Re: Are Big Fish Good to Eat?

[DDbasser]

I don't eat a lot of bass, but this year they have been wanting us to keep a lot of the spotted bass out of Skiatook lake.

They have stocked it with Florida strain largemouth and Tennesse strain smallmouth and are trying to reduce the spotted bass population.

We've kept some of the 10-12" ones and they are pretty good eating, my wife caught one that went around 2 1/2 lbs and it wasn't as good as the smaller ones it had a strong fishy taste.  

IMO you can't beat crappie or walleye for eating.  

[KYbass1276]

I don't eat my fish I catch. C&R only.  But have heard and I might be wrong that bigger fish don't taste good and that if your going to eat any eat the smaller fish.   You don't want to take the larger fish out of whatever water your fishing they are too benifical to it. JMO

[KU_Bassmaster.]

IMO you can't beat crappie or walleye for eating.

Exactly .... freshwater that is.

[RoLo]

Bass over 15 pounds, have real tough flesh

Roger

[Guest avid]

I don't think any size bass is especially tasty.

Catfish, bream , trout, yellow perch, and walleye are much tastier freshwater fish IMHO

[Troutfisher]

You can't beat deep fried trout and bream with a little ketchup on the side.

I think eating fish is almost the same as with eating venison; the younger animal/fish is usually better eating than the larger one, because the flesh in the older animal/fish is tougher due to more muscle.

That's my thoughts.

[langs15]

Just a wierd question.....what do ya'll catch crappie on?

[Replica.]

I have also read that any toxins present in the water are at higher levels in big fish.  They have more years of exposure to these pollutants.

[Fish Chris]

I think there are just infinite variables to your question.

To begin with, I don't particularly care for the taste of Largemouth bass of any size. However, I know that generally speaking, the meat from fish of any species tends to get courser in texture, and often times, stronger in flavor, as the fish get larger / older.

Also, certain lakes produce fish which taste better than others, with the size of those fish completely aside.

But here's the kicker...... The longer a fish has been alive, the longer it has had for heavy metals and others toxins to build up within its system. Have you ever seen warnings from your F/G about how many lbs you can safely eat, of a certain species per month ? Then you might have noticed some that say you can eat more of that species if its under a certain length, and less if its over ? This is why.

Also, it should be noted that Crappie have one of the shotest life cycles, and consequentally, they rarely have health warnings attached with them.

Conversely, our Sturgeon out here have a very long life span..... and I sure wouldn't want to eat a fish that had been sucking up heavy metals for 100 years ! Even though they are great eating, I decided last year that I would not keep any but the smallest legal size.... 46" to say 52", or about 20 to 30 lbs.

Peace,

Fish

[Troutfisher]

Good philosophy!

[BassJunkie]

big bass taste like lake water, 12" or less if you wanna eat 'em...thats my opinion anyways.  If you eat some crappie you won't ever wanna eat anymore bass anyways.  ;D

[cart7t]

Just a wierd question.....what do ya'll catch crappie on?

The nice part about crappie fishing is it's vastly cheaper to do than bass fishing. A nice ultra light to light weight spinning rod. 4-6lb test line and a bunch of varied colored tube jigs in sizes 1/32 - 1/8 oz work for me. Sometimes a simple minnow on a gold eagle claw hook, a pinch on lead weight  under a slip float works wonders.

[DDbasser]

Just a wierd question.....what do ya'll catch crappie on?

My crappie rig consists of a 6'6" ultralight spinning rod with 2-4lb test line.

I use 1/100oz and 1/64th oz maribou jigs.

if I'm feeling a little lazy and just want to kick back and relax, I'll use a 1/0 crappie hook and a minnow.

Tons of fun and great eating!!!  

[ww2farmer]

When I cull bass and bluegill out of my ponds, I only eat the bluegill. I give the bass to the menonite neighbors they like them, but when I had them they tasted like grass to me. Most of those are 10"-12" fish, when I get a badly gut/gill hooked bigger bass I usualy keep them too, but they are even less tatsy than the small ones. I like to fish for bass, but I think I would starve if it's all I had to eat LOL, they just tatse like crap to me. I also don't like catfish. Yellow perch on the other hand.......um ummmmmmmm good, for some reason the ones out of lake erie taste the best. There is a small resturant in connueat ohio that has fresh lake caught perch on the menu and man they sure do know how to cook um there. Never caught/ate walleye. Crappie are good but I never fish for or catch enough to make it worth while, when I do catch some they are usually caught while bass fishing so they go back, if I manage a couple while bluegilling for food they make it to the table.

[goldenmonkey]

Just a wierd question.....what do ya'll catch crappie on?

swedish pimple and a slip bobber

[j-bass]

One of the biggest problems with the flesh of big fish is worms.  This goes for both fresh and saltwater.  It seems the best meat comes off fish that are not much over the legal limit.  Working on the boats I've done my fair share of filleting fish.......and some of the really big ones can get pretty nasty.  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

no.

They are all terrible.  The trout that are raised for eating at the market are delicious however,lol  

[senile1]

Just a wierd question.....what do ya'll catch crappie on?

Here's another choice for you, Lang.  I use light spinning tackly like everyone else but I use Southern Pro Triple tail grubs mostly.  The tail wiggles like crazy with the slightest movement.

They are all terrible.  The trout that are raised for eating at the market are delicious however,lol

I think Walleye is some of the best fish I've ever tasted but I"ve never eaten a large one.  

[bassclown]

personally i prefer most any saltwater fish over freshwater when it comes to what tastes good. rockfish and flounder are two of my favorites. i just think that they have a sweeter less "fishy" taste.

[paparock]

As a general rule the larger the fish the stronger the taste but that is not universal among all fish species from my experience.