Nelson Lake Fish

I've never had any issues eating the fish I've caught out of Nelson but I only fish there in really early spring when the water is still cold (relative).  The water in Nelson Lake is no warmer than lakes down south and nobody has a problem eating those fish.  The reason the fish in Nelson Lake get a little bigger than most other places is because of the water temp.  Also, I know of no bacteria in the lake that is harmful to humans.  The water is only used for cooling the power plant.  It's not like it's used to cool a nuclear reactor even though that water is safe to consume as well.  The water comes in contact with nothing dangerous.

mod is correct.  The only problem with Nelson is one of temperature.  Higher temps produce an environment where parasites and bacteria do well.  So those are a problem with fish in Nelson, I cleaned some really nice gills and crappie caught there last spring.  Both were completely full of intestinal worms.  Grossed me out and I didn't keep them.

I think the ridiculous signs that are posted near Nelson talking about "not drinking the water" are part of why everyone is misled into thinking the fish are toxic.  The only reason to not drink the water out of Nelson is the exact same reason you shouldn't drink the water out of every other lake in ND.  Cows, sheep, people, deer, and beaver all crap in it.

If you can get past the thought of the intestinal worms in the fish up there (which \should not be a problem if you properly clean, freeze, and then cook your fish) there is no real reason to not eat them out of safety concerns.  The bigger concern a person should have is that fish out of warm water tend to be softer and taste kind of muddy.

 Catch and Release for me

I grew hair in places hair shouldn't be after eating some Nelson Lake fish. I also think it may have something to do with my third nipple.

On a more serious note the water temp can be over 70 gerdees in the middle of winter and 90 in the summer. Like Allen said parasites thrive and IMO fish just taste like crap coming out of water that warm, especially panfish for some reason.

Also don't be a  turdburglar and tie off to the canal barracade when people are shore fishing in that area. Its illegal and inconsiderate.

IntroC Said:
Also don't be a  turdburglar and tie off to the canal barracade when people are shore fishing in that area. Its illegal and inconsiderate.

+1

Happens far too often.