Tasty bluegill are worth the effort

[Spiel]

Tasty bluegill are worth the effort

 

 

May 23, 2008

Terry Curtis / northumberlandtoday.com

 

 

 

With the spring fishing season just kicking into gear and the walleye, pike, panfish and trout seasons having opened recently, I've got a question for you: what's your favourite fish for dining pleasure?

 

Most Canadians name walleye as their number one eating fish, and there is no doubt they are right up there on my list, as well. Especially freshly caught ones deep-fried in a beer batter while on a northern fishing trip. Something about the whole experience of the clean, crisp air and the smell of those walleye fillets sizzling in a cast iron frying pan over a hot fire is enough to turn even the pickiest of fish eaters into a bottomless pit!

 

Ah, but let's not forget our crappie friends.

 

I'll take a feed of those tasty little critters any time, cooked almost any way. Pan fried, deep fried, on the barbecue, it doesn't matter. In fact, I find them almost better-tasting than walleye, but maybe that's because I've eaten so many walleye over the years compared to crappie. After all, crappie didn't arrive on the scene locally until a few short years ago, and very few people in our area had ever tasted them. Boy, have I made up for lost time in the last 10 years or so! I've eaten my share, and then some!

 

Yes, walleye and crappie are some mighty fine and tasty eating. As are pike and trout, I might add.

 

But, what about the lowly bluegill? Do you eat them?

 

Unlike our visitors from the south, most Canadians tend to overlook these firm-bodied panfish, thinking of them as a pest or, in some cases, a garbage fish. For anyone who hasn't tasted them, bluegill are probably one of the best eating fish in the world. Although their fillets are tiny and they are a pain to clean, these fish are so sweet it's almost a sin to eat them!

 

Those Americans know a good thing when they eat it. That's why you'll see them bringing in baskets of bluegill to the fish cleaning huts around the Kawartha Lakes. Whether they're filleted, or scaled, gutted and then cooked with the skin on, those little rascals are well worth the time it takes to clean them.

 

Best of all, they aren't hard to find and catch.

 

You might say they aren't the brightest of fish and will willingly eat anything from tiny minnows or teeny pieces of worm to plastic, one-inch tube jigs - especially yellow and white tube jigs. They can't resist them, likely because they resemble the bass eggs they love to steal from the bass nests.

 

Two- or four-pound line is more than enough to land bluegill and the best way to fish them is on a 1/16-ounce lead head jig under a tiny sensitive float. And leave the heavy rods at home. The very lightest of ultralite rods and reels will be more than you need.

 

I guess by now you want to know where to find these fish.

 

Check out sandy shorelines early in the year, especially those areas where bass spawn. Oh, and don't forget to check out overhanging willow trees along these shorelines. The combination of sand and willows is a proven bluegill magnet until the water starts to warm up and the bass spawn is over.

 

Then you simply move out to the first weedlines off the shore. Bluegill will inhabit them by the hundreds and hundreds and the fishing is easy! As I mentioned before, bluegill aren't real sharp and are easy to catch, especially early in the first weeks of June. Keep a sharp fillet knife at the ready. Once you find a school of these pretty little fish you'll need it back on shore.

 

Overlooked and underrated for their feisty fighting skills and taste, bluegill are more than worth the effort it takes to clean them, and there isn't a better or easier fish to catch for a family outing. Even for old kids like me!

[Greencoachdog]

I think this article should be removed!!!

 

Everybody doesn't need to know how sweet Bluegill meat is!!!

[Spiel]

....It' invisible to everyone but you and I GCD.

[ccmtcanada]

....It' invisible to everyone but you and I GCD.

 

Peekaboo!!

[The Urban Fisherman]

I got your back GCD - nothing beats the taste of early spring gills...not even the famed walleye!