big
Eels - eat over 30",, use for bait under 20" (watch em squirm in the fry pan)
Raja - eat over 7-8 lbs. (pretty rare now days)
squid - eat my fill and use as bait

So, I'm not sure how to naswer your pole. :redface:

 

[reelfishin]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

I fish for food, but generally I don't keep more than that nights dinner. I'm not a big fan of frozen fish. I'll either release or cull the catch as I go or quit once I have enough.
I only eat from saltwater, not a big fan of freshwater fish here other than catfish from time to time, depending on where they came from.
If I doubt the water quality, they all get released.

 

[cbavier]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

Keep, eat and freeze. We usually have two or three big Fish fries in the winter and have a crowd to help devour them. I ususally cook about 100 Gills for those fish fries. Feed about ten people. 100 gills, fried taters and hush puppies keeps everyone smiling.

 

[need2know]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

i catch and release but some people on my boat keep what i catch or what thay catch

 

[frankie g]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

Caught this Bull on Sat.....got the family together and ate it Sat. night!!

 

[pecheux]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

Nothing beats the taste of freshly caught fish in the frying pan ... now here's the receipe ... LOL

 

[frankie g]

Re: What do you do with your catch?

Actually on the grill and served w/ Anchovy butter! Outrageous!!!!