bliss2 Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Hi Does anyone have a list of what specimens get what points as the November competition is judged soley on the best specimen so i can work out what type of fishing I'm going to need to be doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Matt, There's one here on the well hidden club records page, which should be the same as the published one as part of the competition pack linked to the home page which you can find here be comp rules and specimen data ......ahhhh Never actually thougt of targetting fish - I just head out acording to conditions as I would any weekend and hope a good'un hooks him/herself. I think I am record as having made some comment to the effect that if I ever weighed in a dog or a pout.......... I'm still trying to work out what the hell you would do with 40lb of dead conger as well! All the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted October 25, 2005 Report Share Posted October 25, 2005 Hi All Looks like Duncan beat me to that one thanks mate We hope to be printing the list to hand out at registration, but they are already available as Duncan points out 40lb eels are not that common to the scales Duncan Tight lines Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Didn't James win last year's comp with a 46lb(?) conger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 If he did weigh this one in,and he hasnt dumped it yet,could I have it for the cat,rather than waste it ? jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 hadn't thought of that - do cat's like conger? I have 5 (well I have a boat and she has 5 cats actually - and buys fish for them all the time!) How the hell do you cook a conger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun j. Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Duncan, Conger's quite good to eat .......... but very bony....... esp. towards the tail end. A small bit !! is very filling with a sweet flavour and very white meat. The texture is unusual....... the opposite of flakey.... soft but firm at the same time !!{ I know this sounds contradictory......but try it and you'll see what I mean !} Cutlets from the shoulder end are best ....... the rest is mostly used for soup, to which it adds good flavour; the basic fish in those wonderful Frech soups. Any help ?? Alun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 The bones make a very good fish stock. The flesh is a little like a overcooked freshwater eel expect tougher/chewier, but it taste superb. I would rate it one of the tope 5 eating fish caught in club water. There are lots of way you can eat it, just don't store it for too long in fridge/freezer, they don't keep very well. You can batter it, bread crumb, or sweet and sour it with small chucks/strips. One advice is too skin it and when cutting it, cut it along the body rather than across it, as if there are any bones, they lay along the fish, cutting it long way, help keep the bone long and not into millions of 10mm bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam F Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Conger are actually very worthwhile targeting during the comp as 100% is only 40lb. Keeping them alive is the tricky bit. We used a large continental carp sack which we tethered to the stern cleat, this kept the fish alive all day and its in the dark also. Coming back a large bin or drum filled with freshwater or a livebait tank will keep it alive long enough for the run back. Last year we didnt have the latter and as we got caught out in snotty conditions it took longer to get back, the eel died about 2 miles from shore. Personally I think their are many other fish that taste better than an eel, but if you have a dead one on your hands then have a taste. My advice - if you dont think you can get it back alive and dont want to eat it, put it back - is it really worth the prize money??? Failing that, pout and doggies are worth targetting!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Coming back a large bin or drum filled with freshwater or a livebait tank ........... Why freshwater? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboatdriver Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 "is it really worth the prize money???" For Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 it is possible if you have a big enough bait tank to put it in and keep saltwater running through it, it will be fine. in our boat there is hold in the floor which dad has had loads of congers in and you can manage to keep them alive if you fill it with water every now and again. since i have been competing in the november comp i have seen dad wrestle with a few lively conger and its never been a problem they have always swam away from baiter without a problem. but please dont kill it unless your going to use it one of my friends kills all his conger just to show his mum and they go in the bin ( lets just say he aint much of a friend anymore) sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboatdriver Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Well said Sam, If I caught a 50lbs conger ( highly unlikely) in the competition and had the capability of keeping it alive I would, but we haven't all got a live tank capable of keeping a large fish alive. The fish would definitely not end up in the bin though. Personally I think conger tastes awful but I know someone who loves the stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I shall duck after posting this..........BUT........I regularly eat dogfish, skinned and filletted early after capture, they, along with Bull Huss and skate, are my favorite fish, Bass and beam coming in a close second. Specimen wise, there are still some huge garfish floating about, but conger, bullhuss, a late mackeral, or even a stray bass double will play a winning tune at the prize table. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newboy Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I don't think conger is in anyway in danger as is the case for cod. How many cod/percentage do we take home in a year (if we can catch them)? I bet most cod caught in a chartered boat are taken home, but conger? I would be suprised if more than 5% caught are kept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboatdriver Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Rich, You could well be right about eating doggies. I've never tried one because, apart from being a bit of a pain to skin, everyone tells you they taste crap. If we did start eating them as part of our staple diet maybe we could get the LSD population down and wouldn't be plagued by them quite so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam F Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 KAM: Was typing too fast and meant fresh (sea) water...not freshwater as in out of the tap. I dont mind doggies to eat although there are plenty of other fish I would rather have. Skinning is a royal pain, but trying filleting them as you would a round fish. You loose hardly any meat. Cook with the skin on and it simply falls away when cooked. It has a fairly string taste...but worth trying once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jack Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 When my children were younger and fishing trips were a real extravagance on my pay,we all regularly eat everything I caught.[thank God that isn't the case now,my family would starve to death.].we cooked conger ,in long fillets [less bones that way ] and then separated the flesh from the bones really thoroughly,useing the meat to make fish cakes,that were frozen and used as required.Dogfish were cut all around the body below the head,The head then nailed to the fence post and the skin pulled off,usually in one go,with a pair of pliers.flesh was often quite sweet,not to everyones taste. this was approaching subsistance living but we were brought up "waste not,want not"... .Those were also the"Bad old days" when the skipper dictated how many fish,you got to keep. He kept and sold the rest,and nothing went back....jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 in New Zealand dogfish are called lemon fish and they taste great along with gurnard, because they dont get many cod over there they use gurnard and dogfish alot i think it tastes lovely it is probably better to take home a few dogfish than a cod if caught too let the number of cod in the sea increase again. on the side of skinning, when out fishing with matt on bliss 2 dean caught a double figure bullhuss and dad made skinning it look very easy im starting to sound more and more like dad sam ps rich i would rather put back a big fish than have it killed just to be weighed i even put back a ray in burnham that could have one me some money, i must be mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swainiac Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 I think this has been covered in a thread by Alun J........I'll eat anything, but I do like huss, doggies, and Ray. Years ago...in the 70's we were given tope spurdog and huss regularly, and they are nice to eat. With the Tope and spurdog under pressure in our waters, I havent eaten one in years........I havent even seen a spurdog since I was 14!!!! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 I did some Dogfish in Batter for the family some years ago They wondered why i didn't catch more of them as it tasted so good Truth is i can't be bothered, but must try the filleting method Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
great white Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Hi Paul Ref the dogfish, they are quite nice to eat occasionally. Spike Spears of Bessie Vee showed me a good method that takes all the effort out of skinning them. We will have to go out fishing as its far easier shown than explained, and with practice and a sharp knife takes about a minute or two per fish. I have no reservations of taking a few of these fiosh as they seem to be fast growing and abundant. Can someone turn the wind down a bit, I have been off all week and all the days I could fish its been windy Charlie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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