Why barracuda?

[nutsack]

hey, ive seen a few videos and comments about people shooting cuda's.. why? i thought they taste nasty and have some type of acid after a cirtain size. whats up with the cuda shooting? :confused:

[ShootIt]

Some have ciguatera, usually bigger ones, cuda have very nice firm white flesh and are very good table fair. bigger ones put up a great fight and are excellent chum.

[LunkerBuster]

Under two ft, delicious. Over two ft, great fight and great chum

[H2O ADDICTION]

Taste great - But they're gonna stink up the fish box and slime all over! Some guys don't even want them on the boat.

[hammerhead786]

Another reason. They make great shark bait. If you can't get Bonita they are awesome for catching sharks. When I was running a charter boat I used to use a slab of kingfish for bait. I know divers enjoy seeing the Cuda's and they are not around as much down here so I opted to not take them very often. King fish are plentiful, easy to catch and equally as good for shark bait. Fast forward: I got boarded with a half of a kingfish in the bait box and the FWC told me he could take me to jail and fine me for that. I told him I still have the other half out on the kite and would be happy to real it in so he could see it was plenty legal if size was in question. He said no not for it being short for it not being in whole condition. The was the last time I used a king for bait. Cudas have no regs and they are shark candy. You can get a lot of bait off of one fish. I've even reused my bait after catching a shark with it. Once in a long while I'll shoot one for bait.

After not shark fishing off the beach for a long time I went out this past Friday night. I used a small Cuda and fished from 9:00PM-2:00AM and went 3 for 3.

The meat of Cudas if they are 3' or under is very good table fare if you clean and ice it right away. The problem is the slime on the cuda stinks like rotted ass and you don't want the nasty slime & stink getting all over your other fish and in the box. I don't think there is any greater Ciguatera risk from eating large Cudas (here in Fort Lauderdale) than there is from eating large grouper, kings, or cubera's. They eat the same reef fish and the reality is grouper eat much more. If I get a large fish I test it. I never eat the plug in the grouper head, the roe or eat fishhead soup anymore as if the fish is dosed you will ingest a mega dose of the poison. I learned a great deal on Ciguatera from the guys at Cigua-check and people I got to know in Hawaii when I lived there (were Ciguatera poisoning is fairly common).

[Spear CR]

I have seen people take cuda from the grill over red snapper, black snapper and I agree.

It's one of my favaritos.

[stevemc1]

Yes, barracuda is a very good eating fish. I only keep them 3' and less if taken in the Keys. I keep them 4' and less from here, the West Coast of Florida. I got 2 yesterday, both about 3' 4" and ate some last night and today. Still have no symptoms. Just kidding, never had a problem from fish here, just the Keys. I feel they are one of the top eating fish. They also dont have any fat, so they freeze well, and I have eaten cuda that was frozen, and of course sealed well, that was over a year in the freezer, and it tasted fine, no fishy taste. I normally only eat fresh fish, but sometimes it gets stuck in the back. You can cook them just about any way you want, and they come out fantastic. I saw them on Iron Chef America and the secret ingrediant was barracuda, and all the people/judges that tasted it said it was the best fish they ever tasted. I feel snook is just a little bit better, and most likely the best..

[pernicia]

deep fried it! it taste great

[fljgilner]

how do they fight after being shot? getting more and more interested in trying this out cause they are getting thick up here!

[stevemc1]

If you stone them they dont fight. But I am sure they would fight pretty hard if not hit good.

[Spear CR]

how do they fight after being shot? getting more and more interested in trying this out cause they are getting thick up here!

Keep the business end going in the opposite direction for at least the first run. :D

[fljgilner]

so maybe could use a reel to be safe? even the smaller ones?

[Spear CR]

so maybe could use a reel to be safe? even the smaller ones?

It's worth a free shaft if you are in shallow enough waters, but a reel would be perfect, I think.

Steve has more experience than I do so maybe he can tell you how he harvests them.

[hammerhead786]

so maybe could use a reel to be safe? even the smaller ones?

There is nothing safe about shooting Cudas. I've shot a few giant one's (for what i've seen in this area anyway...)The largest was 74" and off my kayak. I shot a 69" directly through the head about an inch behind the eye @100fsw (which was as big around as a beer bottle) and the thing went nuts, came back on me three times before I got a strong hold on the business end. When I finally got to the top of the water (I was alone) I yelled for help for one of my buds to help hoist it into the boat because it still was kicking around. I had it's body scissor locked with my legs and both my hands around the center piece underneath it's jaws to keep head control. They took one look at the things head n teeth and said F-You! and moved to the other side of the boat. I ended up getting her in the boat but my ass was wore out from it. I think Lee shot a giant one in Hillsborough and it ripped the gun out of his hand like he shot the back of a speed boat. I've had no problems with the smaller one's but I treat them all like I was handling a venomous snake. I figure any bite is going to be bad judging from their dental work. I've never shot one when I had a reeled gun but I would rather get immediate control of the head on a cuda anyway. I've had good luck going right in on them. They bring out the sharks too so keep that in mind.

[PartyBoy]

Another reason. They make great shark bait. If you can't get Bonita they are awesome for catching sharks. When I was running a charter boat I used to use a slab of kingfish for bait. I know divers enjoy seeing the Cuda's and they are not around as much down here so I opted to not take them very often. King fish are plentiful, easy to catch and equally as good for shark bait. Fast forward: I got boarded with a half of a kingfish in the bait box and the FWC told me he could take me to jail and fine me for that. I told him I still have the other half out on the kite and would be happy to real it in so he could see it was plenty legal if size was in question. He said no not for it being short for it not being in whole condition. The was the last time I used a king for bait. Cudas have no regs and they are shark candy. You can get a lot of bait off of one fish. I've even reused my bait after catching a shark with it. Once in a long while I'll shoot one for bait.

After not shark fishing off the beach for a long time I went out this past Friday night. I used a small Cuda and fished from 9:00PM-2:00AM and went 3 for 3.

The meat of Cudas if they are 3' or under is very good table fare if you clean and ice it right away. The problem is the slime on the cuda stinks like rotted ass and you don't want the nasty slime & stink getting all over your other fish and in the box. I don't think there is any greater Ciguatera risk from eating large Cudas (here in Fort Lauderdale) than there is from eating large grouper, kings, or cubera's. They eat the same reef fish and the reality is grouper eat much more. If I get a large fish I test it. I never eat the plug in the grouper head, the roe or eat fishhead soup anymore as if the fish is dosed you will ingest a mega dose of the poison. I learned a great deal on Ciguatera from the guys at Cigua-check and people I got to know in Hawaii when I lived there (were Ciguatera poisoning is fairly common).

How do you test for ciguatera? I'm in louisiana, and have heard of a few people talk about this, but I don't know anything about it. People here eat anything and everything. I've only heard a few people say don't let pregnant women eat AJ's bigger than 50 lbs, large cobia, and large cudas.

[Proulxr07]

There is nothing safe about shooting Cudas. I've shot a few giant one's (for what i've seen in this area anyway...)The largest was 74" and off my kayak. I shot a 69" directly through the head about an inch behind the eye @100fsw (which was as big around as a beer bottle) and the thing went nuts, came back on me three times before I got a strong hold on the business end. When I finally got to the top of the water (I was alone) I yelled for help for one of my buds to help hoist it into the boat because it still was kicking around. I had it's body scissor locked with my legs and both my hands around the center piece underneath it's jaws to keep head control. They took one look at the things head n teeth and said F-You! and moved to the other side of the boat. I ended up getting her in the boat but my ass was wore out from it. I think Lee shot a giant one in Hillsborough and it ripped the gun out of his hand like he shot the back of a speed boat. I've had no problems with the smaller one's but I treat them all like I was handling a venomous snake. I figure any bite is going to be bad judging from their dental work. I've never shot one when I had a reeled gun but I would rather get immediate control of the head on a cuda anyway. I've had good luck going right in on them. They bring out the sharks too so keep that in mind.


My buddy shot a big one off palm beach and it nearly drowned him. It ended up ripping off and he was able to swim up.

[jfjf]

Think my boy was 9 when he shot this one..

http://spearboard.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=149032&d=1303298316[url]

[Marco]

Barracuda if one of my favorites fish for eating. In my country, it sells at the same price as snapper.

White, flaky, juicy flesh and VERY forgiving. You can overcook it and will still be good.

I don't eat them anymore because here in PR they have a big risk of ciguatera. Actually I got ciguatera from a small cuda shot in the Eastern part of the island.

[stevemc1]

For a spine shot, above is best, the spine is near the top of the body, so if from the side, aim for the top area, about 1/4 way down. Once you fillet one, you will see how it is laid out. They have very soft smooth gills, that are easy to rip out, so you can grab the gills even without gloves and yank them out. No sharp gill spines like grouper. Give it a minute and they will die once the gills are out. When you hit the spine, they are paralyzed, but the mouth can still bite, so rip out gills. And even with a reel, if hit in a non-lethal spot like the guts or meat, will take you for a ride. What I do then is pull the spear through my hand so I can get a solid hold on spear, keeping the flopper against its side, grab the throat, and with the other hand get the gills out. Just watch out for the big teeth!

[H2O ADDICTION]

There is nothing safe about shooting Cudas. I've shot a few giant one's (for what i've seen in this area anyway...)The largest was 74" and off my kayak.

I was too scared to take the shot at a giant one a few weeks back when diving off of the beach at Pepper Park - He stared me down for a few seconds from only maybe 3 feet away and then just as I decided no....It went blasting away like a rocket.

:o Yes I was too chicken...But I was also alone and that thing looked like it may have kicked my ass if I didn't manage to stone him with my little 70 cm RA. Not to mention the teeth hanging out of his face were quite intimidating for a guy fairly new to saltwater! :o

I do however love eating barracuda - Had it a few times over seas and loved it.

Came close to spearing a huge one in the Gulf earlier this year - But it wasn't wanted on the boat (too stinky?) and didn't count in the PD open anyways!

I can't wait to put a hurtin' on a smaller one!

[Chiung]

For a spine shot, above is best, the spine is near the top of the body, so if from the side, aim for the top area, about 1/4 way down. Once you fillet one, you will see how it is laid out. They have very soft smooth gills, that are easy to rip out, so you can grab the gills even without gloves and yank them out. No sharp gill spines like grouper. Give it a minute and they will die once the gills are out. When you hit the spine, they are paralyzed, but the mouth can still bite, so rip out gills. And even with a reel, if hit in a non-lethal spot like the guts or meat, will take you for a ride. What I do then is pull the spear through my hand so I can get a solid hold on spear, keeping the flopper against its side, grab the throat, and with the other hand get the gills out. Just watch out for the big teeth!

:yup:

They are easy to shoot and not mean at all. I've shot and sold hundreds. All you need is an SPL and used to go for $.50/pound gutted so a 20# fish is a ten dollar bill.

After getting shot they will almost always swim as far away as fast as possible - very rarely will they come back at you with any intent to harm. A reel is not necessary - just fly them like a kite for a while, tire them out, and grab the gills. Within a minute of pulling the gills they will do a full-body quiver and be done. The teeth are razor sharp but the only time I got cut was by a dead one sliding across the deck that got my toe.

[jfjf]

We've shot a lot of cuda when freediving. We normally let them run for a little while and get tired on the line. Then horse them up and the critical part is to make the proper grab.

Holding the shaft and then sliding the body down the shaft and pinning it to the flopper is often an option and works best when the shaft has landed near the head. Then you reach up and get the fish by the throat, a slight miscalculation could put your hand in the mouth, so this needs to be done carefully.

Once you got it by the throat in one hand, we typically use a knife to scramble the brain/spinal cord from the top of the head. The head is very hard and the hardened portion has a V-shape to it, with the apex of the V pointing toward the head. You want to insert the knife at the most forward potion of the V (in the soft spot) and then carefully insert the knife and then twist for a while until the twitching stops.

Typically we try to totally kill the fish before removal from the water, otherwise it presents a safety hazard to the person on the boat. After the fish is dead, we typically remove the shaft. If the shaft is not easily removable, then the diver will pull the shaft through the fish, so the shaft is retained only by the shooting line strunge through the hole in the body.

The person on the boat typically LOWERS the gaff into the water and tries to hold it still there. Then the Diver (not the person on the boat) can move the gaff and impale the fish onto the gaff and then gives the signal to remove the fish.

If the guy on the boat tries to gaff a fish that a diver is holding in his hands, this is a recipe for gaffing the diver, especially from a small boat that is rocking and rolling. Keeping the fish on the gaff and transfering directly to the fish box seems like good practice and will reduce the chance for getting cut (even by a "dead") cuda.

If the shaft/line is still through the body, then the diver can unclip his shooting line and the line can be pulled through the cuda quickly and easily by the person on the boat and the shaft is returned immediately to the diver.

Ripping the gills out may attrack sharks and I think it is slower and therefore less effective than knifing. However, ripping the gills out may help to improve the flavor of the fish.

[tuffstuff]

I shoot them w/o a reel or floatline up to about 40lbs. Just get a shot in the front half of the fish and muscle him in. I then pull my shaft through and brain them with it. I shoot them every chance I get....I HATE barracudas and my buddies love shark bait.

[towedjumper]

I did some research on Cig in NC a ways back and posted that up in the forums there. There were two recorded hits of cig from the Dept of Health in NC. Both related to imported fish from Florida: 1 from AJ and 1 from Mahi consumption at a restaurant.

Basically, its a build up of toxins from micro organisms that live on the reef. basically the toxins are stored in the flesh of the consumer. Sooo. Small fish eats, critter gets a small dose which is then eaten by a bigger fish which agregates into a larger dose which then gets eaten by a higher order predator agregating an even bigger dose. Ie big high order predators can give you cig. Sharks for some reason don't, I speculate that its as a result of the large liver they have that can filter it out. The species that are common to carry vary from what I hear by region. For example: I've heard in PR they wont eat African Pompano due to cig, Here its cuda's, I knew a girl that got hit in Haiti by eating a big grouper and I tested a cuda in NC that tested hot with cigua test after speaking with the folks in Hawaii.

Freezing and high heat do not destroy the toxin. Like sharks we have a great liver and it may be that we can filter out small doses but larger doses can be a real problem but I'm not an MD and I'm only guessing? Public data of quality on this is scarce and often anecdotal.

So in the end there isn't a real rule of thumb. From what I can tell it's directly related to the frequency of consumption and the desnity of the toxin in the consumed flesh.

The old wives tales for method of testing all seem to be crap. The only way to know for sure is to do a lab test which involves feeding suspect fish to a mouse and seeing if it dies?

Good luck all.

Nick

[nutsmagoo]

I shot some a couple months ago and got it on video. The first one took off like a bullet! more so than other fish I've shot. Here is the video if you want to see it:

http://www.vimeo.com/20173855

[THROWING STONES]

Barracuda is definitely a species I target. Three feet and smaller make great table fare. Large ones make great bait. And the jaws are ten times more impressive than a shark's of the same size. (see avatar)

[hammerhead786]

How do you test for ciguatera? I'm in louisiana, and have heard of a few people talk about this, but I don't know anything about it. People here eat anything and everything. I've only heard a few people say don't let pregnant women eat AJ's bigger than 50 lbs, large cobia, and large cudas.


What I use: http://www.cigua.com/

Interestingly from the research i've done they say thousands of cases go unreported due to doctors not including it as a possibility and because many people have mild ciguatera symptoms and don't seek treatment.
In south florida we seem to be enjoying a ciguatera safety "bubble". That said as bed as it messes you up I'm checking all my larger high risk fish, no grouper plugs, roe, or fish head soup.

[hammerhead786]

Interesting read: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/10/18/Barracuda-bites-kayaker-in-Florida-Keys/UPI-14851287411738/

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-world/2010/08/03/er-that-s-great-dad-but-what-about-my-arm-115875-22460157/

So weather you are 9 or 79 be careful shooting/handling them. I was in the Tortugas years ago when I heard Horrendous screams from a boat anchored in the distance. A guy had hooked a Cuda and yoked him into the boat. The Cuda caught him in the face mid air and pretty much ripped his face clean off.

[Hank49]

Maybe it's because I live on a shrimp farm and am always around the smell of the processing plant and shrimp heads, but I think the bad smell of barracuda is way over rated. They're not THAT bad. Just different.
People here love them. I've shot a couple that in their death throws came swimming back towards me, mouth agape. Even an accidental grazing could do some damage.
I don't actively hunt them but if one is hanging around and I have an easy shot, I'll take it.