Fishing?

[Vasco]

You've got to eat blues right away. The flesh is very soft and doesn't keep long. They are easy to catch though. If you run into a school you've got to stop them from jumping into the cockpit when you're putting a lure (red tubing) on.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Vasco

You've got to eat blues right away. The flesh is very soft and doesn't keep long. They are easy to catch though. If you run into a school you've got to stop them from jumping into the cockpit when you're putting a lure (red tubing) on.

i could use one of those ....i like when they jump into the boat lol.....as long as they donot mess the sails LOL......and grill is right there !!!!!

[Curmudgeon]

The thing with Blues is that they are in the mackerel family, so they are a little more oily than a striped bass or a tuna. It's healthy oil though: lots of "good cholesterol" (unlike Mahi Mahi, which have as much "bad" cholesterol as a beefsteak). Grilling takes the oil out.

Next time you catch a Blue, fillet it immediately and put the fillets in a plastic container filled with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and some spices (salt, pepper and oregano will do). Then leave the container in the sun for a few hours. The fillets marinate and cook at the same time. Delicious.

[Canibul]

I lived in Massachusetts for over twenty years, most of it on Cape Cod. I caught a lot of bluefish. I love catching them. No doubt about that. But after trying every recipe I could find, I finally gave up on cooking them. I would catch them and give them away. Hate the things.

Now we catch Cerro Mackerel down here, and although in the same family, these taste great. We catch Wahoo, YFT, Dolphin ( "Mahi-Mahi" if you are Polynesian, Dorado if you are Hispanic), the Cerros, Grouper, etc.

And I cannot imagine a sailboat moving too fast for some of these fish. They can do 20 kts. easy and will do it, to catch a meal. In fact, when we troll for Wahoo we typically are in the 10 kt. range. You just have to have the lures or bait rigged right.

[zeehag]

i have been short struck about 4-6 times in the last 3 days of sail trolling because i had too long a tail on my lures----i rigged shorter tails and caught a spanish mackerel in less than 30 minuets-----lol--didnt know he was there until i was reeling in to change lures ! such fun..
dad caught a blue when we were kids off long island -- he took it home an dthrew it into freezer--we ate it a coupla months later and it was perfect-----no mush no mess--on bbq grill--delightful fish--seems to be a mixed reaction to blues---some feel arer best fish for eating, some hate them--LOL----i LOVE them!!!!!

[LakeSuperior]

Fished blues from a party boat off NJ a number of years ago. They claimed we got into some of the best fishing ever on that day. The whole neighborhood was waiting for fish when we got back.

My host went on about how good baked blue fish was (they had never tryed frying them.) I convinced him to let me fry some up the way we cook lake trout up in the UP of Michigan. Guess which plate got eaten first? The fried was by far the best.

I thought the flavor was alittle on the strong side though but not bad.

[Canibul]

With all the good fish here I know people will think I am nuts, but my favorite seafood in these waters, hands down, is conch. I love diving for them, and I love eating them. I am not crazy about cleaning them, but after five years of it I am getting better.

I no longer even order fish in a restaurant. You really don't know what you are getting unless it's prepared so that you get the whole fish.

I think my favorite seafood of all time would have been Waquoit Bay scallops, but it's been many years since I went out for a bushel of those.

It's a shame I don't eat crabs or lobster. The lobster here are, well, stupid. Easy to catch.

[unbusted67]

When I was a kid I used to be an avid fisherman and a pretty good one at that. It taught me a love and really an admiration of the things of the sea. Which is why I rarely eat seafood in a restaurant. When I do I try to refer to something like this Seafood Selector (Main Page) - Environmental Defense Fund which is a list of species who's fisheries are regulated responsibly (obviously there is more to fisheries regulation than this, and I urge anyone who is curious to look further into it "Cod" by Mark Kurlansky comes is an interesting place to start). As for catching fish from my boat, I still do it but it is mostly to fulfill my curiosity and not my appetite. I practice catch and release.

Which is really besides the point because I seem to have lost my touch since moving out West.

[Curmudgeon]

Well, I grew up fishing for "snapper" blues-- the little ones-- with a bamboo pole and a bobber. My mother would fry them up in butter. The bigger ones should be filleted then grilled IMHO to take out some of the oil. Somke restaurants serve them baked with mustard sauce, but it's better to grill or broil them. Yes they can have a strong flavor when they get big-- say over 10-15 lbs. But the smaller ones do not. 3-5 lbs is the perfect eating size.

I find that fish tend to take on the flavor of their habitats. Fish taken from clean water rarely taste strong.

[Etienne Botes]

Hello all,

I have been reading all your posts as I am a very keen angler myself.
I am also the proud owner of Scott and Wendy Bannerot's excellent book on fishing for cruisers.

I have a few questions to my experienced fishing buddies here, that is not clear from the book. I wanted to open a new thread, but this one will do neatly:

- The book describes trolling techniques that is mostly applicable to tropical and sub-tropical seas, targeting the more usual pelagic game fish like Mahi-Mahi, Tuna, Wahoo, King Mackerel (Spanish) and so forth. My question is -- what sort of trolling do you guys do in temperate climates - Scotland, UK, Atlantic Coast off France, New Zealand, Canada, Lower South America and so forth? What type of lures do you use while underway? If you do not do any trolling-type fishing in these areas, what type of fishing do you do then?

- How successful is trolling in the Med? Do you use the same lures? What sort of fish do you catch in the Med while trolling?

- Do any of you ever stop on a passage to engage in bottom-fishing? (By drifting). In other words, a conscious effort to do bottom-fishing?

- This one is a little obvious, but do you engage in fishing while anchored out near land, in a bay etc? What sort of technique do you use? A smaller spinning rod with bait? Casting lures?

- Do any of you ever engage in fishing while moored in a marina? (If it is legal, and clean, of course.)

I would love to hear your interesting feedback.
Thanks to all.

[Curmudgeon]

I fish from my boat in the northeastern U.S. I use a boat rod with a conventional reel and 40lb test line. The primary species are striped bass and bluefish, with an occasional swordfish or tuna. I use a variety of lures that imitate baitfish. For stripers, I use a lure that imitates a sand eel. The proper depth and speed is more important than the lure itself.

When anchored or moored I occasionally fish off the boat using my fly rod and some artificial baits. I rarely catch anything. I do much better with the fly rod when fishing in the surf.

[Etienne Botes]

Thank you!

For Bluefish - mostly spoons or diving plugs?
And Swordfish what metod? In the daytime?

I am also a keen fly-fisherman.

[Curmudgeon]

For bluefish any baitfish imitation will do. I prefer Yo Zuris when trolling. For flies, I use a lefty's deceiver but any imitation of a mullet or shiner will work.

For swordfish I don't know. People use those outrigger-type hairy lures with lots of chartreuse.

[mrohr]

blues are the best ! just leave out the dark meat. grill with soy sauce lemon and garlic marinade,if blues ever dissapear from the worlds oceans its because i ate them all!

[Vasco]

For Blues use red or yellow surgical tubing.