sheep head

[FredT]

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.

Just make a rule that all of the sheep brought in must be dead.

[dreamcatcher]

AGREED 100% Dead

[Fishing Dude]

REAL FISHERMAN fish to catch fish, fisherman that kill everything that isn't what they want are not sportsman. Just sayin.

[dreamcatcher]

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.

[wakina]

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?

[wakina]

REAL FISHERMAN fish to catch fish, fisherman that kill everything that isn't what they want are not sportsman. Just sayin.

100% correct and then some!!!!

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.

[dreamcatcher]

Good point wakina!!! concludes discussion.

[FishOn205]

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.

[ebijack]

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.

[spoontang]

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.

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.