What fish, and When?

[match]

I'm just wondering - what freshwater fish are worth eating, and are there any 'seasons' to catching different types of freshwater fish?

I know the obvious ones, like salmon and trout, but what about all the other ones? Obviously, the rules of your permit apply to whether or not you can keep what you catch, but assuming you were allowed, what would you bother keeping?

 

[CRAZY FROG]

vertiualy all uk freashwater fish are edible as long as they are of a size worth keeping as long as they are over the minimium size layed down b the EA.

 

[fishy1]

Eels are worth eating. Pike appartently are nice but I haven't eaten it. Perch I have eaten but it wasn't good, although it can be good appartently. Carp are also meant to be good, but you don't get them where I am so I haven't eaten one.

 

[Longstrider]

I'll revive this with a little of what I know on the matter as a lifelong angler and once time Head Bailiff for a fishing club..
Virtually any freshwater (coarse) fish, if not all, can be eaten.... if you're hungry enough
There are obviously some that are far better eating than others.
Pike tend to be pretty bony, but get past the bones and the flesh is good tucker. I like it made up into fishcakes so as to get around the bones problem.
Perch can actually be far better than trout if you (a) get a good 'un (over a pound), (b) get it from a clean running river, not a muddy little pond, and (c) cook it well without over cooking it. Perch has a firm white flesh and tastes good.

Taking freshwater (coarse) fish from a water can lead you into all sorts of difficulties with the Law though. Most waters are controlled by a club, fishing organisation, or the landowner of the banks. In order to take fish for the pot legally you would have to have sepcific permission from the controlling person/club to take (kill) the fish you caught as most, if not all clubs have within their rules the fact that all fish must be returned to the water alive. Taking fish without this express permission can lead to court case for theft if you are caught. Being a member of the club (or buying a "Day Ticket") in order to fish will mean being bound by the club rules.
Some waters are 'free fishing' and do not come under the control of anyone (other than the local council in most cases). If taking fish from these waters, I'd advise you to check on any local by-laws regarding the matter as they vary from place to place around the country.
Whether fishing club controlled waters, or in 'free fishing' areas, you MUST still be in posession of a valid Rod Licence (issued by the EA and available from Post Offices or online) before fishing. Being caught fishing without one can result in fines of thousands of pounds and a criminal record.
If you are fishing for Game Fish (trout and salmon) you must have the appropriate rod licence to do so.
Having bought your Rod Licence, you are then bound by the rules and regs concerning the methods of taking fish. These basically limit your legal fishing activities to the use of rod, line, and hook only (other than in the case of eels). No netting, poisoning, gaffing or 'snagging', no setting of night (set) lines either.

That's a basic run-down of the law on freshwater fishing in the UK as I understand it. In order to stay within the law it basically means that you need at least one licence to fish anywhere at all, you may only do so with rod and line, and you may well have to return all you catch (other than Game Fish).

 

[mick miller]

Thanks Longstrider, these are questions that often come up and many people are unaware that things like the use of hand lines is in fact illegal in most parts of the UK (freshwater only). Strange I know and perhaps a little unjust but a good way to avoid a not insubstantial fine in England is to take along a licence and a reasonably priced travel rod instead!

Checking out the local regulations seems to make good sense and should be part of the preparation for any trip especially if your thinking about nabbing one or two for the pot, as for the muddy taste of many freshwater fish, well my grandfather used to say that soaking in saltwater overnight, then changing the water in the morning for fresh for a few hours followed by a good rinse helped lessen the taste. Having not tried it though I wouldn't know but it seems likely that any form of rinsing should help remove the muddy taste.

 

[StJon]

Sorry folks to muddy the water so to speak but no rod license needed in Scotland
jon

 

[mick miller]

Yet another example of why I want to move there! Thanks St. Jon post edited for those south of the border.

 

[David.from.Holland]

Pike is delicious. Use your fingers to eat so you can feel the bones. I like mine fried in a pan over a fire.

 

[Joonsy]

grayling delicious treated like trout, pike good baked or if poss battered, perch very good baked or smoked, eels excellent cut into sections rolled in flour and fried, roach and bream very good baked as is carp, gudgeon delicious rolled in seasoned flour and fried as are minnows, bleak good treated likewise, shad bony but fills a gap, have not tried zander/dace/chub/barbel.

 

[redneck]

I took a group of kids ( well with 4 other leaders) onto an island in the middle of a lake for the weekend, we intended to live off fish for the whole time. I had intended to catch just trout and eels and feed all 12 of us!..I did catch a few but suplemented them with lots of roach and bream, and I was very surprised to find that I much prefered the roach and bream than any other freshwater fish we ate...bones are terrible in them but the meat is good...

 

[susi]

All the fish we catch is eaten (even if only by cats). I believe most people here would suggest it cruel to catch and return. I think the Nordics have a different view and possibly a certain respect for nature and its edible offerings.

As for the fish:

Bream - tasty smoked

Pike - OK if it's not too large - the big boys are tough and too "meaty"

Roach - not a first choice, too many bones

Perch - my favourite. Open the belly, starting at the vent, being careful not to pierce the internal organs. Once open, pull these bits out out. Cut off head, top fins and side fins. Grab skin at head end (between thumb and knife), peel skin towards tail in one firm movement. Repeat for other side. Rinse. Heat butter in pan. Put flour on a plate, add in a generous helping of lemon pepper. Dip fish in this and fry in the butter.

 

[mick miller]

All the fish we catch is eaten (even if only by cats). I believe most people here would suggest it cruel to catch and return. I think the Nordics have a different view and possibly a certain respect for nature and its edible offerings.

It's not so much the mindset in the UK, its more the fact that there are just so many of us here compared to say Finland. If everyone who went fishing in the UK killed and ate their freshwater catch we'd run out of fish very quickly!

As it is it's bad enough for the fish which have to compete with natural predation (cormorant, heron, grebe etc.) abstraction for agriculture, pollution from industry not to mention that almost every single mile of waterway in the UK has been managed to such a degree that the natural habitats which would provide the vital nursery areas for fry and immature fish are all but gone.

Most fisheries in the UK have been stocked by human hand at some point and many in more urban areas are stocked on a yearly basis, it's just about the only way to keep fish in the rivers and lakes. All that has led to the 'catch and release' culture, but I think a quite a few of us anglers would still regard 'catch, kill and eat' as the most humane and responsible way to go about things if it were possible.

 

[mick miller]

are there any 'seasons' to catching different types of freshwater fish?

As for seasons. Well the warmer months are always better in England, with June, July & August being top amongst those. Generally speaking the breeding season for many species falls sometime between early May and June so predatory species such as Pike and Perch will tend to really 'switch on' around late June, early July when the large shoals of fry start to appear. I've seen shoals of Perch herding fry into the corners of reservoirs at these times, Pike I'm led to believe also use this technique.

Pike continue to feed well through June, July, August & September and can be caught easily on lures at these times. Lure fishing in winter is hard going, at that time of year a static dead bait's a much better idea.

Most fishing in England tends to deteriorate as the shorter days of winter approach, with the exceptions of Grayling, Carp and Pike perhaps all else (least ways for me) tends to get a bit thin on the ground.

 

[susi]

I agree Mick, if everyone in the UK caught and chomped there would be nothing left in the waters.

We still have a certain amount of "artificial" stocking in some Finnish lakes, to try and keep a balance of certain species. But I fully take on board the fact that we have circa 188,000 lakes to share between a population of 5.3 million, so I guess we are spoiled rotten.

Perhaps it's because my grandparents' generation (and even later generations) considered fishing an important source of food, that the idea of throwing your catch back seems an odd concept, some would say pointless. There again, I also enjoy whacking a white ball into a flagged hole, some say that is pointless too. Others would say that trapping any wild animal with something metallic and sharp, only to release it again, could be considered cruel.

Anyway, sorry to the OP for turning his thread into a debate.

 

[Thijzzz]

Zander is excellent too. Can be simply fried ("au naturel", rolled in flour or battered), but the best in on a BBQ / grill over open fire or coals. Just gives it the best flavour. Bit op salt & pepper, maybe some lemon, and one you go.

Honest to God, it's 3 in the morning (don't ask ), and I could really, really go for a piece of grilled zander right about now..... nice and crunchy...little salad on the side......pice of bread.....mmmmmmmmmmm munchity-crunchity.... ( From the great tale "The Jobby Weecha" by Billy Connolly)

ENOUGH - I'm off to bed. Nightnight.

 

[Kepis]

The taking of fish from UK inland waters is a minefield of legislation, Longstrider has summed most of it up, but please do not forget that the close season still applies on rivers in England, during the close season you cannot fish for fresh water species regardless of if you have a rod licence or not, the close season runs from March 15th to June 15th inclusive, you may fish the rivers during this time if you are after trout or eels, but you must use tackle and tactics to suit the species being sought, don't do as one chap did down our way on the river when he got caught fishing in the close season, he told the EA bailiff he was eel fishing, problem was he had maggots as bait and was using regular fresh water tackle, he got a hefty fine from the courts in the end.

If you want to try eating fresh water fish, go to Tesco's etc and buy it, they sell a range of UK fresh water fish over the counter, all of which were farmed for the table.

If you have to take from the wild please take sensibly and gain the permission of the controlling club/land owner to remove fish from their waters, also read the byelaws for the area in which you are in http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/fish/246986/255175/ to plead ingnorance of the byelaws should you get caught is no defence in a court of law.

I know for a fact as the Chief Bailiff and Fishery Manager for the club im in, that if anyone was caught removing fish from our waters without good reason or permission, be that our lakes or the rivers we control, then we and indeed the EA would not hesitate to prosecute them for what basically amounts to theft.

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Have eaten Zander in the past, that was pleasent, if a bit bony