Fish eater or not

caddisflyer said:
Years ago I ate a lot of the fish I caught. Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass, Crappie and Walleye from ponds and creeks and the Susquehanna were all enjoyed. We kept stocked trout by the hundreds and ate most of them although I will admit some would get freezer burn and end up in the garden. You can only eat so many.
Click to expand...
I won't freeze it. If I'm gonna eat it it will be shortly after being caught. With the exception of tuna steaks. I don't eat much frozen fish.
 
I love fish, mollusks, crustaceans and grew up eating them all but I can't be bothered harvesting what I catch because I don't want to carry around dispatched fish for any amount of time. I also don't want to deal with the hassle of walkinmg back to my vehicle to put them in a cooler.

If I want fish, mollusks, crustaceans I go to the store or a restaurant AFTER fishing... ;)
 
I eat all types of fish. Can't say there is one I don't like other than farm raised fish Dont eat those for a number of reasons.

I practice C&R on trout 90% of the time. The exception would be later season trout. I keep a few at that time because a) most will succumb to heat stress, and b) by that time their diet has more natural for a time. Their flesh is starting to turn back to pink/orange. Kinda like grass finished beef only these would be called fly finished fish.
 
I love seafood, but not fish so much. I do like trout from time to time, I eat 2 or 3 per year out of the local put and takes.
 
Lobster only but never a fish and never a trout. I have had people ask me why I release everything I catch and I just say it is a lot of fun and relaxation to me.
 
trout48 said:
I have had people ask me why I release everything I catch and I just say it is a lot of fun and relaxation to me.
Click to expand...
I've had folks ask me that same question a few times, and when I show them pics of some of the wild trout I've caught they say, "oh, I can see why you let them go, they're beautiful".
 
I love seafood and should eat it more often. We lived in Connecticut for two years, and the seafood was awesome. For one year of that, I lived at the mouth of a trout stream where it dumped into brackish water. I even caught a blue crab on a fly, once. But where I live now is not known for good seafood shops or restaurants. The only seafood that I don't like is oysters.

Trout and salmon are not high on my list of table fare; so low that I can't recall ordering it in a restaurant. On the other hand, my wife likes salmon once in a while. I used to keep a few trout each year for her, but I'm not sure if she actually liked it, or she just wanted to make sure I was actually fishing. ;)

I will say that If either of us did get a craving for trout, If I am physically able to catch my own, I wouldn't buy it in a store.
 
Last edited:
I'm allergic to fish. People have a very hard time understanding that my hobby is completely disconnected from my diet.
 
I eat fish, but as far as eating what I catch myself, it's pretty much only an occasional blue cat. Would do the same for snakehead if I ever manage to catch one. Didn't get around to chasing either species this year.
 
sgrim said:
I'm allergic to fish. People have a very hard time understanding that my hobby is completely disconnected from my diet.
Click to expand...

That is not hard to understand at all. But then, I'm a hobby beekeeper who is diabetic and mildly allergic to bee stings.
 
I certainly don't fish for food, and I release 99% of what I catch.

Exceptions:
1. Backwoods camping trips, I'll often knock a brook trout or three over the head for a fire to go along with some canned side dish. I haven't done this is in a while, but I have done it, and would do so again. Wild brookies from a mountain stream are excellent eating, with pink flesh like a salmon. A little butter and seasoning and it's fantastic. And this is usually way back in away from roads after catching a bunch, the population certainly ain't stressed.

2. My son is 7 and not getting out on big difficult trips yet, but obsessed with fishing, and super proud of himself if he catches a trout. He wants to keep them all and eat them!!! I am using it to teach the value of wild trout, and those get released, but if he wants to keep a stockie or two I'm ok with that and I will cook them up for him.

3. I occasionally keep 1 or 2 steelhead. Especially if staying at camp in a group of guys, you can exchange fish at one of the shops and take some smoked steelhead home as a snack.
 
We like all kinds of seafood and usually eat it several times a week

I'm surprised that several don't eat freshwater fish.
Pretty hard to beat walleye and perch IMO.
Catfish is pretty good too.

Never ate smelts until I went to the feast of seven fishes Christmas dinner at the in laws
They deep fry them in beer batter. Very mild and tasty.

I rarely eat trout.
Occasionally keep a few for dinner when camping out with friends.
Usually just in spring, when I can dig some ramps to cook them with
Never take any home
 
Heck, I'd eat Sponge Bob if I caught him.

I love just about every fresh and saltwater fish, same with shellfish and crustaceans. My problem with eating fish is twofold. My wife will not eat anything but haddock, cod, or any thick saltwater white fleshed fish.

She won't eat any freshwater fish. I did sneak some Cajun style catfish by her one time. She liked it, a lot, but then I told her what it was and got the Sicilian evil eye for a week!

Because I won't keep fish just for myself, we survive on shrimp, cod, and tuna steaks. I'd like to keep some panfish, but it doesn't make sense to just keep them for myself.

Regards,

Tim Murphy :)
 
I don't eat any freshwater fish - and the rest of my family doesn't care for any seafood. I haven't kept a trout in over 20 years. I do like seafood, though, and brought back about 20 pounds of coho from Alaska this summer. That will last me a while.
 
I love fish, probably eat it once or twice a week, not including the can of tuna I have for lunch weekly. Only thing I don't really like are crab cakes otherwise most saltwater fish, shell fish, squid, or octopus will do. Freshwater fish I'll do most often are salmon and catfish. Trout, I ate way too many stockers as a kid, now I'll do them once or twice a year but only after I know they've held over for a few months. I'll usually grill one in late June from a stream that I know warms up too much or early March from a stream where I know they won't make it past the next opening day onslaught.
 
TimMurphy said:
Heck, I'd eat Sponge Bob if I caught him.

I love just about every fresh and saltwater fish, same with shellfish and crustaceans. My problem with eating fish is twofold. My wife will not eat anything but haddock, cod, or any thick saltwater white fleshed fish.

She won't eat any freshwater fish. I did sneak some Cajun style catfish by her one time. She liked it, a lot, but then I told her what it was and got the Sicilian evil eye for a week!

Because I won't keep fish just for myself, we survive on shrimp, cod, and tuna steaks. I'd like to keep some panfish, but it doesn't make sense to just keep them for myself.

Regards,

Tim Murphy :)
Click to expand...
I have a similar problem... my wife won't eat any fish that costs less than $20 a pound...

The good news is she also won't touch crustaceans or mollusks so I don't have to share. ;)

My last fish keeping experience:

About 8 years ago a couple of us were staying at Pettecote Junction Campground along Pine Creek. We decided to get up early one morning, limit ourselves to one hour of effort fly fishing and catch a couple of stockers for breakfast.

Three of us beat the water to a froth and caught ABSOLUTELY NOTHING along with everybody else on the creek that morning and I even tried spinning gear figuring I'd out fox those stupid fish!!

That skunking cured my harvest desires forever and endeared me to the local fish monger... ;)
 
krayfish2 said:
After spending a lot of time and money chasing trout, people are shocked that I don't eat any of them. As a matter of fact, I don't eat anything that swims or lives in the water. All of it has simply been for relaxation and sport.

I know that I'm in the minority but is there anyone else who does it for fun and doesn't eat any seafood? Just curious.
Click to expand...
I get the same reaction from people. Have friends who ask for fish and they are surprised when I say I return all fish to fight another day. q
 
tomgamber said:
I eat fish at least once a week. More if it's available. I try to eat only eat wild caught for as much as the package is accurate anway. Cod, tuna, salmon, steehead are the most regular. If I go to camp I'll keep a few stockies to feed the crew as they enjoy that. If I wasn't so lazy the fish I'd eat most is bluegill.
Click to expand...
I’m with you. I eat fish once a week. It’s overwhelmingly salmon because my wife likes only a few ocean fish. She also loves trout but I only bring it home for her a handful of times per year. I used to be much better about bringing her rainbows but I tend to cover a lot water when I fish and I hate dragging them around.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages


Real Time Data From
the USGS Site

Share this page

Back
Top