arpie Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 (edited) Hi guys Had the morning to myself with Keith going to art class today, so I hit the breakwall (Forster side.) It was a bit slow to start off with, but then a few fish decided to 'go on the chew'. Eventually I got 4 & managed to outfish the local 'guns' today, so that was fun! It doesn't happen often, I can tell you! This is the first time I have seen 'all the boys' on the wall since last season! We were shoulder to shoulder & all fishing different depths, weed & distance from the wall. The water is still murky & some 'guns' have been 'bagging out' already! They have been getting some really big fish. My biggest one went 39cm! He pulled really hard, too. All were males. I will leave them in the fridge overnight & smoke them in the morning. Tomorrow morning, I reckon I shall hit 'Spot X' at Tuncurry & see if his father or mother are still out there! Haven't fished there since the social, when Stewy got his nice one! I am looking after the remaining Narrabeen weed - may have to get Sails to post some to me!!! (If it is still there, following the big wet & flooding of the lake!) Fingers Crossed it hasn't been washed away! Cheers Roberta Edited December 25, 2008 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Well done Roberta Sounds as if you have your a little social club of Blackie fisherman and women up there. I have never eaten smoked Blackfish and assume that is your preferred method of cooking those fish? Enjoyed your report Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 Hi Martin It really was a fun session! There are about 10 'regulars' who fish the wall for blackies (& jews the rest of the year!) & we often end up at the same spot when the blackies are on. There is a lot of good natured 'ribbing' & today, I was able to give some back!! I don't often see other women blackfishing, for some reason! No smelly bait to worry about - should be their preferred catch! Re cooking - I usually just crumb them & freeze them (see below) http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=17392 Along with tailor & mullet, blackfish smoke really well, too & it is a nice change from fried food. Cheers for now Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flattieman Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Onya, Roberta! That's a bag of lovely blackies in anyone's language! Good to see you sticking it to the 'guns' . Well done. Flattieman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Duffell Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Great report roberta good to see some raiders gettin out for a fish, personally im too strpaed for cash to get out ive got a leak to fix in my car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Well done on your feed of Blackies there Roberta penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi waynie Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Chioce blackies there, I've never fished for em but hope to since reading your reports. I checked out your post on crumbing fillets and would like to know how you do your smoked fish, I use a highland portable smoker and would like to build a proper set up at home. Lata Raida Waynie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 (edited) Hi Brad - so sorry to hear of your car problems - hope you can get it sorted sooon!! The good thing with blackies is, once you have your weed, there is no cost! No smelly bait .....Yahoo! Hi Waynie You must get into catching blackies!! They are tremendous fun to hook & land & terrific eating! Re: Smoking fish: Main Rule No 1 - Smoke the fish outside, away from the back door/open windws, or the house will smell of smoked fish for days! For smoking, I use a 2 layered portable one, & use one of those small 'camping' gas stoves (with disposable gas bottles) to cook them. I prefer hickory chips ahead of sawdust - much better result. Soak the chips in water for about 3 minutes (about 1/4cup of hickory chips depending on how many fillets you are cooking) I rub brown sugar (be reasonably generous but not too thick) onto the exposed flesh on both fillets then sprinkle a bit of salt all over it (about as much as you'd put on hot chips!) You will notice a 'juice' appearing - that is just the salt sucking out some of the moisture. Any decent sized baking dish or an old electric frypan makes a good smoker - no need to buy a 'special' one. The one you use, keep only for smoking! Even 2 round stainless steel bowls will do, as long as one is slightly smaller than the other, to act as a lid. Get a cake rack to fit the shape of the dish/pan you have selected. If you are lucky, you will find a 'layered' rack, ie 2 layers. Line the dish with alfoil (put alfoil up the sides a bit to collect the juices.) Place the damp chips in the centre of the alfoil & spread out a bit so they are in a single layer in the centre. Put the cake rack in & place the fish on it, flesh side up. Put the lid on & turn on the heat. The fish should take about 20-25 mins to cook. Check after 20 mins ... use a skewer to test 'doneness' in the thickest part. It works better with more fish - rather than just one or two fillets. It is better not to overcook them, as they go dry & tough. When done, remove the fillets & rack, then roll up the alfoil & toss away the 'mess'! Never use treated timber for smoking - but if you find a favourite 'flavour' of timber & manage to bring some home, just set your electric planer to 'fine/med' & take off as many shavings as you need (or do the whole lot!) Keep dry in an ice cream container. You can also use flavoured tea (eg earl grey etc) and some folk use wildrice! Never tried that! If camping out, you can use small leafed native plants (not eucalytpus, as it is too strongly flavoured.) I did some trout in the Snowies with it & it was great! 5 mins preparation, 20 mins cooking (approx) & dinner is ready! Also great cold, spread on crackers! Watch for the bones tho! Edited June 18, 2007 by Roberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobfish Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Great dedication Roberta, its good to see you reaping the rewards too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roosterman Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 well done roberta... its still raining heaps down here and once it stops ill target jews for a period then try to get some late spawning blackfish.. hope i can do as good as those ones.... or better .... steve.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 Hey Steve They mustn't have received their invitation to the Social!!! Making up for it now, tho! Good luck on the Jewies! Cheers ROberta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Well done again Roberta! I think the local 'guns' will be following you & telling their mates that they have seen the local 'gun' luderick fishing! Great stuff. It will only get better over the next couple of months. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGibbo Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Roberta, you're a legend! I love your passion for fishing and truly enjoy reading your reports. Keep them coming and it's great to hear you giving the "regulars" a bit of competition ... bet they can't cook a fish as well as you can. Cheers Marg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Dan Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Nice work on the blacks Roberta. I have not tried smoked blackfish yet cant wait to give it a go. I have done a fair bit of smoking in my time and as you describe is exactly how my father showed 20 years ago back in NZ. I currenty use one of those little camping smokers about the size of a case of beer. I just put that over the top of the bbq instead of the Metho, it does the trick. Hey Waynie When I was back in NZ we use to have a smoke house about the size of a portaloo toilet. We use to do about 50 fish at a time in there. If you were looking at making one here a good way is to rip the inside out of a small bar fridge and putting a burner under chips inside that, or by making a small fire in there and let it burn to the embers then chuck in the fish and shut the door. My all time fav smoked fish is Australia Salmon butterflied with brown sugar and salt and left covered overnight before cooking - YUM!! Cheers Kiwi Dan ps - Just in case anyone didnt know, you dont have to scale the fish when smoking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildfish Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 great work roberta! love the techinical term "doneness"! great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Roberta, You are the Queen of Blackfish. That 39 model looks like a solid fish. When this weather clears up, I am going to have a shot at them in Sydney Harbour. I like the smoking idea. That recipe is the same one as we use for trout and mackeral. It is very good. I agree on the hickory chunks. They impart a superb flavour. We smoke our fish in a Weber BBQ. They are excellent smokers. Cheers Ceph.. (Might try smoked squid one of these days) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkles Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 (Might try smoked squid one of these days) You are a squiding nut ceph. Great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gretsch Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 (Might try smoked squid one of these days) You are a squiding nut ceph. Great stuff. That I am... I have finally come out of the closet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labrador Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Nice catch there Roberta, we are still suffering from too much coffee and milk here in Sydney, can't do blackie fishing (or any fishing at all) at the moment. Can't help noticing the cut on top of the head of those fish, do you do that to bleed after reeling them in to keep fresh or there are some other purpose? Just curious, because normally I cut them down the throat to bleed, that is if don't want to use the keeper net. Cheers, Scout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Hi Kiwi Dan The first smoked fish I ever really enjoyed was when we were living in NZ & used to go to the Coromandel via Kaiaua! The best fish & chip shop in NZ! They used to smoke their own kawhai (Australian Salmon) in the method you described (a large shed) & used thin Manuka branches that still had their leaves on, tossed onto smouldering coals. Can't remember if they butterflied them from the belly to the backbone & from the backbone to the belly! Beeee-utiful! So smooth you could literally 'spread' the flesh on bickies & eat it. I used to make a mean smoked fish pie out of it! Which way did you butterfly them & how did you hang them in the shed? I assume you leave the head on & split it in half, too? I made a deeper smoker that I could hang fish in (using a metal drum) to try that method, but all the bloody fish fell of into the chips & got all dirty & overcooked! Not sure what I did wrong! Have gone back to 'flat fillets' style again! Re using a fridge - modern ones wouldn't be any good - too much foam & stuff in the construction that could release harmful bits upon being heated up! If you ever find an old 'stand up' clothes dryer (and I mean about 30years old now, they are all metal) or an old metal anything ..... some have been known to use a metal work box & stand it on its end, add shelves & Voila! Smoker with full sized door! Don't forget, you can smoke anything really - chicken esecially does well (you can just use drumsticks if you like - takes too long for a whole chicken!) You can even precook the chicken till it is about half cooked, then finish it off in the smoker to get that yummy flavour! Hi Marg - it really was a giggle beating the boys at their own game - only done it like twice now!! One of the guys was really getting a bit annoyed at not catching any, as he sees himself as being a fishing guru...., and he always gives me a really hard time, but because I had given him some Narrabeen weed, he has back peddaled on the worst stuff, as he wants to use me as a steady supply! God Knows, if I was married to him, I would have been up for murder or manslaughter at the very least! Hi Scout - I used to slit their throats, but found the bigger ones really struggled & I couldn't get a good grip on them & ended up with cuts all over my hands from the spikes. Now, I just hold them down with a rag & half decapitate them! Works just fine & no more cut hands (they hurt like hell!) I do it as soon as I catch them, then put them in fresh sea water. The bigger ones have been known to jump out of the bucket if kept alive for killing later. I don't use keeper nets anymore, as a moray eel got into mine & chewed a big hole in the bag & the fish!! Hi Ceph - never thought of trying to smoke squid - my problem is, I'd have to catch the squid first!! Wouldn't take long to do it, tho, I reckon! Sunny day here, but very windy. Went to Tuncurry & fished for 2hrs for 2 nibbles & when the wind picked up, I packed up! Saw a couple of blokes at my spot on Forster side, but couldn't see if they got into fish. At least they had the wind on their backs. Huge low tide today - almost as high as the normal high tide is! Can't wait for the wind to die down - a real pain (not to mention, just bloody cold!) Cheers Roberta PS They should be on in Sydney & everywhere else, too!! Get into 'em! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Dan Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Hi Kiwi Dan The first smoked fish I ever really enjoyed was when we were living in NZ & used to go to the Coromandel via Kaiaua! The best fish & chip shop in NZ! They used to smoke their own kawhai (Australian Salmon) in the method you described (a large shed) & used thin Manuka branches that still had their leaves on, tossed onto smouldering coals. Can't remember if they butterflied them from the belly to the backbone & from the backbone to the belly! Beeee-utiful! So smooth you could literally 'spread' the flesh on bickies & eat it. I used to make a mean smoked fish pie out of it! Which way did you butterfly them & how did you hang them in the shed? I assume you leave the head on & split it in half, too? I made a deeper smoker that I could hang fish in (using a metal drum) to try that method, but all the bloody fish fell of into the chips & got all dirty & overcooked! Not sure what I did wrong! Have gone back to 'flat fillets' style again! Re using a fridge - modern ones wouldn't be any good - too much foam & stuff in the construction that could release harmful bits upon being heated up! If you ever find an old 'stand up' clothes dryer (and I mean about 30years old now, they are all metal) or an old metal anything ..... some have been known to use a metal work box & stand it on its end, add shelves & Voila! Smoker with full sized door! Hi Roberta, I thought of calling them Kahwai but didnt think anyone would understand. When i butterfly them i drive the knife straight down alongside the back bone into the stomach and then bring the knife down through its head, then go backwards towards the tail. You can easily get the guts out once open. We use to hang them from a whole heap of hooks we made out of thick fence wire. We used manuka/tea tree as well, i think you can get it here but im not sure what you call it. I have a tree outside my apartment that looks exactly the same. All this talking of smoked fish is making me hungry now!! cheers Kiwi Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Hunter Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Roberta, Nice fish well done I'm keen to get back at them down here but I'm thinking that I may have to drive a tomatoe steak in the ground to hang onto given the next few days forecast. Bugger. The float won't be a floatin' it will be a flyin' in the storm force winds. Beaudy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arpie Posted June 19, 2007 Author Share Posted June 19, 2007 Hi guys Got another 2 this afternoon - wind was blowing, but the float managed a reasonable drift & I got 2 big thick ones. All the 'guns' had given up & I had the wall to myself! My other half was at the indoor swimming pool, so I took advantage of an hour on my own! (sorry for the blurry photo - they were about 37cm & chunky! Camera wouldn't focus!) I also dropped 3 of similar size - or bigger - one virtually straightened the hook! With the weather turning nasty, I reckon I'll give it a rest for a day or two!!! My neighbour has been getting into some huge bream - but he 'deals' with them at the water, so I haven't got any photos! Cheers Roberta PS Hope you all ride out the storm tonigh OK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fibbo Posted June 20, 2007 Share Posted June 20, 2007 Nice posts Roberta, nice fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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