BASS, WORTHLESS FISH???

[robert1965]

I feel bad about posting on this thread previously. I have had so many good times fishing for bass, we should be happy just to be outdoors. regardless of what we catch, I do prefer walleye for eating, but you will never get the same fight out of a walleye it doesnt matter how big.

[Burnham]

okay i am a big smallmouth guy and had never kept one UNTIL, i went up north in ely on a football camp, we kept some and idk how the coaches prepared them but i have NEVER had fish taste that good, walleye, northerns, perch. it beat them all. i still dont keep bass down here in the cities, but if you prepare them right, and catch them out of a deep northern lake they taste better than ANYTHING!! no joke haha

[Burnham]

all other species of fish should bow down to smallmouth, they fight with desire, and i dont know how to prepare them to make them taste great, but i know they can! dont take me wrong i love catching all species, but i LOVE my smallmouth

[deadeye]

They all taste good if the person who cooks them knows what they are doing. I really would rather let a bass go for a walleye, but I have eaten them, and really did like it.

Smallmouth are my thing too, and I definitly have kept a few (up in ely when I was living there) but I would rather let them go. As far as targeting bass ice fishing, I never go out for them specifically, but do consider them a nice suprise. Open water, Im a smallmouth junkie, and I don't mind a few largemouth pulling on the line.

I think that the old school thinking by some people to throw out certain fish is too bad. It is part of that generation of thinking. Sometimes it isn't really bad (I.E. carp, and other invasives) but people get it in their head that the native stuff that is ugly, should go too. Dangerous thinking in my opinion. Ecosystems depend on all the players, not just a few. Its like people hating mosquitos, they are annoying (I like winter better than summer because of them), but their larvae feed the minnows that feed the fish that we catch so donating some blood is more than you'd think it is.

[gritsnham]

They are my favorite open water fish to catch and can be fun if you find them feeding under the ice. This has grown into a huge sport with alot of enthusiasts. Try catching 50 plus bass in a day open water fishing then rethink!!

Now those northerns on the other hand...boy can they get annoying...

[dougger222]

I only eat them when caught through the ice. I know of a weedy lake in Chisago county full of largemouth. They feed all Winter long and are very flaky and taste great, very white meat. About three years ago the worms got into the bass meat so no longer keep them.

[GlassEyeangler]

IRONIC!

Before I say this...I am a true Dog person, not a Cat person!

Bass are like dogs - they always want attention, and they are the easiest fish in the lake to catch!

Walleyes are like cats - nothing is more affectionate than a cat that wants attention, but when they don't - they're gone...just like the walleyes.

I like a challange - and Bass just doesn't work for me. Plus, no one can argue the sweet taste of an 'eye vs. a green carp!!

[Burnham]

honestly i would say walleye are as easy too catch as bass, in fact i only target bass for the most part on open water, and when im on the river sometimes walleyes will start takin my bass lures and i will catch a mixed bag..i love catching all fish, but i will take a bass over a walleye anyday, the fights aren't even comparable. right now i miss my bass, as i panfish through the ice

[meatfish]

If you are not going to eat them throw them back in! Simple as that!I have caught the same dogfish two times this year and seen him many times.He or she is the meanest fish I have ever run into but look forward to tangling with it again!

If I see wanton waste I will call you in! Those who posted about the pout, The best tasting fish in MN.Please continue to leave them on the ice for me!

[gspman]

Quote:

Just wondering what everyone thinks of bass. I mean besides having them fight like heck, does anyone really ever want to catch one. I hate the [PoorWordUsage] things. If I didn't need them to keep the panfish in check i'd leave them on the ice.

A mind and a parachute are alike in that they both work best when they are open.

[meatfish]

14 inch smallie 14inch walleye.If we are next to each other I will take your smallie and give you my walleye!no joke!