What do you guys think?

I would consider the fish perfectly safe to eat, in moderation.

I have a pretty valid understanding of city planning and the way these systems are designed, is to keep mass amounts of debris from finding it's way from the gutters to the lake. The system poses no measure of keeping any chemical contaminate out of the lake other than by diluting it in stages(unless your city happens to put large water treatment plants between the streams and the rivers) the closest thing to contamination you would probably ever detect is HIGHLY diluted motor oils and gasoline from runoff of parkinglots. BUT, nobody is supposed to be dumping any chemicals down the storm drains in the first place.

the major rivers and the lake we fish here in town are the same idea, and many people eat their share of the fish. I have also seen the machines the city has setup along the rivers that are monitoring the water quality. If I ate fish, I would have no problem eating a fish from your river.

This question is becoming more of a question than what it was back in the day. Most water is sampled by the EPA and other Fish and Game agencies through out the country. Generally speaking, if there is any issues within a body or section of a body there will have been notices or warnings issued. You might want to do a internet search on the water you are fishing on. All bodies of water are contaminated to some degree even our oceans. That is why pregnant women shouldn't eat a lot of Tuna per se because of the levels of mercury found in Tuna. That being said, if there are no signs or warnings posted and you find nothing on the internet about the body of water you are fishing, it is safe to assume that the fish have some contamination, but are probably safe to eat in moderation. You might want to consider speaking with someone in you municipality or county though before taking the plunge into eating them though just to be on the safe side. Thanks for getting the kids out there fishing.

Personally, here's my opinion and it's only based on my current knowledge and past experience. I would NOT even think of eating those fish, period. Bluegill are extremely "HARDY" fish. They can tolerate some really poor conditions, pollution, viruses and toxins that would kill most other fish. This is why Water Quality Labs don't use these fish as an indicator of how safe water is. Most laboratory's use mosquito fish as the sample fish. The slightest bit of anything deadly or poisonous will kill this fish. While you eat a contaminated fish, it won't kill you right away in most cases, it can cause problems down the road much like Mercury does in fish. It may not kill the host fish, but it'll have long term effects on those that ingest it. So think about it. In our society we have the greatest dangers from Hydrocarbon poisons. Our cars drip and leak oils, gas, diesel and many other chemicals which are hydrocarbon based. These leach into our storm drains and then into the environment. Look at all of the things happening with the fish with the drugs we flush down the toilets

The simplest and easiest way to find out is to contact the DNA or whatever it is called in your state. In my state it is called the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. They keep a listing of each lake, river, and stream that is too contaminated to eat the fish that is caught there.

They more then likely have a website that post this information for public use. The department checks the water quality of the area lakes on a regular basis and the results should be posted somewhere..

The fish should be fine to eat. The water shouldn't be polluted by any means.

I know completely off topic but you answerd somw ones queation on a black snake .... i thought id ask you about my snake hes fatter the a usual black snake and has white under his mouth hes over 4 ft Idk how fast he is he is always "sleeping" on the top of my headge .... he never moves when i walk past other then if i get close he smells at me with his tongue .... i assumed he was just a racer ... and never worried but yesterday i saw the the white under his chin and now im nervous cause my dog sleeps under that headge some times and i have a garden bye it ... i live in manatee county if that helps. .... thanks in adavnce

if your ponds have frogs you will probably be okay.

frogs and other amphibians are major indicator species.

read the links.

http://www.untamedscience.com/biodiversity/article...

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/reptiles_amphibians/fro...

http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/numbers.htm...

if the fish have NO sores on their bodies, they will be ok