# There's More than 1 Great Tasting Fish in the Sea



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Sep 27, 2016)

You've all heard me extol the virtues of the trout, char, and salmon family of fish.  And I've stated on DC that swordfish is right up there on my list of favorites as well.  Well now, I have another to add to the list of exceptional fish.  I heated up a 11 inch SS pan, then added 1 tbs. oil and swirled it around.  I opened the fish packets, giving me to beautiful fillets that I lightly seasoned with simply S&P.  I placed the fillets into the pan over medium heat and cooked until the outside was very lightly browned, and the inside flesh was cooked through.  I took my first ever taste of the delectable sea creature and fell in love.  The fish wasn't sweet like pollock, or cod.  It wasn't oily.  The flesh was white, firm and beautifully flaky, with a sublime texture.  There was just enough fish flavor to excite my taste-buds without making my mouth scream - fish!

"What could this miraculous creature from the briny-blue be?, you might ask.  It was Mahi-Mahi, or dolphin (the fish, not the mamal), and it was delicious.  How come we don't grow these in Lake Superior?  There must be some way of breeding fresh water mahi mahi.

If you haven't tried it, and you like mild, firm fish, you have got to try this stuff.  it's amazing.  Nuf said.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## RPCookin (Sep 27, 2016)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> You've all heard me extol the virtues of the trout, char, and salmon family of fish.  And I've stated on DC that swordfish is right up there on my list of favorites as well.  Well now, I have another to add to the list of exceptional fish.  I heated up a 11 inch SS pan, then added 1 tbs. oil and swirled it around.  I opened the fish packets, giving me to beautiful fillets that I lightly seasoned with simply S&P.  I placed the fillets into the pan over medium heat and cooked until the outside was very lightly browned, and the inside flesh was cooked through.  I took my first ever taste of the delectable sea creature and fell in love.  The fish wasn't sweet like pollock, or cod.  It wasn't oily.  The flesh was white, firm and beautifully flaky, with a sublime texture.  There was just enough fish flavor to excite my taste-buds without making my mouth scream - fish!
> 
> "What could this miraculous creature from the briny-blue be?, you might ask.  It was Mahi-Mahi, or dolphin (the fish, not the mamal), and it was delicious.  How come we don't grow these in Lake Superior?  There must be some way of breeding fresh water mahi mahi.
> 
> ...



If you like mahi-mahi, then sometime you need to try wahoo.  I find both to be equally delicious.  Not quite as dense as some of the larger game fish, so they stay more moist when cooked.


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## CakePoet (Sep 27, 2016)

Dont mahi-mah stay in salt water?  If that is the case they are not adapted for fresh water.

Anyway, I prefer wolf fish.


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## tenspeed (Sep 27, 2016)

I regularly grill it and serve with pineapple salsa.  Here's some health info:

Is Mahi Mahi Healthy? | Healthy Eating | SF Gate


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## dragnlaw (Sep 27, 2016)

I remember feeling the blood drain out of my face when I read the menu of the restaurant we had gone to in Florida.  
*DOLPHIN! * how could they! The waitress quickly assured me it wasn't the mammal but a fish.  

That was close to 40 years ago.  It wasn't long after that restaurants were listing Mahi Mahi...  I guess I wasn't the only one to re-act!


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## tenspeed (Sep 27, 2016)

It's also widely called dorado.


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## dragnlaw (Sep 27, 2016)

In recent years catfish have started to become popular up here.  Now I know they are not a saltwater fish - but they are delish too! 

Around here it is difficult to get them plain. The closest supplier always seems to sell them pre-seasoned, which I detest - what are they trying to cover up?

I had a difficult time eating my first one.  All I could think of was _BottomFeeder, yech_!  Nowadays they are farmed and are clean before they hit the market.  Have you seen the episode with Lynn Crawford on a Catfish farm. - Always amusing but also informative.   

There is also a Youtube video of guys catfishing using their forearms.  Oh my!


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## CraigC (Sep 27, 2016)

They are strictly saltwater fish. There are several species, like salmon, snook, tarpon and bull sharks that travel between salt and fresh. The snook is edible, but is a game fish and can't be caught commercially. Cobia, also called ling, is now being "farmed" in open ocean pens. Since this is happening, more and more folks will have access to it.  The biggest cobia ever taken was off of Brazil, by spearfishermen. It weighed 172#. Can't be considered a world record because it wasn't taken by hook and line.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Sep 27, 2016)

I know that mahi mahi is a saltwater only fish, and can't be adapted to live in fresh water.  I was just wishin'.  But then again, we have some freshwater fish available to us that the rest of the world just envies.  And Wahoo is just not available in my neck of the woods.

Then again, across teh border into SSM Ontario, I've purchased skate, which was also amazing, as long as it is absolutely fresh.  If left in the display for very long (couple of days, it develops a strong ammonia smell and becomes inedible.

Like I said, there are so many great fish in the oceans.  Anybody try Humboldt squid yet?.  I hear they are being serve3d on the west coast and are delectable.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Dawgluver (Sep 27, 2016)

The first time I had mahi mahi was many years ago, in Hawaii, after a very long flight.  We were exhausted and starving.  It was macademia-crusted, and absolutely delicious, and Loretta the talking parrot was a great dinner companion.  It's still one of my favorites.  I also love walleye and lion fish.


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## CraigC (Sep 27, 2016)

CraigC said:


> They are strictly saltwater fish. There are several species, like salmon, snook, tarpon and bull sharks that travel between salt and fresh. The snook is edible, but is a game fish and can't be caught commercially. *Cobia, also called ling*, is now being "farmed" in open ocean pens. Since this is happening, more and more folks will have access to it.  The biggest cobia ever taken was off of Brazil, by spearfishermen. It weighed 172#. Can't be considered a world record because it wasn't taken by hook and line.



Speaking of which, I was just at Restaurant Depot and they had WC, whole cobia (sans head) in the case. I asked how much and the counter guy didn't know as it is a new item. He was waiting for the bean counters to set the price.


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## CraigC (Sep 27, 2016)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Like I said, there are so many great fish in the oceans.  Anybody try *Humboldt squid *yet?.  I hear they are being serve3d on the west coast and are delectable.
> Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North



Now if you stuffed one of those with the stuffing used for haggis, I might consider eating it!


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## GotGarlic (Sep 27, 2016)

I  both mahi mahi and wahoo. I made this back in July: Mahi mahi fillets dredged in flour and Penzeys Trinidadian seasoning (lemon, garlic, ground ginger and and few other things), then pan-fried. Now I'm wanting to get some more


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## Roll_Bones (Sep 28, 2016)

When I worked on the drift fishing boat in S. Florida, we would regularly catch trigger fish while bottom fishing (drift boats sometimes bottom fish when things slow down).
Each one caught was kept, Kept for us that worked on the boat.
None of our customers wanted them as they wanted the popular varieties.

Once you learned how to clean and especially remove the skin, you ended up with a very good pure white fillet.  Not to big.  Perfect and delicious. But considered trash fish in those days.  Might still think that way as I have never seen or heard of anyone eating them.


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## RPCookin (Sep 28, 2016)

Roll_Bones said:


> When I worked on the drift fishing boat in S. Florida, we would regularly catch trigger fish while bottom fishing (drift boats sometimes bottom fish when things slow down).
> Each one caught was kept, Kept for us that worked on the boat.
> None of our customers wanted them as they wanted the popular varieties.
> 
> Once you learned how to clean and especially remove the skin, you ended up with a very good pure white fillet.  Not to big.  Perfect and delicious. But considered trash fish in those days.  Might still think that way as I have never seen or heard of anyone eating them.



I have eaten them.  A lot of islanders fish for them for the table.  They don't gather in large schools that would make them commercially feasible, at least I've never seen more than a couple at a time when diving.


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## CraigC (Sep 28, 2016)

RPCookin said:


> I have eaten them.  A lot of islanders fish for them for the table.  They don't gather in large schools that would make them commercially feasible, at least I've never seen more than a couple at a time when diving.



Triggers love pink toe nail polish on toes exposed when wearing full foot fins! They just can't help having a nibble. Some students just have to learn the hard way why their instructor recommended booties and jet fins.


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## GotGarlic (Sep 28, 2016)

CraigC said:


> Triggers love pink toe nail polish on toes exposed when wearing full foot fins! They just can't help having a nibble. Some students just have to learn the hard way why their instructor recommended booties and jet fins.



We went snorkeling off my mother's sailboat in the Keys a few times. I remember being told not to wear sparkly t-shirts or jewelry because some of the fish are attracted to that. 

Oddly, when I saw barracudas far below me, I didn't worry about them, but if they were swimming at my eye level, they freaked me out


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## CraigC (Sep 28, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> We went snorkeling off my mother's sailboat in the Keys a few times. I remember being told not to wear sparkly t-shirts or jewelry because some of the fish are attracted to that.
> 
> Oddly, when I saw barracudas far below me, I didn't worry about them, but if they were swimming at my eye level, they freaked me out



You can imagine my surprise when this young lady (1 of 3) started overtaking me while swimming upside down and looking back at the line of triggers following her.


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## Dawgluver (Sep 28, 2016)

GotGarlic said:


> We went snorkeling off my mother's sailboat in the Keys a few times. I remember being told not to wear sparkly t-shirts or jewelry because some of the fish are attracted to that.
> 
> Oddly, when I saw barracudas far below me, I didn't worry about them, but if they were swimming at my eye level, they freaked me out




There is a nice 5 ft. 'cuda at one of our favorite snorkeling places, he/she has been there for years.  Always cracks me up to see folks scrambling out of the water when they see it.

Due to ignorant folks feeding them, the chubs and Sargent Majors close to entry will occasionally try a nip or two, looking for a handout.  The triggers are usually more mild-mannered.


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## CraigC (Sep 28, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> There is a nice 5 ft. 'cuda at one of our favorite snorkeling places, he/she has been there for years.  Always cracks me up to see folks scrambling out of the water when they see it.
> 
> *Due to ignorant folks feeding them*, the chubs and Sargent Majors close to entry will occasionally try a nip or two, looking for a handout.  The triggers are usually more mild-mannered.



Especially dive guides/dive masters. Now think of a 6' green moray, 50 # black grouper or any number of sharks purposely fed by these idiots.


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## Dawgluver (Sep 28, 2016)

CraigC said:


> Especially dive guides/dive masters. Now think of a 6' green moray, 50 # black grouper or any number of sharks purposely fed by these idiots.




Major pet peeve!


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## medtran49 (Sep 28, 2016)

We were early a.m. lobster hunting and I was carrying the bag with lobsters in it on a reef that a lot of dive boats would go to later in the day.  Craig was in front of me, turned around, and started pointing behind and slighly below me.  I turned around and a HUGE green moray had come up totally out of the reef and was swimming toward me/the bag with its mouth wide open.  It was pretty close.  I immediately did the swimming upside down thing and headed for the surface at a steep angle away from it.  I guess it didn't want to get too far out of its hidey hole because it gave up and turned around.  I swam back down and we continued our dive, though I was a bit hyper-vigilent after that.  At least I had my spear gun with me if I had needed to defend myself.


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## GotGarlic (Sep 28, 2016)

There was some "creature feature" type movie when I was a kid about giant eels. It would really freak me out if one was following me!


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## Dawgluver (Sep 28, 2016)

medtran49 said:


> We were early a.m. lobster hunting and I was carrying the bag with lobsters in it on a reef that a lot of dive boats would go to later in the day.  Craig was in front of me, turned around, and started pointing behind and slighly below me.  I turned around and a HUGE green moray had come up totally out of the reef and was swimming toward me/the bag with its mouth wide open.  It was pretty close.  I immediately did the swimming upside down thing and headed for the surface at a steep angle away from it.  I guess it didn't want to get too far out of its hidey hole because it gave up and turned around.  I swam back down and we continued our dive, though I was a bit hyper-vigilent after that.  At least I had my spear gun with me if I had needed to defend myself.




That would be a bit consternating!  I recall seeing a story about a pro diver who regularily fed a big moray, and considered it his friend.  One day he gave it a hotdog.  The moray saw no difference between the hotdog and the guy's thumb.  Guess what happened?


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## RPCookin (Sep 28, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> There is a nice 5 ft. 'cuda at one of our favorite snorkeling places, he/she has been there for years.  Always cracks me up to see folks scrambling out of the water when they see it.
> 
> Due to ignorant folks feeding them, the chubs and Sargent Majors close to entry will occasionally try a nip or two, looking for a handout.  The triggers are usually more mild-mannered.



Chubs don't have to be previously fed to interact with divers.  In Roatan, I had a chub that seemed to think that my underwater cowlick was edible.  He kept nipping and tugging on it.  The first time it was a bit disconcerting, since I didn't know it was anywhere around me.  One diver in our group had his ear bitten by a yellowtail snapper, enough to be pretty bloody.

Sergeant majors can also be naturally aggressive.  

Some of the worst are damselfish.  They pick a small patch of coral for their territory and will attack anything that comes near.  Picture a 3" long damsel chasing a 20 pound grouper, and the grouper departs without a fight.  I've been nipped by them more than once.  

On the other hand, barracuda and morays tend to be no more than inquisitive at the worst - not aggressive at all in the wild if left to their own devices.


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## Roll_Bones (Sep 29, 2016)

RPCookin said:


> I have eaten them.  A lot of islanders fish for them for the table.  They don't gather in large schools that would make them commercially feasible, at least I've never seen more than a couple at a time when diving.



I have never seen them anywhere but on the end of a fishing line or when diving. 



CraigC said:


> Triggers love pink toe nail polish on toes exposed when wearing full foot fins! They just can't help having a nibble. Some students just have to learn the hard way why their instructor recommended booties and jet fins.



They have people like teeth and a nibble could be the end of your finger. 



GotGarlic said:


> Oddly, when I saw barracudas far below me, I didn't worry about them, but if they were swimming at my eye level, they freaked me out



I always felt very comfortable with sharks and barracuda's when diving off south Florida waters.  Not so much when swimming.
For me its the opposite.  Eye level allows the fish to know you are not a food product. 



Dawgluver said:


> There is a nice 5 ft. 'cuda at one of our favorite snorkeling places, he/she has been there for years.  Always cracks me up to see folks scrambling out of the water when they see it.



John Pennekamp state park?  Key Largo?  There used to be a regular there every time I was in the water.  Very big barracuda.  Very big.


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## Dawgluver (Sep 29, 2016)

Roll_Bones said:


> I have never seen them anywhere but on the end of a fishing line or when diving.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




My thinking is the fish, big and small, see us as top-level predators, and are waiting for us to eat something so they can get the scraps.  We often have little "eye fish" that swim right in front of our masks, and will annoy us for quite awhile. (Why don't you eat something, you big predator!)

Our big guy lives in a beautiful reef in Cozumel.  To my knowlege, there have been very few, if any, barracuda attacks in the water.  They're just curious.  Now hooking and hauling them into the boat, they might bite.  I would too.


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## Roll_Bones (Sep 30, 2016)

Dawgluver said:


> My thinking is the fish, big and small, see us as top-level predators, and are waiting for us to eat something so they can get the scraps.  We often have little "eye fish" that swim right in front of our masks, and will annoy us for quite awhile. (Why don't you eat something, you big predator!)
> 
> Our big guy lives in a beautiful reef in Cozumel.  To my knowlege, there have been very few, if any, barracuda attacks in the water.  They're just curious.  Now hooking and hauling them into the boat, they might bite.  I would too.



Totally agree on all points!


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