question for those chasing cisco???

[ctizzfishin]

hey guys, I have been under the impression up until now that everyone got into the cisco because you can use them to fish up there. So, I thought that all of you were catching them to use as bait all year round. Lunker hunter, do you eat them? Could someone please educate me on what the deal is there? If people are eating them, would someone kindly tell me how? Thanks in advance..
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[big_griggs]

you can eat them I like to pickle them or deep fry them. they are real good tasting fish and I hate to eat fish. We use them also for bait all year round we freeze them (only our possetion Limit) and use them for treats for my late dog she loved them on a hot summer day.
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[SteelieNut]

Last year we made "mustard sardines" with them. And they were surprisingly really good. We have also deep fried them, very good that way too.
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[BearLakeFishGuy]

I think more people are eating them than saving them for bait nowadays. The way you process and eat them varies, but the most popular is:
1) use scissors to clean them. A simple snip removes the head and then another snip open the gut cavity from the vent to where the head used to be. Scissors are much faster than using a knife.
2) Swipe your finger down the opened-up gut cavity to remove the very simple gut. Then was under water. Use a butter knife to swipe against the scale grain on both sides to remove the scales (not necessary) but the scales remove very easily. One or two swipes with the butter knife per side will remove 90% of the scales.
3) Drop the wet carcass in a mixture of seasoned cornmeal/flour. Then drop the coated carcass in hot oil. Cook until golden brown (about 3-5 minutes). You can eat the entire fish. All the bones will be cooked up and disentegrated.
Enjoy....
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[lunkerhunter2]

I will be legal to have 120 cisco in possession. We netted 60 yesterday and ate 16. We will eat another 14 tonight and who knows how many the next couple days. I will make sure to keep atleast 30 in the freezer for bait all season long. It is possible to catch fish up there without it, but you have a much better chance with it. I will go back up probably one more time to get the remaining amount to have a limit or 2 on hand. Hopefully friday they will still be in there.
Like BLFG said, they are easy to prepare and taste excellent.
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[ctizzfishin]

Thanks for all the info, so is it one of those things where the bones really do disintigrate, or are they just small enough that they dont bother you like most fishbones when you addidentally eat them? I am curious, and I am wondering if there is anything about these fish that make them better to eat than a simple trout or perch fish?

Thanks
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[Old_Coot]

[#0000ff]"I will be legal to have 120 cisco in possession."[/#0000ff]

Not if the proc says you can only have 30 in possession!
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[lunkerhunter2]

4 people in my family Ralph.[]
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