Learn to bleed any fish you catch for the table. Bleed it and then place on ice. Makes cleaning way easier and the meat firmer and whiter, not nearly as much red meat to cut off. Most fish, we bleed them by taking tin snips to the gills as soon as we catch them. Cut at base of gills. When in boat, we throw in livewell with it running. When fishing from shore we use a 5 gallon bucket. Give them 10 minutes and place on ice. Makes a big difference in how they taste.
My list goes:
1. WE
2. Crappie
3. Yellow Perch
4. LMB
Also depends on how I cook them. For the grill: I can't beat a walleye fillet wrapped in tin foil with a few peppers, garlic, onions, and olive oil. For deep fried, crappie is my go to. For tater tot/fish casserole (amazing dish in the oven!) I like yellow perch. I don't clean BG, too much work. But they are delicious too.
