Mark Knapp 0 Report post Posted February 14, 2020 OMG! U guys R so OLD !!! LOL Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kevin24018 0 Report post Posted February 14, 2020 generally I release them, though they stocked a private pond (Izak Walton league) after I got back I put a grocery bag on the counter, near the sink and my wife says "I don't want any live fish on my counter!" (she's mostly vegetarian) I laughed and said "it's not alive!" (I only kept 1, for myself) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RickZieger 0 Report post Posted February 14, 2020 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 you are a great guy. Come on down and I will take you to the ponds. Rick Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted February 14, 2020 Come on down and I will take you to the ponds. Rick Of course, you will be blind-folded, wearing head phones blasting Gilbert Gottfried stand-up routines, and the route will circumnavigate the State ... but Rick will take you to his spots. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redietz 0 Report post Posted February 15, 2020 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). There's the rub (the fit for eating part) in the mid-atlantic area. A stocked rainbow (which is pretty much of what gets stocked) is going to taste pretty much the same whether you caught it in marginal trout waters or bought it at Safeway. Neither one is really fit to eat, IMO. OTOH, wild trout, although they taste far better, are somewhat at a premium and there wouldn't be many left if they were all taken home and eaten. I have nothing against eating fish you catch where sustainable and fit to eat, but at least as far as trout go, they just don't exist in my part of the world. Still, I wouldn't have survived grad school many years if it weren't for an abundant supply of crappie nearby. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philly 0 Report post Posted February 15, 2020 Making fun of SE PA. I was on a board one time and there was a guy moving from Colorado to Philadelphia for a job and he wanted to know if he should sell his fly rods before he moved here. There's some decent places to fish around here. Picture of my favorite creek. This is in the middle of the fourth largest city in the US, so they claim, the 4th largest city. 12 inch bluegills not in this creek. There are lakes that are managed for trophy pan fish in the area and you might get a 12 inch bluegill out of one of them. I just haven't seen them. I'm on board to find those 12 inch bluegills. I think there's a better chance to find one in one of the lakes in the Poconos at least there I've consistently caught gills and pumpkin seed in the 10 inch range. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robow7 0 Report post Posted February 15, 2020 I know this place Not sure about 12" but covered my lap and I have decent sized hands. Easily sucked down a Kreb's popper tied on a size 2 3xl Mustad 33903 popper hook before I released him. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steeldrifter 0 Report post Posted February 15, 2020 That's a chunky monkey! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
niveker 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2020 Wow.! That is the biggest gill I've ever seen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Knapp 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2020 I know this place Not sure about 12" but covered my lap and I have decent sized hands. Easily sucked down a Kreb's popper tied on a size 2 3xl Mustad 33903 popper hook before I released him. Oh my gosh. That's a biggun. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2020 I release most, but do enjoy eating some fish. Depends on the fish species what I will or won't keep. If I do keep them, it's not many. Just enough for a meal. Some that I will keep, catfish, White or Yellow Perch, Crappies, Bluegills & other Sunfish, schoolie size Striped Bass, Redfish, Flounder, Black Drum, Weakfish (Seatrout). Not fond of keeping bass, or Stripers over about 25". If I do keep either it would be because they're badly hurt. and wouldn't likely survive anyway. But, only if legal. I don't get to fish for trout much, so really a non-factor. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Bob LeMay 0 Report post Posted February 16, 2020 Off on a slight tangent... there are actually many fish (particularly in saltwater) that are very good to eat - but not popular at all, and in some cases downright un-popular... The trick, if there is one, is simply knowing how to prepare one fish or other for the table... I can take an ordinary jack crevalle and turn it into the best "tunafish salad" you've ever eaten - but most that catch them long ago learned that they're not fit to eat... I know one fish market owner who actually figured out how to take the common ladyfish and make really great fish cakes out of it... Once again something that the general run of saltwater anglers has no clue about... Ordinarily strong tasting oily fish like king mackeral or amberjack (and even sailfish and marlin) make outstanding eating - when they're been smoked properly after introduction into a decent prepared brine... All that's needed is an ice cold beer to go with it... Down here in paradise more than a few anglers has their own smoker (and their own carefully guarded recipe for prepping fish for that smoker... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chugbug27 0 Report post Posted February 17, 2020 I used to fish for albacore, Dorado, yellowtail and small bluefin tuna off Mexico out of San Diego. That was the best. My back went out on me one trip, though, and that was all she wrote for that chapter. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chugbug27 0 Report post Posted February 17, 2020 I also once ate my catch out of Santa Monica Bay and, be forewarned, threw up for several hours that evening. And that was the end of a somewhat different chapter... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pyme Fisher 0 Report post Posted February 17, 2020 Ordinarily strong tasting oily fish like king mackeral or amberjack .... make outstanding eating - when they're been smoked properly ... Years ago, my parents lived in South Florida for a while. Their neighbor held a commercial fishing license, and would take my dad (and me,every time I flew down to see them), out fishing. During the king run, he could use all the help he could get manning rods, and we obviously were happy to oblige. He also turned us on to fishing for some huge amberjack on the deep wrecks. We happily ate both kings and amberjack. My dad smoked a whole bunch of kings over the years, but we just ate the amberjack "steaked". A "strong tasting oily fish" doesn't have to mean a bad fish. Sometimes, I prefer that stronger taste. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
