# Bad Crappie !!!



## bigbux (Jun 3, 2013)

Went to my favorite lake yesterday to catch some crappie. Family wanted to have a fish fry so I harvested 15 crappie - all blacks - all 11" - 12". Put them in the cooler on ice upon unhooking. Arrived home - fillet them - most still flopping - cleaned and rinsed - rolled in favorite breading and into a 360° grease bath - looked great as always. Then started eating and BAM - mushy fish !!! 
I've done this many times before - without the mushy fish ofcourse. 
Has anyone ever experienced this ?
Bad time of the year to harvest ?
Any suggestions so this doesn't happen again.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Not on ice long enough. Still flopping clearly still alive. I pack them in ice i mean pack them for hours or overnight to firm them up. Part of the reason i don't loke warm water crappie. After spawn they seem to start getting mushy


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Salt on the fillets will firm them up


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

I've eaten fresh crappies from 33° water and 80°+ water temps with out this happening.
Maybe oil wasn't as hot as you thought?


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## brad crappie (Sep 29, 2015)

That’s why I throw back 12in fish , plus the bigger fish live!


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## the weav (Mar 22, 2007)

Hard telling since you have experience.
All I could say is cold fillets dont over crowd keep temp up and maybe higher temp.
I always mess batches up on occasion


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## ranger487 (Apr 5, 2005)

Everybody has there was of doing things I personally put the fillets in a bowl and add some salt and let sit in the fridge overnight whether or not I'm freezing or eating that day.


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## BrandonMiller526 (Dec 18, 2018)

11-12 inch tend to be mushier. Every time that’s happened to me it was too big fillets, too low fry temp, or wet fillets.


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## Morrowtucky Mike (May 2, 2018)

I keep crappie from March till freeze up. Never had bad fish. I do put on ice if the temps are above 50. Have never had mushy crappie and I’ve eaten 18 month old crappie from the freezer. My only thing would be higher temp and/or not cooked long enough. Never understood the whole “no warm water crappie”. Guarantee you can’t tell a March crappie from an August crappie that I fry.


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## ScumFrog (Feb 27, 2006)

Fry in lard. It stiffens up as the fish cool and IMO tastes much better than fryin any oil.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Peanut oil is the best


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

And i can tell when im cutting up the fish if they are going to be mushy the meat is noticeably soft and mushy


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Grease wasn't hot enough...fish should be at room temp or it'll cool off the grease when it hits it.


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## Buzzy (Jul 2, 2011)

Grease was cold


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## crestliner TS (Jun 8, 2012)

bigbux said:


> Went to my favorite lake yesterday to catch some crappie. Family wanted to have a fish fry so I harvested 15 crappie - all blacks - all 11" - 12". Put them in the cooler on ice upon unhooking. Arrived home - fillet them - most still flopping - cleaned and rinsed - rolled in favorite breading and into a 360° grease bath - looked great as always. Then started eating and BAM - mushy fish !!!
> I've done this many times before - without the mushy fish ofcourse.
> Has anyone ever experienced this ?
> Bad time of the year to harvest ?
> Any suggestions so this doesn't happen again.


They get mushy when you don't keep them iced properly. If they were still alive then it was the way you kept the fillets after cleaning or you cooked them wrong. Age/size of fish does not matter nor does time of yr catching them.


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## leeabu (Apr 10, 2004)

Did you check the grease temp with a thermometer? my guess would be the grease was not actually at 360 degrees.


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## Morrowtucky Mike (May 2, 2018)

Shad Rap said:


> Grease wasn't hot enough...fish should be at room temp or it'll cool off the grease when it hits it.


I disagree with ever letting fish reach room temperature. It’s obviously gonna cool down the oil but if it’s hot enough to start with it’ll quickly get back to temp. Room temperature crappie = mushy crappie.


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## basslovers (Apr 26, 2016)

bigbux said:


> Went to my favorite lake yesterday to catch some crappie. Family wanted to have a fish fry so I harvested 15 crappie - all blacks - all 11" - 12". Put them in the cooler on ice upon unhooking. Arrived home - fillet them - most still flopping - cleaned and rinsed - rolled in favorite breading and into a 360° grease bath - looked great as always. Then started eating and BAM - mushy fish !!!
> I've done this many times before - without the mushy fish ofcourse.
> Has anyone ever experienced this ?
> Bad time of the year to harvest ?
> Any suggestions so this doesn't happen again.


When we are keeping eaters upon unhooking I cut the head off, remove the organs, rinse the remaining body, wrap in paper towel and put on ice. This has resulted in substanially better tasting fish (catfish, bass, trout, perch and bluegills) than using a stringer, live bucket, or intact on ice.


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## Evinrude58 (Apr 13, 2011)

basslover just an FYI it is illegal to cut the head off while still at/on the lake, especially a fish that has a length requirement for the waters being fished. Game warden wouldn't care about gills.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

360 oil temp sounds like the problem…
I dropped fish in the oil at 400 or 420… 2.5 to 3 minutes for crappies As soon as you put eight or 10 fillets in the oil you'll lose 50° easy within a minute


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## JayW (Apr 12, 2015)

I agree with the oil temp statements. Any time I've made or been served a mushy deep fried fillet, it's because the oil wasn't hot enough to fry a thick crust quickly, and oil seeped in through the breading. Another possibility is dropping too many pieces in the oil at once. I go in batches to avoid dropping the temp too quickly with a big batch all at once.


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## jjmar (Sep 19, 2014)

I’d agree with the contingent that is leaning towards oil temp or cooking time. I’ve encountered the same problem in past and it was always a cooking issue
I cook my crappie few minutes longer than everything else.


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