queensland Hinze Western Arm 11/10/20

[rayke1938]

Went to Hinze western arm this morning with a late 7am start as I wished to check out the local market. Muzz and Hai spotted an tandan on its nest right beside the boat ramp.First time at Hinze for Muzz who was impressed with the widow maker trees dropping limbs when you nudged a tree. Fishing was very slow with only 13 fish boated by 11am. We finally located a school of good sized bass sitting in a very snaggy spot where it was a challenge to get a fish to the boat.Good thing that there was not a swear box in the boat as we all would have ended broke. Ended up with 40 fish on the counter but I missed a lot whilst I was retieing rigs after being bricked in the snags. Muzz got the longest fish. Cheers Ray

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Good on you Ray, Muzz, and Hai. That is a nice little Hinze session. 

I don't know if you can call an eel a fish... I guess it has gills!

Good job

Cheers Hamish  

[ellicat]

A swear jar on the boat, now that's a good way to save up for an electric. haha

[kmcrosby78]

Nice one Ray. Yes I'd imagine it would be challenging to pull decent bass out of trees like that!!

[Kat]

Hi @rayke1938

Do you eat the fish from the Hinze?

Cheers Kat

[rayke1938]

It is not advised due to naturally occurring mercury. But lots of people do.

Cheers Ray

[Drop Bear]

Nice one mate. That eel is a great eating size. 

[Old Scaley]

13 minutes ago, Drop Bear said:

Nice one mate. That eel is a great eating size. 

Have you tried eating fresh water Eels @Drop Bear? When I was in my twenties I went eel fishing with a couple of Dutch mates who were hankering for a home style treat. We cooked them every which way (including smoked) and they just tasted like dog vomit. Even soaked them in milk overnight on a couple of occasions. No doubt your culinary skills are far better than mine but just wondering how you would cook them?

[Kat]

We used to eat eels in NZ when I was a young lass - I remember smoked was best!

[kmcrosby78]

Yep nothing wrong with smoked eel. We've eaten a bit of it in NZ when visiting rellies and goes very well in a white sauce on toast/croutons. Dad also smoked up a big one we caught on our uncle & aunties property in the Gold Coast hinterland when we were kids. I can't recall you we then ate it (plain, white sauce, etc) but I do recall Dad giving some to Grandma (his mum) to try without telling her what it was. When she remarked how yummy it was and asked what type of 'fish' it was, Dad, being the larrikin he is, replied 'that, oh it's just a smelly, slimy eel the boys caught down in the creek mum' ...... she wasn't impressed!!!!  

[GregOug]

I think I’ve worked out what I’m doing wrong. I need to become an eternal optimist and put a counter in my boat!

[Drop Bear]

On 12/10/2020 at 10:51 AM, Old Scaley said:

Have you tried eating fresh water Eels @Drop Bear? When I was in my twenties I went eel fishing with a couple of Dutch mates who were hankering for a home style treat. We cooked them every which way (including smoked) and they just tasted like dog vomit. Even soaked them in milk overnight on a couple of occasions. No doubt your culinary skills are far better than mine but just wondering how you would cook them?

I have cooked them a few times but had them in Japanese restaurants loads of times. Ell was my sons favourite meal at the Japanese restaurant.  

I have simply dispatched them and cooked them in the coals. Admittedly we were all hungry but they were delicious. White flesh and sweet meat.

I have done them Japanese BBQ style (Unagi). Marinate them in sweet and savoury sauce; Soy, Mirin, sugar and sake. Seriously delicious but yes lots of prep. The rest of the world like them but Aussies love to hate them. They are just so slimy and ikky that I don't blame anyone from being put off. They can be annoying to deal with compared to a Red Emperor fillet they are just plain hard work so I understand the reluctance to work with them and I don't often eat them as it is a pain to deal with them. 

If you want a soft entry to eel go to a GOOD Japanese restaurant and have BBQ eel (Unagi Donburi). At least you will see the potential. 

[Drop Bear]

19 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Yep nothing wrong with smoked eel. We've eaten a bit of it in NZ when visiting rellies and goes very well in a white sauce on toast/croutons. Dad also smoked up a big one we caught on our uncle & aunties property in the Gold Coast hinterland when we were kids. I can't recall you we then ate it (plain, white sauce, etc) but I do recall Dad giving some to Grandma (his mum) to try without telling her what it was. When she remarked how yummy it was and asked what type of 'fish' it was, Dad, being the larrikin he is, replied 'that, oh it's just a smelly, slimy eel the boys caught down in the creek mum' ...... she wasn't impressed!!!!  

Please remember this when I spruik normally maligned fare.... 

[Drop Bear]

17 hours ago, GregOug said:

I think I’ve worked out what I’m doing wrong. I need to become an eternal optimist and put a counter in my boat!

Gold. 

[Old Scaley]

43 minutes ago, Drop Bear said:

I have cooked them a few times but had them in Japanese restaurants loads of times. Ell was my sons favourite meal at the Japanese restaurant.  

I have simply dispatched them and cooked them in the coals. Admittedly we were all hungry but they were delicious. White flesh and sweet meat.

I have done them Japanese BBQ style (Unagi). Marinate them in sweet and savoury sauce; Soy, Mirin, sugar and sake. Seriously delicious but yes lots of prep. The rest of the world like them but Aussies love to hate them. They are just so slimy and ikky that I don't blame anyone from being put off. They can be annoying to deal with compared to a Red Emperor fillet they are just plain hard work so I understand the reluctance to work with them and I don't often eat them as it is a pain to deal with them. 

If you want a soft entry to eel go to a GOOD Japanese restaurant and have BBQ eel (Unagi Donburi). At least you will see the potential. 

Thanks Robbie. I have had delicious smoked eel in Holland, chargrilled eel and lemongrass in Vietnam and good eel sushi here, so eating eel is no problem for me. I am a bit older and wiser than I was last time I tried to cook a self caught one, but wondered if the type of eel we get here is different or was it just that I am a crap cook.

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

45 minutes ago, Old Scaley said:

Thanks Robbie. I have had delicious smoked eel in Holland, chargrilled eel and lemongrass in Vietnam and good eel sushi here, so eating eel is no problem for me. I am a bit older and wiser than I was last time I tried to cook a self caught one, but wondered if the type of eel we get here is different or was it just that I am a crap cook.

Hi Steve

The only type of eel I have heard about being eaten is the normal freshwater eel (so Southern Shortfin, Longfin, etc).

I think as long as they're not pike they should be alright but have never tried so not 100% sure.

Cheers Hamish

[rayke1938]

We used to catch them in the Dawson at Taroom on trot lines using frogs for bait in the early 60s . They all were done in egg and breadcrumbs together with toga.tandans and yellas and ducks they all tasted the same but maybe that was because of the toowoomba 3x beer. 

Too much trouble bringing them into the boat nowdays. We used to drop them into a sugar bag and belt them with a shovel to kill them. Maybe dropping them into a ice slurry will slow them down a bit.

Cheers Ray

[Angry51]

13 minutes ago, rayke1938 said:

We used to catch them in the Dawson at Taroom on trot lines using frogs for bait in the early 60s . They all were done in egg and breadcrumbs together with toga.tandans and yellas and ducks they all tasted the same but maybe that was because of the toowoomba 3x beer. 

Too much trouble bringing them into the boat nowdays. We used to drop them into a sugar bag and belt them with a shovel to kill them. Maybe dropping them into a ice slurry will slow them down a bit.

Cheers Ray

We fished in the Dawson at Taroom also Ray in the late 50's when

I was only a kid.Dad used to do the same put them in a bag and

soften them up. He cut them into steaks and seem to remember they were good eating.

Palm tree creek was the place on the Therdore ( spelling) road.

[Drop Bear]

10 hours ago, Old Scaley said:

Thanks Robbie. I have had delicious smoked eel in Holland, chargrilled eel and lemongrass in Vietnam and good eel sushi here, so eating eel is no problem for me. I am a bit older and wiser than I was last time I tried to cook a self caught one, but wondered if the type of eel we get here is different or was it just that I am a crap cook.

It can also depend where you caught it. A bass out of a stinky dam tastes like poop but one from clean water is delicious. Same goes for loads of fish including Barra that need to be put in salt water before they go to market.

I was told that the Japanese don't prefer the eels we get up here in QLD as they are too big. I don't have a source or much info to back that up sorry.