Fish De Jour

[Big Mike]

Went fishing with a Gary and Ron today and as fortunate would have it Gary caught a cutlassfish and at the last second I asked him to save it for me, I wanted to try it. Here it is ready to be cleaned.



Not knowing much about them I did the cut to backbone and run knife to tail method. A very delicate backbone but I was able to follow it relatively easy.



It has an incredibly small rib cage that was easy to remove. I started to skin the fish but was mangling the meat so kept it on the rest of it.



The skin proved to be no big issue, highly edible and no scales. I used some Peruvian seasoning blend I like on fish and pan fried with a touch of oil. The skin shrunk almost immediately and curled the filets. The filets are so thin they cooked in under a minute over medium heat.


The color is from the spice. Now for the real test, what does it taste like? As I took the first bite I noticed the flesh had a texture kind of like crab, a little al dente chew which I liked. I would also say it kind of tastes like crab, just not as sweet. Would I eat it again, absolutely. For me it was better than rockfish or speckled trout. So if you happen to catch one of these unique fish don’t be quick to toss it back. Toss it in your cooler instead and thank me later.


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[J.A. Veil]

Nice catch and good preparation report.

[Shady]

That last pic looks like bacon, so it must be good! I've tried it before as well and found it to be very good.

[john from md]

I was curious and found another way to prepare it.
"
Cutlassfish is one of those remarkable ingredients like cuttlefish, that eats well no matter how you prepare it. ... The cutlassfish fillet is cut into strips which are lightly grilled before being flavoured with salt, wasabi and squeezed yuzu juice – no soy sauce is needed in the eating."

[mike o]

Nice catch Gary

[Yak67]

Thanks Mike, Crazy year. Tried the Big Mike-Just one lure method (3-inch Gulp) and have gotten a slam on it already.

Tight-Lines
Yak67
2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo
2019 Hobie Outback

[J.A. Veil]

Thanks Mike, Crazy year. Tried the Big Mike-Just one lure method (3-inch Gulp) and have gotten a slam on it already.

Tight-Lines
Yak67
2017 Hobie PA-12 Camo
2019 Hobie Outback

I have caught blue crabs on Gulp before while bottom fishing, but this morning I had an unusual catch. I was trolling slowly in 5 ft depth. My rod with a 4" Gulp on it bent but did not shake. I slowly wound in to find a doubler crab couple that I had caught on the Gulp. This event created two firsts for me:

1) Catching two crabs at once on a lure.
2) Catching crabs while trolling.

Sorry about the blurry photos -- it was so humid my lens got partially fogged.

The Gulp also produced a few stripers and perch while casting to shallow points in a marshy area.

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[Slobber Bob]

Looks good, Mike. I've heard they are excellent table fare, but I've yet to catch one to find out my myself.

1) Catching two crabs at once

Hopefully you got the second, smaller crab to keep for bait - it was likely a peeler.

[Jman]

Mike - love the catch and cook there! I know the fellas back in VB loved eating them. They would go out at night around the HRBT to catch them.

[Slackdaddy]

"Bacon of the Sea" ??

That last pic looks like bacon, so it must be good! I've tried it before as well and found it to be very good.

[ronaultmtd]

So many good things to eat come from the water...and the water...speaking of the waters we fish...SMOG has had some phenomenal good luck this year- one of our best ever, especially with Speckled Trout which really has made the difference...big citation size trout...but the very same water we caught Our 23 1/2 inch trout yesterday comes up empty today...You would swear the water was devoid of life...different day, different conditions, different results- that is fishing! Early morning, same tidal situation...nada! Go figure! The old saying...”you should have been here yesterday” is applicable...like Others have posted...there is no sure fire “honey holes” in fishing...if there were, it would get boring and lose its mystery

[Big Mike]

Today we got at least 7 cutlassfish. They all came while it was very dark dawn and near rocks with moving water. The majority of cutlassfish fish I’ve caught have been in very low light conditions. They hit paddle tails with abandon.

[ronaultmtd]

I caught five...and kept four...Caught five species yesterday...only brought home two. I tried the cutlass fish based on Mike’s recommendation...you need a very sharp filet knife, but it is pretty straight forward filet operation...no special preparation, cut the filets in four inch long pieces, same size as the Speckled trout filets, seasoned with Tony Chachrez no salt Creole seasonings, salt and dropped in gallon zip lock plastic bag of 50-50 mixture of all purpose flour and ground corn meal, shake vigorously, coating all pieces evenly, drop in hot peanut oil in large cast iron Dutch oven...when filets float to surface remove to paper towel to absorb excess oil...serve hot. To my taste, the Cutlass fish is very mild, very good fish- as good or better than the Speckled Trout.

[summersoff]

Caught a couple those today, weird fight
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