Posts: 386
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2003
Reputation:
0
Who or what determines what a "trash" fish is? Carp were imported into the United States to supplement the fishing resources. It is my understanding that carp were introduced into Utah Lake for this very purpose.
I was up to Scofield yesterday, (Saturday) at the chub tournament. All the chubs we caught were fat and healthy. I was thinking they might make some good smoking fare. Anyone tried it? Why are they labeled as "trash" fish? Someone suggested that "Utahn's" just don't like fish with scales. Seems as a general rule we are a people that are in love with trout above all other fish species. Any thoughts or comments?
[signature]
Posts: 35,760
Threads: 262
Joined: Sep 2002
Reputation:
49
[#0000FF]Chubs are members of the large minnow family. Most have lots of pesky bones but good white flesh...if taken from clean waters.
As a kid in Idaho I was served scaled and fried chubs from the Snake River and thought they were fine...after picking the bones. I also had an aunt who pickled some. I really wasn't into pickled stuff at that time but they were well received by others in the family.
Not sure how they would turn out smoked. But I do know of some who have bottled them with various seasonings and loved them. Pressure cooking eliminates the bone problem.
As with any fish it is a subjective thing. Once you get past the "trash fish" label you have to make your own evaluation as to palatability. It helps to know your way around the kitchen and to know the properties and intricacies of various flavorings and spices. Some folks can make carp taste like salmon. Others make salmon taste like carp.
When I first started fishing Deer Creek Reservoir in the 1960s it was full of perch. I already knew that perch were fine eating and was appalled to see local Utah folks throwing them up on the bank...because they were considered trash fish. It was over 20 years later that public opinion began to change. That was after we persuaded DWR to open Deer Creek to ice fishing...for perch only. I put on some filleting and cooking demos...both onshore at at the Anglers' Inns stores...showing folks how to prepare them and how good they were. Now there are probably as many perchaholics as troutaholics. Well, maybe not. Utah is still Utah.
[/#0000FF]
[signature]
Posts: 2,553
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2012
Reputation:
0
I think TD once posted that chub are VERY strong tasting.
I'm thrilled that so many Utahns will eat nothing but trout. That leaves the rest of us more chances at delicious bass, bluegill, perch, crappie, catfish, wipers, stripers, walleye...
[signature]
Posts: 628
Threads: 2
Joined: Feb 2008
Reputation:
2
My mother refuses to eat catfish, because she heard that "they're bottom feeders, and eat all the garbage and junk off the bottom of the lake.". Her loss, I like catfish.
I haven't had carp, yet. I don't particularly care for bass. I love Walleye! Perch is yummy, trout is good, and catfish is okay. Of course, this is with ME cooking these things, so take that into consideration. (I hate cooking... a pat of butter, a tiny sprinkle of onion powder, and high heat because I'm impatient to eat!)
[signature]
Posts: 40
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2016
Reputation:
0
Very good point. I've heard from so many people say "Catfish? Oh, I don't eat catfish they are ...trash fish/garbage fish/bottom feeders... I guess trout eating bugs, weak/dying minnows/fish is much better? I've yet to try carp, but have heard other countries eat em up. I think with fish and food in general its all a mental thing. Some people like spice, some sweets, and some salty.
[signature]
Posts: 877
Threads: 1
Joined: Dec 2005
Reputation:
0
Any fish that has trout in its name is a trash fish. My opinion. Just saying.
[signature]
Posts: 755
Threads: 29
Joined: Jan 2010
Reputation:
0
Trout have scales! Catfish don't!
[signature]
Posts: 643
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2003
Reputation:
0
Like tube dude said, if you can get past the bones, and the label, they aren't bad. My uncle used to smoke them often, And after his first time fooling me , I discovered they were quite good smoked.
My only issue is they are so dang ugly, and lord knows I don't need anymore ugly in me LOL!
[signature]
Posts: 1,532
Threads: 68
Joined: Oct 2015
Reputation:
3
I had a dear friends, from Germany, he fixed for me some carp, and a sucker. Both were caught in deer creek, they were delicious. It's all in the cooking, and the waters in which they came from. Don't knock it till ya cook it.
[signature]
Posts: 761
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2013
Reputation:
0
I think "trash fish" is just your opinion. The fish I hate those most is Bullheads/Mud Cats. I fish Utah Lake frequently, mostly for channel cats. The Bullheads steal my bait all the time, and they aren't even fun to catch. At least carp are a blast to reel in, and make good catfish bait.
That said, I wouldn't eat carp, mud cats or chubs.
[signature]
Posts: 135
Threads: 1
Joined: May 2008
Reputation:
0
The whole trash fish label is almost always just a bogus prejudice. Catfish are the number one food fish in the Deep South, but in most other parts of the country they're called a trash fish, and usually by people who've never eaten one. As noted previously, the fact that they're bottom feeders inspires an aversion that feeds a prejudice that is based on mindless emotion and nothing else. I've eaten them all my life and they're great. So much for that trash fish label.
The people of New England call the dogfish shark a trash fish (same with the catfish, which they call "hornpout"), but they're a highly prized food fish in Europe. I've eaten them, and they're delicious. So much for that trash fish label.
On the Pacific coast the bonito is a sought after food fish, but on the Atlantic coast it's considered a trash fish that's only good for bait. I've eaten it and found it to be marvelous. In fact, I served an Atlantic bonito at a party once and everyone praised it as being exceptionally delicious. So much for the validity of that trash fish label.
What I've discovered in my travels around this country is that the trash fish designation is often given to any fish that is plentiful and therefore of lesser perceived value. The most prized fish are often the ones that are hardest to catch, even when the trash fish taste better.
When I hear that a particular fish is a trash fish, I immediately reject that label until I have the chance to try it out myself. Even then I limit my judgment to "I don't like the taste of that fish" rather than "that's a trash fish".
The same goes for virtually all other trash fish--eels, burbot, bluefish, redfish, carp, chubs, spider crabs, crawfish, yellow perch, spanish mackerel, white perch, striped bass, shark, virginia spot, pickerel, lake trout...the list goes on and on, and accounts for an enormous and undeserved waste of perfectly good fish.
My advice--don't listen to any of the many trash fish labels, and instead find out for yourself whether you like any particular fish or not. Don't let anyone else tell you what fish is good to eat and which are trash.
[signature]
Posts: 280
Threads: 0
Joined: Jan 2007
Reputation:
0
I’ve never tried chub. I have have smoked sucker a few times and it was really good. I tried carp once, it was ok but not as good as other fish.
[signature]
Posts: 42
Threads: 0
Joined: Mar 2008
Reputation:
0
This is an excellent thread! I've been watching a lot of youtube vids on a channel, Angler Up with Brant, and he has a series where he tries various "trash" fish. Granted, they're all ocean fish, but with few exceptions, he's shocked at how good it turned out. Not much on the spices either. Salt, pepper, butter and pan fried.
[signature]
Posts: 2,553
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2012
Reputation:
0
If you look up "Black Bullhead" you may be amazed to read that it is a prized and highly sought food fish.
Take one from Pineview in the Spring and treat it like channel cat. You may change your mind about "mud cats".
On the other hand, eat one from a warm, algae-filled pond in August, and you may change back. But that's not the fish's fault.
When I was young, we fished for and ate carp. It is oily and bony, but when cleaned correctly, soaked in salt water, and then baked, it isn't bad at all.
[signature]
Posts: 1,161
Threads: 1
Joined: Dec 2010
Reputation:
1
I've tried about all of the "trash fish" in Utah at one time or another ( or multiple times). I've also come to a few conclusions about why they are called trash fish and reasons why they aren't popular table fare.
First of all, popular public opinion is probably the number one culprit of the "trash fish" moniker. Just observe others....if others say something is gross or doesn't taste right then there will almost always be a crowd of folks that also claim something doesn't taste right because they heard it from someone else and therefore refuse to try it for themselves. People are sheep. None of these fish are dangerous to eat, so what are they afraid of? (Not like trying puffer fish)
Second, the most generally accepted fish to be called trash fish in Utah....carp, suckers, chubs.....are as bony as fish come! I have eaten all three many times and can say that it is most definitely not the flavor of the fish, but rather the hassle of the bones that keeps me from targeting them for the table. These fish have such a complex system of floating lateral bones and Y-bones that getting a bone free fillet off of them is more of a hassle than it's worth to some people when other fish such as trout, perch and bass can be easily filleted and the pin bones simple cut out in a single skinny strip with very little meat loss.
Third, lots of us Americans are spoiled on McDonald's, hot dogs, pizza, etc..... Fish has become less and less appealing to many Americans fed on a diet of fast food and convenient food. When I hear someone say that they don't like a certain fish because it is "fishy", I think that the fish they tried was not fresh and as a result smelled and tasted like old bait, or they probably just don't like fish in general and if they DO eat fish it needs to be a VERY mild white meat fish such as crappie, walleye, or perch. I hear many on this forum say that they hate the taste of trout, but I can't think of a much better tasting critter when seasoned simply and grilled on a hot BBQ. This make me think that those people are tolerant at best of eating fish anyway and it must me a type that can have the flavor masked by seasonings and breading.
It would surprise many here to try carp, suckers, and chubs done properly. If selected for the frying pan like other oily fish they can be very delicious. A big fat carp from hot muddy water in the heat of summer tastes like crap, but so too does a bass or trout from the same waters and conditions, but a medium to small carp, normal sized sucker, or any sized chub caught from cool, non-polluted water and cooked in such a way to deal with the bone issue is actually very mild and worth eating.
To fry these buggers just fillet them as normal and score the flesh every 1/8-1/4" across the fillet 3/4 of the way through the fillet and roll in corn meal or other dry batter and deep fry in hot oil and the bones are no longer an issue and the fish tastes awesome.
Fillet and skin these same types of fish and process in pint jars in a pressure cooker with a teaspoon of salt for 100 minutes at 15 pounds of pressure and you end up with delicious bottled fish that is a direct replacement for canned tuna and tastes better as well.
Do you like pickled fish? They taste good that way as well (raised in a Swedish heritage family so pickled fish is normal for some of us).
Don't listen to others when deciding if a fish is worth eating. Try it a few times for yourself and make sure to treat it right and try a few methods and you will probably surprise yourself with how many good critters there are to eat.
If, after trying for yourself and clearing your head of any preconceived prejudices and expectations, you find that you don't like the flavor then you can authoritatively declare to others that you find the taste objectionable and don't recommend it!
Mike
PS. I personally am none too fond of largemouth bass because most of the ones I've eaten taste pretty mossy, but I will still eat it if someone else takes the time to prepare it......fun to catch, but tastes like a "trash fish" to me most of the time. lol
[signature]
|
