When you go fishing do you generally throw the fish back or do you take them home and eat them?

Question

Just interested in what people do!

Answer 1

I know a lot of catch and release people, but I'm a hook and cook type of girl. I follow my regs, if it's oversized or undersized, it goes back, if the season's closed, it goes back, but as long as it's not trash fish and it's in size range, etc., it's mine... I refuse to eat fish from a grocery store, and rarely eat commercially caught fish at resturaunts (I usually do a better job of cooking them anyway). I love fresh fish, though, and me catching and taking a few home from time to time has a LOT less impact on fish populations than commercial fishing.

As to the mullet comment... yes, everyone thinks of mullet as baitfish... trash... chum.... ask a Floridian (and not one of these single-generation Floridians we've got nowadays) about smoked mullet... heck, it's even good grilled depending on your marinade... I've had it fried and it's fine... *shrug* It kept a lot of people alive in this state before there were grocery stores.

Answer 2

I almost always keep something. The only time i don't keep them is if the waters have a high level of toxins, or the fish population is vulnerable.

I am a fillet nut! I always do boneless fillets, walleye, perch, bass, salmon, trout, even with pike which everyone else seem to throw back.

I'm not a big fan of many "catch and releasers" who end up killing or injuring fish anyways. After all, you are still impaling them with hooks! You should use barbless hooks too but noone does.

Answer 3

I depends on where you are fishing and this answer relates to the UK ONLY
different countries have different LAWS
Sea ............... Some fish would be taken home and eaten e.g Mackerel, Cod, plaice Dabs etc but sharks would be put back.
This said there are Sea angler who fish in completions and much of their catch would be released back


Trout and Salmon from Rivers and Commercial Fisheries ............ almost certainly taken home and eaten UPTO THE LIMIT of the venue
... usually 4 fish but you can pay extra to take more ... usually upto 8 fish


BRITISH FRESHWATERS - rivers, canals , lakes and Commercial pools

IT IS ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN BY LAW, enforced by the Environment Agency, To remove fish from the venue!
Apart from the fact that BRITISH fresh water fish , in the main taste disgusting, many of the fish in commercial venues are big, old and very expensive to replace ... a 5lb carp would cost about 30 pounds sterling.


So, in the main, BRITISH angler do not take fish for eating ( with the exception of Trout and Salmon ... from clean rivers and big lakes and Sea anglers )

Answer 4

It depends. I, unfortunately, don't get to go as often as I'd like. So, I use a basket, and if I don't catch enough for a full family meal, I release since it may be a while before I can add to them.

If there are enough for a good family sized fry, then I keep them. As long as I eat them fresh, or freeze enough in one container, it's food.

Sometimes other factors enter in. I usually release bass (except white bass) unless I'm farm pond fishing and happen to land them while fishing for bluegill or crappy. They're not my favorite to eat but the main reason is that there aren't many places where the odds of catch many of legal size is very good.

Answer 5

in uk we release coarse fish, roach, bream, tench, carp etc usually pond fish or rivers. They are called coarse fish as in the middle ages the local peasants were allowed to eat them the "coarse " class of people being the link I think

Game fish Trout, Salmon were for the very rich to capture only, hence the rise of poachers and the punishments if caught

Sea fish are there for the plate and I recall catching a mackeral at sea in Ireland and cooking it , my did it taste good when fresh.

Big fish used to be killed as proof for the recordbooks but now with camera phones and technoloy there is no need

In England there has been a lot of immigration from Eastern Europe in recent years and some of those folks have been netting private carp lakes for the pot which has caused many violent incidents recorded in the fishing press as these clubs want there carp to grow huge and stay in the lake

Answer 6

Dizzi...if you think fishing is a waste of time, then why are you wasting your time answering questions about fishing. Stupid people need to just kill themselves and make life easier for the rest of us. Your answer made me less smart cause i read it. Thanks alot dumb@ss

anyways....

I mostly catch and release but once in a while if im on some big panfish ill keep em and eat em. I almost always put back gamefish (bass, pike, muskys, etc) The exception to that is walleyes though. If theyre legal ill take them home as well. Very tasty.

Answer 7

i go fishing at least two days a week and in the last 5 years i have kept maybe 6 fish. i used to keep one when my grandmother would ask me for a fresh feed of fish. fishing for me is more about being outdoors and enjoying it than keeping more than i am going to use. i do participate in a tag and release program for the fisheries department with steelhead and bulltrout. that gives the biologists a means to track certain species and use the data for enhancement programs. i'll do anything to ensure that my sons can enjoy it as much as i do years from now.

Answer 8

Usually catch and release, until I get hungry for good old Mountain Trout.

The big question that ticks me off are the wanna be fisherman that clean their fish and throw the guts in the water.

They are also the ones that don't carry out their trash.

They don't have the sense to know they are polluting the drinking water.

Thanks for the question.

Answer 9

i am from an area where seafood is a big thing. if we catch it, it is getting cooked and eaten. the only exceptions are if you catch a nasty fish, like a mullet or something like that, or if the fish is too small. i personally don't see the point in generally catching a fish and releasing it.

Answer 10

When i have been fishing and me rod bending in expectation of a huge catch in comes a wellington boot so no i do not take me catch home just a red face ha ha