Fish Ident

Cariadco said:
Polock...I think.
Treat like a cheep Cod, tastes the same!!
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Ooh, jolly good. Dinner!

I'm currently motoring for Salt Scar north cardinal, so I'm going to head in to Hartlepool from there, drop the line again before I get in, and see if I can get some more. I've only got three at the moment. Not much meat I don't think, by the time they have been gutted etc.

Thank you.
 
Oh, I'm not being told that Polock don't have a red back. Not sure if you can see that on the pic. They also have a little beard, like a barbel, but just the one.
 
Definitely a pout. Full of small fine bones, and ok to eat if you cook them within 10 minutes of catching them, otherwise the flesh is stale and fairly tasteless. If you can't catch anything better, fry them quickly in a hot pan, using butter and some garlic to add some flavour. If you're in a spot where there are pout, it's likely there are also some bream, maybe skate, dogfish (they're everywhere though), and possibly some flatties like plaice. Personally I'd rather eat pout than skate, and I'd rather go hungry if the only thing available was dogfish.
 
I let two of them go, and one was sacrificed as bait.

Waited until I got into hartlepool bay, the dropped a line of baited feathers in. Within 30 seconds, I had two mackerel on the line. Kept one (I was only going to eat one, so why be greedy). Cooking it up now.

One thing I do need to ask... how do you best kill a fish? I don't want to make them suffer if I can help it. I've been running a knife under their gills then pressing down to snap the spine. I figured it was the quickest way I could do it, but they twitch for a bit, and I don't like to think they can still feel pain.

I know it's only a fish, but nevertheless, nothing deserves to suffer a long death.
 
How to kill Mackerel.....

Years ago, I took my then Girlfriend (A Canadian) on a shark fishing trip out of looe in Cornwall. When we we're fishing for the bait ie Mackerel, she joyfully lept on every one that was shaken off the flies, shoved a thumb in it's mouth, and bent the head back until the neck was broken.
She killed them all, much to the horror of most of the lads who were fishing. She's a bit of a babe, in a tiny bikini....imagine the scene.
I didn't know where to look.
Anyways, it's an efficient way to kill 'em, stone dead, Canadian style.....
 
nathanlee said:
One thing I do need to ask... how do you best kill a fish? I don't want to make them suffer if I can help it. I've been running a knife under their gills then pressing down to snap the spine. I figured it was the quickest way I could do it, but they twitch for a bit, and I don't like to think they can still feel pain.

I know it's only a fish, but nevertheless, nothing deserves to suffer a long death.
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Squirt bottle full of alcohol. We used Jack Iron 80% proof rum at a cost 1$ a bottle. Whe did not bother much about this for a long time as we used the knock on the head with a pump handle method then this happened.

Pulled a big fish alongside the boat just as we were entering a bit of interesting pilotage with other boats around. We thought it was a Wahoo which is excellent eating but it might also have been a big Cuda. It looked drowned so we just heaved the 6 foot 70 lb plus fish aboard. MISTAKE it came back to life and went into hyper thrash mode. It broke up the floor boards, locker doors and other cockpit furnishings. OK I may also have contributed as I was up on the back deck flailing away with a boat hook trying to kill it.

After this I learned of the alcohol trick and now I use it where ever a large fish is involved. One squirt in the gills brings instant oblivion. Never tried it on a shark, we just cut those loose.
 
Fish?

would be nice to catch one. i dragged a little and expensive plastic fish lure and a paternoster of mackerel feathers on seperate lines for 400mls+ at varying speeds all over the ionian up to last week and did'nt catch a thing. never had any luck in years.
Chas on Kentrina's login
 
I'll second the thumb down the mouth and snap the head back method. Trying to get a good, clean killing blow with a winch handle on a slippery, squirming mackerel can be tricky. The vodka down the gills method I have heard of but always seems a waste of booze.
 
nathanlee said:
PBO only covered Makerel and Bass this month, so I'm at a loss :p

What is this, and can I eat it? I caught three, two of a better size. I've got them in a bucket at the mo, but if I can't eat 'em, I'll put them back.

Picture at link below.

http://onkudu.com/2009/08/07/what-is-this/
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It is a pouting, they are not great eating but better than going hungry! They taste ok but lack the texture of better eating fish but are good if gently cooked or fishcakes.
Martin
 
When I was introduced to the broken neck operation it was to keep them fresh by stopping them thrashing without killing them. Is that unspeakably cruel - how many neurons does a mackerel have?
 
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