05-02-2010, 03:20 PM
I'm not quite sure I understand why the Whitefish is looked upon as being a trash fish by some anglers. Maybe it's shape of the mouth, but as was posted earlier, they're an indicator species that is naturally present and that can only survive in streams with excellent water quality. Beyond that, they actually fight hard and are fun to catch but I always try to release them with the same amount of care as I would a trout.
I believe in C&R in the streams and or lakes where the regulations are designed to encourage that type of activity. I also like to eat fish so I keep up some up to the legal limit on occasion. I typically smoke most of the trout, turn into jerky more often than not, and score tons of points with my co-workers for bringing it in for them. I'm not sure that most anglers understand the importance of maintaining freshness and how quickly the meat from a trout can begin to spoil.
Cutthroat, Kokanee and Lake Trout in particular are very oily fish, and the meat will be tainted and start to spoil if not cared for properly literally within minutes after the fish stops swimming. The key is completely removing the kidney along the spine and getting trout cooled down as quickly as possible. I agree with earlier postings that overall water quality makes a huge difference in the taste as well but typically most trout won't survive in water once it reaches a certain temperature or ph balance. It's letting trout die on a stringer or in a bucket without removing the vital organs along with allowing the meat to get too warm that turns them into something that tastes truly awful.
I personally don't believe in telling other anglers what they should or shouldn't do. That's our motto as Americans, isn't it? Live and let live, the importance of freedom and all that. At the same time, I've certainly witnessed my share of some awful and truly ignorant behavior. On occasion, I have felt like saying something but decided that it really isn't my place to try to educate the ignorant or to enforce the fish and game laws. People go out fishing to have a good time and as long as they're not making my life miserable in some way, more power to them whether they decide to keep a legal limit or release all of them. The same goes for fishing with bait, lures, or flies. It's all fishing, acting responsibly and mainly about having a good time. At the same time, as responsible citizens I would hope that we all could voluntarily agree and accept responsibility for understanding and complying with the established regs for the river or lake.
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I believe in C&R in the streams and or lakes where the regulations are designed to encourage that type of activity. I also like to eat fish so I keep up some up to the legal limit on occasion. I typically smoke most of the trout, turn into jerky more often than not, and score tons of points with my co-workers for bringing it in for them. I'm not sure that most anglers understand the importance of maintaining freshness and how quickly the meat from a trout can begin to spoil.
Cutthroat, Kokanee and Lake Trout in particular are very oily fish, and the meat will be tainted and start to spoil if not cared for properly literally within minutes after the fish stops swimming. The key is completely removing the kidney along the spine and getting trout cooled down as quickly as possible. I agree with earlier postings that overall water quality makes a huge difference in the taste as well but typically most trout won't survive in water once it reaches a certain temperature or ph balance. It's letting trout die on a stringer or in a bucket without removing the vital organs along with allowing the meat to get too warm that turns them into something that tastes truly awful.
I personally don't believe in telling other anglers what they should or shouldn't do. That's our motto as Americans, isn't it? Live and let live, the importance of freedom and all that. At the same time, I've certainly witnessed my share of some awful and truly ignorant behavior. On occasion, I have felt like saying something but decided that it really isn't my place to try to educate the ignorant or to enforce the fish and game laws. People go out fishing to have a good time and as long as they're not making my life miserable in some way, more power to them whether they decide to keep a legal limit or release all of them. The same goes for fishing with bait, lures, or flies. It's all fishing, acting responsibly and mainly about having a good time. At the same time, as responsible citizens I would hope that we all could voluntarily agree and accept responsibility for understanding and complying with the established regs for the river or lake.
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