Getting into fishing?

[csharpdev]

As mentioned above, most of the fresh water around here has been polluted with mercury by the coal fired power plants out west and unlined landfills. Not all of them though. The trouble is finding out which ones are clean.
http://www.mass.gov/dep/toxics/stypes/envnment.pdf
http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/environmental/exposure/statewide_fish_advisory_poster.pdf
http://www.mass.gov/dph/fishadvisories
http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/environmental/exposure/fish_consumption_advisory_list.pdf

The safe thing to do is only eat non-stocked freshwater fish once in a great while if at all. The stocked fish, like rainbow trout can be eaten as much as you want, or at least as often as you can catch them.

From looking at some of those sites/documents it would appear that Rainbow, brown, brook and tiger trout would be safe to eat anywhere that is stocked and lake trout and salmon are safe in Quabin and Wachusett reservoirs?

All other
people should not eat smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, or lake trout greater than 24 inches long; may eat unlimited amounts of salmon and lake trout less than 24
inches long; and should limit consumption of all other Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoir fish species to one five-ounce meal per week.

I assume all over fish species doesn't apply to stocked fish?

 

[pernox]

Did you ever eat your catch? Are the fish in those waters any good?

Sorry for the delay in reply - I had forgotten about the thread, and remembered it today after reading an email from above mentioned Dad.

We took a stab at a catfish from the lake, but couldn't get it cleaned, as my old man had never attempted it before, and didn't know any of the "tricks." I couldn't vouch for the safety of either body of water, unfortunately. Not to say that you couldn't consume your catch - just that I honestly don't know either way.

 

[M1911]

catfish often tastes nasty. Catch and release or buy farm-raised catfish.

 

[BaldAssCat]

From looking at some of those sites/documents it would appear that Rainbow, brown, brook and tiger trout would be safe to eat anywhere that is stocked and lake trout and salmon are safe in Quabin and Wachusett reservoirs?

That may be true. I'm not sure about brookies though. They're not usually stocked in the streams so they would have been eating local fare for their entire lives.

Bass pro had some pretty good combos last time I was there. I picked up one for my boy that I like.

If you do end up going for stocked trout early in the season get the power bait that looks like dry dog food. It was made to look like the trout feed they use on the farms. Put 1 or 2 bits on a medium sized hook without weight, toss them out near where they stocked if your there within a day or 2 after, or near cold moving water or a drop off if you can find one on the maps posted above, and let them sink like it’s feeding time at the farm. After a few weeks this stops working but it’s great for early spring.