2 replies to this topic

[gbalkam]

Hi peoples.  I'm fairly new to the Halifax area.  I worry about pollution, so I don't really trust any of the local waterways to be "safe" to eat the fish from.  I'm from Amherst, and pretty much any hole you can drown a worm in is safe to eat the fish from. lol. 

 

The other thing is, I am a bit restricted as to where I can get to.  No more hiking 10 miles up a creek like I did when I was a kid.  I have to use a cane for most of my walking, but I can get along without for short distances. 

 

Since I don't have a car, I am hoping for something really local (as in I can con my brother into going too) or near a bus route where the water is in short walking distance (about a half mile or so).

 

I mostly fish fresh water trout, but also tidal water from the shore is great too. (smelts are fun with rod and reel *sometimes a bass gets lost in there too*)

 

I am hoping to find something close enough that I can go fishing often, and get my fat butt off the computer chair for some exercise.

 

I'm old school.. if you don't come out wet, dirty and covered in bug bites.. you weren't fishing. LOL.

[NS_Sens]

Hey, welcome to the area.  I can't speak for every waterway in the city, but I'm pretty sure you'd be safe eating most of them.  Most if not all the trout left in the lakes in the city are stocked, so spend a lot of their time growing outside of the lake you'll catch them.  It's hard to compare a backwoods lake with no activity around it to something in the city.  Having said that, I don't know about Amherst but I know some small town lakes that do no better on the pollution side.  Some people and businesses are horrible, no matter where they live.

 

Another option if you can get to saltwater in the summer is mackerel.  I know a lot of people that are afraid to eat them out of the harbour, it's nonsense.  The mackerel move around, they swim in and swim out.  So you can go down the shore an hour and you'll end up catching fish that were in the harbour a day or two ago.

 

Long story short, go out, fish, and eat.  You'll probably be eating less toxic food that what you pick up at the grocery store.

[gbalkam]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Amherst is a bit funny.. if you can catch a fish, it is fine to eat. Mostly it is the habitat that gets destroyed, rather than water quality.  Hopefully, damage done 20 years ago has repaired itself. 

Many of the trout in the area are browns and sea trout, due to fish coming through the marsh in the early season, and getting locked into lakes and ponds and deeper areas as the water level drops. 

People in the area are pretty great too.  As long as you are respectful of their property, not littering, etc, you can fish all you like.  One of my favorite spots, growing up, was literally, right through the middle of the land owners cattle field.  Don't bother the cows, they wont bother you. (Don't trust the bulls though.. lol)