Wife picked white bass over walleye and in her words “not even close.” I can’t be that unbiased since I filleted and fried them. my first meal of fish I caught in 3 years, both were tasty to me. The walleye was ridiculously clean. One 19″ fish is a good chunk of food. The bass just a touch stronger but I loved it as well.
Might have to start fishing outside pool 2 more often.
My bro has fried up small bass and it’s pretty much the same as bluegill…which I love.
With White Bass, you have that red stripe on the filet. Slice that off and it will taste better.
SR
With White Bass, you have that red stripe on the filet. Slice that off and it will taste better.
SR
It was my first time filleting them, but yes I watched a video first and got that pointer. Very tasty!
Walleye, most overrated food on the planet.
Has no taste other than what it was seasoned with.
Walleye, most overrated food on the planet.
Has no taste other than what it was seasoned with.
Darn right…nothing like a plate of lutefisk to let you know what taste is all about. 
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>chubby wrote:</div>
Walleye, most overrated food on the planet.Has no taste other than what it was seasoned with.
Darn right…nothing like a plate of lutefisk to let you know what taste is all about.
Heck yeah I love fall with all the lutefisk dinners around
Walleye, most overrated food on the planet.
Has no taste other than what it was seasoned with.
Bold statement,completely untrue, but bold. Glad you think that way, leave them all for me.
I though white bass were a little softer then walleye. As far as taste, I’m sure I couldn’t tell them apart.
I would have to check the fish consumption advisory again, but I recall the DNR telling me they hold more contaminates then other table fair in the river. I’m sure cutting off all the “red” meat and the lateral line helps.
Walleye, most overrated food on the planet.
Has no taste other than what it was seasoned with.
I have always thought this. My last choice of fish to eat around here.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>chubby wrote:</div>
Walleye, most overrated food on the planet.Has no taste other than what it was seasoned with.
I have always thought this. My last choice of fish to eat around here.
Agree 100%. I’ll take a mid 20’s Northern any day.
Honestly, at the end of the day, most scaled freshwater fish taste about the same. Each has their own characteristics, but they’re pretty close. Perch would be my favorite, crappie and sunfish next. Walleye is good, but I really only keep them in the summer from tournaments or in the winter when they’re deep hooked. No reason for me to take them as so many other great tasting fish are so easy to catch. The only two freshwater species I would not eat again would be Bowfin and Carp. Anything else would be fair game (except for Musky). I guess you could say I’m a Walleye catching snob, but an equal opportunity fish eater.
Honestly, at the end of the day, most scaled freshwater fish taste about the same. Each has their own characteristics, but they’re pretty close. Perch would be my favorite, crappie and sunfish next. <em class=”ido-tag-em”>Walleye is good, but I really only keep them in the summer from tournaments or in the winter when they’re deep hooked. No reason for me to take them as so many other great tasting fish are so easy to catch. The only two freshwater species I would not eat again would be Bowfin and Carp. Anything else would be fair game (except for Musky). I guess you could say I’m a Walleye catching snob, but an equal opportunity fish eater.
X2 on your thoughts. The same with Halibut. I have seen my taste lean towards salmon, it’s pretty much my go to nowadays.
PS, it takes a brave or starving man to eat a dogfish. 
Walleye is pretty low on my scale as well. Although, I probably eat twice as much walleye as anything else. Why?
Because they are very easy to clean and the yield a lot of meat per fish. Plain and simple.
Munchy wrote:
“Agree 100%. I’ll take a mid 20’s Northern any day.”
IMO the best eating fish out there is the mid-20’s northern… and probably the best thing you can take OUT of our waters. There are too many of them and they prevent all species, including other northerns, from getting bigger. Harvest them – and enjoy them!!
I agree with pike being great to eat. Pike and fresh lake trout are my favorite.
As far as pike, why is there a limit on smaller pike? I cant understand why it isnt an unlimited amount with say, 1 over 22 or 24” or something like that. There are too many of rhose littlw ones!
Pike Huh?
I’ll give it a try. Do you guys cook them the same as you would an Eye?
Pike Huh?
I’ll give it a try. Do you guys cook them the same as you would an Eye?
Yup!
I too enjoy Pike more than walleye.
Pike-Perch-Sunnies-Walleye-Crappies-Dogfish in that order
Walleye is pretty low on my scale as well. Although, I probably eat twice as much walleye as anything else. Why?
Because they are very easy to clean and the yield a lot of meat per fish. Plain and simple.
X2 for someone inexperienced with a fillet knife, like myself. I was conservative and probably left a bit more meat on the fish than I had to, but the cleaned chunks were still big, and several. By the time I trimmed the red meat from the whities — which were smaller to begin with — there was less food from 2 fish than what I had from 1 walleye. I’ll get better with practice.
I though white bass were a little softer then walleye. As far as taste, I’m sure I couldn’t tell them apart.
I would have to check the fish consumption advisory again, but I recall the DNR telling me they hold more contaminates then other table fair in the river. I’m sure cutting off all the “red” meat and the lateral line helps.
Think you’re definitely right about texture. I did a pretty hack-job filleting these. A little knife-shy on the carcass. On the plus side, I definitely cut out all the red meat and the line.
MDH/DNR consumption guidelines on the St Croix above stillwater are pretty strict, like buffalo and carp they have it at 1 meal/month. PCBs and Mercury. Stillwater to Prescott its 1 meal/week, same as walleye. Strangely they list PCBs, Mercury, and PFOs for white bass in this stretch. So… more varied contaminants, yet less contamination impact on the fish in this part of the river?
Also interesting and news to me: in that same stretch of the St. Croix, Sauger have no contaminants while Walleye have both PCB and Mercury.
These are of course guidelines.
Here’s some issues I have with these guidelines. (although I do follow them)
1) With the acoustic transmitters and physical tagging, we’re finding out fish move all over. I’ve mention this before, the MN DNR tagged a white bass about mid Pool 3. Two weeks later it was recaptured near the Apple River on the St Croix. Flatheads have been tracked from Mpls to South of Red Wing.
How can a fish consumption advisory list fish from one section of river as “good” or “bad” to eat?
2) MN takes the fillets and grinds them up to check for contaminants. WI grinds up the whole fish. (or was it the other way around) Either way, who eats the whole fish guts head and all?
PS for the people that read this and say “that’s why I don’t eat fish out of the river”, might want to look up your favorite lake. In most cases the river has less polluted fish then the lakes.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>chubby wrote:</div>
Walleye, most overrated food on the planet.Has no taste other than what it was seasoned with.
I have always thought this. My last choice of fish to eat around here.
Agreed…except for the cheeks. Cut the cheeks out and then release the walleye. Best of both worlds, released to swim again and also something to release to “the grease”…
And FWIW, sauger taste much better than any walleye… 
Wife picked white bass over walleye and in her words “not even close.”
P2F obviously your wife’s taste is highly questionable for multiple reasons now… Surprised no one took that lay-up yet! FWIW I like all fish, but eye’s are my favorite because they take seasoning so well.
As always, good perspective Brian.
My home waters are CPR so I just don’t harvest many fish. If I lived 5 mins from the St Croix I wouldn’t think twice about eating that weekly meal.
Agreed…except for the cheeks. Cut the cheeks out and then release the walleye. Best of both worlds, released to swim again and also something to release to “the grease”
The cheeks tasted like… shore lunch 
P2F obviously your wife’s taste is highly questionable for multiple reasons now… Surprised no one took that lay-up yet! FWIW I like all fish, but eye’s are my favorite because they take seasoning so well.
I’m well aware of the FW’s poor decision-making skills! As long as I’m the beneficiary (i just mean more walleye for me, get your head outta the gutter guys) I can’t complain. Still, you get the customary view for crushing that softball: 
I didn’t see it was white bass. I have had small largemouth and they are good, like I said, close to all the other panfish.
As for Pike, I agree. I may choose that over all the others. The flesh is firmer than most freshwater fish with big white flakes.
That being said I haven’t eaten a lot of pike. Anybody notice a difference between pike from warm/cold water or clear/dirty water?
I made perch and pike together once. Eaten together the pike had almost zero flavor. Not saying that is bad because pike have zero bad flavor. But perch are so flavorful they really brought that out.
Couldn’t agree more.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>chubby wrote:</div>
Walleye, most overrated food on the planet.Has no taste other than what it was seasoned with.
I have always thought this. My last choice of fish to eat around here.
Agree 100%. I’ll take a mid 20’s Northern any day.
the mid-20’s northern… and probably the best thing you can take OUT of our waters. There are too many of them and they prevent all species, including other northerns, from getting bigger. Harvest them – and enjoy them!!
x2
Anybody notice a difference between pike from warm/cold water or clear/dirty water?
I’ve never really noticed a taste difference between clear/dirty water. All pike I eat are mid-20’s and 75% of them come from the tip of my spear in clear water. Occasionally I will keep some from my fathers lake if they deep hook on a tipup and have not noticed a difference when they come from dirty water. I’m sure the taste may come apparent when the water warms up, but I have not eaten one in the summer.
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