Bank Fish vs Deep Fish

I have had my share of sandies from the creek, shallow lake banks and deep cold water (out on the boat). The ones from deep water def taste better in my opinion. Is this to be expected or does the deep cooler water fish is that much better for consumption?

On the boat, are you putting them on ice as soon as you catch them? That's always better than stressing them out on a stringer. I would think a live well is also less stressful than a stringer.

I think the ones in the creek sometimes have an off flavor because they haven't been eating and they are starting to break down their own bodies for energy. I have read that this happens with salmon on their spawning journey.

think it has more to do with the keep fresh as possible deal.

I fish mainly from the bank so for me, ignorance is bliss and still very tasty. LOL. But I've seen some stressed out white bass on stringers. Many fish already dead on the string. I've rarely enjoyed the fresh ones from the boat's live well. The Freshness of those live-well or iced down fish sounds logical.

Is the water on the main lake cleaner than the river? Of course. They will taste cleaner. Example,anyone ever catch catfish after a flood? First few days,they taste great. A week or 2 of muddy water and you have fillets that you don't want to eat anymore.

Never thought about the live well versus stringer, however I have always kept mine on a big metal basket floating as far out as possible to keep them live. Breaking down on the creek sounds very logical, so does stressed out on stringers. Thx for the input guys. I think from now on wards the bank sandies are going to hit the cooler full of ice immediately after capture