Funny thing, only for one period and in one place did I go fishing. One particular Power Station I worked at used to get prawns by the tonne in the inlet screens. When the prawns were running we would scoop them out and boil them on night shift and share them with the rest of the staff (even the office staff got some on exceptional occasions). We only bothered when the prawns were at least 130mm long.
When the prawns were not running then there were always smaller ones in the screens. This was when I went fishing for Bream. Bream are a delicious fish and my favourite, Just put a prawn on a large hook (0?) with a running weight on a handline, throw it in the inlet canal and let it get carried by the current. Within a few minutes you had a decent size (legal) Bream (300mm+) for breakfast or to take home. If you hadnāt caught any thing within 5 minutes then you were wasting your time.
Apart from that I find fishing so boring I just donāt have the patience for it. I still have all the gear including two vintage rods - I say āvintageā because that is how they get advertised on Ebay
Fishing, unless it is quick and guaranteed is just not for me I am afraid, Iād rather go for a walk and buy my fish at the fish market.
If I had to then I could probably survive on what I could hunt or catch. In the past I have done both coarse and sea fishing and still have my rods etc. Some yearsā ago it used to be possible to pick up road-kill rabbits on the way home from work, through county lanes in the early mornings. My travelling companion knew how to skin rabbits so passed that on to me. Very easy to do too and I recall they were very tasty. Not sure about rabbits nowadays though as myxomatosis is still evident in some areas.
Edited to add:
I had overlooked pigeons until reading Gee3ās post, so those too providing the shotgun pellets are all removed.
Seeing a chicken killed and dressed for Christmas dinner when I was a small child put me off eating chicken for life . I became so averse to chicken even the smell of it cooking made me nauseous and if I cooked it for anyone I had to use herbs or spices to mask the smell.
I continued to eat meat reluctantly but could never kill it , now I rarely eat meat at all and could survive with the help of foraging in the countryside if I had too.
In my teens I enjoyed summers on a relativeās farm and helped with deer culls as well as doing other things like rabbit & pheasant shooting, so I have skinned/plucked and gutted a few animals in my time.
All of which were destined for human consumption I should point out.
I also fished for trout & salmon mostly and again for eating, not for sport.
So I suppose I could, though whether I could like to do so is another thing entirely and the answer would have to be no.
I would not like to.
Although I have the capability to do so there is no need (or opportunity come to that) and instead I try to buy as much of our meat products from ethical suppliers as possible rather than from supermarkets.
My grandmother an mother used to make pigeon pie when I was a child, you never hear of it now, as I recall it took a couple of pigeons to make a decent pie. I do remember the meat was very dark but that is about all.
Have killed plucked and eaten chickens when younger and my Uncle
kept them also did the same for a very cocky cockerel who got above his station and we had him at Christmas.
Have also eaten fish fresh from being caught having gutted them first.
I could not hunt and kill anythingā¦I can fight if need be so not too soft but never could think of what is really on my plateā¦
One day a dead deer was in the middle of a narrow road we were driving along.
My Husband wanted to move it out of the road when a Vehicle pulled up to offer to help us put it into our Vehicleā¦No thanks we donāt want to take thatā¦So they uplifted it into their Vehicle and A big big thanks and goneā¦
Hunting is the norm still hereā¦
We eat meat, not huge meat eaters these daysā¦
We had a friend in Bexhill who was a vegan and he could not see how we could have chickens as pets, also great for their eggsā¦ and still eat chicken for dinnerā¦he never could get that, everā¦His Salad would be picked from around the gardenā¦any weeds or plants that were edibleā¦
That would not be my choice although some flowers they say taste okā¦
I have actioned euthanasia on a pet onceā¦still feel it was the right decision.
definitely not, I hate the thought of an animal being killed to feed us when I donāt even feel we need to eat meat, we can get our protein from many other sources. I am a bit hypocritical because I eat chicken breast, thatās the only meat I like but Iām gradually turning into a veggie because I am now choosing quorn over meat and really not missing the chicken.
Heck, when I see animals in the wild killing other animals to eat it makes me cry and I have to switch off, as much as I love, love, love the lions I really donāt like the killing instinct in them but I accept itās part of the creature they are and I respect that totally, just because I respect doesnāt mean I have to like LOL.
If I had my way no animal would die for us humans. If Iām honest I really cannot understand anyone who gets pleasure out of killing a living thing, Iād put asides wasps though, I hate the nasty buggers and will kill them without a thought, well, after all they are out to bloody well hurt me arent they haha.
A pet hate of mine are trophy hunters, they make me feel so angry inside and I donāt like to feel like that.
bait, hooks, casting - ocean and rivers but only for food!
