How to keep fish

[svsolaris]

As a relative newcomer to Australia, I've been surprised by the variety of opinions on what to keep and what to throw back. It started with Aussie salmon and I decided to give it a go with great eating results. It just happened again with pike on another thread. Other sites have epic threads on this stuff too.

I think most of the problem is that some fish just don't keep, meaning their flesh is fragile and so must be dealt with properly, but if you do, they're actually delicious. I know this because my dad used to fish carp in lake Annecy when I was a child and it was an absolute treat.

If possible, keep alive until you reach home (bucket with 10cm water), then kill.

Bleed immediately - to do this, when cutting open to gut out, keep going until you've cut under the gills exposing the heart and remove it along with the rest under warm running water (cold water freezes up blood flow). Use scissors (do not tear the arteries)

Some fish like salmon and short-finned pike require additional work: The gut cavity has a white lining that must be removed completely, exposing areas around the spine that contain a large amount of clotted blood. It must be removed completely (rub vigorously with fingers or better, a tooth brush) or it will foul up the taste. Do this under warm running water the whole time and clean thoroughly.

Finally the most important thing: Store in fridge straight away- some fish turn to mush in the freezer- and eat within 48 hours.

A few pics of the grilled pike in herbs we just had for dinner today - an absolute beauty with very white, delicate flesh and sweetish taste (my proof - the kids loved it!):

A word of caution however: Keeping an open mind doesn't always work. For while the above was a triumph, this big fatty eel below was a bloody disaster!

Oh well...

[nbdshroom]

Great stuff. I might be using these tips one day. I think the comments in the other thread were led down that path because of a misunderstanding of where it was caught. West of Harbour Bridge is not recommended for consumption but Middle Harbour is fine if I'm not mistaken. The rest of it is personal preference - e.g. some people like their salmon and tailor and others prefer not. Anyway, the photo's of the food and preparation look good! Not sure what that nasty eel is though, doesn't look local?

Edited May 8, 2013 by nbdshroom

[svsolaris]

Mate that eel came out of Sailors' Bay near Northbridge :-)

So what other controversial fish species are there down under?

[wizza]

sweep would be a big challenge to make edible/tasty.cheers wizza

[Yowie]

Your 'pike' looks like a snook, better eating than pike.

I bought myself an eski last year. I freeze water in a 1.5 litre container and leave it until I go fishing. Put the ice block into the eski with a bit of salt water, and it will stay cold for hours. The fish are killed and bled, then into the eski until cleaning time.

[LungFai]

Carp, the bane of Australian fisheries.

Sergeant Baker, too boney to bother with.

Dirty sweep, good eating fish if you are bothered enough to prepare it, but personally I throw back, buggers grunt too much.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[The Incredible Hull]

Your 'pike' looks like a snook, better eating than pike.

I thought it was a long tom. I caught something that looked very similiar to that in middle harbour, released it cause I had no idea what it is.

[LungFai]

Your 'pike' looks like a snook, better eating than pike.

Naw it's definately a yellowfin stinky Pike

I thought it was a long tom. I caught something that looked very similiar to that in middle harbour, released it cause I had no idea what it is.

Naw long tom's have an alligator type snout

Yellowfin Pike good for Thai fishcakes, but i throw them back because i can't deal with the smell and slime....heck i throw anything back that requires too much work to prepare....that means all fish

[Yowie]

Naw it's definately a yellowfin stinky Pike

A skinny old pike if that's the case!

Edited May 7, 2013 by yowie

[hottyscotty]

I myself find brain spiking the fish, bleed and throw in ice slurry soon after capture to be better. First, the fish isn't suffering a slow death and the brain spiking stops the fish releasing stress toxins (sorry, don't remember scientific name).. Second, the heart is still beating strong to pump the blood out and then the ice slurry slows down whatever bacterial breakdown that happens. I know the kiwis do this to every fish. Probably why the kahawai is actually tasty.

[svsolaris]

2 dorsal fins - definitely a short-finned pike a.k.a snook: http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2550

OK I'm definitely going to try the ice approach and compare.

What about sharks by the way? Any fishos here make a feed of them?

[Robofish]

I love acting shark - dead easy to clean, no bones (cartilage only) and firm white flesh. It making me hungry just typing......

Dave

[adkel53]

I use the 2-3 juice or milk bottles containing frozen water (preferably 3 litre ones) in an esky and add just enough seawater to cover the fish, which I spike in the brain immediately after capture. If they are a bloody fish like kings, tailor, bonito, trevally and the like I bleed them into a bucket for a few minutes by cutting through the neck area and breaking the spinal column, rinse and put into the icy cold water. Works a treat.

Here is the proof. Several weeks ago I caught a lot of flathead with my mate Greg from his boat. Greg was in the habit of trying to keep the fish alive in his live bait tank. That day the pump was not working properly and the fish we kept died. We kept manually changing the water. When I went to skin the fish the next morning (after icing them on the way home and then putting them into the fridge immediately), I found the flesh to be softer than I am accustomed to and the fillets difficult to strip the skin from without breaking them in half. I had given three fish to another friend and he reported the same thing. Greg and I went out again three days later and caught a heap more lizards. This time I had taken a bag of ice which we put into a tub and added some seawater to make a slurry. The fish we kept were spiked and put immediately into the ice slurry. The result - nice firm fleshed fillets that skinned easily. Greg rang me to tell me what a difference that treatment made. He thought flathead were just a soft fleshed fish!

[Krispy !]

Naw it's definately a yellowfin stinky Pike

Naw long tom's have an alligator type snout

Yellowfin Pike good for Thai fishcakes, but i throw them back because i can't deal with the smell and slime....heck i throw anything back that requires too much work to prepare....that means all fish

No it's a snook, there is no yellow on the tail at all, they start to come in around now and into the cooler months. Sweep are great eating when you get a good sized one. I honestly can't see the fuss about sweep. All you need to do is bleed them, put them on ice and remove the lining when cleaning them. Edited May 8, 2013 by Krispy !

[SMn]

I keep the odd sambo - spike and bleed immediately and thorough gutting and cleaning the inside. Then bake whole on the bbq (about 20mins) with lemon, chilli, garlic, onion, salt and pepper placed in slashes down the skin. Than using chopsticks or fork remove the white flesh place on rice paper with rice noodles and salad leave and roll up like a kebab. Dip in mix of hiosin sauce, crushed peanuts and chilli... Bl00dy tops! (mother-in-law is Vietnamese). 50cm sambo feeds the family no worries...

I think most people automatically reject these fish because their grandparents and parents always did. I know my parents and grandparents think I'm crazy until they tasted it... But i reckon most of that was before readily accessed herbs and spices that just weren't a normal part of Aussie tucker in the 70's & 80's... As well as properly dispatching and cleaning these fish... But unless I plan to eat it straight away after catching than I usually throw back... Each to their own though!

[Yowie]

Have eaten sweep about 30cm long, caught off the rocks when not much else about, and the fillets were quite edible.

Most fish are edible, except for kelpies (also called rock cale, cockies or shit fish, with the last name explaining the taste) and carp, and a few others. Herbs, spices, garlic and similar can disguise most fish flavours, but not all!

Then again, not all fish need a flavouring as their specific tastes are good enough by themselves. (I have been eating fish for about 55 years, and can pick most of the common ones, whereas the wife wants some flavouring, sauce, herbs to disguise the fishy taste )

[SargeRX8]

The amount of flavour you need to add to a salmon to make it taste good is over the moon. Trevally also taste like shit. I can eat flathead, leather jacket, jewfish with nothing more than salt. Thats the difference between fish and awesome table fish. Anything taste good with lemon salt pepper oil chilli on it lol but what taste best undressed....

[svsolaris]

Thanks guys, top thread. It looks like the slurry appoach is better although I'm not sure spiking brains in front of my 5-year old is practical :-). I will try when going on my own though.

[SMn]

Thanks guys, top thread. It looks like the slurry appoach is better although I'm not sure spiking brains in front of my 5-year old is practical :-). I will try when going on my own though.

I know it sounds gruesome, but I always spike even when my kids (daughter 6, son 3) are with me. Main reason why is I hate to see the suffocate and also my daughter gets a bit freaked out and wants to put them back if they are flipping about on the beach. Slurry approach is best especially for a boat, but I always fish with what I can carry (usually walk to the beach or rocks) and an esky full of ice is the last thing on my mind. Usually have one of the kids on my shoulders on the walk home; wading bag over shoulder, one kid on shoulders, one holding my hand or running around in circles and my beach rod and reel in the other hand. Buggered if I know what I'll do if ever catch anything bigger than my wading bag can hold! Hahaha...