jason41987

the carp i ate didnt have a strong fish taste at all, it was actually good fresh.. i soaked it in some salt water to get all the blood out.. id eat it again but i think id target smaller, younger ones, and not these 26" long old ones.. probably less mercury content that way as well.. i cant find much information on getting a good boneless fillet out of them though. still, it seems im better avoid avoiding salt water for fresh caught fish and focus on freshwater.. something easier to clean and i think that will be trout or walleye.. im going to do some more aquaponics research though and see what itd take to raise trout or walleye in captivity for meat

have you eaten them?

i do not think i would target carp though for a regular source of meat.. although theres nothing wrong with the taste at all, i havent exactly been successful in properly filleting them either with their bones.. it may take a technique i am not aware of or more practice.. i think their mercury content is really quite low though.. i may have to give that more thought but i think targeting trout may be better.. though trouts have limits on them that carps do not

as i pointed out before, theyre not invasive, as invasive means they are an unstable growing population and a risk to the ecosystem.. carp however are stabilized and reached a point of equilibrium, they are classified as naturalized species

ive eaten carp before, it tasted like any other white fish to me, i think a lot of the negativity surrounding carp is marketing by the game fish lobby and the commercial fisherman that want you to pay top dollar for something you cant get out of your local lakes.. but yeah, tilapia may not be the best, but i havent tried much with it yet.. with the right seasonings, who knows the way aquaponics work is that you grow plants hydroponically, some of those plants are edible by the fish, the fish eat them, then fertilize the water to grow more plants.. i guess if you raised tilapia or carp as "feeder" fish for trout or walleye that could work too.. or something attractive to insects trout could eat, but wouldnt be harmful to your vegetables

i used to fish on the mississippi often when i was a kid, i dont recall an asian carp issue then, but i am familiar with them as an invasive species and would agree.. but when i hear someone say just carp i think theyre speaking about common carp which i have heard people erroneously hate on out of belief they slaughter baby bass

well, after i move (havent decided where to yet), i think my primary source of meat throughout the year is going to end up being elk, on top of various smaller game.. so fish maybe once a week, so i think id be fine on mercury levels.. from what i've heard, walleye is by far the best tasting freshwater fish and would likely be my target if i decided to add fish to my diet, but i was also looking at some salt water species, haddock, pollack, salmon, which seem to be where the nasty cod words are found (in the ocean).. so youre saying i should probably stick to small freshwater species?.. maybe trout, small barely legal size walleye, etc? im thinking that might be better overall as im cooking the fish as soon as catching it.. where if i catch a halibut for example, it'd be frozen for months by time i got around to it given how much you get off of one of them.. so for the freshness of it all, youre right, i should probably stick with the smaller stuff in cleaner streams i may also pick and choose some type of freshwater fish to add to an aquaponics system as well and raise them myself for meat instead, but i think this would restrict me to herbivorous species of fish like tilapia or carp

why carp? what have carp done? they are primarily vegetation first, eat crustaceans second, and theyre not invasive, theyre naturalized, their numbers have reached an equilibrium with the ecosystem that they are now part of and arent bad to eat either i may get some hate for this one, but ive never really enjoyed catching bass that much, after catching bowfin, pike, carp, and other species that put up a heck of a fight, bass just dont do it for me.. i mean, its cool you can stick your finger in their mouth and pick them up to remove a hook, convenient for catch and release while a pike or bowfin may swim off with your fingers.. but i like the fight they put up on another note, anybody eat a bowfin before?

im thinking of putting a greater focus on fishing for the purpose of consumption and as a regular source of meat (to supplement hunting to wean myself off grocery store meats).. so i was curious, of all fish that can regularly be caught for this puspose, be it freshwater or salt, which are the least likely to carry parasites.. most specifically ones such as cod worms?.. they dont seem remotely anywhere as common in salmon as they are in cod, pollack, or halibut, but im probably wrong on that so what would be the cleanest fish to harvest for my goals? and i will be moving to the northwestern united states within the next year or two, likely alaska, but i am also considering the PNW and idaho

bowfins have existed in north america since the jurassic period meaning they have been in those lakes long before bass or most other game fish.. there are some less educated fisherman that have this ridiculous delusion that they reduce game fish populations, but given how long bowfins have existed if that were even remotely true thered be no game fish left... this myth comes from the fact that bowfin are capable of breathing air, so when some environmental event raises the toxicity of a lake or river system, that environmental condition kills off most the game fish leaving bowfin the sole survivor to get the blame for something that was in all likeliness man-made on top of all of that they are fun to catch, quite frankly they are more fun to catch than bass which give very little fight in comparison to a 3' long bowfin or pike or even a big fat carp.. if you catch one, put it back, its been there longer than anything else in north america

id really like to get a kayak for fishing, but theres a lot of options out there, id like to find something with a higher capacity so i can also use it to carry camping gear.. i want something with a low seat, that can easily be upgraded and modded for rod holders, fish finders, etc.. but what are some thoughts on pedal kayaks (paddle or propeller) or using oars/paddles?.. and does anyone use an enclosed kayak for fishing?.. it seems the open style is better for storing fishing equipment, but i could be wrong, id imagine you could probably modify the enclosed kayaks much the same?

i agree with others in using leader to preserve your stronger, and often more expensive main line.. especially if youre using a spinning reel where a more full spool is more important.. but i usually tie a ring to my main line, swivels to my leads so i can quickly disconnect leaders and ill have a separate leader for each lure so i dont have to tie a new one or cut lines whenever i switch, and this is better than hooking a lure directly to a swivel so theres nothing close to your lure except the fluorocarbon line also, by having a clear fluoro leader i can use a bright high visibility braided line giving me the best of both worlds, clear line where i need it, easy to see line where i want it and little to no risk of snapping anything more than a short length of fluoro, and in my opinion as a leader is the only way i see fluoro as useful, its properties in my opinion doesnt lend itself very well to being used as a main line as for steel leaders i used to use them when id fish for pike, but stopped when i learned more about what i was doing, the unlikeliness of a lure going that deep into a pipes mouth (the teeth only get to chew on the metal spoon or wire from a spinnerbait) and even then their teeth tend to be more pointy designed to hold fish, than sharp, i havent actually had one bite off a line yet to be honest, the lures ive lost have been due to snags or trying out a new knot that didnt work so well

i have a hollow body frog ive been trying but cant seem to get anything with it, my technique could be off, but some good info here, ill try a buzzbait next and see how my luck is with those

its like going to the doctor and saying "hey doc, it hurts when i do this" and the doctor responds with "well then dont do that"

id just change your grip around.. try to get comfortable, check for any edges that may be protruding on the trigger, maybe sand it down some, or just get a new rod, ive never had the issue but i keep the trigger between my middle and ring