Eating Fish from the Red?

[IceBrit]

A buddy of mine told me the other day I shouldn't be eating the fish I catch in the Red at Selkirk (SUgar ISland), something to do with sewage.  I checked the mercury levels online and they are fine!

Does eveyone eat from the Red???

[reel]

A buddy of mine told me the other day I shouldn't be eating the fish I catch in the Red at Selkirk (SUgar ISland), something to do with sewage.  I checked the mercury levels online and they are fine!

Does eveyone eat from the Red???

....yes I do (and know lots of others who do ) but only during ice fishing season and mostly smaller fish 

[IceBrit]

smaller fish from a mercury standpoint?

[zeus]

It is in my opinion, not dangerous to eat fish from the Red. Mind you the only fish I eat are Walleye. Ask yourself where does the water from the Red end up. Obviousley in a diluted state. Would you go out and eat pickerel in a restaurant? Many are caught in nets sited at the mouth of the Red. I read somewhere, that one would have to eat it every meal of ones life for the mercury levels to be harmful. If at all.
P.S. Where in Britain are you from?
The Cod one eats could be from the West coast.Supposedly the fish caught in and around that area are contaminated by SELLAFIELD, Nuclear waste processing plant. Ask youself, would you decline fish and chips in Blackpool, I sure wouldn't. zeus

[KIWICO]

my opinion would be to eat only the green back walleye as these come from the big lake, i wouldnt eat the sauger as they sit in the river all the time . My own opinion though.

[zeus]

Not wishing to be controversial, But some greens and Sauger remain in the red during the summer months. As for only eating the smaller ones, that goes without saying. We should release all of the biggies.
Perhaps someone could put me right here with regards to the Sauger, as I was of the opinion that they came into the river in the Autumn also. Don't see many caught in the Summer.

[KIWICO]

I personally catch tons of sauger in the summertime so I know they stay in that river. I am sure that some greens stick around but I would say the majority leave for the big lake. 

[zeus]

Thanks for the info Kiwico, I stand corrected
Where do you get them on the Red in Summer, and what rig do you use. zeus

[IceBrit]

It is in my opinion, not dangerous to eat fish from the Red. Mind you the only fish I eat are Walleye. Ask yourself where does the water from the Red end up. Obviousley in a diluted state. Would you go out and eat pickerel in a restaurant? Many are caught in nets sited at the mouth of the Red. I read somewhere, that one would have to eat it every meal of ones life for the mercury levels to be harmful. If at all.
P.S. Where in Britain are you from?
The Cod one eats could be from the West coast.Supposedly the fish caught in and around that area are contaminated by SELLAFIELD, Nuclear waste processing plant. Ask youself, would you decline fish and chips in Blackpool, I sure wouldn't. zeus

You are right, I eat the fish in England and I'm convinced that the fish a 10 times cleaner in Manitoba

[zeus]

There you go. Catch, cull, eat and enjoy. Townie. zeus.
I really love this one

[MNT MIKE]

Not wishing to be controversial, But some greens and Sauger remain in the red during the summer months. As for only eating the smaller ones, that goes without saying. We should release all of the biggies.
Perhaps someone could put me right here with regards to the Sauger, as I was of the opinion that they came into the river in the Autumn also. Don't see many caught in the Summer.

The Greenbacks Do not stay in the river or they wouldnt have the "greenback" they do migrate back to the lake!

[Popsicle]

If I do eat eyes from the river I like to keep the smaller ones and release the nice ones.

I've been able to catch Red River Walleye in the summer months. There is a power line crossing the river just north of Cats on the red. It's been one of my fav. spots along with lower fort garry and the area by the steam plant. These areas have produced eyes all summer.

I do believe that the big ones do migrate to and from the big lake.

I have also noticed that there are years when, if the winter walleye fishing is slow on the river that the fall migration may have headed to the Winnipeg river. ie. Pine falls.

[Pembina]

Fish taste fine!  I bought some Cheese Bits and apparently they have Tartrazine, Amylase, Protease and Palm oil containing TBHQ at least I know what color mercury is.  Doctor told my Dad, "If you want to live longer don't breathe the air!"  Keep fishing, odds are in your favour they don't breathe in the polluted air. 

[Skiff]

The smaller to average size fish (any species) in the Red River are safe to eat.  In fact I eat almost anything - the only species I haven't eaten are the ones I haven't caught yet.  However - - - and this is important - I avoid the larger members of any species, particularly walleye, pike and channel cats which feed on other fish,  primarily because they have had a longer lifetime to build up contaminants.  As each level of the food chain concentrates the contaminants from those below it, by the time you get to the predatory fish, they can have relatively high concentrations.  But even then, an occasional meal of a big pike will not harm you.  Follow the Manitoba Government guidelines, particularly if you're pregnant or a woman of child-bearing age, and you'll be OK. 

As for the sewage question - the flesh of all animals is sterile. If you clean the fish properly, there should be few if any bacteria on the meat you're going to eat.  And besides, unless you eat the fish raw, cooking will destroy any harmful bugs that remain.

I like eating walleye, sauger, pike, goldeye, and bullheads.  Drum are good if you cut the dark central line out of the fillet, and channel cats up to 3 - 4 lbs are delicious if you BBQ or smoke them.  Enjoy! - I do!

[Shack Man]

Thanks for the reply Skiff, coming from you that puts my mind to rest about the issue

[blue igloo]

Thanks for the reply Skiff, coming from you that puts my mind to rest about the issue

You got that right Shackman.....Skiff knows his stuff when it comes to fish  8)
Garage doors on the other hand.....that's a different story 
Blue Igloo 

[Deeker]

 Well I find them very muddy tasting....just like the ones from Whitemouth lake....still eat em, but not crazy about the muddy taste.

[corny13]

I grew up in Grand Forks and was a riverrat from the beginning..all my early fishing was handlining on the Red. I wouldnt eat anything that came out of the Red.... the stuff they use to dump in the river is still probably there.. it was just plain old nasty and even killed off the carp at times.  I remember when Old Dutch Potatoe chips had a plant on the Red and dumped raw sewage that was kind of dayglo green into the Red.

[Skiff]

  8)
Garage doors on the other hand.....that's a different story 
Blue Igloo 

Yeah well..... When you figure that the open back hatch on a van will clear the garage door..... and it did....but the stem of the windshield wiper won't, then aluminum doors crumple like an accordian...... da*n! 

[sled-in]

I tried eating fish from the red once, it just didn't taste as good as fish from our lake, so I do the catch and release thing.

[firefighter]

I don't care much for the taste of walleye or sauger from the Red. IMO as soon as one cut's into a fish with a fillet knife that "old Lockport" smell is immediately detectable. I don't feel any health issues would arise from normal consumption of fish from the Red. I do catch and smoke goldeye caught in the Red and love it!

FF

[MNT MIKE]

A few years ago I thought I would keep some sauger that I caught at LP ice fishing. When I fried them up they were mushy not a good texture at all!

[BoSmith]

I have eaten the odd sauger from the Red, tell you the truth, I didn't really notice any difference. The way I see it, if the water was really that bad (other than the merc. levels), fish would not be able to survive. They are living in the stuff, and we all know how sensitive they can be to adverse conditions.

[MNT MIKE]

I kept a sauger and a walleye yesterday from CIL and cooking it up for soon for lunch!

[blue igloo]

Yeah well..... When you figure that the open back hatch on a van will clear the garage door..... and it did....but the stem of the windshield wiper won't, then aluminum doors crumple like an accordian...... da*n! 

Sorry for dredging up bad memories for ya bud 
Blue Igloo