Great Whites aka White Bass

I was watching a YouTube video on some ice fishermen catching white bass the other day and i had to shake my head. I know the one guy, fished with him on poygan, nice enough guy but the way in which he spoke about WB, calling them white trash, upset me a little bit. I like that a lot of people choose to throw them back, more for me and my family and friends, but to degrade the fish like that is taking it a little too far. White Bass are one of the most versatile fish to prepare that we have to choose from in WI. WB are good to fillet and fry, smoke, pickle and fry whole with garlic and eat in tortillas, among other ways... The reason im writing this post however, primarily, is to share a secret passed on down to me that will change the way you think about WB 180 degrees if you didn't already know. The secret to frying WB and making them taste almost exactly like cod walleye, you name it is minced onion and beer in your batter. You probably don't believe me, ok. Try it! I hate fishy fish! I hate gamey venison too and i eat a lot of venison. I harvested 5 deer for my family of 9 this fall. And whats the secret to great tasting venison, onions and Worcester but thats besides the point. Fried WB, forget trying to cut out the mud line, soaking in milk or bleeding them. Make a beer batter with flour, all purpose seasoning, minced onion and the rest is history. Let your guests assume your cooking crappies, gills walleyes or something. Oh, and by the way. My family used to pickle northerns but now WB are preferred Be blessed Amen!

Josh it doesn't make a huge diff but it does clean the taste up a bit. Also try this before you start fishing mix in 2 cups salt with your ice say 50 lbs or so, it makes a slush that stays very cold just above freezing. It's a trick I learned working on tuna boats out of Kona hi it drops the fish temp very fast along with firming up the flesh it's a nice trick for those hot days. Also great way to chill beer super fast and super cold.

Josh, I agree with your experience regarding sheephead/drum. I have found them to be just a tad soft, but quite palatable. I would not put them on par with eyes or pannies, but I have no issue with keeping a few in the spring and eating them fresh. With whites however, we could not be further apart in our appreciation of them. Love to catch them, and promptly let them go. Tried them several times with several types of preparation, and they always have a dirty off-taste. Maybe it is all in the noggin, but it is the only one I got.

A lot has to when you catch them. We use to go out on mendota yrs ago about this time of yr and pound the snot out of them. Go start out of Warner park and troll cast masters. Could catch as many as you want. Only take meat above blood line and deep fry in panko. All my friends fish and said darn good hard to believe its a white. Key to me is cool water first then when you catch one rip the gills and then on ice. Darn good eating fish in my opinion. When caught at right time of yr and cared for properly. So are sheep head fyi handle the same you will be surprised on the sheeps.

I bake my WB. rub butter on bottom glass baking dish. put filets in dish, squeeze some lemon juice on them. then a little of each Old Bay, Basil, Lowrey's , some melted butter and bread crumbs. Bake for 25min @ 350. Works on the grill too just use aluminum foil and skip the bread crumbs. And remove all red meat from fillet.

I love whities too. What other fish could you catch 300 in a couple hours?? Its a blast in the spring. My "trick" is get them on ice right away, only save meat above blood line, trim off all red meat, and finally soak in salt water for 1 hour. About 1/4 cup salt to 1 gal of water. My favorite way to eat whities is pickled. Give it a try.

If I didn't hate onions, I'd give her a try... For me, the White Bass go straight into a cooler full of ice, bleed them out, and cut out the mud line. Then rinse, rinse, rinse, and soak in salt water. Someone a few months back posted about putting a couple cap fulls of vinegar, and soak for 10 minutes or so. I'll give that a try in 2 months or so!

Well, if you do not like beer batter (tastes good but very, very greasy) then what? I make up my own dry mix and use it on everything from bluegills to flathead catfish and everything in between. Everyone who tries it says it is the best fish they ever had. When I have cooked up whites in the past it stinks up the whole house and the fish has a "dirty" flavor. Yuck. I think I will try using a little vinegar as someone else suggested and soak the fillets. I always bled them out first too. Maybe, as someone else suggested it is a "preference" thing where some will like it and others never will. I wish I would like them because they are so plentiful. Sigh....