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Post by carlf on Jul 30, 2023 15:47:54 GMT -5
Took the boat out early, was on the grass flat well before daylight. Got 3-4 short specs and 3 ladyfish. Also got cutoff, assume it was a bonnet head.
Headed to the bridge about 8am. Tide was just starting to move again. First two piles nothing. 3rd one had snapper eating chum within a minute. But couldn't convince them into eating a live shrimp or dead white bait. Threw out lines for macs when the current picked up. Landed 4, all nice size, one barely fit in the 49 quart cooler. Lost a couple of others. Bite died about 10am and it was hot. So packed it in.
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Post by carlf on Jul 31, 2023 6:59:28 GMT -5
Its all lies and tall tales without photos:  |
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Post by tears143 on Jul 31, 2023 11:47:41 GMT -5
is that a leatherjacket I see in your cooler?
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Post by stuckintherocks on Jul 31, 2023 13:06:02 GMT -5
I was curious about the leatherjacket as well.
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Post by shot33gun9 on Jul 31, 2023 13:24:24 GMT -5
Yes, look at those spikes at the front of the dorsal fin....nasty
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Post by bluerunner on Jul 31, 2023 13:37:20 GMT -5
Yes, look at those spikes at the front of the dorsal fin....nasty I didn't know about them until after handling like 1 or 2 of them. I held them by hand like any other fish (minus catfish) to remove the hook. I finally looked them up and saw what they could be about. I did keep one or two for my mom to eat, but otherwise I just used the pliers on them. Anyone ever been poked by them? Supposedly it is worse than a stingray or catfish poke. |
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Post by shot33gun9 on Jul 31, 2023 13:48:08 GMT -5
Didn't know they were edible...I'll pass
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Post by aaronf116 on Jul 31, 2023 13:49:09 GMT -5
Yes, look at those spikes at the front of the dorsal fin....nasty I didn't know about them until after handling like 1 or 2 of them. I held them by hand like any other fish (minus catfish) to remove the hook. I finally looked them up and saw what they could be about. I did keep one or two for my mom to eat, but otherwise I just used the pliers on them. Anyone ever been poked by them? Supposedly it is worse than a stingray or catfish poke. I got poked once before while trying to unhook it with plyers. Fish flopped around at the worst time and stuck me in my ring finger right at the joint. Definitely worse than a catfish by far! |
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Post by carlf on Jul 31, 2023 14:22:18 GMT -5
Yes, he became chum.
These things should come with a "handle with care" warning label.
Everyone has a last one bad experience getting them off the hook.
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Post by fishsci on Jul 31, 2023 21:22:35 GMT -5
Closely related species of our leather jacket species are highly regarded in the Indo Pacific as food fish. Because of that, I brought a couple of them home that I caught fishing for mackerel. I used them to make seviche along with the one mackerel that I caught. They had a nice, firm flesh that worked nicely for that application. They did, however, have a distinct taste that was not unpleasant, but different. If you have caught them and carefully unhooked them, you might even get a wift or that....just different. Like a lot of fish that we tend not to use, others find them good.
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Post by carlf on Aug 1, 2023 6:43:45 GMT -5
Interesting, I'm open to trying just about any fish at least once.
Except maybe fugu (puffer).
And Hákarl.
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Post by carlf on Aug 1, 2023 6:46:10 GMT -5
On a side note, all 4 macs were full of roe or milt. Looks like they were ready to spawn.
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Post by fishsci on Aug 1, 2023 9:39:21 GMT -5
Those mackerel look very thin. Their bellies are sunken, and they are very thin for their length. I would not quite say that they were emaciated, but close. That is very interesting, given all the new, small, young-of-the baitfish that are in the bay and that you mentioned. One might think that the Spanish mackerel would be in bait heaven and would be fat and happy. It seems likely that the high water temperatures we have been experiencing with all these hot days are the reason. Spanish mackerel are a warm-temperate species and are not a tropical species (Cero mackerel are). It seems likely that the high water temperatures are elevating their metabolic rate (a scientifically known effect) so much that they literally cannot eat enough of all these available bait fish fast enough to keep their weight up. Maybe that is good for fishermen, because it makes the macks hungry and makes them have to feed all the time. However, like most fish, the tast of the fish is much better when the flesh is rich and full of fat. All this just another effect of global warming.
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Post by Flatsrunner on Aug 1, 2023 10:04:49 GMT -5
Interesting, I'm open to trying just about any fish at least once. Except maybe fugu (puffer). And Hákarl. I have eaten puffer before when I was younger, Mild and white flesh. Overseas it is considered a delicacy.The fillets are fine but do not puncture or eat the organs, those are poisonous. |
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Post by carlf on Aug 1, 2023 10:44:14 GMT -5
Your observation is incorrect.
Those macs were by no means skinny nor had any appearance of being unhealthy.
THey were full of roe and milt, which is indicative of being in good health.
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Post by kingmackerelman on Aug 1, 2023 14:08:02 GMT -5
Your observation is incorrect. Those macs were by no means skinny nor had any appearance of being unhealthy. THey were full of roe and milt, which is indicative of being in good health. smoked mackerel roe....MMM MMM GOOD |
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Post by shot33gun9 on Aug 1, 2023 14:12:22 GMT -5
Do you boil it first to firm it up and then smoke it?
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Post by fishsci on Aug 1, 2023 16:52:18 GMT -5
Your observation is incorrect. Those macs were by no means skinny nor had any appearance of being unhealthy. THey were full of roe and milt, which is indicative of being in good health. smoked mackerel roe....MMM MMM GOOD I wrote my post about your macks looking skinny before I saw your post. This morning I found that I had not clicked "create post" last evening when I wrote it. Then after I posted it, I read your post that said that they had roe. However, having roe does not necessarily mean that they are in the best condition. They did look in the pictures to have slightly sunken bellies, and their shape did look like they had a long length, relative to their weight. I have caught Spanish mackerel that had much deeper and thicker bodies and had mature roe. Having said that, however, most fish will continue their reproductive cycle and develop roe even if they are not in the greatest condition. But, most fish do become "skinnier" as their roe matures. That is because to make that roe, they use much of the fats that had been stored in their bodies in anticipation of spawning. A good example of that is our striped "black" mullet that become very thin, and have almost no stored fat in their flesh and abdomen just before and immediately after spawning in late December typically. Old timer fishermen did not consider roe mullet flesh to be edible. Initially when the mullet roe market was developed, most of the mullet were discarded by the fishhouses after the female yellow roe was removed. I am not sure if they still do that, or if they have found a market for the fish. |
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Post by shot33gun9 on Aug 1, 2023 16:55:58 GMT -5
I believe the macks in the pic had already been gutted
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