What do you do with your fish?

[RickZieger 0]

Since I fish small ponds with panfish in them I keep most of the fish. Do release the 12 inch gills I catch.

The ponds never decrease the number of fish I can catch of has the size decreased.

 

 

Rick

[Pyme Fisher 0]

While I really enjoy a nice fish dinner, I'm not excited about cleaning and filleting them, so my caught fish all get released, and I get my eating fish at the store.

[Bryon Anderson 0]

While I really enjoy a nice fish dinner, I'm not excited about cleaning and filleting them, so my caught fish all get released, and I get my eating fish at the store.

this is the primary reason I only keep one mess of bluegills per year.

[Philly 0]

I don't keep a whole lot of fish. I did earlier in my life. Especially when I was in college. Crappie, sunfish, bass, catfish, even some fresh water drum. These days I don't keep many. I wouldn't keep anything caught here SE PA. We've been making trips up to the Poconos the last couple of years. The lakes are fairly clean. There's four of us. So we keep a dozen or so, a mix of sunfish, crappie and chain pickerel for a fish fry at the end of the week. I'm going to have to sharpen my fillet knives. Any bass are released. This year we're making a trip to Northern Ontario. We'll bring back some fish. Smallmouth, walleye and a couple of pike. The lodge fillets them, freezes them and packs them in ice. Only have to pull the skin off when I get home. We'll also keep a couple walleye, which the lodge will cook for us to have as an extra for breakfast or dinner. Salt water, flounder, sea bass, weakfish, if we can catch some keeper size ones. I've kept a few sea robins. They're actually pretty tasty. I'll keep a couple snapper blues. When my smoker was working, I kept a couple larger ones and smoked them. Very good that way. I've also kept albacore, false albacore(only once), small tunas, dolphin fish(mahi-mahi) a couple sharks, blue, brown and mako. Never kept any striped bass. I used to keep a few trout when I would go up to Vermont. Haven't done that in 30 years.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Since I fish small ponds with panfish in them I keep most of the fish. Do release the 12 inch gills I catch.

The ponds never decrease the number of fish I can catch of has the size decreased.

 

 

Rick

I think we're gonna need proof that the size/numbers in these ponds does not decrease. Tell ya what I'll do. You send me the info on exactly where these ponds that have these 12" gills in them are, and I'll go confirm for everyone that the numbers and sizes are still the same. I'll do that for everyone just because I'm such a great guy

[Mark Knapp 0]

 

Since I fish small ponds with panfish in them I keep most of the fish. Do release the 12 inch gills I catch.

The ponds never decrease the number of fish I can catch of has the size decreased.

 

 

Rick

I think we're gonna need proof that the size/numbers in these ponds does not decrease. Tell ya what I'll do. You send me the info on exactly where these ponds that have these 12" gills in them are, and I'll go confirm for everyone that the numbers and sizes are still the same. I'll do that for everyone just because I'm such a great guy

 

I know, right (that's how the young people say it these days). I already have a ticket booked to SE PA. I'd just love to see a 12 inch blue gill. People always tease me because I always say the thing I miss the most about living in Alaska is blue gill fishing.

[Steeldrifter 0]

That certainly is a monster size gill. I'm tryin to remember what the biggest I have caught as and I think it was 10" if I remember right. a foot long one has to put up quite a tussle!

 

BTW if ya want to talk like the kids now a days Mark you need to add about three "super's" in that sentence lol

[Mark Knapp 0]

It's all a matter of personal preference, and I don't begrudge anybody for doing what they do ( I have been the recipient of "Breeder Shaming", even when all the fish in a given lake are sterile).

 

There are practicalities that I hadn't thought of. In certain places, the water is not fit to eat the fish out of. In some places, the fish are certainly best left there to make more fish. Neither of those are problems up here, though we do have some catch and release waters for wild rainbows.

 

I don't keep any fish unless I plan on keeping enough to make the whole fish-cleaning thing worthwhile.

 

I can't believe there is anywhere that the fish you can buy in a store will be tastier than the ones you can catch and eat fresh (that's assuming the fish are fit for eating).

 

Loving the pictures.

[Mark Knapp 0]

That certainly is a monster size gill. I'm tryin to remember what the biggest I have caught as and I think it was 10" if I remember right. a foot long one has to put up quite a tussle!

 

BTW if ya want to talk like the kids now a days Mark you need to add about three "super's" in that sentence lol

And like, ya know, a bunch of "Likes" and "Ya knows", Ya know?

[Steeldrifter 0]

You so chill bro.

[mikechell 0]

OMG! U guys R so OLD !!!

[Steeldrifter 0]

Ok boomer

[Poopdeck 0]

Cancel your plane tickets. I've fished SE PA my entire life and have never seen a 12" sunnie. i would like to though.

[Mark Knapp 0]

You so chill bro.

Like, I know right?

[Mark Knapp 0]

Cancel your plane tickets. I've fished SE PA my entire life and have never seen a 12" sunnie. i would like to though.

Bummer dude.