Do any of you white, striper, or hybrid fisherman like to eat them. I know they’re fun to catch and I see the happy faces on guide photos but I often wonder if they take them home for table fare.
I cut the hybrids blood line away etc. but when I fried them, never again.

I also cut the blood line out. I soak them in the refrigerator in a mixture of white wine, reel lemon juice and water for 12 to 24 hours prior to cooking. Most people like them done that way. My wife doesn't like them at all. She does love yellow bass.

In many cases , the taste is directed by the preparer or lack thereof ! As stated above, cut as much of the red meat out as possible. Learning how to fillet the fish is critical . Ten inch fish are easy to do this, however, there is not much meat leftover. IMO the 13 incher and fat are the best.

Once red meat removed, one can place the fillets in quart size zipper bag with water and @ a tblespoon of sea salt. The salt will aid in removing a lot of the fishy tasting oils and some of the remaining blood taste . Freeze or keep in lower unit till time to cook, rinsing as needed to remove all blood @ 24 hours.

Those that don't eat them, Tiz good ,. Put them back !!

Agree with gborg, soak in saltwater for at least 24hrs before cooking. It will take the fishy taste and blood out.

Nothing taste better than a bunch of White Bass fillets fried with La Louisiana Fish Fry Mix. Spicy.

I'm very sensitive to fishy tasting fish.

But fried White Bass are very tasty! Fresh is best, even without removing the red meat they are good. But once frozen it's hit or miss...IMO, they are more hit than miss.

Hybrids on the other hand, red meat must be removed before freezing....

Unless, they are sautéed in coconut milk! My wife starts off with onions and tomatoes in a deep skillet with olive oil. Once they are cooked down, she adds the fish and coconut milk. RED MEAT AND ALL! Served with brown rice and sliced tomatoes...it is fantastic! Major plus it's a very quick and simple meal to toss together!

I fry white using Zachary's and lots of Cayenne And lemon pepper. Larger sriper I like to filet and leave the skin on. Let them sit on the counter with Italian dressing and Tony Cacheres Creole seasoning on them for an hour. cook them on the grill skin side down. Yum!!

For Me it`s a 30 min Beer w/Lemon soak, after removing the Red on the Hybrid & White Bass, proceeded by which ever seasoning coat I choose then a HOT grease bath!! 4 gid abod it!

I cleaned a couple hybrids yesterday, including removing the red meat. There has to be something to this soaking, because fresh, they are just not that good.

I don’t know how people can eat them. I wouldn’t feed them to my dog. I’ve tried every which way to make them taste good. Cut all bloodline out, soaked them in milk, soaked them in milk with louisiana hot sauce, you name it. Doesn’t matter, still nasty.

My story is a little different than the crappiecatcher. I have a friend who helps me with hunting opportunities and i caught, cleaned, and packaged a full limit of white bass for him and his wife. Yes I took off all the red meat and the fillets were fresh and pristine. They seemed to really appreciate them. I was visiting the couple a week later and was outside when a contractor came to the house. The wife and the contractor talked just out of sight of me. When the business was done they had a friendly conversation. The wife mentioned that a friend had given them a 5 pound bag of fresh crappie fillets She said it was the best fish they had had in years. If the wife had mistaken white bass for crappie, then the difference that is being whined about is hardly worth the discussion. I fish fresh and saltwater and will put my fresh white bass fillets against any fish out there. As an aside,I have a story about being invited to a fish fry at Port O'Connor in the summer. I had caught a limit of white bass on Belton the night before I went to the coast. I cleaned them at the dock in Port O'Connor early in the morning and asked my neighbor who had fresh sea trout fillets if he wanted them for the fry. He said he had a bunch of people coming and would use them for reserve if needed. In the early part of the cooking someone battered up some whites. Half an hour later there was pile of trout fillets on a platter. There were seven people crowded around the cooker waiting for the next batch of whites to come out of the grease. They seemed to have a strong preference for whites over sea trout.

I cut the gills and let them bleed out in the livewell. Once I filet them I soak them in milk overnight. The next day I batter them up with Uncle Bucks Spicey batter mix and fry them.

Yes there is something to the SOAKING ! Bleeding them is also very Very Good! The taste that the HATERS are speaking of is the "Game E ness" within the flesh of the fish. IT`S A GAME FISH FCOL!!!! The Alcohol in the beer & the Acidity of the Lemon will break this down and eliminate it. Then you are free to add your own seasoning to enhance it`s flavor. Which is a little bit more trouble than most are willing to do. Not many things we consume are just naturally tasteful to the human palette that is why we skillfully "enhance". JMHO .I`ll take all you don`t want.

It's best to soak them in buttermilk

What`s best is a matter of opinion. The main thing is to get the Game E Ness OUT.

If a person wanted to try something besides frying them, my best experience with white bass and striped bass is to cook them in the oven or on the grill in butter or margarine with citrus and rosemary. Plenty of black pepper is nice, too. Also, cooking them in a tomato-based broth in a covered skillet. Put it over rice or pasta.

A lot similar to cooking sea bass or other saltwater fish.

JR

as opposed to regular milk. it is best

The little 10 inch whites are much better for eating.

Good Luck,
Bozz

I`ve never soaked my stripers, hybrids or sand bass in anything. I simply remove the blood line from the center of the fillet and on bigger fish I remove any reddish meat on the side of the fillet. The fillets are almost 100 % free of any reddish color at all. I wash the fillets off 3-4 times and then place in a bowl and cover with ice until I fry them. I also cut the fillets into thin pieces for more surface area for batter and they fry better. I would like to see how someone that says they taste bad clean a striper or hybrid. I`ll bet most who don`t like to eat them heard someone say they aren`t good to eat before. All BS aside............I`ve been frying these fish the same way for over 30 years and never had anyone say they tasted anything but great.

My wife and a neighbor down the road will tell you they don't taste good. I don't understand it but that's just the way she is.

I must have underdeveloped taste buds, because I've always enjoyed eating hybrids, striper, etc. As others have pointed out, I remove the dark bloodline (which tends to get mushy if left in).

Fried, baked, wrapped in foil on the grill, etc, it's all good

I agree with you Zeek

I`m just the opposite. I can detect the slightest differences in foods or changes in a recipe and I`m very picky. I still think properly cleaned stripers, hybrids or sand bass are some of the best fish there are. I do prefer an 18" striper or hybrid over a bigger fish though. They are the perfect size for just about anything you want to do.

Also good broiled with butter and parmesan cheese for 3-4 minutes. super easy and quick to make.

IMHO I think people that don`t like just don`t want to like

They also don’t have a very good texture in my opinion. Black bass, catfish, crappie, walleye, and bluegill are all better eating. Heck I’ll eat a freshwater drum before I eat one of those nasty things. They’re fun to catch but definitely not worth the trouble to clean.

We are happy you don't like to eat them, cuz we duz !!

Bunch of Hybrid Haters on here! Lol. For sure crappie and bluegill are the best eating FW fish IMO but hybrids and stripers are right there with catfish and black bass when cleaned the right way. I'm hoping your joking about freshwater drum, now those are nasty along with the texture.

I am not kidding about freshwater drum. I’m not saying they’re a 5 star meal, but they’re better than those nasty hybrids, striper, and sandbass. I don’t mess with them because I have zero issues getting crappie and black bass. Walleye, sauger, and saugeye are the best in fresh water.

Nice to have a choice !!

I've yet to find a fish freshwater or salt that properly prepared is not good.I spent many years in Southeast Asia,those people know how to prep fish,and learned almost every fish cooked in a way to bring out its best qualities will make fantastic tablefare.What I don't get is the dislike of whites,striper or hybrids,they're some of the most simple fish to prep.Upon catch I cut their gills to bleed them,place them on ice for at least 2-3 hours to firm them up for filleting.Once filleted I remove the blood line and any red meat along the skin side of the fillet.If we're eating them fresh,within 24 hours,I cover them in ice water,a tbsp or two of sea salt and place in the fridge.If preserving them for a later date I place fillets in a quart bag with a small amount of sea salt and enough water to cover the fillets then forcing out all air and placing them in the freezer.Deep fried,pan fried,air fried,blackened..........so on and so forth all delicious.

I saw where freshwater drum was mentioned.Drum3 lbs up they make excellent fillets and are best deep fried in my opinion.I've served them and been told many times just how delicious they are............being asked many times what kind of catfish it is.

I didn't see carp mentioned at all.Not many of you will try this but I thought I'd put it out there.Carp are delicious when canned.I scale 1-5 lb carp then cut them cross ways in 2-3" chunks.Once chunked I pack them in clean pint or quart jars with one tbsp ketchup,place an unused freshly boiled lid on the jar followed by a lid screwed on hand tight.Then I stack them in the pressure cooker,don't forget the spacer for the bottom and the other for the second stack.Put about two quarts of water in the canner,place the lid on locking in place then turn the burner on and once 10 lbs of pressure is reached hold it there for 1 hour and 40 minutes.Once complete I place the jars on the counter til cool checking each lid for a good seal,press lid down with your finger if it pops have it for dinner that night if it does not pop store it in a cool dark place............I've kept them for up to two years without a problem.Now you can grab a jar and eat it on crackers or bread..........or my favorite way is make carp croquettes just as you would with canned salmon.All the smaller bones will have all but evaporated and the larger back bone joints can easily be removed along with the outer skin.Not once has anyone we've served these ever thought they were anything other than salmon many stating it's the best they've ever had.Now I used the cliff notes for canning.........below is a detailed method link to keep you safe.After doing this once you'll realize its not difficult and the results are delicious. BTW any fish can be canned.........carp is just our favorite.


https://www.ballmasonjars.com/pressure-canning.html

Cut the blood line out, get as much red off as I can with my filet knife, baste them in mustard, and batter with Zatarains Chicken Fry. Absolutely delicious.

The mustard approach is great with Crappie, why not with the Pelagic fish ! ?

Best striper I’ve eaten were the huge striper from lake Ouachita in Arkansas we caught this summer. The fillets were so big it was easy to not get any red meat. My wife who usually doesn't like fish loved them. We didn’t soak them in anything. Just rinsed good and put in the grease with some fish fry seasoning from H-E-B.

Crappie don’t need much help at all, very tasty.

Agreed. That is how I was taught by Chef Jesse Griffiths. You know the famous hunter, angler, author, and Michelin Star rated Chef.

He does a butter milk soak for 12-24 hours, dry them out real good, salt pepper, mustard, hot sauce in there with the mustard, coat in your preferred "fish fry" (he likes some fancy hard to find ones, but what you like will do), then into the HOT oil... That is his basic process for frying about any fish.

It works. I do it with Largemouth (yes, savage I know), Catfish, Sandies, Stripers, Crappie... all tasty! The only fish I wont do that with is Trout, I like those whole and baked or done over the fire (usually catch those on camping trips in the Rockies) with lemons and herbs etc.

But all the warm water fish...? They meet the butter milk and mustard son!

Yep, Hybrid is the best, fried, in my opinion.

Y'all will call me crazy for this but try it before you do. Cook your striper just like Redfish on the half shell. But wrap it in foil about half way through. Butter, lemon, seasonings, and whatever you like. The crazy part is- it rivals Redfish on the half shell. I promise you.

Sand Bass is good just fry it fresh as you can.

Shiner Bock is your friend for a pre-fry marinade.

Something I've always wanted to try but never have is Striper chunked and cooked in a crab/crawfish boil. I've had a few guys over the years tell me that's their favorite way to do it.

Striper on the half shell is great! My buddy always does his that way and its great.

Crappie - what can I say!
Whitebass - the little 11 inch ones are great.
Catfish - not a fan but good fried.
Stripers - think they are very good.
Hybrids - Nasty. Especially the Lake Conroe ones. All mine go back for you guys.

I've done thick hybrid chunks mixed in with a shrimp boil and it is pretty damn good.

I'm gonna have to try it.

Been eating white bass or sand bass since I was a young child, I am now an old man (78). I still like them. Thanks Daniel

I use two methods. Both are good. First one is , course, remove all red that you can. Soak a few hours in water/salt/vinegar mixture. Take any cheap medium heat picante sauce and pour thru a strainer. Dip the fillets in the picante juice, then in cornmeal/flour mixture. Deep fry till crisp. Second method the same but instead of picante sauce use Italian dressing.

They taste great fresh. White bass and striper are not as good frozen. It’s not the same [censored] bass fishermen tell you that big bass aren’t that good. Big Black bass and small black bass are great after freezing.

Cut it he red out of white bass and they still aren’t as good after freezing but are perfectly acceptable fresh.

Freshly caught white bass are mighty tasty

I don't think they are as bad as what some people say. I soak mine in vinegar for 20 minutes or so before I fry them up. I think they taste good fresh but not as good after freezing them.

They have been damn good any way I’ve cooked them so far. I am very picky while cleaning my fish and I think that makes the biggest difference. I never soak fish with anything. Just put these in the freezer the other day

I cannot understand why anyone who likes fish does not like hybrid striper. Cut all the red meat out, shake in corn meal and drop in hot oil! I have not had anyone say it was not good. I keep my keeper fish on ice as soon as I boat them. Never let any fish die in water or sit dead in water. Hybrids are also good backed or grilled. Whites are good if cooked fresh. They don’t seem to freeze as well as hybrids or stripers in my experience.