Need a feed of fresh fish,

[aus2045]

Hi all, I was just wondering which of the following fish are better to eat?Catfish or Stingray.I live in Rockhampton, an area notorious for its poor fishing, and no matter what I do all I can catch is Catfish and Stingrays. So having not had a feed of fresh fish for 24 months, I thought i'd try by frying up one of the above. Any tips?

[Custaro]

Go for the catfish. Save as much slime off sides as you can. This makes an excellent addition for a sauce with some cream, garlic and cracked pepper.

After a feed of that you will be trying a lot harder to score a salmon.

[aus2045]

Thanks, but not to keen on your sauce recipie. If I could catch a salmon I would, but the salmon are gone, fished out.

[Lucky_Phill]

;D ;D Custaro ;D ;D

Phill

[shayned]

do a search in recipes for stingray, Kev knocks the occasional one on the head for a feed. As for the catties give them a go you might be suprised. In a pleasant way I mean.

[shayned]

Also for the catties chuck a head on a black ant nest once they've cleaned it up check out the bone structure on the top of the skull.

[aus2045]

Cool, sounds good. Will try both next time I catch them. I got a nice catfish yesterday, nailed a big live prawn right on the turn of the tide. I thought i'd craked the jackpot by hooking my first ever salmon, but turned out to be a big cattie about 2.5 - 3kgs. Thinking about it now I should have kept it and baked it whole with fresh herbs and lemon. yummm!

[Reel Nauti]

Mate head down to the cut through on a rising tide, preferably with live prawns or a whole pillie on a gang of 3 x 6o's. Float the bait with maybe just a pea sinker ahead of 1 mtr of nylon jinkai. If you don't get a cattie or a salmon you might get yourself a barra.

Incidentally, I have eaten the catties out of the Fitzroy. Skin, fillet, and cook the same as any other fish. I can honestly say that they are quite nice. or, keep them for crab pot bait. They are first class!

Cheers

Dave

[aus2045]

Never been there. I usually use live prawns when I can get them, but use a single strong hook snooded onto 28lb hard mono leader, attached to 15lb PE Braid. Depending on the tide I often use no sinker, especially if floating the live prawn into a snag pile or structure.

[Reel Nauti]

It's not a bad spot mate. And if you're launching from the ramp behind AMH, go left, up around the corner, past the sand/mangrove islands, and just on the next right hand bend on the left bank is a creek which goes up to the left. The mouth can get shallow, but once you're in you're right. Excellent crabbing in there, and some big silver fellas.

Cheers

Dave

[kingtin]

Can't beat a good feed of (big) catties ;D see what Grant's has to say about them and the big laminated poster, "The Angler's Guide to Fish of Australia" even states, "excellent flavour"

Not a very big fillet off them owing to the armour plated rib cage. Leave it in and don't try cutting through it to cut off later. Aprt from that, they're one of the easiest of fish to fillet with no small bones elsewhere. Snip off the spines with pliers prior to filleting in case you accidentally catch one when filleting.

Try here for stingray recipes:


http://fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=stingray


http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b182/bidkev/Fishing%20Album/catfish.jpg

[laugag]

i all, I was just wondering which of the following fish are better to eat?Catfish or Stingray.I live in Rockhampton,


Sorry mate but if you cant get a decent feed round these parts then it must be something you are doing wrong Tips?? Have you tried wetting a line? :-*


Seiously though go the leopard ray.. if you must.

[snasman]

Hi m8 I used to live in Rocky ,was many years ago though, so it would have changed no dought but when it was open I used to crab behind the meat works and fish on the right hand corner leading up to it, some very nice grunter came out of that river as well as a regular feed of muddies ,good luck

[rat_catcher]

The river is definitely still good for muddies. We went down there probably six times over the summer and got a decent feed every time. Sure there are plenty of jennies and undersized crabs that have to go back, but you can still get some decent bucks to have a feed on.

I agree the river does seem a little slow on fishing, but they are there. I have never caught a Barra in the river, although I know people who have, but at the right time of the year you should be able to get onto a Salmon.

[B_E_N]

mate ive had stingray before it tasted better than the bream and squire we had caught along with it, just cut the flaps of and the skin and make yaself some nice fsih steaks, breadcrumb em and they should go good on a hamburger with some lettuce mayo

[aus2045]

Thanks Ben I might try that one. Was thinking lastnight, that our catfish is similar to Bassa, right? Well I buy Bassa fillets every week and they taste pretty good. If I could get the same kind of fillet from our Catties, I would be content to chase catfish for the rest of my days. If only they ate lures I'd be rapt.

[B_E_N]

you'll probably find youve eaten catfish before and never known it, alot of the fake "cod" is bassa or even mekong catfish, alot of take away shops sell it under false names, i should know i worked in one! so yeh id give catties a go, shouldnt be any harm in it. but id just watch the amount you eat, i know pike eels have been known to have traces of mercury in them, but aslong as you dont eat them for breakfast, lunch and tea youll be sweet

p.s pike eels arent that bad either cooked in butter and garlic with parsley on top, just a bitch getting aroung the bones, same skeletal strucure as a snake!

[FNQCairns]

Along the same lines while loading the boat at what was a bush launch on the pine river a pro pulled in with a boat load of catfish and nets. Talking to him about them he said he got $2.50per kg to be sold as (from memory) blue eye cod in fillets.
Given that was over 20years ago I can only assume they sell for much more today and given the crooked market could be called by 20 different names, popular restaurant fish I bet!

cheers fnq

[keepitreel]

I would suggest eating the 'Large Live Prawn' on your hook before you stoop to eating catties and the like!!!

[B_E_N]

well youll never know how good they may eat unless you try, geez i wonder how big the balls wer on the first guy to try oysters or even a mud crab, becasue lets face it they are not the most tempting on the eyes!

[rat_catcher]

Catfish is a staple in the diet of people in the Southern USA. They even farm it over there it is that popular! I have eaten it and it is actually quite good, but I am not sure how closely our catfish here relates to theirs.

In any case I would put them in fresh water for a bit to allow them to purge the mud and I think they wouldn't be too bad.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[Eagle]

I have tried both catfish (years and years ago) and stingray. Personally, I'd rather eat my old bait but that just me . I caught a cattie once with a condom inside it and have never eaten one again.
Where did you catch the ray? I haven't heard of them in the Fitzroy. If you have a small tinnie, go over to Iron Pot (A.K.A Bluff Rock) and float a pillie around close to the North West corner of the island. This is a top spot for mackeral. I used to go there all the time in my 16 foot canoe, paddling out from Kemp Beach. After I got the Bluefin 4.75, I still go to Iron Pot and now across to the islands.
Another good spot for mackeral is just out from the entrance to Roslyn Bay Harbour. Try about 100 meters off the entrance in a North West direction, ie, head towards Wreck Point. I have landed many mackers in this area. A 14 or 16 foot canoe is ideal for fishing these areas.
Another great spot is at Fishing Creek at the sand spit located at the Northern end of Rydges at the entrance to Corio Bay. Its further to go but it can be well worth the drive and it's a beautiful clean spot. There are lots of Dart along the beaches that you pass once you leave the Resort.
The very best fish to eat (noted in Ernie Grants Guide to Fishes) are Flounder and these are caught here as well. Yes, the Flounder are better chewing tan ANY other fish I've eaten, bar none!
If you cant get a good feed of great fish from any of these places, pm me. If you are a non-smoker, I will take you out in my tinnie.

Eagle

[rat_catcher]

Where did you catch the ray? I haven't heard of them in the Fitzroy.

There are definitely stingrays in the river as I have caught them, but mostly downstream from the Nerimbera boat ramp.