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Water-to-table: tuna and a surprise
Sea2Ski
Posts: 4,088
I received a pm this week from someone asking for a water-to-table post since I have not done one yet this year. I did not know anyone remembered them.... Here is this weekends adventure:
We left the dock at 2:00 am to get the first light bite. This time we went out on the dock neighbors 61' boat.
It was good because although the waves were 3-5 for the first 20 miles, the next 30 we were hitting solid 6' waves and the occasional 8', but in the dark, you do not know it till you hit it. Lines went in at 5:15am.
About 6:20 we got a hit on the way, way, way, way back line, and the battle was on.....
A yellowfin went in the box about 20 mins later.
Good thing, because it was slow the rest of the day. We did manage to grab a lone mahi for some mid-day fun, but that was it out in the canyon. The water was dead. No whales, porpoise, or even turtles.
We were cruising back at 32 knots and about 1 mile out we saw a good splash/swirl about 200 yards straight off the bow. We always leave one ballyhoo rigged until we break the inlet on a spinning rod for situations like this. This time it paid off. The captain cut it back hard, mate flew up the tuna tower and spotted the likely cause of the splash. He yelled where and my buddy nailed the cast. He hooked the fish after twitching the rod a few times and we were on! The fish came to the boat fairly fast, and little did we know, green as could be. Gaff went in it and it came in the pit then went absolutely crazy for about 45 seconds to a minute. (Hence the bloody mess...) A cobia! This is a fairly rare fish in NJ and the first one any of us ever caught here on any of our boats. Needless to say, we were pumped. Weight was 34.6 lbs.
After cleaning them, we had a great meal.
Cobia was last night
Tuna cooked (barely) hot and fast on the MM tonight. It did not suck.
Thanks for looking and letting me share my weekend adventure!
We left the dock at 2:00 am to get the first light bite. This time we went out on the dock neighbors 61' boat.
It was good because although the waves were 3-5 for the first 20 miles, the next 30 we were hitting solid 6' waves and the occasional 8', but in the dark, you do not know it till you hit it. Lines went in at 5:15am.
About 6:20 we got a hit on the way, way, way, way back line, and the battle was on.....
A yellowfin went in the box about 20 mins later.
Good thing, because it was slow the rest of the day. We did manage to grab a lone mahi for some mid-day fun, but that was it out in the canyon. The water was dead. No whales, porpoise, or even turtles.
We were cruising back at 32 knots and about 1 mile out we saw a good splash/swirl about 200 yards straight off the bow. We always leave one ballyhoo rigged until we break the inlet on a spinning rod for situations like this. This time it paid off. The captain cut it back hard, mate flew up the tuna tower and spotted the likely cause of the splash. He yelled where and my buddy nailed the cast. He hooked the fish after twitching the rod a few times and we were on! The fish came to the boat fairly fast, and little did we know, green as could be. Gaff went in it and it came in the pit then went absolutely crazy for about 45 seconds to a minute. (Hence the bloody mess...) A cobia! This is a fairly rare fish in NJ and the first one any of us ever caught here on any of our boats. Needless to say, we were pumped. Weight was 34.6 lbs.
After cleaning them, we had a great meal.
Cobia was last night
Tuna cooked (barely) hot and fast on the MM tonight. It did not suck.
Thanks for looking and letting me share my weekend adventure!
--------------------------------------------------
Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
....just look for the smoke!
Large and MiniMax
--------------------------------------------------
Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
....just look for the smoke!
Large and MiniMax
--------------------------------------------------
Caliking said: Meat in bung is my favorite.
Comments
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Once again, very envious.
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yum. Looks great. I love grilled fish.
Morristown TN, LBGE and Mini-Max. -
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The cobia bite is hot in the Chesapeake Bay where I live. My brother's got the big boat for it, we just need to figure out the chumming and live bait. @Sea2Ski how is cobia to eat? I've had mixed experiences.Richmond and Mathews County, VA. Large BGE, Weber gas, little Weber charcoal. Vintage ManGrates. Little reddish portable kamado that shall remain nameless here. Very Extremely Stable Genius.
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Yes!=======================================
XL 6/06, Mini 6/12, L 10/12, Mini #2 12/14 MiniMax 3/16 Large #2 11/20 Legacy from my FIL - RIP
Tampa Bay, FL
EIB 6 Oct 95 -
Cobia!! Yessssssss
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You do nice work!
I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!
MichaelCentral Connecticut -
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What a beautiful catch and trip. Thanks for sharing your adventure.Sea2Ski said:I received a pm this week from someone asking for a water-to-table post since I have not done one yet this year. I did not know anyone remembered them.... Here is this weekends adventure:
We left the dock at 2:00 am to get the first light bite. This time we went out on the dock neighbors 61' boat.
It was good because although the waves were 3-5 for the first 20 miles, the next 30 we were hitting solid 6' waves and the occasional 8', but in the dark, you do not know it till you hit it. Lines went in at 5:15am.
About 6:20 we got a hit on the way, way, way, way back line, and the battle was on.....
A yellowfin went in the box about 20 mins later.
Good thing, because it was slow the rest of the day. We did manage to grab a lone mahi for some mid-day fun, but that was it out in the canyon. The water was dead. No whales, porpoise, or even turtles.
We were cruising back at 32 knots and about 1 mile out we saw a good splash/swirl about 200 yards straight off the bow. We always leave one ballyhoo rigged until we break the inlet on a spinning rod for situations like this. This time it paid off. The captain cut it back hard, mate flew up the tuna tower and spotted the likely cause of the splash. He yelled where and my buddy nailed the cast. He hooked the fish after twitching the rod a few times and we were on! The fish came to the boat fairly fast, and little did we know, green as could be. Gaff went in it and it came in the pit then went absolutely crazy for about 45 seconds to a minute. (Hence the bloody mess...) A cobia! This is a fairly rare fish in NJ and the first one any of us ever caught here on any of our boats. Needless to say, we were pumped. Weight was 34.6 lbs.
After cleaning them, we had a great meal.
Cobia was last night
Tuna cooked (barely) hot and fast on the MM tonight. It did not suck.
Thanks for looking and letting me share my weekend adventure!Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax
Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
Run me out in the cold rain and snow -
Just nothing better. Need any second mates?Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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Great post as usual..Greensboro North Carolina
When in doubt Accelerate.... -
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You keep sharing these adventures.Coleman, Texas
Large BGE & Mini Max for the wok. A few old camp Dutch ovens and a wood fired oven. LSG 24” cabinet offset smoker. There are a few paella pans and a Patagonia cross in the barn. A curing chamber for bacterial transformation of meats...
"Bourbon slushies. Sure you can cook on the BGE without them, but why would you?"
YukonRon -
Well damn...just wow.They/Them
Morgantown, PA
XL BGE - S BGE - KJ Jr - HB Legacy - BS Pizza Oven - 30" Firepit - King Kooker Fryer - PR72T - WSJ - BS 17" Griddle - XXL BGE - BS SS36" Griddle - 2 Burner Gasser - Pellet Smoker -
Wow!! This is the only kind of fish we get locally
XL BGE, KJ classic, Joe Jr, UDS x2 -
@jethroVA Yea, in the Chesapeake I know the cobia are not uncommon and often targeted. Up here, in the last 11 years, I can remember seeing only one other fish at the dock. We usually see maybe half a dozen in the water a year at some point, and usually when least expected, but they are usually small ones - meaning under 2 feet. I know that they can get much larger - 60 and even 80+ lbs, but we never see those fish. I have seen reports over the years of some 40-50 lbrs, but nothing more than that. And sorry, I have no tips on techniques for these, though we see the small ones, we never caught one. This was a lucky catch. I think catching a mermaid would be the only thing that would have surprised us more! I would certainly take one of those as well.JethroVA said:The cobia bite is hot in the Chesapeake Bay where I live. My brother's got the big boat for it, we just need to figure out the chumming and live bait. @Sea2Ski how is cobia to eat? I've had mixed experiences.
As far as table fare, I loved it! The first thing it has going for it was that it was only about 4 hours from hookup to plate, so right there was a huge bonus. The meat, as you can see in the filleting picture, is a white meat. I would liken it to striper, but a bit firmer. Now that I really think about it, more like a cross between a striper and a swordfish. I noticed that one of the pieces while I was eating it was not quite cooked all the way through, and what was not cooked, definitely had a firmer and tighter texture. I ate it as it was, but knew with the second batch to leave it on another minute or two to make sure that it was cooked through. This was my first fresh cobia, and I would never ever turn some down if someone offered it to me in the future.
In case you are interested, my go-to rub on fresh, white fleshed fish is a simple salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder dusting, and a tiny pinch of cayenne (though on flounder I add paprika, and mahi gets all the above and a dash of dried thyme as well.) This rub really allows the flavor of the fish shine in my opinion. It may sound like a lot, but I do not put much of anything I listed on it. Just as you would lightly sprinkle salt on something, is how much I put on with each seasoning.
Post up some catches if you go out, I would love to see some.
--------------------------------------------------
Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
....just look for the smoke!
Large and MiniMax
--------------------------------------------------Caliking said: Meat in bung is my favorite. -
I heard the chunking bite was just turning on. I believe you are familiar with a knife. I love everything about fishing except cutting up 4-5 flats of butterfish or sardines. That job just sucks. I would be happy to pass that one off.....bgebrent said:Just nothing better. Need any second mates?
--------------------------------------------------
Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
....just look for the smoke!
Large and MiniMax
--------------------------------------------------Caliking said: Meat in bung is my favorite. -
@SciAggie Okay. Seems like people enjoy them, so I will resume posting them as regularly as I can.SciAggie said:You keep sharing these adventures.
--------------------------------------------------
Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
....just look for the smoke!
Large and MiniMax
--------------------------------------------------Caliking said: Meat in bung is my favorite. -
I am so envious I can hardly see straight. Dayum, those pictures all looked like FUN!!!
I really, really hate to be a killjoy, but I gotta say this: My understanding is that the ONLY reason it's safe to cook commercial tuna the way you did (the way I like it!) is because commercial tuna has all been FROZEN to deep enough temperatures that it kills the parasites. Unless I missed something, your tuna never got frozen and from the picture the center got warmed up a little maybe but it was not cooked at all, which means any parasites in the tuna got a free ride into your gut...
I think I'd cook some of the fresh catch till it's cooked, and freeze the tuna according to those guidelines, and then enjoy it however I wanted to.The FDA offers these recommendations to kill parasites:
Cooking fish:
Cook seafood to an internal temperature of at least 145 F.
Freezing fish:
- At -4 F or below for 7 days (total time), or
- At -31 F or below until solid, and storing at -31 F (-35 C) or below for 15 hours, or
- At -31 F (-35 C) or below until solid and storing at -4 F (-20 C) or below for 24 hours.
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This is often talked about around the dock. We have some people who will not eat any tuna unless fully cooked, and others that will not eat it if cooked at all. The interesting thing is, no one knows anyone that has had something happen to them. The conversation can get as heated as lump discussions here!!Theophan said:I am so envious I can hardly see straight. Dayum, those pictures all looked like FUN!!!
I really, really hate to be a killjoy, but I gotta say this: My understanding is that the ONLY reason it's safe to cook commercial tuna the way you did (the way I like it!) is because commercial tuna has all been FROZEN to deep enough temperatures that it kills the parasites. Unless I missed something, your tuna never got frozen and from the picture the center got warmed up a little maybe but it was not cooked at all, which means any parasites in the tuna got a free ride into your gut...
I think I'd cook some of the fresh catch till it's cooked, and freeze the tuna according to those guidelines, and then enjoy it however I wanted to.The FDA offers these recommendations to kill parasites:
Cooking fish:
Cook seafood to an internal temperature of at least 145 F.
Freezing fish:
- At -4 F or below for 7 days (total time), or
- At -31 F or below until solid, and storing at -31 F (-35 C) or below for 15 hours, or
- At -31 F (-35 C) or below until solid and storing at -4 F (-20 C) or below for 24 hours.
Not saying that it does not happen and something is not going around in my gut right now that I do not know about. And I may be in a future episode of "Eaten alive" or "What's inside me", but to date, I have not had any issues. We sometimes see some parasites in fish, but they are usually worms which are easy to see, or other "things" if a fish has a wound that has healed over. We cut well around anything that was not found when originally caught. If a fish has a open or obviously infected wound, they go back to swim another day.
And I know there are many, many, many things that can harm you that you do not see. I get that. But I also eat raw oysters, rare beef and raw milk straight from the cow (when I can get it). I know these things are risky and not really endorsed, but I still do them. Maybe my number has not come up, yet.
But now you have me thinking.... and I kinda want to do google search, but at the same time don't. I have been eating raw tuna like this for at least 10 years whenever we get one, and so far so good. After freezing, it just is not the same at all. Thank you for looking out though. I do appreciate it! Maybe I will eat a little less raw and a little more cooked moving forward. But freezing? I do not freeze any fish anymore. If I can not eat it fresh, I give it to others to enjoy fresh as well.
--------------------------------------------------
Burning lump in Downingtown, PA or diesel in Cape May, NJ.
....just look for the smoke!
Large and MiniMax
--------------------------------------------------Caliking said: Meat in bung is my favorite. -
Sign me up! I know my way around a sharp knife and would like to dine with you brother.Sea2Ski said:
I heard the chunking bite was just turning on. I believe you are familiar with a knife. I love everything about fishing except cutting up 4-5 flats of butterfish or sardines. That job just sucks. I would be happy to pass that one off.....bgebrent said:Just nothing better. Need any second mates?Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga -
If I had to cook that tuna any more than you did, I'd throw it back. I get the concern, but I'd like to cut that sucker up on the boat and eat it raw!
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What a great trip! I've been meaning to pick up a zebco and take the kids bluegill fishing - this is fishing at a whole other level!Chicago, IL - Large and Small BGE - Weber Gasser and Kettle
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Awesome post. I have had tuna caught, sliced and pan seared in sesame oil, right on the boat, many times. The taste is so much better.
Congrats on the cobia, first one I have seen not broiled on my plate.
Thank you for sharing."Knowledge is Good" - Emil Faber
XL and MM
Louisville, Kentucky -
Unless there are reports about incidences people infected by raw fish parasites of you local Tuna, you're probably fine. As long as you're healthy, the risk is quite low and most are easily treated. More of a risk is infection from fin punctures. We know a Dr here that last most of one of his hands from vibrio vulnificus.
Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom, everything around us can kill us, just need to know the risks. Love the post, I'm envious. Makes me think twice about getting rid of my off-shore boat.
______________________________________________I love lamp.. -
Sea2Ski said:This is often talked about around the dock. ... no one knows anyone that has had something happen to them. ... I have been eating raw tuna like this for at least 10 years whenever we get one, and so far so good...
Yeah, I get it. It's sort of like food poisoning: you can do everything "wrong" and you'll be fine most of the time. It's just that it does happen, and I like to enjoy eating stuff I am very confident won't mess me up because I know the risks and take appropriate measures. Different strokes for different folks, no problem.nolaegghead said:... Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom, everything around us can kill us, just need to know the risks.
I'm puzzled about the idea that freezing makes the tuna worse, though. I take your word for it that you've tasted them and you know what you've tasted. What puzzles me is the sushi thing. My sense of it is that people who love sushi in Japan are the pickiest and most experienced tuna devotees in the world, paying huge bucks for fancy kinds of tuna I've never even heard of, and they are ALL eating previously frozen tuna! I've never heard of a sushi restaurant in Japan offering never-frozen tuna because they think it tastes better. Maybe there's a difference in how they freeze it in the big commercial fishing ships and how a guy fishing from his own boat freezes it. Dunno. -
Very nice catch and cook. That boat has a beautiful rail too.
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______________________________________________I love lamp..
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Awesome looking catch and experience. I'm on a big tuna kick lately and that looks perfect. Are those sweet potato tots with it?
Albuquerque, NM - LBGE and an old rusted gasser that I use for accessory storage.
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