What fish do you eat or not and why?

[Noahk]

Just wondering what everyone's philosophy is on the fish they catch and eat or don't eat.

I base my own feelings on nearly zero science and am certainly no expert. Let's try and respect everyone's opinions and not bash people for what they choose to eat or not eat.

Of the fish I personally catch I will eat trout, steelhead, and salmon. Of course I lack the skills to actually catch a steelhead but if I were to actually catch one I would certainly eat it (of course only if legal to retain). I almost always catch and release wild trout as I think it's important protect their populations as much as possible. I will eat the occasional stocker or hold over. I generally try to avoid eating the stockers on a regular basis as I'm not convinced their pellet diet is especially healthy for them or us. I also don't usually eat the ones out of the ponds for I think obviously reasons.

I don't eat bass as I've never really cared for the taste but maybe I just need to cook it right. I avoid bottom feeding fish as I figure they probably suck up a lot of toxins in their foraging.

So what fish do you eat and why?

 

[bassman503]

Any fish except carp, squaw, and goldfishes.. Pretty disgusting fishes both appearance wise and taste.

 

[tomriker]

i fish mostly bass/crappie/trout and i'd probably eat them, but im lazy and im not fishing for my food unless im camping, it's easier just to throw them back and let em be caught another day!

 

[nwkiller]

sturgeon, salmon, trout, sea bass, surf perch, cabezone, ling cod, small mouth bass, catfish

 

[C_Run]

When I moved from the coast to the Valley after high school, I was creeped out by these inland waterways which probably accounts for why I quit fishing for about thirty years. So, I will eat any of the several species I might catch from shore in the ocean plus any salmon or steelhead I might be fortunate enough to catch. I don't fish for hatchery trout but would eat a holdover, I suppose. With a limit of two fish, I don't have any qualms about eating a wild trout from my usual spots on the coast since there is not huge pressure. I don't keep more than a few a year. I haven't had to confront the ethical dilema of bonking a wild steelhead yet. I fish those streams where it is allowed. Not sure what I would do. I do like to eat fish. So far, I have caught twelve fish of various species this year and only kept three. I guess I am not all bad.

 

[skunk]

I prefer the sea caught fish. Seabass, ling cod, halibut...etc. don't like trout, steelhead is good, salmon ok. Just like white fleshed fish (usually ocean fish) the best. The rest I'm happy with C&R.

 

[Hawk]

We like to sometimes eat deepfried fillets of channel catfish, crappie, red earred perch.

I release most of the fish i catch.

 

[jimmy]

sturgeon, salmon, trout, sea bass, surf perch, cabezone, ling cod, small mouth bass, catfish

are you talkin about the not eat part? If so. .
hahahaa @ the "nw killers" avatar. . . .

Otherwise. . . nevermind. .

ahhh just kiddin boss. ..

I harvest around 3 steelhead, 3 salmon, and 0.3 trout a year ( and maybe one sturge to the smoker if it's bright ) the rest go back, ocean fish don't bother me too much. Indiginouse river fish got a lot of junk in em and I prefer to keep away, even though the clack fish swam through it they dont feed in it. . .

( the 0.3 trout happens if a fish is gut/gill hooked, it happens. . . and when it does, damn the regs, I will honor that fish by not wasteing it and abideing the natural laws. )

 

[hawgin]

certain species of salmon, steelhead, trout, sturgeon, haven't caught a halibut yet or tuna but its good...lol

 

[GungasUncle]

I used to kill a lot of fish when I was much younger - I had a metal stringer that had 10 hooks on it - and I did my best to fill it with something.

Then, probably mostly due to my immersion into fly fishing - I kept slowly but surely adopting more of a C&R approach - although I never gave up keeping fish entirely. FIshing is a blood sport, like it or not - and it's good to keep a few fish to eat now and then, if nothing else, to remind yourself that you're engaging in an activity that for centuries before, was a primary means of food gathering for our ancestors. They just didn't have the fancy gear we have today. Even on 100% C&R waters - fish die. Some fish that seem fine upon release will die of exhaustion later on. Circle of life and all that.

The fish I prefer eating are Halibut, Chinook, Coho, Cod, Tilapia, Crappie, and Walleye. Don't see many of those - as I almost never fish for 'eyes. Most of the rest come from the store when I'm in a fish eating mood - since I haven't been Halibut fishing since I was 16, haven't landed a salmon in 3 years, and we don't grow Tilapia locally. Crappie I only keep if I find myself on a good school and get good numbers of fish that make it worth while to fillet them. That means at least 10" or better. Kinda rare on my local waters.

I hate eating stocker trout - soft, mushy, pale white meat from a salmonid is just...wrong. IF I mortally wound such a fish - I'll keep it, but it's more likely than not going to wind up in a crab pot as bait, or maybe on the hook for a sturgeon. I'd rather eat a Jennie-O turkey frank than an average stocker trout.

 

[Drew9870]

I really don't eat much fish, smoked Salmon/Steelhead is my favorite, only way that I will eat Salmon/Steelhead is smoked, not bbq'ed, baked, or fried.

Warmwater fish I don't care for so much, it has to be a clean lake, Yellow Perch fried in Lemon Juice + potato flakes or Largemouth fried in Pride of the West are my favorites, I will only keep Largemouth where overpopulated, and won't keep anything bigger than 1lb.

Ocean fish are my weak point, I can't speak for Greenling (caught many), I don't care what type of fish it is, give me some Tartar Sauce (some may despise) and I'll tear it up.

Trout kinda gross me out nowadays, I used to love myself a Trout sandwich with butter aka frosting.

 

[tnffishman]

My family usually keeps quite a bit of fish, but I always C&R a lot of fish throughout a year. I just truly like eating fish, and even though I don't eat it that often I only eat what I catch, and I enjoy mostly any type of fish. Trout, salmon, steel, halibut, sturge, even bass or pretty good

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

I eat trout and steelhead and salmon. I release all bass. Havent got into much fish other then those.

 

[FishinTheWes]

I mostly fish for trout, and I don't keep the wild redband and brown trout from the streams around here. Can't say that I liked the algae taste of the occasional Klamath and Williamson fish I kept when I was younger. Brookies are my favorite eating trout, as long as I catch them pre-September. After that the meat gets softer and whiter. I don't mind stockers, but would rather eat ones that were planted in high lakes as fingerlings.

Yellow perch are my favorite eating fish overall, followed closely by bass (in the 9-15" class) and bluegill (if they're big enough to fillet). Crappie fall a bit behind those. I've eaten shad and brown bullheads as well (OK), and once ate a chub (only once). I don't get to do much warmwater fishing now.

Wes Stone
Chiloquin, OR

 

[DriftOR]

I don't eat stocker trout as a general rule, but when I take my niece & nephew there are bound to be some swallowed hooks. I bring those ones home and throw 'em in the smoker. They smoke up pretty quickly and aren't too bad. Plus the kids get a kick out of eating the fish they caught.
I also don't eat bass or ling cod. Bass just don't seem appetizing and I had a bad experience with a ling in Alaska that prevents me from eating them.
Salmon and Steelhead are the best, and I love me a tuna sandwich! Haven't caught a keeper sturgeon yet so not sure about that. Smoked shark was ok, kind rubbery. Monkfish is really good. I'll try just about anything once.

 

[Ifishforfood]

as my profile name indicates, i eat a lot of differant types of fish. i personally find no bad taste in stocker fish, since eating one of those is no differant than eating a store bought tilapia. i really like frying white meated fish and almost always smoke salmonids, usually trout since i dont live near any steelhead/salmon rivers. i like seeing fish as a potential food source if say, we had a war where we had to give up some foods. well, here are all the fish ive eaten and anjoyed, or not enjoyed so much; white suckers,rainbow brown cutthrout and brook trout, steelhead,salmon,smallmouth bass, sculpin(freshwater),yellow perch,bluegill, green sunfish,kokanee,greenling,striped surfperch,bullhead cats,tuna and thats all i can think of right now! the only fish i didn't like eating was the sucker, but i hear its good smoked!

 

[nwkiller]

i dont eat much fish, those are just the ones that i would eat...KILLERS doesn't mean "death to fish"...it means i'm out on the river KILLIN' IT....I mostly catch and release, unless im hungry