Eating Sauger

[Perk0915]

I like to catch sauger and I see a lot of people on here who also eveidently like to catch, them however I have a question, does anyone eat them? I read about fish advisories etc and it appears that the ohio river is one of the worse for eating fish out of? Just curious.

[slowride]

Sauger are very good to eat! Not sure about the whole ohio river thing.

[kc]

Sauger are good to eat and you are correct that there are advisories on eating fish in the river. The advisories mostly list fish with fattier meat such as white bass, stripers, catfish, and carp. But the advisory doesn't suggest not eating the fish on the list only eating them sparingly and sauger are not on the list.

That said I would say that any fish in the river may have some level of contamination. I know my wife won't eat fish that I bring home and tell her that I caught in the river. She is no expert but it underlines the feeling that many have. My thoughts on eating sauger is I try to eat smaller fish -- larger fish of any species have more of a build up of contaminates in their fatty tissue than smaller fish. Plus I also believe in catch and release especially for larger fish to promote better quality fishing. We all love to catch the big ones and it takes years to grow a big fish so when we take one that is a direct hit to the much smaller population of larger fish. Back to the eating part I also don't eat sauger regularly from the river. Which with my limited ability to even get out and fish the river that isn't an issue any way.

So keep some smaller ones now and then, release the big girls, and have a great fish fry of those Jack Salmon!

kc

[RIBLUEFISH]

I would not eat anything out of the Ohio River. I have come across cars,tires,washing machines,antifreeze bottles etc..and of course the always unnerving rusty old 55 gallon drum stuck in the mud. A fish's flesh is a product of their environment and their diet. Look how dirty your boat is after you pull it out of the river next time and ask yourself if you want to ingest that? Yuck!!!

[kc]

I know what you are saying but the river is a lot cleaner than it once was and what a lot of people perceive it to be. EPA regulations over the last couple of decades have greatly helped the pollution in the river from industrial sources. Not to say that the river is some kind of pristine body of water but it is not nearly as bad as it was 20 years ago. Truth be told most of our lakes and streams in KY are contamintated pretty bad. But the river is the last stop so it tends to get it a little worst...

kc

[Banjodale]

There are contaminant warnings on practically every water body in Kentucky, but don't let that scare you from enjoying some good fillets. Fish with consumption warnings can be eaten, just not more than twice a month. The mercury levels shouldn't effect grown adult men, but can have an effect on women of child bearing age so they might want to avoid eating any fish with warnings.

[GeoFisher]

There are contaminant warnings on practically every water body in Kentucky, but don't let that scare you from enjoying some good fillets. Fish with consumption warnings can be eaten, just not more than twice a month. The mercury levels shouldn't effect grown adult men, but can have an effect on women of child bearing age so they might want to avoid eating any fish with warnings.

I fish Canada EVERY YEAR...........Great walleye, FANTASTIC smallies, good smallmouth fishing.......whatever.

A few years ago, while looking up some lake data, I found the border lakes I fish in Minnesota and Canada.

You know what.........the cleanest water in the WORLD have the EXACT SAME or WORSE ratings as our beloved Ohio River. All these warnings and ratings are a SHAM..............you'd have to eat 500 lbs of sauger a month to have any issues.

Don't believe me.........check for yourself.

Personally, I eat fish from Canada, and I EAT fish from the Ohio River.

Later,

Geo

[BASSKING]

I know everyone thinks that the river is horrible but if there was something wrong with eating the fish the hospitals would be full cause people haul them home by the bucket full. We have always took sauger home to eat. I don't let my kids eat them and the sauger is all we keep. I usually keep 2 or 3 when I catch them cause that's all it takes to feed the two of us. Other speices I wouldn't keep but the sauger always look good and clean and tate excellent as well. The advisories are there so we don't eat to much. The mercury content in the water gets in the fish as well and to much will make you sick. So don't over do it and you will be fine.

[sam8772]

I know I eat fish from the river every year. No problems ever I just always use the deep fryer to be safe. Get a copy of the 2009 KDFW Fishing Guide and they have a section in there about how much you can eat of what type of spieces.

[BPenrod]

You would have to a whole lot of fish every day for the contamination to hurt you. I don't eat that much fish but I do eat them from about all the lakes rivers and streams in the area. I like how some people won't eat fish from the local waters, but they will eat fish from Long John Silvers. Kinda makes you go hhhhhuuuummmmm!!!!

[EsoxMtK]

I wouldn't eat any fish from the Ohio River. Lots of heavy metals in the river, like mercury, which are very toxic and bioaccumulate in fish like sauger and walleye.

[jcclark]

The contaminate that is monitored is mercury.
Mercury is in the rain, (mainly from powerplants)
there's no escaping it. every lake that gets rain water has just as
much mercury as the river, some even more.
To not eat fish from the river but eat it from the lakes is ridiculous.
The levels are the same.