So Many Varieties

[Ryan Miloshewski]

23 hours ago, netboy said:

Speaking of suckers, there are a ton of them here in the White River below Bull Shoals and I have never seen anyone fishing for them or trying to gig them at night. Strange that they are popular in Missouri rivers, but not down here. I would like to try one sometime but have no clue how to catch them. They don't pay any attention to my flies.

They love trout eggs. Can't use them, obviously, but I'll bet you can catch them on a crystal meth or an egg cluster fly. 

Corn, nightcrawler, etc. all seem to work. I've even caught some on Lilley's jigs on the bottom. Just score the meat and fry. Absolutely delightful.

[oneshot 1]

2 hours ago, tjm said:

The way we caught them when I was a kid was by "grabbing". where large treble hook was fixed several inches above a large sinker and a sighter rag attached that let the angler see where the hook was in relation to the fish, then when all lined up a lift of the pole pulled the "grab hook" into the fish. Snagging in modern terms I guess. They would let all the boys leave school when the redhorse run started and we would wade and drive the fish back and forth past the grabbers.

Dad  and his friend would also gig them by wading at night using either carbide miners lights or a car battery in a wash tub connected to a head light from the tractor. My job to push the tub, which also held the fish. Gigging was not a winter time thing like it is now. No gigger I knew of used a boat.

They will eat worms and nymphs as oneshot described, but they can spit faster than we see if they don't like the taste of the hook.

I have hooks for grabbing.  Can't wade or ride in a Boat anymore. 

You can only grab during Snagging Season.  Have never had a problem catching them. 

I might add I have a Rod for Snagging Spoonbill from the bank.

oneshot 

[MrGiggles]

2 hours ago, Terrierman said:

Thing is, I like buffalo wings.  But not shark, swordfish, tilapia and most swai.

I hear you.

The swordfish was from a restaurant in Boston. I liked it.

I got the shark from some guys that come visit every fall from California. I forget the species, it was the kind with the long whippy tail. I thought it was really good, and I'm not much of a chef.

[Quillback]

25 minutes ago, MrGiggles said:

I hear you.

The swordfish was from a restaurant in Boston. I liked it.

I got the shark from some guys that come visit every fall from California. I forget the species, it was the kind with the long whippy tail. I thought it was really good, and I'm not much of a chef.

Wonder if it was a sand shark, or dogfish.  Supposedly they are the "fish" in fish and chips served in England.  They were annoyingly plentiful in Puget Sound.  Never ate one myself.

[nomolites]

Thresher.  I’ve not eaten but they are supposed to be good.

Mike

[MrGiggles]

3 hours ago, Quillback said:

Wonder if it was a sand shark, or dogfish.  Supposedly they are the "fish" in fish and chips served in England.  They were annoyingly plentiful in Puget Sound.  Never ate one myself.

Yes, thresher sounds right. They told me that catching them essentially consists of trolling what amounts to a large Rapala stickbait on the surface, the sharks get hooked in the tail when they attempt to stun it. 

[Johnsfolly]

The husband of one of our employees catches a thresher or two every couple of years. I haven't been luck enough to have any. Locally we can get atlantic sharpnose sharks are they are plentiful and tasty. We've caught spiny dogfish but didn't keep and eat any. Been told that they need to be bled immediately and on ice or else they get a build up of ammonia. The smooth dogfish is supposed to be better and likely what is used for the fish and chips @Quillback was talking about.

[Terrierman]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:34 PM, Quillback said:

Wonder if it was a sand shark, or dogfish.  Supposedly they are the "fish" in fish and chips served in England.  They were annoyingly plentiful in Puget Sound.  Never ate one myself.

The fish and chips places I went to in SW England let you order what kind of fish you wanted.  I just always got cod.  And it was for sure good.

[Johnsfolly]

1 hour ago, Terrierman said:

I just always got cod.

I preferred cod or haddock when I was ordering fish n chips in the UK.

If you can get any species of pacific rockfish, especially yelloweye, they are a great fish for fish and chips.

[tjm]

ah, I forgot haddock, it should be just below salmon in my list.