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

[moosehunter]

yellow perch and largemouth bass. junk. salmon , trout and white perch. good.

[fishville]

There are no Junk fish, they're all fun when they are tugging on the line.

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.

Those are the people you hunt with a few times til it occurs to you that they are one good head bump away from switching from deer and bear and moving to humans.

[surflizard]

Deliberate Waste of a fishing resource, no matter what species, casts a negative light on ice fishermen and with with us losing more and more water accesses every year, this type of Ignorant Behavior only speeds up that process and hurts us as a group in the long run !! No matter how someone tries to Sugar coat it, be it the invasive species excuse or their own personal dislike of a certain species, it is considered Poaching from the legal aspect of the law and it is Unethical and Wrong !! Just my Honest Opinion !!

[NoMe]

I would try yellow perch if someone cooked it, but up here they also have the parasite/worms in them mostly. When I was downstate I caught and ate white perch and for a small fish perch give a good fight. I was also brought up believing that perch are junk fish. You guys that target perch, do you have trout/salmon near you? You know, game fish. I just can't see keeping and eating yellow perch when I can have trout/salmon. It would be like riding a Harley when I could ride a Yamaha or Honda.

[fishville]

Is it me or does it seem that bass/warmwater fishermen have an all fish are precious attitude, but "trout snubs" feel if it isn't a trout or a salmon it must die.

[GCD]

When I was downstate I caught and ate white perch and for a small fish perch give a good fight.

White Perch aren't even a Perch, they're a Temperate Bass kin to the White Bass and Striped Bass.

[Mainehazmt]

gotta feed them eagles!

[Canadianiceguy]

im sure eagles are quite capable of feeding themselves.

[tinyfisher]

I would try yellow perch if someone cooked it, but up here they also have the parasite/worms in them mostly. When I was downstate I caught and ate white perch and for a small fish perch give a good fight. I was also brought up believing that perch are junk fish. You guys that target perch, do you have trout/salmon near you? You know, game fish. I just can't see keeping and eating yellow perch when I can have trout/salmon. It would be like riding a Harley when I could ride a Yamaha or Honda.

We have plenty of trout, salmon, and perch around here.  All of which are considered GOLD!  The "if you think perch are gamefish then you must not fish for trout" argument is pretty lame.  Just because you don't target a species doesn't make it garbage.  The only fish I don't release (other than those for selective harvest) are gobies.  Gull food.  Plus, at least in Illinois, leaving fish on the ice or shoreline is considered littering.

[NoMe]

White Perch aren't even a Perch.

^^^ That's funny.^^^

[Bout-Time]

Since I dont eat much fish at all, I throw back 95% of what I catch.

I will keep a good trout once in awhile to give to my family members that like them though, and I would keep a good pike to eat, since they taste pretty good. Yellow perch are considered junk fish to me too (though they are fun to jig), and every 3rd fish (or a repeat bait stealer) gets fed to a hungry eagle in the winter. Theres billions of them out there, but only a few eagles.

[northernnyice]

I would try yellow perch if someone cooked it, but up here they also have the parasite/worms in them mostly. When I was downstate I caught and ate white perch and for a small fish perch give a good fight. I was also brought up believing that perch are junk fish. You guys that target perch, do you have trout/salmon near you? You know, game fish. I just can't see keeping and eating yellow perch when I can have trout/salmon. It would be like riding a Harley when I could ride a Yamaha or Honda.

Decent trout waters aroun here in the adirondacks and a few places for salmon. Trout fishing is like riding a Harley compared to riding a Honda?? The fish that I go after...I'd take trout and put them on a quick strike rig and use them for bait... Seriously though.

[harrops26]

Decent trout waters aroun here in the adirondacks and a few places for salmon. Trout fishing is like riding a Harley compared to riding a Honda?? The fish that I go after...I'd take trout and put them on a quick strike rig and use them for bait... Seriously though.

They say trout make big hungry pike happy.

[GCD]

^^^ That's funny.^^^

Here's a little education for you:

http://fish.dnr.cornell.edu/nyfish/Percichthyidae/Percichthyidae.html

[NoMe]

Now I understand... White perch aren't perch... they're White perch.

[kevs]

I'm puzzled  at the types of fish peop's call junk fish. Growing up the only fish anybody called junk fish were carp. Even suckers were prized. I won't discriminate when it comes to fish.....if it is big enough to fillet, it is going to be eaten. I don't prize a largemouth bass over a bluegill, or a pike over a walleye. I fish for fish, not species. In most instances where I have seen people throwing fish on the banks of ponds and rivers, what they have done is created a stinking mess that I and others have had to endure (the smell). All to often if I decide not to keep a fish, there is someone else who will take it.

[RussianBear]

Deliberate Waste of a fishing resource, no matter what species, casts a negative light on ice fishermen and with with us losing more and more water accesses every year, this type of Ignorant Behavior only speeds up that process and hurts us as a group in the long run !! No matter how someone tries to Sugar coat it, be it the invasive species excuse or their own personal dislike of a certain species, it is considered Poaching from the legal aspect of the law and it is Unethical and Wrong !! Just my Honest Opinion !!

Cant agree more

[chicknwsl]

Bass / Walleye are target..

Pickeral are Junk fish unless kids are with me... then they are the target

[jacksmelt71]

our bios up here even tell us to kill any yellow perch caught. in their native waters most species of fish are in a balance in thier watershed. but introduced species throws that out of whack. thats why people up here kill the perch. theyre tired of having their favorite waters over run w/ them. i keep the bigger clean ones but the rest are dispatched and put down the hole or fed to the eagles. this way nothing is wasted and it goes back into the ecosystem. i dont stack any fish on the ice to rot. looks bad no matter what species it is. i leave some for the birds and bury the rest down a hole.

[evaxx]

no fish is a junk fish. catch and release, unless you want a good meal.

good meal = panfish, bass, pike, just about anything firm, clean, and not fishy.

i guess my "junk fish" would be pickeral like everyone else is saying, and minnows, but thats bait. 

[cold_feet]

We take everything Now that I build lures from the fish skins I want variety so diffrent fish have diffrent scale patterns and colors.

[Ryan549]

I love any action on the ice but I like the toothy ones the best. Perch are fun while you are waiting for your flag to pop up but that is about it. Everything is catch and release so someone else can enjoy the fun of it as well.

[bee]

Deliberate Waste of a fishing resource, no matter what species, casts a negative light on ice fishermen and with with us losing more and more water accesses every year, this type of Ignorant Behavior only speeds up that process and hurts us as a group in the long run !! No matter how someone tries to Sugar coat it, be it the invasive species excuse or their own personal dislike of a certain species, it is considered Poaching from the legal aspect of the law and it is Unethical and Wrong !! Just my Honest Opinion !!

A Men  I like whatever is hitting. I don.t leave them on the ice. I take some home and put them out for the birds. Good food for them and i like to watch them. I just watched a Bald Eagle come for 5 in a row. 

[Bullelk34]

I would try yellow perch if someone cooked it, but up here they also have the parasite/worms in them mostly. When I was downstate I caught and ate white perch and for a small fish perch give a good fight. I was also brought up believing that perch are junk fish. You guys that target perch, do you have trout/salmon near you? You know, game fish. I just can't see keeping and eating yellow perch when I can have trout/salmon. It would be like riding a Harley when I could ride a Yamaha or Honda.

That's funny to me- I can't see keeping trout when you can get perch or walleye. I only keep trout when my neighbor wants some for the smoker. I would have to be pretty hungry to keep trout to eat!

[Mainehazmt]

our bios up here even tell us to kill any yellow perch caught. in their native waters most species of fish are in a balance in thier watershed. but introduced species throws that out of whack. thats why people up here kill the perch. theyre tired of having their favorite waters over run w/ them. i keep the bigger clean ones but the rest are dispatched and put down the hole or fed to the eagles. this way nothing is wasted and it goes back into the ecosystem. i dont stack any fish on the ice to rot. looks bad no matter what species it is. i leave some for the birds and bury the rest down a hole.

[woodyvt]

I target pike and I throw them all back.  They are all part of the food chain.

[hawk01]

Pike,Walleye,Trout,Bass,Salmon I consider gamefish and targeted for me. Then there are Panfish/Baitfish which are good for bait or teaching kids to fish, other than that they are not worth my time.

For those who target panfish, I think its great and good for the sport. Just never got into it myself. There are some very talented fishermen who live for panfish. Good for them.
I don't play golf either

[perch md]

I am not opposed to what people like to fish I really don't like to fish for pike or trout I prefer to fish for crappie, perch, and blue gill what i am opposed to wasting the fish and not eating them no matter how many perch you throw on the ice you still won't get rid of them so whats the point of wasting the fish

[Woodsman]

I just can't see keeping and eating yellow perch when I can have trout/salmon.

Heck I'm the opposite.
I'll take a feed of yellow perch over trout any day. Yellow perch are my favorite closely followed by walleye.
All the different trouts are down my list of good eating fish although I enjoy fishing for them & will eat some or smoke a few.
Not a fan of freshwater drum (aka sheapshead) which can be a big and constant nuisance when trolling on Lake Erie for walleye & bows.

[NoMe]

Interesting to hear what people consider junk and what they target. I was aware that some people consider trout junk and that some like and eat perch which is great to hear. Definitely different strokes for different folks. Thanks for all the replies.