How much fish do you eat?

[phishtix]

Just curious about this. I really like to eat fish. Especially walleyes and whitefish. I enjoy salmon too but not nearly as much. Steelhead I like better than salmon except those spring cohos. I really like spring cohos. Not sure why they taste so much better in the spring but they do.

That being said, I find at certain times of the year I am eating fish several times a week. In fact lately I have been eating so much fish I am getting sick of fish. But I have this thing about if I keep a fish for eggs or whatever reason then I need to eat that fish while its fresh and not let any of it go to waste. That usually amounts to a couple fish per week. And salmon and steelhead go a long ways. It sort of works out like this. I go fishing Friday and Saturday. I eat fish sat, sun, mon, and Tuesday. That's a lot of fish I think.

I do share it with others. I have smoked it and taken it to work. Lots of friends that I have given them fish to cook up for themselves. And obviously I don't keep everything I catch. But I still find myself with an over abundance of fish to have to eat myself. I sometimes worry it might not be good for me.

So how much fish do other here eat on a weekly basis? And for those who catch a lot of fish, what do you do with all those fish?

[gmfishon]

well I'll be the first biter, no pun sorta. I only like smoked fish with a rare exception of one on the grill-probably once every couple years. I fish with a lot of newbies that want them and throw a lot back. That said if you are worried about the amount of fish you are eating due to chemicals etc. ?? If so those spring Coho are too young to have accumulated any. I think a mature king would be ok also. A long lived steel or brown I may question. A long lived lake trout would be my last choice, as they grow slower. More time for contamination. With the gobies' the Lakers are growing faster, so I would really only be concerned about a real big one.

[FBD]

None

[phishtix]

None? That's interesting. Do you put them all back or give them to others?

 

[FBD]

Release them, crew takes them homr, give then away, donate them, trade them for venison

[Steelhead#1]

I don't eat fish.

I used to give it all away but I have stopped doing that. I found out I was giving away fish to people who said they wanted it but would just put it in their freezer and never eat it. So now I've got 2 families that I can trust to eat everything I give them. I throw back a majority of the fish I catch. The ones I got to keep due to water temps or needing eggs. They usually go to one of those two homes.

If you fish next to me on the pier. If you're nice and net my fish. I will almost always offer it to you. You want someone to tell you all their fishing secrets? Give them all your fish. 

Looking at the above post I need to become friends with someone who hunts.

 

 

 

[FBD]

I always cringed doing a nice job cleaning fish after a trip only to watch some guy throw the bags in his trunk.

My two usual crew members both bring wonderful snacks on the boat and having gotten processed fish back from them, I know they take great care of the catch.

Now I just have to stop getting requests, like the day before Easter when it's dead calm and blue skies - can we get about an eight pound brown thus morning?  I've got a big group coming tomorrow and need a centerpiece.  First fish, 8.4# brown.  Now they think I can catch fish to order...

[phishtix]

Quote

 

Yeah I sometimes wonder what happens to fish that I give to other people.

 

I always cook my fish up while its fresh.  I'm not much for freezing it. And I'm always careful to about not letting it go to waste. Friends always like it when I smoke it. But I have trouble digesting smoked fish so I only eat it in small quantities. Mostly I smoke it to share with others. got this dip I make with cream cheese, lime juice, worchestershire sauce, onions and smoked salmon. Its really good, but I can only eat a tiny bit of it. My friends and family love it though.

 

I do better with poached, grilled, or baked. So when I make it for myself that's usually how I cook it.

[Divemaster]

I very rarely eat fish, usually only 1-4 times a month during boating season and once every month or two during the rest of the year. Most fishing on my boat is strictly C&R, we only keep the fish that are fatally injured or are suffering barotrauma. My Lake Trout season runs from mid April through late August (prime April and May) and usually there's about a 5% mortality rate, we keep that one fish out of every twenty or so and it tastes great, I just prefer to release all of my Lakers. Steelhead and Salmon season (June-September), we put them all back. Usually a 10-20% mortality rate and the fish that don't make it either we take home or let the gulls and Burbot eat. Just not a fan of the taste of either, much prefer Lake Trout to Salmon or chrome. I'm in the mood for a well prepared Steelhead once or twice a season, but other than that, they're all going back in. Great sport, just not the best tasting fish to my palette. 

[Killin' it1]

I don't eat fish.

[killerbe20]

if you are worried about the safety of eating the fish i think you are just fine. The lake is so clean now we are worried about the alewives surviving. Salmon only live in the lake for 2 maybe 3 years. Browns and steelhead a bit longer. Lake trout do live much longer but they are not sitting at the power plants sucking on the discharge. If we were in California than it may be a different story and every fish caught would come with a warning "This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer." That is my non-scientific opinion!

[phishtix]

Skipped a week last week as I let all the fish I caught go. This weekend I kept a fresh coho. So having fish for dinner tonight.

Maybe when I die I will give my body over to science so they can study the effects of eating a lot of fish  

Incidentally the coho was a hen and her eggs were still tight in skein. Her belly was bright white so she hadn't been in the river long. I'm thinking at this rate there will still be Salmon spawning into December and beyond.  Sure is a weird year.

 

[Nailer]

Eating fish increases the good cholesterol's in your blood.  

Very good for your heart, helps to keep you thin, and is loaded with protein.

[kabelkimburtie]

I can the salmon or steelhead and enjoy eating them 3 or 4 times per week.  Canning in a pressure cooker is not hard and keeps for a long time.  Nothing is wasted.  I don't believe in fishing or hunting and not making good use of the meat.

[westwind]

I love salmon and eat it 4-5 times a week.   I freeze my fish also and do a very good job of rinsing and rinsing and rinsing the blood out.  I store in quart size bags with 1/4 cup Italian dressing.  

I cook most of my fish by just boiling up a quart size bag for 5-7 minutes, then I rinse, crumble it up and add mayo, onion and relish for an awesome salmon salad spread that i eat mostly without bread, but occasionally with put on bread with a slice of cheese.  Sometimes I make a grilled cheese salmon salad sandwich.  soo good...

Very healthy way to eat salmon.   It's in my lunch almost every day for work.

 

 

[kabelkimburtie]

Thanks, I will have to try that.  I didn't like the frozen salmon but this may be different.

[phishtix]

I was watching the "outdoor chef" this morning and he made a recipe for salmon wasabi balls. Looked yummy. Not sure how my stomach would do with the spicy wasabi sauce but maybe just tone it down a bit and I'd be okay. Worth a try.

Westwind, I like your idea of freezing the fish in Italian dressing. I might have to give that a try  

[westwind]

I think the key to freezing fish is to make sure all of the blood is out of the meat.  I also skin the filet and let them set in really cold water for several hours, then I put them in gallon size bags with water and leave them in the frig over night and rinse again, then I freeze them in smaller size quart bags with the Italian  dressing.  I make sure I get all of the air out of the bag also to prevent freezer burn.  When you thaw them out you are actually marinating the fish at the same time.