FS Digest

Newbie question: how feasible is it to fish for sustenance, to stop buying grocery store meat and to start living off the land, through fishing year-round?

I live in Provo, Utah, near some popular fishing lakes, I'm discovering.


I've been wanting to find a hobby that would get me into the outdoors on a regular basis, for at least one day per week. And it seems like fishing can be done year-round.


The idea of being more connected to my food, of not needing to buy (expensive) meats at the store, and naturally getting more fish oil in my diet (though additional supplementation of fish oil would also be needed to get serious benefits) -- those all seem like good reasons to for me to get serious about fishing for sustenance (whatever that's called).


Two Questions:

(1) After paying for: a fishing licence, fishing pole and bait, and maybe an $80 year-round pass for daytime access to National Parks; do the numbers still add up to be saving money by fishing every week, instead of buying meat from the store? (Freezing fish fillets, to cook and eat throughout the week, fishing one or two days per week in lakes that have plenty of fish and could yield enough catch to last all week long.)


(2) Since fishing for sustenance seems like an enjoyable hobby, it might be worth it even if there is just a small amount of financial savings, or (worst-case scenario) just breaking even with how much it costs to buy meat and fish from the store. ... Is anyone already doing what I'm describing; fishing every week and saving/freezing extra fish for consumption throughout the rest of the week?

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by INTP_Music_Man

FS Digest

I feel like hunting would be better for saving on grocery expenses. Also, a lot of bodies of water have guidelines for safe consumption amounts (you know, mercury and all). I myself am prepping to try and get my first deer next season for the same reason, to fill my freezer while at the same time enjoying the outdoors.

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by 93TheDude

FS Digest

Hunting sounds like a much more viable option; I agree. Especially since the amount of fish needed to just get enough protein in the diet all week would lead to too much mercury, even with all precautions taken and with only eating fish that are lower in mercury: https://www.verywellfit.com/the-best-types-of-fish-for-health-2223830 ... So I'll start looking into hunting and/or collaborating with hunters. A long time ago, I helped my brothers skin a deer and I recall it being relatively easy with a sharp knife. ... Dang, my dream of finding a year-round, weekly outdoor hobby that produces all needed food for the week isn't quite as easy as I hoped, since I think deer season is just twice per year. ... I'll research more Utah game, to see if any small game can maybe be hunted closer to year-round, if possible.

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by INTP_Music_Man

FS Digest

Hunting, especially public land is much harder than it looks. Don't get into this if saving money is your goal. Keep in mind that there are different fish contaminants, Mercury is associated mostly with ocean fish. Freshwater fish are often contaminated with PCBs.

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by rvafish

FS Digest

You will not save money hunting either, and I think you're likely to get less meat/time depending on the species chosen. Many people go years before getting their first deer.

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by rvafish

FS Digest

Unless you are somewhere with a good amount of different species, it’s going to get really really dull eating the same fish or two every day.

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by 5uper5kunk

FS Digest

The time you will spend fishing, cleaning the fish, etc is all gonna be more expensive than just going to the grocery store. Youre gonna have fo fish a lot. If you keep fish from your nornal fishing hobby then youll get some worth out of it. But to go out and catch all the food is a waste of time

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by coalbass

FS Digest

It will absolutely be cheaper to buy fish at the store.

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by BoyWonderDownUnder

FS Digest

Sure bought fish is most of the time cheaper, especially as a beginner there will be days with no fish at all. But keep in mind that you won't be able to get fresher fish than that. In my opinion fresh fish out of the water is a delicates that can't get a price tag. Enjoy your hobby, enjoy your catch but don't rely on it as part of your diet. There is a Youtuber that made a survival challenge with the try to sustain his weight with only eating fish but the huge amounts of protein and the low fat in fish only brought his digestive system into trouble.

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by halfAbedTOrent

FS Digest

Amen to that. I wont eat store bought fish

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by smokin9mm

FS Digest

Does Utah have a "possession limit" on fish? You'll want to probably check that if it's even feasible from a legal standpoint.

And yeah, if you're comfortable eating the same thing a lot, rainbow trout are pretty easy to catch. I don't know if it's realistic to stop buying grocery store meat entirely, but if you cut that amount in half, it would probably be kind of significant.

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by uivandal52

FS Digest

Two days a week hook and line fishing will be a great diet plan. Pounds will melt right off.

Only way this works is with a net, the skills to use it, rich local fish stocks and liberal possession limit laws. Lacking even one of those, you might as well just become a vegetarian.

I know a few people who catch half or more of their protein with a rod and reel. They live alone and fish 5+ days a week in a climate that never experiences freezes.

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by jswledhed

FS Digest

Thanks. ... So, I'd basically be giving up my life and day job to fish everyday, if using a rod and reel -- definitely not feasible for me. And a lot of freshwater fish have mercury problems as well, so it doesn't even sound safe health-wise to eat fish all week like I was thinking. ... If there is a feasible way to only eat meat from what I hunt/fish, it sounds like it will be hunting big game (deer, elk) and freezing it.

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by INTP_Music_Man

FS Digest

It depends on how many you have to feed and your local laws, but yeah, hunting is going to be a much better source of meat.

Whitetail deer, mule deer, elk, turkey, hogs and some smaller game birds should all be present somewhere in Utah. If you don't already hunt or shoot, there's going to be an initial cost and learning curve to weather, but it's a great long-term goal.

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by jswledhed

FS Digest

Feasible to fish and fill the freezer? Absolutely. Feasible to do it and save money? No. Maaaaayyybbbeeeee with catfish trot lines, but not if you take your time into account. Pollock is cheap.

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by rvafish