It's what's on the inside that counts

[Fishstiq]

Whenever I harvest fish, no matter what the type, I'm always curious what they have been eating.  Sometimes their bellies are all bloated out, and I've found some pretty interesting stuff when I open them up.  Does anyone else do this, or do you just fillet them and toss the carcass? 

This was one of the more interesting ones I've gotten, a cabbie I shot on the 22nd of last month.  1st pic is the fish, 2nd is the stomach contents.

What's the weirdest/most interesting thing you have found in a fish?

[boneaddict]

I almost always do that, almost with every critter.  Its a good way to learn what they are eating.

[boneaddict]

only thing interesting I can remember is a chipmunk in the belly of a Rattlesnake.   I thought nothing of it and through it over the fence into the field.   

Dog found it....

Dog ate it.....

Dog almost died

I never thought of the toxin still being in it

[JohnVH]

nice! the Lings we caught recently only had shrimp in them

[HornHoarder]

I recently caught about a three pound largemouth, and upon filleting it I found a baby duck in its belly. Must have been fresh. Fully feathered and intact still. Kinda cool.

[NRA4LIFE]

We always used to get a kick out of the stomach contents of the pike and muskies we cought back in WI.  It is truly amazing how big a fish those monsters can swallow.  A lot of times their own kind.  I also always checked the crop/stomach contents of the turkeys I killed.  One of them had a crop chocked full of walking sticks, some of them still moving.  He must have found a whole swarm of them.  This was back in Northern Missouri.  Some of them were huge too, 6" long or more.

[mrmoskillz]

In sturgeon I find whole mussels(big handfull) and in bass its crawdads

[jackmaster]

I almost always do that, almost with every critter.  Its a good way to learn what they are eating.

, thats i found that kelp greenling are the absolute best bait for bog ole lingcod, i did find a number3 silver blade bug body mepps in a salmons mouth once.

[Ripper]

I once caught a 14" smallmouth with a 6" storm wild eye jig in it's stomach. Those jigs are huge! I don't know how it got all the way to it's stomach with out the hook catching it anywhere. The hook didn't even penetrate the stomach liner. Very strange indeed!

[ICEMAN]

Cut open a crummy planted rainbow trout carry over with a stomach bulge...had a rubber worm lodged in its gut and was having issues getting other foods past it, but was obviously still making it...