best sizes for eating?

[Dontcryformejanhrdina]

After seeing the teeth marks he left in my bait, I'd need a few beers before giving it some tongue

 

 

 

 

 

We've all been there before.....not usually with fish though!

Edited October 5, 2011 by Dontcryformejanhrdina

[northernpike56]

perch: anything upwards of 6" should be fine, as with any panfish they reproduce super fast so you don't have to worry about harming the population

walleye: 12-20"

lake trout: I would assume they would be around the same keping size as rainbows

rainbow trout: I just fish stocked rainbows and keep anything 12"+

brook trout: any size (even 8") out of stocked/put and take lakes. they dont get very big anyways

splake: probably same as brook trout but I don't really know cause ive never caught

pike: 18"-30" eat them, they taste great, I just pick the bones out at the table

[OutdoorDan]

People are so picky. If you fish in clean places, basically any fish of any size is going to be better eating than stuff you get at the grocery store. If I don't keep a fish to eat it is usually because that is what I deem to be better for the ecosystem (ex. 15lb pike, big laker) but not because I think that it will taste bad.

[adolson]

People are so picky. If you fish in clean places, basically any fish of any size is going to be better eating than stuff you get at the grocery store. If I don't keep a fish to eat it is usually because that is what I deem to be better for the ecosystem (ex. 15lb pike, big laker) but not because I think that it will taste bad.

I wasn't asking which sizes taste best, I was asking because I wanted to know which ones should go back for the good of the ecosystem... Asking because I don't know... Will never know if I don't ask.

 

The pike I mentioned that tasted like mud has no bearing on why I was asking, I was just mentioning it. Other pike of the exact same size out of the exact same lake tasted fine.

[OutdoorDan]

Hey Dana,

 

I wasn't trying to be critical of you, my post was more a response to people having strict guidelines to eating fish because of taste/ease of cooking.

 

It's hard to say which sizes you are best not keeping when you factor in both eating and conservation. For example if you are fishing for lakers on a lake with no slot, what is the best size to release? A source for coming up with a good size to release is similar waterbodies with a slot. Most places that have a slot will be no fish 40-55cm, but is that because releasing those fish is best for the ecosystem, or because that is the most frequently caught size and making the slot that size results in less fish kept overall? A similar example is if you are fishing for walleye on a lake with no slot. As Sinclair posted, 15-18" walleye are pretty damn tasty. But for places that a slot exists, those sized fish pretty much fall into the slot - so is keeping them on a waterbody you are allowed to keep them on good or bad for conservation?

 

It's pretty hard to answer these questions, I'd just say stay legal, be reasonable and let the really big ones go.

[adolson]

Thanks for clarifying, Lota lota.

 

I know it's hard to say, but if I do a lot of alone fishing, I have nobody to help guide when I should release. I just don't want to unnecessarily keep fish that are either too big that they should be returned to continue breeding, or too small that I won't get much meat. I mean, an 8" brookie I'm told is good to keep now, but I woulda never known that if I hadn't asked. To me, it looked too small - I didn't know how you clean them, even. You wouldn't keep an 8" pike or bass, so I'm just trying to get a good idea without trial and error. Thanks to you and others who posted, I've got a better grasp for the most part.

 

One species I didn't ask about is whitefish. The limit here is 12/6, seems excessive to me, but is that because they're generally a smaller fish (for example, perch limit is 50 and they're fairly small), or is it just because there are so many and/or not targeted?

 

Also, can you eat mooneye?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MFpfb4eThM

[Lip-ripper]

[Musky or Specks]

Thanks for clarifying, Lota lota.

 

I know it's hard to say, but if I do a lot of alone fishing, I have nobody to help guide when I should release. I just don't want to unnecessarily keep fish that are either too big that they should be returned to continue breeding, or too small that I won't get much meat. I mean, an 8" brookie I'm told is good to keep now, but I woulda never known that if I hadn't asked. To me, it looked too small - I didn't know how you clean them, even. You wouldn't keep an 8" pike or bass, so I'm just trying to get a good idea without trial and error. Thanks to you and others who posted, I've got a better grasp for the most part.

 

One species I didn't ask about is whitefish. The limit here is 12/6, seems excessive to me, but is that because they're generally a smaller fish (for example, perch limit is 50 and they're fairly small), or is it just because there are so many and/or not targeted?

 

Also, can you eat mooneye?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MFpfb4eThM

You can eat anything Dana whether or not it taste good is the question. The whitefish limit is high because they are not really targeted except during the icefishing season. Hit up Strathy 25 for something different. Its on the other side of T off Lowell Lake RD Look for the access near the Hydro towers

[adolson]

Hit up Strathy 25 for something different. Its on the other side of T off Lowell Lake RD Look for the access near the Hydro towers

I went there with Rod Caster and we caught nothin'.

[Musky or Specks]

I went there with Rod Caster and we caught nothin'.

Oh that sucks. Better road means more pressure.

 

McNab and 89

Edited October 6, 2011 by Musky or Specks

[OutdoorDan]

Whitefish have a limit of 12 because they are not really targeted, on places where they are targeted it's less - for example Simcoe. A lot of the places that have a limit of 12 whitefish used to be 25, so targeting them has become more popular. And for good reason - they are tasty!

[Rod Caster]

Mooneye and goldeye taste best when smoked imo. I did not enjoy the pan fried goldeye I ate a few years ago.

[esoxansteel]

I love Walleye cheeks wrapped in bacon so I like the bigguns

[OutdoorDan]

I like bacon.