Now you got me wanting catfish! Looks like a fresh water run is on order -

Those big cast iron skillets are great for this! Lots of surface area so you can do more fish per batch while keeping the pieces separated (battered things are notorious for sticking together, and to a basket) and the cast iron stays hot so your grease stays up to temp better. So, be sure if you're going to use one you get a cooker that will accommodate one. I have see some with a ring higher around the top for your turkey/boiling pot to fit down in that your skillet wouldn't fit in. The ones with the flatter top close to the burner are perfect.

Yea, mine will likely need to be modified. It has the stupid ring. But I also can take off the burner and use it for waxed dirt with my mixer haha. My fryer pan is like a high sided pot with basket.

What do you do with your oil? My fish fries can be weeks apart, or months in shoulder seasons waiting for ice, or a season to open. In winter its ok, I just leave a pan on top, but in summer the oil gets all fousty. Plus I hate going out and seeing dead mice in it..haha. Whats your process to not go through a crap ton of oil?

Keep most legal Walleye and Yellow Perch. Mostly eat fresh and give extra to family and friends.

Unless I'm going to be using it again like the next day, I pour it into a bucket for coon scent. lol Basically I just go through a crap ton of oil. Peanut oil is like $12 a gallon at WalMart now. Usually when I cook fish with these big cookers its for a crowd so the oil is pretty well used. I just use a small fry-daddy if I fry for just our family.

Big fish and those full of eggs I usually let go. Always keep a few to eat too!

Depends. If I'm just killing time with the wife and kids (usually bream) then I toss most back. However if I'm loading the freezer with catfish then it all gets kept.

ah, I got ya.

I just do small ones. Peanut oil is a no go with Stephs allergies. I just use canola.

I wish we had good catfish here. We just got those silly little bullhead.

I toss back every trout, salmon and smallmouth bass I catch.
I don't fish for panfish, walleye, northern or largemouth.
When I do catch any of them they go back too.

The last time I kept some fish was on an Atlantic Salmon fishing trip about 4-5 years ago. We kept every whitefish we caught.
Released the Salmon tho.

I know that alot of the steelhead/rainbow trout I catch I often can catch the same one several days in a row in the same spot.
It is much more fun to catch them than eat them.

Like Lee Wulff said, sport fish are too valuable to just catch once.

for whatever reason salmon species don't have the same feeling for me. I have no issue keeping lakers and salmon. Not sure why

Another thought on keeping fish.

I remember when in the '70's the limit on Panfish was 50/day.

Now its 15/day and only 5 of one specie on alot of lakes.

whats changed?

I get fishing about once or twice a year.Will keep a walleye if I catch any.
Rally and I ran into a large concentration of red horse a couple years ago--a large number went home with me for trap line bait.
Tom

I only keep that I eat that day. If I wanted frozen fish, I could get it at the grocery store. I only eat fresh fish. Wont even touch them in a restaurant. But I can fish out of my living room while posting BS on here so its easy for me.

If I want to eat it, and it's legal size I keep it. Or if it is special enough to go on the wall I keep it

But I chose to keep them based on size and species

In michigan we also have a possession limit, it includes what's in your freezer technically
But it's mostly enforced on people that are caught a couple times over their daily limit

Mostly we keep just pan fish, but if we are planning a fish fry we may target small mouth bass and pike so there is some variety for the guests

When in fish for largemouth bass it's for the fun of the fight. And if I catch one that beats my biggest bass it goes on the wall All others go to grow

But that's my choice and I do not expect others to do as I do. Same with hunting. If it's legal it's a decision for each to make for themselves

Hutchy,if you want to keep your oil,strain it thru cheesecloth and store in your freezer for longer term.
I also store my seasoned flour in the freezer after sifting.

I turn most loose out of laziness, not from any conservation stance. The legal limits are set by scientists after shocking and counting fish and based on sound principles of species-habitat balance. If the species is in danger the season or limit would be reduced, so like coyotes harvest what you will. At the end of a day of hard fishing I usually don't have energy to butcher and cook.

I don't put fish in the freezer because of stupid possession limits; forget one package (or forget to mark the package with name and date)of fillets and you are a wildlife violator. Throw out the last years leftovers and you are guilty of wanton waste. If I keep any of any color I expect them to be consumed promptly.

Don’t keep any fish in the summer time. Spring time Walleye throw back the questionable ones and only keep the for sure size limits. Winter time is when I keep the majority of my fish through the ice. Only keep crappy 13” +. Big hills, Big perch unless I feel it’s a female filled with eggs then she goes back in the drink regardless of size. Every channel cat I catch get kept. Channels are probably one of my favorite fish through the ice besides walleye and perch.

Well I live an hour from Erie and the Walleye this year are nuts. So yes I try hard for my limit every time out and lately it hasn't been very hard. My buddies boy went out last Friday and had his 6 in 25 minutes. What really irks me around here are the Amish, they are literally fishing out lakes. A small or pontoon boat with 6 people fishing will start in the morning and fish all day and basically keep everything caught, large, small, good eating or not. It really sickens me.

same here on the ice Bass.and they will even wait to use one of your holes and they aint shy.