changa Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Went out sunday arriving at browns after 1pm, took my dad, my bro and my son and battled the slop and tried to have a bash at browns. It was blowing a gale and trying to get to the bottom was not easy. We did manage to catch a uncommon fish called an OPAH . Opah are a pelagic that hang with marlin and tuna but have been caught down deep also. They are very nice eating and are held in high regard by Tuna pros that occasionally catch them on their long lines and they fetch very good prices at market and turn up at nice restaurants on their CATCH OF THE DAY menus. Anways, thought i'd share it with you guys & gals just in case you catch one and thought to yourself instead of Opah, or Moonfish cheers changa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Great fish Brett and brilliant colours. Would make a great wall mount I hope you submit this Opah as a new fishraider record for the species Congratulations to your crew. Cheers Swordfisherman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOOB Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Changa, It is a strange but beautifully coloured fish. Looks like there is enough there to keep the whole tribe fed. Gotta put it in fish of the month, I doubt that there will be another one of them in it and its a bit of a change from all the YFT and Blue Eye that have been posted of late. GOOB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Well its only natural isnt it, we have a Sunfish so why not the Moonfish to go with it. Nice catch btw, good to see somthing diff. penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregL Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 That's cool! Nature at it's best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 What an amazing fish Definitely a species I have not seen before. How would you fillet something like that? A beautiful fish, mate, and congratulations on your new Fishraider record Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
changa Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 What an amazing fish Definitely a species I have not seen before. How would you fillet something like that? A beautiful fish, mate, and congratulations on your new Fishraider record Hodgey Hodgey, filleting is not that difficult with a nice sharp knife and some helf from a friend to help hold back the flesh whilst you fillet. They have a very hard breast plate(you can see where the rib aree is missing) that you have to cut around but apart from that, there is not many bones at all. changa ps. i have no idea how you submit for fish of the month, and being caught sunday, that would make it a fish for June wouldnt it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgey Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Great photo mate. Looks like there is a fair slab of fine-tasting meat there Yep, your fish would definitely qualify for June Catch of the Month. The thread for June's fish is currently being worked on. This link explains: http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=31330 Look for the link (hopefully) tomorrow, then submit your fish as you would any other post. Good luck mate! Hodgey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemo1203 Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Great fish there mate, never seen one of those before well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregL Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Wow the meat is pink! Looks like Atlantic salmon, let us know what it tastes like please. I thought it would have had a white coloured meat as most deep water fish I have caught have had. Happy eating! G Might have to invest in one of those electric reels now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
changa Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Wow the meat is pink! Looks like Atlantic salmon, let us know what it tastes like please. I thought it would have had a white coloured meat as most deep water fish I have caught have had. Happy eating! G Might have to invest in one of those electric reels now. I was also very surprised to see that the flesh ranged from a dark pink to salmon coloured and even a tinge of orange. I have read that they are known to differ in flesh colour in different areas of the fish. It cooks up white, and my brother has already had a meal of it and said it was absolutley LUSH!!! Im lookin forward to a meal of it myself. will certainly let you know what its like. changa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laredo Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 very interesting. I think they are a rare catch because they primarily eat jellyfish. I saw a cast of one about the same size in an italian restaurant in melbourne congrats I'd love to see any more photos if you have them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royboy Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Nice catch there changa . I recently saw one of these in the local fish shop, slightly smaller than yours and it was selling for $40 a kilo! Interested to know what it tasted like. Never seen one being caught before. What did it take? Want to know just in case one accidentally wanders into the harbour. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
changa Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 (edited) Nice catch there changa . I recently saw one of these in the local fish shop, slightly smaller than yours and it was selling for $40 a kilo! Interested to know what it tasted like. Never seen one being caught before. What did it take? Want to know just in case one accidentally wanders into the harbour. Cheers. The Opah is a pelagic, not a demersal. It eats squids and other fishes and usually hunts similar areas to marlins and tunas. This particular one was caught on a whole squid set as a deep bait on 37kg game tackle. We were certainly NOT targetting it (how can you target something you have never caught.......lol) Royboy, i belive they are quite expensive and not that common but they do certainly get caught occasionally by pros mainly. Very pretty fish. changa Edited June 3, 2008 by changa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtosea Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Awesome Catch there Brett, it is the most intriguing fish to me that swims in the ocean. Apparently they are good as Sashimi. Did it have a strong smell? I heard they smell a bit? Well done Kamil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vipernut Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Wow that is a really cool looking fish Make sure you enter it in the fishraider records section,I cant see anyone beating it anytime soon. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR@ZY OS@M@ Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 i have never seen that fish before,well done esp on its size,awsome stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
changa Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Kamil, they dont smell at all and yes, we ate some fresh as i filleted it. was very nice and i later found out that they are great sashimi but when cleaning the fish on the dock in the dark and rain, i could not be bothered jumping back on the boat and mixing up some soy and fresh chopped chillis and wasabi changa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennmreid Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 great fish. well done on the new species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankp Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 How good is that, top report. Geez the weather doesnt look too inviting in the backround of the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOOB Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Changa, I've sought some guidance from a wise old Greek fisherman, commonly known hereabouts as RED. He tells me the name OPAH is derived from the Greek meaning "you little ripper" , which can commonly be heard yelled out loudly by persons of Greek ancestry when they are on to a good thing. I'm pretty sure you and the boys may have yelled out your own version when you saw what you had on. GOOB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylo Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 ...OPAH is derived from the Greek meaning "you little ripper" , which can commonly be heard yelled out loudly by persons of Greek ancestry .. .. or at Mykanos on Crown Nice catch ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lukeric Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Did it put up much of a fight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
changa Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Did it put up much of a fight? being a pelagic, they are able to dive to great depths and ascend fast also without blowing up. It had my bent butt 37 t curve with taigra 80W bent in half pulling off much more than 15kg of drag at stages. its the best fighting bottom species caught to date. All i need now is a Broadie changa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted June 5, 2008 Share Posted June 5, 2008 Great fish Changa, Rather you than me pulliing something like that up off the bottom though. Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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