Smallmouth Bass

[Trout_lover]

Are Smallmouth Bass worth the time to clean, cook, and eat if caught in cold water? Do they taste like mud in warmwater? Does the water make all the difference? I ran across a couple of good recipes in a book recently and was wondering if they are worth keeping. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Debbie
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[MarineSpear]

I've never had a problem eating Smallmouth out of any water. They don't seem to change with water. I'd eat Small mouth over trout any day they are delicious.
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[Flyfishinglover]

To me the water difference is nothing just gota clean and cook them good. If you catch size from 12+ in its a great meal. I love bass i just wish i can catch some good size but this year is mostly dinky bass for me.
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[RapalaUt]

Good eats for sure. I really cant tell much difference between smb or lmb.
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[Flyfishinglover]

Ya same it taste same to me as well. Bass is just good eating when there good size but it this year nO good size bass. Only fish with good size this year for me are perch or trout and maybe a few bluegill.
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[reelfast]

This time of year bring a cooler full of ice. Ice them down right away. Fish get nasty fast being drag around or carried in 80' water. Just seem to have better luck in the flavor department keeping them real cold til they can be cleaned and frozen.
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[Trout_lover]

I always carry a cooler full of ice even in winter. I didn't last Dec and had to run airconditioner at full blast to keep the fish cool.

Last March I caught some bass at Ivins Reservoir. I caught 3 smallmouths but lost the last one. I gave one fish away to a neighbor and fried the other two. My mom and I did not like them. So I thought I would try a different water and try it one more time. They are fun to catch and are more aggressive than trout. My neighbor loved the bass and thanked me. I was left scratching my head wondering if I should have cooked them differently. The fish measured around 12 inches too.

I thought of making Cream of Onion baked bass with some chopped onion and a bit of salt. I thought maybe I'd try again and see if they are better if taken out of a colder water.

Debbie
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[panfisher]

I think the bass are as good as perch and crappies. I fillet them and then bread them up and cook them a few minutes on each side. they are a very good meal.
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[Jazzperch1]

+1 if someone told you they were perch you would say, "ya ok "
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[scartinez]

Make sure you fillet them. If you don't want to fillet, you can descale them and gut them. If you gut them make sure to get the scales off, or they will taste horrible.
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[fish_fear_me2]

They are excellent to eat when they are the size you caught. Fillet them and lightly coat them with the breading of your choice and pan fry. You might try using a cornmeal based coating for a crispy fillet
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[SBennett]

The other day I took two friends to Starvy. We brought back eyes, perch, and smallies to make a dinner of fish tacos. I kept the fillets separate from each other as a personal experiment. To me the bass had the sweetest tasting flesh of all three species. They were delicious!
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[maniac]

They Taste like crap, throw em back!
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[riverdog]

They hold their flavor in warm water unlike crappie. Those under 12 inches are only good for fish tacos but always keep your limit ( usually 1) of those over a foot as they're too big for most trout to feed on[].
Here's a link to a couple fish taco recipes for those small fish. Feel free to sub SMB for LMB obviously.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/forums/hun...aco-recipe
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[Trout_lover]

I went up to the lake yesterday and caught a couple of small smallmouths and threw them back. I asked an older gentleman if the bigger ones were worth keeping. He told me they taste fishy and to throw them back. I guess everyone has his/her own tastes. I still think fish taste better in colder water.

Debbie
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[RockyRaab]

They taste "fishy"? What would that old fart expect them to taste like - radishes? Actually, "fishy taste" is a sign of partly spoiled fish. If you put them on ice while in the boat, and keep them cold and clean from then until the pan, fish should taste mild, sweet and delicious.
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[Trout_lover]

I bought a floating fish basket for my pontoon boat last month. I'm going to keep all the fish I keep in the fish basket until I put them in the ice box. In this heat, I put the fish on ice as soon as I'm done fishing. The water was very warm yesterday and I think the fish are struggling. I can't wait for fall fishing season. It's my favorite time of year.

Debbie
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[riverdog]

"He told me they taste fishy and to throw them back. I guess everyone has his/her own tastes. I still think fish taste better in colder water. "
All those Bassworshippers will always tell you that just so you throw it back. Should have kept it to see for yourself.
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[Trout_lover]

I don't bother keeping small fish. The 2 bass I caught were 4-5 inches long. Not worth keeping anyway. I don't like cleaning small fish. I'm going to try the bass one more time to see for myself if I like it. Some people don't like catfish or trout. I happen to like both. I do respect the opinions I have gotten on this forum. I have a friend that likes bass and bluegill. I was hoping she would fillet the bass and then I will fry it up in a bread batter. That was the plan. But things never go as planned. So I'm just cooking 2 trout tonight. Again, thanks for the honest responses.

Debbie
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[maniac]

Just keep in mind when you take those fish home to eat. The Bigger the fish the higher the mercury content. Especially in Small mouth Bass, brown trout and Walleye.
Yum Yum!!!!
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