Isn't yellow perch the tastiest freshwater fish?

[Bearcarver]

Hey Retired Spook, I'm a retired spook too!

Casper?

Bear

 

[Retired Spook]

Hey Retired Spook, I'm a retired spook too!

Hey, Bill Ace 350, I used to live upstate NY too!

 

[Carbon1960]

Aren't perch a cousin to walleye? I like both of them and wish I could buy perch at the market.

Walleye is available but it's $17/lb. On the lighter side, one of my buddies still claims it's cheaper than catching it locally if you factor in all the expenses to spend a day at the lake with the boat.

I like to think the fish come free with the boat ride

 

[Danblacksher]

Never had yellow perch, but have had crappie and to this point, they are the best freshwater fish I have ever had. I know they are not the same but from what i have read they are similar to each other

 

[jcam222]

Never had yellow perch, but have had crappie and to this point, they are the best freshwater fish I have ever had. I know they are not the same but from what i have read they are similar to each other

I’ve eaten both frequently and love both, that said yellow perch is far superior imo and that of virtually the entire NE Ohio population :)

 

[bill ace 350]

Hey, Bill Ace 350, I used to live upstate NY too!

Were you in the service? Where in upstate NY?

 

[tbern]

Gotta love yellow perch!!

 

[Retired Spook]

Were you in the service? Where in upstate NY?

I lived for a while in Jay, and then Prattsville - everything else is classified.

 

[Jonok]

Flathead are hands down the best.

I fish walleye, perch and other northern species a lot, but the propensity of flatheads to eat nothing dead, the fact that they have flakes and texture similar to halibut, but actually have flavor, and the fact there are three fillets on each fish (the belly has as much meat as either flank), makes them king in my book.
Sliced an inch thick and tempura battered is my favorite, but a traditional beer batter with monster pieces of fillets (we would routinely catch them over 40#) and greasy fries also worked great.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

Flathead are hands down the best.

I have recently tried to fish for Catfish with no luck! Been 3 times without a fish. Here in Texas HOT! Guess I need to try night or find someone to teach me!

 

[Retired Spook]

No catfish in the Universe can compare with any Yellow Perch on a dinner plate.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I lived in Minnesota for several years and, during that time, ate quite a bit of walleye and yellow perch. Both are delicious and, while I was there, I thought there could be no freshwater fish that tasted better.

I've also had my share of channel catfish and bullheads and they're OK, but nowhere near as good as walleye or yellow perch.

A couple months ago, I fished with a guide here in Texas on a local lake and caught a good-sized flathead catfish while fishing for crappie. The guide filleted the fish for me as Jonok described (after telling me he'd be glad to keep that fish for himself if I didn't want it). I fried the belly meat a few weeks ago and I couldn't believe how good it was -- sweet white meat, reminiscent to me of lobster. I've saved the flank meat to fry some other time, and I'm looking forward to it.

Flathead catfish meat tastes nothing like other kinds of catfish, and, to me, it clearly rivals the best-tasting freshwater fish around. If you've never tried it, you owe it to yourself to do so. They're hard to catch, but certainly worth working for!

 

[Retired Spook]

I grew up eating Maine lobster. The only fish I ever ate that tasted like lobster are Uku (gray snapper), in Hawaii - the fish spends it life eating shrimp in deep ocean water. The meat is even a little pink.

Flathead taste like halibut. I'm not crazy about halibut either.

I also prefer seafood broiled, never breaded and fried. I want to taste the fish not breadcrumbs and oil.

My favorite fish of all time is Mackerel - and Saba (mackerel sushi) is fabulous.

The only seafood/fish I like breaded & fried is Cod.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I grew up eating Maine lobster. The only fish I ever ate that tasted like lobster are Uku (gray snapper), in Hawaii - the fish spends it life eating shrimp in deep ocean water. The meat is even a little pink.

Flathead taste like halibut. I'm not crazy about halibut either.

I also prefer seafood broiled, never breaded and fried. I want to taste the fish not breadcrumbs and oil.

My favorite fish of all time is Mackerel - and Saba (mackerel sushi) is fabulous.

The only seafood/fish I like breaded & fried is Cod.

So, do you not like any freshwater fish?

To be clear, flathead catfish, to me, is reminiscent of lobster in that the meat is sweet and white. It's also more tender than lobster tail meat. But, of course, that's just my opinion.

 

[Retired Spook]

So, do you not like any freshwater fish?

To be clear, flathead catfish, to me, is reminiscent of lobster in that the meat is sweet and white. It's also more tender than lobster tail meat. But, of course, that's just my opinion.

No one I ever met breads & fries lobster, though I am sure it can be done.

Yellow perch is a freshwater fish!

All the rest is meh to my palate. I guess I just do not like fish that has to be breaded & fried to eat!

Fords & Chevrolets

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Yeah, I don't fry lobster either, but I felt like I could compare the taste of lobster meat to that of flathead catfish, (or chicken, for that matter) irrespective of that. I guess I probably shouldn't have done that.

You don't have to bread and fry perch, or walleye, or catfish to eat it. It's good, to me, broiled, blackened, etc., but I prefer it fried.

So, do you think yellow perch is the best freshwater fish? If you declared earlier in this thread, I missed it. Apologies for that.

 

[Retired Spook]

Yeah, I don't fry lobster either, but I felt like I could compare the taste of lobster meat to that of flathead catfish, (or chicken, for that matter) irrespective of that. I guess I probably shouldn't have done that.

You don't have to bread and fry perch, or walleye, or catfish to eat it. It's good, to me, broiled, blackened, etc., but I prefer it fried.

So, do you think yellow perch is the best freshwater fish? If you declared earlier in this thread, I missed it. Apologies for that.

Absolutely yellow perch is the best tasting freshwater fish. Walleye is 2nd best.

Yep, I've tasted just about all of them - fish lover since I was 8-years old. Never understood what people like about trout - they have no taste at all.

I used to eat bass out of Roosevelt Lake (reservoir) in Arizona - crystal clear water, packed with shad, incredible tasting bass. Only lake I ever enjoyed the taste of a bass from.

I'm old now, and all broken to pieces, I haven't been fishing in 7-years :(

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Absolutely yellow perch is the best tasting freshwater fish. Walleye is 2nd best.

Yep, I've tasted just about all of them - fish lover since I was 8-years old. Never understood what people like about trout - they have no taste at all.

I used to eat bass out of Roosevelt Lake (reservoir) in Arizona - crystal clear water, packed with shad, incredible tasting bass. Only lake I ever enjoyed the taste of a bass from.

I'm old now, and all broken to pieces, I haven't been fishing in 7-years :(

I grew up in Illinois and fished a lot with my dad for smallmouth bass in area streams and lakes. I enjoyed eating them. The largemouth coming out of lakes in Minnesota were OK as well. Down here in Texas, with the warm water and Florida-strain largemouth, bass have become second-class table fare for me.

I got rid of my boat years ago. My kids grew up and flew the coop and my fishing buddies moved away or decided they were too busy to go fishing.

With no boat, I quit fishing myself for quite awhile, but I decided a couple years ago that I would try to find a guide to take me out a couple times or so a year. Guides are expensive, but it's way cheaper to hire a guide a few times a year than pay for a boat, motor, and tow vehicle. I also took no pleasure in towing a boat and putting it in and taking it out of the water. A good guide will also clean your fish for you.

So, even though I'm kinda old and without a boat, I enjoy fishing a few times a year and currently have a good quantity of fish, ready to fry, in my freezer.

If you're still able to move around a bit on a boat, I recommend finding a good guide and going fishing again!

 

[Retired Spook]

I am never paying any guide the absurd amount of money they ask to take a person fishing, and then have to book 5-additional trips before they actually put you on the fish.

Its a Walmart Country, especially in Texas - get used to it.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

I am never paying any guide the absurd amount of money they ask to take a person fishing, and then have to book 5-additional trips before they actually put you on the fish.

Its a Walmart Country, especially in Texas - get used to it.

Alrighty then! Good day sir!