Eelpout: world's most sought after game fish?

[Fish On!]

February is drawing near which means time for eelpout. Burbot is not just a noise you make after drinking a few too many, I believe it to be the truest "gamefish" of the northwoods. Let's face it, muskies, smallies and walleyes are a dime a dozen. Those fish appeal to the masses. I believe guests of this HSOforum are fishing purists and recognize the skill and finess and resolve it takes to hunt down this killer of the deep.

I'd like this forum to share its eelpout experiences. I invite you to share your comments about this fearsome fish and through this shared knowledge, maybe we can all gain some insights and understanding of this curious, cold-water creature called EELPOUT!

[This message has been edited by Fish On! (edited 01-27-2002).]

[Jim W]

Ahhh, Lawyers!!!!!!

Not many stories. How ever, if you want to catch many, very large pout, head to LOTW!!!

It is truly amazing how many 8-10 pounders we pulled through the ice our last visit to the big lake!!!

I'll give them this. THey come in like a walleye on the vexilar, grab like a walleye and fight like a walleye(for 15 seconds). I'm not so sure I enjoy the tail coming up the hole before the head!?!?

Jim W

[The Chemist]

The first one I caught was a couple years ago up on LOW. It was getting dark so we decided to head in since the fish had quit biting. Mind you we were after walleyes so we were using 3-4" shiners. I start pulling up my line thinking it felt strange, well once I got it out of the hole here was one attached to my shiner. And it was about the same size. The next day I caught a 4lb. one and made a mess out of the lines in the house.

[Cyberfish]

I got a decent burbot on the big pond a few years ago. I was fishing out on three mile right at dusk, and was into a good school of active walleye. I got some good eatin sized fish really fast, then somthing really slammed my jigging rap . I thought i had a huge eye on. I could see him on my flasher as I was pulling him up, and he was heavy.
I got him about half way up and then the thing happened that all fishermen dread! The big one got away! Somehow the hook pulled free. I noticed that I could still see it on the vexilar, so I figured I had nothin' to lose by dropping my lure down to him and jigging. Well, that fish slammed it again!
He really didnb't start fighting til I got him near the hole, then he started going crazy. when I finally got him through, I could see he was not the lunker walleye I was hoping for, but at least I got a good story out of it!

Cyb

www.gemfishing.org

[Cyberfish]

I got a decent burbot on the big pond a few years ago. I was fishing out on three mile right at dusk, and was into a good school of active walleye. I got some good eatin sized fish really fast, then somthing really slammed my jigging rap . I thought i had a huge eye on. I could see him on my flasher as I was pulling him up, and he was heavy.
I got him about half way up and then the thing happened that all fishermen dread! The big one got away! Somehow the hook pulled free. I noticed that I could still see it on the vexilar, so I figured I had nothin' to lose by dropping my lure down to him and jigging. Well, that fish slammed it again!
He really didnb't start fighting til I got him near the hole, then he started going crazy. when I finally got him through, I could see he was not the lunker walleye I was hoping for, but at least I got a good story out of it!

Cyb

www.gemfishing.org

[Guest]

I fished Mille Lacs two weekends ago and caught a few nice pout. I had rattle reels set up in a friends sleeper. Flutter spoons tipped with fatheads. Caught the pout from 1-3 in the mourning. One was close to six pounds and the others were in the 3-4 pound range. Fun to pull up and even more fun to try to hold on to em'.
Good Fishing, Matt.

[hunt4food]

A couple years ago, I caught a big one(just over 11#) while fishing LOW. The resort owner told us they were delicious! I could not believe it, but decided to try it. They prepared it by cooking it in boiling water with some secret seasonings in the water. We ate it with drawn butter. It was delicious!!! If you have never tried eating it you are missing out! Last winter I caught one up there that had about a 12" lamprey stuck to the side of it. I lifted the Burbot out of the hole and the Lamprey dropped off and started slithering around on the floor of the shack! Jeez, you should have seen my fishing partners bail out of that door!! Ahhh!!! The memories!!

[jt24]

Does anyone know when that eelpout contest is at
Walker?? I have never fished for them but sounds like its pretty fun just watching all the people on the ice that are drunk and trying to catch a fish! lol

[Gonzo]

I caught a pout over nine pounds on LOW a couple of weeks ago. I love fighting those things! That one also had a lamprey on it. The lamprey dropped off as soon as the pout was out of the water. That nasty little thing intimidated the h*ll out of three big guys! My two buddies were more than willing to deal with the big pout, but since I caught it, they said I had to get rid of the lamprey. The bomber driver from the resort said the lamprey are native to LOW, and not the same as the great lakes lampreys. It took quite a few pout for me to get the gumption to take them off by hand, I hope I don't have to build the same courage on those wiggly little eels!

[Guest]

I caught a pretty good sized one when I was fishing on LOW over semester break about two weeks ago, I never weighed it but I'd say it went about 10 pounds, it was 32" long I dunno how that translates to weight in that species.
It felt like I was pulling up a log, until it got it about half way off of the bottom. Then it swam in huge looping circles, making sure to ensnare itself in every line in the house. Thankfully I was with a good fishing partner who had no fear of the big slimey ugly monster, And immediatly plunged his hand into the fish's mouth, and threw it outside before it wrecked anything. The very next day I bought a Gaff.

I love the meat you get off of them, If you cook it right, it tastes just like lobster. It's nice and firm, and doesn't have a fishy taste at all. When my dad and I are were at the cafe in strathcona an old timer from Greenbush told us the best way to cook burbot was to marinate them overnight in milk, and then broil them on a broiler pan. I'd recommend trying it next time you get a good catch.

[hawgTime]

You're joking right? In ND, we consider Ling (eel pout, bubout) a sh*t fish, like a bullhead or a carp. Noone actually fishs for these things, do they?

mike

[Guest]

a lot of people consider them a junk fish here too, I don't think you should consider it a junk fish just because it's ugly. And we're not kidding about how good the meat is either, I actually like it better than walleye.

[Guest]

Those lamprey scare the $hit out of me, they look like something from a sci fi movie

[Gonzo]

I'm afraid of them too There's something just wrong with that long mouth and no eyes. I'm sure they're harmless, and our fears are irrational, but they wiggle a lot and I'm not giving them a chance to use me as a host for one second. Let's invite the "crocodile hunter" up to LOW and "have a look at this!" If he can handle a mamba.....

[hawgTime]

dirty22

I've heard people say they're good eatin'. Sakakawea in ND has a decent population of ling/eelpout and I always manage to accidently catch a couple each winter. They're definitly a link in the evolution of land animals. They always reminded me of a salamander without legs. Just curious. How do you clean eelpout? Like a catfish, or do you fillet it, which meat is good, any bones? Also,how long do you cook um?

mike

[This message has been edited by hawgTime (edited 01-26-2002).]

[Guest]

I haven't caught any catfish since I was about 10, so I can't remember if this is how you clean them or not.

The easiest way to clean them is to just take the back straps out of them. Cut along the fin deep enough to break the skin, starting from just a little ways behind the head. Cut like that all the way until you're way back at the end of the tail. Then cut straight down. Go back to the head and cut down until the line on their bellies. Follow this line back to the spot on the tail where you cut down before. Take a plyers and rip off the outer layer of skin thats there. Now cut out the loin just like you would take the back straps out of a deer. Kind of pulling and cutting as you go.

The way I cook it is posted above, I'm not sure on the exact broil time, I'd say anywhere from 20 to 25 minutes. You can always cut it open to see if it's done, or use a meat thermometer.It's also equally as good fried in butter. I've also heard it's good boiled, and then served with drawn butter.

[This message has been edited by DirtyB22 (edited 01-26-2002).]

[Fish On!]

I finally had a chance to track down the elusive eelpout in Walker this weekend.

It's still early in the season, but the fighting was fast and furious.

I let my guard down for a moment and paid the price. The trouble started when I set my rod down on the table (bail closed, but with some slack for a fish to run). Sure enough, one hit so hard, the rod launched off the table into the air and then bolted right down the hole. Quickly, I plunged my arm down the ice hole, up to my shoulder. The water was freezing and I fought to maintain consciousness. I managed to grab the rod handle by my fingertips, but the fish wasn't giving an inch. The struggle continued as I lay protrate on the floor, but I just couldn't get any leverage on the beast. My numbing hands were pins and needles. I got a better grip on the rod, my confidence was gaining, and for a moment I thought I was making some headway... SUDDENLY, the cork handle broke off in my hand. The fish was too strong. I lost the rod.

Before any of this happened, I had toyed with the idea of tying the rod and reel to my ankle or anchoring it to the ice house with a string. Thank goodness I didn't; this monster may have pulled me right through the ice!

Eel Pout--1, me--soaking arm.

A couple of hours and a few trash fish (walleye) later, the bells went off at the other end of the ice house. I set the hook. I noticed a slight pull, but whatever it was, it didn't seem to put up much of a fight. I kept hand lining in until I got to my bobber. But then I came to another bobber; then I came to two fish hooks and a big tangled knot of fishing lines. Huh? It was late, sobriety was a distant memory, and I wondered what the heck was going on. I kept reeling. Finally, I pulled up the rod and reel I had lost down the hole earlier! The tangle up was pretty amazing considering the deep water and the holes were pretty far apart.

I Sure wish I could have caught a glimpse of the big one that had taken my rod and reel for a joy rod that night.

I got on the scoreboard a couple of hours (and several beer later) before sunrise. That seems to be when burbot start moving, (after the beer that is). They fought courageously, as eelpout always do, but all I could think about was the one that had gotten away. I guess that's what keeps us comming back.

[Guest]

HAHAHA,
I was dang near rollin on the floor reading that. I know just what you mean too, I usually anchor my rod to the heater when i think I'm in a place to catch a big burbot. The big one that I caught this year ended up stretching my 20 lb test line by about an inch and a half. if I end up catching a giant fish with a rod trailing it I'll make sure and post on here to let ya know where to get it from.

[Fish On!]

Note to self (and others interested in improving their eelpouting skills):

Make sure to bring a plyers and a mouth spreader thing. An eelpouts mouth isn't tough like the bill of muskie or northern, and you don't really have to worry about teeth or sharp gill rakers. But the facial anatomy of burbot poses its own problems to the angler, and I've noticed that hook sets can be a little tricky to remove. Although they have huge pie holes, their mouths are rubbery like a bike tire and one must handle the fish as little as possible to avoid "the slime" (more on that later). Gilling them is a good way to get a handle on them, but the second you poke your finger in its gills its mouth clamps down like a hydraulic vice, making it nearly impossible to get at your hook. Without tools, I hold the fish belly down on the floor with one hand while I pull, twist, and tear at the hook with the other hand. Unfortunately, this approach does little to minimize slime exposure. I believe holding the fish by the mouth with the mouth spreader and removing the hook with the plyers is the way to go because it involves the least contact. However, eelpout are powerful and like to wiggle and shake, so there is always the risk of some slime flying off and getting into your eyes (causing blindness) or landing in an open bottle of beer (causing instantaneous death if ingested).

About the slime. Scientific rumor has it that the slime is either a sort of fish antifreeze or some type of weapon it uses to stun its prey. As noted above, it is poinsoness and I think it might even be flamable. The stuff acts like napalm in that it covers and sticks to everything it touches and if not treated it will quickly (or slowly depending on the strain) destroy your flesh like acid or mutant flesh eating bacteria. Last weekend I bought a new pair of deerskin work gloves--nice and soft--but after a few eelpout, they are completely ruined. Word to the wise, don't try to save money and go bare handed. It's either the gloves or the hands, and I think a pair of gloves is worth the price of admission to duking out one on one with this incredible sportfish.

[Guest]

truth be told, I don't think the slime is all that bad. the beginning of this year when I caught my very first burbot of the season, I was also roasting some very tasty deer sausage on the sunflower heater. Now, I only had the two deer sausages.In my haste to secure the monster, he ended up dripping quite a bit of slime on my poor defenseless meal. K, before you get too grossed out, I hadn't taken the bunz out yet, so I rolled the sausage around in some snow, and then went back to cooking it. Apart from this D*mn nervous twitch i have now when ever i eat deer sausage I'd say I'm non the worse for wear.

[Fish On!]

Meat marinated in eelpout slime sound disgusting. There might be a reason I haven't seen "eelpout sauce" at the grocery store, but perhaps you are on to something. I'll check it out.

I agree snow seems to be the best disolving agent for slime.

By the way can anyone tell me what the state/world record is for Burbot?

[Guest]

See that picture at the top left there on ice leaders? I believe thats the minnesota state burbot right there. 19 lbs and some odd ounces. I think, not sure though

[Minnetonka]

It's great to hear about people catching lot's of "Lota"! The Burbot, Eel Pout, Ling Cod or Lawyer is the only freash water member of the Codfish family. The Latin name is Lota lota from the family Gadidae. I know information overload! The Eel Pout seldomn exceed 10 pounds, but some up to 75 pounds have been caught by commercial fisherman in Lake Superior (Northern Fishes by Eddy and Underhill 1974) When I was in fisheries Biology back in the 70's at Bemidji State University, one of my friends did his masters work on the diet of Eel Pout. Basicly the eat the same diet as Walleyes. I have eaten them and they are excellant. the slime is a protective coating that is basicly an anti-bacteria coating. All fish have a slime coating, some just more then others.

[cold one sd]

hawgTime, I have a real bang up way to clean eelpout. I attach them to a one by ten by thumb tacking their fins to the board. I then put the barrel of my 31/2 inch magnum in its mouth and pull the trigger. I then throw the lips away as everything else seems to dissapear before my very eyes. I haven't had the chance to find out how they taste, but I hear they are very good. Maybe someday someone will give me a taste and I will be a believer too. lolol.

[Poutmaster]

My moniker says it all. Long live the Pout!