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Zwater
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04/02/2019 07:55PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I just don't get it?? People travel from around the country to catch Smallies in the BWCA as their primary target. They cook up 16 inchers and say they are just as good, if not better then walleye. Really? Do you have taste buds? Yuck!
A pike and smallie fight well... I would just rather eat the pike. (Y-bones removed)
Opinions?
 
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Zwater
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04/02/2019 08:06PM  
No catch and release comments please:)
 
WalleyeHunter24
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04/03/2019 05:41AM  
 
KarlBAndersen1
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04/03/2019 05:53AM  
A 2-3 pound northern is the best eating fish in the BW.
Walleye taste like whatever seasoning you put on them. They're basically tasteless. (Folks always rave about how good they are when what they're bragging about is how good the breading was.)
Northern actually taste like something - and it's delicious!
 
04/03/2019 06:25AM  
I wish more people ate smaller to medium sized smallies. On some lakes you can catch hundreds at a time but only a couple have any size. Some lakes would benefit from harvest. I cringe the other way when read of people catching hundreds of smallies and catching and releasing then they eat the 3-4 nice walleyes they lucked into.

If you bread your fish, I doubt you could tell if you were eating a smally, northern, or walleye. I have personally done the challenge and done it to others and no one ever gets it right. The human brain bias is a wonderful and horrible thing :)

T
 
04/03/2019 06:49AM  
SMB is easily my favorite fresh water fish to fish for and catch, and that they eat well when I occasionally kill one is just a bonus.
 
yogi59weedr
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04/03/2019 07:04AM  
I like small mouth. Geez, it's not like your eating a Mississippi river drum on August 1st. I have found that even frogs pick up a different taste after they sit in moss all summer long... same with the largemouth.im not sure I'm seeing that up in the Canadian shield lakes....
I'm glad I live in America and eat any fish I choose without fear of being tarred and feathered....
Walleye have similar taste and I'm not sure I could tell you the difference if fried same size pieces side by side. .
I do believe a could taste a northern if substituted.
But, that's just me...
 
keegan99usa
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04/03/2019 07:26AM  
I love to catch fish, any fish really. Smallies are fun to catch, period! I can eat any of the above and throw back the big ones. SMB are plentiful and eat very well up there. I do like the northern also, but I am not the best fillet master so I generally throw those back. To each his own, some people travel across the country to paddle the BWCA and never even bring a pole, who cares? It's their vacation, not yours right? Keep everything legal, have fun and eat what you want.
Keegan
 
WalleyeHunter24
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04/03/2019 08:14AM  
Totally respect others opinions on the matter. There is no right or wrong when it comes to personal preferences.

Personally, I completely disagree with not being able to tell the difference between Smallmouth Bass and Walleye caught in Northern/Canadian waters. Taste and texture are noticeably different, unless you severely over cook the Walleye. At that point, you might as well add Catfish and Lake Whitefish to the comparison.

And, to confirm I'm not a "Walleye snob", I prefer:
1) Yellow Perch
2) Bluegill (or as our Southern neighbors call them; "Brim")
3) Northern Pike
4) Walleye
5) Crappie

Not on the list:
1) Any species of North American freshwater Bass (Would rather eat Catfish or Lake Whitefish)
 
QueticoMike
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04/03/2019 08:41AM  
I don't travel a 1000 miles to eat fish. If my fishing partner didn't want a walleye fish fry, I wouldn't waste my time fishing for them and frying them. I would rather be spending my precious fishing time fishing and not cooking. You only get so much time each year fishing up there, it seems like a crime to waste your valuable time cooking and eating. I can cook and eat when I get home. I can go to the store or a restaurant if I want to eat fish when I get home, it won't be cutting into my Quetico fishing time. Don't get me wrong I enjoy eating the fish, but I would much rather be fishing. I can eat when I get home. Fishing is not a matter of life or death, it is more important that! I would say it is more important than air almost. Definitely more important than eating. Eat what you like, walleye, pike, trout, smallmouth, I don't care, I will eat them all. I agree with the breeding being most of the taste and that pike clearly have the best individual taste if you avoid breeding. Like someone else said, to each their own. What right do any of us have to judge another person?

The reason why I drive a 1000 miles to target smallmouth is not difficult to understand. I love the fiery attitude, spunk, fighting spirit, aerial displays once hooked, hard screaming drag pulling, rod pounding, head shaking, and the monstrous, vicious top water attacks on my top water lure in a remote wilderness setting that produces aged trophies that will ingrain memories in my brain for a lifetime. That's why.

To each their own! Go fish what you want for. Go eat what you want. Don't judge people because you do not understand them. Good luck this year, I hope you fair well in whatever you fish for and eat!
 
04/03/2019 09:20AM  
1000 miles? That’s nuthin’. I drove 4200 round trip the last two years to fish for smallmouth. The wilderness is as much of a draw as the fishing. Putting the two together is an irresistible combination for me. I eat fish once or twice on a trip but usually do it on a day when the fishing conditions are poor - wind or storms that prevent me from getting around. Like QM I do not spend time in camp cooking fish when the bite is on.

I ate a pike once and thought it was a nasty, oily mess. Sounds like I may have gotten a bad one. I ate a laker once and did not like that much either. I have not eaten a bass. They are too much fun to catch. Chinook salmon from the ocean is my top eating fish. Dungeness crab is darn tasty as well. When canoeing I usually stick to the walleye. I cook it in foil because I don’t like hauling all the frying equipment around. I fry the ling cod and rock fish at home so I get enough fried fish.

To each his own. Enjoy earth but leave something for the next generation.
 
thegildedgopher
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04/03/2019 10:02AM  
QueticoMike: "The reason why I drive a 1000 miles to target smallmouth is not difficult to understand. I love the fiery attitude, spunk, fighting spirit, aerial displays once hooked, hard screaming drag pulling, rod pounding, head shaking, and the monstrous, vicious top water attacks on my top water lure in a remote wilderness setting that produces aged trophies that will ingrain memories in my brain for a lifetime. That's why.

To each their own! Go fish what you want for. Go eat what you want. Don't judge people because you do not understand them. Good luck this year, I hope you fair well in whatever you fish for and eat!"


Well said QM.

Personally I don't get the fascination with this debate, yet it resurfaces again and again. I must've read it a dozen times in the last year alone, various sites. Yawwwn.
 
missmolly
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04/03/2019 10:37AM  
Taste buds vary from tongue to tongue. I want to drink coffee because I like the ritual around it and the smell. I want to drink beer when I hear beer drinkers wax about how a cold beer on a hot day satisfies like nothing else and I wish I could know that supreme satisfaction. I want to drink wine. Again, I like the ritual around it.

However, all three of these taste as bitter as bile to MY tongue. So, it goes with different fish species and how they taste to different folks.

Because our taste buds are what they are, arguing about what tastes best is like stirring a tea cup with undue fury and saying, "Behold the whirlpool!"

I agree with QM. I don't care much about food up north. I just need enough calories to keep paddling and portaging and casting. Even at home, the older I grow, the less I care about food. Now, if I lived on the same blocks as certain New Haven or NYC pizza parlors, I might feel differently!
 
WalleyeHunter24
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04/03/2019 01:00PM  
Here we go... more incoherent responses and totally missing the point of contention. It's about distinguishing the difference between Smallmouth Bass and Walleye caught in Northern/Canadian waters, not about how much fun they are to catch and how far you have to travel to get there.

In closing, no one cares what fish you prefer to eat, but they do not taste the same or even have the same texture. End of discussion.

 
inspector13
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04/03/2019 01:28PM  
missmolly: "Because our taste buds are what they are, arguing about what tastes best is like stirring a tea cup with undue fury and saying, "Behold the whirlpool!""

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha missmolly. Excitabat enim fluctus in simpulo?

 
gillhicks00
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04/03/2019 01:55PM  
How about you mind your own bobber, Zwater? Good lord, its almost like people have different preferences on what fish they prefer to catch & eat...as well as probably all things in life. Weird.
 
missmolly
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04/03/2019 02:41PM  
inspector13: "
missmolly: "Because our taste buds are what they are, arguing about what tastes best is like stirring a tea cup with undue fury and saying, "Behold the whirlpool!""

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha missmolly. Excitabat enim fluctus in simpulo?


"


Exactly. I was riffing off that. Glad someone enjoyed it!
 
04/03/2019 03:17PM  
i have never meet anybody that said , smallies taste like walleyes or have the same texture as walleyes.
now a person may like smallies for table fare/camp meat just like many have stated they prefer northern pike over other fish.
Z-water has said he has only ate 1 smally his whole life and it was nasty , i believe him , heck i caught a #3 walleye out of lotus lake in chanhassen that was so nasty i gave it all to the dog. and on the flip side of that i have put a #7-#8 walleyes under the knife(gut swallowed tip up fishing) out of waconia and tasted freak'n fantastic but many people have said big walleyes dont taste good. and i'm sure walleyes of any size out of the minnesota river are not good table fare.
but because i ate 1 nasty walleye doesnt mean i'm going to condemn all walleyes as being nasty to eat.
 
Zwater
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04/03/2019 05:06PM  
gillhicks00: "How about you mind your own bobber, Zwater? Good lord, its almost like people have different preferences on what fish they prefer to catch & eat...as well as probably all things in life. Weird. "


Easy bud, I was just wondering what the fascination was for going to the BWCA just to catch smallies? Many other lakes around the US to catch bigger smallies. The state record will come out of Mille Lacs and a state record muskie.

And Shock, I have ate more then one. They all were terrible:)
 
nooneuno
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04/03/2019 05:37PM  
I don't eat smallies just because, but I also don't go to the bwca just to catch fish, I go to the BWCA to catch fish in the BWCA, to those of like mind the difference need not be explained.....
 
Zwater
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04/03/2019 05:45PM  
Zwater: "
gillhicks00: "How about you mind your own bobber, Zwater? Good lord, its almost like people have different preferences on what fish they prefer to catch & eat...as well as probably all things in life. Weird. "



Easy bud, I was just wondering what the fascination was for going to the BWCA just to catch smallies? Many other lakes around the US to catch bigger smallies. The state record will come out of Mille Lacs and a state record muskie.


And Shock, I have ate more then one. They all were terrible:)"


From your pics Shock anything would taste great:)
 
04/03/2019 06:09PM  
Some on this site say they abhor smallies and think they are the plague of the BWCA. I suspect this is somewhat in jest and obviously many enjoy fishing them and the BWCA is a great resource in that respect. As far as eating, the argument seems somewhat like would you eat Mountain House dehydrated Beef Stroganoff or would you prefer the Chili Mac? There are some in both camps and other ideas as well.

Personally, jumbo perch are at the top of the list, pike are excellent, crappies are delicious and walleyes never disappoint. i have eaten smallies up there and they have been very good. I think it depends upon what's on your stringer at the end of the day and if you are hungry or not. Piscatorial cuisine snobbery is so blase'.
 
04/03/2019 06:24PM  
Zwater: "
Zwater: "
gillhicks00: "How about you mind your own bobber, Zwater? Good lord, its almost like people have different preferences on what fish they prefer to catch & eat...as well as probably all things in life. Weird. "




Easy bud, I was just wondering what the fascination was for going to the BWCA just to catch smallies? Many other lakes around the US to catch bigger smallies. The state record will come out of Mille Lacs and a state record muskie.



And Shock, I have ate more then one. They all were terrible:)"



From your pics Shock anything would taste great:)"
thanks Z-man ;)
on your mille lacs comment definitely hard to argue that point but a lot of people dont realize i would put Waconia lake #2 behind mille lacs for muskys , started stocking the lake the same year as mille lacs,(1984 i believe) and not near the size but it is a mini mille lacs , has all the right make up to produce trophy fish of all species. and there are more than just a handful of #30-#50 i've seen them and not myself but friends on my boat have hooked into them and got toasted in a 10 second flurry . nothing like the RUSH of a big musky hit.
 
The Great Outdoors
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04/03/2019 06:24PM  
Zwater: "I just don't get it?? People travel from around the country to catch Smallies in the BWCA as their primary target. They cook up 16 inchers and say they are just as good, if not better then walleye. Really? Do you have taste buds? Yuck!
A pike and smallie fight well... I would just rather eat the pike. (Y-bones removed)
Opinions?"


I think that Northern Pike are the best eating fish, but Smallies are decent, plus the fact that every time you eat one, you take away one more invasive species off the face of the earth. All this is determined by the cooking method with frying BEING THE ONLY WAY TO COOK FISH!!!!
As I have preached before, the oil must be about 400 degrees before putting the fillets in. Cooking at that temperature is a big difference in taste compared to fish fried at 350 degrees or less. Some people grill or bake fish, which are the same people that would boil a Pizza!! :)
 
gravelroad
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04/03/2019 10:09PM  
WalleyeHunter24:
And, to confirm I'm not a "Walleye snob", I prefer:
1) Yellow Perch
2) Bluegill (or as our Southern neighbors call them; "Brim")
3) Northern Pike
4) Walleye
5) Crappie


Not on the list:
1) Any species of North American freshwater Bass (Would rather eat Catfish or Lake Whitefish)"


This just confirms that you know WTH you're talking about.
'Cept the trash talk about whitefish. ;-)
 
mgraber
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04/03/2019 10:57PM  
QueticoMike: "I don't travel a 1000 miles to eat fish. If my fishing partner didn't want a walleye fish fry, I wouldn't waste my time fishing for them and frying them. I would rather be spending my precious fishing time fishing and not cooking. You only get so much time each year fishing up there, it seems like a crime to waste your valuable time cooking and eating. I can cook and eat when I get home. I can go to the store or a restaurant if I want to eat fish when I get home, it won't be cutting into my Quetico fishing time. Don't get me wrong I enjoy eating the fish, but I would much rather be fishing. I can eat when I get home. Fishing is not a matter of life or death, it is more important that! I would say it is more important than air almost. Definitely more important than eating. Eat what you like, walleye, pike, trout, smallmouth, I don't care, I will eat them all. I agree with the breeding being most of the taste and that pike clearly have the best individual taste if you avoid breeding. Like someone else said, to each their own. What right do any of us have to judge another person?


The reason why I drive a 1000 miles to target smallmouth is not difficult to understand. I love the fiery attitude, spunk, fighting spirit, aerial displays once hooked, hard screaming drag pulling, rod pounding, head shaking, and the monstrous, vicious top water attacks on my top water lure in a remote wilderness setting that produces aged trophies that will ingrain memories in my brain for a lifetime. That's why.


To each their own! Go fish what you want for. Go eat what you want. Don't judge people because you do not understand them. Good luck this year, I hope you fair well in whatever you fish for and eat!"


+1 Well said Mike!
 
ozarkpaddler
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04/03/2019 11:02PM  
Well, I grew up eating drum, carp and catfish from the Mississippi and it's tributaries. When I tasted a smallie from cool water it was a damn site better! As for fish up north, I'll take Brookies and Lakers over anything, and the northerns that I cook will rival any walleye, IMHO? But I'd darn sure rather CLEAN a walleye or smallie than a northern even if the northern DOES have better flavor.

That said, why go on a tangent about "My fish is better than YOUR fish for eating?" Who GIVES a RIP? It's a free country! I cannot imagine eating SUSHI, but I'll not disparage someone who enjoys it. It's a free country!
 
ozarkpaddler
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04/03/2019 11:02PM  
Sorry, double post
 
04/04/2019 04:33AM  
I've had walleye, SMB and pike in the BWCA.

Living near Lake Erie, I'm used to walleye. I agree, not a lot of taste in the fish, they'll taste like they're seasoned.

Pike in the BWCA are just fine also, but do seem to have a taste of their own.

SMB are a different story. I won't eat them near home, (Ohio), I think the taste is off, probably due to water quality, diet, etc..

However, in the BWCA, with cleaner water and different diet, I think they taste just fine....so did my kids. Yes, they were dry seasoned and deep fried.

These tasted great last year:
 
bwcasolo
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04/04/2019 05:29AM  
i eat the smaller smallies and find them delicious, easy to clean, and plentiful.
of course walleye is the preferred, and a smaller northern as well, not a big fan of the slime, but i don't go fish free.
 
04/04/2019 05:53AM  
I don't get it either (smallie fascination), but I would encourage other fishermen to catch all they want... and eat them.

This discussion has prompted me to tell our group that this year we will have another fish taste-test. Northerns vs. Walleyes.

We have done Bass as part of taste tests in the past. They did not qualify for this year's tasting.

 
zski
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04/04/2019 06:00AM  
i enjoy THE fish. it fights and tastes better than THE OTHER fish.
there are differences. whether it's season, forage, water temp, cooking method, etc. i've eaten a lot of fish a lot of dift ways. wilderness and restaurant fare. best fish ever was smallmouth over mac n cheese. i still don't understand it. makes no sense to me. perhaps it was the moment. a father son quetico trip day 3. i'm guessing if it was a northern that may have been better. or a walleye come to think of it. or maybe not.
 
buzz17
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04/04/2019 10:31AM  
This thread is amusing! I go to the BWCA because I love it. I am an avid fisherman and have caught and eaten just about all of the above mentioned fish. I have my eating preferences just like everyone else. Smallies are the most enjoyable fish to catch for me. They strike hard, fight hard, and give you the "fix" of adrenalin, no matter the size. When I trip, I target walleye first because I enjoy the strategy of catching them, I enjoy eating them, and I don't fish for them the rest of the year. Pike are always fun and I seem to be a magnet for them and I will eat them when necessary because I think they taste great.
Born and raised Minnesotan, lived in Ely for a time, and now reside west of Indianapolis. Fishing down here aint the same. Largemouth fishing in residential ponds, even with 4 or 5 pounders is rather boring. Wading creeks targeting smallies....now that is worth the time. Occasionally I will go for cats in the creek because they put up a great fight. I have caught just as many 20" inch smallies down here as I have in the BWCA, granted they are fatter and prettier up north.
Last August my good friend thlipsis29 and his 2 kids did a short trip into Lake 3. We caught walleye and ate well. His daughter sat near me in the back of the canoe and was discouraged because she wasn't catching many fish. She hooked into a good one, a 22" smallie, and when we got it into the canoe I have never seen a bigger smile on anyone. Made her whole trip, and mine.
Smallies are the best fresh water fish to target for fun IMHO.
Catch smallies, eat smallies, or don't. Just have fun and don't knock someone else for their choice in pescatarian dining :-)
 
buzz17
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04/04/2019 10:31AM  
Darn double post!
Fish smallies and if you want to eat them, go for it!
 
GourmetGrams
  
04/04/2019 01:14PM  
Mmmm tastes like chicken with the right batter and cook.... Maybe best though not to eat a five pounder in August after 4 days of all you can eat walleye, 95 degree weather, and some wiskey.....
 
mvillasuso
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04/07/2019 11:20AM  
lindylair: "... ...it depends upon what's on your stringer at the end of the day and if you are hungry or not. Piscatorial cuisine snobbery is so blase'."


^AMEN!

FWIW: When it comes to taste, I would rather eat a 25" pike baked whole with herbs, butter, and lemon, than a fried walleye OR a smallmouth bass, but those bass better watch out. The fillet knife will not discriminate.
Regardless, fresh-caught fish is a delicacy to my senses.
Walleye, bluegill, catfish, bass, pike, perch, crappie, trout, etc... -they all qualify as delicious, if prepared skillfully. I even watched a youtube video where a guy caught and kept carp, and a friend of his made a tasty stew. I'd TOTALLY try that!

My criteria for whether I keep a fish usually revolves around preservation of the fishery- does the lake have lots of 16" walleyes? If so, then I keep some. Lots of 12" bass? Then, bass it is. Whatever..
 
analyzer
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04/07/2019 01:44PM  
mvillasuso: "
My criteria for whether I keep a fish usually revolves around preservation of the fishery- does the lake have lots of 16" walleyes? If so, then I keep some. Lots of 12" bass? Then, bass it is. Whatever..
"


+1

I've been fishing the same lake for 40 years. The walleyes crashed around the turn of the century, but are slowly recovering. We only eat one meal of fish each trip, and the last 10 years or so, we've been eating SMB. We let the 2+ lb smb go, and eat the smaller ones. I think walleye clean easier, the smb seems a little tougher on the knife, but they both taste fine to me. We haven't been eating the pike. No one in our group has caught one over 2.5 lbs in years.

I've said before, I can catch bigger smallies on Mille Lacs. I can catch more walleyes on Upper Red. I can catch bigger walleyes on the Rainy River in the spring, or drive to lake Erie.

I fish the boundary waters for the scenery. It's hard to beat the setting. I like catching fish on upper red, but will get bored in a couple days. It's just not pretty. I never get bored catching fish in the boundary waters. It's so beautiful.
 
Wallski
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04/07/2019 03:16PM  
I only eat Walleye and pickled nor-derns.
 
04/07/2019 05:37PM  
I don't eat smallmouths unless I'm desperate for a fish meal. My favorite is deep fried battered lake trout of the red flesh kind. Walleye is next. I like northern but haven't perfected the no bone method yet.

 
Basspro69
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04/08/2019 12:11AM  
Properly prepared a smallie between a pound and 2 pounds are really good tasting especially from the cold deep waters of the eastern Bwca.
 
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