Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose "Trash Fish Continued"

I can't post a reply on the first thread so have to start another.

The issue is what makes a species desireable for fishing. I think there are two parts to this.

Most people go fishing hoping to catch something to eat. This certainly isn't subsistence fishing but rather people like to eat fish they have caught themselves. In our fast food society, species that are easy to clean and easy to cook have the upper hand. Thankfully, there are many exceptions to this. Many people like to eat carp, Winnepeg smoked goldeye are loved in Canada and many people like pickled northern pike.

A smaller group fish for "trophy fish". These are usually top predators but sometimes are just big fish such as sturgeon.

Species that don't fit into one of these categories are usually considered "trash fish". Think of green sunfish or bullheads.

In our area, goldeyes are considered "trash fish". Many people slit their throats and throw them back when they catch them. I consider them a great species in our lake. They jump and fight like the dickens.

This is a good subject for us to discuss and I'd like to hear other ideas.

Just like HSB that still catch forage fish even though fed regularly, humans with a million years (give or take) of hunting and gathering still have the (often suppressed) instinct to gather our own food. I always have a special, satisfied feeling when I go to bed after putting fillets in the freezer, even if they were off of a single 6" BG.

Pursueing trophy fish is, to me, like hunting trophy animals (nothing wrong with either one). It's an emphasis you may take on after you learn the basics; you may move out of it later in life.

Sometimes I think the wisest (and/or the laziest) fisherman I know is my son. He once asked if it was OK if he didn't bait the hook, just wanted to relax with no stress. I've never checked to see if he started putting bait on again.

One of my ponds has both big bulleads (up to 3# ) and greensunfish 8-9" long. I find both to be excellent fighters and decent eating. For some strange reason they keep each other in check and have for as long as I remember.
I think the true definition of sport fish is a fish caught just for the thrill of catching it....it has nothing at all to do with flavor, ease of cleaning, ect.

h20fwlkillr,

I'm with you on game fish characteristics. There are numerous obvious examples of game fish that are not now nor have ever been suitable for eating. I believe also there is no such thing as a "trash fish".

One man's trash is another man's treasure. What makes fish desirable to me are the taste, the fight, and compatibility with my pond's ecosystem.

Carp, shad, catfish, bowfin, green sunfish, goggle eye, and gar to name a few, are not welcome in my pond. They have at least 1 trait I can not live with. Therefore, I consider them trash fish. But there are millions of people who will swear I'm wrong.

I'm glad it's my pond and I can choose for myself. If a committee decided what species had to go into it, I would probably convert it to a landfill. :p

I was at the pond Wednesday and a neighbor, with his wife and baby stopped near by to fish. There are oil palm trees planted next to me and the owner has cut drainage ditches across his property to channel the flow of ground water away from the tree roots. The ditches are a track hoe wide and about 3’ deep. During the dry season, 5 months this year, these ditches are bone dry. Anyway, the guy walked out along the ditch with his cast net and proceeded to work the length of it catching several 1 ½ to 2” fish on each cast. Never once did he toss one back and he caught maybe 10 tops. He waved goodbye and he and the family left me sitting there with my custom breed Nile Tilapia and imported South American Pacu pondering what “game fish “ I was going to plant.. I don’t think there are many “trash” fish in my area.

Rad,

What a terrific post! I've tried to say, three times now, that there is no such thing as a trash fish. You said it beautifully. Better than I ever could have.

There is something in our culture, something I just don't understand that requires us to label anything that is not what we perceive as good to be trash. I see this all the time and frankly do not understand it. How can anything so marvelous as a fish be labeled trash by anyone? It is just mind boggeling to me. I do not understand it.

Hey ML, Know of any "trash birds"?

Just because they are undesirable in my pond does not mean I literally consider them trash. "Trash fish" is a colloquialism everyone is familiar with and understands. I used it because I could not think of a PC term. Somehow "fish non grata" doesn't sound quite right. :p

Dave,

I was expecting that question, and understand the apparent inconsistency....actually I thought Theo would be the first to ask it, but he must be busy getting the hay in...which is what I should be doing now that we got a couple of inches of rain

For the Pond Boss record, I never called the double hooted cormorant a trash bird...may have referred to the bird as a vile, destructive, scum sucking Jabba-the-hut creature that doesn't know when to stop eating fish, but never a "trash Bird". The less than admiring moniker of water turkey may have even been used, on occasion.

Ok, if your point is that I'm inconsistent, then I'm guilty. My passion for fish has been a lifelong affair. I actually began transporting fish from a small creek by bucket and bicycle some 7 hilly miles to my Missouri family farm pond at the tender age of 8....and have been doing something similar ever since. As long as my body allows, and until my time comes, I will be involved in fish and fishing.

There are less desirable fish, certainly when being considered for the closed pond environment. But in my eyes, none are trash. If that's inconsistent, then so be it...but don't expect me to treat water turkeys with any respect!

ML, no explanation needed. That was a "gotcha".

ML, that was 7 miles up hill both ways, no doubt!
By the way, when does water turkey seas...er, when does the majestic double whatever cormorant migrate to Lk Livingston area? I have this new monocular that I am dieing to use to get a close up view of them. Maybe I can do some 'bird watching' this fall. I work 4 on and 4 off; maybe I could help you 'relocate' some that get lost from the flock at the lake roosts. I sure would hate to see the demise of the catfish feeding grounds. I may spot other species of poachers.

Theo, that is a great comment regarding your son; warn him that your HBG may be so aggressive as to bite an empty hook, or so the advertisements say. I have never done the empty hook deal, but have placed it in non productive water and hoped for one not to bite.

BM,

The first emissaries usually start arriving in late October. Last year it actually wasn't until late December that they came en mass, presumably because of the warm winter we had.

I usually set up an "observation" area, consisting of one of those one person camoflouged (sp?) hunting blinds. Once in the area, they are amazingly consistent. You can almost set your watch by their arrival each morning...between 7:30 and 8:15 without fail and often times straight up 8:00. You could come on up, take in the morning "viewing" and still have time for a full days activities.

Another prime viewing time is around 10:30 in the morning depending upon how much viewing happened at 8:00

p.s. funny you mentioned the uphill both ways...it actually seemed that way to the little kid that I was