So I've got a buddy that loves to eat freshwater drum. I've also heard several people talk about gar being delicious... Maybe just a PITA to clean. Anybody here regularly eat any "less desirable" fish?

I’ve had bullheads before. I didn’t catch or clean or prepare them, but they were very similar to catfish to me.

 

You could probably lather up and deep fry just about any fish in batter, and then dip it in tarter sauce. All you’d be doing is tasting the batter/breading and sauce at that point.

Bullhead were my grandmothers favorite. She’d just gut them, skin them and fry them in butter. 
I always thought it was weird that they have red meat

Gar is pretty good, wild texture that turns off some people.  drum is fair, not bad but not good

33 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Gar is pretty good, wild texture that turns off some people.  drum is fair, not bad but not good

I've heard the texture of gar is similar to shrimp?

I actually like white bass although only eat some once a year. Technically they are a panfish. If you cut out the darker meat, the remaining white meat is excellent.... you just get more than your typical crappie, sunfish, etc.  

I have tried eating nearly everything I’ve caught.

I don’t consider bullheads trash fish - they are delicious!

Once I caught 27 salt water cats. I kept them , skinned them, and fried them . They weren’t bad…

We also used to catch sailor’s choice and they were fair at best, but they had some of the nastiest guts when cleaning them.

Some of you may doubt I did this , but it’s true. I used to catch big golden shiners. One day I cleaned a few and momma fried em up. My first mouthful tasted good, but then I realized there were a million little bones in with the meat. I could not find any part of that fish that was different.!

Some people consider amberjack a trash fish because of the sea worms they have, but they don’t bother me. When you fry it, they disentegrate anyway, and besides, it’s extra protein..

Ive eaten fried shark and it was too strong tasting. But shark soaked in milk for a few days, then smoked, is outstanding!

The worst fish I tried eating was a jack crevalle. Momma fried him up too, and it was all blood and bones. That was my last attempt to eat one.

I caught another one later out of the lower st Johns river near the ocean. Some Chinese people that didn’t speak english came up and by their gestures and smiles, and excited dialogue, I could tell they wanted the fish. I tried telling them the fish wasn’t fit to eat, but they kept on, so I finally gave it to them. I’ve always wondered what they thought when they tried eating it…?

 

I've eaten 3.2763 tons of fried gar. It's delicious. Once you clean 4 or 5 it's no big deal cleaning them.

Mullet is one fish I tried that was nasty, I think it requires some coconut milk soak or something according to people that have told me they are good 

 

 

2 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Ive eaten fried shark and it was too strong tasting. But shark soaked in milk for a few days, then smoked, is outstanding!

Shark range from excellent to inedible, depending on the species and size.

3 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I have tried eating nearly everything I’ve caught.

I don’t consider bullheads trash fish - they are delicious!

Once I caught 27 salt water cats. I kept them , skinned them, and fried them . They weren’t bad…

We also used to catch sailor’s choice and they were fair at best, but they had some of the nastiest guts when cleaning them.

Some of you may doubt I did this , but it’s true. I used to catch big golden shiners. One day I cleaned a few and momma fried em up. My first mouthful tasted good, but then I realized there were a million little bones in with the meat. I could not find any part of that fish that was different.!

Some people consider amberjack a trash fish because of the sea worms they have, but they don’t bother me. When you fry it, they disentegrate anyway, and besides, it’s extra protein..

Ive eaten fried shark and it was too strong tasting. But shark soaked in milk for a few days, then smoked, is outstanding!

The worst fish I tried eating was a jack crevalle. Momma fried him up too, and it was all blood and bones. That was my last attempt to eat one.

I caught another one later out of the lower st Johns river near the ocean. Some Chinese people that didn’t speak english came up and by their gestures and smiles, and excited dialogue, I could tell they wanted the fish. I tried telling them the fish wasn’t fit to eat, but they kept on, so I finally gave it to them. I’ve always wondered what they thought when they tried eating it…?

 

What kind of fish is sailors choice?

45 minutes ago, DitchPanda said:

What kind of fish is sailors choice?

Some people call them pinfish.

1 hour ago, Deleted account said:

Shark range from excellent to inedible, depending on the species and size.

Bonnett heads are my favorite.

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

Mullet is one fish I tried that was nasty, I think it requires some coconut milk soak or something according to people that have told me they are good 

 

 

Mullet is real good smoked…

6 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Some people call them pinfish.

Bonnett heads are my favorite.

Mullet is real good smoked…

Oh yeah...when I lived in Texas we caught them all the time. Everybody called them piggy perch.

1 minute ago, DitchPanda said:

Oh yeah...when I lived in Texas we caught them all the time. Everybody called them piggy perch.

Saltwater creeks are always full of them. They are a lot like bluefish with a lot of bloody meat.

32 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

Mullet is real good smoked…

 

Yes, I have fond memories of the delicious smoked mullet from Publix supermarkets when I lived in Florida.

There is a place in Omaha Nebraska called Joe Tess’s.  Best carp sandwiches ever.  Never tried to clean and cook one myself but ate a lot of them growing up.  

One of the deputies that worked for me loved carp! I'm not a huge fish eater, but he was always trying to bring me a carp sandwich. I tried it, wasn't for me at all.

17 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

There is a place in Omaha Nebraska called Joe Tess’s.  Best carp sandwiches ever.  Never tried to clean and cook one myself but ate a lot of them growing up.  

I live about 2.5hrs northeast of Omaha and have always heard about that place but never tried it.

7 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

I don’t consider bullheads trash fish - they are delicious!

They’re most definitely a trash fish here. There’s no closed season and there’s no bag limit. Take as many as you want, when you want.

7 minutes ago, gimruis said:

They’re most definitely a trash fish here. There’s no closed season and there’s no bag limit. Take as many as you want, when you want.

Correct on the first, incorrect on the second - 2022 regs.

So there is a possession limit...

 

I actually do keep bullhead - been eating them since I was a kid in MA...they're pretty decent...not up to crappie or walleye, but edible.

It has been interesting to see what different ones of you call trash fish.  Being in the middle of the country a lot of what some of you mentioned are completely foreign to me and I have no idea what they are.  

Bullhead, carp, and drum back the day when we would visit my grandma.

On 4/16/2022 at 11:07 AM, DitchPanda said:

I live about 2.5hrs northeast of Omaha and have always heard about that place but never tried it.

Give it a try.  They slice the carp so that all of the bones dissolve during the cooking process.  I hate bones in fish.  
https://www.joetessplace.com/

 

I'm really not a picky eater. The only fish I ever ate that I can say was not good was a freshwater drum. My friend snagged one in the gills and we decided we'd keep it. The meat was a nice texture but it really didn't taste great. It was a nice sized one, somewhere around 15lbs if I remember correctly, which is probably not an ideal eating size. It also came from a muddy urban river which surely didn't help ?

Try this carp/ drum receipt for grilling:

 

Gut the fish, fill the cavity with butter, lemon, salt, pepper and parsley.

Place the filet on a cedar plank, 6"- 8" above the coals.

Cover and cook for five minutes.

Let sit for 2-3 minutes.

Remove the fish and serve the plank.