Getting into fishing?

[csharpdev]

I'd like to get into fishing (and eventually hunting, but I'll start with fishing) but don't really know where to start. I think it would be very rewarding to catch dinner. I'm not interested in catch and release. Any advice or guidance would be appreciated.

I don't know what type of fish I'd want to target since I don't really know what they taste like and my primary objective is to catch some food while camping, or just on a random weekend locally.
Some commercial fish that I really like are tilapia and haddock... I've liked most of the light/white fish I've eaten but don't know all the names.
Salmon and tuna are ok depending on how cooked, but I prefer these in sushi (which I'm not going to make myself).

Most of the time I'd be fishing from shore. I'll be whitewater rafting a lot in Maine this summer (guiding on the Kennebec if anyone knows that area) and hope to do some fishing up there. I know plenty of people up there so I'm sure I can find out good places to fish, but it'd be good to know what I was going after.

I live in Leominster, MA and would like to know some good places to fish probably within an hours drive or MA state parks that offer camping and descent fishing.

I fished a few times as a young kid so I know the basics of casting and what not but have no idea what to do after catching something, or what lures/bait to use, size rod, what reel, where to go or even what I want to try to pull out of the water.

If anyone would be willing to take me fishing and show me the ropes that would be great...I'll bring the beer (assuming that's permitted). Or just point me in a good direction to read up on the sport.

Thanks, and sorry for the long post.

 

[M1911]

Some commercial fish that I really like are tilapia and haddock... I've liked most of the light/white fish I've eaten but don't know all the names.

The tilapia that you've had is farm-raised. It's not native to here. Haddock fishing requires a boat. Big boat.

Salmon and tuna are ok depending on how cooked, but I prefer these in sushi (which I'm not going to make myself).

No wild salmon around these parts anymore, sorry to say. Head to Alaska if you want to fish for salmon. Tuna requires a big boat, at least two people, and some big !@#@! tackle.

Most of the time I'd be fishing from shore.

Saltwater fishing in MA generally means Bluefish and Striped Bass. See: http://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/forumdisplay.php?f=180 Most of the days I go surfcasting I don't catch a fish. YMMV.

Freshwater fishing in MA is typically largemouth/smallmouth bass, trout, perch. I don't do freshwater, so I can't help you there. You will need a MA fishing license for freshwater.

 

[csharpdev]

The list of fish was more of a what I like hoping for local fish suggestions that I may also like. I'm interested in fresh water fishing in lakes, streams, rivers... but not fly fishing.

Are all fish edible? Are there some to avoid, as in just taste so bad you wouldn't want to eat it.

 

[theGringo]

Trout make good eating. Brook, lake or rainbow are all good. Yellow perch make for a fine fish fry. I ate a bass once. It was gross.

I haven't tried the smaller panfish, like bluegill and pumpkinseed, but they're called panfish for a reason. I'm told by some oldtimers that they make a good camp meal.

I need to learn how to properly clean a fish. I'm all thumbs.

ETA: Pickeral are not so good. Very boney and hard to clean. I think they have a double rib cage, or something.

 

[M1911]

Trout make good eating. Brook, lake or rainbow are all good. Yellow perch make for a fine fish fry. I ate a bass once. It was gross.

Perhaps unnecessary clarification: large mouth and small mouth bass are unrelated to striped bass. Striped bass are very good eating.

 

[theGringo]

Perhaps unnecessary clarification: large mouth and small mouth bass are unrelated to striped bass. Striped bass are very good eating.

Good point. I've been deep inland for a long time! Thanks for catching that. I consumed a largemouth. Blecch.

 

[theGringo]

I live in Leominster, MA and would like to know some good places to fish probably within an hours drive or MA state parks that offer camping and descent fishing.

Massachusetts Pond Maps can be found here, by district.

For Massachusetts State Forests and Parks, start here. You can find trail maps, and search by recreation options and amenities.

You've rally got a lot to choose from within a short ride.

 

[M1911]

Good point. I've been deep inland for a long time! Thanks for catching that. I consumed a largemouth. Blecch.

I had a large mouth once. Had sort of iodine taste.

 

[cad]

Personally I wouldn't eat anything from freshwater, but I love fishing local ponds and lakes. I would and do eat Striper, and it's delicious. I go surfcasting quite a bit, and live in Leominster as well. I have an extra setup, so if you'd like you can join me sometime in the next couple months. Get your feet wet (haha) and see if you like it.

 

[csharpdev]

Personally I wouldn't eat anything from freshwater, but I love fishing local ponds and lakes. I would and do eat Striper, and it's delicious. I go surfcasting quite a bit, and live in Leominster as well. I have an extra setup, so if you'd like you can join me sometime in the next couple months. Get your feet wet (haha) and see if you like it.

Why wouldn't you eat anything from freshwater?

 

[cad]

Why wouldn't you eat anything from freshwater?

I don't like the taste of freshwater fish, and my body rejects Mercury for some reason.

 

[csharpdev]

I don't like the taste of freshwater fish, and my body rejects Mercury for some reason.

Do fresh water fish have more mercury in them? I guess pollution would be more of a concern in a small lake or pond than the vast ocean where it can dissipate and be diluted more.

 

[M1911]

Do fresh water fish have more mercury in them? I guess pollution would be more of a concern in a small lake or pond than the vast ocean where it can dissipate and be diluted more.

Depends upon where they are and the fish. Don't eat anything out of the Sudbury River.

Larger predatory fish in the ocean concentrate mercury. So don't eat tuna and swordfish every day.

 

[jar]

I used to eat a bunch of largemouth when I was a kid and they were delicious. Of course they were from a small pond on private land in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. I'd like to get back in to fishing this year, but there's so much to do and so little time. A number of sportsmen's clubs (mine included) have stocked ponds.

 

[csharpdev]

It seems as though for fresh water fish most things I've read you should limit yourself to 1 - 4 meals a month depending on species. Hopefully I'll really enjoy fishing and then might fish for fun instead of just for some food.

 

[trophygrl]

we hadf largemouth before and it was great could not tell the difference from striper.

 

[celisup78]

Hey csharpdev,

I would be more than willing to meet you somewhere to fish. However, given that I am in Cambridge we would have to meet somewhere in the middle/eastern half of the state. I have been trout fishing for 20yrs+, but not much of anything else. I am new to the area so we would be exploring the water together. If you are interested then shoot me a pm and we can go from there.

 

[pernox]

I haven't fished in years, but when I did it was right in your neighborhood. My first fish ever was caught in the Wachusett Reservoir, and my Dad and I used to fish a small lake in Clinton almost every weekend when the weather was nice. We must've hauled every Crappie in that damn place out at least once, and usually put up a few catfish each visit, too. The Stillwater out your way was a gorgeous place, but we never took anything from there.

 

[csharpdev]

I haven't fished in years, but when I did it was right in your neighborhood. My first fish ever was caught in the Wachusett Reservoir, and my Dad and I used to fish a small lake in Clinton almost every weekend when the weather was nice. We must've hauled every Crappie in that damn place out at least once, and usually put up a few catfish each visit, too. The Stillwater out your way was a gorgeous place, but we never took anything from there.

Did you ever eat your catch? Are the fish in those waters any good?

 

[Bassturd]

I know you started off saying you want to mostly fish form shore, and there are plenty of folks that do well like that.

You might at least want to head over and take a look at newenglangkayakfishing.com

YOu can find used kayaks on Craigslist regularly, so getting set up to do it is not terribly expensive. The fishing is much better, and there are always groups heading out. They will help.

 

[csharpdev]

It's not that I don't want to fish from a boat, I don't have a boat or a place to store one. When I go up to maine I might be able to borrow a raft or a kayak or something, but other than that I'd be on shore or in waist deep water.

 

[Viking Kitten]

Massachusetts Pond Maps can be found here, by district.

For Massachusetts State Forests and Parks, start here. You can find trail maps, and search by recreation options and amenities.

Thank you! I've a friend who's looking to get back into fishing and this will be very helpful.

 

[Ma$$hole]

See? Look at that. You can find almost anything here on NES. Now if I could only find a place that could explain why there's blood in my semen.... I started fishing last year. I just got my sporting license last week so I will be taking a crack at Freshwater in the next month or so. You can't go wrong fishing for stripers off of bridge. Try to frequent a place often and see if you can snag some pogies (with weighted treble hooks) to use as striper bait. If you ask any local bait shops what you need I'm sure most will be more than willing to inform you about what bait and rigs to use. You'll need a fishing rod with some backbone to get a fish up or along side a bridge. Fishing for scup/sandsharks is great for shits n giggles. Scup are full of bones and a pain to eat but they are tons of fun to catch. One of the first fish you can catch in the season are tataug. You catch them with tataug rigs and live green crabs. They have some serious teeth. In your efforts to catch stripers you will catch some bluefish. They are normally awful to eat but you could probably batter and fry cardboard to taste good so I recommend that with blue fish. Blue fish also have some serious set of teeth. You have a the right approach of teaming up with someone who's been doing it for a while. I've been fortunate to have friends and family show me the ropes in just the past year. Good luck, be safe, and have fun.

 

[M1911]

They are normally awful to eat but you could probably batter and fry cardboard to taste good so I recommend that with blue fish.

Not if they are fresh. Fresh bluefish is actually quite good. Fillet it, put it in a non-reactive pan (e.g., Corning glass baking dish), add white wine about 1/2 way up the fillet, a couple crushed gloves of garlic, salt and pepper to taste, pinch of herbes de provence. Braise in the oven at 350 for ~15 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges. It will be quite mild.

But must be FRESH. Bluefish turns very quickly and anything you buy in a store will taste much stronger.

Blue fish also have some serious set of teeth.

Yup. Don't lip a bluefish or you'll lose the tip of your thumb.

 

[BaldAssCat]

For camp food you can’t beat bluegill and white (not yellow) perch. They have floating ribs so that’s kind of hard to work around but you can catch them by the dozen with a string and safety pin if that’s what you have and they taste great just fried in a pan with butter and old bay spices, or over a fire with old bay works too.

As mentioned above, most of the fresh water around here has been polluted with mercury by the coal fired power plants out west and unlined landfills. Not all of them though. The trouble is finding out which ones are clean.
http://www.mass.gov/dep/toxics/stypes/envnment.pdf
http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/environmental/exposure/statewide_fish_advisory_poster.pdf
http://www.mass.gov/dph/fishadvisories
http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/environmental/exposure/fish_consumption_advisory_list.pdf

The safe thing to do is only eat non-stocked freshwater fish once in a great while if at all. The stocked fish, like rainbow trout can be eaten as much as you want, or at least as often as you can catch them.

For shore casting I would use a heavy rod and reel combo with 10+ lb line. You can throw bait further with it and you tend to get more weeds and sticks and trees from shore than you do in a boat. If you’re just starting out a cheap combo kit from wal-mart or Dicks is fine as long as you change the line. They sit on the spool for a long time and it kinks up. Powerbait soft plastic is a good place to start too. If you want lures Mepps makes some medium sized spoons that work well for bass and trout. Sanko makes some great soft plastic but it’s more expensive and a little harder to use right.

 

[pisteOffPat]

Trout stocking is happening now

You picked a good time to do some fishing - the state's trout stocking program is in full swing - usually runs through Memorial Day. They usually post each week's stocking on Fridays - just in time for the weekend - herehttp://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/fishing/trout/trout_stocking_schedule.htm.

Incidentally, the consumption warnings due to mercury do not apply to stocked trout, because they've been raised on trout feed.

Quinapoxet River in Holden is a nice spot - try small spoons like KastMasters, etc, and fly-fishing is always fun - can get starter outfits for not a ton of money.

 

[csharpdev]

Thanks for the gear advice BadAssCat, I have a $50 gift card to bass pro so I figure I'll see what they have. I'd hoping to get something halfway decent and inexpensive... I don't want something so cheap that it's a waste of money. They have several rod/reel combos online I've been looking at but there are soooo many options for fishing gear how is one supposed to choose...

 

[csharpdev]

I imagine with the tree huggers and environmental nazis and global warming fanatics the mercury problem will only get worse as they try to force us to use CF bulbs which contain mercury. But hey we might reduce that deadly toxin known as CO2...

 

[Ham Slam]

Not if they are fresh. Fresh bluefish is actually quite good. Fillet it, put it in a non-reactive pan (e.g., Corning glass baking dish), add white wine about 1/2 way up the fillet, a couple crushed gloves of garlic, salt and pepper to taste, pinch of herbes de provence. Braise in the oven at 350 for ~15 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges. It will be quite mild.

16 hours on a smoker and Blue Fish is one of the best fish you will ever eat. Also Blue Fish are one of the only fish that can see when they are out of the water, and they will go for your hand.

 

[M1911]

Smoked bluefish pate. Yum.

But don't bother buying bluefish in a store. After 24 hours, it tastes much differently (stronger and more oily).