Whose has the better tasting walleye

[RustyTackleBox]

yeah it didn't translate

 

[guywhofishes]

I havent compared taste, but if you want to get your daily serving of Hg, Devils is your huckleberry!

daily serving of selenium too though no doubt... so no whoop

http://net-effects.und.edu/pdfs/Selenium-Mercury.pdf

 

[shorthairsrus]

what are you drinking? I fish right in the oil field pollution you speak of (and work 3 miles from the van hook boat ramp) and sak water is not more or less dirty now than it was when I was a kid and you clearly have not caught walleye in sak this year, average fish is 18-20" and a football... everyone I know that has been fishing in DL say they catch a lot of numbers but the 14" fish is about all they catch and its not as fat as a 14 from sak... IMO deeper, colder water fish always taste better, sak always has a current moving through it also *pssst it's still kind of a river*

Consistently -- the average tourney weights have been significantly larger on DL then Sak. The amount of fish over 25" is what does it. Sooner or later Sak will produce those huge bags - - when the forage starts running low and the water drops and them big boys get hungry.

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girls vs boys

 

[sweeney]

what are you drinking? I fish right in the oil field pollution you speak of (and work 3 miles from the van hook boat ramp) and sak water is not more or less dirty now than it was when I was a kid and you clearly have not caught walleye in sak this year, average fish is 18-20" and a football... everyone I know that has been fishing in DL say they catch a lot of numbers but the 14" fish is about all they catch and its not as fat as a 14 from sak... IMO deeper, colder water fish always taste better, sak always has a current moving through it also *pssst it's still kind of a river*

;:;banghead

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[PrairieGhost]

I didn't read many of the posts, but have noticed a taste difference. People also often ask why the short fish are fat and the longer fish not so much. I think it's the Gammarus lacustrus they feed on that gives Devils Lake fish a poor taste. I notice the fish on the Jamestown reservoir taste much better. Also the problem with plumpness is energy budget. It's hard for a big fish to get fat on small food items. They spend as much energy getting them as they get out of them. They need a better minnow base.

 

[Bfishn]

The ND dept of health recommends eating half as many walleye from Devils as it does from Sak/Mo River if that tells ya anything.

 

[Allen]

The ND dept of health recommends eating half as many walleye from Devils as it does from Sak/Mo River if that tells ya anything.

Yeah, but you can use a 22" walleye out of DL as a thermometer. So they have that going for them.

 

[shorthairsrus]

The ND dept of health recommends eating half as many walleye from Devils as it does from Sak/Mo River if that tells ya anything.

Round steak is better for you than a ribeye. But which one would you rather have?

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:;:howdy

 

[eyexer]

depends on who has the best beer batter.

 

[Putz ND]

Honestly, walleye are bland from both lakes. I love to fish, but can't really think of more over-rated table fare. Walleye fillets are just the delivery method for batter, breading, butter, spice with VERY little flavor of their own - what I enjoy most about a fish fry, is trying to rehydrate with blue num nums after a hot day of in the boat.

 

[Captain Ahab]

For some reason the walleyes I catch on the Red in the fall are remarkably tasty. Most others taste about the same... but every fall I'll catch a 2 lb fish and we eat it and think "wow" after eating walleye all spring/summer from lakes.

Can't explain it.

I have also experienced this.

 

[DirtyMike]

I have also experienced this.

The bigger the red river walleye, the better.

 

[BBQBluesMan]

Honestly, walleye are bland from both lakes. I love to fish, but can't really think of more over-rated table fare. Walleye fillets are just the delivery method for batter, breading, butter, spice with VERY little flavor of their own - what I enjoy most about a fish fry, is trying to rehydrate with blue num nums after a hot day of in the boat.

Bingo!

 

[Captain Ahab]

The bigger the red river walleye, the better.

Especially those 29's

 

[guywhofishes]

The ND dept of health recommends eating half as many walleye from Devils as it does from Sak/Mo River if that tells ya anything.

It tells me they need to update their guidance. It's the selenium/mercury balance that matters - not mercury alone.

Sloppy Google grade research suggests Devils Lake fish should be loaded with selenium goodness - neutralizing the mercury by binding too it or chelating it somehow and allowing it to flush out of your system rather than cause trouble. Not sure of the details but it's a thing.

 

[shorthairsrus]

this armchair chemist - agrees with guy

 

[Allen]

It tells me they need to update their guidance. It's the selenium/mercury balance that matters - not mercury alone.

Sloppy Google grade research suggests Devils Lake fish should be loaded with selenium goodness - neutralizing the mercury by binding too it or chelating it somehow and allowing it to flush out of your system rather than cause trouble. Not sure of the details but it's a thing.

Both the selenium and mercury are coming out of either the Pierre or Niobrara shale which has outcrops in the area. This is also responsible for a lot of the arsenic although I don't remember offhand which formation contributes more to DL. The groundwater in eastern ND is often found in aquifers loaded with shale fragments (sand to gravel sized) that can be mobilized via denitrification. At least, that's my theory. The organic portions of the shale tend to hold a lot of trace elements like mercury and selenium, whereas the inorganic (pyrite) holds the most arsenic. Oxidizing the organic carbon or pyrite frees it up and lets it become more mobile.

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FWIW, I think the ducks out near Kelly's Slough have had several studies done on them for mercury.

 

[LBrandt]

Red River fish weigh more because they are plumb full of mercury. JMO.

 

[sweeney]

 

[Sum1]

Every walleye I have ever eaten has tasted the same. Cold clear water or warm scummy water, doesn't matter have never noticed a difference. Don't sweat the small stuff.

If Hilary were to cook some walleye I imagine they would be pretty shitty tasting.