We kept a big eelpout Sat and cooked it up as an appetizer Sat night before the big perch fry. I’ve only had it once before. It was fun to eat. I cant say it was great but I wont say it wasnt a treat. Especially dipped in melted butter.
It’s one of those things that should be done once in a while like eating morels in the spring.
Anyone have any eelpout eating stories?
Eelpout is freshwater cod…Lutefisk is made with Cod from Norway so basically you ate Lutefisk! 
I have fried it and baked it. Great both ways. Have no idea why it gets a bad wrap. Just use the top back strap above the lateral line. Delicious!
Eelpout back straps boiled in 7UP and dipped in Melted butter – Doesn’t get much better than that. I’d trade pout back straps for walleye fillets any day.
7UP you say…What does that do to the fish? I would think it would make it sweet tasting? Do you use 100% 7UP or mix in water? Thanks…
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishthumper wrote:</div>
Eelpout back straps boiled in 7UP and dipped in Melted butter – Doesn’t get much better than that. I’d trade pout back straps for walleye fillets any day.7UP you say…What does that do to the fish? I would think it would make it sweet tasting? Do you use 100% 7UP or mix in water? Thanks…
We did the same thing a couple of years ago with an Eelpout we caught while sturgeon fishing. Used all 7UP and it was delicious. Poor man’s lobster.
Had it deep fried once, to me it tasted like walleye cheek meat, very good fish. DK.
I’ve used 100% 7up and also 1/2 7up and 1/2 water. Both are good. The 100% did make it a little sweet so I prefer the 50/50 ratio a little better myself
Had it deep fried once, to me it tasted like <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>walleye cheek meat, very good fish. DK.
X2. Best fresh water fish that’s crossed my palate.
Fun 1st memory. Coming off LOW before the wanton waste law, a guy stops by our house and asks if we plan to eat the 3 or 4 pouts we had laying outside shack. We looked at him oddly and asked why? He said to stop by his cabin on the way in to see. Best deep fried fish EVER!
Boil in 1 cup of sugar to 4 cups of water, tasty!
7up works great. simmer it till done, dip in melted butter with salt/pepper. One of the guys I fish with gets mad when we don’t catch a few while fishing LOTW.
How do you know when it’s done when boiling it?
I’m thinking of staying out for the night bite on LOTW in Feb just at the hope of trying one.
Iv’e had it and heard from others why they call it “Poor Man’s Lobster”
Absolutely delicious
We caught one while frying fish a few years back. It went from floppin to fryer in about 5 min. It was great! I brought one home and it was not good. Definitely a catch and enjoy the same day type of fish.
For some reason I would have expected our resident Eelpout Guy 
would have chimed in by now? 
I’ve been to LOW for at least once to twice a year for the last 20 years. I’m on the lake for @ most 4 days then. It has been not uncommon for me to catch one pout per every other year to at most once every 1/3 year.
We caught one while frying fish a few years back. It went from floppin to fryer in about 5 min. It was great! I brought one home and it was not good. Definitely a catch and enjoy the same day type of fish.
I remember this trip @JetBoatDave! It was the first time I had ever tried it and it was delicious!
Eelpout is freshwater cod…Lutefisk is made with Cod from Norway so basically you ate Lutefisk!
Not even close…
I tried the 7-up thing last year. Definitely made the fish sweet tasting. Not my thing I guess ,Won’t be doing that again.
X2
Eelpout is one of the tastiest fish that swims and if you’re going to the trouble of cleaning it, it pays to treat it right. Poaching it is fine I much prefer to treat it like halibut and pan fry it than something you have to try hide the flavor of with sugar or other stuff.
Poor mans lobster is one of my favorites. One other way and I do this with other fish then Halibut, Lings or eelpout is Fish Au Gratin. Turns out amazing every time.
we caught one on the flaming gorge in utah while trolling the bottom for big macks. we threw it in the livewell and through the power of google and looking up countless recipes, settled on one and gave it a shot. we were happy we’d tried it so that we could say that we did but we were pretty certain we’d never target the species for that purpose again.
Does it taste anything like lobster? No. Does it taste like boiled fish that you have to use massive quantities of butter to slightly enjoy? yes.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>roosterrouster wrote:</div>
Eelpout is freshwater cod…Lutefisk is made with Cod from Norway so basically you ate Lutefisk!Not even close…
X2
We just boil it in water and dip in melted butter/lemon. Can’t wait to catch another one.
Does it taste anything like lobster? No. Does it taste like boiled fish that you have to use massive quantities of butter to slightly enjoy? yes.
Sorry you must have done it wrong 
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>roosterrouster wrote:</div>
Eelpout is freshwater cod…Lutefisk is made with Cod from Norway so basically you ate Lutefisk!Not even close…
Uh, yeah. Not the same fish, not remotely the same treatment.
Anyway, I really wanted to try this last season and tried to getting into them a couple times. Came up empty handed. If anybody knows of a hot eelpout bite, let me know! (File that under “things you thought you’d never hear”)
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>hnd wrote:</div>
Does it taste anything like lobster? No. Does it taste like boiled fish that you have to use massive quantities of butter to slightly enjoy? yes.Sorry you must have done it wrong
whats interesting is thats what we’ve been told by a few guys even though their recipes were eerily identical to what we did. The funny thing is that most of their spouses agrees with our assessment. Like i said, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing and not something we’d go out of our way to do again.
If it was all that was available, different story. I’ve eaten so many different kind of rough fish for the experience that people have told me they thought delicious that i find to be meh. But i’m always willing to give it a shot.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Joe Scegura wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>hnd wrote:</div>
Does it taste anything like lobster? No. Does it taste like boiled fish that you have to use massive quantities of butter to slightly enjoy? yes.Sorry you must have done it wrong
whats interesting is thats what we’ve been told by a few guys even though their recipes were eerily identical to what we did. The funny thing is that most of their spouses agrees with our assessment. Like i said, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing and not something we’d go out of our way to do again.
I’ve had boiled eelpout twice, and both times I had the exact same feelings towards it as you. I’ve had it deep fried and that was very good, and I could taste the “lobster” like taste to it that way.
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