rock bass

[gregens]

I've caught a lot of rock bass when other fish don't want to bite and have always been told to just throw them back. Why is that? Has anyone tried eating them and are they any good?

[mainbutter]

Yes, they are quite edible. It's the same kind of negative sentiments that some fishermen have towards 'pout and bowfin.

[walleyeking19]

They are pretty good actually. I dont keep them often, but they make a good meal if you get enough of them

[TRZ II]

THEY ARE GENERALLY FULL OF WORMS! THAT IS WHY THEY HAVE BAD NAME. GOTA BE PRETTY DESPERATE TO EAT THEM.

[KrabbyPatties]

I haven't noticed them having any more yellow grubs than smallmouth bass or perch. Rock bass are just fine to eat if you ask me.

[ANYFISH2]

Just fine to eat, quite good really. I was told the same thing about perch when I was younger, probably has to do with the frequency of yellow grub in the meat. I really haven't had that problem very often with either species though.

Fry a few up and see if you like them.

[BTL]

We've always eaten rock bass in my family. We keep more of them than anything else, because they're so numerous and taste good. We prefer to let most crappies and sunnies go, because so many people keep them.

[genegodawa]

We always fish for Rockies....love those 3/4 lbers...and think they are similar in taste to bluegills.

As to the grub issue, I think that depends on the body of water you fish 'em. We fish the Cass chain and those on Cass are grub-free. Occassionally in shallow water we run into some with grubs but not too often even then.

[Scott M]

Rock Bass, the Iowa Illinois crappie!

J/K Gene!

[icefisker]

My dad calls them "Company Crappies" for guest fish frys

[Zelmsdawg]

Every time I've mixed them in with sunnies and crappies no one has noticed

[genegodawa]

Very funny Da_Chise...LOL...not bad coming from a guy from Little Bohemia.

Yep....Company Crappies....nobody can tell the diff between deep fried Rockies and other pannies...especially after 3 beers or Scotches!

Look, we feel a limit of 30 Rockies beats 6 Walters anyday.

But then again, we have been accused of being meathogs.

On the other hand, I would not intentionally buy Rockies at the market.

Good fishin' everyone...open water is on its way! Yeeeehaaaa!

[reinhard1]

i actualy found a recipe specificly for rock bass, although this could be used for any fresh fish.

vegi baked rock bass;

4 tbls unsalted butter room temp

4 tsp fresh basil, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic; pressed

2 tbls fresh lemon juice

4 red skinned potatoes

8 baby carrots

1 1/2 lbs fresh rock bass fillets

8 slender asparagus spears

preheat the oven to 425. in a small bowl, beat the butter, basil, garlic and lemon juice until well combined. set aside. parboil the potatoes and baby carrots for 5 minutes until tender. drain. divide the fillets into 4 equal portions.

place the fillets in abuttered 9 by 13 in pan. arrange the vegetables over the fish in an appealing pattern. top each fish portion with one-fourth of the butter garlic mixture.cover tightly with aluminum foil. bake for 20 to 30 min or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. serve immediately. good luck.

[Stick in Mud]

Yup,they're edible, and I doubt that you'd be able to tell the difference between a rock bass and a crappie or sunny. Give them a try!

[Selmer]

Well, let's see. Rock Bass are in the sunfish family of fish. Along with bluegills, pumpkinseed, orange-spotted sunfish, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black and white crappie, and many other delicious fish. The existence of grubs in fish flesh has to do with the presence of a particular bird parasite in that body of water, the presence of grubs being a stage of that parasite, not connected to a species of fish but rather the local ecosystem. So, yes, rock bass are indeed edible, I would place them as slightly less firm with a finer grain of flesh than bluegill, but not as fragile as crappie, and you'd be hard-pressed to discern a palatable difference between them and other sunfish. It's one of my pet peeves about Minnesota terminology/dialect - "sunnies" is far to general a term for what you have caught or like to eat. Sunfish are a large and diverse family of fish. Specify - crappie, bluegill, orange-spotted, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, rock bass, warmouth, red-ear, smallmouth, largemouth bass, etc. Okay, rant finished.

[BigJakeL]

Wormy Rock Bass=Cat Food! Non Wormy Rock Bass= Good Fish Fry!

[Selmer]

If you fry the wormy rock bass you'll never know the difference...

[motley man]

Can't be any worse than PINK SLIME in burger.

[navigator165]

o.k. now lets eat