Gaftop hauls !

Started by Shellbelly, April 05, 2023, 12:18:31 AM

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Shellbelly

Had fun with some salty cats.  3 trips and around 20# of filets.

After the third trip, I was sinking fast.  They're still biting!
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

Benni3

Great job my friend,,,,, ;) looks like you where on them,,,,, :D what gear was you using,,,,, ;D

akfish

Why did you keep them? I was always taught that they were all but inedible.
Taku Reel Repair
Juneau, Alaska
907.789.2448

day0ne

Quote from: akfish on April 05, 2023, 05:23:26 AMWhy did you keep them? I was always taught that they were all but inedible.

Gafftops, or properly, gafftopsail catfish are a fine fish. Not thinking of hardheads are you?
David


"Lately it occurs to me: What a long, strange trip it's been." - R. Hunter

JasonGotaProblem

#4
Yeah if you can get past the slime, and the additional slime, and the slime you find after you think you've cleaned it all; they're a mild flavored flaky white fish that's great for frying.

That slime though.

They are ubiquitously known as "sail cats" around here.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

thrasher


Shellbelly

#6
Quote from: akfish on April 05, 2023, 05:23:26 AMWhy did you keep them?
Actually, I'm glad to see this question.  The gaftop is often confused with the hardhead catfish since the latter is much more common and a nuisance therefore any saltwater cat must be a hardhead.  The only use I've had for hardheads is in the crab trap....minus heads.

Many anglers easily confuse either of the saltwater cats as a hardhead.  Here's a pretty good example of the differences in appearance.  The gaftop is a hard-fighting fish and a bunch of fun on light tackle.  Right now, they are spawning.  I could probably go get a dozen more today, but I'm worn out. 8)

They are good to eat.....just messy.  Aren't kings a little messy, too?

Oh, and here, they have to be 14".  No bag limit.  Catch what you can physically handle and clean up afterwards. 
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

Shellbelly

Quote from: Benni3 on April 05, 2023, 02:42:25 AMwhat gear was you using,,,,,

One is a 9'6" homemade with a 6600C5.  The other is an AllStar Gulf Stream with a 209 in case the reds come by.  Also alternated an 8'6" Wonderod with a #9 Penn. 

I don't like dropping these hooked fish on the ground, so I take them straight to the cooler, still hooked, drop them in, and close the lid.  Then, use the spare rig while the hooked fish calms down and can be safely unhooked.  One jab from those spines and you're done fishing for a few days.  Who's gonna clean fish if you're wounded?     
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

jgp12000

Years ago I caught a sail cat in Florida and this local guy told me they weren't good to eat?I always soak channel cats in salt water overnight and they are great,sometimes muddy tasting if not .

Shellbelly

Quote from: jgp12000 on April 08, 2023, 12:24:04 PMthis local guy told me they weren't good to eat
They have a mild taste.  Never had to soak them in anything.  I've found over many years of being around saltwater fishermen, many dislikes are rooted in what is taught or believed rather than experiences. 

Others are influenced by being timebound and not having many opportunities to fish, so they target certain species.  Any "bycatch" just eats up the clock....especially if they are paying 300 bucks for a half-day.   

Some don't like to handle a slimy fish so it's considered trash just because of that alone.  Some only care for the "Big 3", trout, redfish, and flounder so everything else is a nuisance.

I don't like getting covered up in hardhead cats.  I'll move around all day trying to get out of those fish.  I have a good friend who will sit there and catch/release those all day just because he gets his line pulled. 

I'll fill a cooler with whiting and croaker if that's what's going on....and it soon will be.  Some won't keep those....."too boney"...."not big enough", etc.  They may have never put a croaker on a hook and turned it into a blacktip or a big spec.

I feel the same way about rays as others feel about gaftop.  I turn them loose and won't mess with them at all.  They're landmines to me.  Others have found ways to eat those...and like it.  I've never tried rays.  Someday I might.  So, I too have my own beliefs that are deeply rooted...and possibly mistaken.

It's all good.



"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

thrasher

Some Florida locals will say barracudas and checkered pufferfish/toadies are trash and or poisonous but they are two of my favorites to eat.

Shellbelly

Quote from: thrasher on April 08, 2023, 11:22:36 PMbarracudas
Well, here's an example of what I wrote.  I was always told not to eat big barracudas.  Problem is, I like fish so I ate it anyway.  I'm still here and don't have a twin growing on the side of my neck or anything.  That being said, I have since learned of the risks and wouldn't eat another one unless I could see it first.  Unfortunate, but that's the way it is.
"Little boy,  you can get glad in the same pants you just got mad in."  (My Momma)
"You shot it boy, you're gonna clean it and eat it".  (My Dad)

mley1

Gafftop are excellent eating. Congratulations on some good messes of fish.
Good luck fishing,

Marty

oc1

#13
Baracuda are prone to having Ciguaters which is a neurotoxin they pick up from certain types of algae that has worked its way up the food chain..  Because the algae and herbivorous fish that eat ir have a patchy distribution, the incidence of  Ciguaters poisoning is worse in some areas than others.

Puffers and toadfish have their own neurotoxin.

It's Russian Roulette.  You can eat them for years and then one day get horribly ill.  It takes a long time to recover from a naurotoxin..

Catfish venom hurts like hell and the puncture can easily become infected.  But, they are not usually a long term problem.  Hardheads may be the worst tasting catfish on earth.  They are a lot worse than the muddy taste freshwater catfish can pick up.

thrasher

Quote from: oc1 on April 10, 2023, 06:47:17 AMBaracuda are prone to having Ciguaters which is a neurotoxin they pick up from certain types of algae that has worked its way up the food chain..  Because the algae and herbivorous fish that eat ir have a patchy distribution, the incidence of  Ciguaters poisoning is worse in some areas than others.

Puffers and toadfish have their own neurotoxin.


Yup, how the story usually goes. Not saying to do as I say or to do as I do, suppose I should have stated that.