Thread: Eating Fish...

How would you rank the fish that are commonly caught off the pier in terms of tastiness? Are there any that are inedible, why?

jmo:

Cobia, Swordfish, Tuna, Sheepshead, Flounder, Red Snapper, Sea Turtle, Sailfish, Whiting, Speckled Trout, White Trout, Manatee, Croaker, Spanish Macks, Shark, King Macks, Redfish, Bluefish, Osprey, Cownose Ray, Stingray, Ladyfish, those Inshore Barracuda things, Heron/Pelican, Hardtail/LeatherJacket /Sail Cat, Seagull, Crevalle, Hard-head Cat, leftover bait shrimp, LY and Vienna Sausage.

Remember, they'd eat you if they could.

Haha that cracked me up thanks!

I prefer pompano, flounder, speckled trout, sheepshead, small black drum, and redfish-in that order. Cobia is good but very rarely caught by a visitor. Spanish mackerel is good when fresh and makes a good dip from fozen-smoked. King and mullet are edible but not my favorites. I hear spadefish, bluefish, and mangrove snapper are good as well but I haven't eaten them. I probably wouldn't try to eat the catfish, pinfish, hardtails, crazy fish, jack crevalle, large black drum, bull redfish, or ladyfish but some people have a taste for some of them and are probably better chefs than me.

Originally Posted by Nimakdm

How would you rank the fish that are commonly caught off the pier in terms of tastiness? Are there any that are inedible, why?

Best thing to do is try em all, especially the ones you can catch while you are there, and decide yourself.
Like anything else, try it a second time, you might get to like it.

Left you a pm reply the other day

As far as I know, all the fish you catch from the pier are edible in the sense they won't poison you and are all sources of protein. I think pompano is the best commonly caught fish, and broiled fresh Spanish are delectable. Sheepshead are great for any firm, white meated, mild fish recipe, as are flounder, and spadefish taste like flounder. Mangrove snapper taste like red snapper. Bluefish is just fine when cooked the same or the next day---it's a little oily but still fries up well. Cobia is wonderful, but hard to come by. Hardtail aren't bad as long as you cut out all the red meat, just like bluefish. Speckled trout are delicious, but don't freeze well. Tonight, I fried some sheepshead, then threw in some pieces of king mackerel that I was given the day before, and it was hard to choose between them (small king). I think kings are underrated and the mercury content gives it that little extra zing. Another name for pinfish is Sailor's Choice and tastes like bream when you can find one big enough. I've heard that gafftop catfish is good, but have never eaten one and known about it. Those big croakers you catch in the fall make a fine main course. I tried those little barracude-looking fish (guaranche?) last year and they taste like specks, except they stink when you clean them. Bull redfish make a fish chowder that will make a dog break his chain. Squid---a sought after delicacy, just like octopus, by some people.

Now, on the other side, there are fish that just plain don't taste good, but can be palatable if you do 'em right such as bonito and jack crevalle. I've heard that the sardines we use for bait can be good in a pressure cooker, and the ladyfish make good fishballs when processed properly. Remoras hardly have enough meat on them to try, and I think LYs would be too strong for me to choke down. Since you can't land sharks, it's a moot point.

breamandhoney pressure washin 004.jpgsounds ok cept th skipjack part,,,and really,when I was a kid in south texas we occasionally fished for sheepshead for entertainment,just dead grass shrimp,who would waste live,,however the available trout and red catches we had in laguna madre spoiled my young self,,,Dad told me stories of people eating gafftopsails,,when I moved to Alabama in the early 70's,went to the winn Dixie,came home ,,said dad there are frig3ng mullet in the store,,,in texas as a youth not even coyotes would eat em,,,he said son "the Floridians started feeding em to th snowbirds,,then they started eating em themselves",so I guess fishn is whats biting,,and haywire is gonna be welcome to all my skippys when I finally get down to aggravate yall,,tight lines,,,caught these in th backyard this evening,!!know they will fry up right !!

Fine eatin' little boogers you got there. If they got a lot bigger that's all I would ever eat.

Can't beat some fried pan fish yum. Spent a week in Tennessee couple years ago and we kept catching slabs. Was so much good eating.

Nice little mess you have there. Crappie, bream, and cats are my favorites.

Nimakdm,
Saltwater: pompano, flounder, spanish, slot reds, pup drums, speckled trout, white trout, sheepshead, whiting, and many more are good to eat.