Nice fat redear sunfish I caught the other day..

[Smokehound714]

99.9% of the time, I practice catch and release, but the shellcrackers are getting nice and fat. I couldn't resist taking a couple of 'em home :drool:

And the last few bits of the tempura-battered fillets.. so delicious.. best fish I've eaten in years!

 

[buddah4207]

Nice catch! That looks like it a great meal a well.

 

[BobGrill]

I haven't gone fishing in a while, and last time I didn't catch anything really worth keeping, but perhaps you could give us a little tutorial or something on how to gut and clean a fish when you get the chance. I have always wanted to do this myself. I hear sunfish are some of the best-tasting freshwater fish around.

 

[catfishrod69]

Nice fish! I used to catch them like crazy. I think my biggest was 11.75" or so. I am big into catfish, bass, walleye, sauger, musky, and panfish.

 

[pitbulllady]

That's a BIG sunfish! Those fillets look absolutely mouth-watering, too!

pitbulllady

 

[Galapoheros]

OMG!, you just slaughtered that fish! What did that fish ever do to you! You filthy human, we all need to DIE! HAHA, just joking, just trying to get into the new self-hate that seems to be taught to people these days. mmmmmm, yup, I was tempted to eat my computer screen, that looks pretty good. I've been eating red salmon lately, I think my fav is prob red snapper. I want to learn how to prepare fish I catch, I fish some but never have prepared my own. I'm sure there are plenty of Youtube vids about how to do it.

 

[Smokehound714]

Haha thanks but actually, this redear is about the average size. They actually get much bigger.. check this out...

Redears are the largest species in the genus lepomis, they're able to grow faster and dont stunt like bluegill and other panfish do, thanks to their ability to eat clams and snails, as well as having a much larger mouth, able to eat larger prey than bluegill generally can. Because of this they don't have to compete for food, asiatic clams are abundant and grow quickly, as do the introduced apple and japanese trapdoor snails. I've seen much larger "shellcrackers" in this lake, almost the size of dinner plates!

 

[catfishrod69]

Holy crap that is a huge sunfish! Im thinking the ones i used to catch were green sunfish. Id have to look for my fish ohio awards to figure it out. It was years ago.

 

[BrettG]

Greens can get pretty big also John. And damn are they voracious. I can go to my secret spot, and catch them one after another using nothing but a bare hook...

 

[catfishrod69]

Thats crazy! Maybe your guys warmer weather and longer growing seasons help out. I like fishing for them around rocks. I tie a small hook straight to my line, add a small worm, and then flip it under the rocks. THose little guys put up a cool fight even when they are like 4" lol.

Greens can get pretty big also John. And damn are they voracious. I can go to my secret spot, and catch them one after another using nothing but a bare hook...

 

[web eviction]

Now I really wanna go fishing

 

[BobGrill]

Same. I hate fishing alone though. Problem is I don't know too many others who fish a lot.

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[catfishrod69]

I prefer to fish alone most of the time, unless im catfishing. Then i dont have to worry about anybody whining because i wanna walk 3 miles through the woods to get to the spots i like .

Same. I hate fishing alone though. Problem is I don't know too many others who fish a lot.

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