After my recent success with a couple steelhead in town I was talking with another friend of mine who suggested keeping one at some point to try it out in my frying pan. I thought it sounded like a good idea so I went to the interwebs to tell me when, where, and how I could catch and keep a steelhead without going to jail or losing my fishing license. And after more than a few minutes of leafing through the regulations novel (which warrants another post at a later date) I finally figured that, yes, I could catch and keep a steelhead this time of year where I have been fishing. I also saw this nice notice right beside the regulations for the Willamette river:
In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, mmmm, mercury and PCBs.
Then again it doesn't tell me what "High" means. So referring to page 18 tells me how fast I will die if I decide to eat some of these tasty fish.
Hmmm, I'm not sure it's worth the health risk. Of course, PCBs are also quite tasty and nutritious.
"All persons should reduce or avoid eating..." or what? This one is even more frightening. If I do eat some of the fat and ingest these lovely PCBs, dioxins, or pesticides what happens? Instant death, or a small increase in the likelihood of getting cancer or having failing kidneys or something of that ilk?
I think I'll just continue my normal catch and release fishing. Not because I'm a self-righteous prig but because it's not worth the potential side effects.
If they allow 8 oz every 2 weeks, that is what is allowed year round. I think you can consume 8 oz every week for a short time without too much risk of growing a second head.
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