Yummy fish sticks!!!

19 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Yummy fish sticks!!!

I've seen that photo before; as I recall, the guy claimed all fish were released in good condition; what a crock of you know what that was. Perfect example of why big fish are becoming scarcer all the time.

I would eat bass if I didn't live in a city with all types of markets and good restaurants.

4 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Frogs are delicious

Best white meat I've ever ate. Bass are decent table fare, but I like eyes, perch, and white bass better.

I don't have any problem with keeping a bass if it is legal to do so, or if it will help the body of water produce larger bass. Personally, I think that bluegill, and crappie taste better.

If i were to eat a lm or sm bass it would have to be no bigger than 10", which i have never done. 14" is the size limit in michigan, and too gamey for my taste. I ate a bass once......

Good walleye fishing all around me... NO, I don't eat bass.

Eat more rock bass please

8 hours ago, gim said:

Eat more rock bass please

There are many fisheries that would vastly benefit from many smaller Bass being culled from their depths... You know, the ones full of fish under 3-4 pounds, virtually none larger... Small streams would be exempt from this logic, but most watersheds would not...

The key is releasing most if not all of the large ones, to ensure those genetics stay within the watershed...

Don't forget, Smallmouth, Largemouth and Spotted Bass, aren't Bass, they are technically members of the Sunfish Family, just like Bluegills lol

Small Largemouth aren't all that different than Crappies when it comes to table fare, have eaten a couple that weren't gonna make it. The growth rates of Smallies are so slow though, a keeper sized Smallie will typically be a very unhealthy meal when it comes to toxic chemicals, etc...

When Japan attempted to eradicate Bass from their waters, the lower population densities that were a result of such endeavors, lead to record sized Bass...

When my grandkids were small we used to fish a private pond that was close to home. I took them there because they could catch dozens of 10 inch, paper thin bass, and had fun catching them. The owner would not allow any fish to be kept, in fact he would catch bass in other ponds and release them there. I explained to him that there were too many predators and not enough prey and he was just making it worse. But what do I know.

15 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

Yummy fish sticks!!!

That is a disgusting photo!

That's all I've got to say about that.

When I first started bass fishing, 25 years or so ago, I keep the first over 1 lb, then the first over 2 and ate them. For me it’s not worth the effort for the amount of fish one gets. I buy the fish I eat.

Every year I help a friend manage his pond for bigger bass by culling smaller bass and bigger sunfish and catfish and crappie.

It’s just standard practice at a small private pond if you want healthy trophy bass to be the dominant life form.

On the lakes I let just about any bass go unless they’re gut hooked or gill hooked and then we keep and eat it. If I was gonna feed folks - I’d just keep the 12-16 “ ones around here for sure - that’s really only helping just about any fishery with a lot of bass in it.

I've found the taste of freshwater fish in general to be extremely bland tasting. Maybe that's why people are forced to roll them in batter, deep fry them, and then dip them in tartar sauce. The natural taste and any inkling of being healthy for you is long gone at that point.

Saltwater fish are so much more robust in flavor. But living in MN, that's an exceptionally rare treat for this guy.

There was a small public lake in Missouri that was overun with little bass. The Conservation dept changed the regulations to 12 fish a day and no llength limit. I traveled there and fished three days keeping 12 small bass a day. I had 72 fillets. Those temporary regulations must have worked because now they are back to the usual slot limits. Taking small bass are healthy for a lot of fisheries. I do my part, I wish more anglers would.

I think bass are hard to clean. If you've ever cleaned a yellow perch, Sauger, or walleye, your fillet knife runs along their backbones like a freshly paved highway. A bass's backbone, on the other hand, is like driving down an old road pitted with potholes. And the meat isn't as sweet as a bluegill's, so there's less incentive to drive down that road.

However, I hope to eat a few out of my pond this summer. My pond's water is some of the cleanest in Maine according to Maine Fish and Wildlife, but twelve-inchers are rare.

We don't have a bass problem in MN. But we have a northern pike problem. Wish more people would harvest those regularly.

32 minutes ago, gim said:

I've found the taste of freshwater fish in general to be extremely bland tasting.

Different tastes for different tongues. I find your state's walleyes to taste clean, but my "clean" is your "bland."

1 hour ago, Lottabass said:

That is a disgusting photo!

That's all I've got to say about that.

@ Lottabass Al in case you don’t know that is a photo of Butch Brown with a big single days catch. All of those fish were released. Just saying.

44 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

@ Lottabass Al in case you don’t know that is a photo of Butch Brown with a big single days catch. All of those fish were released. Just saying.

I do not know the back story or timeline, but I have worked with and around fish most of my life in large public aquariums. I highly doubt any of those fish survived long after release. People have the belief that fish are extremely hearty, in reality most species, including bass, are not.

15 minutes ago, rboat said:

I do not know the back story or timeline, but I have worked with and around fish most of my life in large public aquariums. I highly doubt any of those fish survived long after release. People have the belief that fish are extremely hearty, in reality most species, including bass, are not.

And even if those fish did live, what right does that guy have to stab stringers through those poor fish's jaws? If he wanted to show his catches, he should have held each of them separately immediately after catching them and snapped a quick photo. Cruel crap like that should get your licence taken.

I believe this photo is quite old, is it not?

I don't personally agree with it now myself either, but the time frame in which it was taken may have been a more accepting crowd.

Even though it occurred before my lifetime, the infamous Leech Lake Muskie Massacre in 1955 is well documented too. And it was accepted by many at the time. Nowadays it would not be. Mostly because it's against bag limits but muskie anglers are very pro catch and release.

8 minutes ago, Flukeflicker said:

And even if those fish did live, what right does that guy have to stab stringers through those poor fish's jaws? If he wanted to show his catches, he should have held each of them separately immediately after catching them and snapped a quick photo. Cruel crap like that should get your licence taken.

@Flukeflicker I can see your on your high horse this morning. What right do you have as a fisherman to stab a hook through a fishes mouth or jaw? Your liberalism is showing badly. And by the way if the limit in California is five bass he probably has the legal right to kill all five if he so chooses which he did not.

Why not, I mean it is legal to harvest fish for consumption. Just follow state regs & enjoy it.