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Thread: What is your favorite panfish and why?

  1. #1

    Default What is your favorite panfish and why?

    New to fishing... really new. Saving my dime for a starter kit and a lure or two. Ill be starting out at Carvins Cove...

    This should be a good place to get my feet wet, the link below shows the fish that are in the water:
    http://www.westernvawater.org/85256a...26JP3953PLESEN


    I like the taste of trout, cant remember the name of any other fish Ive tried.

    Any fish I catch will be for consumption not sport, though I do expecting fishing will be relaxing no matter the objective.


    So, the question is, what is your favorite panfish and why? I like a fish that doesnt have an over bearing oily fishy flavor. Given that, what do you suggest to ME for panfish?

    Thank you kindly,
    Andrew


  2. #2
    Super-duper Moderator Sarge47's Avatar
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    Cool Well...

    Blue Gill is probably the best tasting as well as the scrappiest fighter! However Catfish has less bones and is preferred by many here in the mid-West. Bass can also give yu a great fight and a lot of fishermen like them as well. Trout is probably the easiest to prepare...hope that helps!
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    Senior Member NightShade's Avatar
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    Well, since you asked about panfish specifically... White perch is the tastiest by far and doesn't have a gross fishy taste whatsoever... They are usually found in schools , so once you locate them... You've got yourself a meal! I typically fillet and deep fry in a beer batter... But, yeah, there are certainly healthier ways to prepare them.
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    Senior Member tjwilhelm's Avatar
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    I agree with Sarge47. Bluegill are very tastey...light and flakey; AND, they're really fun to catch. When they start biting, you can catch quite a few, pretty quickly, and they do put up a heck of a fight. I use a "micro" spinning reel on a small, short, flexible rod...it magnifies the sense of the fight. Have a good time fishin'!

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    Super-duper Moderator Sarge47's Avatar
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    Cool Start here:

    For starters, you can read up on beginning fishing at web sites like these:

    http://www.learninghowtofish.com/

    http://www.angelfire.com/ia3/fishing/

    If you never caught you're own worms before then I suggest syou buy them at first. Also Zebco makes some nice starter "ready to fish" sets that work really well and won't break you! You can find them at the Sporting Goods section at your local Wal-Mart. Have fun and happy fishin'!
    SARGE
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    reclinite automaton canid's Avatar
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    Bluegill because they're tasty and insanely widely distributed. I miss them. It doesn't hurt that they'll bite on absolutely anything.
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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    There are not many fresh water fish that I really like. The meat is just too mushy for me. Sorry, I can't get that mushy stuff down. Trout is nice and Salmon I do like (I'm claiming them as fresh water). Catfish fried correctly is pretty darn good, though.
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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    I gotta say, trout is my first choice,....solid meat, great taste.....and I can catch them off my river bank.
    Second are blue gills and perch for fun and getting some thing to bite with not a lot of trouble....and good eating.

    For all out fun white bass when running....can't take them off the line fast enough....

    I prefer my catfish caught and "flushed out"....kept in a tub of fresh running water for a few days, fed corn meal.......
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    reclinite automaton canid's Avatar
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    I'm sorry, but I can simply not accept this notion that trout fall into your common, lowly panfish category. Blasphemy, I say.
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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    I've got to say that regardless of the fish caught while camping, it always made a mighty fine meal.
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  11. #11

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    Thank for all the advice. Carvins Cove does not allow live bate, so I thought some rubber bait maybe, also try some corn on a bobber.

    About lures, I thought Id try a small and medium size silver or other bright lure. Is there much luck to be had with a lure, with the fish that are at the Cove (see link in OP)??


    Cheers,
    Andrew

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    Senior Member wtrfwlr's Avatar
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    My favorite fish to eat and catch is crappie. But I do agree with Crashdive, any fish on a camp out is mighty tasty. Crappie and Bream/Bluegill can be caught on small jigs. You say you cannot use live bait but how about dried crickets? If you can use those you are almost assure to catch some panfish such as bream or bluegill. I hope we get some fish stories and photos!
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    Senior Member natertot's Avatar
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    The only fish I don't eat are carp, sturgeon, bull heads, and gar. Anything else is fair game! My favorite are bass and catfish though.
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    Lone Wolf COWBOYSURVIVAL's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by natertot View Post
    The only fish I don't eat are carp, sturgeon, bull heads, and gar. Anything else is fair game! My favorite are bass and catfish though.
    Have you ever tried bullhead? To me they are the best eating catfish I have had.
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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by canid View Post
    I'm sorry, but I can simply not accept this notion that trout fall into your common, lowly panfish category. Blasphemy, I say.
    You are correct, any trout hunter would agree.......
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    Senior Member tjwilhelm's Avatar
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    From Wikipedia:

    "In American Food and Game Fishes -- A Popular Account of All The Species Found In America North Of The Equator, With Keys For Ready Identification, Life Histories And Methods of Capture , by Jordan and Evermann (1908), they identify all the following as panfish in some form or another: Yellow Perch, Candlefish, Balaos, Sand Launces, Rock Bass, Bullheads, Minnows, Rocky Mountain Whitefish, Sand Rollers, Crappie, Yellow Bass, White Bass, Croaker and of course most of the common small sunfishes such as bluegill and redear sunfish."

  17. #17

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    I wonder if ElevenBravo meant to restrict to pan fish in his request. I can go outback in my yard and catch fish from at least three continents, none of which would be on the pan fish list.

    You can catch snook in the canals here as well. Some consider it the best there is fresh or salt water.

    I have heard walleye is pretty good to eat. Though we don't get that down here.

  18. #18

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    Just getting starting fishing and Carvins Cove is very close to me (10 min), I want to focus on what they have to fish for, and what tackle I could use to catch it. Dried cricket sounds good, but these guys are absolutely anal.. They would for sure claim it was alive at some point and in violation of there rules. HA HA!

    Later as I get my gills wet and have some success with CC, Ill expand my focus and horizons. Trying to think small and narrow for now so as to not over load my febel mind.

    I seldom do pictures, always do video... so I *hope* to have a first catch video in a few weeks.

    Putting my money together right now to get licence & gear. Theres a Shakespear open basket rod & reel KIT with luers and bobbers, etc.. for $30 here at Sportsmans Warehouse. A decent enough setup for the beginner!

    Andrew

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    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Don't let the lack of store bought tackle stop you. Long sticks with line and a hook have caught many a fish over the years.
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    reclinite automaton canid's Avatar
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    place sounds like a likely candidate for popper flies. Those by the way can easily be deployed with as little as the above mentioned stick with some line tied to it. I used to use them a lot with a cane pole, to good result over in Michigan.
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