Do not eat the fish

[lbean]

Is it a general rule of thumb that you can not eat fish in the US or are there still fresh water lakes and streams where it is safe to eat the fish you catch?

 

[dinosaur]

There are plenty of smaller inland lakes that are clean and have wonderful fish. There are also some larger man made lakes like Lake Sam Rayburn in Texas, and Pomme De Terre in Missouri that have excellent fishing and clean fish. Don't eat anything out of the Great Lakes.

 

[jason]

I eat the fish caught here. With the exception of the retention ponds in neighborhoods.

 

[dinosaur]

Ever cruise the Okeefenokee? There's some really big bass in there. Of course there are also some pretty big alligators.

 

[Alliegator]

It really depends upon where they are. I think you're supposed to limit your intake if they are caught in some places. We fish in a public lake that is safe to fish in though so we don't have any trouble.

 

[Dougdad]

Dino, I have lived in MI all my life and have ate fish from the great lakes all my life, I am still alive! The issue with the Great lakes is not as bad as some think, it is all blown out of proportion. They recommend no more then 3 meals a week because some areas of the lakes have a natural mercury level that fluxuates. All states have issues to one degree or another, read the warnings in the rule books provided at the licence agents when you purchase your state licence.

 

[hikinboot]

I think the biggest problem with the fish is indeed the mercury because too much is not good, it can cause metal poisoning and can interfere with some medications.

 

[dinosaur]

Dino, I have lived in MI all my life and have ate fish from the great lakes all my life, I am still alive! The issue with the Great lakes is not as bad as some think, it is all blown out of proportion.

Dougdad, I have lived in Northwestern Indiana and Chicago all my life other than some interesting sojourns around the world. I have eaten fish from lakes Michigan, Superior, and Erie and at least I think I'm still alive. My comment was tongue-in-cheek hoping someone like you would answer it. The fact is, all but the most polluted waters in the U.S. have fish that are safe to eat.

The Michigan City Pier is only a handful of miles from me and the perch are excellent fare. When I was a small boy, my daddy said to me: "Son, if you believe ANYTHING the government tells you, you're a fool." That doesn't mean that the government is always wrong. But you need to check it out yourself because they are notorious liars.

 

[Pumpy]

I wonder if that blue algae stuff in Ohio has made a difference. I know blue algae is toxic and closed the lakes. Do you think the blue algae in those lakes makes the fish unsafe to eat?

 

[Dougdad]

When in doubt Pumpy contact your local Department of Natural Resources Biologists. They are the gooroos of safe eating :tinysmile_hmm_t: so they say LOL

Thanks for clearing that up for me Dino. :tinysmile_twink_t2:

 

[Frederico]

I try not to think about this too much - I want to believe that the fish I catch is safe for me to eat. I guess most fish must have some levels of mercury in the flesh. I also think that fish which eat other fish may have higher concentrations than other fish in the same locality (eg: pickerel, bass) also that older fish must have more mercury in them than younger fish.

 

[dinosaur]

When in doubt Pumpy contact your local Department of Natural Resources Biologists. They are the gooroos of safe eating :tinysmile_hmm_t: so they say LOL

Thanks for clearing that up for me Dino. :tinysmile_twink_t2:

No problem, Dougdad. Usually, the DNR will provide you with a guy who knows what he is talking about. You can discern this by talking to him or her at length. Most of them are good guys but they learn a lot from a classroom and not from actual experience. Once you get old, you know that some of the things they tell you are absolute bullcrap because you've seen it firsthand and you know better.

This is why Smokey the Bear was a good guy, then he was removed from circulation and now he's back again. Crap in the woods, don't crap in the woods. Kill the animals, don't kill the animals, kill the animals. Don't take the fish, take the fish over a certain size, take all the fish, take none of the fish. Other than chemical spills, take what you need and leave the rest. Never hunt an area off in its' entirety. Leave something for those who come after you.

I own a large tract of land that I hunt and fish. I have had DNR people tell me that Bluegill cannot winter in 6 feet of water. Why do I have a bluegill fishery that includes a pond that never exceeds six feet? The same people have told me that bluegill will not breed until they are three inches in length. They have also told me that bass will not breed until they have acheived a length of twelve inches. Bullshit!

Like humans, age has more to do with breeding characteristics than size. The people who are teaching you have watched very carefully in a controlled laboratory setting that defies nature. Nature always finds a way and the way to approach your DNR is to figure that they have no clue. They've been watching films and learning things that are absolute nonsense. They're right about a lot of things. They're wrong about a lot of things. That's why they keep changing their minds.

Never trust the government. Their lying.