10" Crappie Length Limit

[tjm]

Guess, I was maybe 30 the first time I saw a  fish fillet that wasn't store bought. Dad, would scale gut and behead the 5-6" bluegills and black perch and fry so crisp that you could eat them bones and all.  I still equate fillets with frozen store bought fish, even if I do the filleting I know they are inferior somehow.

[moguy1973]

10 hours ago, Ham said:

If you aren’t opposed to scaling and frying them whole, the small Crappie are excellent. For better or worse, I grew up eating filllets. 

I ate many of small crappie and bluegill that were just gutted, scaled, and beheaded as a child.  Didn't eat the bones but I think the bones added some flavor when cooked whole like that.  Those were the days my grandpa didn't have time to fillet the 200-250 crappie he would catch at a time when there wasn't a limit in Illinois.

[oneshot]

That's why I like river no length limit just catch and go.

 

oneshot

[Quillback]

My grandpa was old school on cleaning fish too.  He thought too much meat was wasted on fillets so he always scaled and headed them and grandma fried them whole.  Always liked to eat the tail if it's fried crispy.  

[BilletHead]

Yep fish tails are tasty. Had an old neighbor. If he caught a big walleye he would fillet it then keep the bones. Fry up those too and eat the remaining meat between the bones. Not to waste anything. 

 BilletHead

[Johnsfolly]

My oldest is really particular about getting bones when she eats fish. So it became a habit to fillet them when I can even the small ones. May go back to frying them whole. I have eaten fried tails and like them.

[Johnsfolly]

14 hours ago, BilletHead said:

Fry up those too and eat the remaining meat between the bones. Not to waste anything. 

 BilletHead

When I worked in Newport Rhode Island the summers of '87 and '88 I would catch tautog (blackfish) and fillet them. There was a stray cat that would come around as I was cleaning the fish. I would throw it the skeleton and skin and it would eat all of the skin, bones and most of the heads. Nothing wasted there either .

[oneshot]

Ok on some fish you have to trim to keep from having an Off Taste.

Brought this up with Catfish cutting Fat off, cut Mud Vein out, Spoonbill all the Red Meat. Some fish I don't see any way around either Filleting and or Skinning.

Suckers take a real different approach of any other fish, Scale, Fillet and Score but to me well worth it.

Truth I always wondered on Crappie why they was always Fillet when I always just Scaled, cut Heads off and Gutted all other Small Pan Fish. Some around here talk about Bones and Scales on Trout. 🙄 Me I do fillet because I found they taste better but never worried about the little Bones or scales.

oneshot