I've been a largemouth guy for a long time and have really enjoyed it when I can get out to lakes that have a good population. But I live really close to Lake Grapevine and it seems like all I can catch is white and yellow bass which I have to admit are pretty fun!

So I have to ask are they any good eating? If I'm gonna catch a whole bunch of them I would consider taking a few home if they're any good. Any certain size which tastes better than others? Recipes?

Please tell me if this is taboo like it is in the largemouth world, I wouldnt dream of keeping largemouth in most situations.

Both are good to eat. If over about 2 lbs on the whites cut the blood line out and end up with two long narrow filets. Cook em any way you like they are good --- not as good as crappie but good!

Sandbass are good on the grill with lemon pepper and butter, scale them then filet them but leave the skin on one side and put them on the grill skin side down, acts like a secondary pan, keeps the butter and juices on the fish and the red line will cook out and the meat will be like butter

Very Good eating pretty much any way you prepare em. And loads of fun to catch! Great fighters for the size. Love getting into em and going a few rounds with them!

Enjoy!

Rudy

Yes, they are almost as good as the LMB. Give me some blackened black bass

I think white bass are excellent table fare. I ALWAYS twice fillet my fish. That means cut the meat off the bone and cut the red meat off the fillet. I like to fry them in peanut oil with a batter of crushed cracker after dipping in egg wash. I also grill them in a pan with dry steak seasoning and a little butter. Cook them until brown in both cases. Big fish taste just fine without the red meat; so keep what you want to eat and return the rest. Three pounds of fish will yield one pound of fillets, so plan accordingly.

I fried some a few weeks ago for the first time. They were actually pretty good. They were VERY mild in flavor, in fact flavor was almost non existent and came entirely from the batter I used.

They are good if you prepare them correctly. After filleting - and removing all the red meat - brine them for 10-24 hours, soak them in buttermilk for 4 hours, and them prepare them as if they were crappie. You probably won't be able to tell the difference! Yummy.

But, why go to all that trouble - just catch crappie!

Oh yea, I forgot - if you can't catch crappie, then do the next best thing!!

They are good to eat but you have to be careful in preparation. Best methods I've found:

1. Blackening - melt butter and coat the fillets. make sure the fillets are no more than 3/4 inch thick. coat with blackening spice. Heat skillet hot enough to smoke butter and cook 2 min on each side.

2. Fried - Baste the fillets in an egg /mustard mixture. (one egg and a tablesppon of mustard) Coat with Panko breadcrumbs and let sit for 10 min. Fry in Ghee or clarified butter in very hot skillet for 4 min each side.

There are other recipes but those two are the best. Any non oily fish like striper/whitebass will require some sort of oil or it will be dry.

They are good... But cook them fresh! I've never liked them frozen....

Thanks for all the advice and quick replies everyone! Amazing the lack of info that google has on this! I am going to try my hand at crappie fishing as well, but this seems like a lot of fun and I know they're really fun to catch!

They don't get a free pass from me they be good eats!

Put a little garlic on em very good

They are delicious!