[Edlyn12]

I fly fish for brown,rainbow and sea trout and occasionally spin for sea trout.Dint worry I have the state rod licence!

It would be good to hear if you fish and what species you fish for?

[tagwex]

I used to do all that river fishing but then over time the fish got scarcer and scarcer due to a number of reasons. In the end the Slaney was closed for fishing for years, I think it may even be still closed. So I took up sea fishing instead. So these days it's cod, mackerel and pollock for me.

[Greengage]

Why didnt Noah go fishing when on the Ark.
He only had two worms.

[Ado 2]

We all went fishing with our dad as kids. We were up at 6 Fished for salmon and trout in the Shannon then home to gut them and cook them. (Trout) My father used to catch 5 and 6 salmon at a time I caught a salmon once but couldn't play it and it got away.we were sick of eating salmon Oh no not salmon again ha ha Father too old now to jump gates and stuff but goes sea fishing on boats. I go with my brother fishing sometimes. There's nothing like the peace and the sound of the flowing water.

[Ado 2]

We all went fishing with our dad as kids. We were up at 6 Fished for salmon and trout in the Shannon then home to gut them and cook them. (Trout) My father used to catch 5 and 6 salmon at a time I caught a salmon once but couldn't play it and it got away.we were sick of eating salmon Oh no not salmon again ha ha Father too old now to jump gates and stuff but goes sea fishing on boats. I go with my brother fishing sometimes. There's nothing like the peace and the sound of the flowing water.

[tippben]

I like eating fish. I live next to Lough Derg. I would eat Perch, Pike, Trout, Salmon, Eel, etc. I own two cheap telescopic rods, but don't know how to catch fish. The local fishing clubs are all "catch and release". I view it as hunting. I would catch one or two fish, enough for a meal, kill them as quickly as possible, then leave the rest alone. For me, it's responsible hunting. Not a sport to be played for fun. I have no interest in hooking and injuring a fish just to take a photo and put it back, though I would put any accidental catches that were too small back again and hope for the best. Needless to say, the local clubs won't have anything to do with me, but I would still love to be able to take a fish or too locally, rather than buy industrially caught sea fish from Tesco.

[Blowin]

Tippben - I've got so much fishing tackle, you're welcome to some bits and pieces if you need them but, if Tipp is anything like this end of Cork, there are plenty of less organised lakes and streams around where all you need is permission from the owner to fish. You may officially need some form of licence but .......

Salmon and trout of any size will normally be caught in club/commercial waters but you'll find the odd one in the upper reaches which aren't controlled. Pike are ghastly, very muddy tasting and full of bones. Perch are OK if big enough, best grilled in butter. Eels are best smoked like they do on the Continent, adds flavour but, if you can find the recipe, you can always jelly them (pretty tasteless) like they do in East London.

The best bet for the pot is to spin for Pollack wherever you can stand on rocks and cast into deep water. A good long day by the sea can provide enough of them for an immediate feed plus some for the freezer or made into fishcakes and also frozen for later use.

[tagwex]

Jaaaaaysus Blowin you would eat anything. Pike, perch and eels yeeeeuuuuggggghhhhhh. As for pollack?, I have caught hundreds of them whilst trying to get the elusive cod. Totally tasteless fish. The more unscrupulous chip shops sell them as cod in a strongly flavoured batter, drunken eejits cannot tell the difference!!!

[Good guy]

And I thought this thread was going to be about fishing ponds (medieval monastery-style) in the spirit of GIY food!

[tagwex]

You could always steer it that way. Carp ponds weren't they?

[Olwas2013]

I'm a fly fisherman and catch and release to protect stocks for more sport

[Blowin]

Beg pardon, Tagwex, but, apart from the (very) odd trout, I've never eaten any of them. The perennial question will always be personal taste and I've merely passed on a few snippets from a lifetime of sport fishing. Neighbours of ours go mad over whiting. Others have waxed lyrical over mullet and, indeed, the locals where Tippben comes from are known as 'Mullets', but I've never been that desperate for a meal to try them.

These days, the fuss of getting ready for a day's fishing puts me off but I occasionally wet a line, just to see what's in a particular piece of water - in this part of Cork, usually Fanny Adams.

[tagwex]

Well reading through your post one would get the impression that you had eaten them. As for mullet, bottom feeders, no thanks.

[jdquinn]

My Grandad used to take me and my brother out fishing with him from we were about 7 years old. I loved getting out into the river and throwing a line out. I stopped going to the river with him when I was around 15, he continued fishing into his late 80's. His normal spot was the River Derg or River Mourne. He is still a fit and healthy man for 90+ but is a little too weak to walk to the river like he used to. Recently I thought I'd take it up again and occasionally throw a line into a local stream or go to a local stocked lake. I only get out once or twice a year so i never actually catch anything. I'm not really into spinning so usually take a fly rod. I usually fish for trout just because they are more plentiful. I'd like to think of myself as a game fisherman but I've never had to gut a fish and I get a bit cringy over handling dead animals even though I worked in a cattle abattoir for a year in maintenance. (Hated every minute of it).

I hope to get out a few more times this year as it is a great way to relax in this hectic world.