Other Pan Fish

[DirtTime]

How many on here keep sunnies, pumpkinseed, blue-gills, and smaller crappie to eat?

 

One reason I'm asking because when I used to do over night hikes or camps in the back woods, if there was a small pond or lake I would keep them, fillet them up and have them for dinner.

 

Second reason is the wife had a blast catching guppies last Saturday. I even gave up and started tossing a bobber and worm out just to land something.

 

I think they might be great in the fryer with either a batter or bread crumb coating.

Edited July 4, 2018 by Rob...

[chrisw]

Panfish are the best eaters in my opinion, I'll take bluegills over walleyes. They have to be "keepers" for me to keep them which is usually about 9"+. I keep a few hundred big gills and sunnies every spring, they make great fish tacos.

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[DirtTime]

15 minutes ago, chrisw said:

Panfish are the best eaters in my opinion, I'll take bluegills over walleyes. They have to be "keepers" for me to keep them which is usually about 9"+. I keep a few hundred big gills and sunnies every spring, they make great fish tacos.

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Some of the best fish I have ever eaten was on those trips. No seasonings, just fillet and go. I don't think I have ever caught a 9"+ blue gill or sunny. I think 7" would be the biggest. 

[Robhuntandfish]

All the panfish are generally good table fare.  Just need a few to make a meal

[grampy]

Beer battered panfish, fried in a cast iron skillet is some great eating!

The leftover beer from the batter goes along with it perfectly!  

[Pygmy]

Bluegills/pumpkinseeds are IMHO the best tasting fish in fresh water....

[Buckmaster7600]

I like eating gills/pumpkinseeds but much prefer them in the winter/spring as I think they taste much better than from the hot water of summer.


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[Culvercreek hunt club]

I like using the panfish fillets for some awesome fish sandwiches. 

Pattie ingredients-

·        1 pound flaked cooked fish of choice (this is the time to pick out any bones you missed while filleting)

·        1-1/2 cups soft bread crumbs

·        3 large eggs, beaten

·        2 to 4 tablespoons water

·        1 medium onion chopped

·        2 tablespoons mayonnaise

·        1-1/2 teaspoons ground mustard

·        1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

·        3/4 teaspoon salt

·        3/4 teaspoon on course black pepper

·        (optional) Cayenne pepper to taste

Coating and cooking ingredients

·        1-1/2 cups Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

·        2 tablespoons vegetable oil

 

·        Directions

·        In a bowl, combine the Pattie ingredients; mix well.

·        Shape into patties of desired size.  I usually fit them to the bun I will be eating them on.

·        Add additional water if needed to make them a tad sticky;

·        Coat with the Italian bread crumbs.

·        In a large skillet (cast Iron preferred), cook the patties in oil for 4-5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.

·        Serve with tartar sauce and lemon if desired. Makes a great fish sandwich

[Robhuntandfish]

I don't care for crappie only because they really have to be big to get much of any meat off them but they are tasty.  I don't like cleaning sunfish as they are a bit tougher.  Perch are the best of the panfish I think. Taste great, easy to clean and they can have some good meat on them if decent sized

[turkeyfeathers]

Side note. Neighbor just said he had pickled sheepshead and it was great. Um no thanks.  

Do panfish get worms like perch in warmer weather/water ? That scieves me out lol. Killed a spring turkey years back that had some funky worm like things sliding around. Not a fan of slithering icky

[hunter49]

  Culvercreek,  how long do you cook the fish?  I find when I cook it ,it loose it's flavor & is blah tasting.   Thanks.

[landtracdeerhunter]

Pan fish are the best eating. I have some frozen in ice. I wrap them in foil and grill to perfection adding spices only to taste. Homemade tarter sauce to complement.

[Robhuntandfish]

1 hour ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Side note. Neighbor just said he had pickled sheepshead and it was great. Um no thanks.  

Do panfish get worms like perch in warmer weather/water ? That scieves me out lol. Killed a spring turkey years back that had some funky worm like things sliding around. Not a fan of slithering icky

that all depends on the water.  Often in summer panfish in ponds will get the pepper spots, people say they are still edible but i will pass.  As well as larger fish at times.  But anything like that will depend on the body of water i would think and the parasites in it.  But yeah if I ever see anything like that my fishing is done for a bit.  

and not eating sheepshead either.   Not that hungry.  

[turkeyfeathers]

Not even burbere style drum at the Goat ?! 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

2 hours ago, hunter49 said:

  Culvercreek,  how long do you cook the fish?  I find when I cook it ,it loose it's flavor & is blah tasting.   Thanks.

I just bake the fillets until they flake apart. I have done them raw with pickerel and smaller pike too. I filleted them as best as I could and took out the y bones that I saw. Then ran the raw meat through a grinder and it worked very well. same recipe and if you don't make them too thick the cooking time is about the same. To me if the raw egg is cooked well enough in the mix than raw fish would be too. I'm still here so it wasn't deadly...lol

[GreeneHunter]

When my son was younger 5-10 blue gills were the thing and we'd eat them when we got home and he and I loved them !

[Pygmy]

Pepper specks are year round in some of the places I fish...Just a little more protein as far as I am concerned...I DO pop out the yellow/ white grubs with the point of my filet knife, but that is more for The Mermaid's benefit than mine...

[wolc123]

16 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

 

and not eating sheepshead either.   Not that hungry.  

My wife and I ate them once when we were camping.  We were very hungry and could not find the bass, walleye, or perch that day on Lake Erie.  They were not bad but they have very little meat on them (very similar to a bear in that respect).   Lots of bone and maybe 10-15 percent of total weight is usable meat.  

[Just Lucky]

On 7/4/2018 at 7:40 PM, chrisw said:

Panfish are the best eaters in my opinion, I'll take bluegills over walleyes. They have to be "keepers" for me to keep them which is usually about 9"+. I keep a few hundred big gills and sunnies every spring, they make great fish tacos.

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Where you catching 9 inch blue gills?

[grampy]

11 hours ago, Pygmy said:

Pepper specks are year round in some of the places I fish...Just a little more protein as far as I am concerned...I DO pop out the yellow/ white grubs with the point of my filet knife, but that is more for The Mermaid's benefit than mine...

Think I'll have the steak, when I come over for dinner!.................................grin

Edited July 6, 2018 by grampy

[DirtTime]

I guess next time the wife goes with me and catches a bunch I'll bring 'em home and freeze 'em up.

I agree with most that are good eating. I also prefer perch, and they rarely get a release.

Now I have a craving for perch chowder.

[GreeneHunter]

Pan fish make excellent fish Tacos !

[DirtTime]

Just talked to the Mrs., guess we are going back to Green Lake on Sunday morning. 

[Uncle Nicky]

I have really gotten into crabbing this summer. A lot of the tidal creeks hold white perch, I am dying to catch a mess of these and try them out, I hear the meat is delicious.

[turkeyfeathers]

49 minutes ago, Uncle Nicky said:

I have really gotten into crabbing this summer. A lot of the tidal creeks hold white perch, I am dying to catch a mess of these and try them out, I hear the meat is delicious.

What kind of crabs ?