The spring is here Spanish has arrived thread

phatdaddy

phatdaddy

God
went out today on the heels of this cold front. water temp dropped from 71 to 65 and air was low 60's. blowing 15 kts out of the south. real brutal deadliest catch kinda day



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brought home these guys

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here you go charlie, a video of the action...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQgZyqVr7BI


music courtesy of Commander Cody and the lost Planet Airmen
 
Well done!!! Nice video.
I'm hoping the Boston's make a run this year, it hasn't been good for many years. I don't eat them, but I'll take a few fillets for a friend, they rest we give to the boat. They will give them to the religious charities in their area and what they can't give away they grind up for chum. It's a fun day on the water and it's usually our first and only trip for the season on a head boat, until December. That's when all the boats are out of the water and we want to do some cold end of season Striper fishing.
 
Thanks G, we did not think we were going to get to go out, so no go pro. Took that on my phone, so tha is my excuse for not being in frame and sloppy panning.

We use frozen Boston mackerel in the summer for amberjack. They look kinda like spanish, more stripes and no yellow spots. Always wondered if they really came from Boston.

Ill freeze these for bait, the ones we got last week went to make dip and fresh fish tacos.

Trying to keep you;all in a fishing mood til your spring gets there
 
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where do you put the meat on these on a scale from bluefish to grouper? them little sportfish don't really look like they would be good eating.
 
charlie_the_tuna said:
where do you put the meat on these on a scale from bluefish to grouper? them little sportfish don't really look like they would be good eating.
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they taste better than King Makerel. I let them soak in a plate of milk for a couple hours(pulls the oil out), then light batter and fried till light brown(doesn't take long). I've also cooked them on the grill wrapped in tin foil, set on lemon slices with light seasoning and butter. Have done the same with shrimp and bacon added to the fish. Cooks real quick. Usually one beer as a timer and its done. Its one of my favorite fish to eat. Lots of people will tell you not to freeze them, I've had good luck completely submerging them in water in a freezer bag, pushing all the air out, When I thaw them, they go straight into the milk dish
 
I will try the milk trick ,spare. Funny you would mention bluefish., we caught about 4 while trolling. Down here they are never eaten. Total trash fish. I know you northern guys eat them. It has got to be what they eat. We eat mullet here, but go west of Mobile or south of Tampa and they think your crazy.

The actual taste of spanish is not the issue to me, the texture of the meat is very mushy. I filet, skin, then cut out bloodline and fry.
 
Bluefish is shark bait. period.

Don't think I ever had spanish macks but we caught a couple ceros down in Lauderdale a few years back and I seem to remember they were tasty.

Speaking of freezer... I gotta break out some of the mahi-mahi and seabass that I still have from October.
 
Blue fish are fun to catch, not eat, so it's catch and release not catch and fillet. If you get around the dark meat, the white meat isn't that bad, soak the fillets in milk overnight. I still don't eat them.
 
Giorgio said:
Blue fish are fun to catch, not eat, so it's catch and release not catch and fillet. If you get around the dark meat, the white meat isn't that bad, soak the fillets in milk overnight. I still don't eat them.
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I eat them. They're not great, but they're very edible if you clean and prep them properly. Same with jack crevalle, yes there is much better eating, but in the winter when jacks is all that's biting, they'll make a dinner.
 
most folks with sense don't eat blues. they are a blast to catch and have saved many a fishing trip but I probably would opt for starvation on a desert island infested with bluefish. when they show up they'll hit anything and you could catch one every cast for an hour or more. they're easy to find, easier to catch and always fight until they cant fight no more. I will always do my best to release them unharmed to fight another day. that said, I have eaten snappers (baby bluefish) and if you dunk 'em in oil and fry 'em up, they aint half bad.
 
Ive eaten small fresh blues, they are OK, but not something I crave, the milk thing helps with the oil in them as well. I never freeze blues, they turn to mush. If they dont get eaten fresh, they get turned into chum.
 
The small ones is pretty much all we get down here. I've never seen what most would call an average size bluefish in the Atlantic, down here on the Gulf side. The ones we get are only 2-4 lbs normally(under 20 inches is the norm). The biggest one I've caught down here was on the flats, and he was only 23 inches. The ones I caught trolling up in the Atlantic were all double the weight and bigger. I'm not saying they're great, but if you clean them fresh, trim the dark vein out, brine them in saltwater, then a milk brine, then they come out good enough to fry up.
 
we get a lot of blues when shark fishing. I had one, many years back. hit a whole mackerel on a 50 setup and gave me a run for my money. big blues, and I mean BIG blues will show their stuff. this guy was in the low 20s and we thought it may have been a little mako. the big ones are savage!! I guess if you run a couple miles out they average about 10 to 17 pounds. we get schoolies in the bays, 2 to 7 pounders. anything in the high teens is a gator and fewer. somewhere out there is a 50 pound bluefish that will terrorize most anything in our area.
 
My biggest to date was 19# and I thought I hooked into a Mack truck, they jump, swim all around the boat, they will swim up your line and bite it off if your not using wire, oh yeah your fingers too, plus their mean because they do not want to die. I've always called them the Piranha of the ocean. I think the biggest caught was 31# and in one of the Carolina's. Around here we get the Gorilla's early in the spring and late in the fall, in the middle cocktails which are great to catch on ultra light stuff.
 

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I love to eat blues IF they are fresh caught and properly handled and cleaned...I find them to be delicious.

I also love to eat Spanish Macs, sauteed in olive oil and a little old bay...mmmm mmmmm.
 
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