This is the second catch I’ve made since beginning to teach myself to fish one year ago. I’ve gone probably 50 or 60 different times and it’s been way more difficult to actually catch something than I thought.
I caught this yesterday, wasn’t sure what it was so began researching while keeping it on a tired off hook in the water and from what I learned I thought I could keep it since it’s a stocked rainbow trout (I think?) . My friend said the seasons over so it’s catch and release but what I saw online said limit of two if stocked fish, all wild is catch and release and I thought this was a stocked fish .
Caught in the Sacramento River near the boat launch. I’m happy to have caught it and can’t wait to eat it but feel guilty if this was not the right move to protect the species and the sport. Haven’t had time yet to eat it but it’s on ice in the freezer until I find time tonight to pan fry it for supper.
Tell me what I did wrong, what I should do next time, and how I can get better fishing results in the future please!
Gear : penny rod shop gave me a lesson had me set up an 8-9 foot bass rig to land strikers using a 4oz pyramid weight couples on a slider and used glow in the dark night crawlers for bait (first time seeing these worms, so fucking cool, prolly just a gimmick but still rad) was reeling in a cast right by boat launch and feel I barely got lucky on the fish biting the worm as I passed it .
Posted by MightyStrongD
18 Comments
Sacramento Pikeminnow. They’re native, but not really a game fish. There’s no limits on them and they are edible just bony. Most people think they’re trash fish. You’re not an asshole.
They’ll bite on anything the other targeted game fish in the delta bite on, such as cut bait (sardines, anchovies, shrimp) or worms. If you’re fishing for stripers or catfish in the delta, you’ll catch these too.
This is a pikeminnow and i would look up your local regulations and also brush up on your local fish ID. Most regulation booklets will include fish ID pages
That’s a pikeminnow.
You need to read your local laws and be a bit more familiar it sounds like too. I don’t mean memorizing every fish and catch limit but some basic will lead to more.
Like I can’t even fish near a body of water that holds trout unless I pay for it during license renewal.
Might be a Sacramento Pikeminnow
Pike minnow.
I’d really really recommend keeping your local fishing regulations on hand with you, and maybe even a guide to fish species in your area. Taking fish out of season can land you in some hot water, and learning more about what you’re fishing for will make you better at catching them. Just fishing for “fish” won’t get you much farther than you are right now.
Not an asshole. Miss-identifying happens to the best of fishermen. Luckily this one won’t get you in hot water. A good incentive to work on your knowledge of different species.
Looks like a pikeminnow to me
Sometimes hard to identify species if new to fishing, but if I am not absolutely sure I will eat or give away a catch, I release it. Also automatically release based on weight, e.g. any catfish over 15 or 20 pounds. Learn as you go, you’re fine on this one.
That’s not a rainbow trout. But you’re still an arsehole for keeping a fish and not knowing what it is. You can’t do that, mate.
If you don’t know what fish species that you caught, you should put it back into the waters.
As many have already said learn the laws and how to ID fish.
From my experience your local game warden won’t care if you know the law or not they expect you to follow them no matter what and won’t make an exception just because you don’t know the law.
#LEARN TO IDENTIFY FISH
Yes, you are an arsehole
I’m not even sure if pikeminnows are even close to edible.
No and yes
Other than your pikeminnow, the main things you want to watch out for on the Delta and familiarize yourself with:
Striped bass – limit 2, minimum length 18″+
Black Bass species – limit 5, minimum length 12″+ They encompass all black bass species, spot, large, small. In the delta you’ll most likely find largemouth or spotteds.
Panfish – Bluegill, crappie (white and black), green sunfish. No size minimums,. 25 limit combined.
Catfish – Channel, bullhead, white. You’ll sometimes find these, there are no limits or size requirements.
Carp – no limits, similar to pikeminnow. You probably won’t catch these on accident.
Salmon – this is limited to a specific season, fallish, and iirc at this time they canceled them the past few years so if you hook up any salmon on the delta its safer to let it go. Just be gentle with the fish and don’t take it out of the water.
Trout – unlikely to find on the Sacramento river, maybe some of the streams and sloughs in some areas. There may be special regulations on taking of these, season, location, etc. I am not sure. I’d treat these the same as the Salmon.
Sturgeon – probably unlikely to catch unless you’re rigged up specifically for them, but they have a season and size slot limits and a card. I don’t know enough about these and unless you do if you hooked up onto one, just let it go.
You will likely never catch a stocked rainbow trout in the Sacramento River.
I’m assuming you meant ‘stripers’ not strikers, so my advice would be to use anchovies or shrimp as bait, shouldn’t be too hard to catch them, right now is the season where they’ll start heading up the river.
What part of this fish made you think Rainbow or Trout?