cooking drum and redfish

Bird · Jun 27, 2011

Yep, the red snapper is certainly some fine eating. And in Texas, you can still keep 4 with a minimum length of 15", but look at the "Special Regulation" at the bottom of this page.

Western · Jun 27, 2011

schoolsout said:
We can't even keep any Red Snapper here any longer...None..nada...zilch

That's sad too.

My wife and I, used to make the opening day of Snapper on the Texas coast up until 10 years ago. We would go out on a 100' charter boat with about 80 other people because it was cheap $65 each. At the time we could keep like 10, then they started the length limit and I'll tell you what, the charters boats killed more Snapper by 10 times what they kept.
The small ones we where required to throw back, so you would see 100's of small Snapper floating in the current behind the boats, sad thing to see when most of the folks would have been happy taking them home. Pulling them up from 100', is hard on them even though "popping" the protruding stomach was "supposedly" to help with the mortality. Such a waste for the fishery.

schoolsout · Jun 27, 2011

Yea, they have gone to using circle hooks for most anything now and "venting" a fish is a must.

We'll fish ~600+ feet deep from time to time, but now that is outlawed for the most part.

Sucks

Western · Jun 27, 2011

Bird
Thanks for the update on the limits, it was 2 last a couple of Springs ago, according to the charters web page. It has all but put them out of business.

I like circle hooks too, especially for aggressive fish like the Striper or Hybrid, and ocean fish, you just have to let the hook do the work. The place we would set out of, always used circle hooks as long as I can remember or paid attention. Most of the fish we went for, where never closer than 20 miles off shore and on occasion we went past 60 miles, average was 40 miles to the better Oil derricks and reefs.

schoolsout · Jun 27, 2011

Western said:
Bird
Thanks for the update on the limits, it was 2 last a couple of Springs ago, according to the charters web page. It has all but put them out of business.

I like circle hooks too, especially for aggressive fish like the Striper or Hybrid, and ocean fish, you just have to let the hook do the work. The place we would set out of, always used circle hooks as long as I can remember or paid attention. Most of the fish we went for, where never closer than 20 miles off shore and on occasion we went past 60 miles, average was 40 miles to the better Oil derricks and reefs.

I have no problem with them for a good bit of the fishing I do, but they are required for sheepshead now...they were already hard enough to hook with a J-hook

All of the bottom fishing I do for grouper, snapper and things like triggers/sea bass is done with circle hooks.

sldva00 · Jun 28, 2011

Bird said:
At Port Aransas, I've seen porpoises come up and throw flounders that way; don't recall seeing them with any other fish, though it's a sure bet they do play with other species of fish, too...

I've seen them toss specks around down here in the Lower Laguna Madre.

Another way of cooking redfish is to grill them on the BBQ pit. Fillet them and leave the skin and scales on. Season the meat anyway you want and then lay them skin side down on the pit. Don't have to turn them. Some folks lay them on a tray out of aluminum foil. The juices stay in the tray this way. I usually remove the skin if I'm going to lay them on aluminum foil. I really don't like the skin, but sometimes I do make exceptions.... stuffed flounder:licking:

deerefan · Jun 28, 2011

sldva00 said:
I've seen them toss specks around down here in the Lower Laguna Madre.

Another way of cooking redfish is to grill them on the BBQ pit. Fillet them and leave the skin and scales on. Season the meat anyway you want and then lay them skin side down on the pit. Don't have to turn them. Some folks lay them on a tray out of aluminum foil. The juices stay in the tray this way. I usually remove the skin if I'm going to lay them on aluminum foil. I really don't like the skin, but sometimes I do make exceptions.... stuffed flounder:licking:

We had 2 flounders on the line. They both spit the hook right at the boat. I was looking forward to flounder stuffed with crab meat.