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Catch & Release Sheephead


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Full swing river fishing is still aways away, but I thought I'd post this now since it's fresh in my mind. I've been fishing the rivers for years and I'm getting sick of watching people catching sheephead and intentionally killing them by throwing them on shore or against rocks. I'd like to point out that littering the shoreline with a fish of any species is ILLEGAL! Also, what is the point of doing that? I myself don't particularly care for sheephead because of they're tendency to swallow the hook, but I release them as quickly and as painlessly as I would a trophy bass. Sheephead are almost as numerous as carp, but unlike carp they play a very important and valuable role in river management. They are one of the few native species of fish that regularly eat zebra mussels, meaning they may be our only natural defense against those exotics. Also, and more importantly, young sheephead are an important forage fish for walleye, northern pike, and catfish. So next time you catch a sheephead, just put it back in the river.

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one day of fishing the winona spillway, my buddy lance and i caught and released 5 or 6 sheephead over the 10 pound mark. that was enough of a reason to be kind to the freshwater drum. they are a blast to catch. cool.gif

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The bigger ones do put up a good fight, but anything under 2 pounds and it's like reeling in a clump of weeds.

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I've even heard that their meat is of the consistency of what you will get at most of the local Friday night fish fries. It could be an old wives tail, but I've been told that some places actually serve sheephead and just don't tell us that it's sheephead.

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I wouldn't be surprised. After all, do you honestly believe your eating chicken at KFC?

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its true, they commercial fish for them on the river and sell them at restaraunts, some places call the black perch... they use some pretty weird fish in fishsticks to though so i think sometimes its better not knowing what your eating when it comes to certain things.

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I have tried them pickled and they're not that bad that way.

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i won't even eat a cucumber pickled cool.gif

i have, however, eaten sheephead fried up with other fish. i used to fish with a meat haul guy, and i have to say side by side with various panfish you really couldn't tell the difference. at least i couldn't cool.gif

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Pickled Sheephead...Try offering that to a non-fisherman. grin.gif

CA

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I've had pickled pike, probably won't try anything else pickled. I bet if you fried a sheephead fillet and a walleye fillet and served them both to a novice angler, they wouldn't even be able to tell the difference.

Could this conversation be the beginning stages of a "fried sheephead fillet" stand at the state fair?

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I've fried up sheephead before NASTY!! Should've scooped up a handfull of river mud, would've had the same effect!

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Quote:

Pickled Sheephead...Try offering that to a non-fisherman.
grin.gif

CA


ooohh, I want to try doing that~ I could really have fun.... grin.gifwink.gif

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Fried Sheephead at the state fair....throw it on a stick and it would be an instant hit..............Yuck!!!!

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Quote:

Fried Sheephead at the state fair....throw it on a stick and it would be an instant hit..............Yuck!!!!


You'd better have the deep fried twinkie on a stick to chase it! grin.gif

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Let's all pitch in some cash to open this stand up. And why stop at sheephead? Let's go with all the roughfish...Sheephead! Carp! Bullhead! Redhorse!

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If this works let's all start thinking of names for a possible fast food franchise.

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