10/8/23 South skyway pier

[conureman]

Same time as yesterday managed to get 1 parking spot. Windy and crowded.
Macks started hitting before sunrise at 6:50 and lasted about 10 minutes. Only got 3 in that short time span. After 30 minutes of casting spoon I changed my second spoon rig rod to a popping cork with 4 feet of 40# flouro with a small 1/0 circle hook to attempt for bonita. Bonita started biting at 9. Lost my 1st rig as I was panicking. Had a spare copy rig ready and got hooked in 5 minutes. Successfully landed and rebaited and hooked up again in 15 minutes and landed as well. Caught two macks with same setup and didn't get cut off amazingly. About 2 before I left I caught 3 remoras.
Like to thank everybody for their input. Caught my first bonita and I'm a happy camper.
Tight lines and stay safe.

[shot33gun9]

Nice.....but they are not Bonita

[conureman]

Yeah forgot they are called false albacore or litte tunny. Everybody on the pier called them bonita so it stuck in my head

[shot33gun9]

Did you keep them?

[conureman]

Yes are they bad eating?

[shot33gun9]

LOL.....I'm not eating any, let us know if you like it

[fishsci]

Most fishermen do not like the taste of false albacore (official scientific name) AKA bonito.  Some have said that they like them raw for sashimi, if you cut out ALL of the dark meat along the lateral line.  I tried that once, and found the taste too strong.  However, I am sure that there are some people (usually of other ethnicity) that know a way of preparing them such that they are good to them.  Even after tring them just one time, I can't be sure that they might not be better caught at a different time or place.  For ish, as they say, "you are what you eat".  By that I mean that if they have been feeding largely on different prey, they can have a very different taste.

[shot33gun9]

Caught one few years back, lady came up and offered us $20, I said no, it's free...she grabbed it, walked over to my truck and threw the 20 on the seat and shouted I'm Vietnamese and I know how to cook it...I cowered and said nothing

[conureman]

I'm Hispanic nothing like a little hot sauce won't fix jk

[shot33gun9]

Carlf can tell you how to eat it, he loves raw fish, hasn't killed him yet

[fishsci]

Oct 9, 2023 18:42:51 GMT -5 fishsci said:

Most fishermen do not like the taste of false albacore (official scientific name) AKA bonito.  Some have said that they like them raw for sashimi, if you cut out ALL of the dark meat along the lateral line.  I tried that once, and found the taste too strong.  However, I am sure that there are some people (usually of other ethnicity) that know a way of preparing them such that they are good to them.  Even after tring them just one time, I can't be sure that they might not be better caught at a different time or place.  For ish, as they say, "you are what you eat".  By that I mean that if they have been feeding largely on different prey, they can have a very different taste.

Correction:  In the  USA, the official scientific name for a fish species is that which is established in the American Fisheries Society (AFS) List of Common names.  But worldwide, other authorities, like FAO, have their lists of names.  The AFS name for what a lot call bonito (Euthunnis alliteratus) is "Little Tunny", but few non-scientists use that as the common name.  False albacore or bonito are more often used in common vernacular.

[carlf]

"The AFS name for what a lot call bonito (Euthunnis alliteratus) is "Little Tunny", but few non-scientists use that as the common name. False albacore or bonito are more often used in common vernacular."

Correct!  I've only ever heard them called false albacore down here or on the southeast FL coast. Up on the northern Gulf, they are called "Bonito". 

Yes, they are edible. Cut the base of the tail to bleed as soon as you catch it. Not the throat, that is too close to the heart.
When you clean it, you have to cut away all the "red meat".
Then treat them like tuna: either make sashimi or spicy tuna rolls or if you cook it, its just a quick sear.
And yes, it is stronger than other tunas, like yellowfin & blackfin. 

[conureman]

Oct 10, 2023 7:29:59 GMT -5 carlf said:

"The AFS name for what a lot call bonito (Euthunnis alliteratus) is "Little Tunny", but few non-scientists use that as the common name. False albacore or bonito are more often used in common vernacular."

Correct!  I've only ever heard them called false albacore down here or on the southeast FL coast. Up on the northern Gulf, they are called "Bonito". 

Yes, they are edible. Cut the base of the tail to bleed as soon as you catch it. Not the throat, that is too close to the heart.
When you clean it, you have to cut away all the "red meat".
Then treat them like tuna: either make sashimi or spicy tuna rolls or if you cook it, its just a quick sear.
And yes, it is stronger than other tunas, like yellowfin & blackfin. 

Thanks for the info I'll prepare tomorrow and I'll let yall know if I like it.

[fishsci]

Good point, carlf, about cutting bonito at the tail to bleed them.  Fish biologists, when they want to take a lot of fish blood for analysis, do it through the caudal artery that runs to the base of the tail.  I have been meaning to point this out to fishermen who want to bleed their fish.  If you cut the throat of a fish, the heart either stops pumping or is cut.  Then only that blood that flows out freely comes out.  If you cut the tail and sever the caudal artery, the heart keeps pumping for quite some time, and with each pump, more and more blood is pumped out.  That way much more blood can be pumped out than by simple bleeding from a stopped heart or artery/vein.  However, almost all of the blood in the flesh/meat of a fish is pumped through very small vessels called capillaries.  They are so small that the red blood cells pass through single file.  Thus, when the blood pressure drops by either cutting the throat and severing the arteries and veins around the gills and heart, those blood cells in the flesh just stop moving, and they remain in the capillaries in basically the same amount that they were when the fish was alive.  Some blood that is in larger veins and arteries that feed the capillaries might be slightly drained out by bleeding or by severing the caudal artery and vein, but it is not a lot.  Most of the blood that is bled out comes from the heart, liver, digestive circulation, and particularly the kidney (the red tissue that runs along under the backbone.  In summary, bleeding or cutting the arteries does little to remove blood from the meat, cutting the artery and vein in the tail probably removes more blood from the fish, but almost the same amount of blood as in a live fish remains in the meat after any sort of bleeding.  However, bleeding may have some benefit by removing blood that might begin to break down after the fish is dead and kept on ice or refrigerated.  Keeping the fish directly on ice that is drained as it melts keeps even the blood and blood-containing organs from breaking down.

[carlf]

Excellent post.

[tears143]

Oct 10, 2023 13:19:48 GMT -5 fishsci said:

Good point, carlf, about cutting bonito at the tail to bleed them.  Fish biologists, when they want to take a lot of fish blood for analysis, do it through the caudal artery that runs to the base of the tail.  I have been meaning to point this out to fishermen who want to bleed their fish.  If you cut the throat of a fish, the heart either stops pumping or is cut.  Then only that blood that flows out freely comes out.  If you cut the tail and sever the caudal artery, the heart keeps pumping for quite some time, and with each pump, more and more blood is pumped out.  That way much more blood can be pumped out than by simple bleeding from a stopped heart or artery/vein.  However, almost all of the blood in the flesh/meat of a fish is pumped through very small vessels called capillaries.  They are so small that the red blood cells pass through single file.  Thus, when the blood pressure drops by either cutting the throat and severing the arteries and veins around the gills and heart, those blood cells in the flesh just stop moving, and they remain in the capillaries in basically the same amount that they were when the fish was alive.  Some blood that is in larger veins and arteries that feed the capillaries might be slightly drained out by bleeding or by severing the caudal artery and vein, but it is not a lot.  Most of the blood that is bled out comes from the heart, liver, digestive circulation, and particularly the kidney (the red tissue that runs along under the backbone.  In summary, bleeding or cutting the arteries does little to remove blood from the meat, cutting the artery and vein in the tail probably removes more blood from the fish, but almost the same amount of blood as in a live fish remains in the meat after any sort of bleeding.  However, bleeding may have some benefit by removing blood that might begin to break down after the fish is dead and kept on ice or refrigerated.  Keeping the fish directly on ice that is drained as it melts keeps even the blood and blood-containing organs from breaking down.

Funny you are talking about bleeding from the throat/gill area and that you might cut the heart out. I did that on Monday. Was trying to bleed the fish but somehow cut the heart out through the gill... LOL The bleeding stopped fast. LOL