Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

Kept 24 eater slot panfish... Nothing over 8" for Lepomis... Kept a few 6" to scale, gut and behead... Kept the fins on to try. If they work out we will be eating more small fish in the future

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Comment by tracy willis on August 27, 2017 at 6:56pm
yep, to me i like them better than white bass. they dont have a bloodline like white bass or stripers so the smaller fish can be scaled and cooked whole. two things to watch out for, their dorsal fin is about like getting stuck with a frog gig and their gill plates will cut you like a razor. i always lip them or grab them by the belly real tight.

another fish i like to eat is freshwater drum as long as they come out of clean, not muddy, water and arent too big up to 3-5 pound fish. filet them out, trim off the red and blacken them with tony's or old bay seasoning. they are also good in chowder type soups.
Comment by Slip Sinker on August 27, 2017 at 7:39am

Thanks traci!...

I need to get a hold of that Louisiana fish fry and give it a try.

It’s a shame that many fishermen are not knowledgeable when it comes to their quarry… especially the guides!... amazing many fishermen fishing for the day and not considering the future of the fishing for others. But with knowledge comes responsibility as fishermen gain knowledge of the B.Gill things should change. Preparing the fish near whole allows fishermen to harvest the smaller fish… 1.5 whole prepared bgills equaled nearly the flesh on a filleted 8” er… so harvesting the smaller fish and releasing the larger only betters the fishery over-all especially when it comes to the B.Gill. plus 30 secs to prepare a whole b.gill as compared to 2 mins for filleting a B.Gill… a great strategy for cleaning a mess o gills

I like to harvest the b.crappie mainly because of the fast growth here in mid-Michigan a four year old fish could easily be over the 10” mark. When harvesting B.Crappie I fill my cooler with ice and water and have no problem with the mushy meat syndrome when cleaning. The fish are all alive and fresh before cleaning.

I like your idea about substitution of species for harvest… why not?.. the yellow bass are very prolific spawners… I have never tasted them… but if they are like you say and taste like their cousins the white bass and white perch they should be good to eat.

Comment by tracy willis on August 24, 2017 at 9:28am
my pawpaw used to fry all of his fish with the tail fins on even fiddler catfish. lol i used to break all of the tails off of the platter. he would laugh. i guess im too lazy to scale them. i use the new orleans style louisianna fish fry and it has a little kick to it.

good to see other folks with selective harvest on bluegills. i see guides on KY lake all of the time hauling out a couple of hundred 9 and 10" bluegills at a time. makes me wonder what the size structure will look like in a few years.

ive been trying to turn folks onto yellow bass as eater fish on KY lake for the last few years. their populations have exploded, easy and FUN to catch, and taste similar to crappie but not mushy like crappie can get. we have some nice sized yellows around here and easy to filet. maybe if folks start keeping more of them then maybe they might start releasing those bigger bluegills.

anyhoo, nice mess of fish and looks great!!
Comment by carl hendrix on August 23, 2017 at 10:39pm

OK;;;;  I;;LL SAY THIS ONCE !!  SOUTHERNERS ARE KNOWN;; FOR ;; DOWNTOWN HOSPITALY;; AND ;; SOUTHEREN COOKIN !!!     I USE;; A MARADINE;; TO MY FISH FILLETS-- BEFORE COOKING !!  COVER IT IN A BAKING DISH;; THEN PUT IN THE FRIDGE; FOR AT LEAST ONE HOUR--- BEFORE ADDING THE FISH BATTER !!  THEY HAVE TO SOAK FIRST !!)))  THE PUT IN THE HOT GREASE !!    MY MIX;; INCLUDES 11 SPICES !!! FOR FISH TO SOAK IN !!   LIKE LORETTA LYNN SAID;; FOLKS;; YO UDO THIS;; AND IT WILL COME OUT RIGHT-- EVRYTIME !!             I;LL PUT MY RECEIPE;; ON THE  FISH COOKING SECTION ON BBG;;;;  SOON @!!!

Comment by Slip Sinker on August 23, 2017 at 9:29am

TK... really enjoyed eating them also...  

Comment by Slip Sinker on August 23, 2017 at 9:02am

Jeff…Interesting… right thru the bones… im going to have to give that "Louisiana Fish Fry" a try.

I believe I made a mistake using batter instead of a light coat of breading and seasonings. a I believe the fish was a bit more difficult to eat because of the strength and thickness of the batter coating.

Im really hyped up on this whole gill method of cooking because id like to heavily harvest a couple lakes of the smaller 5-6” ers

Comment by carl hendrix on August 22, 2017 at 10:08pm

JEFF;; I JUST HAVE TRIED THE LOUISANA FISH FRY  STUFF;;;;; DAM !!!  IVE BEEN MISSING SOMETHING !! FOR 40 YEARS !  AWSOME STUFF !!  GUYS;;  YOU GO TTO TRY THIS !!  AS A FISH BATTER;; ITS AWSOME; AFTER I COOKED MINE;; I USED---   TONEY CATACHEROIE ON IT;;;;;;;;;;;  TOOOOOOO GOOOOOODDDDD !!!!!!!

Comment by Jeff Soto on August 22, 2017 at 7:34pm

I met a guy at the local lake that had several small 4 to 5 inch Bluegill that he had in a bucket.  He said these are the best eaten' size.  He said that after you cut off the head and gut them,  you can eat the whole fish, bones, fins and all!  He makes several cuts a half inch apart on the sides of each fish, dips them in milk, then rolls them in "Lousiana Fish Fry" then fries them in hot oil until golden brown.  He said you can just crunch right thru the fins, bones and all!  He said "that after you try Bluegill this way, you'll never throw back any small ones again!"  I still have not tried this method yet, although I have done this with small mountain trout and they were great!

Comment by Slip Sinker on August 22, 2017 at 6:33pm

came out very well!

Comment by Tinknocker1 on August 22, 2017 at 1:17pm

i love whole fried gills !

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