What's your "junk" fish? What is your "target" species?

[NoMe]

For me it's yellow perch, carp, and fall fish. I don't eat them and usually leave them on the ice.
I target trout and salmon but would keep and eat cusk and catfish.

[GrnDay33]

uh oh, here comes the throw the fish back posts..........

I consider pickeral a junk fish. Not what I target but throw them back anyways. And Perch, Gills, and Crappie are my target fish.

[musky mike]

Depends on the day

Pretty much any fish I'm not targeting that given day is annoying...

Nothing worse then trolling for walleye and getting a musky... Every time I think I've hooked a huge walleye...

[DasRottweiler]

Had a buddy meet sum guys last weekend and during the usual conversation; re: how ya doing ?what ya catchin?, the guy says "ifya catch any of them pickeral, make sure ya do the pickeral stomp."  Joker was with his 10yr old son. Nice things to teach the lil ones. Stomp something living to death, probably how Dahmer started out. If you are not an fisheries biologist or somehow certified in aquaculture etc, you don`t have the knowledge to make an accurate decision about what fish belongs where and in what numbers etc. You quite simply are uneducated in these matters , and should leave these things to more educated folk. Nuttin wrong with knowing yer limits.
   I too, dislike catching pickeral, but they go back down the hole until someone more intelligent than me about fisheries tells me different. My target fish are usually panfish, you know the ones most guys huck on the ice and call "junk" fish , at least where I live. Ya want yer kids to show respect, start showing it yerself.

[lewk24]

yellow perch, sunfish, suckers, mud puppies, and chub are junk fish to me...I either throw them back or leave them on the ice if I know eagles are around.

I am am trout and salmon fisherman mostly, but like to target pike as well...

Luke

[captain54]

TROUT ,SALMON and LAKERS,slim balls. (great coon bait) All white fleshed fish are homers,eyes,gills ,crappie, and yes sweet fleshed yellow perch. I don't live in Maine so we eat perch. The top 4 eating fish.

[DR.SPECKLER]

 the only junk fish to me is those little gobies in the rivers around here they are some spawn bag eating beasts when im steelie fishing..soon it will be the asian carp.

[Canadianiceguy]

the only junk fish to me is those little gobies in the rivers around here they are some spawn bag eating beasts when im steelie fishing..soon it will be the asian carp.

i will have to agree with ya on this one about the gobies. i really dont consider any fish "junk", they all play their part in the ecosystem.

[bmxrider11976]

no trash fish for me! ill take home perch, crappie and bluegill though. regardless of what is on my line that day though, i'm having fun!

[NoMe]

If there is no bag limit on the species I assume the biologist is telling me to thin them out. I don't need them to tell me personally, I read it in the regs.

[GCD]

All Bass are trash to me! Nothing more annoying than pulling in bass after bass when you're Crappie fishing. I take my pocket knife and poke both of their eyes out before I throw them back! ..................not really, I release all unwanted fish unharmed... one mans trash is another mans treasure yanno.

I'm pretty sure there are laws in all of our states against wanton waste of fish and game and maybe one of these days the "ice checkers" will get busted for it.

[jeffro9023]

Wow...my eyes are bleeding from reading that guys leave yellow perch on the ice...hmmm interesting stuff how the world survives with so many different views 

[Mainehazmt]

gotta target some perch..... how else you going to have the perch toss,  perch football or........

gotta feed them eagles!

[jeffro9023]

Hey I'm an eagle toss em over here! 

[rags]

any fish I catch is good , atleast with a mixed bag you never know what the next prize may be 

[iwantone2.4]

Nothing is junk to me. Theirs a way to fillet and make them taste great, just gotta learn how with some less commonly kept species.

[Loggy]

Ocassionaly will catch a fall fish or a carp which go back. to me their junk fish but to some...mebbie not.

[hnd]

i think most species that aren't invasive have their place.  i have a guy who owns a pond and occasionally asks i pull the smallish bass out of there (went out there last year and pulled out 50 bass less than 8") and i'll leave em on the ice for the eagles. 

most of my ice fishing is CPR anyway so everythign usually goes back.

[northernnyice]

Any kind of fish can offer something whether it's to the fishery or the angler. I don't much care for carp but we have some of the best carp fishing in the world in our area and our annual derby brings our community a lot of money. people come from Europe and all over the place to participate including notables such as the actor who plays Drako Malfoy in the Harry Potter series. He comes and fishes it. And the gobies, this invasive species of baitfish everyone is upset about. The sallies and walleyes are gorging on them and getting huge. More 10lb walleyes are being caught in the last few years than ever. The only thing that bugs me is when I get a medium sized sturgeon on and it's bulldogging me and it feels like a HUGE walleye, that's disappointing.

[bpfohler]

  I keep anything I'll eat when ice fishing,  perch,eye,crappie and pike.    Never keep bass through the ice (out of season anyway) and in the summer I practice C&R with everything.

[hnd]

Any kind of fish can offer something whether it's to the fishery or the angler. I don't much care for carp but we have some of the best carp fishing in the world in our area and our annual derby brings our community a lot of money. people come from Europe and all over the place to participate including notables such as the actor who plays Drako Malfoy in the Harry Potter series. He comes and fishes it. And the gobies, this invasive species of baitfish everyone is upset about. The sallies and walleyes are gorging on them and getting huge. More 10lb walleyes are being caught in the last few years than ever. The only thing that bugs me is when I get a medium sized sturgeon on and it's bulldogging me and it feels like a HUGE walleye, that's disappointing.

they always feel like hogs for like 15 seconds then it starts rolling and you are like, crap.

[NoMe]

uh oh, here comes the throw the fish back posts..........


You called it, LOL. Or should I say HAHAHAHAHAH!

[perch md]

For all you guys that say yellow perch are a garbage fish How many of you have actually eaten them? I know of guys that don't like any seafood and I  have cooked for them and have loved it  All i do is flour them put them in egg and bread them in crushed up ritz crackers  and seasonings to taste and fry them up  I will bet you if you cook them up like that you wont be throwing them on the ice for the eagles they will be in your bucket

[Loggy]

For all you guys that say yellow perch are a garbage fish How many of you have actually eaten them? I know of guys that don't like any seafood and I  have cooked for them and have loved it  All i do is flour them put them in egg and bread them in crushed up ritz crackers  and seasonings to taste and fry them up  I will bet you if you cook them up like that you wont be throwing them on the ice for the eagles they will be in your bucket

Agree...very close to eyes imo.  Great eatin fish!!

[lewk24]

I have fileted them out and they have been wormy...could have been a one time thing though.

I love white perch...I have just been brought up to think that yellow perch and sun fish (bluegills, pumpkin seeds) are junk fish you don't eat. I am open minded enough to try them though.

Luke

[northernnyice]

Agree...very close to eyes imo.  Great eatin fish!!

Yes sir. We deep dry pike walleye and perch together bread crumbed and it's difficult to tell the difference usually. Nice little crispy perch fillets are perfect one biters. Popcorn perch.

[northernnyice]

I have fileted them out and they have been wormy...could have been a one time thing though.

I love white perch...I have just been brought up to think that yellow perch and sun fish (bluegills, pumpkin seeds) are junk fish you don't eat. I am open minded enough to try them though.

Luke

Some are grubby most I find aren't. Have you ever watched In-Fisherman Ice Fishing Guide... Doug Stange himself ices up a decent pile of huge jumbo perch and talks about how DELICOUS they are and he plans to fillet them up for dinner.

[musky mike]

I have fileted them out and they have been wormy...could have been a one time thing though.

I love white perch...I have just been brought up to think that yellow perch and sun fish (bluegills, pumpkin seeds) are junk fish you don't eat. I am open minded enough to try them though.

Luke

that depends on where you catch them...

on clear bodies of water like the st.lawrence river.... perch have no worms...

they usually get wormy on small shallow water bodies that get very very warm in the summer...

[lewk24]

Some are grubby most I find aren't. Have you ever watched In-Fisherman Ice Fishing Guide... Doug Stange himself ices up a decent pile of huge jumbo perch and talks about how DELICOUS they are and he plans to fillet them up for dinner.

No I have not seen that...I will have the check it out.

Luke

[lewk24]

that depends on where you catch them...

on clear bodies of water like the st.lawrence river.... perch have no worms...

they usually get wormy on small shallow water bodies that get very very warm in the summer...

Yeah that makes sense. These were caught in a small pond that holds pickerel, large mouth bass, and little to no trout...it gets really warm in the summer.

Luke