Season or limit for White Bass in southern Ontario?

[KawarthaAngler]

19 hours ago, FILTHY OAR said:

Did you launch in Lasalle ? think I recognize the condo in the back ground...Were ya anchored and casting or drifting and jigging ?

Yes.  We used the LaSalle Marina, which is a public boat launch (which has a daily fee but it's a great spot ... lots of parking and 2 very nice launches with tons of dock space).

The current was really strong and we wanted to stay in our spots to work the surrounding area, so I threw an anchor.  Sometimes it wouldn't catch ... but most of the time it did.  We used a dropshot setup with a 1 oz weight.  Staying in the 20 - 30ft depths where the fish finder showed us lots of fishing. 

Edited May 31, 2019 by KawarthaAngler

[misfish]

Bleed out and blood line, always done by me. 

[Old Ironmaker]

11 hours ago, KawarthaAngler said:

I've only had 1 meal so far and it was quite good.

I did a lot of research before hand in regards to prep'ing this type of fish, plus my co-angler was experienced with White Bass. 

With Crappie and Walleye, I simply clean them shortly after catching them, and some I eat fresh, other I freeze for a later day.  But what I read and watched on YouTube I needed to 1) bleed them then 2) remove the 'blood (mud) line' from the filet.  Both of these steps were new to me but appear to be mandatory to make White Bass a good eating fish.

I always batter my fish and fry it in a little bit of oil.  The batter has spices ... so if the fish is a little 'fishy' ... it's not noticeable.  Crappie and Walleye are so mild, they can be pan fried with no spices other some salt and pepper and they are great.  With this fish, for many a little extra spice may be all that's needed.

 

 

You're gonna need more than a few extra spices to make them palatable after a few days or frozen. Believe me we have tried everything including cutting out the lateral line, bleeding them and soaking them in ice water, The first time we caught them was 1990.  Cleaned about 200 hundred of the little buggers that day and were so disappointed when we unfroze some of the freezer full of them. Even filled the freezer bags with water like we do with Walleye and Perch. Made fish chowder with tomato's Italian style with plenty of spices, still crap. Good luck, let us know how you make out. I still know a good spot. 

[dave524]

7 hours ago, Old Ironmaker said:

You're gonna need more than a few extra spices to make them palatable after a few days or frozen. Believe me we have tried everything including cutting out the lateral line, bleeding them and soaking them in ice water, The first time we caught them was 1990.  Cleaned about 200 hundred of the little buggers that day and were so disappointed when we unfroze some of the freezer full of them. Even filled the freezer bags with water like we do with Walleye and Perch. Made fish chowder with tomato's Italian style with plenty of spices, still crap. Good luck, let us know how you make out. I still know a good spot. 

Fishcakes, made with a bit of mashed potato, eggs,  and spices .

[KawarthaAngler]

On 5/31/2019 at 11:44 PM, Old Ironmaker said:

You're gonna need more than a few extra spices to make them palatable after a few days or frozen. Believe me we have tried everything including cutting out the lateral line, bleeding them and soaking them in ice water, The first time we caught them was 1990.  Cleaned about 200 hundred of the little buggers that day and were so disappointed when we unfroze some of the freezer full of them. Even filled the freezer bags with water like we do with Walleye and Perch. Made fish chowder with tomato's Italian style with plenty of spices, still crap. Good luck, let us know how you make out. I still know a good spot. 

All packages were vacuum sealed and then froze.  I haven't busted open a frozen pack yet ... but when I do and cook it up, I'll post a comment.  I hope it wasn't a wasted effort. 

[misfish]

1 hour ago, KawarthaAngler said:

All packages were vacuum sealed and then froze.  I haven't busted open a frozen pack yet ... but when I do and cook it up, I'll post a comment.  I hope it wasn't a wasted effort. 

Smoker

[KawarthaAngler]

On 6/4/2019 at 6:06 PM, misfish said:

Smoker

Not a bad idea.  My father has a smoker that he has yet to use.  Maybe this could be what breaks it in.  :)

[KawarthaAngler]

Well I thawed my first package of white bass and cooked it up last night.  It was a success. 

Because I was worried about a fishy taste (from the fear people put in me on this forum) .... I cut the filets up into small 2 - 3 inch pieces and I beer-battered them and fried in a little oil.  5 people include me tried them and they all said "this is good".

I did notice a strong fishy smell on my hands afterwards, so could see that if it was just pan fried with some spices ... many may say it's too fishy.  But doing it the way I did went over well.

[bigugli]

We soak our filets in milk after cutting out the blood line. Just like doing kitties. Works perfectly. We were eating white perch last night.

[KawarthaAngler]

9 minutes ago, bigugli said:

We soak our filets in milk after cutting out the blood line. Just like doing kitties. Works perfectly. We were eating white perch last night.

Now would that be dairy or soy or coconut or almond or lactose free?   LOL 

[bigugli]

3 hours ago, KawarthaAngler said:

Now would that be dairy or soy or coconut or almond or lactose free?   LOL 

You would have to go to another website to access the "PITA" cookbook