Fishing

[lavacarancher]

Looks like fishing along the Texas coast is going to be down for another several weeks what with all the fresh water draining into the bays. Dang it. On the up side we really needed the rain.

 

[Deepsouth]

You just have to get out in some clean water.

Last week in the Mexican Gulf.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Specks for sure boys were talking Rockport they can forget that for awhile. Galveston Bay and Sabine might try bass fishing with 16 inches hitting Galveston still have to drain off everything from Dallas south it is going to be awhile. West Bay down neat San Louis pass might have them stacked up like cordwood or the beach front.

 

[Brute 23]

Last year there were alligators up against the island because the bay was so fresh.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I've been catching flounder for the last few weeks on Sabine lake and big lake.. a few reds mixed in .. I wouldn't know about specs , they might as well be a gaff top I don't keep em unless someone has been asking for free fish ...

 

[Rafter S]

I've been catching flounder for the last few weeks on Sabine lake and big lake.. a few reds mixed in .. I wouldn't know about specs , they might as well be a gaff top I don't keep em unless someone has been asking for free fish ...

What have you got against specks? I don't know of a better eating fish.

 

[callmefence]

Specks are good , great for a fish fry. But I rank em below reds and flounder.
Best eating fish in the gulf imo red snapper.
Most underrated eating imo triggerfish.

 

[dun]

Best eating fish in the gulf imo red snapper.

Snapper or any of the various rock fish (sometimes called rock cod). Friend of mine says they are such good eating they should be considered beef and not fish. Gotta agree with him on that

 

[Rafter S]

The shallow water fish are all I know anything about. For frying or fish tacos I don't know of any better than speckled trout. I like redfish if it's cleaned and cut in half, but with the scales left on, and cooked on a grill. I haven't eaten enough flounder to have an opinion. Black drum and sheepshead are okay fried, but not as good as specks.

 

[callmefence]

The shallow water fish are all I know anything about. For frying or fish tacos I don't know of any better than speckled trout. I like redfish if it's cleaned and cut in half, but with the scales left on, and cooked on a grill. I haven't eaten enough flounder to have an opinion. Black drum and sheepshead are okay fried, but not as good as specks.

Redfish fillets with the scales left on . Grilled skin down. " Redfish on the half shell"
About as good as it gets right there.
Sheep's head are good . Black drum ,I'll pass.

Another underrated fish you can often catch of the jetties is the little mangrove snapper. Not very big , but you'll be cutting them specks up for bait.

 

[Deepsouth]

Shallow water - specks
Deep water bottom - grouper
Deep water palegic - mahi mahi

Best overall - grouper

 

[callmefence]

Shallow water - specks
Deep water bottom - grouper
Deep water palegic - mahi mahi

Best overall - grouper[/quote

All good. To each his own on rank.
That yellow fin tuna is my dream trip. Gonna do it someday. Seems like off Texas coast they usually have to go quite far out. Tuna trips are often 48 hour trips.
Gonna do that someday.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I've been catching flounder for the last few weeks on Sabine lake and big lake.. a few reds mixed in .. I wouldn't know about specs , they might as well be a gaff top I don't keep em unless someone has been asking for free fish ...

What have you got against specks? I don't know of a better eating fish.

I don't like eating worms.. every speck I have ever caught has had worms in the meat .. they are a little fishy too .. I prefer flounder . Fried grilled stuffed blackened.. as far as off shore fish I like Mahi the best .. triple tail is pretty good too .. the problem I have is the size limit for texas is to large for my liking .. I prefer a 16 in red or 12 to 14 in trout if I am gonna eat one .. we spend a lot of time on big lake in hackberry la.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Hackberry I know where that is. I unloaded fish there 3 trips last season. Mahi mahi is the politically correct name for dolphin.

 

[slick4591]

Hackberry I know where that is. I unloaded fish there 3 trips last season. Mahi mahi is the politically correct name for dolphin.

You tell most people around here you caught and ate dolphin and they want to string you up for killing Flipper. Hard to explain to people that don't know the difference.

 

[Brute 23]

Tuna is my favorite hands down. If you cube it up right off the boat and put it on ice with some dipping sauce... that is the best hands down. That is the cleanest, most pure tasting fish I have ever eaten.

As soon as you dip any thing in the fryer its only as good as the grease you are cooking it in.

Dolphin, Specs and Snapper are all the same to me. Dolphin is not as white and can be a little more fishy than trout some times IMO.

Flounder is good but I cant do one any justice cleaning it. Same with Reds, they are fun to catch but that's where it ends. I would be just fine throwing them back after a pic. They are such a PIA to clean.

BEFORE


AFTER

 

[lavacarancher]

My favorite catching is Reds, Specks and Flounder. Eating, on the other hand, is Flounder, Specks and Reds, in that order. I don't think I've ever seen worms in a speck of any size. Red drum and black drum frequently have worms but usually after they've gotten too big to keep anyway. We fix reds on the half shell. This might belong in the cooking section but we marinate the red half shells with spicy Italian dressing for a couple of hours then just before putting them on the grill drizzle honey over the fish. Make you wanna slap yo momma.
Mangrove snapper is a great tasting fish and a ball to catch. They fight like the dickens. And you can load the boat up with them. No creel limit, no size limit. We catch them all the time down south but I've never caught one north of Port Mansfield. Maybe just not looking in the right place.

 

[Brute 23]

I've never seen worms in a Spec either.

 

[callmefence]

Caught mangroves off the Jetty at port a several times. I agree tuna is as good as it gets. Didn't include it earlier because I've never actually caught one.
I disagree on snapper being the same as maui specs or grouper.
You can put a fresh snapper fillet on the grill with just a little salt and pepper. You swear the thing had been swimming in butter

 

[lavacarancher]

Caught mangroves off the Jetty at port a several times. I agree tuna is as good as it gets. Didn't include it earlier because I've never actually caught one.
I disagree on snapper being the same as maui specs or grouper.
You can put a fresh snapper fillet on the grill with just a little salt and pepper. You swear the thing had been swimming in butter

Fence, a life time ago I worked at a research facility off the coast of Bermuda and we fished for tuna with a 60 ton crane. We would lace a BIG hook in a flying fish and connect it to the hook on the crane and skip it across the water just like a flying fish. Tuna would knock the heII out of it and it would be boom up/cable up and set it on the cargo deck before they would even know they were out of the water. We sold them for beer money.