you can eat that??

[one_lucky_shot]

i read in a book the other day (can't recall the name but it is about Florida game fish, has many fish on the cover with white back ground). it gave Atlantic Spade fish, pork fish (not porgies), and Bar jacks as "good" table value.. any one like to comment?

are they realy any good ? and how do you cook such a small fish?

[fernandezh]

Spade fish are awesome but I often don't shoot them because of I never would hear the end of it from the other guys on the boat. I would just gut them, season them up and throw them on the grill. The filets make great sandwiches too. I never bothered shooting a bar jack so I don't know what they taste like.

Hector

[ROCK BOTTOM]

I don't know about the Bar Jacks, but some of our southeast asian neighbors eat the hardtail jacks. Spadefish are yummy. The Jamaican way of preparing the smaller species of fish is to gut and scale them and fry them whole, eating the head and bones.

[Dive4Blood]

Barjack (Almaco Jack) has the same edibility as an amberjack with less of the red tissue in the filet.

[one_lucky_shot]

well i guess i am all set up for some strange looks on the charter boat next time out :D :D

thanks guys

[LASeaCat]

If a Barjack is the smal as an Almaco Jack then I agree with Diver4Blood. Most notice and some experienced divers can't tell the difference off the LA coast. Other species of Jackfish that frequest the Rigs include Horseeye and Jack Crevelle. Both of these species have red meat. I once knew a diver that said his cats wouldn't even eat them! In Hawaii they have a fish called a Ulua. It looks like a Jack Crevelle however the locals speak higher off the taste?

I heard Spadefish are good. The meat is an off white and they get as big as 10 lbs.

Don't know about Porkfish however I don't think they would be Kosher!

[LASeaCat]

Here's a picture of a Ulua.

[Aguaji]

Barjacks thinly sliced and served raw, or as the Japanese will call the cut, "uzuzukuri", with ponzu sauce, is one hell of a fish to eat. Excellent texture and a nice finish.

Almaco jacks are different. They are much bigger than the barjacks, but are very similiar to the yellowjacks. Both excellent eating sashimi style but just above fair cooking wise. They contain a very large blood line which if not filleted and cooked right away, the oxidation of the bloodline may penetrate the meat. These fish have very little shelf life.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/barjack/barjack.html

http://indian-river.fl.us/fishing/fish/jackalm.html

[FishStick]

Both spadefish and bar jacks taste great. I always fillet them and make sure to cut out all the red blood lines. Dredge them in flower and fry them up!

[Marcus]

Jack Cravelle is a good eating fish if treated properly, i.e. bleeding and keeping ice cold until eating. Also, it's necessary to cut the very red blood line out of them. The meat, I assume, would be good for sashimi, very similar to Tuna. Because of the darker meat, it has a very short shelf life, definitely not good for freezing. Very excellent smoked, no fishy taste if fried and eaten right away.

[Aguaji]

Yes, the key with the "jacks" is handling. As Marcus said, they must be bled killed (bled) right away by either making a cut behind the head that must reach to the backbone or doing the same close to the tail. You want rigamortis to take affect as soon as possible so that the proteins of the fish tighten and won't permit the oxidation of the blood line to penetrate. The fish will keep freshest by making a brine of crushed ice and salt water. The salt water keeps the natural juices (slime) from fish intact and the colder slush brings the fish to room temperature faster which then the fish becomes stiffer than Sammy Sosa's bat. That's what you are looking for.

Basically, you can pretty much eat anything from the ocean if it is handled properly. Heck, I have not eaten my neighbors because I have not found them swimming in the ocean. Otherwise, they would have paid the piper.

[WreckDiver]

BAR JACK
(Caranx ruber)
OTHER NAMES: Skipjack, Bahamas Runner, Reef Runner, Cibi Mancho
RANGE: Common in the Bahamas and Caribbean; also found in South Florida.
HABITAT: Likes sandy beach areas, clear, grassy flats and coral reefs.
DESCRIPTION: Streamlined shape. Hard scutes forward of tail. Bright blue and black topside with silvery sides and a thin deep-purple stripe extending from behind the head into the lower lobe of the tail.
SIZE: Averages a pound or so. Reaches at least 5 pounds on occasion. Florida record 4 pounds,2 ounces.
FOOD VALUE: Excellent; less red meat than most Jacks.
GAME QUALITIES: Though usually small, fights as if twice or more its size.
TACKLE AND BAITS: Most sport will be obtained with light spinning tackle. Also a good fly fish, again with lighter outfits. Takes live shrimp, live minnows, Bonefish jigs and flies and other small lures.
FISHING SYSTEMS: Casting; Drifting; Still Fishing; Trolling

[WreckDiver]

ALMACO JACK
(Seriola rivoliana)
OTHER NAMES: Almaco
RANGE: All Florida, the Bahamas and Caribbean.
HABITAT: Largely the same as the Great Amberjack reefs and wrecks. Curiously, a particular wreck often seems to hold one species or the other, but both are present in many spots.
DESCRIPTION: Similar at a glance to the Great Amberjack, due to coloring and the presence of the band through the eye, but there are glaring differences upon closer inspection. The body of the Almaco is deep and more compressed; also, the dorsal and anal fins are longer and sickle-shaped.
SIZE: Common to 15 pounds; sometimes exceeds 30 pounds. World record 78 pounds.
FOOD VALUE: Excellent. Best prepared by skinning, filleting and trimming away the dark portions.
GAME QUALITIES: As tough as the Great Amberjack.
TACKLE AND BAITS: Spinning, baitcasting and light ocean tackle with lines up to 20 pound test are ideal; however, since most Almacos are caught in Amberjack habitat, heavier gear often is used. Small live baits are seldom refused. Jigs work too, provided they are given fast action by the fisherman.
FISHING SYSTEMS: Drifting; Still Fishing.

[one_lucky_shot]

cut the tail to bleed them out ??? realy? how? i thought the best way was, after on stringer of course, cut the "handle" (area between gills on belly side). or some times i get lucky and catch the one at the roof of there mouth.