Eating Bonita

Jimmy Carl Black · 12-08-2003, 09:08 PM

A friend dropped some off to me.
How do you fix it?
Is it good?

Chaps · 12-08-2003, 10:37 PM

Some friend! :tongue:

Unless they are spectacularly fresh (caught, bled & iced in the last 20 minutes) then they can be barbequed, otherwise . . . crab bait IMO

Pilar · 12-09-2003, 07:09 AM

Jimmy Carl Black ... They serve it at Sushiland and well .... lets just say I always ask if they have any today.

It looks like it is seared and then sliced thin. Mostly raw though by appearances. They top it with green onion and shivers of gingers.

Yumm.

Where was the fish caught?

Jimmy Carl Black · 12-09-2003, 07:09 AM

I'll let him know.
The crab bait did come with a six pack of home brew however.

Jimmy Carl Black · 12-09-2003, 07:12 AM

Wait a 'sec...crab bait or sushi?

He caught it somewhere near San Diego on a charter. They were fishing within 100 yards or so of the beach.

12-09-2003, 07:21 AM

JCB,
Some people feed albacore bellies to the crabs :grin:

Bonito were a bit to strong for my taste but this was long before I learned how to NOT cook fish.

Chaps · 12-09-2003, 07:44 AM

Pilar - the Sushi guys call the pan seared (raw internal) dish "bonita" but what they are actually serving is Skipjack tuna which is really good. Actual Pacific bonito is a smaller fish with marginal taste but like a lot of things appeals to some folks and it smokes well.

8knots · 12-09-2003, 07:50 AM

Most people, including myself don't care for it and I like most fish. If carefully prepared as mentioned above it is okay on the grill, but just okay and not worth the hassle. However, I recently had some canned in olive oil bonita from Spain. It was unreal. So good, that it makes me wonder if itis the same as Pacific bonita.

Crab bait.....should work great.

dampainter · 12-09-2003, 07:56 AM

a friend made some "tuna" fish sandwiches out of bonita, ate it said it was great....gave me one and I almost threwup

......crabbait.

backlash442 · 12-09-2003, 08:00 AM

My wife cooks it in soy sauce, sugar, small amount of vingear, ginger, and sake if you have it. Comes out really good. Meat is dark but very tasty. Had a friend try it that normally doesn't eat much fish and said it was delicious.

Critr Gitr · 12-09-2003, 08:13 AM

I grew up on the Gulf Coast catching true Bonita (little Tuny).

Noticed I said catching - not eating.

What they don't have in taste, they more than make up for in tackle busting abilities. A lot like Jack Cravelle...........

Threemuch · 12-09-2003, 08:15 AM

I concur with Chaps. Same day, bled immediately and iced, on the barbie, pretty good. Skanky otherwise. Someone selling it as sushi doesn't make it good. Remember, Saba is mackerel, and people eat that raw too, which is NASTY.

Albacore bellies aren't crab bait, they are halibut bait. Greasy soft fish, blech. You can still have my blackcod too.

And I am not a picky eater! I like uni, which most people despise. I just can't see eating soft, greasy, smelly fish, when there is firm, light fish available.

JCB-
I see the avatar pic of Terry Mass, you interested in doing some freedive spearfishing, or do you just like the picture?
KB

[ 12-09-2003, 09:16 AM: Message edited by: Threemuch ]

12-09-2003, 08:28 AM

UNI

I tried it a long time ago and had a hard time keeping my regulator in my mouth. Now with rock scallops I almost forget to put the regulator back in my mouth :grin:

Mackerel doesn't even make good cat food

I'll take all the sablefish you catch though

Bringing it home makes my wife less mad and she lets me sleep in the house :shocked: the barn gets cold this time of the year.

:smile: Try the tuna bellies with wasabi :smile:

Threemuch · 12-09-2003, 09:15 AM

I'm with you on the scallops. Man, I need to go diving.

Jimmy Carl Black · 12-09-2003, 09:23 AM

Well we'll just have to try it and see. Bellies, bonita and black cod sushi. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Kurt,

I like the picture am very interested in doing some freedive spearfishing.
If all goes as planned, I should be breaking in my lungs in April on an abalone freedive trip.

I'm just getting into this. What kind of suit is best for our regional waters? Wet,dry,semidry? If I can afford one before I go, I want to buy, otherwise I'm going to rent.

JCB

Miss B Haven · 12-09-2003, 09:36 AM

Fished PV once on a vacation. We trolled fly rigs and caught a bunch of what they said were Bonita and a bunch more of what they called "white Tuna". I have no idea what those "white tuna" really were- never heard of a white tuna before. Those little Tuny were a lot of fun actually, you'd get 3 on at a time average and 4 or 5 on once in a while. When they all pulled together it was quite a tussle on a moving boat and heavy salmon sized gear.
We trolled them for bigger game but only came up with one Wahoo for our trouble.
When we got back to the dock the guys had some friends come down with Cervasas and some groceries and everybody started carving up the White Tuna to make Mexican Sushi (that's what they called it. Cubed the meat, mixed with tomato, onion, cilantro and of course some jalipinos. It was quite good (a little on the Caliente side for me :shocked: ).
The Bonito had very dark purple meat and they didn't use it for the Sushi. Not sure what they did with that. I thought this was strange since I had read that Bonito were a very light meated fish. I thought they had the two fish backwards at the time but I guess not?

We brought some of each home- the Purple stuff was not good table fair.

I figured it was really some sort of Jack but it seems from this thread the book I read was wrong (Baja Catch I think) and that Bonita really are a dark meat Tuna.

backlash442 · 12-09-2003, 09:39 AM

Albacore bellies are excellent when smoked imo. It's very rich. The slow process of smoking cooks off a lot of the fat. Yellowtail collars are great to eat. Salmon too. Just toss those on the bbq. No need to smoke them. But eveyone is different.

Chaps · 12-09-2003, 10:17 AM

Reminds me, when we were kids fishing off of Newport Pier (calif) for bonito (1950's). Two techniques: Pyramid sinker at the end of the mainline, heave it out as far as possible & tighten up. Clip a 36" leader on with a live 'chovie and let it slide down the line. It would stay near the surface till one of the speedballs would hit it. Other technique: clipped a 3" cylindrical float cork to the mainline and then about 18" leader to a small chrome head Japanese feather behind it. Heave it out far and chug the rig back in like you were working a topwater bass popper. Bonita went wild for the splashing. Once in awhile a bunch of log barracuda would cruise thru while we were doin' this stuff and chop everybody off . . .
[img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]
Time to get on the bikes and ride home 'cause no more tackle left . . . the days we wish we could live over . . .

Threemuch · 12-09-2003, 05:49 PM

JCB-
I have a Picasso wetsuit, it's skin in, so you need to lubricate it to get it on. 7mm, perfect for freediving here. For scuba here, talk to Kim and go dry all the way. I personally wouldn't use a drysuit for freedive spearfishing, although maybe for abs off a boat it would be fine. Too much drag in the water.

Anyway, I have loads of gear, and love to freedive. Give me a shout if you ever want to go dive the jetties and shoot some fish.
KB

Gun Rod Bow · 12-09-2003, 06:00 PM

Makes excellent catfish bait.

12-09-2003, 08:11 PM

GRB,
The catfish don't gag on it?

jcarufo · 12-09-2003, 09:19 PM

I too used to catch lots of Bonita off the Shelter Island Pier in San Diego Bay as a kid using the 3" cork ring and a chrome headed white feather. The more noise you could make on the retreive the better we did. We also used anchovies, but that was too easy. Never did eat the things, but they sure made the garden grow.

There is a white meated Bonita that we've caught in both Cabo and Zihuatenejo called a 'Chula' that is fantastic to eat. At least on par with Albacore; firm white fillets. They look a little different than the Pacific Bonita (Sardinian Chilensis) in that the Chula (Sardinian Orientalis) has upswepted lines from the lateral to the dorsal where the Pacific Bonita has horizontal lines from head to tail. Just in case you were interested.
Jean

Pilar · 12-10-2003, 08:13 AM

You guys are right about names in the market and the restaurant. Ever eat any 'Red Snapper' in Oregon? Not the same as the real 'Red Snapper' you get on the Gulf of Mexico.

The stuff at Sushiland is a real dark translucent red with one edge of the filet smoked or cooked and chocolate brown colored. The slice is about 1/4" thick by 1" by 3" on a pillow of rice, some wasabi, chopped green onion and shaved ginger. They do not have it but maybe 50% of the time. At a buck a piece they are pretty tasty treats. They call it 'Bonito' but I do not know exactly what fish it is. Prolly not the ones you get in S. California.

12-10-2003, 08:37 AM

Scroll down to Bonito and you will see that it's Skipjack Tuna and not Pacific Bonito.

Sushi

[ 12-10-2003, 10:04 AM: Message edited by: Keta ]

Birdnest · 12-10-2003, 02:13 PM

I have caught them in the Gulf of Mexico, drifting ribbon fish around oil platforms. Great fighting fish, but I wouldn't eat one.

Joe

8knots · 12-10-2003, 03:45 PM

Jcarufo, I spent many a happy day fishing off the Shelter Island pier as a kid in the early sixties. Dad would drop me off with a few dead chovies and I was set for the day of fishing with all the old timers.

Salmonator · 12-10-2003, 05:30 PM

We used to catch them in the early seventies trolling rapalas at horshoe kelp (near long beach I believe?)when I was a kid. I remember eating smoked bonita like it was going out of style. Good Stuff smoked! We saved the yellowtail for the barbeque.

DownTime · 12-10-2003, 06:12 PM

Brings back good memories of fishing with my dad on half-day boats out of Newport Beach'60's and 70's.The bonito we caught were one of the best fighting fish you could tie into for their size.They look like a small tuna and are from the tuna family I was always told.Dark reddish meat.I agree with the others.It was good smoked or barbequed,but oily and not good baked or fried.

JB

Salmo · 12-11-2003, 06:02 AM

The best way to serve Bonito or skipjack is live, threaded through the eyes, connected to to my Penn International, off the the center rigger.

onebadfish · 12-19-2003, 06:32 PM

whatever... bonita is not the same as skipjack. it's a much more colorful fish and makes for real tastey eatin. they generally are caught up top around skipjack schools. the meat is much lighter than any of the tunas. in fact, i'm sure to catch a million of the little buggers when i'm fishing in zih next week. awesome pan fried with butter and garlic.