Eating bass?

[xdss]

Does anyone here ever eat the bass they catch? IMO I don't really agree with eating bass, I view them as JUST a game fish (almost like a football is to football) I prefer to take a quick pic of them and release it quickly to be caught anotherday... Im asking because I have a few Asian friends who eat bass (and everything else they catch)

[Zimbass]

I have been telling people for many years that eating bass makes them go blind !!

Never kill a bass, and nor do most of the people I know. There are those that will eat one that is dead at the weigh-in, but I do not condone those that eat them. Bit like eating your pet !!!!!

Of course those that do, should be respected, and encouraged to practice selective harvest.

[jpd0144]

Of course those that do, should be respected, and encouraged to practice selective harvest.

[cndbasshunter]

just saw a guy post a pic of his livewell dry with over 16 largemouth. Disgusting!!!

[steve1206]

In most cases I say no way, but we have put the knife to them a few times...Always in small bodies of water (farm ponds) where population control is the issue and fish have become stunted and need thinned out....but its been quite a while

[jpd0144]

In most cases I say no way, but we have put the knife to them a few times...Always in small bodies of water (farm ponds) where population control is the issue and fish have become stunted and need thinned out....but its been quite a while

My thoughts exactly Steve ...

Myself Im probably 95 + % Catch and release for the most part !

However ... My family and I enjoy having a baked bass fillet topped with butter, spices, and lemon pepper served with a vegetable side every now and then.

We have this two to three times a year and Im VERY selective on what body of water I take them from and what size I keep. I will not keep anything over 2 lbs or so. Anything larger goes back in no matter if I have enough for dinner or not !

For the other times of the year we have baked fish we just get it fresh from our local market.

Im sure there will be different opinions on this topic and I respect to each their own.

[mhood]

Bass are food. It's really that simple. If you have a legal license and a legal limit and want to eat fish, knock yourself out. I'm tired of people telling other people what they can and can't do...especially when they have every legal right to be doing what they're doing. If I gut hook a fish, I give it an hour or so to sink or swim in the livewell. If it sinks, it's supper time for my wife and Granddaughter...I'm a strick vegan who thinks it should be illegal to eat a cow.

[Bass Junkie]

Bass are food. It's really that simple. If you have a legal license and a legal limit and want to eat fish, knock yourself out. I'm tired of people telling other people what they can and can't do...especially when they have every legal right to be doing what they're doing.

For some reason it seems very difficult for people to understand this. I personally release every bass I catch. Why? Because they're not the best eating fish. I'd take a pike over a bass on the table any day of the week. I get satisfaction from fooling, hooking, and landing bass, I need no more from them. Some people fish to catch something to eat. My fishing partner keeps everything legal he catches until he has enough for the winter. Then, he releases everything from that point in the year on. I feel no animosity towards him, and I enjoy eating a few fish myself. Besides, with as much as we spend on tackle, those fish cost more per pound than Salmon

[jpd0144]

... those fish cost more per pound than Salmon

YES they do !!!!

[angry john]

I keep a few bass, mostly the ones that are bleeding all over the place from a gut, but more often a gill hook. If i think the fish i have caught has a better than even chance of fighting another day off it goes. Now i may be taking another easy meal from another fish but i dont feel bad about that. Size makes less of a difference than the fishes chances. I kept maybe 4-5 out of the hundreds i caught. I have been asked many times by someone else to have my catch and that is a definite no!!!! Trout is mostly stocked in this area and that is a different story.

[njbasscat]

I personally would not eat any freshwater fish in NJ but like deer, too many fish, especially in small lakes is a recipe for disaster. I have seen the average size in a few lakes around here go from 2 1/2 lbs to under a pound due too overcrowding. It's healthy for the fish population to remove some smaller fish. I'm not saying too keep stringers of big ones like in the old days but selective harvest is good for a lake.

[xdss]

yeah.. I really don't mind my buddies keeping fish, the only time it is an absolute no is when we fish my pond in my backyard that is newly stocked.

[Ong Jim]

Bass are food. It's really that simple. If you have a legal license and a legal limit and want to eat fish, knock yourself out. I'm tired of people telling other people what they can and can't do...especially when they have every legal right to be doing what they're doing. If I gut hook a fish, I give it an hour or so to sink or swim in the livewell. If it sinks, it's supper time for my wife and Granddaughter...I'm a strick vegan who thinks it should be illegal to eat a cow.

Couldn't agree with you more. There is a limit set in place for a reason.

I personal eat bass but keep it under 16". There are many ways to prepare it and it taste great. One simple way is to lightly season the fish then pan fry it. Then cook a tomato/curry based sauce and smoother the fish with the sauce and sprinkle some spring onion and mint over it right before serving.

Heck, there are grocery stores selling farm raised bass for $10.99/lb, why not keep a couple from time to time for dinner?

[xdss]

I'm going to have to try it some day..,.I've eatin in bass before but was to young to remember. That last post made me hungry can you post the recipe?

[MondayMonkey]

While I practice C&R 90% of the time bass and fish in general taste good. Once I fill my chest freezer with halibut, salmon, lingcod and rockfish, then I put almost everything back. But when camping I'll almost always keep enough for dinner be it crappie bass or trout. My primary river for bass is a bit industrial though and I won't keep bass from it. I do have a lake I visit quite often where bass were introduced illegally and have devastated the once trophy trout population. I keep and eat everything I catch there.

Big fish almost always go back. But sometimes the fight lasts too long (usually trout). And the fish won't survive. Those get eaten as to fish that unfortunately hook themselves badly and will most likely die.

I generally don't mind seeing people keep fish either unless it's in insane quantities. I've been kokanee fishing many times where I see a guy with his entire family catching and keeping everyone's limit which can be 15-30 fish per person. They do this for 2-3 days in a row. I find that a bit disgusting. You'll see that same guy the following year at the same lake bitching about how the fishing is bad when last year he harvested 450-500 fish from it.... I want to smack the guy and tell him if you want it to stay good don't harvest so damn many!!