Croakers

[Bionicbob]

I caught a s*** load of croakers this year. This is the first time I ever caught them. I was at Island Beach, and most of my hit's were made at night. They seem to vanish when the sun comes up.
I was on a Texas fishing site and asked them about these fish and they told me they were very common in there waters and are great to eat.
How did everyone here do with them things?
If you ate them, how?
Thanks
Bob :confused:

[Cardshop]

I fish Seaside Park and IBSP and there were way too many of them this year. Caught some larger ones too. You could fill a coller in 15 minutes if you wanted too. They were all over the place too.

They have alot of bones but they are pretty big so you can pick thru them ok. Fish tastes good. Pan fried fillets or bbq'd.

[BEACHBASSARD]

HAD PLENTY IN BRIG THIS FALL BIGGER ONES HAVE NICE FELLETS GRATE FITTING FISH HIT HARD AND WILL TAKE ALMOST ANY KIND OF BAIT SAME AS A BASS. SHAME THEY DONT GROW TO 20 OR 30 LBS. :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Bionicbob]

Yeah, I do recall them hitting pretty hard. I threw them in a bucket with fresh salt water. I got to the beach at 2am and left at noon and they were STILL alive when I left. I changed the water every 2 hours or so. I was bored so I would take them out and listen to them CROAK!
Ok the bite was slow that day OK? LOL :rolleyes:

[fishin4em]

i started catching them in IBSP last year, i am glad they have moved into our waters, they provide some action when the water gets too warm for bass. At least when they around you don't spend the day staring out at the ocean. i have eaten them and feel they are ok, i prefer king fish alot more!! fillet is small even on a large croaker,they are all head and rib cage. down south they call them knuckelheads. i would like to see a few more species of fish that are predominatly from the virginia and carolina's coast visit our water's during that boaring time of summer when bass and blues are hard to come by. my next fish to catch is the black drum, they seem to be traveling up the coast in more number's each year and get quite large

[Cardshop]

I agree with fishen4em as more drum fish are being caught. I had a brand new Diawa rod explode on a large drum this summer. Nice fight for 20 minutes, lost a large fish 50 pounds or so in the rough surf.

King fish are an outstanding fish to eat. Wish I could catch more of them. I like them better than stripers. Plus you can use light equipment and have some fun. I intend to target kings and fluke more this coming year. That way I'll be ready cause the big stripers will be gone all too soon with the easing of the regulations and what's going on in the southern states.

[Ding]

They are great eating. They are like a cross of weakfish and kingfish. The meat is more firm than weakfish. I actually prefer eating croakers than weakfish. You do have to be careful when fileting them as they do have a few more bones. They are excellent bait for sharks, tuna, and dolphin. They were around in NJ years back and they dissappeared for a few years. They have made a very nice come back. A nice fighting fish also. HAPPY DAYS.


Ding

[on the hook]

Agree with Ding. I give my weaks away and keep the croakers :D They and the weaks are same family. Caught them wade fishing in Texas also. I think the kings are great eating too. Like croakers though, a small fillet with a lot of bones.

[fishin4em]

i have no problem filleting a kingfish, no bones and great tasting meat. i caught 69 one afternoon and wanted to smoke them like whiting, never got the chance to, had to eat them baked. i heard of a nice sheep's head caught this summer in jersey, did they ever travel the shore here in good number's?? i read that they were abundant years ago in sheepshead bay ny

[Bucketman]

I think croakers are very good eating. As far as the bones go after you fillet the fish lay the fillet skin side down and feel along the front part af the lateral line than cut a vee as far up as you feel the bones. Use the meat as you would any other fish.

[Mike Hammer]

I too much prefere them over weekies. The chesapeake is loaded with them every year and we go down there on vacation and many a day you could fill a 55 gal drum with them. There are alot of fisherman that travel up fron NC to fish an area called oyster and I've seen boats with 6 100qt coolers filled and the only reason they stopped was they ran out of bait or they were just plane tired.

I'll keep them when for the table when they get over about 14", but you can't ask for a more hardy bait.

[Bionicbob]

Thanks for the replies.

[A Frayed Knot]

They also make great Bev's croaker cakes. The problem with them is that they can tear your hands up if not handled properly. The first time I caught them I learned a good lesson. Two us caught about 40 of them and the first one I filleted I tossed in the water and the pointy gill plates that they have tore a pretty good gash in my thumb. :eek: It only happed once but that was enough. redface.gif

[Capt Steve]

I had a chef on the boat one day and he kept all the croaker for his restaraunt. He said that the best idea is to scale them, head and gut them, then put them in a zip lock bag with bottled Italian dressing. Let them marinate for an hour or so, then, get the grill hot and lay them right on the grate. Cook for 4-5 minutes then turn them and cook 4-5 minutes more. Then, the skin peels right off and you put them on the plate, hold the tail and use a fork to separate the meat which will easily come away from the bone. He says, no bones, easy to clean and eat great. I don't eat fish but I've given this recipe to many of my charters and they have raved about it.

[finaddict5]

On the Hook- so it's official, you are a bonafide surf jockey. Saw your post on those kingfish we hammered. You know I love them too. I can see you getting one of those salmon/steelhead St. Croix rods as well. :D

[ 01-25-2004, 01:37 AM: Message edited by: finaddict5 ]

[striper2278]

Croakers taste great if cooked the right way. People always ask me if you can eat them. They have very white meat but do have some bones. I once had croaker salad, which didn't taste all that bad!

Plus the little buggers put up one heck of a fight! :D

[ 01-25-2004, 10:55 AM: Message edited by: striper2278 ]

[striper2278]

.....opps

[ 01-25-2004, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: striper2278 ]

[BIGGESTJACK]

THEY ARE MYFAVORITE FISH TO EAT.

[striper13]

Skip eats fish?????....13

[striper2278]

Originally posted by striper13:
Skip eats fish?????....13 I had it once, Jacks son made them. smile.gif

[BIGGESTJACK]

SO I MADE HIM EVERYBODY HAS AN OFF DAY??