Ruggervt14 t1_j3mexjk wrote on January 9, 2023 at 4:08 PM

Reply to comment by DirtyBirdNJ in Do you hunt/ fish/ trap in VT? What is your favorite type of game and why? Any cool stories? Tell me everything!! by -PineMarten

Also from NJ originally, and have found that lakers are my favorite species to catch up here by far! I love how they fight, and the challenge of figuring out what lures that will be effective for catching them.

DirtyBirdNJ t1_j3mpox0 wrote on January 9, 2023 at 5:17 PM

Vertical tube jig is my not so secret weapon. Few videos on my channel show what they look like if you haven't rigged one before.

I want to eat one this season but I'm a bitch about killing fish, I like letting them go. I feel like I failed as a fisherman if one dies while I'm unhooking. Makes me respect the fish I do harvest.

nomadicbohunk t1_j3nkn8k wrote on January 9, 2023 at 8:24 PM

I hunt and fish a lot and all over the place. A lot... I love to cook and will eat anything. I'll cook suckers...they're tasty. I know how to cook carp so it's delicious. Lake trout are just not that good. You're not missing out on much. The best way to eat them is when they're very little and steam them Chinese style or do a MN style lake boil. Even then they're meh.

DirtyBirdNJ t1_j3nl6wp wrote on January 9, 2023 at 8:28 PM

Haha I don't have high hopes for the taste of Lakers, it's a desire to better understand the fish, say that I've tried it etc. I just wanna try once.

I've heard really good things about the landlocked salmon and also whitefish are supposed to be tasty... those and walleye are high up on my harvest goals list

nomadicbohunk t1_j3nmsd4 wrote on January 9, 2023 at 8:37 PM

Whitefish are really good. People love walleye, but it's just really mild. I like northerns more. Along the same lines, I prefer haddock to cod. If that makes sense it's a good comparison. I haven't had land locked salmon.

I have to eat everything once. Whatever you do, don't grill the lake trout. I thought I had a really bad fish or something, so I did it again. Not good. I eat a lot of small panfish and usually catch and release anything else. But I try and eat things first just to see how they are.

I really, really, really want to catch a whitefish on champlain. I don't know if it will happen sans 4 wheeler. It sounds like you have to get far out there and get lucky.