from my back yard I catch large mouth bass, peacock bass (which was introduced from south america and not really a bass but a cyclid. they fight pretty well for a fresh water species though), snook, gar and bream. I prefer salt water fishing though. I like yellow tail, red, mutton or mangrove snapper the best. after that I like king makarel and dolphin. I like sword but usually release them. for fun I like fly fishing the flats for permit, bone and tarpon. my favorite is hogfish but you have to go into the water and spear those so it doesn't really count as fishing in the strictest sense.
we eat lots of fish around here. on the average twice per week. I've been eating freshly caught fish my whole life. when I lived in massachusetts we used to occassionally fish boston harbor for flounder while we were working. a simple hand line with a bell tied to it. if anyone heard the bell they hauled the sucker up and dumped it into an igloo, re-baited the hook and tossed it back in. by lunch time there was usually enough flounder for an almost free lunch for a few guys. we grilled them on a steel plate with an acetylene torch as the heat source. someone was always thoughtful enough to run to the deli for fixings and sodas while the fish were grilling up. Tip O'Neil the then speaker of the house stopped by the east boston ship yard where we were to collect his accolades for the big navy contract he landed and had a few bites with us once, he struck me as a real earthy guy. he earned my admiration and I could see why he was so well loved by the people in his district.
anyways I don't know when the health liability thing will kick in. those fish from boston harbor lived in some nasty water and they tasted mighty fine. we ate those at least once a week for the few years I was up there.
