Are you a fish eater? If so, what is your favorite freshwater fish? I posed this question on social media a couple years ago and there was a smorgasbord of “favorites.” I have eaten just about every species of freshwater fish and thoroughly enjoyed most but I do have a few exceptions.
Granted, who wouldn’t enjoy eating a golden crispy fried crappie fillet? I’ve always said that crappie is the fish that even those that don’t like fish enjoy. Crappie is a neutral flavored fish that was at the top of the list of favorites. I truly think this is because of the very positive reputation crappie has gleaned as a food fish. I know some folks that will only eat crappie and often wonder if they have tried properly prepared striper, yellow bass, white bass, freshwater drum or bream.
Some fish get a bad rap in the table fare category simply because they were not properly prepared, take white bass, striper or hybrid stripers for instance. These species have a very pronounced ‘blood line’ running along each fillet and larger of the species often have a very thin layer of darker meat that covers much of the fillet. When filleting striper, it’s important to remove this line that runs the length of the fillet. With most white bass, a thin slice with the fillet knife takes all the red meat out. I have a few friends that say they actually enjoy that flavor of an untrimmed white bass fillet, one with the red meat left intact. I joke with them that they really don’t enjoy the flavor better, they are just to lazy to properly trim the fillet.
Yellow bass and freshwater drum are both very tasty. The yellow bass actually is neutral much like a crappie with little or no ‘red meat’. I have cooked them in the same skillet with crappie and most folks can’t tell the difference. Yellow bass often run in big schools, especially in the winter and there is no limit. Caddo Lake and the Cypress River drainage is known for producing big yellows, an honest 12-inch yellow bass is a whopper.
I first learned about catching and eating them from the late Billy Carter. Billy guided on Caddo for years and we enjoyed many yellow bass fishing trips and fish fries together. A bit of minnow on a small case hardened hook and light spinning tackle is all that’s required for yellow bass.
A drum is a drum. A saltwater redfish is a drum and so is the black drum, common along the coast. Who hasn’t enjoyed blackened redfish? Did you know that smaller black drum and freshwater drum are also excellent eating. When eating any drum, in my opinion, the key is choosing smaller ones for table fare. Big drum are just not as flavorful as smaller ones. It’s common to catch drum in freshwater lakes while fishing for other species, they are not picky when it comes to bait choices. I always release the bigger ones but those about 14 inches or smaller are some of the best eating in the lake, I’ve tricked many a fish eater when mixing them in with crappie or white bass.
Smaller largemouth bass are also one of my favorites. I was raised eating bass and catfish. I have a neighbor that allows me to hunt and fish on his ranch. He has a spring-fed pond that was an old gravel pit, it’s deep in places and the water is clean and clear. I usually keep my freezer stocked with catfish or white bass but occasionally I get a ‘hankering’ for some crispy fried bass. A few tosses of a Rat L Trap usually produces a couple of ‘yearling’ bass, just right for a quick noon fish fry back at home.
Even fishery biologists recommend removing a few smaller bass from smaller impoundments. It’s good for the overall population and helps produce really big bass by giving them more forage fish to eat.
Buffalo fish have snow-white fillets and have an excellent flavor. The late Johnny Procell who guided on Lake Ray Hubbard for years taught me how to make baked fish cakes from buffalo. The trick to eating buffalo is learning how to remove the bones which requires a very sharp thin blade fillet knife and a pair of tweezers to pull out the feather bones from the top of the fillet.
I’ve fished a good bit up in Saskatchewan on remote fly-in lakes and yes, walleye right out of these cold, clear waters are every bit as tasty as you’ve heard. I enjoy eating the smaller northern pike equally well and burbot, which is actually North America’s only freshwater cod, is a delicacy. These fish that look like a cross between a catfish and eel might be the most tasty fish I’ve eaten.
We’ve discussed fish that I and most fish eaters enjoy; let me tell you about those I do not like. Carp! I’ve tried them smoked, fried, baked and every way but raw and I DO NOT like carp. How could anyone enjoy eating that dark meat fish that tastes like, well, a can of sardines that’s been left out in the sun too long! If you have a carp recipe that makes them edible, please share it with me.
I can eat smaller trout grilled and saturated with butter and lemon juice but they are not my favorite. I have eaten lake trout while fishing northern waters and don’t like the flavor. A few years ago, I was fishing a remote lake in northwest Saskatchewan and I asked the chef there about smoked lake trout. He said it was excellent and marinated a few and smoked them with alder wood. Everyone in camp raved on how tasty they were. I didn’t like the dark-meat trout even after brining and smoking it. This has to be a fluke in my taste buds, some of my friends are still talking about how tasty the smoked lake trout is.
Salmon, another dark-fleshed fish, is not a favorite of mine either although most people relish it. Now, canned smoked salmon is a different matter. I have smoked, canned and pressured cooked fresh salmon and love the flavor.
Check out Luke’s weekly podcast, which is actually a retake of his radio show. Search “Catfish Radio with Luke Clayton and Friends” just about everywhere you get your podcasts. Email Luke through his website www.catfishradio.org
