Fishing

CraigC

CraigC

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[Mod.Edit: This and following few post moved from another thread to form new topic. (MG)]

JASOH1 said:
Hey everyone, so sorry for the thread hijack, but the town we are referring to is about a 20 hour drive from where I live now and it's a really small town. So interesting to find someone randomly on the internet who not only knows where this town is but has actually lived there.

So tomorrow my husband is going fishing on Lake Erie. They will be fishing for Walleye (a type of pike) that is quite delicious. The fish can range in size quite a bit, hoping for some nice 4-5 pound size fish. I think the limit this year is 7 fish per person. If the Walleye are not biting, it will be perch instead (not sure if there is a limit on those). Even though they are much smaller, they are tasty as well, just not as meaty.

So that's what's for dinner tomorrow night!
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I won't eat freshwater fish in our area anymore, too much run off from sod and sugar cane fields north of us. Mercury is a big issue here. There are several species of euryhaline fish, one of which is eatable, snook, but I won't touch any caught in fresh water.
 
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Mercury is a big issue with many saltwater fish too, especially large fish. I love tuna but the bigger ones can be quite toxic. We eat walleye a couple of times a year. It's the really big 10+ pounders that we don't want. Fish 5 pounds and under I'm not too worried about.

My husband and his cousins go well across Lake Erie to the north in deeper waters closer to the Canadian side. It's a much cleaner lake than it once was.

So hubby will fry the fish and I will do the side dishes and most of the cleanup. It will be a messy kitchen!
 
JASOH1 said:
Mercury is a big issue with many saltwater fish too, especially large fish. I love tuna but the bigger ones can be quite toxic. We eat walleye a couple of times a year. It's the really big 10+ pounders that we don't want. Fish 5 pounds and under I'm not too worried about.

My husband and his cousins go well across Lake Erie to the north in deeper waters closer to the Canadian side. It's a much cleaner lake than it once was.

So hubby will fry the fish and I will do the side dishes and most of the cleanup. It will be a messy kitchen!
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The fish I shoot, hogfish, mutton snapper and black grouper have low levels of mercury compared to our freshwater fish. On the other hand, I limit my size of black grouper to 20 pounds or less (they can get over 100 pounds) because of a toxin called ciguatera which is more likely found in larger individuals of predatory species. It is a food poisoning caused by ingesting the toxin.
 
I remember seeing some massive grouper on dives. I have done some spear fishing and food gathering on dives, but most of my fishing involved rods and reels, sometimes from a dock or boat, sometimes from the shore...I caught lots of pompano just hanging out on the shore using sand fleas for bait. I loved cobia season too. The biggest red snapper I ever caught (from a boat, obviously) was only about 35 pounds. I was also very fortunate when living in Destin that many of my friends were boat captains or were wives of boat captains, so I got a lot of fresh fish without any work other than cooking it. The rest of my friends were mostly bartenders, restaurant servers, line cooks, and chefs.
 
JASOH1 said:
I remember seeing some massive grouper on dives. I have done some spear fishing and food gathering on dives, but most of my fishing involved rods and reels, sometimes from a dock or boat, sometimes from the shore...I caught lots of pompano just hanging out on the shore using sand fleas for bait. I loved cobia season too. The biggest red snapper I ever caught (from a boat, obviously) was only about 35 pounds. I was also very fortunate when living in Destin that many of my friends were boat captains or were wives of boat captains, so I got a lot of fresh fish without any work other than cooking it. The rest of my friends were mostly bartenders, restaurant servers, line cooks, and chefs.
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Were they, using the politically correct term, goliath grouper (formerly jewfish)? I have seen massive goliath grouper, or should I say their sillouettes as they were surrounded by thousands of small bait fish, on dives. We have Cubera snapper here that many mistake for red snapper. Cuberas can get over 100 pounds. My preference for spearfishing is being able to select the fish I want, unlike line fisherman that if, a fish is under size or out of season and they gut hook it, it is likely to die anyway. I hate trophy fisherman, either line or underwater hunting. Underwater hunting was one specialty I taught back in my scuba instructor days.
 
I detest sport fishing. I only want what I can eat or use for bait.

And yes, they were goliath grouper. And with me being a petite female, I only speared smaller fish, since there were lots of fish that probably would have dragged me. I really enjoyed scallop and lobster harvesting as well.
 
JASOH1 said:
I detest sport fishing. I only want what I can eat or use for bait.

And yes, they were goliath grouper. And with me being a petite female, I only speared smaller fish, since there were lots of fish that probably would have dragged me. I really enjoyed scallop and lobster harvesting as well.
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They are protected now. I use a spearfishing technique called free shafting, no line. More often than not, I make kill shots, beside the fish I hunt can't swim very far with 6' of spring, stainless steel protruding through them.
 
JASOH1 said:
So tomorrow my husband is going fishing on Lake Erie. They will be fishing for Walleye (a type of pike) that is quite delicious. The fish can range in size quite a bit, hoping for some nice 4-5 pound size fish. I think the limit this year is 7 fish per person. If the Walleye are not biting, it will be perch instead (not sure if there is a limit on those). Even though they are much smaller, they are tasty as well, just not as meaty.

So that's what's for dinner tomorrow night!
Click to expand...

I LOVE Walleye. We caught some fishing in Wisconsin when I went for a summer ecology practicuum in college. An awesome fish, not found around here at all. I've also had perch - not as good but I wouldn't turn it down!
 
Mountain Cat said:
I LOVE Walleye. We caught some fishing in Wisconsin when I went for a summer ecology practicuum in college. An awesome fish, not found around here at all. I've also had perch - not as good but I wouldn't turn it down!
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I had Walleye for the first time in South Dakota a couple years ago. It really is very good.

I can't get it down here. :(

CD
 
ElizabethB , I just ran across someone mentioning deep fried, hard shell blue crab. I've never had it, but found a recipe by John Folse. Have you ever tried any?
 
CraigC said:
ElizabethB , I just ran across someone mentioning deep fried, hard shell blue crab. I've never had it, but found a recipe by John Folse. Have you ever tried any?
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Heard of it but never tried it. I do love fried soft shells. Let me know what you think. Honestly - Blue Point crabs are a treasure. I love them any way.
The best boiled crabs I have ever eaten was several decades ago. At certain times of the year the males move into the Atchafalaya Basin - yes fresh water. One year Dad set out traps and caught a boat load. The crabs were all male, clean from the moving fresh water and huge - 6" to 8" point to point. On a whim dad boiled the crabs in plain. unseasoned water!
OMG
The BEST boiled crabs I have ever eaten. No sauce other than melted butter. The crabs were sweet, delectable perfection.
I found Folse's recipe. I would try it.
 
Last went deep sea fishing with my son about 27? Years ago. We were in the north island on holiday, I booked the boat for half day, turned out we were only guests on the boat. We went from tolaga bay and anchored about 2 miles out by gps, over a grouper hole. We caught about 24 big fish, my arms ached from the rod and reel. Wrong season for Marlin. As we were staying in the north for a few days we had no access for a freezer. I gave the fish to the skipper. I took one for the motel owners where we were staying. I don't like fresh water fish like trout. I like whitebait though and smoked eel.

Russ
 
pocofan said:
My wife and I like to go deep sea fishing. It is just so relaxing to be out and see nothing but water.
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I find being underwater much more relaxing. For me, a boat is nothing more than a means to get us from the dock to our dive sites and back, unless we are drift diving.
 
CraigC said:
I find being underwater much more relaxing. For me, a boat is nothing more than a means to get us from the dock to our dive sites and back, unless we are drift diving.
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One of my son in laws is a diver. His father taught a dive school for the military. My daughter has gone with him a few times. Now with a 2 and a 3 year sons they don’t get to do those type of things much.
 
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