OK, am I the only one in the closet - A POLL ???

[Willowmaker]

I eat all these fish smoked. Ricqik next time you want to try bowfin try to tie it in cheese cloth with all the spices you would like and boil it till its done. That is not very long. Have fun and try something new. Rough fish are great table fare if you take your time and find out how to cook them to your liking.

[EBass]

WalleyeGFA,
Live sheepheads stink just as much. I understand this is my opinion and others may disagree, which is fine. Eat em up.

[Walleye_GFA]

Ebass - Since you are 99.9% catch and release its funny you would even comment about eating them... lol (as per a post of your in another forum)...

W_GFA

[EBass]

WGFA,
Funny, that comment was made in this forum. Also, you started this thread and wanted "A Poll" Basically to see who all eats rough fish. Well, I don't. Who Cares!
People were putting their comments and stories on here, so I thought I'd share. Freshwater Drum (Sheepshead) stink, as in smell. They are tough fighters and fun to catch, but I'm not going to eat them. Why are you giving me so much dump? Sheesh, this is just someone's opinion.

[Walleye_GFA]

Not sure but I would try anything (almost) once... Anyone ever eaten Lutafisk ??? Wow... thats different !!!!

Anyone else ever notice a Drum (sheepshead) stinking ??? The ones I have caught did not smell like anyhting other than fish... Mind you I dont keep them often, but dont remember any unpleasant smell at all... just fish...

Also, FYI its a big deal in the South to eat "Buffalo" (the fish) as well... its even sold in the grocery stores.

Wally

[Tonka Boy]

Ok, this is off the subject a bit, but how about snapping turtles. A friend of mine lives in Kentucy (red-neck) and eats turtles all the time. They'll head down the hiway in search of turtles that have been freshly hit. He told me the internal organs will still work for up to 2 days prior to being killed (assuming it wasn't totally destroyed). Scoop them up and there you go!

AKA...Roadkill Stew.

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Tonka Boy

[deadeye]

I have never noticed that sheepshead stunk any worse than any other fish. If you want to talk about stink the tullibies and northerns are the worst and lots of people eat those. As to the lutefisk, my freind kept me from eating it when he told me that it is basically fish jello. YUCK ><>
deadeye

[Walleye_GFA]

I have worked in the South a bit, and alot of people swear by turtle soup... Snapping turtles... I have not had it, but if its cooked like alot of other cajun food Ive had, it should be great...

Wally

[ricqik]

Of all the fish I've eaten, bass and northern smelled the worse WHEN being gutted. Northern/musky have a distinct odor everytime I've caught one. Otherwise everthing tasted yummy once cooked. I almost always deep fry the fishes I keep so they all taste the same except for meat firmness. Have yet to try gars, been told the flesh had a mild poison. Is that true?

[Tonka Boy]

What about Tulibee? I've heard of people eating those and they stink like heck also. Personally I won't even let anyone put one in my boat they are so rancid!

Are they best smoked? I don't eat fish either, but I'm curious.

[Bobb-o]

anyone know how to cook suckers without smoking them? is it even worth my time to eat them if i dont have a smoker?

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"I'm definitely, positively, maybe indecisive."

[Walleye_GFA]

I shot a big gar once with my bow, and well, being part redneck (living in the South at the time)... I felt compelled to eat it...

After using tin snips to get the skin cut, it was cleaned just as any other fish, I recall it has teh same bones as a pike, Y bones...

It was delicious... as you said deep fried they all taste the same, but in retrospect it was VERY similar to pike (but without the initial slime or smell !!).

TO expand the post for those who have been reading it... Ive also had BBQ Coon (Racoon), great (but I would rather have beef or pork at $20.00 a plate)... and "Mountain oysters", although the taste is not unpleasant, the though is... for something that tastes EXACTLY like chicken fried steak, Ill eat chicken fried steak !!!!

Wally

[Dave B]

Saltwater sheephead-

MUCH different than the freshwater or drum. The saltwater ones are also called zebrafish. They are shaped like an angel fish and have black and silver strips. I caught and cleaned some in Marco Island FL. They were very good-esp w/ tequila and lime!

[Walleye_GFA]

I know the fish your speaking of... the one I was talking about is the "Redfish" found mostly along the Gulf Coast (they also fish for them on all teh saltwater fishing shows... in the flats)... it looks identical to the freshwater, except for coloring and spots...

http://www.redfishing.com/images/brucesbigred.jpg for picure of redfish. This is a huge one... usually around 5 pounds...

[This message has been edited by Walleye_GFA (edited 04-10-2003).]

[This message has been edited by Walleye_GFA (edited 04-10-2003).]

[Aquaman01]

Bobb-O,
The first fish I caught at ripe old 7 was a sucker, and my aunt (wonderful woman) cleaned it & fried it right along with the trout my uncle caught. Don't recall it being nasty, and being a scrounger, it probably has a much lower merc content than a predator.

Nobody mentioned Rock Bass. Thorough cooking takes care of any worry about parasites, and they taste just like sunnies.

Ever see a really bad/funny horror flick from the 80's - Motel Hell?

"Meat's meat and man's gotta eat!"

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Aquaman
<')}}}}}><{
Peace and Fishes

[Caesarfishinguytoo]

Aqua,

I had rock bass, **** good eatin fish! We caught some nice ones on Winni one summer cooked them up - delicious!!!

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I like Tail

[Lunker]

My family has a bias against rock bass, but once when I caught and cooked one about a pound over a fire it was pretty good. Any one ever eat fish this way? You scale a sunny for example, gut it and put it in this wire holder over a fire. Tasty but messy. The lake my cabin is on constantly yields rock bass over 1 lb. My brother accidently released the state record, no joke it was 3 pounds!

[Aquaman01]

I've got a feeling that with the state record being 2 lbs., it wouldn't be hard to beat - but there's that silly bias against 'em.

When I brought a stringer home and was filleting 'em out, one of my wife's friends said "ew! you're gonna eat that bottomfeedr?" My reply?

"Walleye feed where?"

That's cool - more for us - my kids LOVE lemonade-marinated rock bass.

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Aquaman
<')}}}}}><{
Peace and Fishes

[Sturgeon46]

If you'd ever like to try snapping turtle soup, you can get it in a can at Byerly's right in the soup section. Bookbinder's Snapping Turtle soup. . . It's pretty good.

One of my favorite fish a lot of people turn their noses up at is the silver bass. Breaded and fried I think they are fantastic.

[catchin some]

Since you are talking about non - standard table fair I will give you this warning about Waterfowl - Don't try a COOT. I did it on a dare and now won't do it again even on a Triple Dog dare. First it bled like a stuck hog when I cleaned it then it tasted like its other name "MUD HEN"
Hope I saved some daring soles the misery.

[Lunker]

My father used to be friends with this czechoslavakian guy who would hunt just for coot. After shooting them he would hang them by their feet until the body pulled away from the feet and fell to the ground. Would take a few days. Then he would eat them. Said he was aging them. Now thats gross.

[Joe's Kid]

My Dad used to tell me about living on a farm with his grandparents in the 1930's.
He and his grandpa would go down to the creek at night, light a fire on shore and fish for a couple hours. They always came home with a gunnysack full of bullheads, catfish, and whatever else was biting. They would put the bullheads in the stock tank, and whenever they wanted fish for dinner, they had fresh ones on hand. Grandma would clean them and put them in a pan of water with a pinch or two of baking soda and put it in the icebox overnight to take the muddy taste out of them.

[deadeye]

Now that is one hell of an idea! Fresh fish whenever you want it! i bet they kept that stock tank pretty clean too. ><>
deadeye

[Dennis Steele]

Now I have had turtle soup and just plain fried turtle.
The company I work for has a spring fishing trip and its tradition to bring something weird to eat.A day or two before we went on our trip some guys found a snapper out for a walk.Shelled min out and threw him in the fryer.The greasiest thing I ever ate!It was rubbery to boot or like a boot!
White bass are good if you take out the lateral line and any red meat.
I also tried a small "Waconia Walleye" (sheephead).It didn't taste bad but not good enough for me to stock the freezer with them either.
Talking about birds...woodcock are great.I think they tase a little like....nope, beef.

[Walleye_GFA]

That about sums it up... I wouldnt want to stock the freezer with em, but not bad. Waconia walleye huh ??? Then I do quite well for walleyes at Waconia... lol

Wally