Other Activities > Fishing

That "lake taste" in freshwater fish

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Night goat:
I mean….. i exclusively eat saltwater fish with the only exception being maybe a river caught salmon from time time time or high mtn trout

There is a definitive flavor difference between a salmon from the  salt vs one from the river,

late season high mountain creek trout is crack though, but that’s cold fast moving water with tons of oxygen


These lake fish all taste like mud to me though, I’ve always regarded shallow water lake fish as tasting like an ugly chicks butt. high mountain lakes trout are better but any low land lake fish to me just is gross. Tastes like mud and pond weeds

DaNewb:

--- Quote from: Skillet on June 26, 2025, 01:21:57 AM ---Walleye and perch are every bit as good as lingcod if taken care of properly.

Catch, bleed immediately (best to cut gill arches on both sides instead of cutting the throat latch), and get them on ice. 

It doesn't matter is you catch them out of still water or a river.  Or if you catch them out of 50 degree or 70 degree water. It's all about how quickly you take care of them properly.

--- End quote ---

This right here...

Bank fishing or boat, I bring a cooler and gut and clean every fish as it's caught, then into the cooler on ice. Then they come home and get vacuum sealed asap. They come out of the freezer months later looking like they were just caught.

I see so many people with a stringer of fish sitting in 6 inches of hot, sunny water at their feet next to shore and just know that fish is going to be nasty eating. No wonder it tastes 'muddy' or 'lake-ish'

Mottled and discolored, rigor mortised into all many of shapes...live fish swimming on a stringer next to dead fish, no thank you.

hunter399:
Brine it and smoke it.
That will help .....maybe 🤔

Sandberm:
I can't say as i have ever detected a "lake taste" or any other bad taste from eating walleye or perch. But I'm not a picky eater either.

I generally do not eat bass, crappie or bluegill because I think it has a fishy taste. I wont turn it away though and occasionally just mix some bluegills with the perch i usually catch in the frying pan.

 

CastleRocker:
I believe that no matter what it is, you HAVE to bleed them and cool them asap.  From Black Cod and Halibut, to every other species of fish, to deer, elk, and cattle.  We used to have a butcher that whenever possible, didn't shoot our cattle.  He had a 4lb hammer that he smacked them with, and then stuck a fillet knife in their jugular or carotid, and bled them.  There was a taste difference between the ones he shot and the ones he didn't.   

We used to dress Sablefish, and Graycod but I guess they just bleed them nowdays.  We bled all our Halibut and salmon this past week except one, and it shows in the fillets.  Good thing it was small.  We ate the one that didn't get bled, and it was stronger tasting than one of the others that was bled.

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