Conference wahoo::fishing-v2

    re: .0
    
    	Brian,
    		Could you tell me where your catching them? I've always
    		wanted to cook some up, but I've never caught any in waters
    		that aren't polluted (or that I suspect are polluted).
    
    			Robert.

    
           Quabbin has some real door mats up there. A few years
       ago I got one 2.14lb BIG FISH ! 
    
                                          K'

    Well I caught some at the A1 3 in fact and one at Whitehall.  I think
    Murphy and Gitzit also brought in a real nice one at the Whitehall
    earlybird tournie.
    
    Brian
    

    Crappie recipies?  We take the fillets and roll them in either
    cornmeal/flour mixture or cracker crumbs and fry them until golden
    brown.  My wife also bakes them (fillets).  
    
    If any of you are ever in the Louisville Ky area, let me know and we
    can go catch a mess of them.  Plenty of unpolluted farm ponds around
    with lots of 1-2lb crappie.  
    
    If you want a better description of the recipies let me know and I'll
    have my wife write them up for me.
    
    Wess Vandenbark

    Are we talking bona fide "crappies" as in white crappie and black
    crappie? Or are we talking all "flat" freshwater fish such as blue gill
    and red breast sunfish in addition to black crappie (aka calico bass)?
    
    Just curious.
    
    They're closely related, by the way, and I believe the bone structures
    are virtually identical. So I guess ways to cook them would be the
    same.
    
    John H-C (who sautees them in butter and lemon juice)

    
    Try shake and bake (for fish), and pan fry in good oil. Olive or
    peanut is best, light veg. is ok. Serve with a lemon wedge.
    
                                                    Ken
    

    Wrap'em loosly in foil with lots of butter, fresh lemon juice, and what
    ever seasoning you like(I like garlic & onion salt) and bake em in the
    oven or on the grill.  But then agian, straight off the grill is good
    too!
    
                    Tony

    
    RE: .7
    
    I sometimes skip the onion salt and go with fresh onion
    
               Tony

    I catch most of my crappies out of Sudbury Resevior "THE MET" in
    Marlboro. You can snag some big ones out of Lake Boon or the
    Assebet River in Stow.
    I don't eat em, but if I was going to try it I would probably cook
    them like I do a filleted Flounder.
    I deep fry them in batter.
    
    Batter recipe:
    
    Aunt Jamima Pancake Batter "regular kind in box"
    Add beer mixing till smooth.
    Or you can use soda water or plain water if you want.
    Dip the fillets in and fry.
    
                                             Scott.

    
    
       I use two or three different recipes for crappie/bluegill here at
    home which I'll try and remember to bring in.
    
       But, next Thursday we head out for the Boundary Waters where the 
    crappie are CRAPPIE.  Usually use pancake mix for a coating and fry
    em up in crisco and buttered crisco, but I'm going to stuff some more
    seasonings in my pack this year.
    
    
    Bear
    
    
    

    Brian,
    
    I love eating Crappies.  I normally skin them, then deep fry then using
    "GOLDEN DIPT FISH FRY" as a coating.  The ones I used to catch in Mass
    were too thin to fillet.  I caught some bona-fide healthy crappies a
    couple of years ago at Santee-Cooper Lakes and was able to fillet those
    guys.  They taste better if you skin 'em before frying.
    
    Thomas

    
    If your filet knife is sharp enough and you REALLY
    know what your doin, you should be able to filet in such 
    a way as to release the fish.
    
    There are several advantages to this technique that I can 
    discuss at some later time
    
    TCW
    
    

    
    release the fish, after fileting, interesting...
    
    JIm

    
    RE: Last two.  Did I ever tell you about the old kerosene lamp I 
    pulle dfrom 25 ft. of water while hornpout fishin'? Was still
    burning !!    Tell me more of this "release", and maybe I'll blow
    the light out..   :^))
    
    Recipes?  There's a million to try.  But if you wanna try something
    a bit different, take one egg mix it with a little light cream, add
    just a little bit of flour just to thicken it then mash into crumbs of
    whatever your favorite potato chips are.  Even the jalapenos are
    good.  Separate the mix into two or three small bowls and try a few
    different ones. 
    
    Fred  

It seems to me that when fish is cooked (or reheated) in a Microware that it 
gives off a terrible smell.  Anyone else notice this ?

I went to a fish fry with an Aunt and Uncle of mine.  They went to a lake and 
men and some women and children went out and caught a lot of large Bluegills and
Crappies and brought them in to the shore.   They were gutted, scaled and heads 
removed.  They were dipped in some type of corn meal batter and then fried.

A large bluegill is a pound to a pound and an half.   Fresh and delicious.

The frying mechanisms were several large (30 gallon or so) cast iron pots that 
were filled with grease and had a wood fire to get them up to temperature.  The
                   ^ probably wesson oil or such

fish were placed in the oil and sank to the bottom.  after a short period of 
time the fish would rise to the top of the oil and would be scooped off by use 
of the bottom half of a pop corn popper that you would use in a fireplace or 
other open fire.

These pots were also used for scalding hogs come butchering time, rendering the 
fat from the hogs,  boiling/washing clothes etc.

    I'm going out for tautog and scup tomorrow and plan on coming home with
    a bucket full of fish (yeah, right!) - anyway, whats the best method
    for preparing fish for the freezer? Wrap in plastic, tin foil or what?
    
    			Thanks,
    				Robert.

I seldom eat fish that I have caught and only do it when they are fresh BUT

Several people that I know that do a lot of catch and eat, put the fish in 
milk containers,fill with water and freeze.  They fold the tops back together 
and seal with freezer tape.  They claim that the defrosted fish is just like 
fresh.  The water (ice) keeps all air away from the fish.

The milk containers were the half gallon waxed cardboard type,  also see a lot
of juice sold in these as well.

    I use "Freezer" zip lock bags, partially filled with filets, plus
    water.  The water will help to prevent freezer burn.  Most important
    though is to keep your fish on ice until you get them into the freezer.
    
    Gone fishin
    Gaff

I wrap TIGHTLY in plastic wrap and dump all the wrapped fillets in a ziploc
bag.  I do NOT recommend exposing the fillets to fresh water as it will soften
the flesh.  I used to freeze trout using the milk/juice carton mechanism.
I would then rinse the fillets once defrosted.

What boat are you going on?

Tim

    re: .last
    
    	Sea King II or Shell Point - the ones out of Onset. Last Saturday
    	they were booked solid - I'm hoping that won't be the case
    tomorrow.
    
    		Thanks all for the pointers.
    
    				Robert.

I went out on the Sea King II a few years ago.  We caught 1 sea bass, 0 tautog
and a hundred scup.  About � the scup were undersized (7").  I was not overly
impressed.  The capt (whose name escapes me) at the time was very pleasant,
however, and it was a nice day.

Tim

    I ended up going out on the Shell Point. It was the party boat from
    hell! Packed solid with fishermen, a fight broke out right next to me
    over who owned what bait, three guy closer to the bow than me decided
    that all the fish were at the stern and so casted right along the side
    of the boat towards the stern - I couldn't even fish half of the time
    because of the line running along the boat! I managed 3 scup and 1
    dogfish. someone caught a nice (3+ lbs) fluke which surprised me.
    
    I think I'll wait until the off season to try this again!
    
    				Robert.

 Striped Bass in foil
 --------------------

 Place a large piece of bass fillet in foil. Drizzle thoroughly with butter
and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Sprinkle with pepper, garlic powder (or fresh
garlic), and tarragon or parsely. Add some sliced onions, and any of the
following: sliced tomatoes, summer squash, sliced fresh mushrooms.

 Grill on medium heat for about 10 minutes, flip over and grill 10 minutes more.

 hint: using double foil prevents breakage and flareups

	Someone a while back was asking if dogfish are edible, 
	the dogfish/sharks that get in the way of codfishing...  well, 
	this week's Fisherman mag has a section on how to cook them, with 
	various recipes.  So apparently they *are* edible.  The article
	starts with the standard line: 	"called a trash fish and often 
	overlooked are these tasty critters".

	So the heck with the cod, fry me up some dog ;-)

	Ken

    This w/e we'll be at the Cape @ the Canal.  I always practice catch and
    release but I've heard summer flounder / fluke is very good eating. 
    Is the fish there is safe to eat in case I catch a real nice keeper.  Also,
     if how would you fillet & prepare?  Thanks! (a rookie)

    	Filleting a flounder/fluke is pretty easy. The bones basically run
    like so -
    
    
    			      Head
    			    ----+----
    			   -----+-----
    			  ------+------  < Stomach
    			  ------+------
    			   -----+-----
    			    ----+----
    			     ---+---
    			      --+--
    			     ///|\\\
    
    			       Tail
    
    	With the fish lying flat, do a diagonal cut from about where the
    "H" in Head is to where the "S" in stomach is (just to give you an
    approximate angle.
    
    	The + marks are the spine. Take a fillet knife and cut straight
    down on one side of the spine until the knife hits the bones that run
    horizontally. Use these as a guide to run the fillet knife over to get
    the meat off. Do the same for the meat on the other side of the spine.
    Flip the fish over and do the same to the other side.
    
    	The fillets on the dark skinned side will be thicker than those on the 
    white skinned side. You'll get 2 fillets from each side using this method. 
    Skin the fish like you would any other. 
    
    	In case you're not sure on skinning, lay the fillet flat on cutting 
    board skin side down with the narrow end closest to you. Run the fillet 
    knife into the meat towards the skin at an angle about 1/2" or less from 
    the narrow end of the fillet, but do not cut through the skin. The 1/2" 
    just gives you something to grab with your fingers. Work the knife back 
    and forth up the fillet between the skin and the meat while pressing the 
    blade flat against the cutting board. This is one reason why fillet knives 
    are flexible. 
    
    	As far as recipes go, the meat is VERY mild (i.e. no fishy taste). I 
    cannot think of any bad way to cook it, so just about any way you like fish 
    will work on this meat.
    
    	RAYJ

    Be careful not to overcook. They will lose their delicate taste if you
    cook too much.
    
    The general rule for cooking fish is 10 minutes of cooking per INCH of 
    thickness, no matter how you prepare. Just make sure your cooker
    (grille, broiler, oven, etc.) is up to cooking temperature when you put
    the fish in/on.
    
    I use a timer when I cook fish (I hate overcooked fish). My wife likes
    it cooked a bit more and I like it a bit less and one minute sometimes
    makes a difference.
    
    The fish should flake easily when done and the flesh should be moist
    but not raw looking.
    
    Bon appetit

    Thanks for the tips!  Knew this conference would have some
    answers!  Since no one said the fish from the Canal near Scusset beach
    is edible I'm gonna assume it is not.  Too bad.  It would be fun to
    catch and eat for once!  regards, the rookie
           

RE: .28
	Regardless of what the media tells you, the whole ocean is not 
polluted.  If you've -ever- eaten any market bought or restaurant prepared
fish then you've already eaten worse than you'll catch in the canal.

					B.C.

    I think the cannal is quite clean...if you think about it the water
    gushes through twice a day, it is harbors that cannot be flushed
    out and are dumped into that are the problem. I've eaten fluke I've
    caught out of the west end of cannal, I wouldn't give it a second
    thought.
    
    Bruce

    Guys I need a recipe for Blue fish as I am going on holiday over the
    4th and plan on slaying them. Thanks in advance..
    
                             Jon Proctor

    re: .31
    
    Jon: No matter what recipe you end up using, I strongly advise cooking 
         bluefish outdoors...
    
    Here's my favorite bluefish recipe:
    
    - Trim all dark meat from the filets
    - Fire-up the barbecue (5 minute preheat for gas jobs)
    - Lay filets out on a sheet of aluminum foil (dull side out)
    - Spread entire contents of one 11oz jar of "Newman's Own Bandito Salsa" 
      over the filets (I use the medium stuff - wimps can use the mild, while 
      iron-guts types can go with the hot)
    - Lay a second sheet of foil over the top, seal around all sides
    - Place on grill set for medium heat, close cover, cook for 15-20
      minutes depending on thickness of filets
    - When done, drain off excess juices then serve piping hot (quartered
      and boiled red potatoes and any green veggie go great with this).
    
    /dave 
    
    (PS: Extra tasty if Ol' Blue was caught on a fly ;^)

           <<< TURRIS::DISK$NOTES_PACK:[NOTES$LIBRARY]COOKS.NOTE;5 >>>
                         -< How to Make them Goodies >-
================================================================================
Note 472.11                   BLUEFISH HELP WANTED                      11 of 25
WAHOO::LEVESQUE "Crispy Critter"                     46 lines  28-JUN-1990 09:06
                       -< Bluefish: Care and Grilling  >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     The bluefish are in!
    
     The delightful gamefish are often avoided by cooks who do not know how
    to properly prepare the dark flesh. Since I managed to catch a few (40)
    on tuesday, I decided to keep a couple to eat. Here's how to take
    advantage of this underrated fish.
    
     Fish which are intended to spend their final time on the dinner table
    must be properly taken care of to ensure the best possible flavor.
    Immediately after getting the fish on the boat, it must be bled. Take a
    very sharp knife and cut just behind the pectoral fin in towards the
    heart until you sever a major vessel. When the fish gushes blood, you
    know you did it correctly. You can place the fish in the fishbox now,
    with some seawater.
    
     It is vital to clean the fish as soon as possible to get good meat! We
    usually clean the fish as we move between spots or when there are no
    fish on (if trolling). I fillet bluefish; it seems like the best way to
    clean the fish. Rinse the fillets in clean SALTWATER only. NEVER allow
    fresh water to touch the fish!!! I also skin my bluefish fillets, and
    cut out the dark red meat (it is the fattiest, has the fishiest taste
    and is where PCBs tend to accumulate.)
    
     Do NOT freeze bluefish. It makes the flesh fishier tasting.
    
    now, to prepare...
    
     Grilled Bluefish fillets:
    
     Marinade:	1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
    		1/4 cup dry white wine
    		3 TBS soy sauce
    		3 TBS dijon mustard
    		2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
    
     Place fillets in marinade for several hours or overnight in
    refrigerator. 
    
     Grill fillets skin side down (if you haven't skinned them) on a foil
    covered cookie sheet/shallow roasting pan over medium heat. A chunk of
    mesquite adds to the flavor. Fillets should cook 12-15 minutes or until
    the thickest part flakes with fork. Do not try to turn the fish over-
    it will fall apart. (Which is also why you don't cook it directly on
    the grill). Enjoy!
    
     The Doctah

    	I've had success with freezing small blues (2-5 lbs.). I placed
    them in a pan and covered the fillets with water and froze them. Once
    frozen, you can remove the ice/fish block and place in a plastic bag or
    foil. 
    
    	To thaw, simply take the block of fish and put it back in the pan
    and put it in the fridge until thawed enough to seperate the fillets. I've 
    eatten *small* bluefish frozen this way up to 6 months after catching with 
    no noticable additional fishy taste.
    
    	I've had no such luck with freezing bigger blues (i.e. 8 lbs. and up). 
    I have also come across an interesting recipe for fish of any kind that 
    is extremely simple.
    
    	I know this sounds weird (I was skeptical at first) but you have to
    try this to believe it. Baste the fish with mayonaise on both sides and 
    place it in a fish rack. Place the fish rack directly on a grill with high 
    heat and cook each side until the mayonaise just starts to blacken.
    
    	If you're like me and can't find a fish rack big enough, you can make 
    one like I do using two cake cooling racks and four twist ties (the kind 
    with the wire in them). Simple place the basted fillets on the rack, place 
    the other rack on top of it, and then put twist ties on the top, bottom,
    and sides to hold it together. Make sure you apply a liberal coating of 
    Pam to the racks prior to putting the fish on them.
    
    	This allows you to turn the fish over without it falling all apart.
    When cooked this way it tastes as though they were well seasoned without 
    even having to put salt on. Most, if not all, of the fat on the mayonaise 
    cooks off leaving a slightly crispy sort of coating. If I have them
    handy, I'll also squeeze a lemon or lime directly on the fillets just prior 
    to removing them from the grill.
    
    	One tip, when you place the rack on the grill, try to do it in such
    a way so as the fillets don't come in contact with the grill rack (if
    possible). Otherwise, they may stick to the grill rack.
    
    	RAYJ

    	I think my smoking recipe wound up getting archived, so I'll
    re-enter it (from memory).
    
    	The best fish to smoke is anything with a lot of oil in it. This
    makes trout, salmon, mackeral, and bluefish the ideal canadates for the
    smoker. You can use milder tasting, less oily fish, but it won't taste
    much like fish when you're done.
    
    	The first step is the marinade. The basic recipe is as follows:
    
    			1 Cup Kosher Brine Salt (large crystals)
    			1 Cup Brown Sugar
    			1 Cup Water
    			1 T. Worcester Sauce
    			1 t. tabasco (or other hot sauce)
    			2 t. Dry Mustard
    			1 t. Ground Ginger
    
    	Put all ingrediants in a large zip-lock bag and mix thoroughly
    until salt and sugar are disolved. You can adjust the salt according to
    how oily the fish is. The above would be for mackeral/blues. Add less
    for salmon or trout (i.e. 1/2 to 2/3 cup). You can add a little more 
    water if need be, but when the air is removed from the bag, the fish
    should be pretty much completely covered with the marinade.
     
    	Marination time will vary from 8 hrs. to overnight depending on the
    type and thickness of fillets. For a good sized blue or mackeral, going 
    overnight is not a big deal.
    
    	After marinating, place fillets on smoker racks without rinsing and 
    smoke until done. This is the tricky part. I have a standard two-rack 
    Brinkman and a large blue will usually take about 3-4 hours. Since it's 
    usually difficult to get the fillets all the same thickness, I usually 
    place the thinner pieces on the top rack and check/remove them somewhere
    between 2-3 hours and will leave the big ones on the bottom rack for a
    total of about 4 hours.
    
    	This is not an exact science and there are a lot of variables such
    as fish type, thickness, marination time, smoking time, type of smoker,
    amount of charcoal (if applicable), and outside air temp. It will
    usually take a couple of batches before you start to get a feel for it.
    
    	One big thing is that contrary to the "It's almost impossible to
    overcook something in a smoker" line that they give you in the smoker
    recipe book, this does not apply to fish. For smokers with the
    inspection plate on the side, you may want to use that to check the
    fish. DO NOT RELY ON SIGHT ALONE. Smoked fish tends to look like shoe
    leather even if it's not done. Take a piece out and taste test it.
    
    	One other tip. Smoked fish usually tastes better if you don't eat
    it till the next day. I usually cover the smoked fillets with paper 
    towels and put them in a zip lock bag in the fridge.
    
    	DO NOT CONFUSE THIS WITH SMOKE CURING. Although the fish will last
    a bit longer, it still requires refrigeration. I have also frozen
    smoked fish with no problems.
    
    	Enjoy,
    
    		RAYJ
    

    Thanks for the tips.  I went, I fished, I caught, I filleted, I ate!!! 
    It was yummy - cooked in foil over an open fire - no more than 2 hours
    from the water to the dinner table.  --- What a current in the Canal...  
    So much weight was needed to keep it down it was hard to tell when one was
    biting.  Boring to catch, but good to eat.  The rookie.

On the subject of fresh fish.....  I was watching a forum of food experts
on the boob tube a couple of months ago.  Included were Julia Child, several 
notable chefs and Roger Berkquist (sp?) of Legal Seafoods.  Legals probably
buys, prepares and sells more fish in the greater Boston area than any other
establishment.  OK maybe Gortons of Glouster sells more..

Anyhow the importance of handling fish was the subject.  They agreed that
the optimal taste in most white fish was reached three days after being 
caught.  Their reasoning was that this gives rigor-mortis time to firm
up the flesh and enhance the flavor.  Of course, the fish has to be iced at
all times.  The more I think about it the more it makes sense.  I don't
believe this theory is true for species like bluefish or mackerel or
any other fish from the tuna family.

Perhaps nothing is more satisfying than a shore lunch.  On the other hand
waiting a couple of days to eat the catch may actually be a good thing.

    re: .36
    
    Was it fluke that you ended up catching from the shores of the canal?
    
    If so, where were you fishing?  What tide was it on (Easterly or Westerly).
    How big were they? 
    
    I would love to find a spot on or near the canal to catch fluke when I
    do not have access to a boat.  Any info is greatly appreciated.
    
    Thanks,
    
    -- Kevin Phillips
        

How to get two fillets off a flounder/fluke/etc. rather than 4:

make a cut across the tail and to the bone.  Slide a long, thin fillet
knife sharp-side out along the backbone.  Cut towards the outer edge of
the fish.  Go up the otherside and do the same.  Lift the loose end and
run the fillet knife along the backbone to separate it from the fillet.
Turn over the fish and repeat.

Works great and it's much faster and less wasteful than getting 4 fillets

>Roger Berkquist (sp?) of Legal Seafoods.

 Berkowitz

    Thanks for the info.
    
    Usually my fluke fishing is relegated to Mashnee flats.  Due to
    not getting the boat in the water I have not been able to get out.  
    
    I will probably give this a try during one of the next few weekends.
   
    I'll post a reply as to how I make out.
    
    Thanks again for the help.
    
    -- Kevin

Here is our secret recipe for any non-delicate flavored fish (trout, salmon, 
bluefish, bonito, tuna, swordfish, etc.):

1. Smear Durkee's Red-Hot Pepper Sauce all over it.
2. Grill or broil it.

Given the complexity of this recipe, you might guess that it has a generic, 
boring taste.  Not!  It's fantastic.  Give it a try.  Durkee's can be found 
anywhere in really small bottles, so it's almost risk-free.

Durkee's is not red-hot at all, not even medium-hot.  But it has a very full 
flavor that is totally different from all other hot sauces, and it seems to 
go with just about anything.  It's also great on chicken, pork, hamburgs, 
whatever.  Before you know it you'll be putting it on your Wheaties.

Have fun,
Tom