New to this... and looking for some help!

[Tomaoz]

Hi... I'm looking to try my hand and some coarse fishing this summer, and I'm hoping for some recommendations. I'd ideally like to find some family-friendly spots that will provide tuition to both myself and two youngsters. I'm going to be all around the UK, so I'm happy to roam just about anywhere! I was also hoping some of you lot could suggest some locations where we could 'cook our catch' - that's if we manage to hook anything! All suggestions gratefully received. Thanks - Tom, London.

[Eddie]

Tomaoz:

I was also hoping some of you lot could suggest some locations where we could 'cook our catch' - that's if we manage to hook anything!  Tom, London.

Hi Tom and welcome to the board, as the UK tends to be a catch and release society, where coarse fish are concerned, I suggest you try this request on the "Sea Fishing" and "Fly Fishing" sections of the board. For what its worth catching certain coarse fish and cooking them on the bank can lead to hospitalization in certain parts of this country, so for the childrens sake I suggest you abstain.

[Tomaoz]

Thanks Eddie - my ignorance has let me down here! I'll repost on the other boards... No offence meant!

[Wag]

To be honest Tom, you wouldn't want to eat most of the fish that come out of our rivers (and I do speak from experience).

The only really tasty species are Perch, Pike, Eels and Gudgeon (which are really small - you'd need a few to make a decent sandwich).

 

If you want to fly-fish there are lots of waters that allow the taking of a limited number of fish for the pot, mostly Rainbow Trout, but what the reaction would be if you cooked one up at the waterside might be interesting.

 

Sea fishing is only really restricted by size limits, and most sea fish are edible. Sea anglers also tend to be a bit less sentimental than their inland counterparts, and fish cooked fresh from the sea are by far the tastiest I've ever had. Ask locals for advice on which species are available at the time.

[Newt]

Or you could do what I do on occasion when I want to fish and want to eat fish.

 

Buy some already cleaned fish and bring them with you. Then catch and release. When you are hungry, cook what you brought.

 

All the fun of the fishing and none of the mess of having to clean the beasties before you can cook em.

 

And BTW - I live where it would be perfectly fine to keep my catch and have it for lunch. But the other way is IMO just more fun.

 

[ 30. May 2003, 03:13 PM: Message edited by: Newt ]

[Peter Waller]

Tom, as has been said perch make good eating, but a returned fish makes for more catching, and probably at a higher weight!

 

I'm told that Zander are good eating and so are eels. But should you eat them, which seems a perfectly reasonable thing to do, you will be depriving your fellow sportsmen from their chance of catching that fish. And that's why I would rather that people didn't livebait! But that's another thread!

 

As a matter of interest carp were first introduced into this country purely as a food source. So, if you must eat your catch, may I respectively suggest that you leave pike (especially), barbel, roach, bream, eels and perch off the menue, and go for a nice shoulder of baked carp. Afterall, it's what carp were bred for . Mrs Beaton has a recipe in her book, Delia Smith doesn't.

 

P.S. Don't fire the barby up in public.

[Bruno Broughton]

Tom

 

I must assume that you are the same Tom Chapman who sent me an email today regarding the guide you are compiling on 'things to do with kids'. (The 'family-friendly' and 'cook your catch' references are give-aways!)

 

Be aware that virtually all coarse fisheries operate a catch-and-release rule, and you will get into very deep water (and be faced with possible litigation) if you start bonking coarse fish on the head, cooking and then eating them. That includes carp, especially - ignore Peter Waller's wind-up about that species. He won't turn up as your expert witness in court, for sure.

 

Stick to trout (where allowed) or sea fish and you should be OK.

 

Better still, instill it your children the ethic that catching and then releasing fish unharmed is admirable. There is a wonderous pride to be gained from outwitting, hooking, landing, admiring and returning unharmed any fish.

[Brian Crawford]

Be advised, eels are not at all worthy of eating.

 

They are very slimy fish, difficult to skin, hard to kill, their blood is poisonous, very nasty and should be returned at once to the water!

 

Brian Crawford

[Apache]

If you are interested in trout fishing i suggest you go to http://www.sheephousetroutfishery.co.uk (where I fish) which is just the London side of Maidenhead and is very good. The trout taste good as well.

[Peter Waller]

Brian Crawford:

Be advised, eels are not at all worthy of eating.

 

They are very slimy fish, difficult to skin, hard to kill, their blood is poisonous, very nasty and should be returned at once to the water!

 

Brian Crawford

But remember Tom is a Londoner and Londoners like eels and mash! Strange taste, but Londoners are Londoners, pity, can't be helped , someone has to live there! Actually I'm not so sure about that, all of the nice city folk have moved up here!!!

 

Bruno, what, me wind anyone up! Heavens forbid. But what you say does not apply to river carp. But in a perfect world it would apply to all fish over, rather than under certain sizes.

 

Tom, as Bruno says, teach the kids to respect their catch and return it ALIVE!