This has to be a joke? Spottie fillets?

Might as well get some DDT popsicles while you're at it.

I was told that if you eat spotties you will end up getting spots of your own:afraid:
so I have avoided them. As for mercury that is nothing to mess with, had a buddy who ate his own canned tuna, fresh from ours and mexico waters get too much mercury in his system and he had to take nasty meds for a while...my advice just pay attention to your body after eating the fish, nothing is safe these days!!!

Thanks for all the enlightening comments. After a detailed analysis I've come to the following conclusion...

We're all gonna die!!! (eventually, but no need to rush it)

This has made me wonder about WSB, since they are a croaker family fish. I think it will be a while before I bring any more bay bass home...and those yellow fin croaker are not looking great either. Radioactive bluefin, mercury laden billfish, polluted bass...makes a guy wonder if he should stick to alpine brook trout! (not gonna, but just sayin')

As far as the basic practice of C&R goes, I practice moderation. Keep only what you will use, not maxing outwhat the limit says...except dorado, they are all going home with me! I have been on a few fishing trips with a DFG biologist who's job is doing fish population studies for fisheries management. He takes a ton of greif from anglers pissed about closures, limits, regs, etc. but he is a sportsman and he keeps fish. His perspective is that like many managed resources fisheries can be harmed by both over and under harvesting.

I respect everyone's opinions here. I have my own personal line in the sand too - I won't kill a shark. I'll try to talk others out of it. But at the end of the day if it's legal it is up to the individual, even if I find it reprehensible. That said, can we all agree that yellowtail is yummy? If so, I'll hope to meet some of you in LJ! If not, then rest assured all I am doing is providing mackerel " meals on wheels " for all those poor starving sea dogs that are too lazy to catch their own.

The chart shows you can eat smelt 7 servings per week. Anyone knows how they taste? I probably wont try it any time soon as long as i can eat bass once a week.
One thing i noticed, there are hatcheries for white sea bass and halibut where they release young fish but i have not heard any bass hatchery. Is it because bass is not a commercial fish?

Hey chuck you can check pierfishing.com for a bit of info on eating some of the local species. There's a "food value" section for each one. Jacksmelt says tasty but lots of small bones.

I've eaten them before, they really are quite tasty.

http://www.pierfishing.com/resources...alifornia_fish

yes thanks bud.