Show off your fish

Limited out today (yesterday?) with a 40” male and a giant female. Long drive back home after cleaning them up.


Put 5 total on the boat in about 5 hours. Took us 3 to find them though.

 

Great way to start the weekend with a little pre spawn bass.

 

Wahoo

 

are they good to eat?

 

Yep. You have to clean all the red meat off the outside because it tastes like dirt but they are great if you do. Really firm so it is common to smoke/grill. Almost similar to swordfish in taste/texture from what I have heard-I never tried swordfish

I hit them and pull their notochord (spine) out then just slice it into 3” chunks then clean them up with a fillet knife to get the skin and red meat off. They are all cartilage so no bones to worry about

Some people eat the caviar, but I never got into it.

 

Nice Streamer Fish.

 

Wow thats a lot of "caviar"...

 

Yea I cleaned it up one time but it was just weird to me. A lot of places have big problems with Russians poaching the fish for the eggs because they are worth like a lot of money 30+ an ounce retail and 13ish on the back market. Both those fish in pictures had 15+ pounds of eggs the bigger one was probably closer to 20.

 

Whats the bag limit on them? Are they bottom feeders?

 

filter feeders that is why they have the big mouths and the only way you can catch them is snagging.

In Missouri they have a specific season you can snag-March 15 till the end of April in most of the state and you get two a day. Have to be over 34” or 24” depending on location and any keeper that you catch you are legally obligated to keep. Other states do it differently but the limits are low everywhere. 1-2 a day is typical and they have limited seasons. In Kentucky I think it is legal to bowfish for them which would be cool

 

Thats cool, never been anywhere they had those. Id like to try the meat someday. They look like fun to catch.

 

They fight super hard. I thought I was going to loose the big one because when I got it in someone went to gaff it and hit it perfectly in the bottom jaw right where you want it on them but then she thrashed her head and ripped the gaff out of their hands. The gaff stated in her mouth for a bit while she thrashed around on top of the water but it slipped out and sunk pretty soon. I had them drop me off at the bank to land the fish because I did not want to loose it.

depending on where you hook them they fight differently too. It is way harder to pull in one you hook in the tail because they can easily swim away from how you pull vs one hooked in the head or side.

they are pretty rare and are endangered in most states, but there are a good number of states with a healthy enough population to harvest some. They are mostly contained in the Mississippi River basin from what I know. Some states do draw tags as well which is different.

the worst thing about fishing for them for me is I am really sore afterward because I spend all day jerking a 12’ rod up and down pulling multiples 10/0 trebles and 10oz of weight through the water.

 

Got these 2 a couple weekends ago out of Ventura harbor

 

This is a Southern Appalachian Brook trout, or known as a speck. Lots of foot work to find them.

 

Looks like a few lady’s I’ve met...

 

Caught 4 today.

 

Rainbow runner (Kamanu)

 

few from yesterday, damn tick grass is nut high now, but perseverance, paid off.....

 

Finessing the ned rig!