Whites

[crappie-hunter]

I'm assuming the rain Friday night would have kicked all the whites into spawn mode. Did anyone fish for them yesterday up the river arms?

[nxs]

We caught several last week in the lake that were really bellied down. They might have been heading for the river. It was nice to see some that had size to them again. We never fish for them anymore. No one around my house wants to eat them but sure do like to catch them.

[blacknoseddace]

I saw some whites spawning on a main lake windy point last week. Looked like the same activity as in the river, only on the lake. 

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, blacknoseddace said:

I saw some whites spawning on a main lake windy point last week. Looked like the same activity as in the river, only on the lake. 

What you're probably seeing are big gizzard shad.

[blacknoseddace]

16 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

What you're probably seeing are big gizzard shad.

Didn't think about that...good point fishin wrench. All I know is the surface activity looked just like what I've seen in the tributaries by white bass so I thought that's what they were. 

[livingtofish]

Just to comment on the statement that no one wants to eat the whites if you cut out the red meat from the fillets they are pretty tasty. If you don't cut that out they can taste pretty fishy. You might try it as you might be surprised.

[blacknoseddace]

I think when you clean white bass, in a timely manner, and trim the fillets like livingtofish stated they are not bad. I like them fresh better than previously frozen. What makes crappie stand out besides their great subtle flavor, in my opinion, is the texture of the flesh. White bass texture may be off putting to some. Just a thought. I'm sure a lot of you guys have different opinions and I would love to hear them. 

[dprice]

6 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

What you're probably seeing are big gizzard shad.

Especially if they are on rock 

[fishinwrench]

I eat alot of Whites, I prefer them over any other fish for several reasons.  Crappie basically have no flavor, they are just something to put some yummy batter on, but White bass taste like fish is supposed to taste, plus Whites are fast growing and short lived so contaminants (mercury, ect.) in the meat are minimal compared to other species of the same size. 

I let the knife float up off the skin just a tiny bit to reduce the amount of red in the fillets, then I quickly trim out the lateral line.    I can't tell a difference between ones cooked the same day they were caught vs. fillets that have been frozen for 6 months.  It's always delicious fried or baked.

Just caught a good mess this evening BTW.

[tho1mas]

Soak them in salt water over night -bread them -fry them - eat them -enjoy them (red meat and all).

Better than night baseball.