What fish do you keep to eat? – What Season do you keep the most?

The panfish limit post got me to thinking who keeps what to eat, and what season do most people keep fish. For me I keep way more panfish and Pike during the winter ( Hardwater Months ) I probably only keep a few Sunfish and crappies in the open water season ( Early spring and late fall ) About the only time I keep Northern Pike is the winter months. I like tip up fishing and getting some pike for a few batches of pickeled pike. As far as walleyes I keep most all those in the Early summer and late fall months – I hardly ever fish them in the winter. As far as Bass go ( Yes I keep and eat some bass ) I normally keep a few meals in the early summer and late fall months when the water temp’s are the coolest.In the Mid summer months ( July-Sept ) I keep almost no fish. Overall I’d say my consumption %’s are as follows: 60% panfish, 30% walleyes, 5% bass and 5% Northern pike. Curious what others here Keep and eat and when.

I keep very little. Mostly C&R and selective harvest.

Probably one winter meal of crappies (6-8 fish) and one summer meal of walleyes (3-4 fish). I maybe get another bonus meal depending on which trips I do on a particular year. This summer, I’ll be going back to Canada and will eat walleye for 5 straight days

lindyrig79 wrote:

I keep very little. Mostly C&R and selective harvest.

Probably one winter meal of <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>crappies (6-8 fish) and one summer meal of <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleyes (3-4 fish). I maybe get another bonus meal depending on which trips I do on a particular year. This summer, I’ll be going back to Canada and will eat walleye for 5 straight days

LOL..this almost exactly except no winter meal. I’ll keep maybe 4 summer walleyes from MN that I catch on opener and a limit back from Canada. But…I too will be eating Canada walleyes but for only 4 days straight.

For me, it’s 99% Bluegills and Crappies, and 1% Pike. Maybe it’s because I’ve caught most of my Walleyes on Pool 2 (where they have to be released), but now I release any Walleyes I catch. I think Pike are delicious, but I don’t like the idea of removing a lot of the top predators from a lake. I haven’t kept a Bass in over 40 years.

For many years now my Daughter (Sharon here on IDO), her late husband Billy, and me would spend a weekend in May and bring home our limit of panfish. We would split that haul up into several meals and put them in the freezer, and that would be pretty much it for the year. I might keep some panfish when I’m on vacation for a meal or two. Maybe a keep a few more from ice fishing, just enough for a meal.

It’s going to be very difficult this year without Billy in the other end of the boat.

S.R.

I’ve kept >less< then:
30 gills over the last 10 years
10 eater walleye/sauger over the last 10 years
4 pike over the last 10 years
1 flathead over the last 15 years
25 channel cats over the last 10 years
4 Shovelnose sturgeon in my life time
May have been a few perch in there too.

But I have killed plenty of Hamm’s!!

I’m certainly not anti harvest!

It seems like the more opportunity a person has to fish, the less they take home. Maybe that just my point of view. IDK

So you’re saying I should fish more? OK, if you say so

I will bring 20 walleyes home from Green Bay over memorial weekend. That will normally be enough for me for the summer. If by fall I am out, I will keep a few more. 90% of my fishing is catch and release.

I pretty much only eat pan fish and most of those are from winter. I fish for a lot of bass in the summer and never eat any. My ice fishing is all pan fish so I keep some to eat and if the Grand kids are along. I have a set number of containers that my wife lets me keep in the freezer and that is my “limit”. When the 3 containers are full then I can’t bring more home and have to eat what we have. Works well for us. Now IF I had a chance to catch some walleyes through the ice I would surely keep some of those also.

By far the most fish I keep are the salmon and lakers my son and I catch on Lake Superior. Most all of the salmon go fresh on the grill, while at least 75% of the lakers we catch are put in the smoker over some apple and cherrywood.

After that it would be walleye. I spend on average 20 days each summer camping out on the islands up on Namakan and Rainy in Voyageurs Park. Thats 4 trips, and each trip we plan for 1 shorelunch for dinner. I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve brought any fish home from there the last 23 years (with the slot, you have to bring fish back to the landing “in the whole” when out camping).
I also usually make 3 trips to Upper Red and/or LOTW ice fishing, and I’ll usually bring home a limit on those trips.

Thats about it tho. Maybe a meal or 2 of stream trout in the early spring. And a few smallies have been fried up for the shorelunch’s in Voyageurs over the years.

I eat mainly smaller pike. It’s a pain to clean them but there is an overabundance of them in most MN lakes. Those are the only fish I will put in the freezer (for pickling later) or else I only take the fish I am going to eat that night.

I bring enough fish home from ice fishing in Devils Lake to make enough meals through the winter so it’s mostly c&r for me locally the rest of the ice season. I will at times keep a 14″ or so for a meal in the fish house if I’m on the lake for 3 days or so.
My sons and son in law make the same trip so we rotate having fish fry’s at each others house every couple months until those fish are gone. Then in the summer once every a month or so we keep enough walleye and or pan fish for a meal for 4 of us.

We have a self imposed slot limit on pan fish at our lake place. We have a extremely healthy population of big gills. We can keep one over 9 the rest go back. Only enough under that for what we want to eat usually that day. Anything over 11 on the crappies goes back.

Interesting responses on here. Good to see that some people are keeping small pike because those things are a serious problem.

I release 95% or more of what I catch. I have a conservation angling license which is half the cost and allows me to harvest half the limit. A lot of my fishing is targeted after bass and muskies so in that regard I really have no interest in keeping one anyways. In 2019 I kept 5 crappies, 2 walleyes, and 2 pike the entire season and I went fishing about 40 times. I should also mention that I don’t ice fish. My Father goes to Canada every June and brings me back a filet of smoked lake trout too.

lindyrig79 wrote:

I keep very little. Mostly C&R and selective harvest.

This summer, I’ll be going back to Canada and will eat walleye for 5 straight days

Since I started going on an annual fishing trip to Canada for a week in June I rarely keep fish other times of the year. I get so sick of eating fish while in Canada that even the thought of fish almost makes me gag. Its a large group of guys and we typically only bring in a couple fish from each boat for each meal, but its just too much. We have different methods of cooking the fish so they are not all fried either.
Other than this trip, I will keep Perch in the winter because they are my favorite to eat. We have a end of ice season outing with a total of 4 guys and we generally keep fish then too which will normally include a few perch, tullibee, walleye/sauger.

I love being able to provide a healthy meat that I harvested to the family, and we generally bake fish once a week. I package all of our fish by species into individual meal size portions, so I can easily pull whatever I want and the correct amount out of the freezer. Also can track whats in my possession that way. With a young family I also don’t get out much anymore, so therefore I keep more each time I go out. I don’t think I have cleaned a fish since August (or hardly fished since then), and the freezer is almost out now. But 2 different multi day ice trips coming up, so I should be able to get a good supply built back up quickly and near possession limits of a few species.

Crappies – Generally fish them in the winter and will keep them if they are keeper size. Not much summer crappie fishing, but will keep when caught.
Perch – Catch a lot of them in the summer, lots of sorting to get keepers, but generally have close to my possession in the freezer at most times in the summer through the fall.
Sunfish/Bluegill – Selective harvest year round of the stunted size ones.
Walleye – Target a fair amount in the summer, not as much in the winter. Usually have a few in the freezer at all times but rarely a full possession.
Northern – Will keep them if they are low to mid 20″ fish and only if I already have other fish to clean. Love the taste, but not the greatest at cleaning them.
Largemouth – Have kept a few smaller to mid size ones when fishing remote lakes that are full of them, or else they almost always go back.
Smallmouth – Taste great, will keep, almost like a nice fish steak.
Rock Bass – If I already have a lot of fish to clean, I will also keep them. They seem to frequent the areas I also catch perch at in the summer. They are great in different things like fish tacos or fish pizza.

I keep a limit of gills/crappies maybe twice a winter. One or two in the summer if I get out panny fishing. 95% of my time in the summer is on Mille Lacs, usually every weekend and most of them are 3 day weekends. I’ll keep a smallie or two in the mornings for a great shore breakfast, but that’s about it. I don’t keep and freeze fish in the summer, they are all eaten fresh. I would keep a walleye or two if I could out of ML, but we all know how that goes. I love eating fish, don’t hate me.

I am an unapologetic meat hog freezer stuffing old coot! Ok, now calm down – I stuff my freezer with beef, pork and chicken!

I am lazy and throw all fish back to the point my wife begs me to keep some for an occasional meal. When it gets to that point, I’ll keep a few walleyes (14”-18”), or a few hammer handle snot rockets for the frying pan. Never keep panfish, too much work for too little eats.

sticker wrote:

I’ll keep a smallie or two in the mornings for a great shore breakfast, but that’s about it. I don’t keep and freeze fish in the summer, they are all eaten fresh. I would keep a walleye or two if I could out of ML, but we all know how that goes. I love eating fish, don’t hate me.

Nice to someone other than me keeps and eats a few bass. if you ask me and most the people who I feed fish to they would rather eat a SM bass than a Walleye. I only keeper smaller fish (12-15″ ) When keep out of cold water they are really tasty. I bleed them and put them on ice until I can get them cleaned. This helps a lot with the taste I’m sure. I’ve actually started to bleed and ice all fish I keep.

I keep a legal limit. and if my old neighbors want a meal I get them some, but I have never killed a flatty! steelhead get a pass two.

I’m pretty similar to Xplorer.

We eat a lot of great lakes salmon, lake trout, steelhead and browns. They make up 80% or so of our fish diet. We eat some fresh and also can a bunch and smoke/freeze or smoke/can (homemade kippered snacks).

Then some panfish, pike and occasional winter bass at home.

A couple handfuls of walleye meals throughout the year from various trips.

Just finished brining and smoking a batch of lakers!

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Red fish, speckled trout, snapper and a few flounders have made up our main freezer fish for many years. Never really keep anything from Minnesota waters.

Most summer walleyes go back unless it’s a fish fry out of town, which might be 1-2x year. Spring and fall usually get a few limits to put in freezer.

Panfish during ice season, but don’t ice fish much so not much there.

Have been keeping the snot rockets, clean off the slime first, take backstrap, take side of tail, boneless filets and toss the rest. Tastes wonderful. Family doesn’t know I’ve been doing that for year or so now.

We also love fish, so I try to make it at least 1x month.

I typically eat so much walleye on primitive camping/fishing trips that I dont want it the rest of the year. Fried or blackened walleye every day for a week in the BWCA in june and a week in Canada in August. Outside of that, maybe a meal or two throughout the year. Those other fish pretty much always come from pool 4.

Much, much prefer the 13-15 inchers though. If I’m pan frying, thats always the target size. Only big fish of the year I’ll keep is one walleye from ML each ice season.

My family and I eat a lot of fish. They love it. I’m not sure how often but about once every 10 days year round.

We prefer crappie and walleye mostly. Sunfish, perch, bass and rock bass are all great too.

Rock Bass – Most under rated fish ever. (BTW I’m very picky about my fish. I can’t even eat restaurant fish. I’d take fresh Rock Bass over restaurant walleye anyday! You would too if you tried em both.

I challenge anyone to clean a big gill and a rock bass. Then fry them both and try to tell the difference. Blew my mind the first time I did it. I’m proud to say I cleaned 400-500 rock bass last year. Keeping fish doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

I bring home one 6 fish limit of walleyes from LOTW early ice. They are usually 14-17″ fish. I’ll keep one meal at most per season from Pool 4 through the ice. A meal is 12-15 total fish (crappies and perch only, I don’t harvest bluegills).

During Spring/Early Summer I usually keep a few limits of walleyes and saugers off the river for myself (April-Mid June 15-16″ fish) while the water is in the 50s and 60s. After that point, the only reason I keep fish is if guests are along and want fresh fish. If it’s just me in the boat I’m C & R unless something gets hooked bad from then on.

During the Fall I’m 100% C & R. From about the 4th of July on I don’t keep fish out of the river until ice fishing. I also fish a lot less in the fall with football coaching obligations.

From May-June I’m on the water 3 days/nights a week minimum. I’d say 95% of the fish that come over the side go back. I’m not anti-harvest, rather just fortunate to live 2 miles from good fishing and can get out a lot.

I’ll keep 4-6 crappies for meals early on in the spring and again in the late fall. Spawning fish generally go back unless they’re hooked deep. I don’t eat much walleye/sauger unless someone gifts them this way. While at the cabin if I happen on lake trout or salmon we’ll grill it fresh and may freeze a couple fillets for the smoker.

This is an interesting bunch I thought I was conservative on what I kept. I will harvest maybe 40 panfish a year and a few walleye. I mainly fish mille lacs as well so walleyes are off limits at most times. I have also kept a few bigger pike that had no chance of survival while musky fishing and they are pretty good wrapped up in tinfoil on the grill

Joe Scegura wrote:

My family and I eat a lot of fish. They love it. I’m not sure how often but about once every 10 days year round.

We prefer <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>crappie and walleye mostly. Sunfish, perch, bass and rock bass are all great too.

Rock Bass – Most under rated fish ever. (BTW I’m very picky about my fish. I can’t even eat restaurant fish. I’d take fresh Rock Bass over restaurant walleye anyday! You would too if you tried em both.

I challenge anyone to clean a big gill and a rock bass. Then fry them both and try to tell the difference. Blew my mind the first time I did it. I’m proud to say I cleaned 400-500 rock bass last year. Keeping fish doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

+1

Joe Scegura wrote:

I can’t even eat restaurant fish. I’d take fresh Rock Bass over restaurant walleye anyday! You would too if you tried em both.

Well then, I guess you’re just not eating at the right restaurants.

And what about rock bass compared to sauger?

I eat fish at restaurants every day because I never catch any fish.

Bring it on…

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I just keep the cheeks ! Lol , seriously mostly just walleye in the spring and summer. Trout in the winter.

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Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

Well then, I guess you’re just not eating at the right restaurants.

And what about rock bass compared to sauger?

I eat fish at restaurants every day because I never catch any fish.

Bring it on…

Let me know when! I fry rockbass and slip them into the shore lunch for my clients all the time. They can never tell the difference. I challenge them, but I always win!

I can tell the difference between walleye and rockbass but I can’t tell the difference between sunfish and rockbass.