My stocked trout taste like mud....will that go away?

Question

they are around 8-9 inchs right now, ive caught a couple and put them in the freezer for a few days, then fried them up, and they tasted like dirt. Will that go away when they get bigger, or should i try cooking them up when they are really really fresh?

Answer 1

they will always taste like their water. Penned fish that are not in moving clean water always taste terrible. they are penned up eating (starving) their own excrement. They need to be feed every hour in order for them to not get hungry and eat the c**p on the bottom. Trout spend 30 seconds of every minute trying to feed. looking for food. get a great wqater filtration system with a bottom pull for trout ponds you are growing and the flavor might change but it sounds to me like a losing battle.

Answer 2

what are they eating?  what's the water quality?  Where are they stocked and what kind of trout?

all these factors can influence the flavor of the meat.

Answer 3

How dirty is the water you are fishing in and how well did you clean and rinse the fish off? Preparation of the fish starts with cleaning and rinsing the fish thoroughly in clean water.  

Answer 4

the taste  depends on their diet  no matter how you cook it it will not change, the flavor is in the meat unless you can change what they eat

Answer 5

That taste wont go away, trout pellets that they are fed on can cause that, also the lake bed can, ad more plants to the water to clear it, also some catfish to clear the bottom and it may improve the taste, i smoke all of my trout because of the taste.

Answer 6

Only trout caught in a high country lake will taste good during the heat of summer (8000 feet or better in clear deep water).  Summer caught trout out of lower elevation lakes are best smoked in a smoker.

Answer 7

fresh is nice

Answer 8

you might try soaking them in milk for 1/2 hour to an hour before you cook them, I have friends who eat carp and that is what they do.  What a waste - tasting like mud... sorry to hear that. What seasonings did you use?

That is why I like brook trout - they normally only thrive in cold running streams/rivers.