Should You Eat Bass? 

To be honest the cost of fishing keeps going up license, parking passes, bait etc.. catch and eat for me.

I catch and eat, unless I'm in a competition lake. Then I release for the guys coming in later.

I married into an Asian family and they cringed when I told them that I catch and release fish.

The dislikes are from tournament fishermen.

I always release bass, but one of my friends has a private pond, and the bass are overpopulated there. We pretty much take every large bass we catch.

Dude's got a pair of mitts on him

i personally really enjoy releasing bass, it just makes me feel better that they will live and be able to be caught again, if theres too much bass i would definitly keep.

Nice diplomatic approach to this subject. I’ve seen many arguments on this topic in the comment sections of fishing vids. The size and creel limits are designed with the health of the lake’s population in mind so as long as the rules and regs are being followed then the rest is up to the individual. The local lake I fish changed limits and deleted a slot limit back in 2015 due to not enough Bass being harvested. I think you’ll be good if you take a balanced approach towards harvest v catch and release and always try to do what’s right for the specific body of water that you’re fishing.

You make very good points. I strictly catch and release. I’ve kept 2 crappie and 1 catfish over the years and those 3 were gut hooked and wouldn’t have made it (I tried) but it’s easier and cheaper to me to go buy fish from the local store than keep everything within limit. If I fished for white bass then that would probably be a different story as the local lakes are stuffed full of them.

I ate bass even before this vid

Good topic I would say both mainly release during pre spawn and spawn what do you think?

My general philosophy is that I'm a catch and release only fisherman in the spring, for all species except for stocked Rainbow Trout. Come summer and fall, then I will take some eaters, especially walleye. Walleye are my favorite fish to catch and eat.

How would a newbie be able to tell what the population is in a lake?

Do other states let you keep during spawn?? That messed up. Here in NY you're only allowed to use artificials for catch & release only from Dec 1 through the Friday preceding the 3rd Saturday in June, which is pretty much well past most of the spawn except for maybe the upper half of the North Country region bordering Canada and some high mountain top lakes/ponds, _and_ they have to be foot long keepers. The only time I settle for bass is if I couldn't catch anything else during a deep woods no-food-packed camping hike.

I have a pond I dug approx. 15 years ago. I stocked it with bluegill minnows and 20 big mouth Bass , well I never fished it or fed in all these years. Yesterday I decided to see if any fish were still alive, I caught bass one after the other, all were about the same size and very skinny, no bluegill to be found. What can I do to correct my ignorance? I could really use your help and advice? Also the pond has a lot of surface algae, I tried Pond Clear' didn't help at all, at $40.00 a gal. I expected better results, any advice on controlling and clearing the water? Thank you so much..

I’m a catch and eat kind of Fisher, I don’t go that often and that’s just what i grew up doing. Most of the places i fish are reservoirs that are heavily stocked and has fish being pumped in by the river. Lately I’ve noticed the reservoirs being fished extremely heavy and there really aren’t much laws in Ohio that prevents over fishing so I think twice what I’m taking out anymore. I like the taste of some bass, and I do keep them occasionally but usually only if they’re big and I already have a large mess of other fish and I usually don’t keep them much until after spawn.

Damn I'm a Fisher in Alaska and this has always been on my mind on why people who fish for bass don't eat it. But I kinda now understand

I will agree with the spawn releasing. But if they are spawning shouldn't people not try to fish for that species? I am a person that would rather catch and cook. But I can see enjoyment out of catch release but then I see alot of money being put into something like that and doesn't make sense to me.

in my lake by my house where there is not a lot of bass, I only keep bullheads, but at my cabin where there is a absolute ton I eat them once in a while

I like to keep things if they are well within the keeper range, nothing huge (save the fun for everyone) and nothing tiny(not worth it meat wise). I also keep really long fish or fish that look old or not super healthy, I figure they are older or on their way out anyways and therefore great to keep

Nice discussion topic, Ethan. Every point you brought up was certainly pertinent to an issue that essentially winds up in three corners: yes, no and sometimes. Personal philosophy and opinion: I embrace a balance of all three schools of thought. Obviously I practice C&R 99% of the time because I really enjoy the sport. A proficient angler who doesn't C&R, especially the larger bass, could negatively effect the population of many smaller impoundments. We also enjoy eating fish and having fish fries with friends and family. Therefore the 1% of the time that I keep bass (which taste fine) is when there are no or an insufficient amount of bluegill or crappie in the freezer. Totally agree that there are some bodies of water. Smaller 1-1.5 lb bass are definitely better "eaters" and removing them from amply stocked waters is good for the fishery. In all cases, the really big fish 20+ as well as large bass circa 16-17-18+ inches should be released because they are the best spawners. Have a great day, Don

I am catch and release bass as well. I will sometimes fish for bluegill or catfish to eat (I don't like cleaning fish). I believe as long as someone follows the state rules by size and limit I am okay with them taking and eating any fish, that's what the rules are for. I do think bass should be catch and release during the spawn. The owner of a farm pond I fish wants me to keep all of the bass because he feels there are to many small bass. I have moved some to another body of water on his property, but I don't really like the taste of bass.

I live in a small lake with abundant bass 12-16 “ and it’s annoying, but so fun. Tomorrow I’m gonna catch some keepers and cook them. How would you cook a fish like bass. Only easy ways with simple ingredients. It would really help. Thanks!

Just caught my first ever largemouth mouth yesterday which was around 17 or 18 inches and brought it home i will be tasting it someday this week 😁 fun fish to catch by the way

Up to the individual just like deer hunting I don’t judge what others do

As a nice person I personally ALWAYS buy live fish and release them back in the woods…..😁

Me personally if your catching and eating fish according and in line with the limitations it really does not make a difference.

Of all the native and stocked species available to me, bass falls pretty low on the list that I enjoy eating. We've got crappie and catfish, along with stocked trout and introduced walleye populations. I'll eat those when I can and let the bass go.

While in fishig any type of fish i am thinkig about recepies how im going to cook it if is a keeper .see you on my table

Should you eat bass? Well, that's up to you. Personally, I release well over 90% of what I catch but I'll eat all manner of bass, freshwater or saltwater. Why? Uh, because they taste really good?

I am both a catch and release fisherman, and a catch and keep fisherman. Predominantly, i'm a catch and release person, but i do love fish. So whenever i do go out and target fish for keeps, i always have three rules that I follow: 1) Always practice selective harvest (for population purposes), 2) Harvest from select locations where i know the fish species i'm looking to keep are plentiful, and 3) Keep only what I need. If the limit is what i need to fulfill a family fish fry, then i'll harvest my limit. If it's just me eating, i'll only keep the number of fish i'll eat that same day. I don't always go to keep my limit of fish, because it's not always necessary.

Bass are one of my favorite fish to eat. Although I usually release anything above 2 lbs. When I want to eat bass I'll go to lakes that the state has removed size limit because of overpopulation and keep the 8-13 inch fish. No sense in keeping the large predator bass who keep the bait fish from taking over lake.

If you deep fry em with breading, bass taste just as good as crappie

I always catch and release Bass, unless it’s gut hooked

Yes yes.. I like what you have done here... I don't eat bass.. cause they really aren't tasty to me.. I think that it might be more psycologially.. I like bottom feeders.. so Catfish are always screwed if I somehow catch one.

I agree with all your comments. I do not keep smallmouth or largemouth bass as i don't think they have much taste or texture.; but they sure are fun to fish for. On rivers and large lakes I catch and release. One place I fish is a private lake/pond and the owner asks that I do not release bass. So I'm not going to waste a fish that offerred itself up. Same with trout. I'll keep "put-and-take" browns and rainbows in lakes and large streams but release the native brook trout I catch in small streams. But really, the only fish I fish for to eat are catrfish and yellow perch. I do like perch. ;-)

shot the 300th like. nice information pal

lol good topic! As a bass fisherman I wouldn't eat bass so there are more for me to catch! XD

Its strange, i always tought that bass were overaboundant and i never knew that people frowned upon keeping bass.

What college fishing jersey is that

I'm a catch and eat on one of the lakes I fish there is too many 12 to 14 inches bass Cruz that body of water, but any other lake depends on what is out there, I talk to the people that fish it, not to often our DNR, they can only guess at what's out there your fisherman know what out there for me it's better to speck to them so I know, bass is good eating but rather have walleye or gills, unless I take a charter boat out on the big lakes, Lake Michigan, is a great fishery love lake trout on the grill

I feel bad I was fishing and I always catch and release but some Mexican lady asked me when I caught a bass if she could keep it and I let her 😭😭😭

I’m mostly catch and release with bass, but I live in south Louisiana where our conservation officials actually encourage keeping bass due to water conditions and population

Nice job!

I'll do both catch and keep and catch and release on bass. Sometimes I just want to fish but don't feel like going through the trouble of cleaning it afterwards. That being said, in Indiana I can legally keep up to five bass a day as long as they meet size requirements, so why shouldn't I keep it? The idea that bass are a sport fish that should never be kept is ridiculous.

Really good video!

I dont!! to strong of a flavor. But if people are feeding there family. I'm ok with it as long as its legal size. But crappie and bream are a different stroy

Well I grew up eating fried bass and catfish. It’s pretty good

I release most of them I catch, but if I'm actively keeping fish to do a fish fry, then I definitely keep the bass. They aren't quite as tasty as the smaller pan fish, but meat is meat. You can tell when you filet if the meat is any good, sometimes it looks/smells weird. If I get one of those then oh well I throw it out, but if the fish was legal keeper size then I don't see a problem with that.

Bass are delicious according to Napoleon dynamite! I actually prefer saltwater fish though

I release the bass I catch since I'm close to the city and there's alot of runoff but if I was outside the city I think I'd be more open to the idea.

Honestly I never even knew this was a debate. I just thought people didn’t eat bass because it didn’t taste good or something. Now I’m curious and have to go eat a bass lol.

Hey just don’t keep over your legal limit right? 🤷🏼‍♂️ great video man 👍🏻👍🏻

I'm generally a catch and release fisher, but I do on occasion supplement my diet with harvested fish.

I don't keep fish in general but when I do, I'll keep the smaller bass. Anything under 2 pounds.

Just got into fishing and there’s a river type lake it’s about 10km long never been fished for 100 years, my pop caught bass carp catfish and like 10 other types so none one has touched it for 50 years I’m gonna have fun

I Fish this fish Management lake for years and I've seen the damage that does when people keep largemouth bass so I'm strictly catch-and-release when it comes to the bass

I only keep fish in stocked areas.

Only freshwater species I really like are Bluegill and Channel Cats. Otherwise it’s saltwater fishing, Sheepshead, Black Drum, Flounder, Grouper, Mahi, Cobia, Wahoo, Vermilion etc.. The only time I might keep a freshwater bass is if it’s fatally injured. There’s a certain acidic smell and taste that I’ve noticed and some older pond bass seem to be on the oily side. Now Bluegill and Catfish nuggets (with grits and biscuits) are another story.

I just caught one today and im fillet that sucker up for tomarrow!!! i like bass and will eat one if im in the mood for it but thats only like 3 times a year catch and release most of the time tho.

Moderation

Im 95 percent catch and release. I kept two smallmouth today I was hungry and they are great eating. I've kept four crappies and sofar two smallmouth this year total.

I look at this in a similar manner. The first obligation we all have as anglers and outdoorsmen / outdoorswomen is to be good stewards. Conservation first. Sometimes that means catch and release. Sometimes that's katch and keep. Having said that unlike hunting I also fish for the sport. I hunt to feed my family. I fish for both food and enjoyment. I'm selective of the fish I keep. Having said that it hasn't always been that way. Once upon a time I couldn't afford ramen noodles. I fished and hunted to eat. If it came across as an opportunity to put meat in the freezer, I likely took it.

I catch and eat at bass. They taste great to me. The lake I fish at has a lot of largemouth bass in it. If I catch another bass after the first one that's legal size to keep, I end up releasing them.

I personally like bass just a much as crappie but I am mostly a catch and release angler for all species I am just more worried about my health then eating fish I do like to release fish so I can catch him/her again

so if its big enough and the water is good condition yes

I caught and released bass before, but today I tried one and thought bit was amazing. I agree about stablizing the eco system. I want to catch the bigger bass so allow the little ones grow and populate and stabilize the population.

Bass are 100% catch and release for me. Living here in Vermont I will catch and keep trout from time to time, most of the trout I keep are stockers anyhow.

Honestly I'm both. It depends on where I'm fishing. And whether I'm hungry or not.

are Bass any good? I’ve never eaten any of the Bass I’ve caught

Eat the bass, 15” to 19” are the best eaters. Bleed them and put them on ice ASAP. Prepare them like you would Walleye. They taste just fine.

I catch and release all bass Pike musky wipers and stripers. I only keep eating size panfish trout and walleye and catfish. I never kill a big gamefish. It's very long and difficult for nature to grow big fish. Let them live and protect our fishing resource. I'm for strict lower limits and length and slot limits.

I’m all for people culling and eating spotted bass here in GA. Just from the fact they outcompete Largemouth and have nearly wiped out the smallmouth population in the northern lakes like Blue Ridge.

I'm a catch and keep (eat) fisherman all the way when it comes to any species of good-tasting game fish (trout, bass, etc.)--except if I think I have a reason that's out of the ordinary to let the fish go. Reasons I might let a bass go: --If it's too small, of course--but ones that are too small seldom bite on the baits/lures that I am offering. --Maybe she's a double-digit lb. giant, loaded with eggs in the springtime. (I've actually never caught one of those yet--and I'm 60 years old--but I've seen the RU-vid videos, so I know that they exist.) And believe me, if she tasted like halibut, then she STILL might not be getting thrown back by me--but fortunately for the bass population, the huge female lunkers have a reputation for not having the best tasting, best textured meat. If they did, she'd be in trouble once I landed her. --Maybe I've already got a fridge/freezer full of enough fish that I've already caught. (That seldom happens with bass, I can assure you. Plus limits on keeping bass are tight where I live. You’re only supposed to have a few and no more in your fridge or freezer. Also, on a sidenote: Some people here have commented on eating stocked trout. If they're straight from the hatchery where they've been eating hatchery food all their lives and are fresh off the fish truck (within the last couple of months), then YUK! I consider them to be inedible--and believe me, I've had decades worth of experience on that one. If they are released into rivers or lakes that are cold enough where they have good feed, then the meat of any survivors who elude fishermen and survive that long can change significantly, becoming pinker, firmer, and much tastier the longer that they're in their new home--especially if they've survived there throughout a cold winter with enough feed. Better yet, their descendants who are born in the new home as wild trout are so much the better for eating than their abominable fish-food, pellet-eating ancestors who spawned them. Bottom line: Trout that are deserving of recognition as "good-tasting" based on the specific conditions of their body of water and how long they've lived in it, their feed, etc. deserve the nod as some of the "best-eating" freshwater fish around (Native Canadian "Dolly Varden"--also sometimes called brook trout--with meat as pink as a Chinook salmon are my favorite, and brown trout and golden trout are also quite good eating sometimes. Actually, I guess almost any variety of trout CAN BE--but environment is EVERYTHING when it comes to how good a trout is going to taste. I've heard Mackinaw can be great, as well. I've never eaten a mackinaw.) Anyway, back to bass...... I don't let a lot of fish go. It can be hard enough to catch them to begin with. Usually, by the time I set out to drown some lures, it's with the intention of providing food for the table--so there's that. From the outset, my goals are different than those of the "catch and release" guys. I'm not going out for the fun of it, and I'm not investing all of that money into gear and tackle to be a "catch and release" sport fisherman. I get the conservation angle, but in my world, it borders on nonsensical to even entertain the notion of releasing all of my catch right back into the water. A lot depends on what kind of "fishing gene" you've got in you. I'm decended from poor Portuguese immigrants who caught fish to put food on the table from Day 1 when arriving in the USA back in the 1800's, and all the way down through the ages ever since then. (And I imagine that their descendants probably did the same thing way back when in the old country.) I honestly don't even completely get the catch and release mentality, other than, I guess some people like to catch fish for fun, but aren't very interested in eating them. Since I like to eat them, and can't see spending a fortune on a boat and everything that goes in it, including expensive tackle that constantly needs to be replenished if you fish a lot, I just can't even quite wrap my head around wanting to do that--EVER. I'm simply from a different ilk. I love catching and keeping wild fish, or natives, or ancestors of planted fish that were born in their home environment and have reached an age where they make good provisions for my dinner table. Catching them and then putting them right back in the water? NOT SO MUCH. I guess I'm the guy that the catch and release fisherman are talking about when they say, "If everybody kept their catch, then there wouldn't be any fish left for anyone to take home." I'm the guy who's (usually) taking them home. So, thank you for your efforts to keep the bass supplies healthy--and you're welcome for my efforts to keep overcrowding in check. One more thing: Unlike many other fishermen (I definitely think I’ll be outvoted on this one), when it comes to eating, I oqoqt Hv try prefer bass to crappie. They can actually be somewhat similar, but in my book, bass edges out crappie in a taste testing

I always catch and release because it's how I was raised. My family never kept any of the fish we caught because we didn't want to clean them. It's fine when you keep the little ones, but keeping the big ones doesn't sit right with me. It can ruin the genetics of the lake and bigger fish don't taste that good for me.

Catch and release! Although I do love me some seafood.

Eating bass for me. Nothing over a pound ever "unless" it chokes the gullet and is gonna die. I do love to eat bass that are between 9oz.-15oz. That's just me and the way I was brought up. That doesn't mean I'll eat every small bass I catch

Catch and release into grease for me...

There is a bass pond that also has crappie, and blue gills in it where I live. I am a catch and release fisherman with the exception of a few crappie a year. Over the past years catching a bass in this pond has become increasingly hard. I believe this is due to the fact that fisherman come in and take them home to eat. Keep in mind this pond is not very big. And in my opinion people are over fishing it and it makes me very mad. Especially since there are 6 lakes within 30 minutes. And those lakes are stocked with trout. People suck.

As long as you follow the rules.

I only C&R bass. I’ve heard they taste a bit mossy.

You have mr.beast logo on the jersey in the back

We dont have bass Finland so i fish pikeperch and perch

keep and eat

Catch and release for largemouth and smallmouth

Catch and release 95% of the time. Catching your own meal is nice now and again.

Checkmate bassist

If I catch it, I eat it. If I kill it I eat it. All within reason this is a very silly argument. Bass is very tasty, not its skin. Crappie and bluegill both have nice flavor to their skin bass does not, but a skinless bass filet is tasty as well. If you catch and release fine but you are educating the fish. If you eat your catch you are the more natural person, eat up,

Instructions not unclear do I eat or not eat bass?

Sea bass is expensive because of the gold colour

I catch and cook bass ig im a monster

: } hmmmmm, never ate bass at all. How ever i do eat catfish here and there.its good meat.

Personally I am able to fish 1-2 times a week. Every couple of weeks I will keep a couple of good ones to eat. 90% of them I release to fight for another day. I have friends who are die hard tourny guys and wouldn't think about keeping one cause it hurts the population.

It all depend and there is nothing to catch and eat if it is legal. We love fish.

I came here to find out if they taste good. I am always a conversationalist first, but bass aren't exactly endangered anywhere I have been.

I keep a few limits of bass every year

Catch n release.

I catch and release

Striped bass is delicious.

I mean like one a day after a fishing day i don’t think is bad, but like if u just taking it to sell lol u got to chill