Mykester Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 As a kid my dad would always tell me to throw them away, we deemed them as "junk" fish because they wouldn't let the perch to the hook. It could be that in the motherland they didn't have sunfish but perch were plentiful, as well as different species of panfish. And growing up, the only people I've seen taking these sunfish were white bucket fishermen. I've seen a few reports here with sunfish being kept. What's the final verdict? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherpete Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 (edited) You have been missing out... cold water sunnies are just as tasty as perch or crappie in my opinion... but what do i know BURP! Oh yeah, I just finished a plateful from yesterday!!! When they are a good size (8"+) they are much easier to fillet. Edited April 7, 2010 by Fisherpete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syn Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Tastes great in beer batter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinker Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Hell yeah they're good eating!! If I could consistently catch them over 9", I'd spend A LOT of time chasing them!! IMO, they're better than crappies, but not as good as perch. S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 You are one deprived lad. Take a plate of slab sunfish over crappie any day. Flesh is also a little firmer than a crappie. As for the little hook robbing sunnies, my fish theiving dog just loves em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappieperchhunter Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 IMO, they're better than crappies, but not as good as perch. S. I agree with that statement 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappieperchhunter Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 As for the little hook robbing sunnies, my fish theiving dog just loves em Seems I remember him trying to chow down on Cliff's smelt when we where down this winter with you Bruce Don't you feed the poor little guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stern Rules Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Gills and crappies are very tasty. I tried pumpkinseeds for the first time last year and they're not bad either. All are good. My preference is the crappies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afraz Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Pound for pound (if you manage to land a 1 lber lol) i would take a sunfish/bluegill over a crappie any day. Better den crappies but not as good as perch, WORD !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Seems I remember him trying to chow down on Cliff's smelt when we where down this winter with you Bruce Don't you feed the poor little guy What would you rather eat? Kibble or fish. The dog is no dummy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverowbotham Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 I love a good beer battered bluegill. I agree that bluegill/pumpkinseed are better than crappie. Its a nice sweet meat, especially out of cold water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beans Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 It's too bad that McDonalds can't use bluegill/sunfish in their Fillet O' Fish sandwich... A breaded bluegill/sunfish fillet is just the right size for a hamburger bun...some lettuce and Heinz tarter sauce...YYYUUUMMMM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhioFisherman Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Yep, great to eat, finding ones of any size can be a problem, they are out there though. I didn`t mess with them unless they were 8 inches or more either. A friend had a pond that they grew big in, 10 inches or more. On light tackle they can be fun to catch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdve23rveavwa Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 I love a good beer battered bluegill. I agree that bluegill/pumpkinseed are better than crappie. Its a nice sweet meat, especially out of cold water. Okay, now you guys are making my stomach growl!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 It's too bad that McDonalds can't use bluegill/sunfish in their Fillet O' Fish sandwich... A breaded bluegill/sunfish fillet is just the right size for a hamburger bun...some lettuce and Heinz tarter sauce...YYYUUUMMMM Thats an interesting concept. McDonalds selling some thing with REAL meat/fish in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asdve23rveavwa Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Too bad more people don't keep them and release their sportfish...they are called panfish for a reason. Like Steve said out of cold water, delicious...same goes for rock bass (believe it or not)!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beans Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Thats an interesting concept. McDonalds selling some thing with REAL meat/fish in it. I saw a feature on TV that showed that McD uses some kind of Australian "trash" fish in their Fillet O' Fish...had a face on it like a mackeral...Go figure !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Gills and Pumkinseeds are awesome! Too bad some tourists operators think Canadians consider them to be garbage fish. They could use the extra business if they promoted it wisely. We have been getting some decent gills in the shallows right now. Don't bother downsizing your baits either, the small guys can't seem to get the hooks in their mouths. Also remember, if you are fishing the Kawarthas, the new regs show you can only keep a limit of 30 Crappie, 50 Perch and an astounding amount of Sunfish. 300 Sunfish, with only 30 of them over 7.1 inches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigugli Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 It's too bad that McDonalds can't use bluegill/sunfish in their Fillet O' Fish sandwich... A breaded bluegill/sunfish fillet is just the right size for a hamburger bun...some lettuce and Heinz tarter sauce...YYYUUUMMMM Even better if wrapped in baacon and melted cheese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsn Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Just watch out the yellow grubs in them. The seem to be the most popular fish with yellow grub problems from my experience. yuck hate those pillsbury boy grubs !! They crawl after you dug them out of the flesh of the fish. dsn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykester Posted April 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Too bad more people don't keep them and release their sportfish...they are called panfish for a reason. Like Steve said out of cold water, delicious...same goes for rock bass (believe it or not)!! At Algonquin we'd always catch about 20 rock bass pushing 9 inches, and a good amount of smaller ones thrown back. Good eating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Governator Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Just watch out the yellow grubs in them. The seem to be the most popular fish with yellow grub problems from my experience. yuck hate those pillsbury boy grubs !! They crawl after you dug them out of the flesh of the fish. dsn I've thankfully never come across those, what is it exactly? Mind you I've never bothered fileting a sunfish just perch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ciscokid Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 I like them and will occasionally keep a bunch if im not catching anything else. Plus id imagine its better for the fishery to take out a mix rather than focus on just perch or something, kind of evens things out. Just a thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiel Posted April 8, 2010 Report Share Posted April 8, 2010 I've thankfully never come across those, what is it exactly? Mind you I've never bothered fileting a sunfish just perch. Yellow grub are very common in perch, in fact I've seen them in just about every species of fish I've cleaned over the years. Chances are you've eaten them. http://www.michigan....26966--,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Governator Posted April 8, 2010 Report Share Posted April 8, 2010 Yellow grub are very common in perch, in fact I've seen them in just about every species of fish I've cleaned over the years. Chances are you've eaten them. http://www.michigan....26966--,00.html I've only been fishing a few years, sounds disgusting lol. I've caught them with black spots out of bass lake in orillia. That was pretty disturbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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