When I tell people I have been fishing, they always ask, "do you eat the fish you catch?"
My standard answer is "Not always."
Many fishermen practice catch and release exclusively. Solely because they do not like to or do not know how to clean fish. Others prefer beef or chicken over the taste. Still others are convinced they will die from heavy metal poisoning if they eat fish out of Lake Ontario or the canal.
I have different theories on catch and eat vs. catch and release. I practice both depending on where I am fishing, how much time I have to clean fish and whether the law prohibits it. As for the dirty fish scenario, consider where your Easter ham slept for the past two years as apposed to living in fresh water all your life. I do not know of one person going insane from to much mercury in their blood. I do know many people who have allergies to processed foods or suffer from high cholesterol.
Yesterday I picked up some Codfish and a farm raised rainbow trout. I got home from the market and melted 2 tbps of butter in a fry pan, washed the Cod fillet and tossed it dripping wet into the hot butter. I sauteed it gently so as not to burn the butter for 3 minutes. Salt and pepper. Placed two sprigs of asparagrass along side the Cod and flipped the fillet for another 3 minutes. Served with rice and the pan drippings makes for a nice Monday meal.
Tonight I scrapped and washed the Rainbow. I floured it and seared it in olive oil covered for 4 minutes. Flipped it for 2 minutes, turned off the heat and left covered till I was ready to eat.
Served with green salad and baked potato.
I like to eat fish, including fish I have caught. That was the reason fish were invented was to catch and eat. Even Jesus knew how to cook fish for breakfast. [John 21:9] I also understand that if all the fish are harvested, there will be none left to reproduce. But I think the survival of the fittest best applies to nature caring for its self. I do try to always release the first fish I catch. I'm more concerned with land development around streams.
Don't ask me to return a fish, when you are satisfied to eat beef, fed by corn, grown in fields that drain mud into the stream bed.
The rainbow trout cost me $3.05. It cost me much more than that for fishing tackle and gas to get to and from the nearest trout stream. Certainly it pays to eat farm raised trout. But they are not fresh as the day I fish for them. Consider the farmed salmon sea lice plight....
....We should just fish and not worry our minds about things we can't control.
Be happy... eat fish. I invite your comments
Bob - I really enjoyed your post! And more importantly, I think it's time for many people in our sport of fly fishing to realize the importance of harvesting fish. Too many fly fishermen consider harvesting or killing a fish to be a sin that is unforgivable. And they take every opportunity to slander the person who does so. It is very sad. I think that there are many benefits to harvesting fish. One, is the fact that you can often times improve the fishing conditions. What I mean by that is....if you were to keep fish at a certain size and perhaps let others go, you may find that size of fish that you catch in that stream, pond or lake would get larger over time. And I for one would love to go to my local streams and have a better opportunity to catch larger fish, even if it meant catching fewer fish! As you know I mostly practice catch and release, but that is due to the fact that my family doesn't really eat fish, and I don't want to waste the resource. But I do enjoy walleye, pike and other white fish. And smoked salmon and trout, when done right, is one of my favorite things to eat! I will continue to practice catch and release, as I think it is important to be a good steward of our resources. But I also think it is equally as important to use those resources, that is why we have them! Thanks again for a great read!!
ReplyDeleteI side with you on this Bob. I personally rarely keep fish (mostly because I don't enjoy cleaning them), but I have no problem with someone legally keeping a fish. I've done it before and someday might do it again. Brian makes a great point about how the water can benefit from some harvesting.
ReplyDeleteI remember being a kid and visiting my grandparents in Utah. The guys would go fishing for a day and we'd all usually keep our limit (I believe it was 7 fish each). We'd keep every fish we caught and grandma would bake them in a pan of butter. Just last night when out at Old Country Buffet (against my wishes...i don't like that place) I always get the fish there that's cooked the same way, just to remind me of grandmas mountain trout! I enjoy eating fish, just not processing them.
Ok, now that I've read your preparation of the fish, I might just have to show up at the camp this year and have you be my personal chef!