OK so it looks like I am going to need a bit of advise about fishing.

[assman]

My nephew has asked that i take him and a friend fishing. I am an urban guy and except for skiing, really know dick about the great outdoors.

this will be lake fishing. My understanding is that there are stocked trout, bluegills and crappies (why the fuck would anyone fish for something named crappie?)

The big questions are what do I do if we actually catch fish? Do I gut them right there in the boat? If I do and dump the guts overboard won't that tip off the rest of the fish that bad shits happening? Do I need to scale these things? Is it possible to filet fish smaller than 12"? Are they even worth keeping or is this a toss back experience? Why would my sister even begin to think I am the guy for this job?

I think the kids want to eat what they catch but I'm probably hitting the fish store prior to this trip. I'll buy a few trout fillets in case I don't like the look of whats in the boat.

[gatorboy]

Teach them catch-and-release. Then tell the boys a few of your stories. What is said on the boat, stays on the boat.

[HD333]

Teach them catch-and-release. Then tell the boys a few of your stories. What is said on the boat, stays on the boat.

+ 1
Lake fishing, "maybe" gut a smallish trout and cook it whole wrapped in foil over a fire on the shore and everyone pick at it.

Catch and release is the way to go.

If they are old enough give them a few warm beers and they will never forget it.

[that dude who did that thing]

Spinning rods, worms, bobbers, see ifthe tackle shop has "circle hooks", catch and release. The circle hooks make it harder for the fish to swallow the hook, making release much easier, but don't be shy about just cutting the line and leaving the hook in the fish if you cannot easily release. The hook will rust away in a few days.

[hutash]

Lake fish, any cheap ass rod and reel will work. A bobber, bait, worms, salmon eggs, barbless hook. Through back what you catch and buy of fille-o-fish sandwich on the way home. Agreed on the beers if kids are old enough, if your sister finds out you will never have to do it again, if she doesn't the boy's will have the time of their life, win/win.

[Ccard257]

I'm gonna disagree on the catch and release. I think cleaning (or at least watching someone clean, depending on their age) and eating what you catch is a great experience for kids. No need to clean them in the boat, just put them in an ice chest or live well and take care of them at home. for smaller panfish remove head, gut, scale, and fry whole. Crappie is a great eating fish. I usually fillet them.

[Shredhead]

You don't clean them till your done fishing. My kids loved just fishing off the dock. Every morning after my dawn patrol water ski, I stop and get a dozen donuts and a dozen night crawlers.

[Caucasian Asian]

Catch and release unless they're willing to kill, clean, and eat what they catch.

Fishing is about getting out and relaxing and enjoying a day. If it was about catching fish, it would be called catching.

[flyandski365]

I'm gonna disagree on the catch and release. I think cleaning (or at least watching someone clean, depending on their age) and eating what you catch is a great experience for kids. No need to clean them in the boat, just put them in an ice chest or live well and take care of them at home. for smaller panfish remove head, gut, scale, and fry whole. Crappie is a great eating fish. I usually fillet them.

2nded. A word of warning though - if you've never filleted a fish before, don't just assume you'll be good at it. The kids will love eating what they catch, I always do.

Also check for fishing license requirements. Not sure on the laws in your state but you need one, the kids may or may not. It may sound unlikely, but in the event that it happens a $180 ticket will put you in a bad mood.

[krp8128]

You all fail with your logical responses.


Can you throw?

[Timberridge]

there are stocked trout, bluegills and crappies

Fishing with kids can be fun...if you are catching fish. You don't mention how old the kids are but unless you are Bear Gryllis and need to prove some sort of survivalist point, skip the filleting and eating and buy a pizza on the way home. These smaller fish are all full of bones and you are more likely to need to go to the emergency room after one of the kids chokes on a fish bone.

To maximize your chance of catching something, you'll catch sunfish all day long with bobbers and worms. Beats swapping lures all the time. Small spinners are also ok.

Also with kids, I suggest using spincast reels so you are not untangling line all day.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

Fileting small trout is silly, and most trout are small. Sure, you have bones to deal with but it's not that big of a deal if they're cooked right (see below).

When you catch one, whack it over the head just above or slightly behind the eyeballs a couple times with a knife handle. Sharp, forceful blows are the key. If you do it right, 2-3 blows maximum.

Fish, especially trout, are predators, carnivores, AND cannibals. If you caught one fish, gutted it and threw it's guts in the water it would be "chumming" which is where you throw food in the water to attract fish. I caught and cleaned a smallish trout in a mountain lake last summer, hucked the guts as far as I could out into the lake and about a half hour later caught a nice, large trout and when I cleaned it I found the guts I'd thrown out in it's stomach.

Here's a great way to cook trout:

Cut them into steaks/chunks about 1-2" depending on the size of the fish.
Dredge chunks through egg.
Roll egg-dipped chunks in seasoned breadcrumbs (I like the Progresso Italian seasoned ones).
Fry in a 50/50 mix of butter and olive oil. Use plenty of this mixture, don't get it too hot (if it's smoking, it's too hot).

Turn the chunks several times while cooking. They're done when the meat is opaque, flakes easily, and just falls off the bone. Don't overcook them.

Or, skip the breadcrumbs and egg, and just sprinkle the chunks with dry italian dressing mix when you put them in the pan.

[irul&ublo]

OK so it looks like I am going to need a bit of advise about fishing

I advise you to learn how to spell advice

[Tippster]

None of my fishing buddies would have considered the one on the right a keeper. Then again we were usually in areas with daily catch limits.

pie is good eatin'. we cut off the head at the gills, gut, scale, dredge in flour, egg, and cornmeal and fry the fuckers in a cast iron pan over a campfire. Fish falls off the bone - a litte cut just above the tail and you can peel the backbone off the fillet, flip and repeat.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

There were three of us and the limit is two each. We knew there were fish in there but no idea on size. Some high lakes the one on the right is as big as they get and since that was the first one we caught, we kept it. We quickly realized there were a lot of bigger fish in there and ended up throwing back a bunch in that middle size range.

[Lone Star]

Spinning rods, worms, bobbers, see ifthe tackle shop has "circle hooks", catch and release. The circle hooks make it harder for the fish to swallow the hook, making release much easier, but don't be shy about just cutting the line and leaving the hook in the fish if you cannot easily release. The hook will rust away in a few days.

Lake fish, any cheap ass rod and reel will work. A bobber, bait, worms, salmon eggs, barbless hook. Through back what you catch and buy of fille-o-fish sandwich on the way home. Agreed on the beers if kids are old enough, if your sister finds out you will never have to do it again, if she doesn't the boy's will have the time of their life, win/win.

If you're going to be (bait) fishing, you're going to be killing fish. You might as well eat them. If you want to catch and release them so they can live for more than 24 hours, ditch the bait and the treble hooks.

[stfu&gbtw]

Fuck bait... What you need is this:

[snapt]

wrong forum jong.

[Jer]

IMO Panfish and trout taste like shit. I'd eat them in a survival situation, but then again I'd eat bugs too.

Also IMO lake fishing is boring as hell. What's the fun of fishing if you can't slip and be swept down class 5 rapids?

If you want to decrease your chances of landing fish, take a needle-nose pliers and crimp down the barbs on all your hooks.

[assman]

I advise you to learn how to spell advice

oh hey, thanks now what do you know about fishing?

[Tech Tonics]

trout taste like shit.

Also IMO lake fishing is boring as hell. What's the fun of fishing if you can't slip and be swept down class 5 rapids?
.

So trout tastes like shit and you fish class V?

You've never actually been in class five, have you?

[guroo270]

Fuck bait... What you need is this:

Fish along the banks. Fish like to attack food where they can kinda trap it, or at least go after it where it has fewer options to get away. My buddy is a collegiate fisherman and I went out on his boat with him, and I usually never catch a fish. We went up and down the banks a small lake, casting towards the shore and caught about 20 fish in a few hours.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

^^its also about where food is most abundant. There are a lot fewer ants, grasshoppers, other misc. bugs, frogs, salamanders, worms, etc out in the middle of a decent sized lake. That stuff all tends to be along the shorelines and thus is often where the big fish hang out. All depends on the lake though and what the fish are eating.

[Tippster]

^^its also about where food is most abundant. There are a lot fewer ants, grasshoppers, other misc. bugs, frogs, salamanders, worms, etc out in the middle of a decent sized lake. That stuff all tends to be along the shorelines and thus is often where the big fish hang out. All depends on the lake though and what the fish are eating.

...and which depth you're fishing. Lake trout will almost always be bigger than stream, but you're not gonna fly-fish for the hogs.

[Chainsaw_Willie]

I think it's more like which species you're after. Only a few of the biggest lakes around here have lake trout in them, and you ain't gonna catch 'em with bobbers and worms, either.

I gotta get a boat. I know where they are and how to catch them, just don't have a way to get out to them.