Muskies!!!

[Buckeye1985]

I've seen more muskies this past fall and had only gotten one 48" to bite (landed). We ended up keeping it to show friends (bragging rights). Initially we were planning on mounting the beast but instead ended up eating it. I've only kept and eaten one other musky and didn't care for it all that much, and this was during the summer. The one we ate this winter was excellent!! I'm thinking it was because we caught it in cold water??? Anybody have any insights to cooking large fish?? primarily large northerns/muskies??

[harvey lee]

No insight here as I personally have never ate one. I always try to release my larger fish and hope they will grow to trophy status. My eaters are the smaller fish as it seems from what I have tasted they are much better eating.

I tried one larger fish for me once and only a 6# eye and never again. I will go with the 15-20 inch size for maximim taste or table fare.

[Nate McVey]

Can't say that I have ever eaten a muskie or that I would want to. I agree with Harvey, just like a deer, the small ones seem to be the tastiest.

[Dooley87]

the only time i think a person should EVER EVER EVER eat a muskie (or smallmouth) is if the fish is going to die. these fish are game fish. graphite reproductions are so much better looking than skin mounts anyways and they will never ever crack or fade.

i know people who have eaten them because they wouldn't revive.

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[Buckeye1985]

Well I'm thinking that the taste came from the cool water preserving the flavor. The DNR suggests that the trophy's be harvested to ensure a healthy fish population. Big fish can be prepared to be tasty as well!

[Dooley87]

if every trophy in a lake was harvested how would a good population of large fish be able to be sustained? if harvesting trophys is good for a lake then why do all die hard muskie anglers preach catch and release? why do people try to take such good care of these fish at boat side? it is simple, it takes at least 20 good healthy years for a muskie to reach that 50 inch class and you want those fish to keep spawning cause trophy fish make more trophy fish, remove the trophy fish and you remove all the good genes from the lake.

like deer hunting, deer with big antlers are proven to be this way by their diet and genetics, if you remove all the big bucks from a heard then look forward to spikes for a long time. same goes for fish. and as the other guys stated big fish almost always taste horrible, they are old and tough and just bad tasting in general.

[Scoot]

 Originally Posted By: Buckeye1985

The DNR suggests that the trophy's be harvested to ensure a healthy fish population.

Can you please provide a reference to this "suggestion that the DNR has made"?

Trolling...

[Dooley87]

maybe they suggested that trophy muskies be harvested to ensure a healthy walleye/northern/bass/panfish population but there is no way that harvesting trophy muskies is healthy for a muskie population. i was just always taught respect and sportsmanship in this sport and some people weren't its too bad.

( Note from admin,edited. please read forum policy before posting again,thank-you.

[CrappieFshr651]

( Note from admin,please read forum policy before posting again,thank-you.)

[CrappieFshr651]

Im sure theres plenty of people on this website taht would keep a 48inch fish for mounting also. But sometimes you realize you cant afford to mount 48inches of fish.

[Dooley87]

crappie whats your e-mail address?

[CrappieFshr651]

haha dont worry about it i dont need spam

[CrappieFshr651]

actually im curious. [PleaseGetAuthorization]

[CrappieFshr651]

( Note from admin,please read forum policy before posting again,thank-you.)

[Dooley87]

mines on my profile, send me something even a blank e-mail and i will get it

[CrappieFshr651]

its in my profile now

[GoggleEye]

Well I really don't want to get into this one too heavily or come off like I am trying to argue, but it all comes down to being a good steward of the resource. Keeping a 48" inch musky to eat in my mind is not fulfilling that. However, if you have never mounted a musky before and really wanted to put a big musky on the wall, then I don't see a problem with doing that once or twice in your lifetime. I personally don't like graphite replicas, so if someone chooses to keep one big musky for the wall, then I don't see that as a devastating thing. Keeping one to eat I feel is unnecessary as there are plenty of walleyes, panfish and northerns to catch and keep for the frying pan. With all the bioaccumulation in a musky that big, eating it would not be a very healthy decision also. It takes a long time to grow a musky to 45 inches or bigger, let em go so they can grow!!

GE

[eyehead]

I think this guy is just trying to get you wound up. His first post is about eating Muskies?????

[b1gf1sh1]

first of all i know for a fact no dnr EVER said harvest trophies of any species of fish, let alone the single most difficult fish to establish a healthy population. please email the dnr and confirm your information as whoever told you this is extremely misinformed. second i never understand the keeping of any trophy sized fish. i guess mabe because as a young lad of fourteen i caught my first real trophy while fishing on the st. croix with my great grandpappy Amos. it was a hot summer day in august and we were throwing bucktails on top of a sand bar. i hooked into a muskie,my very first!!!, my grandpappy finally got it in the net and i was so happy i was jumping up and down and screaming at the top of my lungs. i could'nt wait to get it home and show my mom and dad and friends. i told My grandpappy this and he looked at me and said. '' well son, you kin keep dis feesh if'n ya want to, but jusy lemme ask ya dis. you was just joompin' up an'down and hootin' an' hollerin' wid a beeg ole smile on dat face an all. boy? why in da world would you wanna kill somethin det makes you feel so ''gosh darn''( little different) ALIVE.'' well after he said that i could'nt think of anything to say. so i let that fish my grandpappy estimated at 20 pounds slip into the water without so much as a picture. now every time i catch a trophy anything i watch it swim away and say ''thank you Grandpappy, let's git another one''. and grandpappy made it a point to tell anyone who would listen how gosh darn (again a little different )proud he was of me for being a man of such few years. if i keep six eater size fish a year to eat i feel i kept too many. but thats me. catching fish makes me happy. catching them again makes me even happier. but hey, if a person catches so few fish and needs an ego boost to make him/her happy. so be it. i just don't understand it. hopefully never will.

[Giant_Jackpot]

I agree with eyehead. I think he is trying to get a rise out of you. Either way, if the fish was legally caught, we can't say too much about it. If you really don't like the current regulations, put your effort into getting them changed, instead of letting him get to you.

[bassguru]

I think, and hope, that this new poster just set the hook on something, and it was not a muskie. But if I am wrong, he broke no law, sooooo.

bassguru

[blarkey]

Its people like that, that create a bad taste in the mouth of us musky fisherman if it was the cost of mounting the fish you would think you'd realize that it wasn't cheap.

[Dooley87]

i was just tought that smallmouth largemouth and muskies were to never be considered table fair. they were to be caught and released no matter how big or small because they were game fish to be appreciated for their fight etc... i just let myself go on a rant earlier and for that i apologize.

[blarkey]

I would rather eat a dog turd than and big fish like that and it would probably be more healthy for you!

[bassNspear]

i am not a fan at all for cooking big fish. I have never had muskie, and i dont plan on it, becuase in my eyes, its a trophy fish, just like monster pike. If i get one on a spinnerbiat or something in a tournament, Take a photo, and send it back on its way.

[MyThai]

Bearbait and Blarkey – What you have expressed thus far are your personal believes. Although I agree with both of you, the original poster still has his right to keep that fish (although he consumed the fish). There are no right or wrong here. Regarding the mercury and other pollutants in the fish, I personally would not allow my family to eat that fish. That was his choice and not ours. No laws were broken and everyone is entitled to their beliefs. Please keep it civil.

[DTro]

There are three classes of fisherman. Those who fish solely to eat the fish, those who fish solely for sport, and those who do a little of both. I think it's safe to say that the majority fall in the last category.

Fish are good to eat, especially when prepared properly. Whether it be a musky, largemouth, smallmouth....whatever. The rules and regs clearly allow a person to harvest fish within those laws.

Not only do we have to be stewards to the future of fishing, but we also need to educate others on the importance of selective harvest.

If you bear witness to overharvest or double tripping, I urge you to use the TIP line, that's what it's there for.