Perch,How small is too small?

[SkunkedAgain]

Man you guys must have way too much extra time on your hands, if it's smaller than 8" it takes too long to fillet for what you get. I either release or use them for bait depending on depth I'm fishing. Guess by fishing shallower spots they don't pop their bladders out so they seem to return ok. Maybe that's why I'm not a real perch guy too much effort for what Ya get. Later J
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[gmwahl]

Kinda like eating pine nuts I guess. You'd starve before you shelled enough to eat, but boy are they goooood![]
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[Springbuck]

We've all heard, too, that a 2 at 10, is a 10 at 2.

Say I catch a 7.5" perch. It'll be going back down the hole. But, by the time I've caught 15 of em, and none bigger, they start going in the bucket.

The eternal search for "big" perch is part of what makes perch fishermen such an interesting bunch.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I guess the perch I tried out of Newton must not have been quite right because they had a nasty sewer type after taste that really turned me off. I have had some that were really good but it was sure a disappointment after working that long to prepare the fish and then not enjoying them. Guess I'll have to try again sometime. Later J
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[Fin-S-Fish]

What an excellent analogy! Chestnuts in shell are the same way…..even worse to shell than pine nuts but oh that sweetness and flava!
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[Fin-S-Fish]

There's no doubt fish from some waters taste nasty. Jordanelle's rainbows taste nasty to me, fishy as hell, for some reason. For some reason, by far the tastiest trout to me come from causey but they are usually tiny lol. I still like warm water fish better though, even though I know trout have more omega 3 DHA and carotenoids.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I have had some really good perch so I do like them, just getting soft on killing a fish for so little benefit I guess. And I know they need thinning so they don't over populate but I prefer catching and eating something with more size. Wish we had some of those Cascade size fish around. Later J
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[Willski4food]

Get a cat... then nothing goes to waste and you dont need to feel bad about bringing them home... and if the cat dont eat them use them as compost for your garden. Perch reproduce so fast that there is no worries about the population... We have enough bucket biologists that transport them into places that they dont belong, you dont need to worry about any population of perch anywhere.... My opinion.
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[gmwahl]

My wife has dragged 3 &*%#^%~€< cats home and thus I lost that battle. I'd rather snort the fish up my nose with hot sauce than feed those buggers! (unless you think it would choke them to death[])
Nope, I'd rather fillet some dinksters.
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