# How many of you keep/eat your catch?



## Putty (Jul 22, 2013)

Curious how many people keep the fish they catch. I have always put the fish back. Maybe I'm lazy, don't feel like cleaning them and rather hit the Giant Eagle counter for seafood. I fish for fun, not to eat.


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

I will keep a couple crappie and a couple cats each year. This year I am going to target Saugeye more and keep a couple for my mom (she loves saugeye). 99% I put back, but I do enjoy some fresh fish from time to time.


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## Bimmer (Aug 12, 2011)

I keep crappie in the spring and walleye when I go to Erie.

I throw back everything else.


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## Erieangler51 (Sep 24, 2012)

I keep crappies in the spring along with walleyes. Summer I keep nothing besides eyes from Lake Erie. Meat is way to mushy and sticky from any other fish... Fall I'll keep crappies and also perch and eyes from erie. Winter keep crappies, perch, and walleyes.... I'm not big into cleaning gills... To much hassle not enough reward. And I'll never keep bass or cats. Tried bass 1 time and did not like it. 


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

saugeye/walleye and crappie go home with me, all others nope.....unless I can get into some big bluegills/perch.... they will go home too


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## Putty (Jul 22, 2013)

Good to hear no one eats the Bass.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

I keep sauger/saugeye/walleye if I can. Not a stray here and there while wading. Usually when I'm targeting them.

I like to go out for crappie and bluegill too.

I rarely keep channels.


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## squid_1 (Jun 2, 2005)

Everything from the rivers go back. Everything from AEP goes to the fryer.


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

Myself, I rarely keep fish. 
After the wife's perch fishing escapades, we really have no need for more fish!
I'll keep a few steelhead to smoke, that's about it.

The wife, on the other hand, nothing makes her happier than a freezer full of perch.
Aside from an occasional walleye, the only thing she will keep is perch.

Here's her take from last season-


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

im the type of person that will try anything once. ive eaten smallmouth before, and i like it. carp too, and have posted about it, but it seems no matter what, nobody wants to put some effort towards making it good. 
most of the time when im out, if i catch anything i deem to be of good size, i will keep it, and make fillets out of it. bass too, i prefer they be under 13 inches or so, kept one larger than that a long time ago and it was GROSS!


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## Gottagofishn (Nov 18, 2009)

I've tried most but these days usually only 'Eyes, perch and the occasional Crappie. You will never buy a fish that tastes as good as one taken care of, cleaned and eaten fresh.... IMHO.


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## Putty (Jul 22, 2013)

Gottagofishn said:


> You will never buy a fish that tastes as good as one taken care of, cleaned and eaten fresh.... IMHO.


I agree...I brought back several pounds of meat from Erie. All of which I had 'professionally' cleaned. I really don't know how to clean fish, so I rather not kill it for a nugget of meat.


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Normally I don't keep too many from around. I make a trip to Ky Lake each year and we keep some fish there for the freezer.
Usually if I want some fish I just go catch some (mostly Crappie or a few eyes) and cook them fresh.
So far this year in the few days we've been out we've caught probably close to 300 crappie and one friend kept 9 for a meal. All the rest are still swimming.


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## Shaun69007 (Sep 2, 2009)

I will keep 15-20 inch catfish and trim off about 50% of the fillets of undesirable meat then fry that up. Not as good as South Carolina fish but still eatable. Somthing to be said about eating what you caught/killed cleaned and prepared.


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

now if I go to the ocean, I almost always return with a large cooler full of fish, for the freezer....but the grand kids won't eat fish, just my wife and I....so a lot goes to friends or fish fries....we cook it, but not that often....and fresh from Alum or Hoover well can't get much better then that for fresh water eats


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## Bassthumb (Aug 22, 2008)

I went to a Chinese restaurant last week that had live "green" bass in a tank. They were just largemouth. 24.99 each. I couldn't believe it.


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## RiverWader (Apr 1, 2006)

Depends on where I'm fishing and what I'm fishing for


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

Make sure the "seafood" you buy at Giant Eagle is from the US or Canada.


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## Scum_Frog (Apr 3, 2009)

I'll keep walleye and perch throughout the year if I need some....crappies we will keep when we are targeting them and feel like keeping which isnt very often.....keep all the 8"+ gils throughout the winter and crappie.....everything else goes back! Did keep two rockbass from st clair last year that were actually good though the ice.

Ive got a crappie honey hole that im yet to keep any out of...need too sometime...I wouldnt mind actually targeting crappie this year for something fun.....maybe. LOL


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## Putty (Jul 22, 2013)

Whaler said:


> Make sure the "seafood" you buy at Giant Eagle is from the US or Canada.


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## partlyable (Mar 2, 2005)

Bimmer said:


> I keep crappie in the spring and walleye when I go to Erie.
> 
> I throw back everything else.


Bingo!! This is me too!!


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

Putty said:


> Good to hear no one eats the Bass.


Actually done right on the grill they are wonderful table fare. The key is not to skin or scale them. Just fillet them out and wash off. Lightly coat the entire fillet and scales in olive oil. Place the filets scales down on medium-high heat. While on the grill season the filet to your liking. The key is not to flip the filet. When done the flesh will flake. The skin and scales hold in the moisture and keep the filet together. No need for a basket to grill your fish cooking this way. Works great with bass, walleye, or redfish. Try it sometime then thank me later.


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## Flathead76 (May 2, 2010)

I will keep two bags of fish tops for the freezer. Everything else is eaten fresh.


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## Slatebar (Apr 9, 2011)

If caught out of lakes I will eat the Bass , Crappie, Walleye, Shovelhead..... Shovelheads, Channel Cats or anything out of the rivers I give away to some of the older folks in the area..


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## ShakeDown (Apr 5, 2004)

Crappie/Gills/Eyes/Perch/Stripers hit the fryer every so often. Everything else goes back.


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## FlashGordon (Mar 19, 2014)

I take home channel cats from water I think is clean, from time to time. Trout from DNR stockings I always take home and smoke.

I also take home an occasional carp. The meat actually tastes fine, but damn are they ever boney. I shred the meat and make something akin to crab-cakes with it.


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## fished-out (Dec 20, 2005)

Love big bluegill, best table fare IMO. Then saugeye/walleye. Then Crappie. Then SM bass. Then catfish. Don't care for LM bass, and I never catch many perch. I usually have some of each on hand, as my wife, children, and grandchildren all love fish. One of the latter comes over about once a week and that's the first thing she requests for dinner.


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

Perch are my favorite. Large gills are great in the fryer. I also keep 80% of the steelies i catch. They're good just gotta bleed em and cook em right.


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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

I'll keep some perch on occasion. I keep a walleye or two a year, but populations around here really can't sustain a large harvest, so I don't like to contribute to the population pressures. I dont' fish natural baits often, but when I do anything that's gut hooked goes home with me.


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## daveintoledo (Jun 16, 2009)

all pan fish, i will spend as much time as it takes to clean bluegill.... there better then perch ....... never kill bass, no reason... to important of a predator in the places i fish......


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

Crappie, perch, walleye and bluegill are all headed to the fryer or freezer provided they are large enough to be legal where size is regulated, or just big enough to bother cleaning. My personal size limit on Crappie is 10". 

Channel cats are the same way. I consider them a bona fide game fish, we're not talking brown bullheads here! I always seem to catch channels when fishing for walleye. A buddy of mine used to look down on them. One time he caught a honey of a channel about 20"-22" long. He was going to throw it back when I told him that I'd take it. I cleaned it when we got home, and he couldn't believe how snow white the fillets were! Then, I cooked it and we ate it. I converted him! 

I'll even keep some LM Bass every so often, though I'm not looking to "stock the freezer" with them. They're nice for an impromptu fish fry, and are fine eating as long as they're not too big. Plus, I have access to some spots that have lots of LM's in them, so it doesn't hurt to keep a couple every now and then. 

Smallies? No! I don't know what it is, but I have a real soft spot for them. Pike and Muskies also no. Pike I tried in Canada. They're just OK, but they don't compare to the aforementioned fish, and I'm not going to eat a top of the line predator like a Muskie.


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## Certified106 (Mar 17, 2014)

I keep walleye and some gills everything else is catch and release.


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## fishfinder43420 (Feb 16, 2014)

Can't get enough perch or walleye over here.. Freeze most for a fish fry at end of year.. Nothing like cooking fresh fish...


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## frostymug56 (May 7, 2012)

catfish & gills!!! IMO best eatin there is. i will keep something thats gut hooked. just don't care for eatin walleye or bass. been rainin enough i'm thinkin, better hit CJ tomorrow for some cats. YUMM


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## Lowell H Turner (Feb 22, 2011)

If fatally hook a fish, yes. Also, that license is a license to KILL. Don`t always, but once in a while it`s just NOT their day...


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## Bassthumb (Aug 22, 2008)

Perch and walleye from the lake is the best fish I've eaten, outside of ocean species. IMO fish taste like the water they live in, colder the better, smaller the better. You couldn't pay me to eat a largemouth from an 3ft deep 80 degree lake in the summer.


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## PolymerStew (Feb 17, 2009)

Wish I had the option to eat the fish I catch, but my allergies make that impossible, so they all go back in the water. 

If they ever invent a medication that will take my allergies away, the next panfish or catfish I catch will be destined for the frying pan.

I do keep some of the shiners, chubs, or small bluegill that I catch to use as catfish bait when I want to use live baitfish.


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## EnonEye (Apr 13, 2011)

Putty said:


> Curious how many people keep the fish they catch. I have always put the fish back. Maybe I'm lazy, don't feel like cleaning them and rather hit the Giant Eagle counter for seafood. I fish for fun, not to eat.


Yuck! You ever seen what those commercial fishermen do to their catch? After stepping on them they thow them into a slush full of blood and scum with all the other 5,000 fish they've caught that day. Then all that "soup" sloshes around for some hours before offloading and preparing to ship to your market for the "fresh" pick of the day.
Sorry but I'm a fresh fish persnicketty snob. If I don't catch it i won't eat it. To answer your orginal question I keep, prepare and eat only walleye, saugeye,perch, sunfish, crappie and salmon. And I keep only in the spring and fall and only 6 meals or so at a time.


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## fiveeyes (Oct 16, 2013)

your kidding...yes?


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## Intimidator (Nov 25, 2008)

I catch freeze 2 freezers full of Walleye and Crappie in the Spring....and also eat them fresh...then I will catch and release the rest of the year, until the water cools in late Fall....and I'll eat Fresh Walleye and Crappie again.


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## Stars-n-Stripers (Nov 15, 2007)

streamstalker said:


> How to Catch, Prepare and Cook Carp - YouTube


Oi, I can't imagine what that would do to my filet knife, those scales are tough!


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## alpha010 (Mar 24, 2014)

I keep at least 1 or 2 from each good trip to eat.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

I release 99.9999% of the fish I catch regardless of species. If I do keep any it's usually a handful of panfish here and there, or maybe a walleye or two, but even them I release.

I'm just not a big fan of eating fish, whether they're ones I catch or from a store/restaurant, plus after a long day of catching fish the last thing I want to do is fillet them when I get home. And dealing with coolers, ice, or dragging them around on a stringer all day can be a pain especially since I tend to cover quite a bit of water when I fish.

C&R works. I have proof in photos of multiple individual fish I have caught multiple times.


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## buckeyebowman (Feb 24, 2012)

EnonEye said:


> Yuck! You ever seen what those commercial fishermen do to their catch? After stepping on them they thow them into a slush full of blood and scum with all the other 5,000 fish they've caught that day. Then all that "soup" sloshes around for some hours before offloading and preparing to ship to your market for the "fresh" pick of the day.
> Sorry but I'm a fresh fish persnicketty snob. If I don't catch it i won't eat it. To answer your orginal question I keep, prepare and eat only walleye, saugeye,perch, sunfish, crappie and salmon. And I keep only in the spring and fall and only 6 meals or so at a time.





fiveeyes said:


> your kidding...yes?


Why would he be kidding? Back in my youth I used to drive a beer truck and make deliveries. One of my stops was a certain seafood retailer in Warren, OH. I'd walk through the door and the funk would about drop me to my knees! Man, if you needed something to turn you off of seafood the smell in that store would be all you needed! 

Then, take a fresh fillet from a fish caught in cold water and kept cold. There's almost no smell at all. 

Streamstalker, ain't no doubt about it, carp caught from cold, clean water are just fine to eat, you just have to get rid of the lateral line, or what some folk called the "blood line" or "mud vein". And guess what? The lateral line from the finest salmon ever caught is just as funky as one from a common carp! Most restaurants don't remove it before preparing, so I make sure that I do so when the meal arrives at table. 

If I, and my BIL make it up to Erie this year, I plan to experiment with Sheepshead as well.


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## Sluggo (Aug 30, 2004)

I keep fish to eat. I target crappie, walleye, and channel cats for the frying pan but I will keep a few bass and pike, too. Everything I keep I eat and everything I keep is within the legal limit in size and number. I love fresh fish! Nothing better.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

In addition to cutting out the sheephead's lateral line you will have to cut off the tumors lol


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

The thrill is in the catch so I do release a lot but I keep some , especially if they are perch. Im the only one in my household that likes fish so it makes no sense to keep fish very often. Though with my trips to erie becoming few and the local reservoirs becoming tough to catch anything out of I havent even fished much lately.


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## Mylife614 (Apr 3, 2013)

I def don't keep every "keeper" I enjoy fishing... But I will keep some crappie in the spring and saugeye, like others has stated I pride myself in catching and eating from time to time. I don't eat catfish, bass or carp.

I hope to get the boat up to erie this spring and summer to load up on some perch and walleye.

My earliest memories were ice fishing and frying up perch in upstate NewYork with my uncle. 

Give it a try man, don't waste the fish If ya keep em and enjoy! 


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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

Wow, am I the only one disheartened by the fact that almost no one releases walleye? I get that they're delicious, but wow. It's kind of crazy. They exist in densities 1/10th that of bass and no one keeps bass, but everybody loads up their freezer with wallies. Just a comment with no real judgment involved. I guess that's why outside of Erie, catching a six year old is considered a pretty nice fish.


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## Bobinstow90 (Apr 13, 2006)

senoy said:


> Wow, am I the only one disheartened by the fact that almost no one releases walleye? I get that they're delicious, but wow. It's kind of crazy. They exist in densities 1/10th that of bass and no one keeps bass, but everybody loads up their freezer with wallies. Just a comment with no real judgment involved. I guess that's why outside of Erie, catching a six year old is considered a pretty nice fish.




Where are you getting your "facts"?

Suspect that does not reflect Erie walleye.





Good luck.....be safe out there.


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## tehsavage (Aug 16, 2013)

I love the stigma regarding eating fish from erie and tribs because of nasty water or pollution or what have you. No one understands that eating fish from erie is a lot better than what living conditions your other meat (chicken, cattle, pigs) are living in! 


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## buckzye11 (Jul 16, 2009)

Im a cold water fish eater too... ice water gills/perch are tough to beat. I also keep most of my Crappie that make 9" until water is 65 or so. I eat a few Bass every year, nice firm filets from cold waters, i dont know how people consider them gross... but i do feel that way about Catfish, just never had a taste for them, and they are a pain to clean... so they all get the pass back in.
I just ate my last bag from ice season Good thing about that, is i have to go get more!


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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

The 1/10 density number? It comes from a lot of studies about carrying capacity. Obviously, in any given water it may not be true. There are waters with zero walleye and waters with zero bass. Usually though carrying capacity for walleye is about 3-10 adult walleye per surface area with 5 being considered a 'good' normal number. Carrying capacity for largemouth bass is between 25 and 100 per surface area with 50 being a 'good' normal number. Type of habitat impacts those numbers pretty heavily, but those are normal ranges for good habitat. In other words, if you have a 50 acre walleye lake you should expect to have about 250 adult walleye in it. If you have a 50 acre bass lake you should expect closer to 2500. Lake Erie is a good case in point. It has about 6.5 million acres. With a number of 5 fish per acre, you get a population of roughly 32 million fish. Right now numbers are down to about 17, but most agree that that is fewer than ideal. Occasionally it spikes up much higher than 32, but it quickly comes back down. Erie is a particularly good environment for them so most people think 50 million is a reasonable number, but nonetheless, we're right in the 5-10 fish ballpark. I don't have bass numbers off hand, but you can google largemouth bass per acre to see other people's studies.

What confuses anglers is that walleye are very predictable in the spring, so they stack up in very particular areas and are very easy to catch, the density in these areas can be hundreds of fish per acre during that time of year and so anglers compare these very particular times of years to their normal bass harvest when bass are dispersed and conclude that they exist in similar densities and it's simply not true.

If you mean why I say catching a six year old fish in lakes besides Erie is considered a nice fish a six year old walleye in Ohio is roughly 22 inches long. I think when most people catch a 22 inch walleye, they think they've had a pretty good day. The bulk of most of my catches on lakes and rivers that aren't Erie or its tribs during spawning are in the 15-19 inch range which are primarily 3 and 4 year olds.


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## Photog (Jun 18, 2010)

Before you crucify me read all of this. I started eating bass last couple years, but only the ones taken out of a small private property that I fish. Simply put, there are way too many of them in there and it shows in the size. Heck, I can't even make a dent in them. That being said I rarely eat the fish I catch due to all the EPA warnings for streams etc.


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## backlashed (Mar 19, 2011)

Depends on the species, size, and the time after fishing I have to clean them.

Walleye and crappie have a way of helping me find time to get them cleaned though!


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## Rumble (Apr 25, 2012)

I usually target bluegill, perch and crappie to eat thru out the year. I also keep trout during the spring releases around here and throw all bass back. All other fish are on the menu as well but prefer bluegill for stocking up the freezer as they are my favorite fish to eat.


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

Crappie, bluegill, saugeye, walleye, perch and on a rare occasion a bass.


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

Oh and I forgot sauger from the ohio river. I grew up eating fish and love to eat them but a lot depends on where I catch the fish and if I have a fish fry coming up. The majority of my fish that I keep are crappie.


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

fishinnick said:


> I release 99.9999% of the fish I catch regardless of species. If I do keep any it's usually a handful of panfish here and there, or maybe a walleye or two, but even them I release.
> 
> I'm just not a big fan of eating fish, whether they're ones I catch or from a store/restaurant, plus after a long day of catching fish the last thing I want to do is fillet them when I get home. And dealing with coolers, ice, or dragging them around on a stringer all day can be a pain especially since I tend to cover quite a bit of water when I fish.
> 
> C&R works. I have proof in photos of multiple individual fish I have caught multiple times.


So out of the 1,000,000 fish you've caught, you've only kept 1??? hehe


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## cprfishin (Apr 10, 2012)

I throw 99.9% back. If we catch a catfish while camping we may keep it to grill that night. My son likes that.


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## JShort (Sep 16, 2011)

I throw most back, but in the spring I'll keep a few bass, crappie, bluegills, and a little later in the year a few cats. I haven't kept saugeye yet since I just started fishing for them last fall but I will later this year.


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## saugmon (Jun 14, 2006)

I eat em. Saugeye,crappie,perch,white bass,and bluegill. Saugeye is my main target but occasionally pick up a few stragglers. If I get into a mess of catfish while trolling for saugeye,then I'll filet them up for my mom.I'm not too fond of channelcat.The saugeye are stocked every year and I don't put much of a hurting on the other species.

Catchem,slit their gills,throw in livewell for 20 mins,then in an ice filled cooler.Blood free cleaning table. The cleaning part is no big deal for me. Electric knife any my own filet table with sink makes it easy.Vac seal the filets.Getting rid of the scraps was a problem until I bought a post hole digger.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Mushijobah said:


> So out of the 1,000,000 fish you've caught, you've only kept 1??? hehe


Lol. Ok, 99% better? haha. I actually keep a fishing log/spreadsheet on my computer and just glancing at it now 99% seems to be pretty accurate for last years catch/keep ratio.


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## Intimidator (Nov 25, 2008)

senoy said:


> The 1/10 density number? It comes from a lot of studies about carrying capacity. Obviously, in any given water it may not be true. There are waters with zero walleye and waters with zero bass. Usually though carrying capacity for walleye is about 3-10 adult walleye per surface area with 5 being considered a 'good' normal number. Carrying capacity for largemouth bass is between 25 and 100 per surface area with 50 being a 'good' normal number. Type of habitat impacts those numbers pretty heavily, but those are normal ranges for good habitat. In other words, if you have a 50 acre walleye lake you should expect to have about 250 adult walleye in it. If you have a 50 acre bass lake you should expect closer to 2500. Lake Erie is a good case in point. It has about 6.5 million acres. With a number of 5 fish per acre, you get a population of roughly 32 million fish. Right now numbers are down to about 17, but most agree that that is fewer than ideal. Occasionally it spikes up much higher than 32, but it quickly comes back down. Erie is a particularly good environment for them so most people think 50 million is a reasonable number, but nonetheless, we're right in the 5-10 fish ballpark. I don't have bass numbers off hand, but you can google largemouth bass per acre to see other people's studies.
> 
> What confuses anglers is that walleye are very predictable in the spring, so they stack up in very particular areas and are very easy to catch, the density in these areas can be hundreds of fish per acre during that time of year and so anglers compare these very particular times of years to their normal bass harvest when bass are dispersed and conclude that they exist in similar densities and it's simply not true.
> 
> If you mean why I say catching a six year old fish in lakes besides Erie is considered a nice fish a six year old walleye in Ohio is roughly 22 inches long. I think when most people catch a 22 inch walleye, they think they've had a pretty good day. The bulk of most of my catches on lakes and rivers that aren't Erie or its tribs during spawning are in the 15-19 inch range which are primarily 3 and 4 year olds.


Actually, when fingerlings are stocked into a lake that has a nice shad base the growth rate is very quick...fingerlings stocked during the Spring will be 15+ inches by the next summer. Fingerlings stocked into our lake last Spring are 12-13 inches right now and growing quickly....the Walleye I have caught this year have an amazing amount of fat, I have never seen such reserves, my last Walleye which was 20 inches had 3 three inch shad in it's belly and hit a 3" swimbait....they are just gorging and growing quick.

Erie Walleye are also growing quicker due to the added Goby population to supplement their diet. Other Northern Lakes without a large Prey base do have slower growth rates....but Ohio lakes do not fall into that category.


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## senoy (Feb 3, 2013)

Intimidator said:


> Actually, when fingerlings are stocked into a lake that has a nice shad base the growth rate is very quick...fingerlings stocked during the Spring will be 15+ inches by the next summer. Fingerlings stocked into our lake last Spring are 12-13 inches right now and growing quickly....the Walleye I have caught this year have an amazing amount of fat, I have never seen such reserves, my last Walleye which was 20 inches had 3 three inch shad in it's belly and hit a 3" swimbait....they are just gorging and growing quick.
> 
> Erie Walleye are also growing quicker due to the added Goby population to supplement their diet. Other Northern Lakes without a large Prey base do have slower growth rates....but Ohio lakes do not fall into that category.


I'm basing it on the Ohio DoW study on Erie. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/9/pdf/estatus2010.pdf
It's table 6.3.5 on page 107

It varies from year to year, but six year old walleye on Erie usually average out in the low to mid 20s. Erie walleye are usually between 15 and 19 their 3rd and 4th years.


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## Topher (Apr 6, 2014)

I always keep a line in for catfish. I keep all cats over a foot (I love the taste of the smaller ones best) but everything else goes back in unless it's bait.


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## Intimidator (Nov 25, 2008)

senoy said:


> I'm basing it on the Ohio DoW study on Erie. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/9/pdf/estatus2010.pdf
> It's table 6.3.5 on page 107
> 
> It varies from year to year, but six year old walleye on Erie usually average out in the low to mid 20s. Erie walleye are usually between 15 and 19 their 3rd and 4th years.


No disrespect and I'm not arguing, so please don't take it that way!
This is for everyones learning.........
If you read the explanations to the chart it tells exactly what I talked about earlier...the data is kinda confusing because in certain years they used Scale dating which was found to be faulty...the only decent way to size is from the Otoliths.
What this does show, is since 2007, Walleye growth rates in ALL districts of Erie are ABOVE average...the growth rates average 20mm in each district and it is climbing.
Which means, you guys are going to be harvesting RECORD Walleye soon....Gators are notorious for gorging, and with all the easy prey available, these little piggies are getting BIGGER....same with the Smallies....just read an article a few months back that said the Smallies are taking on the same Body characteristics of Largemouth due to the amount of gobies they are consuming and that it won't be long for World Record Smallie production either!
Good Fishing To All!
Brent


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## Intimidator (Nov 25, 2008)

Topher said:


> I always keep a line in for catfish. I keep all cats over a foot (I love the taste of the smaller ones best) but everything else goes back in unless it's bait.


Topher
You need to come up to CJ Brown...all the 1-3 lb Channels you want...we need some "catfish eaters" up here to help with all the stunted kitties!


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## Topher (Apr 6, 2014)

Well now that sounds wonderful. I will gladly clear out some of them kittens and be a hero to my family in the process. Them little channel cats are the fish fry we love!


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## Sciotodarby (Jul 27, 2013)

My family and friends love catfish and bluegill. As a matter of fact, I just fried up a little I both on Saturday night. Not as good as fresh, but flathead nuggets are hard to beat.


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

This bears repeating.


Gottagofishn said:


> You will never buy a fish that tastes as good as one taken care of, cleaned and eaten fresh.... IMHO.


Store bought and fresh caught walleye or salmon taste about the same. Only one way to get crappies. Ice caught channel cats are excellent. I keep all the flounder possible when on vacation. The store bought stuff is garbage. Otherwise, I keep about 30-40% of the fish I catch through the year.


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## Bassbully 52 (Feb 25, 2014)

I eat Crappie in the spring and bluegill I get in late spring. I never eat catfish from local waters. I treat my bass like babies and release them all. The state does a horrible job managing them. Without catch and release all the pressure would have fished out lakes for bass.


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

I like to and eat a lot of fish(most species, anyways)! I keep enough for a meal or two, occasionally more. I like to fish but I LOVE catching.


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## nschap (Jan 6, 2008)

sorry dude , but you couldn't be more wrong on the store bought vs. self caught theory.no offense ,but you sound like a guy that doesn't like to clean fish.


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## polebender (Oct 29, 2011)

Went to Buckeye today from 10:30 to 12:00pm. Caught 4 nice crappies and 1 bluegill. Brought them home, filleted them, then fried them up and had them for lunch. Fantastic! It doesn't get any better than fresh caught fish!


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## catmando (Aug 21, 2006)

Just finished a filet-o-Muskie sandwich.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Lends to the question, Is it about the fish, or about fishing.

Glad to see that most Catch/Release Bass. I too keep Canadian walleye, and that's about it.


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

BMustang said:


> Lends to the question, Is it about the fish, or about fishing.
> 
> Glad to see that most Catch/Release Bass. I too keep Canadian walleye, and that's about it.


For me, its both. I like to bring back fish, but I have started to keep a limit as to how many I bring back. I usually keep enough for a meal or 2 at a time. If I fish and already have enough fish, I throw any back. Otherwise, I enjoy fishing, just because its peaceful and I dont have to deal with other people, but thats changing a bit.


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## Bandy (Mar 30, 2014)

This guy right here keeps,cleans,cooks, and eats just about everything. Of course it does matter from wich waters I caught them from. I start stocking the freezer right after ice out.

My favorite thing to get though, are the big summer time longnose gar. Poor man's Alligator right there. Dang tasty.


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## Topher (Apr 6, 2014)

Definitely the fishing. It mostly about the fishing and not the catching as well. Although lately I have been finding myself being grumpy if I didn't catch.


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## Dan44149 (Apr 12, 2011)

If I keep fish, and it's rare that I do, I only keep enough to eat right away without freezing. Once it's frozen, it's no longer fresh.


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## Cat Mangler (Mar 25, 2012)

Dan44149 said:


> If I keep fish, and it's rare that I do, I only keep enough to eat right away without freezing. Once it's frozen, it's no longer fresh.


+1 in the last ten years, I may have kept fish maybe five times. In fact, three of those instances were taking stocked fish. Other two well, last summer I got a taste for crappie and kept three 10"+ plus one FAT gill figuring he must've wanted eaten, and I kept my first channel through the ice plus one as sort of a "a slice of summer heaven feeling"!

After keeping trout on two occasions last week, I decided to make myself at least try fish I've not tasted yet. Regret not keeping my PB (and first ever fish through ice) 7" perch after hearing so much on here about how tasty. I know that's small too all you guys but trust when I say its a monster for this water. Average is like 4"!

Last summer, I had a friend ask me to fry up some fresh walleye from erie, super good stuff and would be tempted to keep a few but not many walleye round these parts. I may also be guilty of a short lived kinda big harvest of yellow bulls out of Rocky Fork. Many think of these as trash but I don't care, cooked right, they are the best fish I've ever had. 

Not real big on fish at all but, can't say I don't like if I ain't tried right? I may keep wild fish 4-5 times this year tops. And that's pushing it. Enough for me and the only two others who will try it with me, my mom and oldest daughter.


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## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

Pretty much catch and release here except when I go up to Erie for Walleye.


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## Fishman43078 (Apr 16, 2013)

Can't remember last time I kept fish.

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