03-16-2004, 12:25 PM
[cool][#0000ff][size 1]There ain't many things from the water that I have not at least sampled...some only once...others as often as I can.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]As a kid, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, I fished the snake river in town. Caught lots of trout, whitefish, suckers and chubs. Like many of us who have lived in tough times and poor places I knew people who valued any source of protein, since they could not afford it at the store. I always kept the "trash fish" because I knew people who made good use of it.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]One of the "poor families" I knew was one of my own uncles and his family. They lived a long block away from us, so I often went fishing with my older cousin. One weekend, while I had been left for that aunt and uncle to babysit, while my parents were out of town, my cousin and I brought home several big fat chubs.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]My aunt was happy to get them, and simply cooked them like most people cooked trout. She cut off the heads and scaled them, before coating them with floar and frying them in bacon grease. My family was not so rich that I was snooty or preconditioned, so I ate what I was served.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]As I recall, they did have more fine bones than trout, but I was a skilled bone picker. The meat was very white and mild, with no "fishy" or mossy taste, like many a trout I have eaten. I survived. But, I have not knowingly eaten any since.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Biologically, chubs should be good eating. They live in the same waters as trout, and are just as delicate when it comes to extremes of temperature and oxygenation in the water. They eat the same things as trout, which is one of the main reasons they are not welcome in trout waters. They outcompete them.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Chubs are members of the large "minnow" family...as are suckers and many of the previously mentioned prized "rough fish" of Europe. As stated, they are almost all quite bony, but with a firm white flesh. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Around the country, many folks still go after suckers during the spring runs. In the upper midwest, sucker fishing is a religion. They prepare them in a lot of ways...usually with methods that either eliminate or render the bones edible. Lots of pressure cooking and pickling. But, there are plenty of folks that enjoy fried sucker fillets too.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I once caught a big chub in the Snake River above Ashton Idaho on a big spoon being cast for cutthroat. It put up a good battle, and as I was getting ready to smash its head on the rocks...to release unharmed...a fellow angler asked if he could have the fish. He did not look poor. He explained that he often fished for those big chubs in that area and that his family loved them...but not to tell anyone.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]In the "olden days", perch were often looked at in the same way as chubs in Utah. A fishing trip to Deer Creek was always an odorous experience if you were bank fishing. There were rotting perch all over where trout fishermen tossed those "trash fish". [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Until I knew better, I did the same. After all, according to those who took me there the first times, perch were bony and had a bad taste. It was with great apprehension the first time I let someone talk me into eating those nasty fish. As they say..."The rest is history." Like many former perch disdainers, I would now rather save the perch for the table than the trout.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Sure, you can eat chubs. But, if you have a choice...between them, walleyes, trout, perch, bass, catfish or other fish...why would you want to?[/size][/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][size 1]As a kid, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, I fished the snake river in town. Caught lots of trout, whitefish, suckers and chubs. Like many of us who have lived in tough times and poor places I knew people who valued any source of protein, since they could not afford it at the store. I always kept the "trash fish" because I knew people who made good use of it.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]One of the "poor families" I knew was one of my own uncles and his family. They lived a long block away from us, so I often went fishing with my older cousin. One weekend, while I had been left for that aunt and uncle to babysit, while my parents were out of town, my cousin and I brought home several big fat chubs.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]My aunt was happy to get them, and simply cooked them like most people cooked trout. She cut off the heads and scaled them, before coating them with floar and frying them in bacon grease. My family was not so rich that I was snooty or preconditioned, so I ate what I was served.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]As I recall, they did have more fine bones than trout, but I was a skilled bone picker. The meat was very white and mild, with no "fishy" or mossy taste, like many a trout I have eaten. I survived. But, I have not knowingly eaten any since.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Biologically, chubs should be good eating. They live in the same waters as trout, and are just as delicate when it comes to extremes of temperature and oxygenation in the water. They eat the same things as trout, which is one of the main reasons they are not welcome in trout waters. They outcompete them.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Chubs are members of the large "minnow" family...as are suckers and many of the previously mentioned prized "rough fish" of Europe. As stated, they are almost all quite bony, but with a firm white flesh. [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Around the country, many folks still go after suckers during the spring runs. In the upper midwest, sucker fishing is a religion. They prepare them in a lot of ways...usually with methods that either eliminate or render the bones edible. Lots of pressure cooking and pickling. But, there are plenty of folks that enjoy fried sucker fillets too.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]I once caught a big chub in the Snake River above Ashton Idaho on a big spoon being cast for cutthroat. It put up a good battle, and as I was getting ready to smash its head on the rocks...to release unharmed...a fellow angler asked if he could have the fish. He did not look poor. He explained that he often fished for those big chubs in that area and that his family loved them...but not to tell anyone.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]In the "olden days", perch were often looked at in the same way as chubs in Utah. A fishing trip to Deer Creek was always an odorous experience if you were bank fishing. There were rotting perch all over where trout fishermen tossed those "trash fish". [/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Until I knew better, I did the same. After all, according to those who took me there the first times, perch were bony and had a bad taste. It was with great apprehension the first time I let someone talk me into eating those nasty fish. As they say..."The rest is history." Like many former perch disdainers, I would now rather save the perch for the table than the trout.[/size][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][size 1]Sure, you can eat chubs. But, if you have a choice...between them, walleyes, trout, perch, bass, catfish or other fish...why would you want to?[/size][/#0000ff]
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