bass for dinner?

[tjwierz2]

I am curious what percent of the population out there brings bass (largemouth or smallmouth) home for the table??? I have always viewed bass as sport fish and usually stick to walleye or small pike for dinner.

I was on a small lake this weekend and the walleye fishing is pretty much non-existent. I saw several people catch and keep bass for the table...it struck me as kind of odd. Not wrong...but a little different for me.

I am curious how many of you eat bass? I dont...personal preference I guess. I am just curious.

[fishtrap2]

I'm going to try bass for dinner tonight for the first time. Honestly, I'm not expecting much, but I only caught 2 walleye this week-end and the bass were jumping in the boat(I released about 50 fish this week-end and kept about 12).Any way, I have a friend that prefers bass over walleye so I decided to give it a try. I'll let ya' know how it goes.

[Guest]

i'm here to say that a fillet of bass...large mouth or small mouth.. are delicious....but...lets face it ...any acquired tastes for just about anything you eat ...is a case of personal preference...people are to "peer pressured"..they've "heard " that bass are a liittle stronger tasting.... first thing is to not always listen to what other people think ...and just try eating em...form your own opinions...thing is ...most people don't keep there bass ice cold....if you plan on eating a lone fish ...throw the bass immediately on ice while he's still alive...that'll make the difference percentage wise right there ....the other important thing is this......when your cleaning your fish...keep the fillets from touching the fish slime ...yes you can't have the meat contaminated by the slime from a bass..i can have 4 different fish laying side by side ..and you can "smell"..the slime of a bass....but...try my technique for cleaning them ...you might just try eating another bass...thanks ...jon

[Guest]

I've found that soaking your bass fillets in salt water overnite helps. But if you want to take out all/most of the flavor soak them in milk for a few hours and then rinse them off under cool tap water. Mmmmm

[fishinphyl]

HtchEyeCatcher I add a little lemon juice to the milk and fry them up and they are great.

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Phyl

[Polar Bear]

We did a blind taste test with fresh caught walleye, northern and small mouth. I beer-battered the fillets and no body could tell the difference in flavor. The raw flesh color is whitest for the walleye, yellowish for the northern and pinkish for the smallie. After cooking you couldn't tell which was which.

Polar Bear

[Guest]

i certainly agree ...polar bear...i've had fantastic fried bass fillets...the milk thing certainly helps also...(my wife does that with yellow perch fillets also)...people really don't know what there missing....but i guess they can have a shore lunch of oscar myers hot dogs if they want........lol

[Fishn'Lady]

We eat bass all the time, northerns too. We always soak our bass and northerns in salt water, but not overnight. We have found that cold water and salt water for about an hour is all you really need. There is most definitely a taste difference, some people say that bass and northern are either fishy or muddy tasting. It's all in the way you prepare them from filleting to frying pan as to how they taste. Walleye is the preferred fish for me too but when they're not biting and we can catch bass or northerns we will keep them. So, lets go catch some fish. Good luck!

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Hey! Your bobbers gone!

[Tebassco]

Come on people! I see there are no bass fisherman here....only accidents. If its that much trouble to make them edible, put them back for the true bassfisherman and eat your wieners. If you can afford the boat and gadgets go to the store. There are better tasting fillets in the cooler....

[hydro]

Bass fillets are great barbequed or broiled. Just sprinkle the fillets with some soy sauce and cook them until they are just done.

[wastewaterguru]

Mmmmmmmmmmm

I prefer not to eat very many fish of any species. But if you fry your fillets in any kind of batter, I challenge anybody to tell which fillet is walleye and which is bass. If you bake your fillets, the walleye has a very slight advantage.

Please respect the resource and only keep what your going to eat. As with most species, the smaller fish are safer to eat. Any bass over 17 inches should be released.

I don't care what body of water you catch your fish in, the fact is people have polluted most of the surface waters in the state. Pay attention to the DNR's consumption advisories.

Catch a few bass and a few walleye on the same day and fry 'em both up in batter and I bet you'll all be surprised at how good the bass tastes.

Minnesotans have been brainwashed into believing the walleye is the only fish suitable for consumption. Don't just assume somebody else is right or wrong....try it for yourself.

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BASS SEASON IS UPON US.
Here Piggy, Piggy, Piggy.
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[huskminn]

This "don't eat the bass" thing is a Minnesota phenomena. Most people in America who fish for bass eat them. The reason why people like to eat walleye so much is because they don't taste "fishy"--meaning, they don't taste like fish. Well, if you don't want it to taste like fish, why not eat something else?

And what, Tebassco, precisely is a "true bassfisherman"? I realize that you would prefer that everyone release their bass so they are available for you to catch, but please don't forget that it's not illegal to keep and kill a bass.

[Guest]

Tebassco,

I guess I don't understand the "only accidents" part. Also, you don't have to have a fancy bass boat and expensive equipment to catch bass. I was out with my Dad this weekend and we hammered the bass in an old leaky Alumicraft, a tiller that is 25 years old, no trolling motor, no depth finder, no fish finder, with a couple of Zebco's with plain hook's (I think you can get the entire rig at Wally World for under $10), on $4 worth of bait (leaches and some angle worms/crawlers from my back yard). Ok, I did catch a couple on my $2 beetle spin.

My favorite way to cook them is with a little salt/pepper/garlic/onion/olive oil wrapped in foil. Throw them into the camp fire - retrieve in 5 - 10 minutes (depending on size of fish and how hot your fire is). Serve with fresh bread, camp fire vegetables(carrots, peas, corn, potatos, peppers, onions - cooked the same way as the fish), and a cold beer or two.

Kevin

[Guest]

I too think that bass can be as tasty as any other fish that swims. It's all in where you catch it, how you clean it, and how you prepare it. If you catch a bass out of two feet of water in the middle of July when the water temps in the high eightys, of course it's going to taste like mud. Another factor is the size. Don't keep anything over 16 inches. 10 to 12 inch fish are the best.
Not only are bass good to eat, it's also necessary to keep a few once and a while to help control the populations and to keep the fishery healthy. Keep in mind, this only works if you keep the small fish. Let those big pigs go and keep thier genes in the fishery.
Bass, it's what's for dinner!

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Adam Johnson
www.adamjohnsonfishing.com

[Guest]

Bass are a mighty fine eating fish, while they are not at the top of my list, they are so easy to catch that you just can't pass them up as table fare. Like others have mentioned, getting the fish on ice fast, and proper cleaning are always essential with any fish. The bass is a member of the sunfish family, and the taste and texture of a bass is equal to a bluegill or sunfish. I like to keep the smaller ones for eating and let the big ones go. They are great in any recipe, grilled, baked, fried, etc.