I agreee that fishing is a mess, and it was just (IMO) just made worse in the mistlands update. Tieing fishing (or anything) to the trader is ridiculous (IMO), and adding the different fish type and sizes just made inventory management that much worse. The couple of times that I tried fishing (ignoring the big ones that got away because I only have 100 or so stamina), I lost half the fish because it required yet another inventory slot that I didn't have available.

On the positive side, I have been kept fairly well stocked with random pickups, which is essentially free food.