Bonehead bonanza

[Stumpknocker]

I took a shot at trying to cash in on the local tuna bite again...booked a 3/4 day trip for my son Tony and I on the Patriot out of Newport Landing about a week ago, when the local tuna counts were good...sure enough, the local bite collapsed a couple days later, so when we went on Thursday, the captain decided to fish Catalina rather than pound it offshore for probably nothing...a good decision I think...we anchored up and got into a decent small yellowtail bite and the best bonito bite I've seen in decades...here's Tony with his first yellowtail

It was a solid 3 hour bite on the bonito, with occasional yellowtail mixed in...Tony and I must have caught and released 50 bonito between us...ended up keeping the 4 small yellowtail we caught and about 5 or so bonito...I love catching them but not so much a fan of eating them...best yellowtail was about 10 pounds, and the biggest fish was a 150 or so lb. giant black seabass that was C&R'd...the crew of the Patriot were great...professional and friendly...no tuna this time but a great day on the ocean nonetheless.

[Brent]

Bleed the bonito immediately, then filet each side carefully cutting out the thick bloodline down the middle of each filet.
You'll get two long skinny filets from each side, but you'll be on here thanking me later. I learned that from a cook on a 3/4 day boat 20 years ago and have been eating bonita every since.
I did the same thing with Spanish Mackerel "trash fish" my friends in Texas had been throwing back for their entire lives. They almost crapped their pants when I kept a 40" one and cleaned and cooked it for them.
They eat King Mackerel and I don't like it. The Spanish Mackerel are way better, you just have to take the time to do them right.
A little garlic and butter cooked in chunks and bonita is better than yellowfin in my opinion. I know everyone will call me crazy, but it's only because they haven't tried bonita done right.

Brent

[DockRat]

Thanks for the report. X2 on the Bones Brent. Bleed and ice.
DR

[Stumpknocker]

Bleed the bonito immediately, then filet each side carefully cutting out the thick bloodline down the middle of each filet.
You'll get two long skinny filets from each side, but you'll be on here thanking me later. I learned that from a cook on a 3/4 day boat 20 years ago and have been eating bonita every since.
I did the same thing with Spanish Mackerel "trash fish" my friends in Texas had been throwing back for their entire lives. They almost crapped their pants when I kept a 40" one and cleaned and cooked it for them.
They eat King Mackerel and I don't like it. The Spanish Mackerel are way better, you just have to take the time to do them right.
A little garlic and butter cooked in chunks and bonita is better than yellowfin in my opinion. I know everyone will call me crazy, but it's only because they haven't tried bonita done right.

Brent

Thanks for the report. X2 on the Bones Brent. Bleed and ice.
DR

Thanks for the advice gents...we were on a cattle boat so they just got stuffed in the gunny sack and filleted on the way back in, but they did see the ice as soon as I got to the truck, and we cut the bloodlines out at home...I'm gonna try making tuna salad with them...next time I catch one on a private boat, I'll do the bleed/ice thing immediately and see how it goes...

[Stumpknocker]

Brent & DockRat, you were right! Even without bleeding them, the bonito made quite delicious tuna salad...the rest that's in the freezer won't go to waste!

[edward]

You can also eat it seared or sashimi... It is a tasty delicious little morsel that not many are familiar with... Bleed, ice, enjoy...

[Marley]

Also, don't toss it into a burlap bag for everyone to step on when they get bait. Make and use tail ropes. Use trash 20-lb. to make 12" circles. Double it over and lark's head (or cat's claw, whichever you prefer) the tail. Hang the fish by the same hook the sack hangs on , wet throughout the day. It's up off the deck, out of the way of people's feet, gravity working with the heart to bleed the fish, and you have really good meaty when you get home.