I just caught dinner! Anyone enjoy fishing like I do?  

I wouldn't say you suck at it! Grabbing your hook as you're reeling in to re-cast? That's awesome! AND having one jump right in your boat??? You must have some kind of "fish magnetism"!!! LOL

My husband's idea of a fish dinner comes from McDonald's. He's worthless when it comes to cleaning fish. He has a phobia of choking so he's always leery of eating the fish I catch because there "might" be a bone in there that he would definitely choke on (in his mind, of course). So, I usually eat the fish I catch and he eats the frozen, breaded kind from the grocery store. Sigh!

I have the same feeling when fishing! It's so peaceful; tranquil. I don't have to catch anything, either. It's a great time to do some thinking or reflecting.

I doubt it's a Piscean thing because I'm an Arien! Typically, Aries people are not supposed to be able to sit still long enough to enjoy something like fishing, but life has slowed me down. I learned patience a long time ago when my children were babies.

I do like a fresh fish dinner, though. You can't get fresher than catching it yourself!

OMG! All that is involved in cleaning a fish?
Well, fish are out for me! Just store bought fish
from now on. Fish is so super healthy, but don't like
the idea of doing that much work for a meal.

I'm not fond of cleaning fish, but I'll do it if I caught it. Besides, my husband would never touch one! LOL He actually prefers McDonald's fish sandwich! He's weird.

You mean you leave the tail and head on? I always try to get the fins cut off along with the tail and head. I've stopped trying to filet them before they're cooked, though. I'll leave the bones in there. They are so much easier to pull out once the fish is cooked.

Bass are not hard to scale (de-scale?). I use a vegetable peeler! Works better than a knife for me.

To beautyqueen: Yep, there's a lot to cleaning a fish. And, it's quite messy, too! You have to LOVE fishing and cleaning them if you want really, really fresh fish! Luckily, I do.

Goodness no I cut the head, fins and tail off, but after the fish is cooked I crab ahold of the tail part of the fish and start peeling the bone away working towards the front. The main backbone comes out eazily as well as some other bones with it. Yes there is a bit of work to cleaning fish but it's SO worth it. I don't know why I thought bass was hard to scale, obviously I'm getting it mixed up with other fish. See I learnt something today from a good friend on myLot! It seems like a hundred years since I was lucky enough to clean and eat a fish. I sure miss it too. That store bought stuff just doesn't measure up. Thanks dear and happy fishing.

That sounds like a really good system you and your father have worked out! LOL

I would prefer it if someone else cleaned them, though. I can do it with no problems, but if someone else volunteered to do it, I would not hesitate to let them!

Yummy! Steamed haddock sounds delicious! I wish I could catch that in my lake!

I don't have much of a choice, though. My neighbors have told me that the bluegill are great and I have to agree that they taste nice, but they are so small that they are not worth the trouble of cleaning them.

Nope, it sounds like you're definitely not a fisherwoman! LOL

But, that's why they sell fish in grocery stores, huh?

I caught an eel once... twice, actually, but one managed to "unhook" itself before I pulled it in. The other one scared me bad, too! They have teeth! They actually attack!!! I just cut the line and nudged this fella back into the water with my food (I had boots on).

There's a little trick I learned about making fish taste better. Soak them in milk for about a half hour before cooking them. It takes all of the nasty or strong taste out of them... neutralizes it or something. I don't like catfish because it has such a strong flavor, but if it's soaked in milk, it tastes delicious!

I've gone crabbing before and really enjoyed that. I caught 2 dozen crabs! Well, I caught a lot more than that, but a lot of them were under the size limit so I threw them back. I never had to deal with a lobster, though! I could probably handle that.

I started seriously fishing about 9 years ago and I've been "hooked" ever since! LOL

Are eels edible?

I never heard about the milk soaking. I'll pass that information along to friends who might be interested.

I like salmon, but I only eat it in a restaurant. If it smells at all, I send it back. A waiter told be salmon are prone to a fishy taste and smell depending on where and what they eat.

Fish in the grocery store still creep me out.

All that adds up to not being a fisherwoman, as you suggested. I think a person needs plenty of patience to fish. I don't know if I can sit still for any length of time.

Nice to see you again. I hate losing days inbetween postings. Life gets in the way!

I know how life gets in the way! See, it's been four days since you last responded and I'm just getting back to you. Geesh!

Erma Bombeck wrote a book that I absolutely love entitled, "Life is What Happens When You're Busy Making Other Plans". She was one funny lady!

Yep, you can eat eel. But I'd put them in the same category as catfish. Any "fish" with no scales is so hard to clean! You have to pull the skin off, and it is tough!!! Maybe their skin is tough because they have no scales. That's why they also have teeth! (Catfish do, too.) I prefer things with no teeth, thank you.

I won't eat any fish that smells "fishy" either! Fish aren't supposed to have any smell to them at all when they're fresh (at least the one's I've eaten and/or caught). That smell develops not long after they're caught. That's one reason I love catching my own.

I wouldn't have had the patience for it 20 years ago, but since I've started slowing down because of health issues (and age, I'm sure), and also because my life has always been so hectic, I love any time I can just sit and think. Drugs help, too.

I went fishing once in the winter. Never again! I froze my buns off! LOL

It's always fun to have a fishing buddy, especially in a boat. Fish is considered "brain" food, so it's very good for you. Actually, fish is high in Omega-3 which is also a cancer-fighting agent. Everyone should eat fish at least once a week, at least that's my opinion.

I love trout! That's my favorite fish. We don't have any trout in our lake. I envy you your pike fishing! We don't have pike around here and they are some very impressive fish!

I never thought of preparing them the way you mentioned! Interesting... and healthy, too! But how do you get rid of the bones? I love fishing and, even though my husband doesn't like to fish, he loves to eat it but is so afraid of choking on a bone. (He's actually almost phobic about it!)

I have personally never grilled fish, but I've eaten grilled fish. A friend of mine who prepares his that way always wrapped them in aluminum foil with seasonings before putting them on the grill. I imagine you can also put some veggies in there with them, including lemon slices.

Sound like your friend can really cook. Have a good one.

How does one go about filleting a fish? Believe it or not, I've never done that! I'm sure I'd love it because I've eaten enough filleted fish from the grocery store!

Is there a trick to it or is it pretty straightforward?

Well I know my husband uses an electric fillet knife, he starts just below the head on one side, and cuts right against the spine or the bones whatever, all the way down to the tail, he said you can feel what your doing, you can tell just how close you are to the spine, then he turns the fish over to the other side and does the same thing, all you'll have left is the skin hanging on the fish. Its best to do this on a bigger fish, we catch catfish and thats how we do them, for bluegill, they are too small to mess with, unless you catch some big ones, they're just too hard to fillet. Thats the best way I can explain it, I don't really know how he does it, I've just watched him.