Gathering of the Clan

Just like musky...and waaaaaay better than all the trout they eat...

Kidding...Having developed an allergy to fish it's been decades since I ate any fish, but pike was, IMO, better than walleye, trout...and maybe tied with properly prepared panfish.

You don't want to go too small, Y-bones are a one of a gun to get out of fish <22"....and anyone who even considers eating a fish like the one big girl in the should be pulled aside for a reeeeealllly long conversation about conservation. Figure that fish is at leas 25 years old and given her girth, maybe pushing 30.

She's been contributing to the gene pool for a long time. Hope she continues to do so.

I was genuinely curious. Folk say walleye are about the best. Ive had walleye -cant say they're better than crappie.

Walleye tastes like whatever you cook it in.

Relying on decades-old memory here, I'd rather have crappie than walleye.

Depending on time of year (think colder water here) I'd rather have esox than either...but you don't want the big girls - they start to get "gamey" and "mushy" for lack of better descriptors. 20" - to maybe 28" is your target...and personally I'd start shying away on the bigger end, taste wise and resource wise.

If a meal is worth putting a dent in the gene pool, go to 28"...otherwise, start cutting it off around 24". IMO, of course.

I have never had walleye except in a restaurant in MN; never had crappie except fried in a fish cooker at someone's home. I don't know how much of a difference that makes but from what I have had I will take crappie. If the walleye had been dipped in egg and rolled in seasoned cornmeal that may have made the difference. They didn't have hushpuppies in MN either.

Yup...that's kinda the point I made above...Walleye tastes like what it's cooked in...

The farm that I grew up on had a lake in the middle of it and it was loaded with crappie and walleye.

We caught them by the buckets full. I've never eaten a better meal. I miss that lake so much.

My buddy Jimmy Wal-Mart and I put on a fish fry for family and friends for 11 years running. Always on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. We usually had around 60 people to feed and always started with about 400 Crappie and Bluegill fillets. We'd add 10 lb. of catfish (farm raised)to that and do 20 pounds of home cut French fries. Folks still talk about those fish fries and they all say they've never had fish as good. I'll take Crappie over most anything with Bluegill a close second. Great lakes perch are also right at the top of the list.

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Duct tape can't fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound.
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I have been told the catfisher farmers of the Mississippi Delta prefer cottonseed oil for cooking fish because it imparts a nutty favor to the fish. Cottonseed oil is probably easy to find in the Delta, it may be a little more difficult in your neighborhood.

That's how I remember it...

We always fried everything in peanut oil. Andy's fish batter, either red or Cajun if we could get it. Never dipped the fillets in egg or anything. Just rolled them in Andy's and dropped them in the oil. We always kept a salt shaker close at hand by the fryers too. Best fish are the ones fresh out of the oil, almost to hot to chew.

_________________
Duct tape can't fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound.
Nurses can't fix stupid, but we can sedate it.