Do many of you guys eat Bass

Been fishing a 5 acre pond that's gonna be drained eventually and it is full of 10--15 inch Bass and 8-10 inch Bluegill. Since it is totally private without any connecting State water there is no length or possession limit. Have some friends Bass fishermen, that are totally disturbed that I would keep and eat any Bass. In 5 hours yesterday three of us caught over 300 Bass all clones of each other and I filleted a good mess of them to fry up. I have seen a lot of lakes where small Bass are a nuisance IMO. I understand catch and release to protect trophy fisheries but I think releasing them all no matter where you catch them is insane. Sorry about rant just don't care for being judged because I choose to eat what I legally harvest.

No

Yes sir I eat bass smallmouth,largemouth and kys have no problem saying so. I don't depleat the resource but figure if people don't like it they shoulda kept um there self!! Ha
Bass is one of my favorite eating fish one of!
Colt

I'm all for killing as many LM bass as possible. But, in my favorite lake, you can't keep any bass.

If they are draining the pond eat as many as you can. Yes most smaller waters get over populated and stunt their growth the 10” - 13” size bass eat very well. Don’t worry with what others think.

I will if their caught through the ice here. They seem to be more solid body.

Usually on a private pond.

Of course, I eat them. They are edible, that's what they're for. Release some too, really depends how many I feel like cleaning.

Yuk!!

One of the worst tasting fish there is. Lol

Nevah ! .......there are plenty of trout to eat.

Not for human consumption. We have walleye.

Spot on Les

Exactly

If they are draining the Pond. Why not eat them. I also would give some to family and friends if they like to eat fish. Lots of folks I know just like eating fish, Period. They don't care what species it is like alot of us do.

If I wasn't going to eat them I would be bagging them up for Trapping Bait.

14-16" bass get filleted

Can't keep them below 14" in michigan. 16" or more get put back to hopefully get big enough to go in the wall

Actually just finished cleaning fish we caught last night. Including a 14" bass


But this 21" bass went back last night.
The wife's first " big bass". She wanted to eat it, as she loves eating fish. But I told her " if it goes home it goes on the wall, not to be eaten". She chose to release it. This is her first year fishing with the son and I


The moonrise was beautiful last night too

agree,,shouldnt be wasted. I just prefer other panfish. Would eat if needed food

..only when skinned and their "ear" organ under the skin cut out when filleted...gets rid of strong fish taste.

If I had walleye close by I would be all over em but central Indiana has limited fishing opportunities and trout are put and take in only a few waters around here. I agree I prefer to eat out of colder water but hate to see all of this good meat go to waste when they decide to pull the plug on this pond. Its nice to be able to talk with like minded people on these topics. I am considered an odd duck by most in my area due to my view of why buy it when you can catch or harvest better protein way cheaper. They really freak out when I put fresh muskrat or young groundhog on the smoker.

4 yr old and I from our land last night...he is learning...river bass hitting hard in the cool and getting real meaty. Much better fish to eat though

So what time should I be over for dinner?

Only if they come out of warm muddy water. I think that improves the taste.

LOL Eastwood if I get some time away from work there will be several fish fries this fall and you will be more than welcome to show up.

Been eating bass for nearly 60+ years. Whats not to like?

I eat a lot of crappie,walleye, and bluegill. But spotted bass is one of my favorite fish to eat, don't like largemouth as much but they are still pretty dang good. Eat em up!

Usually eat walleye and crappie but if it's close to noon and I need a fish I'll keep a smallmouth for lunch. When it comes to food I'm not an elitist.

Young groundhogs know we're talkin eats!
Colt
I like rats too but I like them young wistlepigs better

I don't understand the "strong fish taste" thing. Bass taste kinda bland to me, I usually put on some seasoning. We eat bullheads too. Suckers are edible but really bland and you pretty much have to make fish patties, as they just fall apart.

Tried them once; tasted like mud. That being said, I've eaten trout a couple of times that also tasted like mud.

I'm used to eating fish from cold clear water; no mud taste. Probably just depends on the water.

In your situation I would definitely catch as many as I could. I've eaten plenty of bass even though I prefer walleye, perch and the like out of cold water. Still do eat them occasionally when my kids and/or grand kids catch some and want the bragging rights that go along with catching dinner.

I wouldn't consider you an odd duck if you were my neighbor, you'd fit right in! I've had ground hog and most other tasty critters in North America but I've never had muskrat, they're almost non-existent around here anymore. I'd probably wrangle an invite to a muskrat dinner if you were nearby.

I'd fillet them largemouth then dredge the fillets in some Shore Lunch and fry them in a big cast iron skillet with about a half-inch of hot oil in it. That might make them palatable!

Only tried once. That was enough. Mushy and mud taste.
Bluegill, Crappie, walleye and northern are much better.

I like to score bass with a knife and cook them over wood coals on the grill. I put a little Tony Chachere's and olive oil on them. They are really good this way.

I don't like catch and release. I don't think it should be illegal though.

Keith

Now I forgot to mention that the bass I eat come from crystal clear rivers or our local lake which the rivers feed, and its300 ft deep. So I guess the water could make a difference, but our bass sure taste good

I eat all the legal bass I catch.

Garryowen

Yes I cook up a mess a few times a year.
J

You guys are all crazy! Or maybe its because our water is clear and cold our bass taste great, I dunno, but I eat bass for sure! I dont get all caught up over walleye. They taste good too, but who cares? To be honest, ill take a five or six lb pike over just about anything.

I get a kick out of the tournament guys, but most of the ones I know will eat a bass every now and then.

Northern boys are some kinda picky I've seen many a bass most folks would toss back go in the deep freeze. Gut scale a fry whole like a big bream is some fine dining

Our Bass are good to eat, Second to Walleye to me. That's the size i like to keep for eating, 12-14". Any bigger and then i think they get strong.

Your buddies and i would clash if'n we went fishing togeather, lol.

Where I catch them the creek just opens up from the run off stream. Water is pretty clear, see bottom low tide about 3-4 feet deep. They taste like dirt unless you put seasoning on them. They taste like seasoned dirt then. lol

I agree they taste good and are fun to catch, unlike a walleye that lays on it side and opens its mouth. They dont fight like a bass.

Absolutely! Filet them and fry em up!

If y'all think the bass is a strong taste, you should come on to coastal Alabama and try some sail cats. Make you beg for bass back. We catch bass by the dozens with live shrimp when fishing for trout and red fish, and they get tossed into the cooler just the same.

What is a "sail cat"? We always called those cats that layed on the road for a couple of weeks, got flattened, and dried out "sail cats". You could pick them up and sail em. I was serious about bass coming out of warm muddy water tasting better. We have quarry lakes in the county, clear as a bell,40ft deep, and cold. I've had bass out of them that tasted like moss. My nephew caught some out of a big drainage ditch. We ate them they tasted great.

Had a pond like that around here. You caught 150 in about 45 minutes. You have to take a bunch of them out before they can grow to any size at all

I prefer fishing and eating bass over walleye. To me bass have an actual fish taste to them like fish should.

I absolutely eat bass. Fillet, cut into strips, roll in yellow corn meal heavy on black pepper and deep fry in canola oil.

My kids love bass. I like sea bass.

I agree.

I can’t tell a walleye from a bass from a crappie once you goo em up in beer batter and fry em. I quit keeping striped bass hybrids.....they taste really strong.

We have mostly smallmouths in this area of Lake Michigan,we eat everything legal here.Most people look at you funny around here if you do throw them back.Was always told large mouths were no good for the table,couldn't tell you.I have no idea when it became taboo to eat bass,everybody around here always ate them.They had a catch and eat tournament here this summer with bass.I was looking at the comments afterwards and a shocking amount of out of the area anglers were very upset with it because they were eating them,accusing them of depleting the local stock out of the bays.Nonsense.

I can hear my Father,even though he passed awhile ago, say those who judge others, you never sat at that man's table, what right do you have to tell him how to feed his family.

absolutely, I do out of my pond. truth is I think a lot of ponds don't get enough fish taken out of them. but.. if I had a pond like you describe that had 10" bluegill id never bass fish! love big gills!

Grew up eating them and everything else. In the 70s I stopped and released them all. In your circumstance, since the pond is going to be filled and they sound like they are over populated, eat them.

I keep plenty of big bluegill also fish has been my favorite meal my whole life.

My favorite is yellow perch/walleye, then bluegill, then bass, then catfish, then way behind all of those, crappie.

I might use bass as mink bait .....do mink like bass ? I know they like trout....

Would not eat a largemouth, but smallmouths are quite good. I don't like trout or salmon, fun to catch. For me, it's walleyes and yellow perch.Anyone ever have bullheads and pancakes for breakfast, with some johnnycake?

Bullheads in the springtime are good, 3/4 pounders, that is.

typically i do not - don't really care for it.

on occassion, if camping on clear cold body of water, I'll have a few.

The general rule for managing any smaller private lakes or ponds is to kill every bass that weighs around 1 pound. They tend to stock pile at this size and then out compete the other larger fish.

Another approach we used with success is to throw back any fish will a low relative weight. This essentially keeps the ones that are growing well in the breeding population and the ones that are not are removed.

A lot of bass anglers (not all) have no clue about how to manage a bass fishery. Catch and release is great in a fishery that is heavily fished but in waters that don't receive much attention, catch and release is counter productive.

My thoughts are follow the law and it doesn't matter what others think or say. And yes, bass are fine eating. Might not be walleye or perch but they are still good.

mostly small mouth but sure I have eaten large mouth and rock bass also.

in your case with a pond that is going to get drained , stock pile that fish and eat it as often as you can.

I eat them.

They say some bass over 14 inches here can have elevated levels of Mercury in it, read that in the Conservation magazine.

I prefer others over bass, but will eat smaller ones on occasion.

Walleye if I can catch them, then Flathead would be next.

While the fish is still alive I slit the gills and they bleed out pretty well.
It makes the meat a lot whiter and less fishy..
I fed some to a couple friends that said they don't like bass, and now they keep their limit when possible..

When ever possible! Within the States reg's, I figure they know what's what, unless it's a special deal, like personal rules for a private lake.

I haven't eaten one since I filleted on and found worms/ larvae in the meat. I've heard that worms are better or worse depending on time of year, but I'd just as soon stick with walleye.

I don't eat the bass I catch as many are not legal here. We have several smaller lakes with stacked and or stunted bass populations with many bass in the 9-12 inch range which are not legal to keep. Some lakes are in the process of changing those sizes and limits to help reduce numbers. There should be more bodies of water managed as such. Those size bass I would eat. The larger largemouth bass later in the summer to me have poor flavor and become soft in the warm water. I have not eaten any smallies so I can't say what they are like.

Bryce

Tastes like most other fishes to me. I'm not above eating one.
I prefer crappies or walleyes though for flavor.
Jim

I’ll keep a few large mouth bass every so often, usually when taking kids out and they want to keep some. I’ll keep legal striped bass or sea bass. Sea bass is probably my second favorite saltwater fish behind grouper. Too bad we can’t catch grouper around here.

Eat about every bass I catch out of my own pond, crappie and shellcracker and bluegill too. I fish to eat.

I throw them back.