Whitebass - 250 Keepers???

[ying6]

Talked to a couple guys who said they were fishing around Red bank and a guy and his son came in with over 250 whitebass...
Now, that to me is a lot of fish... not sure what to think about this, but what would one do with that many fish, are the whitebass that good? Can you imagine how long that guy was up cleaning those fish?
Do most guys keep this many fish? Is there a limit?
good luck
ying

[Bassnpro1]

That is absurd. I bet they started cleaning them and then got tired and just threw the rest out. it would take all day to clean that many and whitebass don't even taste all that good. what lake was this?

[captnroger]

whitebass taste fine if you get the red streak down the fillet out, but 250 fish is crazy. 250 perch on the other hand.... :)

[twistertail]

That is a lot of w/b. They do taste good if you take care of them the right way, I prefer them over crappie. I wonder if they really had 250? I'm not doubting you but you know how it is when somebody saw somebody who talked to someone who had 250 w/b. It is possible however that they did have that many and maybe that is the only time this year they will keep any fish. I have probably kept 100 or so at one time but for me that is about the only time that i will keep fish. I would rather sit and spend a few hours cleaning fish one time and then fish the rest of the year and release them. I love eating fish so I like to have plenty in the freezer plus i usually have a big fish fry for my friends about once a year. I'm not taking any sides here i'm just saying that maybe this is the only time that he is keeping any fish.

[oufisherman]

THat's way too many fish for me to want to clean at one time. It would take hours to do them all.

[twistertail]

You are right about that OU. I have cleaned well over 100 bluegills at once before! But that way I only clean fish once a year and can just fish the rest of the summer and still have a fish fry whenever i want and not have to go catch fish and clean them.

[duckboat]

Can you imagine how many beers it would take to clean all those fish!

[twistertail]

If i drank while cleaning fish i would not have many fingers left! :p I save the beer for when i'm eating them!

[harry1]

four of us using the assembly method cleaned over 250 once - it took hours and we swore we'd never do it again

[AndroDoug]

Maybe they didn't filet them. They might have just pureed all of them and made white bass patties!! :D

[dfoxfish]

either way, it sounds a little absurd to keep that many. if every body did that, how many would be left in the lake? :(

[Daduru]

there is no limit. and yes white bass is excellent, if cooked right away and not frozen. I would wager money that most people couldnt tell the difference between w/b and walleye. Personally Id like to see a man carry 125 fish himself. Small as they may be, thats ALOT of weight. Also smaller ones dont have the red meat.

[mrfishohio]

I kept 30-35 a few times in years past. Never again...way too much work cleaning them. Now it's almost always C&R. Maybe just a few fish or an occasional gill hooked wiper has to be harvested.
250 is way too many to keep.

[flathunter]

Even if I kept fish I would not want to clean that many, way to much work.

[Fish4Fun]

I love to eat fish but thats my biggest problem is i don't have the time to clean them and 250 would take forever. But like stated before get one big set of fish clean once and then all you do is fish all yr and throw the rest back.

[Erie Addict]

Tis the season for idiots. Was out on alum yesterday and there was a pontoon boat in the back of a cove crappie fishing. every fish these 2 guys caught went into a bucket. Tried to call the park officer and left a message. Called 1 800 POACHER and left a message. Unfortunatly length limits don't do much good if they are not enforced.

[mrfishohio]

Get the boat number......Tried to call the park officer and left a message and a digital picture and/or the the trailer and towing vehicle too. ;)

[NewbreedFishing]

Here is my 2sense on the white bass migrating/spawn.

Tis a perfect opertunity for the shore angler to easily access fish and these people count on it every year. These licensed anglers are certainly entitled to harvest fish but with no limits and todays technology(websites) the word is getting out massively about these areas and everyone will pay the price. Selective harvest or no harvest for spawning fish should be the givin rule. I do like to keep a dozen or so male fish a few times during the early part of the season when the water temps. are still cold. The fish taste alot better and stay alive throughout the day. When you go dragging these xmas tree size stringers around all day the fish usually are rigormortis by the time you clean them and that is nasty!!! Anyone that knows good tasting fish knows that freshness is the key and WB don't tend to freeze well either. Set the example out on the water/kiss and release the fish ...have fun with it.

Write a letter to the DOW chief or state your opinions at your local wild game hearings each March.
NewBreedFishing

[Hooch]

Those guys must have worked for the Panda Inn. :D

[esoxhunter]

Maybe they didn't filet them. They might have just pureed all of them and made white bass patties!! :D

mmmm...that's terrific bass !
EH

[TIGHTLINER]

WOW, and I thought that I keep a lot of fish. Especially since I've been accused of being a meathunter on this site and the others a time or two. After reading this white bass thread and this catfish thread(http://www.ohiogamefishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12197) I think that I'm alright.......TightLines!

[WLB]

There is a guy that comes to fremont from cleveland every year for white bass, he has a full size van, and for 4 weekends a year he packs that van full of large coolers of bass, I couldn't even guess how many he gets in there, I've seen him catch them, buy them and have people give them to him. I asked what he did with all those fish and he told me they ground them up and made them into soup for the poor. I bet that's tasty, some of the coolers didn't have any ice as early as saturday and he doesn't leave until sunday nite :eek:

[husky hooker]

two guys...2 electric fillet knives....well worth the trouble they are great eating.stacked in water in the freezer.

[twistertail]

Forgot to mention that husk, feeze them in ziplock bags filled with water and they will be good all year! I like them better than crappie myself, the meat is more firm.

[JoeyTina97]

Set the example out on the water/kiss and release the fish ...have fun with it.

NewBreedFishing
I am glad to see somebody comment on that. I am no against somebody keeping some fish but come on 250! even 100. That is just crazy. Its also sad. In a few years people will be wondering why the w/b population has gone down, and it will be due to people like that.

[freyedknot]

too bad you guys weren't arond in the 60's . catches of jumbo perch from edgewater piers were very common. guys carrying 5 gallon buckets of perch without ice chock full of jumbo perch. they also caught massive amounts of jumbo whitebass from behind avon power plant. you could fish there for white bass and catch them all day long,most being at least 15 inches and better.today big catches aren't that common ,but as long as you do it legally, go for it.