I don't know about the taste of bass that is bigger than three pounds or so but those are tough enough to fillet....I can imagine how tough it is to clean a 5 pound bass....I did clean a bass years ago that was 21 or 22 inches long
that my neighbor had caught and kept to brag about then threw it in the trash..and if I remember right I struggled with that thing for half an hour....
I gave it to my mom and she said it was good.