I'll let you in on something I don't do very often....

[dezza]

I ate a perch!

It was a fish of just over 1 lb. How I came by it was quite simple. A pike grabbed it as I was playing it in. The pike let go after a bit of a tug-of-war and I netted it, the perch of course.

It was obvious that the perch was dead, so I took it home, gutted it and fryed it in butter.

Served with mash and peas, it was truly magificent, the taste taking me back to the 50s when it was quite normal to bring home a perch or two.

Remember Patsy?

So did I do wrong? Old **** used to eat perch fairly regularly, and personally as the species is extremely prolific, do the Eastern Europeans have the perogative of a perch for supper?

 

[cheef87]

nowt wrong there plenty of perch everywhere,if it was say an eel would be dodgy tho!

 

[Lord Paul of Sheffield]

personally I'd have used it as a deadbait for the pike

 

[dezza]

If I'd had some pike tackle with me, I just might have done.

 

[barbelboi]

Taken from a holiday guide to Italy

Fish in Lake Garda
From carp to perch
Only a very few fisherman keep alive the ancient tradition of fishing in the lake, but thanks to their efforts you can enjoy the fish dishes typical of the lakeside communities' cuisine. A delicious large carp, a species unique to Lake Garda, a pike cooked fisherman-style, fried bleak, grilled chub or marinated fillet of perch ... these are just a few of the dishes to try.

 

[dezza]

As a person who has eaten virtually every freshwater species in the UK, Here is my list in terms of edibility, starting with number 1:

1: Zander - I've eaten quite a few, and any I catch never get put back. One of the best eating fish in the world.

2: Perch - truly excellent.

3: Eels - again very good. The ones we used to catch from the River Hull were the best I have ever eaten.

4: Salmon - wild fresh run fish are far better than the farmed ****.

5: Grayling - a lovely eating fish with the flavour of thyme.

6: Brown Trout - those caught from a stream are the best

7: Rainbow Trout - the smaller ones up to 2 lbs with pink flesh are the best.

8: Dace - that surprised you. Dace are excellent eaters.

9: Roach - again quite edible.

10: Tench - small ones baked with onion are quite passable.

11: Carp - as above.

12: Pike - as above. Fish over 5lbs are full of small bones.

13: Rudd - I wouldn't recommend them.

14: Barbel - I've never eaten one.

15: Bream - quite horrid.

16: Chub - Eeeeaaarrgghhh!!

In addition to the above, I have eaten gudgeon which are not at all bad.

 

[chavender]

I ate a perch!

It was a fish of just over 1 lb. How I came by it was quite simple. A pike grabbed it as I was playing it in. The pike let go after a bit of a tug-of-war and I netted it, the perch of course.

It was obvious that the perch was dead, so I took it home, gutted it and fryed it in butter.

Served with mash and peas, it was truly magificent, the taste taking me back to the 50s when it was quite normal to bring home a perch or two.

Remember Patsy?

So did I do wrong? Old **** used to eat perch fairly regularly, and personally as the species is extremely prolific, do the Eastern Europeans have the perogative of a perch for supper?

no nothing wrong ,three reasons its there in the bylaws and everyman should have the right to feed himself ,and thirdly by design we humans are hunter gathering omnivore's ,plus they do taste nice don't they ,theres nothing wrong with treating yourself every once in a while

and as you played your part in its demise (albeit a unwilling accumplice) its the very least you could do .waste not want not.

 

[beerweasel]

In my opinion you have done nowt wrong, back in the seventies I regularly took Pike,Perch,Eels and Trout for the table.
Now if a fish is a goner it's my dinner, unless your name is Piotr,Czeslaw or Franciszek Ksawery then I see it not worse than collecting
Blackberries or morels. :w

 

[Frank Elson]

I haven't eaten a freshwater fish in many a year, although like others on here I normally did in the 1950s.
I wouldn't have hesitated in the circumstances in which you got yours.

The perch is the best tasting fish of all - I have never eaten a zander - I was very happy in the days when the trout reservoirs insisted that all perch were killed.

 

[mol]

12: Pike - as above. Fish over 5lbs are full of small bones.

In addition to the above, I have eaten gudgeon which are not at all bad.

There is a skill to filleting pike that removes all the small bones. You take a fillet from the top of the back running to the tail and remove. That allows you to take two side fillets as you can see where the Y shaped bones start and leave the bones behind. The carcass has a rectangular shape when finished and quite a bit of meat left behind which is used for quenelles.

Gudgeon are renowned as a good eating fish where I live too and as a result a surprising popular fish to fish for.

The big problem in living in a country where all predators tend to go to the table is the lack of quality predator fishing. The small rivers seem almost devoid of pike due to the pressure. It's seems so sad when I walk into the tackle shops and all the pics of predators seem to be taken in a kitchen but it is their country.

 

[fishface1]

Nothing wrong with taking and eating the perch, as long as you have the permission of the club/fishing rights owner, otherwise I'm afraid you've comitted a criminal offence....

(and I agree - they do taste good!)

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

I very nearly had a zander in a restaurant the other day, but the pork loin got the vote in the end. Might have been nice though.

 

[Morespiders]

Your a murdering astard Mr Clay, no need for it in these enlightened times

 

[watatoad]

Soon will it be Otter burgers...I don't have any cooking instructions, so perhaps not.

 

[Philip]

As a person who has eaten virtually every freshwater species in the UK, Here is my list in terms of edibility, starting with number 1:

1: Zander - I've eaten quite a few, and any I catch never get put back. One of the best eating fish in the world.

2: Perch - truly excellent.

3: Eels - again very good. The ones we used to catch from the River Hull were the best I have ever eaten.

4: Salmon - wild fresh run fish are far better than the farmed ****.

5: Grayling - a lovely eating fish with the flavour of thyme.

6: Brown Trout - those caught from a stream are the best

7: Rainbow Trout - the smaller ones up to 2 lbs with pink flesh are the best.

8: Dace - that surprised you. Dace are excellent eaters.

9: Roach - again quite edible.

10: Tench - small ones baked with onion are quite passable.

11: Carp - as above.

12: Pike - as above. Fish over 5lbs are full of small bones.

13: Rudd - I wouldn't recommend them.

14: Barbel - I've never eaten one.

15: Bream - quite horrid.

16: Chub - Eeeeaaarrgghhh!!

In addition to the above, I have eaten gudgeon which are not at all bad.

I did actually eat Barbel once and it was awful.

I agree Zander are really good, honestly for anyone who has not tried it give it a go. Perch taste good but I just dont feel right eating them. I once spent a day catching them from a lake and then in the evening a restaurant close by was serving them on the menu so I thought why not and had a plate full of small ones. You could still see the black stripes on the skin. It just didnt seem right and although they tasted good I did not enjoy it. I have not eaten them since.

 

[Muffin]

In my opinion Barbel are great eating fish, but I do only take the double figure ones as they are much easier to fillet, best bbq'd in the swim where caught. Yum yum.

 

[Philip]

In my opinion Barbel are great eating fish, but I do only take the double figure ones as they are much easier to fillet, best bbq'd in the swim where caught. Yum yum.

I get the feeling Muffin might be taking the pee out of me.. but I should point out before anyone gets upset that it was actually a small one I caught as a kid in Italy (but I think it was still Barbus Barbus..). I caught it from a mountain stream along with some Trout and a few other fish and took them home for my mum who cooked them. I just remember the Barbel was horrible.

…but of course that’s just my opinion. Perhaps a double figure one from the Trent (apparently its “boiling” with them..) ..would be yummy…:wh

 

[fishface1]

Phillip,

You might consider yourself lucky as barbel (particularly the roe) can be toxic. Maybe that is why Muffin should be careful eating doubles as these are likely to be females.... However filletting them and only eating the shoulder and tail portion should reduce the risk of being poisoned....

 

[dezza]

You might consider yourself lucky as barbel (particularly the roe) can be toxic. Maybe that is why Muffin should be careful eating doubles as these are likely to be females.... However filletting them and only eating the shoulder and tail portion should reduce the risk of being poisoned

"Barbel are good fish on the fine tackle of a Nottingham angler, and look well in a glass case if they go anything over ten pounds, and this is all you can say for them. Charlie Hudson's granddaughter, who could cook freshwater fish with anybody, confessed herself beaten with barbel. We did try once or twice when I was down there to make something of one, but the woolly, watery flesh full of small and irritating bones was too much for us."

JW Martin ca 1906

 

[mark barrett 2]

As someone else pointed out unless you have the express permission of the riparian owner you have committed a criminal offence, personally Ron after your continuing desire to push the taking of zander at every opportuinity I hope someone takes this thread and reports you and the EA throw the effing book at you.