Do you eat Cherokee or hybrid bass?

[Killminister]

Honestly, can't say that I have eaten one before or fished for them for that matter...however, I stumbled upon them by accident last weekend, and think I could go back and do quite well. Just don't want to keep them if they aren't that great. Do you eat them? What kind of fish/meat/taste would you compare them to?

 

[InfoMan]

Be sure to cut the red streak out on their sides. That the swim muscle. Gives a strong taste.

They taste like fish. Really.

 

[Baxter83]

What infoman said! I loooove them, but you gotta get all that red out. I usually just cut from the front to the back all the way down over the top and under the bottom of it and remove it completely. You're cutting the fillet in half that way, but no more red meat whatsoever. What you're left with is as good as the best crappie meat there is.

I like it either left whole and grilled in the fillets or cut into 2"-3" cubes and fried into bite sized morsals. Dang I'm getting hungry thinking about it....

 

[StalkingWolf]

They cook up cotton white!

 

[easy45]

yea, same thing with rockfish, just cut the red patch out and they are good

 

[Baxter83]

yea, same thing with rockfish, just cut the red patch out and they are good

Yup

Around here I don't think anyone knows the difference in the rockfish and hybrids though. All of them are "stripers"

 

[TNTomtaker01]

Makes me want to go hook the boat up and head over to tims ford!

 

[Killminister]

Yeah, it was crazy last Friday morning. We actually were noodle fishing at the lake in the rain, and I noticed something hitting and schooling around the top of the water. I had a setup with a small jig that I do well with shellcracker, bluegill, and bass... so I just threw it behind the boat and started trolling through that school... caught 3 13 inch cherokee and hung something big on the 4th try that fought for a min, but snapped my 6lb line like nothing.. This all happened in just a few minutes before we had to leave, so there is no telling what we could of done if we would have stayed. Oh well, went home with 17 blue's and channel's so we definitely ate well.

 

[shopson]

Don't take much to fill the freezer either.

 

[FLTENNHUNTER1]

No issues with mercury?

 

[stik]

hung something big on the 4th try that fought for a min, but snapped my 6lb line like nothing..

you gotta give em line!!! and no, i don't eat them :sick: they taste like they smell.

 

[trealtree]

Infoman told ya right. Yum!

 

[Baxter83]

No issues with mercury?

I wouldn't think so...Mercury motors are the best on the water :grin:


I'm not 100%, but I'm thinking it's not a problem with them on any TN lakes. I could be wrong. I also think that it's kinda like eating a catfish out of Woods Res. You'd have to eat fish every meal for a long time before you would ever ingest enough to do any harm whatsoever. Again, I could be wrong.

 

[Headhunter]

After you fillet and cut the red out of the fillets, fill a large bowl with water, mix in a tablespoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of salt, let sit overnight in the fridge. The fillets will be white and all the "fish smell" will be gone. Not crappie by a long shot to me, but they are nice to eat.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

they are one of the best eating fish there is, but you got to cut the red out!