If you are searching to see what are the best tasting freshwater fish to eat, you are in the right place.
You already know that people started fishing a long time ago, and it is supposed they started doing it in Africa. When people started leaving Africa many years ago, they started sharing their fishing techniques in Iran, India, China, Japan, and America. Back in the day, knowing how to fish was super important for people to survive. They started inventing all kinds of stuff in order to catch more fish in less time. If you want to learn how to catch some fish, you can try with 10 Easiest Fish to Catch.
Today, for some people, fishing is just a hobby. There are different fish species. We have fish species from a few centimeters long to even a few meters. Some of them taste delicious while others are very good looking and interesting in an aquarium.
The main differences between freshwater fish and saltwater fish are in osmoregulation and behavior. Osmoregulation means how a specific fish is controlling the water flow in its body, but it also includes the composition of kidney function, gills, and body tissues. Saltwater fish contains less salt than the water they live in and because they are constantly losing water through their skin and gills, in order to prevent a dehydration they drink large quantities of saltwater but they produce a little urine. Freshwater fish, on the other side, contain more salt than the water they live in and because the water flows through their body constantly, they don’t have the need to drink additional water. Also, compared to saltwater fish, freshwater fish are producing a large amount of urine.
When it comes to delicious fish, there are many specialties you can prepare from it. You can bake it, fry it, prepare it on BBQ or as sushi. While we are talking about sushi, if you are living in New York City you can see what are the 10 best sushi making classes in NYC.
Eating fish is very healthy because it has a high amount of protein, it can prevent heart disease, can reduce the risk of Alzheimer, will improve your hair and skin, ease your depression and boost the brain development.
In order to create our list of best tasting freshwater fish to eat, we used Fall For Fishing, Giga Fishing and Thought Co as our sources to see what freshwater fishes taste the best. First, we collected the information from our sources and then completed our list by taking the fishes which were mentioned the most times. We sorted our list by the number of mentions starting from the least to the most mentioned fish.
10. Tilapia
In 2002, Tilapia was the fourth most consumed fish in the United States not only because it tastes delicious, but because it is cheap and it is very easy to prepare. Since 2006, Americans consumed over 16 oz of tilapia per person each year. There are many species of tilapia but among the most popular species are Black, Blue and Red tilapia. 3 oz of tilapia has 110 calories, 2.5g fat, 0g trans fat, 50mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 0g carbohydrate and 22g protein.
9. Smallmouth Bass
Smallmouth bass has a white and sweet meat. Like in many fishes, the place where they came from have a huge influence on their taste. Smallmouth bass tastes the best when it is from a clean, clear and cold water. 3.5 oz of fresh smallmouth bass has 146 calories, 5g fat, 1g saturated, 87 mg cholesterol, 90mg sodium and 24g protein. Also, it contains 2% vitamin A, 4% vitamin C, 10% calcium and 11% iron.
8. Cod
Despite being the best-tasting fish, cod is also one of the most popular fish because of its mild flavor and a dense white flesh. Cod is a good source of vitamin A, D, E and omega-3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA. 3 oz of cod contains 70 calories, 0.5g fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 320 mg sodium and 16g protein. The white meat makes cod one of the best tasting freshwater fish.
7. Salmon
Salmon are anadromous, this means they are born in freshwater, migrate to the ocean and later they return to the freshwater to reproduce. There are returning to the exact same spot they were born to reproduce. Salmon contains 231 calories, 25g protein, 85 mg cholesterol, and 3.2g saturated fat. When it comes to Omega-3 ratio per 100g, they have 70 mg EPA and 2140 mg DHA.
6. Crappie
Crappie, that’s up next on our list of best tasting freshwater fish to eat is one of the best-tasting fish. There are two species of crappie, white and black. During the day, crappie isn’t very active. They are concentrating around weed beds, but, during the night they are moving into the open water and they are often approaching the shore. In 3 oz crappie, there is 103 calories, 2g total fat, and 20g protein.
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5. Largemouth Bass
Like smallmouth bass, largemouth bass also found its way on our list of best tasting freshwater fish to eat. This olive-green fish can reach a maximum recorded length of 29.5” (75cm) and a maximum weight of 25 pounds or 11.4kg. The largemouth bass lives around 16 years. In 2.2 oz, largemouth bass contains 91 calories, 3g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 54 mg cholesterol and 15g protein.
4. Walleye
The fish walleye that ranks 4th on our list of best tasting freshwater fish to eat is often called the yellow walleye and it is part of the family Esocidae. They have olive and gold color and can grow up to 31” (80 cm) and weight about 20lb (9kg). However, the maximum recorded size of this fish is 42” (107cm) and 29lb (13kg). In 4 oz, walleye has 105 calories, 1.4g total fat, 98 mg cholesterol, 58 mg sodium and 21.7g protein. Also, walleye has 1.6% vitamin A, 12.47% calcium, 8.20% iron and 12.60% potassium.
3. Trout
We are continuing our list of best tasting freshwater fish to eat with trout fish is also anadromous, that are like previously listed salmon are returning to the place of their birth to reproduce. However, before they return to the freshwater, they are spending a few years in the sea. Per 3 oz, trout contains 120 calories, 1.2g saturated fat, 1.3g polyunsaturated fat, 1.7g monounsaturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 43 mg sodium, 320 mg potassium and 17 mg protein.
2. Catfish
When we are talking about aquarium hobby, catfish, the second one on the list of best tasting freshwater fish to eat is one of the most important fish. Also, for over hundreds of years in Africa, Europe, North America and Asia, catfish has been caught for food. In Central Europe, catfish is used as a delicacy for any kind of feast or holiday. Per 3 oz, catfish contains 194 calories, 2.8g saturated fat, 2.8g polyunsaturated fat, 4.8 monounsaturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 238 mg sodium, 289 mg potassium, 7g carbohydrate and 15g protein.
1. Bluegill
On top of our list, as the best tasting freshwater is bluegill. This fish is native to North America and lives in lakes, rivers, and ponds. Depending on the season, this fish could move back and forth in the water but mainly they want to find a shelter among water plants. In 3 oz, bluegill contains 97 calories, 1g total fat, 73 mg cholesterol, 21g protein and 7% iron.
This was our list of best tasting freshwater fish to eat. We hope we managed to show you what are the best-tasting fish and their nutrition facts.
