great way to spend the winter solstice

[Ken Gargett]

went down for a fish, for an hour either side of dusk last night. hardly another soul on the beach, a million stars. and even some fish. hard to beat that (unless it is coming straight off the beach and cooking some for dinner with a cracking clare riesling). 

[Chibearsv]

Nicely done!  Fishing is great but catching is certainly better. 

[westg]

Awesome Ken . Sounds great . 

[Bill Hayes]

Australian Salmon Ken? They go well smoked and also in a curry because of their strong flavour.

[Ken Gargett]

23 minutes ago, Bill Hayes said:

Australian Salmon Ken? They go well smoked and also in a curry because of their strong flavour.

hi Bill. not salmon, tailor. we don't get salmon up here. the americans call them bluefish. they get much bigger over there but can be decent here. i believe that the american fish can get a worm? we don't.

people argue endlessly as to whether they are dreadful eating or the best fish in the sea. for me, if you bleed, clean and cook them as soon as you can, lightly grilled, i think they are as good as any fish. but once they have been frozen, curry is the best option. 

[BoliDan]

2 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

hi Bill. not salmon, tailor. we don't get salmon up here. the americans call them bluefish. they get much bigger over there but can be decent here. i believe that the american fish can get a worm? we don't.

people argue endlessly as to whether they are dreadful eating or the best fish in the sea. for me, if you bleed, clean and cook them as soon as you can, lightly grilled, i think they are as good as any fish. but once they have been frozen, curry is the best option. 

Do you mean bluegill? Bluefish out here are saltwater fish and normally come in at 20 lbs (9kg). These actually look like trout, which os a fantastic fish to fry up

[Bill Hayes]

20 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

hi Bill. not salmon, tailor. we don't get salmon up here. the americans call them bluefish. they get much bigger over there but can be decent here. i believe that the american fish can get a worm? we don't.

people argue endlessly as to whether they are dreadful eating or the best fish in the sea. for me, if you bleed, clean and cook them as soon as you can, lightly grilled, i think they are as good as any fish. but once they have been frozen, curry is the best option. 

Thanks Ken. They look so much like Aus Salmon. And, yep, I reckon if you bleed and clean most free swimming fish like these they taste great fresh. Nice catch by the way and a great way to spend the solstice. You're lucky up there. We're freezing down south. Cheers

[Ken Gargett]

18 hours ago, BoliDan said:

Do you mean bluegill? Bluefish out here are saltwater fish and normally come in at 20 lbs (9kg). These actually look like trout, which os a fantastic fish to fry up

no, bluefish. saltwater. here they are called tailor as apparently they look like a tailor's shears. not that i have ever seen tailor's shears. same fish. ours just don't get as big. a 20 lb fish would be once every 5 years. if you catch a ten pounder, you are doing very well. they move up the east coast in winter and then disappear. they think they go back around and start again but most get eaten or??? there is a theory that they actually cross the pacific, hence why you get bigger ones. i'm not sure of that. 

[BoliDan]

17 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

no, bluefish. saltwater. here they are called tailor as apparently they look like a tailor's shears. not that i have ever seen tailor's shears. same fish. ours just don't get as big. a 20 lb fish would be once every 5 years. if you catch a ten pounder, you are doing very well. they move up the east coast in winter and then disappear. they think they go back around and start again but most get eaten or??? there is a theory that they actually cross the pacific, hence why you get bigger ones. i'm not sure of that. 

Ah, well I've only caught them in the Atlantic. Our bluefish are also very oily. I'm not sure if yours are the same. A New Englander cooking trick we used, after a trip, is to bake it with a slab a mayonnaise on top of the fillet. It will absorb most of the oil but also keep it moist in the process. The mayonnaise adds no flavor unless you add lemon juice, spice or herbs to it. Just scrape it off when done.

[Ken Gargett]

21 minutes ago, BoliDan said:

Ah, well I've only caught them in the Atlantic. Our bluefish are also very oily. I'm not sure if yours are the same. A New Englander cooking trick we used, after a trip, is to bake it with a slab a mayonnaise on top of the fillet. It will absorb most of the oil but also keep it moist in the process. The mayonnaise adds no flavor unless you add lemon juice, spice or herbs to it. Just scrape it off when done.

thanks. will definitely try that. and yes, an oily fish. 

[BlueRidgeFly]

2 hours ago, BoliDan said:

A New Englander cooking trick we used, after a trip, is to bake it with a slab a mayonnaise on top of the fillet. It will absorb most of the oil but also keep it moist in the process.

My first time fishing from the beach on Nantucket in 1999, my wife and I each caught a bluefish (my first, her umpteenth), and her father grilled them exactly this way. They were tasty!