eagleisland - Posted - 03/26/2026:  16:59:31

I am fully aware that those of us who live on the coasts have access to marine species of fish that are denied - in their best forms - to those who live inland.



Having lived in New England for almost all of my life, I am further aware that there are passionate fishermen who pursue either, or both, marine and freshwater species..

I am an incompetent fisherman. Fishing is one of only two things I've ever seriously pursued, at expense of time and treasure, where I got worse over time.



The other, in case you wonder, is golf. But I know what I like to eat. I would also add that I am ALSO aware that we have members internationally who may or may not have access to either or both.

Tant pis.



Our debate topic:



"Resolved: the flavors available in freshwater species of fish and shellfish are superior to those available in saltwater pursuits."

Have at it. Justify your rationale. Include recipes if you think they'll boost your argument.

reubenstump - Posted - 03/26/2026:  17:29:43

Why not both?

Jon Borcherding - Posted - 03/26/2026:  17:53:22

West coast here. We have lakes too. We also have rivers. But no fish that lives in freshwater beats the taste of fresh Halibut, Black Rockfish or Lingcod. We have Silver Salmon, King Salmon, Sockeye Salmon and Chum Salmon. All of these salmonids can, at times, be caught in fresh water, but as soon as they enter fresh water their food quality begins to diminish. We also have Steelhead which is a sea-run rainbow trout. They can be caught when travelling upriver to spawn. They taste like a rainbow trout. Help yourself.

Halibut, Rockfish or Lingcod:
Filet your fish. Keep it as cool as possible. Slice it. Dip in a mixture of milk and beaten eggs. Roll in flour. Dip again. Roll in cracker crumbs.
Fry quickly in hot lard. Serve with tartar sauce and crispy fried onions.

I love flyfishing for steelhead and trout in the rivers, but it's not because I like to eat them. I usually release them unharmed. When I want to eat fish, I head for the ocean.

Owen - Posted - 03/26/2026:  17:55:11

I put a hundred [or maybe it was 200??] trout fingerlings into a pond/small lake [as fresh as it gets] on our farm property.  When I ice-fished for them next winter, I never got a nibble.  The neighbour asked if I'd noticed the great blue heron around during the summer. I answered that I had.  Neighbour: "Well, we know where your trout went."   My admittedly questionable rationale: If it's good enough for the GBH, it's good enough for me.  

But, but, but, otoh, the stuff* from my lovely and talented assistant's former stomping grounds [a.k.a. Nova Scotia] is pretty tasty.  

* especially the "world-famous Digby scallops."   

Edit: I've heard [but not verified] that during the depression some supposedly pretty hungry prairie folk couldn't/wouldn't eat the cod sent as "relief" from the Maritimes.

Edited by - Owen on 03/26/2026 18:00:46

eagleisland - Posted - 03/26/2026:  20:14:08

You can put me in the saltwater category. The range of flavors is more dramatic - ranging from the comparatively mild dermersal Atlantic species to the pelagic ones 0 including various tunnys and jacks.

I find freshwater fish bland - unless, I would add, we are talking about native (not stocked) trout and landlocked salmonids. I am also respectful of smoked freshwater species.

Apologies to you southern dwellers, but to me, catfish tastes like mud.

steve davis - Posted - 03/26/2026:  21:54:02

I've enjoyed both sides of the salt/fresh water coin.Depends on the cook.
In general I have a life-long relationship with all the saltwater offerings having caught most of them for a living and have never found anything I don't like from the ocean,though more than a couple of mackerel a year is too many and any cod caught in a lobster trap is full of worms.

slammer - Posted - 03/27/2026:  05:37:25

Having eaten mostly fresh water fish my whole life, there aren’t many I don’t like , but Salmon is not my favorite and NO trout for this guy.

Different fish lend to different styles of cooking. If I were having a good ol fashion traditional fish fry, it would be lake fish……perch, bluegills, walleye, pike. Salt water fish lend better to baked, broiled , grilled styles of cooking due to their firmer texture. Other than shrimp , cod, haddock and canned tuna , I never had ocean fish until I was in my thirties.
I remember seeing my first prepared halibut and had never seen such pure white fish. As far as flavors of fish, the snapper family of fish have to rank up near the top of the list. Our biggest problem is finding ocean fish in our area that is fresh or even high quality fresh frozen. Just not available in our area.
Slammer!!!

steve davis - Posted - 03/27/2026:  08:15:15

Anything coated in pancake batter is great when deep-fried.

lazyarcher - Posted - 03/27/2026:  08:17:10

quote:

---

Originally posted by slammer

Having eaten mostly fresh water fish my whole life, there aren’t many I don’t like , but Salmon is not my favorite and NO trout for this guy.



Different fish lend to different styles of cooking. If I were having a good ol fashion traditional fish fry, it would be lake fish……perch, bluegills, walleye, pike. Salt water fish lend better to baked, broiled , grilled styles of cooking due to their firmer texture. Other than shrimp , cod, haddock and canned tuna , I never had ocean fish until I was in my thirties.

I remember seeing my first prepared halibut and had never seen such pure white fish. As far as flavors of fish, the snapper family of fish have to rank up near the top of the list. Our biggest problem is finding ocean fish in our area that is fresh or even high quality fresh frozen. Just not available in our area.

Slammer!!!

---

Im totally with Dale here!

Living and fishing my life on the great lakes..Erie and Huron..Ive gorged on walleye, perch, bass, pike...along with smaller species panfish like gills, rock bass, etc. We also spent 20++ years vacationing in Maine on Bailey Island so ate tons of cod, haddock, pollock, stripers, blues, mackeral, and lots of lobsters. 

Freshwater..walleye, perch, pike, panfish, smallmouth bass (out of deep water) rate the best as long as prepared properly from catch to table.

 Salt water..cod, haddock, stripers..and west coast halibut..all rank top.

Not a big salmon or trout guy except on the BBQ occassionally. I like the white fleshed fish.

All in all, a feed of perch or gills with a side of walleye and 2 lobsters would do me fine.

Agree Dale????

AndrewD - Posted - 03/27/2026:  12:29:39

Freshwater fish: Trout OK, carp meh, just about every other freshwater fish a tasteless mess of bones.

Marine fish: Everything from oily mackerel and herring, delicate flatfish, flaky cod and haddock,  meaty tuna and monkfish. Hake, gurnard, john dory, skate... Can't think of one I don't like if cooked properly.

Salmon: The expensive wild stuff here is caught in rivers but grew up in the sea. But I'm not a fan of salmon unless it is smoked or pickled. Same with eels. As a Londoner I am partial to jellied eels.

Mammals: I'm ashamed to say I tried whale when in Iceland. Beautiful - a cross between tuna and filet steak. Never eaten an otter - but I'm sure it wouldn't be great.



Never had any freshwater molluscs (yes we do spell it that way in spite of what the BHO spellcheck says) . Oysters, mussels, scallops, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, abalone. You can keep whelks and winkles. And I've tried limpets - just the once and it's staying that way.

Arthropods ? Freshwater crayfish OK but not nearly as good as lobster, crab, scampi, langoustine...

I think the sea wins here by a long way. But then I do live on an island.

Edited by - AndrewD on 03/27/2026 12:39:33

AndrewD - Posted - 03/27/2026:  12:49:12

quote:

---

Originally posted by steve davis

Anything coated in pancake batter is great when deep-fried.

---

Go to Scotland. You'll find that your philosophy is applied to haggis, Mars bars and pizza. But you're not wrong.

Mad Hornet - Posted - 03/27/2026:  13:01:35

I have rarely had a fish I didn't enjoy eating. Fav freshwater is walleye and saltwater might be yellow tail snapper but Chilean sea bass is up there. Also love catfish we have some monsters up north - not just for southerners!

As a kid me and my pals caught a lot of bluegill and crappie and they were delicious fried in butter - learned how to clean and cook them at an early age.

Salmon smoked in foil is also tough to beat.

banjo bill-e - Posted - 03/27/2026:  13:26:14

Grew up on a river, we ate a lot of catfish, always fried, very tasty. Moved to the Keys and fell in love with Yellowtail Snapper and Grouper. Moved to the city, discovered sushi, learned to eat whatever was served, and like it all!

Owen - Posted - 03/27/2026:  14:07:54

There's 'way, 'way more I haven't tried than I have, but don't we have [white] vinegar for fish, the same way we have ketchup for a whole whack of other stuff?    

STUD figmo Al - Posted - 03/27/2026:  17:56:58

Native trout..not the stockies....

For me...

steve davis - Posted - 03/28/2026:  08:11:34

I went lobstering from 1960 to 2009,halibut fishing with tub trawls with Gramp down off the Sea Ledge,dragging with Dad for shrimp,northern catfish with jaws that could bite through a gaff handle,haddock,hake,pollock,cod,monkfish,dabs,greysole,flounder and butterfish.

Free gathering of mussels and clams is gone now.

Also fished a gillnet for catching our own pogies and horse mackerel for lobster and halibut bait.

rinemb - Posted - 03/28/2026:  18:38:06

Speaking as a midwesterner..,fresh water in order: walleye best. Crappie next, bass, and channel catfish.
If I may as to salt water: halibut, tuna, sea bass, rockfish. Brad

rinemb - Posted - 03/28/2026:  18:41:18

BTW: I am cooking a slab of salmon for Easter family dinner. Grilled and basted. What is your choice of salmon? There are so many varieties/habitat sources. Brad

reubenstump - Posted - 03/29/2026:  02:08:05

I prefer Atlantic, but it's all farm raised these days cuz we pretty much fished 'em outta existence.

A lot of western/pacific salmon is also farm raised.

rinemb - Posted - 03/29/2026:  04:09:05

quote:

---

Originally posted by reubenstump

I prefer Atlantic, but it's all farm raised these days cuz we pretty much fished 'em outta existence.



A lot of western/pacific salmon is also farm raised.

---

I look for "wild caught" first. Our fish monger often stocks 3-4 varieties of salmon, from coast to coast and overseas.  Anymore, any fish i buy must pass the smell test!

eagleisland - Posted - 03/29/2026:  04:39:44

quote:

---

Originally posted by rinemb

BTW: I am cooking a slab of salmon for Easter family dinner. Grilled and basted. What is your choice of salmon? There are so many varieties/habitat sources. Brad

---

I do like salmon.. the key is cooking it to medium, so that the inner part of the fish is still slightly translucent.

My favorite local fishmonger has recently been offering dry-aged Ora King salmon. Ora King salmon is farm-raised in New Zealand, and among farmed fish is of extremely high quality (this store also offers wild-caught Alaskan sometimes, and always has farmed Wester Ross from Scotland - also very good).

The store dry-ages the Ora Kings in a salt chamber kept around 34 degrees for roughly two weeks. They then cut it and vaccuum-seal it in 6 oz. portions - it's the only fish they don't cut to order. The flavor and mouth-feel of it can best be described as intense. If you already don't like salmon, you most likely wouldn't like this because it's salmon but moreso. Really good. Also really expensive - about $40 per pound. So it sure isn't for every day.

Edited by - eagleisland on 03/29/2026 04:40:56

rinemb - Posted - 03/29/2026:  05:34:02

quote:

---

Originally posted by eagleisland

quote:

---

Originally posted by rinemb

BTW: I am cooking a slab of salmon for Easter family dinner. Grilled and basted. What is your choice of salmon? There are so many varieties/habitat sources. Brad

---

I do like salmon.. the key is cooking it to medium, so that the inner part of the fish is still slightly translucent.

My favorite local fishmonger has recently been offering dry-aged Ora King salmon. Ora King salmon is farm-raised in New Zealand, and among farmed fish is of extremely high quality (this store also offers wild-caught Alaskan sometimes, and always has farmed Wester Ross from Scotland - also very good).

The store dry-ages the Ora Kings in a salt chamber kept around 34 degrees for roughly two weeks. They then cut it and vaccuum-seal it in 6 oz. portions - it's the only fish they don't cut to order. The flavor and mouth-feel of it can best be described as intense. If you already don't like salmon, you most likely wouldn't like this because it's salmon but moreso. Really good. Also really expensive - about $40 per pound. So it sure isn't for every day.

---

Interesting.  Brad

Owen - Posted - 03/29/2026:  08:08:12

What's the diff between wild and wild-caught*?  [Inquiring minds want to know!!  ] 

It seems to me it'd be pretty hard for stores to sell stuff that hadn't been caught???

Fwiw, this is our go-to for salmon:

* tbt, I know I can be a bit of an outlier, but I find "wild caught" a bit of a turn-off.  

Edited by - Owen on 03/29/2026 08:17:01

steve davis - Posted - 03/30/2026:  14:36:18

Frozen at sea is a great way to go for high quality flavor and texture rivaling same day catches.

banjo bill-e - Posted - 03/30/2026:  16:21:22

^^ and the only fish I'll eat for sushi anywhere but a genuine high-quality Japanese sushi bar. I trust the frozen-on-ship method enough to get grocery store sushi.