Killing Zander

[Elton]

Last month, I published a reply by Matt Hayes regarding his views on killing zander. This can be seen here. I received a few emails about it, but not as many as I might have expected.

 

A while back, I printed a picture of some dead pike (taken, I hasten to add, in a country where they are an everyday food source). I got inundated with emails.

 

Why the difference?

 

Tight lines,

 

Elton

[Hereford_angler]

Strange? Im Polish in origin and spend my childhood eating resh lure caught pike. I even had carp every Christmas. After about 9 years of fishing and living in England i am dead againts killing eny species of fish. I even find myself stopping friends from killing rainbow trout for the pan. I dont understnad the big killing zander thing. What do they do thats so bad?

[Ken L]

I have to agree with Mr Hayes.

Strange how the chuck em up the bank comments don't seem to apply to the chub, trout and grayling that take my lures but only to those species that don't readily take a maggot on a #22 hook.

I say that if you don't intend to eat it, put it back unharmed.

[Guest kingfisher]

Mmm.

You are out one day doing a bit of spinning and you accidently catch a mink, do you kill it and throw it on the bank, put it back, or take it home to eat?

Same applies to cormrants?

 

Well if I catch a Zander in areas where know they arn't normally found them I'm sorry but I would dispatch it swiftly.

[Newt]

Gosh Joe King - it certainly is wonderful to know that someone is willing to follow any and all EA rules to the letter. Mean old pred fish - who needs em?

 

Don't even think about trying to eat a mink or cormorant though. They would taste very nasty.

 

And do be sure to speak soothingly (while unhooking it) to any mink you happen to catch. That way you will probably have at least one or two fingers still on your hand when you have finished.

[Nugg]

AS THE AUTHOR of the above mentioned letter to M.H., I whole heartedly agree with every word that he said in his reply.

I have'nt been lucky enough too hook into a Z since I wrote that, and there was also a prolonged debate on this forum "Why kill Zander" a while back. I would definately NOT do any intentional harm to a Z now, I think I got a bit carried away upon finding out the official views on the matter, at the time of writing the said letter.

I hadn't seen his reply until now, and I thank him for his valued opinion on the return to the water of Zander.

[chesters1]

i expect mink and corm are preferable to eating fox ..yuk ,and a free glove with the mink

[Bruno Broughton]

Newt:

Don't even think about trying to eat a mink or cormorant though. They would taste very nasty.

That's not strictly true - cormorants are eaten in several Nordic countries, and I talked recently to a group of Norwegian hunters & anglers who had eaten them. "Quite good" but "Rather rich" were typical comments.

 

Apparently, you just eat the breast meat, of which there isn't THAT much per bird. Guess you'd need to waste a flock for a feast.But in certain areas the regular consumption of cormorants could lead to health problems because - being top-of-the-food-chain predators -they (bio)accumulate several nasties, notably mercury.

 

I'll leave you lot to think up the punch lines...

 

[ 04 July 2002, 12:06 AM: Message edited by: Bruno Broughton ]

[phil hackett]

Is Pete away???

[Hereford_angler]

Right! Ive got it now . You want to kill good old pike/perch because they dont originally come from that piece of water . But thats a teribble reason! That is how comercial ponds are made. Fish are put into them unaturally ? I have never caught a zander and i dont think there is eny places near me that hold them but i would be happy to catch one (and put it back). They cant do eny more damage that a group of perch!