anyone eat the whites out of the bow?

[rena0040]

I caught a few fat whites the other day out of the bow that were 2-3 pounds. I was tempted to keep them and try them out.

Has anyone eaten whites from the bow within the city limits? How did they taste? Did you get sick or grow extra appendages?

[jacenbeers]

I have caught many from the Bow on the fly and would not try eating one. You are better off to hit the Bow near Cochrane and eat those.

[slingshotz]

I've eaten them before and they were very tasty....about 30 years ago. I doubt that you have any issues eating them now but most likely wouldn't taste fantastic, especially below Bearspaw.

Some of the farm raised fish/shrimp that you eat at restaurants were probably grown in sewage-like water in other countries and you don't hear of anyone getting sick. I've been to the shrimp farms in Asia, that's why I avoid eating shrimp in restaurants as much as possible. Those waters compared to the bow, shows our waters are still pretty amazing.

I know there are lots here that think the Bow is a cesspool but it is all relative. It's definitely not as pristine as 30 years ago but it really isn't that bad.

[Guitarplayingfish]

I've eaten them before and they were very tasty....about 30 years ago. I doubt that you have any issues eating them now but most likely wouldn't taste fantastic, especially below Bearspaw.

Some of the farm raised fish/shrimp that you eat at restaurants were probably grown in sewage-like water in other countries and you don't hear of anyone getting sick. I've been to the shrimp farms in Asia, that's why I avoid eating shrimp in restaurants as much as possible. Those waters compared to the bow, shows our waters are still pretty amazing.

I know there are lots here that think the Bow is a cesspool but it is all relative. It's definitely not as pristine as 30 years ago but it really isn't that bad.

I wouldn't eat them.

Farm raised is not nearly as good as wild... but obviously fish need decent water quality, some in particular. Most hatcheries are on top of that, and they aren't swimming in sewage-like water. Thats what Biofilters are for. They still dont compare to wild though.

Regardless... Have fun if you go for it. I wouldn't eat a fish from the bow if my life depended on it.

[BeeGuy]

Mountain whitefish account for >95% of fish I keep for the table.

The ones in Ghost are clean and firm and easy to catch.

The ones below the Dam in Bowness and downstream are soft and fishy tasting. gross

Tried it once and won't ever do it again.

You'll also find the 34-40cm fish are better than the bigger ones.

The ones >40cm often have worms as well.

You can see in the video I posted a RMWF that is about 33cm which makes about 6oz of fillets.

A couple of those and you have dinner.

[Gust]

The river dwnstrm of bearspaw is much much cleaner than 30 years ago,, I dont keep from the bow, except last year to check something,,, caught and cleaned a rnbow to see the colour of the meat. It was a whiter pink, which is promissing. 30 years ago the meat would have been both the colour and consistency of margarine.

I know there are some on here who remember the odd pipe dribbling crap at various points of the river.

[BeeGuy]

The sewer grate at the end of my street in Parkdale/West Hillhurst runs right into the River. How many of these are in the City?

No thanks.

I have a spot just upstream of fish creek. There is an 'outflow' there which oozes green/brown sludge and oil rainbows.

No thanks, I'll head towards the mountains.

[Guitarplayingfish]

The river dwnstrm of bearspaw is much much cleaner than 30 years ago,, I dont keep from the bow, except last year to check something,,, caught and cleaned a rnbow to see the colour of the meat. It was a whiter pink, which is promissing. 30 years ago the meat would have been both the colour and consistency of margarine.

I know there are some on here who remember the odd pipe dribbling crap at various points of the river.

You kept a rainbow to check the color of the meat...

I hope you or someone ate it afterwards... That's a pretty stupid reason to take a fishes life otherwise.

[Guitarplayingfish]

The sewer grate at the end of my street in Parkdale/West Hillhurst runs right into the River. How many of these are in the City?

No thanks.

I have a spot just upstream of fish creek. There is an 'outflow' there which oozes green/brown sludge and oil rainbows.

No thanks, I'll head towards the mountains.

The Sewer grates for every city runs into the river. Thats why you aren't supposed to dump anything into it, or wash your vehicle on the street. There are probably thousands in Calgary that run straight into the bow.

The city of Lethbridge got a mixed up plumber who connected pipes wrong long ago. It took 5 years to realize an entire housing development was flushing (literally) right into the storm sewer and into the river..

Disgusting...

[Gust]

You kept a rainbow to check the color of the meat...

I hope you or someone ate it afterwards... That's a pretty stupid reason to take a fishes life otherwise.

Yup and it tasted like an inner city, high risk, ghetto fish,,, I made a tiny little kite with the skin and made necklace out of the head and gave it to a hippy out near the turnpike,, the guts became fertiliser.

How's that?

[happyfisher]

you would have to be crazy.....

[trainerdave]

I ate a few hundred rockies when I was younger,but the best ones are from the upper reaches of rivers. The bow river Rocky mtn. whites can travel from some fairly sketchy water below the city to bearspaw dam or up to the glenmore dam (up the elbow) or up the highwood and sheep and their tributaries.
The oldman and tributaries ,the upper bow, spray lakes and sebee dam/barrier lake on the Kananaskis river are some places for tasty whites. Over the pass in to B.C. in the Columbia and Kootenai rivers are some great places too.
Like Beeguy mentioned, the 1 pounders are usually the best eating. The larger older ones have brown fat,higher concentrations of parasites and oils which make them less flavorful. The largest ones are like stewing or laying hens. Good for spawning and making more small ones to eat. Beautiful fish too with their pointy snouts (for flipping over stones) and some have a few golden sparkles on them like glitter from a christmas ball.
They really are one of the few remaining cold water native fishes to remain genetically pure and strong in their range. The Columbia river in B.C. has 2 strains of rockies-one of which is a pygmy variety along with the regular rocky.

[jbrow397]

Yup and it tasted like an inner city, high risk, ghetto fish,,, I made a tiny little kite with the skin and made necklace out of the head and gave it to a hippy out near the turnpike,, the guts became fertiliser.

How's that?

I am so going to make a kite out of fish skin! :lol:

[WhitefishLady]

We are planning to smoke some whites caught near the hwy 22 bridge once we get our possession limit. Ill let folks know how they turn out. Didnt find any parasites and they were in the 33-40cm range. I think smoking them might be the only way for fish caught below bearspaw. My friend who caught some with me and tried frying one reported it was terrible.

Though I agree with slingshotz that there are probably far worse things then bow river fish. Obviously if bow river fish are a regular part of your diet you might have problems but the odd one is fine. Personally I'm more scared of fish downstream of Fort Mac in the Athabasca.