Nice.... theyre alot more fun on the spin tackle. I usually give em to my dad..... smoke em and keep half. Good grilled recipe is with soy, ginger, garlic, OJ, olive oil (and fresh herbs) The one I got from the kayak was a lil over 36" (prob 15#)

Edited: 07/16/2020 at 03:43 PM by Plan B

The inshore guides kill em on spinning minnows, but i'll be damned if i can figure out how to do it? Not that it matters, you scored on lures and that's a bonus in my book.

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I was right.

I caught 90% of my kings on little yozuri lures anchored with them flowing in the current out back like a flat line while bottom fishing.

REALLY?! No shit? hmmmm... which lures, and was the current pretty strong? The floating Yozuri diver plugs are what I was getting all the action from on my yak, but I wouldnt think there'd be enough current. Maybe the shallow divers / sinking plugs?

Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow, any size. Try to put some steel leader or 5 or 6 on hand. As long as you have a slight current it works. Slack current it wont work of course. Make sure it is of the blue varieties.



Edited: 07/17/2020 at 08:45 AM by HAPDigital

Floating crystal minnow divers are what I caught my fish on last week.... all gold colo (prob looks like a pogy). and yes, around 40' of water....

Yup, my favorite lure ever made. They are so versatile.

up here we break the back but not the skin, and put behind a pink duster. having a down rigger REALLY helps around the buoy lines, 40' deep off the beach, or nearshore rocks and wrecks.

Nice Catch and report JD!

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

Edited: 07/17/2020 at 10:20 AM by stokedpanda

Even idle speed seems to fast. Do you bump it in and out of gear?



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I was right.

A drift is in order.

sometimes, esp if you trolling down current... but usually 2kts. Personally I'm not a fan of slow trolling pogies. Its effective, but when the bite's slow in the heat..... ugggh

My buddy baked a bunch lathered in mayo.. It was quite interesting but surprisingly good. I only really like it in fish dip.

Nice story JDB!

I used to cover them in ranch dressing, then grill them skin side down. The smaller ones are really quite good. Cero and Spanish macks....you can have them. Too fishy for me no matter how I cook them.

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I was right.

Spanish >>>>>> Kings all day long

I love Cero and Spanish(and Kings too). When cruising the Caribbean it was always so easy to anchor the boat, throw a jig or spoon out and viola! light up the hibachi and grill em up.

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"I remember South Africa in the late 70's, sleeping on the beach at J-bay, smoking ganja with the blacks. On weekends we'd go to the pub in East London to drink beer and fight with the Afrikaners. They liked to fight, I liked to fight. It was a good time"

Cero and Spanish are on an entire other culinary level than Kingfish. The only good thing kingfish has going for it is size. It lacks in the taste department. It's a good smoking fish. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad and I'll eat it but it is just in the realm of bluefish, good but there is better in the ocean. And I'm not picky. I even keep ladyfish, lizard fish (charlie browns), and jacks. All 3 of which are better tasting than kingfish. BTW if you want a good ladyfish recipe, let me know. Holy moly, such good meat.

Edited: 07/23/2020 at 09:09 AM by HAPDigital

I would love to hear it, I read one about making fishballs but I cant remember what they did to avoid all those tiny ribs/pin bones.

One I have yet to try is Sailcats or any salt cat, I have seen catch and cooks but never hungry enough to try it

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I troll 2L.com to be a better person in real life

I haven't tried any of the catfish yet. I don't like that white jizzy slime that gets all over the boat. I had a friend that kept one once and that shit was all over my fishbox, pretty nasty. I'm sure once cooked they taste fine.

Anyway, yeah, you make fish balls or patties. I make the ladyfish like chicken nuggets. You filet the ladyfish with skin on etc and you take a spoon and scrape the meat down the lateral line and it comes of the stringy bones. Throw the clumps in a bowl. You'll need to get a bunch of ladyfish are a few big ones. After you make a big pile, basically ground raw fish, you spice it how you like it and and some egg and bread crumbs then make balls, patties or nuggets. I use a mock McDonalds chicken nugget recipe. Dude, you'd think they were chicken nuggets from McDonalds wiht the same rubbery texture. However, I'm sure way more healthy. LOL Ever since I've been keeping them I can't get them anymore. When I was throwing them back I'd catch tons and tons. But now I make these nuggets and I actually go out hunting for them. Crazy...


Edited: 07/24/2020 at 08:51 PM by HAPDigital

unless I reach a state of poverty / starvation, I'm not eating anything that is as slimy or smells as nasty as a sailcat btw.... I make similar "fish cakes" with bluefish / kings.... you can keep the ladyfish too....

Your fishcakes are not like these. The ladyfish has a texture when cooked that is not like any other fish. It literally comes out like old school chicken nuggets and have little iron/fish flavor.

I helped a couple of Thai guys load up on lady fish one night at inlet. They said they rolled the meat off of the fish with a pin - no bones - and then made fish balls with them.

Spanish are like salmon and salmon taste like shit. lol

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I was right.

LOL I guess you don't like salmon. Aldi and Walmart sell a side of salmon that is outrageous for just 16-20 bucks. So good smoked.

I snagged a salmon roll from my in-laws plate one night and damn near hurled. It's like you dried out some mullet skin with the slime still on it, then dunked it into some jack blood and finished rolling it with menhaden bloodline. 100% pukeolicious.

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I was right.

Oh, sounds like you just had bad salmon. Also, raw and cooked are a completely different story. I tell you what, go buy one of those sides of salmon from aldi or walmart and brine it in salt, brown sugar, pepper and maple syrup for 8 hours minimum. Rinse it afterwards and pat it dry with a paper towel and let it sit in the fridge open air until it tacky to the touch then throw it on the smoker at 25-275 until internal temp is 137. Take that thing off and let it rest a little and tell me that aint good. Put it on some nice german rye with creme fraiche, onions and dill, even better.

Cole must have got hold of a rotten piece. Even all that smoking is unnecessary. We bake it in the oven with minimal flavoring and it's great. My 1.5yr old Son even likes it.

Yeah, baked is fine too. I just throw it in my pellet smoker for an hour to get up to temp. The little bit of smoke just adds such a nice taste profile too it. Did one in the sous vide with rosemary, thyme and garlic, was also incredible.

Oh, sounds like you just had bad salmon. Also, raw and cooked are a completely different story. I tell you what, go buy one of those sides of salmon from aldi or walmart and brine it in salt, brown sugar, pepper and maple syrup for 8 hours minimum. Rinse it afterwards and pat it dry with a paper towel and let it sit in the fridge open air until it tacky to the touch then throw it on the smoker at 25-275 until internal temp is 137. Take that thing off and let it rest a little and tell me that aint good. Put it on some nice german rye with creme fraiche, onions and dill, even better.


No.

Bleed them out and get them on ice right away. When you fillet them, skin them too, cut them into strips and don't leave the blood line in. They are great fried into fish fingers.


No.

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I was right.

I hate to say it but you might be a Philistine.

...and you might be right. lol

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I was right.

Bleed them out and get them on ice right away. When you fillet them, skin them too, cut them into strips and don't leave the blood line in. They are great fried into fish fingers.

Get them along all the time the beach at dawn when the tide is up just tossing a silver Kastmaster on 10 braid with 40 fluorocarbon leader. Once in a while a king, tarpon, or snook takes it too. Though to be honest, if I am chasing snook that isn't my approach.