Do you eat Striper?

[Dakota]

Generally I keep catfish and crappie. My girls and wife really like the taste and I have my fryer set-up outside. My wife likes that because it keeps the house from smelling. I haven't kept any striper to fry up just because Ive heard conflicting stories about how they taste?? So tell me am I missing out by not keeping striper. (Maybe just once in a while) When I catch them I do it because I want the BIG ONE.

What are your thoughts??
Dakota

[chongtoulor86]

It won't smell if you take off the blood line in middle of the fish after u fillet it. Just keep the white meat of the fish.. striper are some of the best tasting fish.

[fishfindergeneral]

Yes I do

[TNBronzeback]

I do....its great flaky white filet. I like to put them out on the grill. They are good for fish tacos too. :-)

[ThrillSeeker]

Hybrid are pretty tasty fish too.

[Alphahawk]

They taste great......as others said take all the red meat off the filet.


Regards

[jaycee]

Here we go again...

Keep the catfish, crappie, bream etc. Maybe an occasional striper or hybrid. For the most part, release the striper or hybrids, as well as the lm & sm.

Yes, they are good eating, as is as white bass. Cut out the red meat.

Release the big ones to give another angler a thrill.

That's all I got to say about that.

JMO

[jad2t]

Heck yea I eat them. I've eaten a 20 pounder too and they taste just as great as a 3 pounder so don't let anyone tell you different. I've seen over and over that the larger ones don't taste good. I think that's more of a bias from people who want to tell you to catch and release. That whole concept is strange to me. Humans hunt for food and we fish for food and we've been doing it since the beginning of time.

Since it's a large fish there is going to be a lot of red meat to deal with. Sometimes I get lucky and can "zipper" the strip right off the bottom of the fillet. After you fillet the skin off, take your knife towards the tail of the fillet and cut into the red meat at about a 45 degree angle towards the center. Do this on both sides for the last 3-4 inches of fillet. Then you should have a string of red meat hanging there. Hold the fillet down with one hand and pull hard with the other hand on that red meat and most of it comes off like pulling a zipper. It's an awesome trick!

If that doesn't work I literally cut the fillet in half, long ways right down the middle and then cut down the inside edges to get all the red meat off. You might waste a bit of white meat too but be careful to save as much as you can.

I hope that description helps, I tried to be detailed but I guess it's hard to describe how I do it. But seriously, eat the stripers, they're delicious. They're also a fattier fish and have a good amount of Omega-3 fat.

[jad2t]

Then again, everyone's taste buds are different. If you like white bass you'll love rockfish because they taste the same. My wife loves crappie and bass but she is so/so on hybrids and rockfish unless they're cooked a certain way. She still likes when I bring them home though because you get a lot more meat off of those than you do off a Crappie!

I'd much rather fillet one 10 pound rockfish than have to fillet 10 Crappie to get the same amount of meat.

[Reel Tune]

I've never eaten Striper. I would like to try it, but most of the Stripers I've caught have been larger than I would enjoy keeping. I've said if I catch a Striper 16"-20 or maybe up to 22" I may keep it to try it. I do hear they taste good though.
It takes a Striper many years to reach maturity, and they can live to 30 years or more. If a fish has escaped/eluded man, lived to reach maturity I say let him be and maybe it will reach its full potential, and it may become a State or possible World record. It just takes this fish so long to reach maturity it would be hard for me to keep a mature fish.

I know TWRA stocks these fish, and I know that they may not have a successful spawn in our waters, but I do think some may. Those are my thoughts.

In the early 80's these fish were hit hard by fishermen and almost wiped out, but with proper management these fish came back in the mid 2000's and seem to be doing well. But need to be managed closely as the successful spawn rate is not good.

Disclaimer:
These are thoughts from me personally, and do not reflect the thoughts of Fishing TN.

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by MidTNKayakAngler

I've never eaten Striper. I would like to try it, but most of the Stripers I've caught have been larger than I would enjoy keeping.

Showoff haha.

[tacklemake]

After you filet and take the red meat off cut it into 3" squares them take a plate an put a napkin on it . Take the fish and lightly coat them with old bay season or your own season and put them on the plate an cover with a microwave plate cover. Put it in the microwave on high for 5 min. You will find that their is little to no mess this way and they are great eating too............woody P.S. MERRY CHRTSTMAS

[Fishaholic]

striper are awesome to eat I blacken mine and grill or broil it you can traditionally blacken it too but the thick pieces take a while to cook.

[aero320]

Years ago, we had large fish fries with a group of friends. Almost always it was Rockfish from Tims Ford (or later on from Beaver Lake in Arkansas). As was said earlier, the key is to remove the red meat from the fillets. Also on the larger fish, you will need to cut the pieces thin enough so that they cook quickly. I have tried oven, grill and microwave but always come back to deep frying. Coat with white cornmeal with a little salt mixed in and deep fry! If they don't taste good to you, have another glass of beer and try again. Back in the early 90s we caught fish over 30 pounds and always ate them. Don't remember much catch and release back then. I actually prefer the Hybrids over Rockfish to eat. The texture of the meat is a little different but Rockfish are very good!

[StriperFan]

I have also come to prefer the texture of hybrid over striper lately. Both are excellent fare if treated right though.