Do you fish for food?

[mikEXpat]

Just like the title. Do you fish for food?

I know that you need a license, and I'm considering buying one in California since that's where I grew up and will spend most of my time as I travel up and down the West. I'd like to hear from others if you fish to supplement your food.

 

[Vagabound]

Good question. I'm not quite to that point yet, but I do plan to when I get the opportunity. 

Prior to starting this project, I did quite a lot of reading about this and hunting. What I found is a dilemma with no good solutions for someone who travels from state to state. It seems you're supposed to buy a license in every state you go to, and the more expensive out-of-state licenses as well. 

There have been other threads about that here. I asked follow-up questions to see if I could get people who are actually doing it to explain what they do, but I think not much came of it. Maybe this thread will be better.

Vagabound

 

[SoulRaven]

I grew up as a kid fishing with my dad and brother. Used to sit with Grandma when she cleaned fish. I would fish again and have wondered about having a bite of equipment "just in case" anyway. Now, a couple of times when traveling, we have been at RV parks with a private lake for fishing that did not require a license. I cannot believe the cost of a license, especially non-resident.

 

[firebob]

I fish when I'm around a clean body of water. There is only a few places i fish in VA where i spend a lot of my time. I don't like to eat fish more than twice a week so being able to freeze the fish is important. There are times where the clothing i cleaned the fish in can be a problem. I never clean my fish in my van and if i have to set up a place to do it on the side of the road i end up using 5 to 10 gallons of water to clean the fish and clean up all my mess. To me there is nothing worse than a fishy van that your living in.

 

[highdesertranger]

I do it but not near as much as I used to. the cost of no-res licenses is pretty scary. highdesertranger

 

[BobBski]

I fish fairly regularly and often keep one or two for dinner.

 

[Almost There]

I do when I'm in my home province. As a senior I don't have to get a rather expensive fishing license - heck in Ontario you have to have an 'Outdoors License' to be able to buy a fishing license (or deer tags, etc. etc.)

When travelling I leave all the fishing gear in my cargo trailer back in Ontario. The cost of out of state fishing licenses is just way to high to justify for me anyways. That and I don't have to spend hours reading each districts fishing regulations....

 

[Kathleen]

I want to fish. In my state it's cheap, 18 per year for locals and a state campground pass $100 for residents. 30+ plus state parks with lots of fishing. Must find friends to teach me the basics.

 

[djkeev]

I don't fish. My Wife and I both aren't fans of eating fish.

Fish is an interesting food, there seem to be very few "take it or leave it" folks but it is much more polarized to "I LOVE IT!!!" or "I HATE IT!" Type reactions.

Dave

 

[rickr]

I fish for " to get way from everyone and drink beer"!

 

[Gary68]

i used to do a lot of oregon river fishing,trout,steelhead a little salmon but during the salmon run it gets crazy crowded but the only way i really like red meat fish is smoked,i really like white meat fish but have gotten horribly sea sick

i would have two set ups,a 6 1/2 trout/stealhead and a little thicker for salmon,big bass and catfish
but the ocean is where its at,you dont have to go far out,drop pretty much anything to the bottom and something good will come up,the last time i went and just got mild sea sick i can home with 17lbs of fillet,vacuum packed,ling cod,yellow eye and sea bass,major score there and why i am more concerned about having a large freezer than fridge

 

[mikEXpat]

Good question. I'm not quite to that point yet, but I do plan to when I get the opportunity. 

Prior to starting this project, I did quite a lot of reading about this and hunting. What I found is a dilemma with no good solutions for someone who travels from state to state. It seems you're supposed to buy a license in every state you go to, and the more expensive out-of-state licenses as well. 

There have been other threads about that here. I asked follow-up questions to see if I could get people who are actually doing it to explain what they do, but I think not much came of it. Maybe this thread will be better.

Vagabound

Hi Vagabond. Congrats on getting on the road in your box van. All the best.

I too looked around and couldn't find any real guidance as to how to do this. I do know you need a license per state. But I have watched a bunch of videos on river fishing and various ponds that might allow a friendly person to stop by and fish for a meal. I'm not sure how to go about this.

And yes. I know there is a limit, but come on, there has to be a way for us to be able to supplement our diet with food from the land. It seems ridiculous that food is being so protected.

 

[mikEXpat]

Thanks for your interest everyone in telling me you like or don't like fish, you fish or don't fish. But, you know, I'd really like to know if fishing to supplement one's diet is possible and how to do it. Do you buy a license and then simply travel from lake to lake, coast to coast in ONE state?

Maybe my question opens up a can of worms -- pun intended. Maybe we aren't able to fish for "survival", like setting up small creek traps and such while boondocking. Are we truly doing harm if we trap a couple fish a day to eat? Has it come to the point now that we simply aren't allowed to freely hunt for low calorie food? And I don't mean hunting a deer or such, but squirrels, pigeons, rabbits and fish under a couple pounds shouldn't be a problem, right?

 

[djkeev]

If it were ONLY you who took a couple of fish a day, there wouldn't be a problem.

Sadly, there are simply way too many people on this planet and if everyone took a couple of fish a day, how long would the supply last?

"Seasons" are a way of regulating the harvest.
A license enforces the seasons.

It wasn't done maliciously but like most rules written it was well intentioned.

From what I understand, My Sister-In -Laws tribe in Northern California Coast is still allowed to fish as they see the need to.

Dave

 

[mikEXpat]

From what I understand, My Sister-In -Laws tribe in Northern California Coast is still allowed to fish as they see the need to.

Dave

Yeah. I went to Humboldt State in the early 90s. We loved to buy salmon from the tribes. 32 lb beauties. Oh yeah. We canned them with jalapenos and were happy with saltines for a years.

 

[mikEXpat]

What do you think about this? I'm thinking of buying a float tube and throwing it out as like a kayak. Then, what if I attached an anchor made of a log with a longer rope attached to a rock to anchor me. Then I could just drop worm baits/sink to catch fish attracted to the log. I ain't a redneck, but I sure wanna be one.

 

[Vagabound]

What do you think about this? I'm thinking of buying a float tube and throwing it out as like a kayak. Then, what if I attached an anchor made of a log with a longer rope attached to a rock to anchor me. Then I could just drop worm baits/sink to catch fish attracted to the log. I ain't a redneck, but I sure wanna be one.

Wrong "R". Instead of redneck, I think they call that Rube Goldberg fishing! ;-)

Vagabound

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Can you fish to supplement your food.  The simple answer is yes.  

The complicated answer is......every state requires a license.  Out of state licenses can be prohibitively expensive.  Getting caught fishing with out one is even more expensive.  They can confiscate your gear, leave you with a hefty fine and in even a court date.  Then there are the regulations.  Size limits, what species can and can't be kept, seasons on what fish you can catch and when, and then in some areas there are even more specific regulations such as fly fishing only, no live bait allowed areas, and again further divided up regulations such as certain stretches of streams/rivers that can or can't be fished and which can be very confusing to follow if you're not familiar with the area.  Lakes can also be divided up into sections restricting what,  how many, where you can fish and with what.  For example...Montana has 102 page book on fishing regulations, and it gets pretty in depth.  

Then if you do catch one, there's the cleaning and preserving of it.  If you are in bear country extra considerations must be taken.  

And this is coming from someone that's fished all his life, all over the country.  But when I fish out of state, the trip is a vacation to go fish.  I study the regulations beforehand and sometimes hire a local guide.  When traveling and living out of my vehicle, I don't think it's a practical way to obtain food, and certainly not the cheapest way.  Easier to buy a few pieces from the market when you get the craving.  

And remember, you can literally fish 8 hours a day, several days in a row and never catch a single fish.  Or only catch ones you aren't allowed to keep.  By the time you factor in your license, time, gear, travel, it's a very expensive meal.  In some areas, you wouldn't even want to eat the fish you catch, depending on the body of water they came from.  Lots of areas have high mercury, in turn, gets into the fish, that then gets into you.  I've fished in areas where they advise eating no more than a fish or two a month from certain bodies of water.

 

[bullfrog]

I'm an Arizona resident so I get a fishing license there with a special permit from Utah to fish Lake Powell. If I didn't like fishing and all the friendships I have made by fishing I could probably go to Red Lobster once a month and come out ahead money wise. But I do supply fish to lots of friends here for fish fries and charity events as there are no limits on Striped Bass and Walleyes here unlike most other places and usually they share garden produce or wild meat, with the nearest store 225 miles away I come out ahead at least the 6 or 8 months we are here.

 

[Vagabound]

Can you fish to supplement your food.  The simple answer is yes.  

The complicated answer is.........

In my opinion, that is an excellent summary of the realistic situation of trying to fish for sustenance. I'm going to punt on that whole thing until I get my boat built some day and get on the ocean. At that point, I suspect the pros will significantly outweigh the cons.

Vagabound