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just for the record i think sheep head suck! they are fun fighting fish but all they are is a dissapointment. there has to be something they are good for and if any one has any ideas of how htye can be used we need to pass the word so maybe the fisherman can help to thin em out a little bit. when ever they are caught they just get thrown back. shoould there be a tournament every year around this time or can ya eat em (yuck) i dont know maybe they are good.:confused:
Fishon205
I guess that answered my question you were on the lake today? My theory on sheephead, they make great fertilizer for your garden.... sheephead tourne would be a good idea, but someone would make it catch and release and completely miss the entire point of the event.
We caught a bunch of H-U-G-E ones today (well I mostly did). As far as I know, and what I know is what my husband has told me or I have read, they really dont have much use. I have heard that they eat the same things as walleye so if you are catching them that there should be eyes around. Being just a "girl" I dont mind catching them. I like catching anything and I like the fight.
Actually they are quite good !! But they must be eaten fresh, where most people get turned off by sheepshead is they try to freeze them like other gamefish and the meat becomes mush when thawed and cooked. They are a delicate white meat fish that must be eaten same day. Have had them many times, in the old days a popular treat was to cut them in small strips and boil the meat, then dip into shrimp cocktail sauce..."poor mans shrimp" as they were known.Quote:
Originally Posted by FishOn205
Airshot
Just make a rule that all of the sheep brought in must be dead.Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamcatcher
AGREED 100% Dead
REAL FISHERMAN fish to catch fish, fisherman that kill everything that isn't what they want are not sportsman. Just sayin.
Whoah hold on there I know what you are saying, but you have to look at it in terms of population management. Lets say we never killed any of the gobbies Lake Erie or the asian carp that are invading the Mississippi river, or any invasive species. We never opened up urban areas for controlled deer hunts, the species would over populate the area or completely over run the area and push themselves and other species to there endangerment or extinction. What we are doing is offering up ideas on ways that could help manage the situation. No one is killing everything no one is running around the lake catching every sheephead and mounting there heads on spears this is just hypothetical ideas, and we are real fisherman as well as serious sportsman. For instance thats like saying if you catch a sheephead, white bass, white perch, gobby, or any other fish that isn't in the relm of yellow perch or walleye, and there is a slight chance that by returning it to the lake the fish may not survive then you should take it home and eat it, no questions asked. So lets keep this professional and not get too excited about this small issue that is becoming a larger issue if we dont do anything about it.
All of you sheephead haters should concentrate on catching walleyes and just forget about posting such BS. Those sheep head that you hate so much do as much to control the goby population and invasive mussels both Zebra and Quagga as any other species in the lake and probably more. so just how many goby's and invasive mussels do you catch and kill while walleye fishing? By releasing just one sheephead you have probably assured at least 100 goby deaths and untold zebra mussels! Isn't killing sheephead kind of counter productive, I mean you are targeting for destruction a species that is a natural native inhabitant of lake erie that also is fond of eating the invasieve species you claim to hate, but you cannot target the invasive species as well as the sheephead that you want to destroy. What type of a management plan is that?
100% correct and then some!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishing Dude
I do kill all invasive species that I can lay my hands on as they do not belong in our lake!! That includes White perch and gobies.
Good point wakina!!! concludes discussion.
no one ever said kill all sheep head. i just asked if there was a good use for them... if so lets hear it now while we are all catchin a ton of them.
I know a few guys who smoke them and say they are great. the meat is not firm enough for me to do a fishboil. a friend from ohio says he grew up eating sheephead. but he doesn't eat them anymore but did like them as a kid. guess you'll just have to try a few recipes to know for sure. and I don't need more fish guts for my compost as the walleye supply enough.
Try this link below for sheep head recipes. I tried a couple on the grill last year and they were actually very good, a lot like red drum, but they can't be frozen.
I definitely do not agree with killing native species including sheep head. That is not sportsman like and actually displays an ignorance of the issues. The walleye population is not down because of sheep head but because of low walleye fry recruitment each spring, not because of the sheep head population. This level of walleye population is considered maintenance by the ODNR and is normal. If we were to push for anything in my opinion it would be halting commercial fishing in the US and in Canada and putting a stop to snagging walleye off their spawning beds every spring. Any way enough politics, try the link below.
http://www.ohioseagrant.osu.edu/_doc...er%20catch.pdf
thanx fisheye i am interested in trying some of the recipes ill post it on here on how it comes out. going out saturday in search of some perch ill post the results. good luck to all
Keep a big one or two and use them for the "Lucky Stones" in their head. Some women make earrings and jewelry out of them.
I forgot all about those lucky stones. My grandpa use to keep a couple every now and again to cut those out when I was kid. Good memories.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebijack
They are great smoked. Stop in CheeseHaven and I'm sure they go for at least $10/lb.
They also have a value to the lake. They eat Zebra muscles, gobies, white perch and other invasive species and their fry provide food to walleye, bass, perch etc.
Let your conscience be your guide.
Us sportfishermen could never catch and kill all the sheepshead in lake erie, but at best put a small dent in the population. Sheepshead multiply much faster than our precious game fish, so making sure the sheepshead and white bass and white perch are not able to eat or spawn that we return to the lake will certainly not cause their demise!Quote:
Originally Posted by FishOn205
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My yellow lab has allergies pretty bad...have her on a 'plain' diet. She loves it when I bring home drum. Boned out and boiled is a great treat for her. Beats milk bones. I fry up my share too, just not as much as hat she gets!