This issue I would like to talk about eating fish and what to think about or watch for before you decide on what you or your family are going to eat. For example, it takes approximately 6 years for a walleye to reach 18″.
It takes a smallmouth bass approximately 6-8 years to reach 15-17″. It takes a northern pike approximately 3-4 years to reach 25-28″. What this tells us is that northern pike grow much faster and tend to populate faster than the others. This also means they have less time to absorb chemicals and bad contaminants in the ir ecosystem. I chose these lengths and year references because from my observation seems to be the most common sizes of these fish that are kept for table fare. It’s hard to explain all the different aspects of what deems a fish safe or better to eat than another but this is one logical and common sense way that I look at it. In conclusion I would lean towards a younger fish like the northern pike for these reasons. 1… They grow quickly to adequate eating size and have less time to accumulate toxins from there environment. 2… They are a more sustainable fish since they grow so quick compared to the others. 3… Choosing to remove smaller quick growing fish from the ecosystem helps prevent over population and an imbalance in the ecosystem. 4… They have a tasty white flaky meat that once you learn how to fillet them properly taste as good or better than other species. So just a quick thought on what you put on the table next time you go fishing. Fish Cowboyz Out!
