Hatchery Fish

T
Thuggin4Life
So I have been noticing posts where people talk about keeping and not keeping or eating and not eating fish. I was curious who the pellet head and brooder eaters are among us. And the garbage fish eaters as well. Personally I don't eat garbage fish and the only hatchery fish I will eat either came from the sea or it came of the truck at least a year ago. But i see guys taking there limit of pellet heads or bragging about the big brooder they took home. So let me know your opinion on this this topic.
 
18406ej
18406ej
I personally only care for the taste of white ocean fish, so I always catch and release. It is the thrill I am after, not food. I do know, however, that a good number of our members love the taste of trout, whether farm raised or wild, and they deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labors regardless of which they catch.
 
D
davep
stockers

stockers

Put and take fish are intended to be eaten.....thats what odf put them in for....Im the same..only eat ocean white fish and tuna....The only time I keep a steelie is when one of my friends requests one...I do keep nooks....Giving people a hard time for keeping stockers just about makes me sick...but thats the internet for you
 
F
Fishtopher
evilgrin0041.gifalright...I'll play nice today. dang it.
innocent0003.gifGenerally, if I'd swim in the water I'm fishing, I'll also eat the fish I catch there.

Theres worse things I could eat. I'd imagine that a stringer of 10 "pellet heads" are probably better for my kids than a 10 pack of taco's. Same with a big white meat brooder, compared to a Big Mac.


I think everyone already knows...but if ya didn't, it's a big fighting0059.gif to all hatchery fish for me.
 
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O
OneMore
I release a lot of hachery rainbows and I also give any I take home to my father. He love to eat fish and with his job cuting his hours big time they always help with a good meal. Not only do hatcherys plant these fish to take but they are by no means garbage fish. Honestly in the right places hatchery fish dont taste to bad. Ever try a harriet lake rainbow pretty good eating. Also seems better that these fish get the bonk than already struggling wild populations. It sounds to me someone wishes they could catch more fish. just my two cents.
 
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W
wanna go fishing
No apologies.

No apologies.

I shamelessly eat pellet heads and brooders.

Isn't that why they are put here?
 
Raincatcher
Raincatcher
Barb to Andy

Barb to Andy

Andy,Andy,Andy...did you really want to know who eats what? Or were you actually trying to stir the pot? When I first read your post I thought it was simply poorly presented. Not put in "friendly" wording obviously makes a big difference. So,maybe by simply re-wording your questions you will get more favorable responses.
Please remember that OFF is noted for it's friendliness and respecting other members. I believe you have a true interest in fishing and have something positive to OFFer this forum.
Thank you.
Be safe.
Barb
 
M
mgdguy
Raincatcher said:
Andy,Andy,Andy...did you really want to know who eats what? Or were you actually trying to stir the pot? When I first read your post I thought it was simply poorly presented. Not put in "friendly" wording obviously makes a big difference. So,maybe by simply re-wording your questions you will get more favorable responses.
Please remember that OFF is noted for it's friendliness and respecting other members. I believe you have a true interest in fishing and have something positive to OFFer this forum.
Thank you.
Be safe.
Barb

My 2 cents - I think he's asking a fair question, and one that I've seen discussed by others before. And I'm interested in the OFF groups different opinions on this as well.

Me, I love catching and I love eating. Grew up on self-caught trout (when I could get it) cooked in foil and some lemon and herbs, And now the wife has a few different ways to make some delicious steelhead and salmon.

If I trust the water source and the fish looks healthy, it on my plate! :D
 
T
Timber
A trout, whether planted or not, is always better tasting when caught in a cold mountain stream or lake. Years ago, when they planted streams such as the upper Clackamas and the East Fork of the Hood River by scattering the trout instead of dumping a truckload into one hole, many of the trout survived quite awhile in the clean cold water and basically became natives. Now days, we have to fish mostly in reservoirs where the survival rate probably is not the same and the trout acquire the flaver of the lake.

I catch planted trout to eat but usually fish where the water conditions benefit the quality of eating. Big trout out of a warm and basically stagnant pond taste like muddy old fish.

As far as "garbage fish" goes, it is all relative to a person's thought. I used to think that yellow perch and catfish were trash fish and would not even consider them. But then I found out that yellow perch fillets are some of the tastiest fish around and are fun to catch especially when you are an old curmudgeon like me.
 
Raincatcher
Raincatcher
Misunderstanding....

Misunderstanding....

mgdguy said:
My 2 cents - I think he's asking a fair question, and one that I've seen discussed by others before. And I'm interested in the OFF groups different opinions on this as well.

Me, I love catching and I love eating. Grew up on self-caught trout (when I could get it) cooked in foil and some lemon and herbs, And now the wife has a few different ways to make some delicious steelhead and salmon.

If I trust the water source and the fish looks healthy, it on my plate! :D

mgdguy;
Actually,that is exactly the way I read it,too. I think some of the members are uber-sensitive and already agitated when some members sign on. I wanted to give Andy a chance to re-word it,if he wanted to. Everyone here is entitled to their opinion,without question or restriction. Unless they are being totally disrespectful and crude,we moderators will only step in to put in our two cents worth. All I'm asking is for everyone to take a breath and let the question be answered no matter whether or not it is asked the way they want to hear it. Sorry if it sounded like I was also stirring the pot.
Be safe.
Barb
 
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Irishrover
Irishrover
I'm sitting over here in Culver sipping on some coffe remembering the dinner I cooked last night. No not because of indigestion! I come over here to my property by myself to do a few thing so I must do my own cooking. Last night I pulled out one of my large cast iron frying pans, put it on the propane stove, put in a wee bit of olive oil and warmed the pan. When it was good and hot I put in a couple of pellet head steelhead that I caught on a soft hackle fly out of Lake Simtustus last year. ODFW has been planting steelhead in Simtustus for years. They love green wooly buggers as well as the soft hackle. We vacume pack them and then when we want to have trout or steelhead for a meal we just head to the freezer. (I posted a picture of some of these fish in the Central Oregon section under Lake Simtustus)....I also had an Idaho Baker along side my pellet heads.

Another way to enjoy those fish is to can them. 1 tbls salt, 1tbls olive oil, 1 tpls vinigar. Cook for 90 min at 10lbs pressure.

Now I also like Ocean bottom fish and you just can't beat halibut. It's just hard to get out there and get them. There is only a short season two days a week in May and part of June out of Newport. Then you need the weather to cooperate too. I checked yesterday and they still have a small craft warning up.

As far as eating or not eating hatchery fish it's all about choice I don't think anyone is going to force anyone to eat them nor prevent them from eating them. Now you want to talk about something really important lets talk artichoke, and okra!:)
 
Irishrover
Irishrover
Timber........I remember those days very well when they used to plant stockers in the upper Clack, Molalla, and other rivers including the Deschutes. So you are dating yourself.:lol: The yellow perch brought my mind around to Crappie. Now there is a good tasting fish. Head to Ochoco Reservior or Prinville Reservior catch a mess of them, add some pride of the west batter and into the frying pan. Hmmmm getting hungery now!
 
18406ej
18406ej
Rover, it sounds like a rough night. I might even try trout or steelhead cooked under those conditions.
 
F
FishFinger
I love Pride Of the West batter. Some of the best steelhead fish and chips I ever made were lathered w/ POW. I have consumed copious amounts for "stocker" trout in my daze w/o any ill effects. I didn't grow any additional appendages nor did my off spring. Some of my best recollections as a midget angler surround times next to the camp fire and the wafting aroma of trout nearing dinner time.
 
B
bobbn
Stocked trout - to eat or not to eat, that is the question

Stocked trout - to eat or not to eat, that is the question

HI! I'm Bobbn and I'm new to the forum. This is an interesting question posed about put and take fish. In the early 90's, the hatchery fish were terrible. They put up very little fight, had very white meat and were tasteless. There were even bumper stickers decrying their poor quality.
In came ODF&W with research on the Diamond Lake trout. The finding was that the shrimp eaten by the DL trout gave them energy, and good taste.
The hatcheries added shrimp to the diet and it worked very well. Today, the hatchery fish fight well and taste very good. Notice the lack of defaming bumper stickers. I believe that hatchery fish are to be eaten. I eat them and give some to my friends who enjoy them also. They are tasty, fun to catch on ultralight gear, and good for your health. Bobbn
 
T
Timber
Nothing would beat my dad frying up a bunch of 8 or 9 inch trout dusted with flour and cooked in bacon grease over a campfire on the upper Clackamas. He would even turn them by shaking the pan and flipping the whole panful at once just to show off. Those were the best eating fish and we could put away a bunch of them at one sitting. Perch fillets dusted in flour, sprinkled with Season-All, and cooked in butter is a very close second. Now if only Siltcoos Lake would come back. Geez, I'm getting hungry.
 
T
Thuggin4Life
No I wasn't trying to start anything. I've read post's about keeping or not keeping fish and eating or not eating fish. I've seen the get discussed in the forum kinda of subject but still on subject. Also the pictures of big nasty brooders on the way to the plate helped. As for garbage fish i meant fish like carp, pikeminnow, squaw, suckerfish, and other similar fish. I catch plenty of fish so no worries there and fishing for the stocked fish is fun. I just don't eat a pink meated fish that actually has white meat. I will eat a planter if it looks really healthy and I can tell it was from a batch of fish from a previous year. Like you said water condition plays into it but I like them to have been in the water for a while. While we are on the subject (also one of the stupidest things I have done) 2 summers ago me and a friend got really drunk while out trout fishing. Broke my pole on a snag and still got the lure back. Some how we ended up at leaburg right as the sun was setting. After wrapping several feet of line around my hand i tied on my go to lure and chumed the water with pellets. I must of hooked into every brooder in there but they wouldn't stay on the hook for more than a few seconds. Some kids came down in the park so we exited over to the rearing tanks. We hooked hundreds of pellet heads in a few minutes but could get 2 out of the water. When I woke the next day my mom had cleaned the fish and thrown them out. She said I don't know where you caught those but don't every bring any home from there again. Apparently the fish were falling apart as she cleaned them. Hatchery fish are soggy and white and I like to give em time to firm up and get pink. But they are planted as a food source, for recreation, keep a balanced ecosystem, and to keep it possible to catch native fish.
 
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M
Moparpride
To eat or not to eat?

To eat or not to eat?

Well I find this an interesting topic. I know if I catch a nice looking planted fish from somewhere with no "Caution: Trace amounts of Mercury." I'm gonna take that fish home and BBQ it. It's a free meal and I don't have a lot of money to throw at a nice steak or cut of halibut with the prices of gas and school, so it's a nice change from rice and beans.
 
A
Anyfishisfine
The one I'm curious about is sturgeon. Generally fish from the lower Willamette are considered unsafe if they are not transiting. Yet people harvest Sturgeon and eat them from there all the time.
 
S
susqwahanna
What's a "garbage fish"??

When you are hungry carp soup sounds and tastes pretty good....and this is from experience!!
 

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