It's not dissimilar from tilapia; mild flavored whitefish. It's not as flavorful or tender as trout, but better than catfish.

Maybe we are eating different fish. Stocked trout is pretty bland and somewhat mushy. I've never had truly wild trout, so maybe they are better. The bluegills here taste a lot better than farmed tilapia (do they even sell wild?) - mild, a little sweet, and flakes well. I agree bluegills are better than catfish, but depending on the catfish I prefer them over tilapia.

I hear that water quality and, to a lesser extent, water chemistry has a huge impact on taste. I've sort of noticed that in certain lakes compared to others.

> but better than catfish.

I challenge you to a duel, thems fightin' words. Fried catfish is one of the greatest things on the planet (mind you not terribly healthy).

There are better-tasting fish, but yes.

That's probably a personal preference or maybe due to water quality. They're one of my favorite. There's a great TED talk our there about water quality and fish flavor, but I don't remember the person.

Seconded. Pan-fried bluegill can be pretty darn good.

lol, good question. Blackened bluegill if not. You could always do tilapia or catfish.

Tilapia has always been pretty tasteless in various dishes I've tried so not really a big fan. Catfish can be ok sometimes

Tilapia is the tofu of fish. It tastes like nothing on its own but is a massive sponge to flavors you throw at it.