Eat your catch or release?

[robert graham]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

I've read that the bigger/older fish have had more time to build-up/accumulate mercury and bad stuff in them than smaller/younger fish, but it's for sure I'll either eat it or release it. Best thing to me is fried fingerling catfish, slaw and fries!...almost heaven!

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

I guess OJ would go in another thread?

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

I'm a firm believer in the fillet & release program for the tasty fish (snapper, cobia, grouper) and catch & release for the others (tarpon, grunts, king).

 

[BlkY2k]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

Hey grunts arent bad if ya got 30-40=50 of them.

 

[12vMan]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

Eat some, release some..it's a big scientific experiment

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

I know I'm outnumbered here big time, but I stand by my rant Don't worry I'm not Vegan or some Organic Veggie nut (I gotta have my pizza, ice cream and grilled cheese ), and if I was stranded on a desert island and would die without eating fish, then bye-bye fishy, but that's hardly the case. If there's anything Americans aren't doing, it's starving to death on a desert island (a dessert island perhaps.) (Diabestiy anyone?) I also grew up catching and eating more fish, oysters, crab and shrimp than I can even hope to remember lest ye think I do not know whereof I speak. (Yet another reason I stopped, actually. I have had more than my fair share of fishies, et al. Gluttony is a deadly sin after all)
I'm a scientist at heart. I love tests like 12vMan, both giving and taking them. Here's one; I propose that anyone who doesn't think mercury/lead/toxin pollution is a big deal in their local fishery, just perform a simple experiment. Feed the fish from your favorite local body of water to YOUR children 3-4 days a week and see what happens. After all, fish is good for you right? Low fat and cholesterol, promotes healthy brain development and all that jazz. Well, that is until the mercury deposits itself in your kids' brain, kidney and/or lungs (whoops!). Why do you think they even advertise fish oil supplements as being (Hg) free? It's actually quite simple to prove, or disprove one way or the other, and yet methinks none of ye would bet your kids' health on it, and you'd be wise not to. Sure most veggies have mountains of crazy chemicals on them, and are far from perfect, but I'll take my chances with a tomato while you take yours with a toxic tuna.
Plus, the more time I spend on the water, the less I want to take from it and the more I want to give back. Easy to kill a critter, harder to grow one. I think the oil spill taught everyone down in this neck of the woods that lesson the hard way. What was that about the inshore species not bouncing back? Can't we just give 'em break? Just one year? Six months? Just imagine how many fishies there'd be the next year and the year after that? Every farmer knows you don't plow the same field every year. Every once in a while you let if go fallow to regenerate. But alas, we all know this will never happen. Did I already mention gluttony?
The crazy part is that deep down, you all know I'm right There's a reason why more and more of the world's elite athletes (football, MMA, cyclists, etc...), prominent politicians and CEOs are going veggie/vegan, and it ain't to be cool. It's to be healthier. Anyway, as a previous posted stated, it really costs more to go fishing than the fish will ever be worth, even if it wasn't toxic. So why bother? If it's for sport, great catch 'em throw 'em back. There's your sport. I gotta give to the pro Bass guys, they've seen the light. Oh, and that "fresh" fish that you buy at the store has only been in storage for what a week, maybe two? Yeah, that sounds about as fresh as Phyllis Diller's dentures to me. Now I'm dumb, but I ain't that dumb. Nah, I know a scam when I see one and so should you. Fish on!.......Fish off!......Fish On!.......Fish off!

 

[roscoe]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

I guess we'd better not talk about what kfa's plants have sucked outta the ground then.

Or the billions of tons of naturally occurring lead and aluminum that is out there.

Even the water in much of Ontario is saturated with lead.

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

My green glow helps me tying knots and saves batteries.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

Here's what WI says:

Health Advisory for Eating Fish
Although fish are delicious and nutritious, some fish contain contaminants at levels
that can pose health risks to people who eat fish frequently. To reduce your exposure
to these contaminants, the state issues advice to help you plan what fish to keep as well
as how often and how much fish to eat. Please read the information below and consult
the complete fish consumption advisory as a guide to eating fish low in contaminants.
Fish consumption advice is provided for fish that may contain mercury, polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), and other compounds.
Statewide mercury advisory: Mercury is found in almost all waters throughout the state.
Wisconsin?s statewide advice for most of Wisconsin?s inland (non-Great Lakes) waters
recommends that:
Women of childbearing years, nursing mothers and all children under 15 may eat:
? One meal per week of bluegill, sunfish, crappies, yellow perch, bullheads, inland
trout; and
? One meal per month of walleye, northern pike, bass, catfish, and all other species
(The exception is muskies, which should not be eaten by this group of people
because of the high mercury content in muskies).
Men, and women beyond their childbearing years may eat:
? Unrestricted amounts of bluegill, sunfish, crappies, yellow perch, bullheads, inland
trout; and
? One meal per week of walleye, northern pike, bass, catfish, and all other species.
? One meal per month of musky. Release! Unless it's a wallhanger...
Studies suggest that regularly including modest amounts of fish and shellfish (1 or 2 servings
per week) in you diet can benefit your health. Little additional benefit is obtained
from consuming more than that amount. And, for some waters, fewer meals should be
eaten. On certain waters, where data indicates higher mercury levels, more restrictive
advice is needed. In addition, fish purchased from stores or restaurants may contain
mercury. Consult the fish consumption advisory booklet for more specific advice.

 

[rivermouse]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

The large lake (lake wylie nc/sc) I planned to fish in this year now has warnings about pcvs and mercury affecting the catfish and bass. I really dont plan to eat the fish I may catch which will be mainly catfish but its sorta sad knowing they may be contaminated. Mountain Island lake located north of wylie which is the water supply for my city so far has no warnings. I guess for that shore dinner fish fry it will have to be there.

 

[Johny25]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

kfa4303 humans would have never evolved to what we are today had they continued eating nothing but grass and veggies lol.... Sure today there is an abundance of high protein fruits and veggies available (except 3rd world countries). But for humans to evolve a large brain which consumes huge amounts of calories and protein we had to maximize our nutrition intake by eating FISH & MEAT. So you can spend all day eating 10 pounds of grass and I will spend 20 minutes eating a 16oz sirloin : ) Then I will spend the rest of my day shacking the ladies in the tribe while you collect grass lol.....

 

[foodfisher]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

Beef is just concentrated salad. Why go thru the digestive process of eating salad to make meat/you, when it's already done for you?? I've only got one stomach and no cud chewing time anyway.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

If veggies are so good for you, how come pigs and cows get fatty?

 

[sasto]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

If I had it my way I would release all fish I caught. My favorite fish to catch are Marlin and Sailfish. They always go back, hopefully unharmed. I found that releasing Mahi-Mahi, Wahoo, Cobia...etc..is sometimes bad for my health. My Lady and a couple friends will flog me.

I don't like eating fish. Gimme a steak. If fishing alone. I may keep one and release the others.

Hey foodfisher.....I don't get your post. Do you eat your fish?

 

[FlaCowboy]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

The way I see it is this....a person can live the most healthy life they want to live and be killed going to the store for a loaf of bread or gallon of milk. I am going to live life the way I want to, eat what I want and not worry about it and what ever I die from I will die a happy person because I lived Life My Way.

One thing for Sure...no one will get out of this life....alive....

 

[dingbat]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

I keep maybe 1% of the fish I catch. Granted, when a small fish is anything under #20 you don't need to keep many.

IMHO, the mercury warnings for the general public are the same as the pot smoking warnings of the 70's. If you smoke 150 joints a day you will die of asphyxiation.

I particulary like the notion that is safer to eat commercially caught fish than it is to eat the same fish caught by a recreational fisherman.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

kfa, I don't think anyone here will dispute the facts you present. I think the posts here indicate that. What's more than prevelant in this thread is the fact that most people care about it but are reasonably willing to live life and enjoy it without over worrying about every little thing that science discovers. It's inevitable that a meteor will strike the earth but it would do little good to worry about it. Yes, know the risks and then mitigate them. A wise person once said, "Every man, women and child that is born to this world drinks water and will eventrually die. Some will die from the water and some will not." Think about it, it gives a perspective to this thread.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

I eat selected sizes of select species. My criteria are yummyness and any legal limitations.

#1 Saltwater species are mahi mahi and blackfin tuna. If I caught them I would also eat mako and swordfish.

#1 Freshwater species is slotted* walleye, but crappie and bluegill over about 8" and slotted* channel cat are also on the menu.

When I caught pacific salmon in Lake Michigan I ate those, too.


No paranoia about mercury or other pollutants.

* Over some minimum and under some maximum.

This sums it up for me too, I dont fish to catch and release, I fish to eat, and within reason I eat fish from the Great Lakes and surrounding waters almost only! The good far outweighs the bad if you clean your fish well, and eat it using comon sense. I feel what you get in a store is as bad or worse then what I prepare. And beef and chicken from a store are really bad for you with all the drugs they pump into meat. My deer meat is organic, so I have things in good perspective. Pork is one of my favorites, and may be the only thing I eat too much of, but heck everything is bad for you to some degree.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

The large lake (lake wylie nc/sc) I planned to fish in this year now has warnings about pcvs and mercury affecting the catfish and bass. I really dont plan to eat the fish I may catch which will be mainly catfish but its sorta sad knowing they may be contaminated. Mountain Island lake located north of wylie which is the water supply for my city so far has no warnings. I guess for that shore dinner fish fry it will have to be there.

I dont think the food you buy in the store is required to warn you about all the garbage that's in it. And I am 100% confident that crap in the store is swimming in man made chemicals. At least with fishing and hunting they take the time to warn you. I laugh at people who think grocery store food is somehow good for you, or better then what sportsman take. All that crap they load food up with is why kids are maturing at 8-9 years of age and all the other problems we have, come directly from our groceries. yuck
Taking a chicken egg and turning it into a full grown chicken in 12-14 weeks tells me they are pollution packed chemical dumps. I'll take my chances on wild animals anytime I can.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Eat your catch or release?

I think it helps if you live on/near the sea or water in general. The more you're around it, the less you want to hurt it and the more you see just how vulnerable it really is. I see catch and release as one of the great advantages of fishing, and one that sets it apart form virtually all other outdoor sports which generally end with the destruction of a perfectly good animal in what amounts to a ridiculously unfair fight. I mean how hard is it for one, or more, homo sapiens with giant brains, tens of thousands of dollars in lethal equipment and years of experience to go around killing a bunch of dumb fish, deer or bears,etc.... Talk about bullying. There's a reason an unfair fight is called "shooting fish in a barrel". Never mind what it says about the psychology of a person that knowingly and willing goes around killing beings smaller, dumber and weaker than themselves for "sport". Gee, insecure much? (Yes, yes you are.) Why not pick on something your own size, so to speak?
Now if you want to get out there to freedive, or go spearfishing and thereby allowing yourself to momentarily become part of the food chain, I can get a little bit more behind that. At least then the fish has a chance to bite you back, which is only fair, right? Surely a mighty hunter wouldn't be afraid of a little 'ol fish. Shoot (another bad pun :/), I can even kind of get behind some Tread Barta style paleo-hunting with homemade bow and stone tip arrows, etc....at least you gotta work for that, and the critter has a fighting chance,thereby making it a true "sport", but a fat guy sitting in a tree stand holding a high powered .270 deer rifle with a nuclear powered night scope just waiting to kill come some unfortunate critter that only wants/needs a meal from the food the "hunter" has placed out to lure them in is a joke, and says everything you need to know about a person. They're a killer, not a hunter. There's a difference.
Although, I must admit, and I am pleasantly surprised, to see so many other folk getting on board (sorry bad boat pun. had to do it :/ ) with the basic concept of consuming less (everything) and giving back more, or simply enjoying nature as She is. Per an earlier post, almost all billfish guys, Bass pros, Redfish pros, etc...get it. They realize that our seas,lakes and rivers are very fragile and far more enjoyable with the more fish in the water than out of it. Look at guys like Peter Benchley (Jaws), Guy Harvey, et. al. all of whom have also seen the light and are now some of the most outspoken conservationists of sea life.
As for all the nonsense about "needing" meat to do anything is simple ignorance, machismo and misinformation. If we really "had" to eat meat to survive we'd have claws and fangs and night vision like a panther, but we don't. Never mind that the hallmark of human civilization, and what truly sets apart from most other critters, is agriculture. We can make our own food, whereas all other critters great and small are more or less dependent on their environments. We're really more like bears, gorillas, or giant whales. Sure we can eat meat and may have needs to from time to time, but the vast majority of their diet is plant based and I'm pretty sure Bears and Gorillas can hold there own with just about any critter out there (Bears vs. Gorillas now there's a video game idea).
Oh, and don't worry about the ladies, I'll take care of 'em after that yummy stake you just had to have gives you a coronary, oh and a gut and a just a touch of diabetes for good measure Again, you all know I'm right It's ok, you don't have to say it out loud, but y'all know everything I've said is true.
Although, I do love the rationalizations, false arguments and the ability of people to "square the circle" when it comes to their own motivations and actions ("I eat this fish, but not that one and only on days that end with a "q" ", or whatever ridiculous psychologically self-soothing excuse you've been able to convince yourself of.) Quite fascinating really.

Just thought I'd stir the pot a bit more

Now about those boats...........