True or False

True or False:

What about eels?

I’ll have to take your word on how they taste.

Absolutely false.

If walleyes did not taste good FEWER people would fish for them.. but never down to just a few fishing for them. There are A LOT of people that fish for bass and say they taste bad.

I enjoy the challenge that walleyes present
Bass are just too gullible

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I enjoy the challenge that walleyes present
Bass are just too gullible

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X2 Same with big cats

I voted false. Now from before this last November, I was only a bass guy but now I’m starting to get interested in Walleye little by little.

They are better out of a net.

I believe that walleyes are one of the harder to catch spiecies over Bass, crappies, gills and snot rockets.

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I believe that walleyes are one of the harder to catch spiecies over Bass, crappies, gills and snot rockets.

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I like to fish them mostly for the challenge and the BIG head shakes that make your heart pound. And the little guys make Friday fish fries quite tasty as well!

I did not taste yet but I want to know what is the taste of that fish?

it tastes like chicken

sewer rat may taste like pumpkin pie, but I’d never know ’cause I wouldn’t eat the filthy motherf’r

a rose by any other name still tastes just as sweet

People think they taste great but they are at least 5th in order of my local fish favorites.

I do not know how to answer the question. Excluding trout and salmon, ALL and I mean ALL freshwater species taste the same (flavorless). It is the breading the preperation that gives them flavor.

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People think they taste great but they are at least 5th in order of my local fish favorites.

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yup, at least 4th on mine (even further down if you consider sauger and/or saugeye seperately from walleye)

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I do not know how to answer the question. Excluding trout and salmon, ALL and I mean ALL freshwater species taste the same (flavorless). It is the breading the preperation that gives them flavor.

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I think the breading, more often than not, covers up the delicate flavor. I only use flavorless coating on thin fillets.

I’m hearing from posts above that walleyes are harder to catch than most other fish and yet they (pound for pound) probably fight less than any other species. I’ve heard others on another thread comment that a common sized “eater” is like pulling in a stick.

So, imagine if they weren’t good enough to eat… I can’t believe people would truly spend all those hours trying to catch a finicky fish that doesn’t put up much of a fight. Okay, an 8 pound walleye probably does give you a good head shake, but in 40+ years of fishing I’ve caught all of ONE of those and probably 5000 “eater” sized eyes.

Nothing wrong with those that walleye fish, after all it is our state fish and I realize I am in the minority here. Different strokes for different folks. Just glad that we all aren’t trying to catch the same species all the time…

The poll above is why I tend to like IDO better than other fishing specific web sights. IDO tends to have its hard core walleye base, but also some bass guys, muskie and even “those catfish” die-hards… I like the different perspectives…

I don’t think I would equate an eater eye to pulling in a stick. A lot of the fight depends on time of year, the body of water and health of the fishery. If the fish are coming from cold water, eating good and very healthy a 16″ puts up a pretty good tussle on a jiggin rod with 6 pound test.

Taste varies greatly by body of water, forage base and time of year as well.

To me…walleye and crappie are top of the list for good eating fish, with grilled fresh water king salmon not too far behind.

I would fish for walleye even if they didn’t taste good because they are a challenge to catch. Walleye truly are the thinking mans fish. The difference between a good day on the water and a great day walleye fishing many times is in the details. The guy that pays attention to everything around him will catch more walleye on a regular basis than the guy who is less observant. Be it light conditions or attention to color or movement of the bait the variables are what put walleye in the boat. I have fished bass in my youth and catfish for relaxation but when I stumbled on walleyes and then lucked into the company of some great walleye sticks I knew I had found the fish that challenged me yet let me win once in a while. Heck, just thinking about it makes me want to go out and match wits with Mama Walleye

Ask the boats on Pool 2 (catch and release by law)

I agree with you on the attention from you walleyes need.
However I think that almost equally hard to catch are brown trout in the rivers. Now pound for pound there is a fighting machine!

I think any large population of fish is easy to catch. But large populations of fish are getting rarer with pressure and technology. Oh, and gill nets…

FryDog62 we are on the same page.

It kills me when someone says “I thought I had a state record walleye on…but it was only a (little) channel cat”. It gave the fight of a big walleye, but because it has whiskers it’s put down. <scratch head>

On the other hand, I have a blast taking out folks that hook into a 28 inch eye on flathead gear. The normal comment is “boy it sure doesn’t fight much”. Then as it skids across the water like a crappie, I say it’s just a s–t fish….and laugh and laugh.

I do have fun poking at the walleye guys, but truth be told and I’ll never put this in writing, it’s hard not to enjoy targeting them. The are a pretty fish.

One thing I notice was when Jesse and I were pulling three ways, it felt like a wet towel bringing them to the boat. I’ve pulled spinners on Winni for many years and didn’t recall such a crappy fight. I’m thinking this has something to do with the current of the river(?)

When I was out vertical jigging with Mr Kerry Harvey, it was a complete different story. They just SMACKED the plastics and shook all the way to the boat. Pretty much the same thing with pitching…they SLAM it.

On to the taste. I don’t think there is any “taste” to a eye unless it wasn’t cleaned or stored properly. I was turned on to fresh frozen channel cat this summer and it ranks right up there with skin on sunfish. It has a slight sweet taste. I was amazed.

Then again, tastes vary.

That’s another thing I love about the river. A person never knows what’s going to be on the end of the line.

PS From what I’ve seen from guides and good sticks, it really doesn’t matter what species we’re talking about, targeting one species isn’t as easy as it’s made out to be.

Going out eye fishing and catching a few channels by accident isn’t targeting them…it’s a bonus.

Yes, walleye are gross, no fun to catch and easy. Stay away from them

“That’s another thing I love about the river. A person never knows what’s going to be on the end of the line.”

There you go, spoken like a true multi-species fisherman…