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Captain Bill · 17-09-2009, 05:51

Etiene Botes, I have recently had reports of great success off the coast of Portugal catching atlantic mackerel and pompano on the handlines and clark spoons that I provided a link to on my earlier post in this thread.

In reference to bluefish, while they may have some common external features with mackeral, bluefish are not in the mackeral family. They are in they're own family, Pomatomadae, while mackerel are in the family Scombridae. My personal experience is that small blues cooked within a couple of hours of being caught are very good to eat. If they're cooked within minutes of being caught they are great. I personally have not found a way of cooking a large blue that I care for.

Etienne Botes · 17-09-2009, 08:48

Thank you Bill!

And you are spot on about the correct classification for Bluefish.
They are called Tailor in Australia and Shad or Elf from my native South Africa. They are wonderful to eat, but freshness is key.
The US Bluefish do seem to grow to a much larger average size than the South African one, yet it is the same specie. I have always thought this was weird.

About size & eating: When it comes to fish I wish more people can realise that smaller is in the majority of cases tastier. Makes a good case for catch and release of monster fish. I always make the comparison to land-based animal meat for unbelieving fishing friends.

Captain Bill · 17-09-2009, 18:45

The US Bluefish do seem to grow to a much larger average size than the South African one, yet it is the same specie. I have always thought this was weird.

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This may be a similar issue to that on the east coast of the US. Bluefish are highly migratory and appear at different sizes in different places. Where I grew up in Florida we only saw bluefish in late winter and these were 1.5 to 2 lbs. We never saw extremely large or small blues. Where I live in North Carolina now we see small blues .5 to 1 lb in our inside waters, but large blues, 10 Lb+, off the beach at the beginning of summer. Large blues are commonly caught off shore to the north of us in the summer and fall.

Curmudgeon · 18-09-2009, 05:19

I'm in NC right now (Cape Fear area) and there are a ton of 3-5 lb bluefish in the surf, tearing into schools of mullett. IMHO they go where the food is, and the baitfish are very plentiful this year.

There are spanish mackerel as well, but the drum seem to have retired to the creeks fopr the moment.

Etienne Botes · 18-09-2009, 09:27

Bill, Curmudgeon - did you know that in South Africa we use a smallish live Bluefish as an excellent livebait for a range of gamefish? Especially King Mackerel? Do they do that in the States too?

In SA the size limit is 27cm and 5 per person per day. They are to be found all the way from Mozambique (tropical) all the way to False Bay (icy cold). The variety found on the West Coast (cold) grows to a larger average size again than ones from the wamer Indian Ocean.

You mention "drum" another interesting fish of which the SA equivalent is a kob, or kabeljou. They should look similar to your drum.

Interesting isn't it? We are such fish-nerds!

Curmudgeon · 18-09-2009, 09:41

Yes, that looks like a drum. In NC I catch both red drum (also called "redfish") and black drum. Both are excellent to eat, and the classic way to prepare redfish is pan blackened, New Orleans style. Here's a picture of a big one. Most of the ones I catch in the surf are 5-10 pounds. In NC I believe there is a size "window" for drum: you have to throw them back if they are too big or too small.

Etienne Botes · 18-09-2009, 13:09

That is quite a big redfish! I have seen them on ESPN, they seem to be a favourite among fly-fishers and lure anglers too.

Take care and best of luck!

Sonosailor · 18-09-2009, 13:49

We met a fellow-cruiser in Grenada last spring who takes great pride in making his own trolling lures. They consist of a hunk of double-braid white rope epoxied into a lip-gloss container, combed out into threads, with a wire leader down the centre, and two medium-sized hooks wired together so the hooks are in opposite directions, within the last of the combed-out rope. He catches many fish, and many large ones.

He, like many experienced fishermen, suggest that the beautiful colours, shapes, and packaging you see on the wall at the chandlery are to catch the fishermen, not the fish.

Captain Bill · 18-09-2009, 15:35

Very nice drums from both ends of the Atlantic. EB, yes we do use small bluefish for bait. I was out just a couple of weeks ago using bluefish as bait fishing for tarpon. I caught 3 red drum, the largest of which was about 46 inches or about 120 CM. All were much bigger than the upper slot limit of 27 inches. Unfortunately no luck on the tarpon.

stevensc · 18-09-2009, 15:41

Etien, that fish looks a lot like the Corvinas along the Pacific coast of the Americas
I believe I have seen them caught in Angola also do you know if they are the same? Very good eating!
Steve

Etienne Botes · 18-09-2009, 17:42

Hi there Steven,

You are 100% correct about the Angolan fish - it is the same fish: kob, or in Afrikaans "Kabeljou" found all along the Namibian coast, round the tip of SA up to Natal, but not much further north than Richards Bay, 250 km north of Durban. Angola today is a fishing paradise, and many beach camps are run by South Africans with a strong environmental focus - catch and release is strongly promoted.

Steven, the Corvina you refer to looks very much like kob and is part of the same family (Sciaenidae).
This is quite a large group, including Drums, Weakfish, White Sea Bass, Croakers, Sea Trouts and your Corvinas.

They are very good eating - even the very large fish.

**knottybuoyz** · 24-09-2009, 07:20

On the Winnipeg River (90 km NE of Wpg)

This is the new record in Canada .

He caught it on the Winnipeg River, by the Seven Sisters power plant , in Manitoba.
Check this thing out. The last picture is unbelievable. This guy was fishing and caught a 36lb Pike. As he was reeling it in, a 56 lb. Pike tried to eat it. He brought them both in on the same net. Awesome catch on a river in Canada 55 lbs, 56 inches. It goes to show you that live bait works the best for the giant fish.

All I could think was "Holy Crap!"

George Wade · 24-09-2009, 10:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Well, I grew up fishing for "snapper" blues-- ... The bigger ones should be filleted then grilled IMHO to take out some of the oil. ...

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

In my 'not quite so humble opinion' you should be keeping the oil as it is incredibly good for you.

Even a little too much butter will be good if you are rowing ashore, rather than firing up the outboard.

Curmudgeon · 24-09-2009, 10:28

Well, I saw something similar to the two pike last week. A guy fishing down the beach from me was reeling in a 5 lb bluefish when something enormous-- probably a tarpon-- blasted it, jumped clear out of the water, and took off. The guys rod went double, then slack. He reeled in the head of the bluefish; the rest had been neatly severed just behind the gills.

As for the oil in bluefish, there is plenty left even after you grill some of it out. Besides, I take Omega 3 tablets daily whether I'm eating fish or not.