I fish a pond that has tons of the little buggers in it. There are 2 reasons to keep any and all of these that you catch (including the 3 inch long ones).
1. they are damn decent table fare. I like to fry mine in either a simple beer batter or using Zatarain's fish breading. Like all temperate bass they have a line of dark meat in the center of the fillet, on the skin side. If you are catching them in the 8-10 inch range it is worth trimming this out, as it improves the flavor.
2. They are an invasive species similar to purple loosestrife or kudzu. Here in Nebraska they get transfered around from place to place by well meaning bait bucket biologists who think they are white bass and by catfishermen who use them as bait and then release the leftovers into the lake when they are done. Once in a body of water they prey on the smaller plankton, aquatic insects, fish fry, and fish eggs. They are extremely prolific, and because they feed through the top of the food chain as well as on fish eggs and fry they will take over a smaller body of water within just a couple years. For the first few years you might see decent sized ones, but then you will notice that everthing will start getting thinner and smaller including the white perch. They are nearly unstoppable once they have gotten into a body of water, Our game and parks department is presently trying to remove them from a large lake by stocking very large predator fish into the lake and making them C&R only. The 2 species that I know of for certain are Wipers and Adult Flathead catfish that they netted out of the Missourri river.
Wet wadin' hillbilly extraordinaire
Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.
Heraclitus
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