How Good Do Bass, Bluegill, Etc Taste? 2024
smr_hga reply :
Ok so i'll be going to maryland in june and me and my friend are going to go fishing. He knows how to fillet fish so we would like to catch dinner while we're there. As far as i know there are Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Catfish, and what seems like a white perch. I know yellow perch are good but what about white perch? Also i know catfish are good but we are very unexperienced in catching them. So are bluegill or bass anygood? And what about white perch?
Nolan Hunter reply :
I've never eatin bass, but my dad's buddies say if you're going to eat them eat the smaller ones you catch because, the 2lb fish and up can be a little fishy. And it's also better for your lake/pond to take out some smaller fish to help produce monsters.
scaleface reply :
Bass are good. Especially 12 inchers . Bluegills are delicious. Around here drum are called white perch. They are pretty poor. Channel cats are decent .
Snakehead Whisperer reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 10:24 AM, scaleface said:Bass are good. Especially 12 inchers . Bluegills are delicious. Around here drum are called white perch. They are pretty poor. Channel cats are decent .
The white perch in Maryland are closely related to white bass and striped bass. They're good eating. Not a true perch, though.
MIbassyaker reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 10:44 AM, Snakehead Whisperer said:Not a true perch, though.
But technically a true bass!
scaleface reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 10:44 AM, Snakehead Whisperer said:The white perch in Maryland are closely related to white bass and striped bass. They're good eating. Not a true perch, though.
Here in northern Missouri a lot of fish are misnamed .
Alonerankin2 reply :
Catch em , fillet em , fry em , eat em , decide!
Snakehead Whisperer reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 11:22 AM, scaleface said:Here in northern Missouri a lot of fish are misnamed .
Understood. I've been out that way. Seems like there's one or more in every region. Like calling a walleye a pickerel.
joeblowwwww reply :
Bass taste like **** that's about it.. I'm sure there are a lot of guys on here who think differently but that's just my opinion.
if I'm looking for dinner I hit the ocean. 99% of the places I freshwater fish you couldn't pay me enough to eat it because of pollution and mercury.
corn-on-the-rob reply :
bluegill and crappie are tied for 1st place, then yellow perch, then walleye.
Slade House reply :
Bass taste horrible, there is no way to cook one without it tastting horrible. Anyone who thinks differently probably likes to eat squireel and opussum too. Where are you fishing in Maryland at? cause i woulnd't eat most of the fish in the marlyand area.
HoosierHawgs reply :
When my dad grew up in Florida they called crappie speckled perch.On 5/28/2015 at 11:52 AM, Snakehead Whisperer said:Understood. I've been out that way. Seems like there's one or more in every region. Like calling a walleye a pickerel.
WIGuide reply :
Bass, Bluegill, and catfish are all good eating fish. With the bass keep some of the smaller ones to help keep the population in check.
Nice_Bass reply :
Bass is very good. Anyone that convinces you it taste fifferent than bluegill are losing it. I prefer bass over crappie,catfish etc and the ease of prep per fillet is so much nicer than bluegills crappies or catfish.
sprint61 reply :
You don't like squirrel ? It's better then chicken!On 5/28/2015 at 2:14 PM, Slade House said:Bass taste horrible, there is no way to cook one without it tastting horrible. Anyone who thinks differently probably likes to eat squireel and opussum too. Where are you fishing in Maryland at? cause i woulnd't eat most of the fish in the marlyand area.
livemusic reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 12:05 PM, joeblowwwww said:Bass taste like **** that's about it.. I'm sure there are a lot of guys on here who think differently but that's just my opinion.
if I'm looking for dinner I hit the ocean. 99% of the places I freshwater fish you couldn't pay me enough to eat it because of pollution and mercury.
Your word is blanked out so I assume that is a negative word. And if so, I don't get it. Bass are absolutely delicious to me and actually, my favorite gamefish to eat. People ooh and aah over crappie but to me, bass have more taste; crappie can be bland. Although, I do like them. If I fry up a mess of bass, I can't imagine you not liking them. And whomever said 2 lbs or more can taste fishy, never happened with me. I've never had a bass taste fishy. Catfish, yep. I do like catfish unless they taste real fishy. We are eating bass filets tonight!
Bluegill bream taste great. Unless they are very large, you'll need to eat them with bones in, not filleted. Large ones can be filleted.
bigbill reply :
Crappie and catfish are the best.
We do them on a wood or charcoal fire a little salt and enjoy.
scaleface reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 8:19 PM, sprint61 said:You don't like squirrel ? It's better then chicken!
Squirrel is good but I dont eat possum. LOL
bigbill reply :
Trust me cooking on a wood fire makes everything taste great.
My brother would eat fresh caught bluegill with eggs for breakfast.
livemusic reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 2:14 PM, Slade House said:Bass taste horrible, there is no way to cook one without it tastting horrible. Anyone who thinks differently probably likes to eat squireel and opussum too. Where are you fishing in Maryland at? cause i woulnd't eat most of the fish in the marlyand area.
All I can say is you must not know how to fry fish. I assume you are saying that fried bass are bad. In fact, in this thread, I am assuming the talk is about fried fish. If you guys are talking about baking them or something other than frying, I have no idea. Although, I did bake a 5 lb fish one time whole to try it after I read about it in a magazine. (To scale it like a bream, cut the head off and remove entrails, then bake it whole. It was good. But in the south, gamefish are almost always fried.
bigbill reply :
Try some tomato sauce and oregano with the bass.
My mom baked all the fish in tomato sauce, oregano, salt, pepper.
With blue fish she drained the pan after 20 minutes to get the oily taste out. Then add the tomatoes and seasoning.
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 8:48 PM, livemusic said:All I can say is you must not know how to fry fish. I assume you are saying that fried bass are bad. In fact, in this thread, I am assuming the talk is about fried fish. If you guys are talking about baking them or something other than frying, I have no idea. Although, I did bake a 5 lb fish one time whole to try it after I read about it in a magazine. (To scale it like a bream, cut the head off and remove entrails, then bake it whole. It was good. But in the south, gamefish are almost always fried.
Bass, unless from clean, cold water and of smaller size, taste awful, period. I grew up eating fish out of necessity, bass of all sizes included. Bass was by far one of the nastiest things I've had to eat, and I've eaten some nasty stuff. The bass I've eaten are extremely fishy tasting with a strong flavor of what I imagine moss would taste like mixed in. Frying them is about the only way I've ever had them and I've had them that way by my dad, mom, and both grandmas so it isn't just my imagination. I have no problem with someone who likes to eat them, but to say that someone doesn't know how to fry fish because they think a fish taste bad is ridiculous.
MIbassyaker reply :
I have eaten smallmouth before and thought they tasted fine. I haven't eaten largemouth, but I've heard they're pretty bad if you don't take the skin off. Bluegill are excellent.
gardnerjigman reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 9:31 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Bass, unless from clean, cold water and of smaller size, taste awful, period. I grew up eating fish out of necessity, bass of all sizes included. Bass was by far one of the nastiest things I've had to eat, and I've eaten some nasty stuff. The bass I've eaten are extremely fishy tasting with a strong flavor of what I imagine moss would taste like mixed in. Frying them is about the only way I've ever had them and I've had them that way by my dad, mom, and both grandmas so it isn't just my imagination. I have no problem with someone who likes to eat them, but to say that someone doesn't know how to fry fish because they think a fish taste bad is ridiculous.
Totally agree. I've eaten bass. Usually the under slot ones from a lake I use to live by. But it's super clear water, and it was always ones I picked up while crappie fishing in cold water.
It's all about how you clean and prepare the meat before cooking, but no way in heck does bass stand up to crappie, walleye or wiper! Dang... now I'm hungry.
gardnerjigman reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 10:22 PM, MIbassyaker said:I have eaten smallmouth before and thought they tasted fine. I haven't eaten largemouth, but I've heard they're pretty bad if you don't take the skin off. Bluegill are excellent.
I don't know how people can eat any fish with skin still on it. There is nothing nastier on this planet than when you go to break a catfish fillet open and see one side still has grey slimy skin on it. Freaking gross!
FloridaBasser1 reply :
I like bass, I'd keep the ones in the 2-3# range. Cook them in the oven or on the fire with a little bit of lemon pepper. 
halochef reply :
perch walleye and trout have little flavor.. we would take catfish fillets and coat them with cajun seasonings and pan fry. ive cooked trout a couple of ways, coat them with corn meal and pan fry. stuff with a crabmeat mixture and saute first then bake in the oven. finish with lemon and capers. as with the other fish bass etc. we would dip in 1/2 1/2 and then in flour and saute. and some hot butter , parsley and lemon juice. pan needs to be hot. we would take whole pickerels "in the round" and just bread them and then deep fry. the fillets come off easy with hardl also .y any bones also a simple sauce of chopped tomatoes and capers w/ some thyme and basil and bake the fish in the sauce. used walleye fillets and coat with herbs and then just grill the fillets. got to b careful on that one break up easy
EmersonFish reply :
I think we can all agree that personal preference is never stronger than when it comes to food, and fish are food. I like them all, assuming they are prepared well. The size of the fish and ecosystem they live in can impact their quality. Oh, and I'll skip a trout now and then. But a nice fish shore lunch beats a restaurant bill every time.
slimshad reply :
I eat Bass all the time. Big small whatever. They fry up and taste great. The guy that complained about being too fishy,,,, it's fish.... If it taste like something other than fish, why eat it. Bluegill are sought after fish to eat and so are crappie here in southern Indiana. I just had walleye, crappie and bass from Monroe Res last Sunday and i like them all. Bluegill yesterday and it was awesome. Love me some fresh fish.
nicksmurf111 reply :
I've eaten bluegill and catfish. The bluegills you need to scale. And they have tiny bones that are a pain. For catfish, don't keep the large ones, only eat the medium-small ones due to pollution. The older they get, the more concentrated the pollutants get.
gardnerjigman reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 11:11 PM, slimshad said:I eat Bass all the time. Big small whatever. They fry up and taste great. The guy that complained about being too fishy,,,, it's fish.... If it taste like something other than fish, why eat it. Bluegill are sought after fish to eat and so are crappie here in southern Indiana. I just had walleye, crappie and bass from Monroe Res last Sunday and i like them all. Bluegill yesterday and it was awesome. Love me some fresh fish.
Difference in fish taste and a fishy taste. Fish taste is delicious to me, fishy taste has a hint of skank water/moss/God only knows what else.
desmobob reply :
Only you know what tastes good to you. A fun way to have a fish dinner is to keep several kinds of fish, fillet them, and have a taste test. The tastes of different kinds of fish can be very subtle and comparing them at the same time is a sure way to find out what you prefer.
I haven't eaten a bass in years, but I think bluegill are fantastic. I've tried white perch and didn't think they were that good, but it could have been the body of water, time of year, etc. My favorites are walleye, yellow perch, crappie and bluegill.
Bon appetit,
Bob
Nice_Bass reply :
I don't know how many times I have fried up crappie, walleye, bass, bluegill at the same time and there has not been a person that can tell bass from the others when fried (fillets are cut to the same size for consistent frying.)
A bluegill and bass from the same lake are going to taste the exact same, live in the same environment, consume much of the same species however bluegill will be spending more and eating more organisms that live in the weeds.
Are you guys not taking the skin off your bass, because that is the only thing that would make them taste anything different from a slightly less mild flesh than that of a crappie.
Best way to eat bass species however: Layer bacon bottom of cast iron pan and layer cut potatoes on top and cover with foil on grill. Last 10 minutes of cooking layer fish and additional spices/herbs on potatoes and cover until done. Yum.
Alonerankin2 reply :
Best way to eat bass species however: Layer bacon bottom of cast iron pan and layer cut potatoes on top and cover with foil on grill. Last 10 minutes of cooking layer fish and additional spices/herbs on potatoes and cover until done.
That does sound good, almost as good as JF's bacon cake!
Steveo-1969 reply :
If you are fishing in Maryland it's possible you may fish some water that has Northern Snakehead. I've never tried it, but people say it's absolutely delicious.
smr_hga reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 11:54 PM, desmobob said:Only you know what tastes good to you. A fun way to have a fish dinner is to keep several kinds of fish, fillet them, and have a taste test. The tastes of different kinds of fish can be very subtle and comparing them at the same time is a sure way to find out what you prefer.
I haven't eaten a bass in years, but I think bluegill are fantastic. I've tried white perch and didn't think they were that good, but it could have been the body of water, time of year, etc. My favorites are walleye, yellow perch, crappie and bluegill.
Bon appetit,
Bob
Good idea. Neither of us have ever had these species fresh caught. So i think we will do this. Only question now is how should we cook them?
scaleface reply :
Bass must taste different in other locales. The ones I catch have flaky white meat and are very mild. "Everybody" who has tried my bass fillets absolutely loved them . Even the people who said they dont like bass . Heck , even the ones who say they dont like fish .
Bob C reply :
I brought 2 home last week end. Flakey and delicious. If it's mushy you cooked it too long.
tatertester reply :
Small ,1 to 2 lb bass are ok and all the panfish you can catch, crappie,bluegill,sunfish and perch.Walleye and catfish too.
KayakBasser reply :
Ok so smart guy, theres a reason bluegill are nick named pan fish.
smr_hga reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 11:57 PM, Nice_Bass said:I don't know how many times I have fried up crappie, walleye, bass, bluegill at the same time and there has not been a person that can tell bass from the others when fried (fillets are cut to the same size for consistent frying.)
A bluegill and bass from the same lake are going to taste the exact same, live in the same environment, consume much of the same species however bluegill will be spending more and eating more organisms that live in the weeds.
Are you guys not taking the skin off your bass, because that is the only thing that would make them taste anything different from a slightly less mild flesh than that of a crappie.
Best way to eat bass species however: Layer bacon bottom of cast iron pan and layer cut potatoes on top and cover with foil on grill. Last 10 minutes of cooking layer fish and additional spices/herbs on potatoes and cover until done. Yum.
Yes we are skinning all the fish. Also i'll make sure we have bacon because that sounds good!
*Hank reply :
I only ever keep panfish.......I consider it a sin to keep bass unless there's to many of them.
CRANKENSTIEN reply :
Blue gill crappie and perch are the best. Small bass are good as well. If they are abundant and I need to fill out a fish fry I will eat them.
livemusic reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 9:31 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Bass, unless from clean, cold water and of smaller size, taste awful, period. I grew up eating fish out of necessity, bass of all sizes included. Bass was by far one of the nastiest things I've had to eat, and I've eaten some nasty stuff. The bass I've eaten are extremely fishy tasting with a strong flavor of what I imagine moss would taste like mixed in. Frying them is about the only way I've ever had them and I've had them that way by my dad, mom, and both grandmas so it isn't just my imagination. I have no problem with someone who likes to eat them, but to say that someone doesn't know how to fry fish because they think a fish taste bad is ridiculous.
My post was in response to "Bass taste horrible, there is no way to cook one without it tastting horrible. Anyone who thinks differently probably likes to eat squireel and opussum too."
So, my post was ridiculous? lol
As for you saying that bass are "by far one of the nastiest things I've had to eat"... have you fried them in axle grease or you are catching bass out of the sewer, lol. The fried bass fillets we had last night were delicious and always are. In the south, everyone I know who eats bass eats bass filets. Fillets are rolled in corn meal, salt and pepper or maybe other seasoning and the grease (oil) is brought to a hot 350 degrees. I would bet that you would have a lot of trouble telling the difference between my fried bass or crappie. I even prefer bass usuallay. Crappie can taste a little bland.
I've never had a bass taste bad and I've eaten them for over 50 years. No comprehende.
Catch and Grease reply :
Bass tastes great, that's a question you gotta find out for yourself, catch one and find out if you like em!
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 5/30/2015 at 7:51 PM, livemusic said:My post was in response to "Bass taste horrible, there is no way to cook one without it tastting horrible. Anyone who thinks differently probably likes to eat squireel and opussum too."
So, my post was ridiculous? lol
As for you saying that bass are "by far one of the nastiest things I've had to eat"... have fried them in axle grease or you are catching bass out of the sewer, lol. The fried bass fillets we had last night were delicious and always are. In the south, everyone I know who eats bass eats bass filets. Fillets are rolled in corn meal, salt and pepper or maybe other seasoning and the grease (oil) is brought to a hot 350 degrees. I would bet that you would have a lot of trouble telling the difference between my fried bass or crappie. I even prefer bass usuallay. Crappie can taste a little bland.
I've never had a bass taste bad and I've eaten them for over 50 years. No comprehende.
I do indeed like squirrel, as do lots of people, but I've never had possum and have no plans to. I fail to see where that has anything to do with ones credibility in discerning what taste good and what doesn't
Yes, saying that someone else doesn't know how to properly prepare something that you enjoy eating being the only way for them to not like it, is ridiculous. Everyone has different taste. To me, and lots of people I know, bass taste awful regardless of size, where it's caught, or how it's prepared. I know people who think it taste good too though. They also get very wormy once the water temperature gets up a little, which bothers me a bit.
You're correct that I would have trouble telling the difference between your crappie or bass because I wouldn't eat either. Walleye are the only fish that I would even consider keeping for myself to eat, but even those are typically given to whoever I'm fishing with or released. I ate a ton of fish growing up, like I said out of necessity, and basically just got burnt out of eating fish in general and never have regained a taste for it. The nights when bass was on the menu, I usually just ate some of the potatoes or whatever was on the side. I've heard the "You've just never had them cooked right/the way I make them", line so many times, but that's not the case.
It's great that you enjoy eating bass. I wish I did because there's several slot limit lakes I could catch myself 5 12" bass from for dinner and help thin out the overpopulated bass. Unfortunately, the flavor that registers all the time I've eaten bass is not something worth eating.
livemusic reply :
Bluebasser, do you like fried fish fillets of any type?
Bluebasser86 reply :
On 5/30/2015 at 8:27 PM, livemusic said:Bluebasser, do you like fried fish fillets of any type?
Yes, walleye, yellow perch, and several species of saltwater fish.
Jolly Green reply :
I pulled a 12" crappie out of the river a couple of days ago, above average size for the area. I turned to my wife and said, "I'm still the only one interested in eating these, right?" She replied that she was not going to eat that fish; that it was a "townie fish" lol. She then informed me that if I catch her a fish out of some pristine gin-clear Canadian (why Canadian? I dunno...) waters that she would gladly eat it. So you all are my witnesses; my wife just told me to take a fly-in pike trip for the good of the dinner table.
BigmouthForever23 reply :
If we're talking taste in regards to fried fish, I'd honestly be hard pressed to notice much of a difference between crappie and a "young" bass. I say young bass because it makes a difference in taste between a 1-2 pound bass and a 5+ pound bass. The lake I fish is stunted with baby bass so I've just been taking them home and frying them up! They're delicious. For the posters who say they taste like crap, perhaps they're not preparing the fillets right. Or, they really don't like the taste of them. Fair enough. But I think they tastes good and I know a lot of others would agree with me.
kcdinkerz reply :
I've had bass a few times this year some where okay other times they weren't as good. I guess it depends on when and where it was caught and how it was cooked. The only lake fish I take home now are crappie, walleye, and channel catfish. Though I do miss wippers but that mercury is scary lol
kcdinkerz reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 8:45 PM, bigbill said:Crappie and catfish are the best.
We do them on a wood or charcoal fire a little salt and enjoy.
Same here, sometimes simple is the best.
the reel ess reply :
I'll eat bass from 2 ponds I fish. And they taste great. My family likes them too. But they're getting tired of eating them. I'll have to freeze them for a while.
I don't from anywhere else unless I find another good pond. Another pond I fish had a parasite called yellow grub in the meat when I tried to clean them. So I won't keep them anymore. But I'll still catch 'em.
I simply won't eat from the local lake anymore. It's 4th in a long line of developed hydroelectric lakes. Too many people and boats. Too many sewage spills upstream. Leeches, etc. Big cats are the most polluted fish in there besides maybe carp.
thomas15 reply :
I grew up on the Jersey Shore and we ate a bit of saltwater fish in my youth. To me, the times we caught a trout or other freshwater panfish or gamefish, the taste just wasn't there. The few times I've eaten catfish in a restaurant, it seemed like a chore to consume it. Of course I'm sure that that meat was farm raised.
Anyway, I'm inland now and fish freshwater. I've never in 57 years consumed LMB and to be honest unless driven by necessity cannot imagine ever doing so. And I doubt seriously that I will eat any other species of freshwater fish with the exception of stocked trout. Put just about any species of saltwater fish in front of me and I'll have a dinner but something I've caught in an impoundment or pond doesn't have (in my opinion) enough taste or a meat/bone ratio high enough to appeal to me.
Danturner reply :
I'm a fan of walleye, perch, and crappie.
the reel ess reply :
I'm convinced that eating fish from clean waters like a spring-fed pond is very healthy. Bass from clean waters taste better than those from the public sesspool.
dave reply :
On 5/29/2015 at 12:55 AM, Steveo-1969 said:If you are fishing in Maryland it's possible you may fish some water that has Northern Snakehead. I've never tried it, but people say it's absolutely delicious.
You are correct.
LuckyGia reply :
Panfish I like to steam and dip in cocktail sauce. Called poor mans shrimp.
RoLo reply :
On 5/28/2015 at 7:59 PM, Nice_Bass said:Bass is very good. Anyone that convinces you it taste fifferent than bluegill are losing it. I prefer bass over crappie,catfish etc and the ease of prep per fillet is so much nicer than bluegills crappies or catfish.
My wife has given me several double-blind taste tests between grilled bass & grilled crappie, and I can always tell them apart.
The firmer more flavorful flesh is bass, the softer nearly tasteless flesh is crappie.
Roger
charter21p5 reply :
In my opinion Bass are not a good tasting fish. I think when I tried a Bass many years ago it was a bit weedy tasting....
Sunfish are ok however you will have to filet a lot of them to get any decent meal. Go for something with a bit more meat if like to eat freshwater fish. Personally I gave up on eating any freshwater fish except Walleyes, Crappies and Saltwater fish such as Tuna.
ww2farmer reply :
My favorite fish to eat in this order:
#1 Blugills
#2 Yellow perch
#3............3 way tie between largemouth, rock bass, and pumpkinseeds
Fish I do not care for, that most other people love:
#1 Salmon and/or Trout of any kind
#2 Crappies
#3 Catfish/bullheads
psaund reply :
I'm surprised no one has talked about how to take care of the fish your planning on eating. My guess is that the people who are planning to eat their catch take better care of their fish. Lots of ice, cleaned as soon as possible and more ice. The Fish that have been talked about here (bass, trout, perch) that smells or taste fishy hasn't been well taken care of.
FloridaBasser1 reply :
On 6/3/2015 at 9:36 AM, psaund said:I'm surprised no one has talked about how to take care of the fish your planning on eating. My guess is that the people who are planning to eat their catch take better care of their fish. Lots of ice, cleaned as soon as possible and more ice. The Fish that have been talked about here (bass, trout, perch) that smells or taste fishy hasn't been well taken car
Best way to take care of your fish is when you catch it is to first quickly dispatch it. The quickest and least painful to the fish(least messy) is a quick hard knock on the head- they are imediately dead. Next like you said, place them on ice(if you can), especialy if you intend to save them for several hours. you don't have to, but it keeps the flavor, and ensures that it has not spoiled.
Ish
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