I’m sorry if this is a very stupid question.

I can easily afford a fishing license in my state. There is a lake that has crappie, bluegill, and largemouth bass.

What steps would I need to take to catch one of these fish, clean and eat it? I’ve been fishing on like a school field trip or on private land, but just did catch and release.

Is it financially beneficial to catch and eat your own fish? If I thrift a cheap fishing rod, will I be spending less on bait than I would be on food?

  • andros_rex@lemmy.worldOP
    1·
    3 days ago

    Yeah - the goal is to have extra strategies for self sufficiency. I’m in a financially precarious situation, and my career field has been become increasingly hostile to LGBT folks. I get that sometimes I’d hook nothing, but having that kind of access to protein in a pinch seems like a good idea.

    I have similarly been trying to get into foraging, but I still get wigged out and don’t always trust myself.

    I have a dehydrator, so I think I could also preserve stuff when I have those better days perhaps.

    • benignintervention@lemmy.world
      1·
      3 days ago

      I get it. Any day my disability check could get cut. All I can say is to learn as much as you can. I don’t hunt and I don’t forage much, but check out iNaturalist and Seek. I used them for an entire season identifying plants and berries then came back the following year when I was comfortable with the difference between different blackberry, raspberry, and to avoid pokeweed. It’s not always reliable, so follow-up its ID’s with thorough reading. At a first glance, blackberry and poison ivy look like they have similar leaves especially when they’re young. Identifying features also change with the season and you may not be able to positively ID something until later in the year.

      For fish, know your local laws, federal laws, and water conditions. Most states will publish reports on water quality and how many of each fish are safe to eat.

      A couple other things you can look into are power backups for your home, whether solar or otherwise, and a deep freezer. I split a cow with my office and could survive on only meat for 6 months. Couple that with fishing and what have you and you can make a good day on the water last a long time. Plus, if you salt cure then freeze.

      There are also thousands of videos for cleaning fish on YouTube. Epicurious has a great one on cleaning every type of fish and you’ll notice the technique is generally the same, with some notable exceptions.

      Just be curious and be careful