Isn't yellow perch the tastiest freshwater fish?

[kawboy]

Alright, I'll chime in. Although I have no problem eating Yellow Perch, I have to say the best freshwater fish I've had is Bullhead through the ice! Northerns through the ice are probably second. I get into the bullheads ice fishing fairly often, even speared one one winter.

 

[Retired Spook]

I live in Texas so I am speaking from experience.

 

[912smoker]

Never had any of the northern fish but down here is GA catfish is the king. Besides channel cat my favorite is a chain pickerel (aka Jack) from the Ogeechee River. They have a sweet meat but are boney so we gash them every inch or so and fry.

Keith

 

[Retired Spook]

Catfish just never appealed to me no matter how it is prepared - fried, baked, broiled, blackened - it always tastes fishy to me (not in a good way to my palate), even caught and cooked the same day. My grandmother loved it - breaded and fried...

I've caught hundreds of pickerel - mild tasting but so many bones. I've caught and eaten northern pike - again, very mild tasting but can be prepared into boneless fillets.

I eat sardines twice a week minimum - love em. And to me, there is nothing like Mackerel. Find a true Chinese/Asian supermarket that carries Norwegian Macks - they will deep fry the Mack for you (no, no breading). Completely amazing - so good I have to eat some in the car before driving home.

And a Mackerel split and slow roasted over hickory coals - my God that is heaven.

I've also been taking fish-oil pills for 40-years - the docs say my heart arteries look like horse heart arteries (they thought I was having heart trouble). My cholesterol is extremely low too, and if anyone knew how many 32-ounce steaks I have eaten (yes, 32-ounces) and how many cheese burgers I have eaten, they would never believe my cholesterol levels.

I always tell the docs - it's the fish oil.

But yellow perch is the best tasting freshwater fish I have ever tasted.

 

[Steve H]

Alright, I'll chime in. Although I have no problem eating Yellow Perch, I have to say the best freshwater fish I've had is Bullhead through the ice! Northerns through the ice are probably second. I get into the bullheads ice fishing fairly often, even speared one one winter.

Bullheads during the spring run are pretty good too.

 

[Bumppo]

I love perch, as long as someone else is fileting them. It takes a full bucket to make a decent meal, which is at least a couple hours of processing for me.

I usually target bigger species. This is a very unpopular opinion to 99% of people who've eaten it, but we love lake trout. Only takes one to feed the family. Yeah, they taste a little fishy, but that ok. Because, you know, its a fish.

 

[Steve H]

I love perch, as long as someone else is fileting them. It takes a full bucket to make a decent meal, which is at least a couple hours of processing for me.

I usually target bigger species. This is a very unpopular opinion to 99% of people who've eaten it, but we love lake trout. Only takes one to feed the family. Yeah, they taste a little fishy, but that ok. Because, you know, its a fish.

Try smoking them if you haven't already. Big improvement with favor. A friend of mine does that. And gives me some from time to time. I'm not a big trout eater. But Ann is.

 

[Bearcarver]

Bullheads during the spring run are pretty good too.

Exactly!!, but not as much in the Summer.
I love to eat most fresh water fish, but Bullheads are easily my favorite.
No need to fillet---We just skin them from gill to tail, gut them, and remove the head & fins. Then we cook them whole. Once on the plate, we just hold onto the top of the backbone, and scrape both sides lightly with a fork. Now you have a nice white pile of awesome boneless meat on your plate & a fully intact backbone, with ribcage attached in your hand, to dispose of.

I've not had any "Flathead" yet, but it has to go a long way to please me more than a Bullhead in Spring, between 10" and 16" long. I can't wait to try some Flathead. Bear Jr says he'll get me some this year.

Bear

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

This is a very unpopular opinion to 99% of people who've eaten it, but we love lake trout. Only takes one to feed the family. Yeah, they taste a little fishy, but that ok. Because, you know, its a fish.

I fished with a friend a few times on Lake Michigan out of Algoma, WI. We targeted king salmon, but occasionally caught a good-sized lake trout. In Algoma, the restaurants featured "trout boils" from time to time where they boiled "lakers". I never had it, but evidently it really helps with the oiliness of the lake trout, and, of course, the people there said boiled lake trout tasted like lobster!

 

[Bumppo]

Try smoking them if you haven't already. Big improvement with favor. A friend of mine does that. And gives me some from time to time. I'm not a big trout eater. But Ann is.

I'm really not a fan of smoked fish. And I really don't mind the strong flavor. I cook it the same way that I would with any other member of the trout and salmon family.

And my favorite way is to just beer batter and fry it.

 

[Bumppo]

I fished with a friend a few times on Lake Michigan out of Algoma, WI. We targeted king salmon, but occasionally caught a good-sized lake trout. In Algoma, the restaurants featured "trout boils" from time to time where they boiled "lakers". I never had it, but evidently it really helps with the oiliness of the lake trout, and, of course, the people there said boiled lake trout tasted like lobster!

Boiled lake trout tasting like lobster? I honestly don't even know how to respond to that.

But back to the perch subject, that one of my favorite ways to cook it. Just boil the filets and serve with cocktail sauce. We called it poor man's shrimp.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

Exactly!!, but not as much in the Summer.
I love to eat most fresh water fish, but Bullheads are easily my favorite.
No need to fillet---We just skin them from gill to tail, gut them, and remove the head & fins. Then we cook them whole. Once on the plate, we just hold onto the top of the backbone, and scrape both sides lightly with a fork. Now you have a nice white pile of awesome boneless meat on your plate & a fully intact backbone, with ribcage attached in your hand, to dispose of.

I've not had any "Flathead" yet, but it has to go a long way to please me more than a Bullhead in Spring, between 10" and 16" long. I can't wait to try some Flathead. Bear Jr says he'll get me some this year.

Bear

Your approach to cleaning and eating bullheads is almost exactly the same as my grandpa's. I used to fish with him in streams in northern Illinois, where the typical bullhead was around 4-5 inches long, sometimes smaller. It didn't matter to him, he'd clean them and eat them regardless of their size. He simply loved them.

I never cared much for bullheads; I always thought the meat was a bit soft, but we would catch much bigger ones in Minnesota -- 1-2 pounds -- and they were pretty good eating. Much better than the little bitty ones!

I hope you get a chance to try some flathead, also called "yellow cat". As I said earlier, they taste nothing like a channel catfish and, in particular, the belly meat on a flathead is excellent, where belly meat on most other fish is not tasty. I look forward to your impressions when you've tried it.

 

[PulledPorkSandwich]

But back to the perch subject, that one of my favorite ways to cook it. Just boil the filets and serve with cocktail sauce. We called it poor man's shrimp.

Yeah, in Algoma, I remember that they called boiled lake trout "poor man's lobster"!

 

[millerbuilds]

For me.... #1 Walleye, #2 Cold Water Black Crappie (through the ice), #3 (Tie) Pumkinseed, #3 Perch, #5 Bluegill

- Jason

 

[Bearcarver]

Yeah, in Algoma, I remember that they called boiled lake trout "poor man's lobster"!

The first time I ever had anything called "Poor Man's Lobster" it was "Monkfish" Boiled & finished with a little broil.
Then I tried other fish the same way. I found that IMHO, almost any fish cut in pieces & boiled, then served with Melted Butter, can have the similar taste to Lobster. But maybe that's just me.

Bear

 

[Bumppo]

Yeah, in Algoma, I remember that they called boiled lake trout "poor man's lobster"!

I just did a little light reading on it. I'm not ready to concede that it will taste like lobster, but I kind of want to give it a try now. Guess I'll have to dust off the boat.

 

[Bearcarver]

The following is just my opinion, mixed with my experiences:
Taste wise I have always preferred smaller fish of each species for flavor. My tastes call for Trout under 18", Bullhead Cats below 16", and Bass under 18". As for Lake Trout, I have never had enough to compare, but I did have some Salmon to try, when My Son brought home 12 Salmon between 26" and 30" long from NY during the Salmon run. I tried some on the grill, and it was terrible!!!
So I tried some Marinated & Smoked, and it was Awesome. So I ended of Smoking all the rest of that pile, over the next few weeks of that year. Below is how I did those Salmon:

Bear
Link:
Smoked Salmon

 

[Retired Spook]

Salmon should be cooked medium rare - just like a steak. Almost everyone overcooks salmon. I cannot conceive of a grilled salmon not tasting good?

I lived in Seattle for a while for work - would catch Silver Salmon (Coho) in Elliott Bay and race home to broil fillets. My neighbors were lined up looking for their handouts! :D

God do I miss that.

 

[Bumppo]

Salmon caught during the run are practically zombies. IF they were caught later in the season, they were practically half rotten while still swimming. We usually target them in May. Totally different taste and texture.

 

[Bearcarver]

Salmon should be cooked medium rare - just like a steak. Almost everyone overcooks salmon. I cannot conceive of a grilled salmon not tasting good?

I lived in Seattle for a while for work - would catch Silver Salmon (Coho) in Elliott Bay and race home to broil fillets. My neighbors were lined up looking for their handouts! :D

God do I miss that.

My fault---I should have mentioned that these Salmon were caught in the middle of a Salmon Spawning Run, and they tell me that effects the flavor of Salmon. However once I Smoked them, like I did say, they were Awesome!

Bear