We eat a lot of them. White bass are great eating. Crappie will get mushy at times, but white bass are almost always nice and firm. I rinse them several times, then soak in water for a day, then either freeze or eat. When I freeze any fish, they go in a baggie, put water in the baggie, seal except for a corner, squeeze the air out, and seal the rest of the way.
I agree with above replies, they do not last in the live well. They tend to get mushy. If you tilt your knife edge up when you cut the skin off the fillet you can leave the red meat on the skin. Some people have more tollerance for the taste of the red meat.
I perfer it without. Like with most fish I perfer to eat medium size fish. I had some Red Rock white bass for supper tonight, fry them just like crappie with some BPS breading,tasty. If you have an electric fillet knife it makes it a breeze to shave the red meat off.
Its a lot less mess than bleeding them out at home or in a bucket. I do it for cats sometimes, too. I take all the larger ones i get and smoke them.
Posts: 94 Threads: 0 Joined: Apr Reputation: 0. The Mussel bait "FAD" at Willard is due to the fact that a lot of gizzard shad die off from the cold and the wipers forage on their dead bodies. I don't get your point I would think that if the wipers were foraging on dead gizzard shad that using a hunk of dead fish as bait would be the go to bait.
Heck, I would do my best to get a hold of some pre-packaged and commercially sold gizzard shad for bait But, I am willing to bet that if wipers are feeding on mussels it is because they are out of their preferable prey options But, I don't know Posts: Threads: 0 Joined: Mar Reputation: 0. The " muscles fad " intrigues me. I was wondering this the other day while fishing Huntington north. I can personally attest to their productivity at Willard. But have never heard of their use anywhere else with a good wiper poplution.
I know the wipers at Newcastle will take anchovies as bait but this isn't much of a surprise considering it's one of the most popular baits at lake Powell for stripers.
But this leads to the question are they targeting native muscles as a forage base? If so shouldn't this method be universal to catching wipers in lakes that have a muscle population?
If not what is it about the muscles that makes wipers want to eat them so badly? Either way I have to imagine this "fad" would bring some level of success in other places.
I am almost exclusively C and R so I haven't opened many wipers bellies to see what was for lunch. But this whole idea does make me curious. On a side tangent, if they are targeting native muscles as forage. I know maybe its wishful thinking but it would sure be nice to imagine something good coming from those god forsaken invaders. Nice fat wipers that would be awesome! But like I said probably wishful thinking.
Answer: until this year, they were really the only option for most people. This year, people can use striper, chubs, sucker, etc. Prior to that, the only available option for chum was anchovies.
Another question: why do anchovies work well as bait for stripers at Powell? Answer: the stripers at Powell are starving to death! Those fish are starving. Anchovies are legal for chumming, and thus you end up with lots of starving fish concentrated in schools targeting chum slicks. They have eliminated the other available forage supply, and are eating what all the anglers are tossing out for them to eat!
Try tossing out mussel at Otter Creek or Newcastle where bait is legal to use and see if the results are any better or worse than any other bait. I think you'll find that the fish in those lakes have plenty of available forage, and thus using a mussel may not work any better or worse than anything else you throw out.
Look at the pictures being posted of Willard wipers vs. Newcastle and Minersville wipers. The Willard wipers look very similar to Lake Powell stripers: razor-backs. They are skinny. They are hungry. This makes fishing success very good.
Because Ana Reservoir is a closed, spring-fed system it never ices over and maintains a relatively constant temperature. So leave the ice auger and tip ups at home, but remember your gloves and thermals because this part of Oregon can get cold! Switch tactics for summer.
Fish in the dark. Fishing is typically better during the low light conditions just before dark, at night and early in the morning. Even cloud cover can help improve fishing. Be ready! Bites can be savage.
More than one angler has had the rod pulled right out of their hands by a hungry wiper. Fish from a boat to cover more water. Ana Reservoir covers acres at full pool, giving boat anglers the advantage in covering lots of water. Use bait when fishing from shore. Sliding sinkers are ideal, allowing fish to pick up the bait for a solid hookup. Worms will sometimes work, but seem to be more effective at catching tui chub.
Be flexible. Come spring, anglers can look forward to catching some very nice holdover trout. Check the road and fishing reports before you go.
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