Eating fish you catch...
- Thread starter Terr
- Start date
what type of waters are you going to ? most stocked lakes ( trout ) let you keep what you catch if you pay for it.
Generally, freshwater fisheries are catch and release in the UK, but freshwater fish are nearly all edible. Carp has been the traditional Christmas meal in parts of Europe for centuries, as the monasteries used to have fish ponds. If you can find an angling club that's having a problem with Pike in an enclosed water, they might let you take any you catch, because Pike will wipe out the coarse fish quite quickly. Grilled Pike is delicious.
Alternatively, go fishing in the sea. As long as you make sure you stick to the local fisheries byelaws, you can take your catch to eat. Your local IFCA Fisheries Officers should be helpful, and my local IFCA F.O. not only provided copies of the byelaws, but also gauged my Gill Net and gave me a lot of information on where the best beach casting places were, what baits worked best in the area, the best places for shellfish, and even recommended a good campsite.
Well worth the time it took finding out where to contact them.
Alan
Alternatively, go fishing in the sea. As long as you make sure you stick to the local fisheries byelaws, you can take your catch to eat. Your local IFCA Fisheries Officers should be helpful, and my local IFCA F.O. not only provided copies of the byelaws, but also gauged my Gill Net and gave me a lot of information on where the best beach casting places were, what baits worked best in the area, the best places for shellfish, and even recommended a good campsite.
Well worth the time it took finding out where to contact them.
Alan
The problem is that some waters are being decimated by 'anglers' taking what they catch. There are a couple of waters in my area that are being stripped clean by people leaving fixed lines in place overnight & taking fish of any size they get hold of. Even when you witness them at it they just shake their heads & suddenly forget that they know any English. It's a great pity they don't leave their customs in the country they originate from & start observing the ones from the country they're currently living in.
this is what the environment agency byelaws state
On rivers
On any given day, you may only remove:
one pike of up to 65 cm;
two grayling of 3038 cm;
up to a total of 15 small fish of up to 20 cm of the following native species: barbel; chub; common bream; common carp; crucian carp; dace; perch; pike; roach; rudd; silver bream; smelt; and tench.
Fish are measured from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.
If you remove any more fish than this, you are committing an offence and risk a substantial fine.
You can still take:
minor or tiddler species, such as gudgeon;
non-native species;
ornamental varieties of native species such as ghost or koi carp.
Please remember that you will still need the written permission of the owner or club to remove fish from privately owned waters.
On stillwaters
You may only remove fish with the written permission of the owner or club.
You will normally have a day ticket or permit, on which the fishery rules are often printed. These rules normally state the numbers and types of fish you can remove. If in doubt, ask the owner. If there is no obvious owner to ask for permission, you are not allowed to remove any fish.
If you take any fish without permission you are committing an offence and risk a substantial fine.
Eel and shad
You must return any eel (Anguilla anguilla*) or Allis or Twaite shad you catch from any water in England and Wales.
This includes estuaries and inshore waters, to a distance of six nautical miles.
* Does not include conger eel (Conger conger).
as far as i know you can take anything from the sea. not sure if these are the same rules for scotland tho
On rivers
On any given day, you may only remove:
one pike of up to 65 cm;
two grayling of 3038 cm;
up to a total of 15 small fish of up to 20 cm of the following native species: barbel; chub; common bream; common carp; crucian carp; dace; perch; pike; roach; rudd; silver bream; smelt; and tench.
Fish are measured from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.
If you remove any more fish than this, you are committing an offence and risk a substantial fine.
You can still take:
minor or tiddler species, such as gudgeon;
non-native species;
ornamental varieties of native species such as ghost or koi carp.
Please remember that you will still need the written permission of the owner or club to remove fish from privately owned waters.
On stillwaters
You may only remove fish with the written permission of the owner or club.
You will normally have a day ticket or permit, on which the fishery rules are often printed. These rules normally state the numbers and types of fish you can remove. If in doubt, ask the owner. If there is no obvious owner to ask for permission, you are not allowed to remove any fish.
If you take any fish without permission you are committing an offence and risk a substantial fine.
Eel and shad
You must return any eel (Anguilla anguilla*) or Allis or Twaite shad you catch from any water in England and Wales.
This includes estuaries and inshore waters, to a distance of six nautical miles.
* Does not include conger eel (Conger conger).
as far as i know you can take anything from the sea. not sure if these are the same rules for scotland tho
Catch and release varies and IMHO at the end of the day is really down to your own morality ... any water that is specifically requesting catch and release probably has a good reason to do so as illustrated above. In particular in Scotland numbers of sea trout and salmon have been (dangerously) low in recent years. the beautiful silver are coming back though, it seems due to catch and release policy on a number of rivers and anglers' changed attitudes (ie don't kill them just cos you caught them) .
My catch and release morals are roughly --
-Never take more than two salmon (a lot of people would say that's greedy)
-Put back big salmon (big fish beget big fish)
-Put back hen salmon (the spawners, look online for how to tell difference between cock and hen - not easy)
-Put back big sea trout
-Never take more than one small (half pound) sea trout
-Put back big brown trout (anything over 2 lb)
-Keep any damaged, injured or exhausted fish (these can introduce disease into a water and will probably die anyway)
-I don't have morals that apply to coarse fish (pike, carp etc) for me these taste crap so i put them back
-For sea fish i keep middle size fish that i can and will eat.
For general on trips any fish more than 2lb is a lot to eat at one sitting and fish goes off quickly if you're thinking of your freezer. Slaughter for the freezer can be wasteful unless you know you can get them home in time. Also fishing, camping, hiking and setting up an earth smoker can take more energy than you (or i anyway) actually have. Point being not to kill unless you know, for sure, you will eat the fish.
Highland Scotland is covered in burns, lochs and rivers full of fairly small, naturally occurring, brown trout, the problem in many waters is too many small fish and stunted populations, away from the roads few gamekeepers will bother if you take a couple. In stocked, or easily accessible waters it can be a different game; I suggest checking the web for info on the rivers or lochs in your chosen area and you'll get an idea of what the setup is.
For an outdoor taste experience you're not gonna get at a restaurant take some vinegar (or lemon) with you, catch your salmon, kill on the bank and skin the back of the head/neck above the gills (the otters' choice) , add vinegar and bite ...
@munkiboi
those environmental agency regs look like they only apply to England.
My catch and release morals are roughly --
-Never take more than two salmon (a lot of people would say that's greedy)
-Put back big salmon (big fish beget big fish)
-Put back hen salmon (the spawners, look online for how to tell difference between cock and hen - not easy)
-Put back big sea trout
-Never take more than one small (half pound) sea trout
-Put back big brown trout (anything over 2 lb)
-Keep any damaged, injured or exhausted fish (these can introduce disease into a water and will probably die anyway)
-I don't have morals that apply to coarse fish (pike, carp etc) for me these taste crap so i put them back
-For sea fish i keep middle size fish that i can and will eat.
For general on trips any fish more than 2lb is a lot to eat at one sitting and fish goes off quickly if you're thinking of your freezer. Slaughter for the freezer can be wasteful unless you know you can get them home in time. Also fishing, camping, hiking and setting up an earth smoker can take more energy than you (or i anyway) actually have. Point being not to kill unless you know, for sure, you will eat the fish.
Highland Scotland is covered in burns, lochs and rivers full of fairly small, naturally occurring, brown trout, the problem in many waters is too many small fish and stunted populations, away from the roads few gamekeepers will bother if you take a couple. In stocked, or easily accessible waters it can be a different game; I suggest checking the web for info on the rivers or lochs in your chosen area and you'll get an idea of what the setup is.
For an outdoor taste experience you're not gonna get at a restaurant take some vinegar (or lemon) with you, catch your salmon, kill on the bank and skin the back of the head/neck above the gills (the otters' choice) , add vinegar and bite ...
@munkiboi
those environmental agency regs look like they only apply to England.
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that sounds like some Lithuanians has been your way 
believe me, not only fixed lines, nets, but also ELECTRICITY is being used to strip clean waters for years ahead. There's just that kind of people... A sad kind with no future... If you don't look, they come and clean up your lake in one night, smoke the fish, sell it and what's left over chuck it in bush to rot.
believe me, not only fixed lines, nets, but also ELECTRICITY is being used to strip clean waters for years ahead. There's just that kind of people... A sad kind with no future... If you don't look, they come and clean up your lake in one night, smoke the fish, sell it and what's left over chuck it in bush to rot.Similar threads
