Edibility question.....

[Tweek1106]

Had a question.....

Would a large and healthy population of frogs be enough of an indicator that it would be safe to consume fish from a specific body of water?

 

There doesn't seem to be nearly enough information in my area about the edibility of fish from local bodies of water.

 

Also I fish a lot of super small ponds that aren't even named or on any map but would love to keep some of the sunfish/bass I catch but never do due to not knowing what the water quality is.

 

If the body of water has a abundance of frogs (and healthy, not with 5 heads or glowing in the dark) would it be enough to assume that the fish is edible?

 

Thanks for any advice!

[Porkrind]

I’d look at any tributaries that supply the bodies of water you fish along with the industries near those tributaries but in all reality it should be fine. If it wasn’t then there should be general knowledge in your area to stay away from eating the local bodies of water. Just because the frog population looks healthy doesn’t mean that everything is safe. I have a feeling you’d be fine to eat what you catch.

[Sword of the Lord]

No idea. Just going to throw my obnoxious 2 cents in about keeping bass from "very small ponds.":

 

Disagree! 

[tander]

49 minutes ago, Sword of the Lord said:

No idea. Just going to throw my obnoxious 2 cents in about keeping bass from "very small ponds.":

 

Disagree! 

Not always a bad thing.

[Deleted account]

1 hour ago, Tweek1106 said:

Had a question.....

Would a large and healthy population of frogs be enough of an indicator that it would be safe to consume fish from a specific body of water?

 

There doesn't seem to be nearly enough information in my area about the edibility of fish from local bodies of water.

 

Also I fish a lot of super small ponds that aren't even named or on any map but would love to keep some of the sunfish/bass I catch but never do due to not knowing what the water quality is.

 

If the body of water has a abundance of frogs (and healthy, not with 5 heads or glowing in the dark) would it be enough to assume that the fish is edible?

 

Thanks for any advice!

No. 

[MickD]

I would first check with the state dept of natural resources.  Nothing wrong with keeping some fish depending on the local circumstances, which you should be aware of.  In some cases a lake needs for fish to be taken out.  There is no one answer that covers all lakes in all states.

[BrackishBassin]

Local lake I fish has tons of frogs, bass, pickerel, sunfish, osprey, eagles, herons, etc. Still advised not to eat fish from the lake (specifics are like 1 serving every two months of sunfish only) due to Mercury levels. 

 

Many contaminants that we find in our waters may not have effects on the wildlife that are visible to our naked eye, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. 

[Looch]

You are in same state and general area as I, the pfbc puts an advisory out on every named body of water. Ponds not so much.

 

Dont eat any fish from the big 3 rivers(exception, the Allegheny up by NY) and a few tributaries is the general rule of thumb for me. The state says 1 walleye meal per month is safe if you cut the belly meat away but I dont eat anything from the rivers. They are getting cleaner though. Im probably a little older and was raised to never eat fish from the rivers so I probably never would even if wild trout started running in them. There are so many pcbs and other toxins in the rivers from industry back in the day I wont risk it. My neighbor eats them, she always asks me to bring her fish home so I do(eater size walleye, maybe some crappie if I run into a school). But things are getting better, when I was a kid the Beaver River really only had carp and catfish unless you were close to a dam. Now the redhorse suckers are back, you can catch smallmouth anywhere, pikes and muskies do well. Redhorse are a better indicator than frogs I think, canaries in the coal mine. They dont handle pollution well.

 

Lakes, you should be good except Shenango and for now Pymatuming until that virus is sorted out. I take 90% of the fish that I actually eat home during ice fishing season unless we go to Erie sometime during the year(usually February).

 

Creeks, it depends which one but the ones I fish are even dirtier than the rivers where I am, the Connequenessing is the #2 dirtiest body of water in PA behind the Philly Schuylkill. Nothing really in the Connie worth eating anyway(smallies, muskies, pike). Stocky trout are always fine to eat, they were raised in a fish tank eating pellets and rarely live more than 3 months past April stocking, fall stocking fish live longer.

 

 

In general on ponds, sunfish from no-name ponds should be fine. PCBs are heavy and dont travel far, fish move pcbs in the food chain more than current does, predators and bottom feeders have the most build up of them.. I dont eat bass but they should be ok if they are contained to that 1 pond(pond isnt fed by a river or creek). Golf course pond fish are probably ok.

 

Frogs have no bearing on whether or not I'd eat a fish. Back when I was a kid and steel mills were going 100%, there were just as many frogs as right now.

 

 

 

[Bucky205]

PCB's are more harmful to you than frogs.  I live next to Logan Martin.  Monsanto killed the possibility of any good fish reports years ago with everything they were dumping.  Most states have an area biologist, nothing wrong with calling him and seeing what he thinks.

[Looch]

1 hour ago, BrackishBassin said:

Local lake I fish has tons of frogs, bass, pickerel, sunfish, osprey, eagles, herons, etc. Still advised not to eat fish from the lake (specifics are like 1 serving every two months of sunfish only) due to Mercury levels. 

 

Many contaminants that we find in our waters may not have effects on the wildlife that are visible to our naked eye, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. 

yeah the best fisherman on my favorite river dam is an osprey that lives and nests on the hill, man he gets his fish 75% of the time. The bald eagles that live there and often fights with the osprey probably has a 25% success rate. Many people are on the river just to watch these birds. Blue Herons give a good idea of where to cast sometimes. That fish hawk(osprey) is fun to watch though. Dive bomber. I think most of his fish are gizzard shad and small wipers

[BuzzHudson19c]

Check your state DEC or DNR (or whatever they call it) website. NY has a complete rundown of recommendations for lakes and rivers. For the most part they are exactly that, recommendations. There are only a few where it is catch and release by law.

 

As long as it's not explicitly forbidden, eat a few.

[burrows]

I’ve eaten from a ton of farm pond bass, blue gill and catfish in my time no biggy I don’t do it anymore but if you know where the water is coming from it should be no problem.