what is sculpin never heard of it and where are you catching them?? Do they put up a fight?
anybody eat sculpin?
I've been throwing them back, but are they any good to eat?
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I have caught lots of them lobster fishing back on PEI. Can't see there being much to eat off of them unless you are getting monster sculpins.
We just through them back or use them as lobster bait. Be careful of the horns on there head as they can give you blood poisoning and don't feel very nice going into your fingers. Some though if you cup them in your hand you can feel them humming. With there stomach resting on your palm.
We just through them back or use them as lobster bait. Be careful of the horns on there head as they can give you blood poisoning and don't feel very nice going into your fingers. Some though if you cup them in your hand you can feel them humming. With there stomach resting on your palm.
they are saltwater fish that hang around wharfs where you are trying to catch anything else but. Grand Mannan has the biggest I have seen, maybe a pound of mostly head and spines. They don't appear to have scales so they might pan fry rather well. They don't fight, you just yank them in like an old boot and put your foot on them so you can safely get your hook back.
I've caught huge sculpin years ago at the grand manan wharf. They were swallowing whole the filletted pollock or cod bodies that were being thrown overboard from the fishing boats. As you'd bring up a big one, they'd be regurgitating these filletted carcasses up. I know a got a couple that were at very least 8-10lbs. They looked like they swallowed a bowling ball they were so fat. There was someone who asked me for sculpin in Grand Manan and I believe they said the tail section was very tasty, better than most fish or maybe they said similar to scallops... anyways, go for it, it probably won't kill you, just make sure not to cut the horns or any guts when cleaning. It is a shame to waste any fish. Oh ya, about that big sculpin I was talking about... an old fella walked up and said," that's a big one, let me help you get your hook out" ... so he proceeds to step on it and stick his pocket knife into it's head. Nice old guy eh!
I always release them.
Another oddball fish that may be extremely tasty is Ocean Pout (AKA eel pout, pout eel, ocean catfish at Sobey's) They look almost like a wolf eel mixed with a cod. I've caught them one after another in the spring fishing flounder in beaver harbour. My dad had filletted one in the boat and it was nothing but a big long boneless tail fillet.
Although common and popular in the US, but not here, blue fish is better than striped bass in my opinion. Much softer, finer flesh. I've only caught them once and I caught so many I got tired and went home. I easily could have filled my boat, but was unsure of the restrictions. I asked DFO and they said fill your boat next time because they aren't covered by our fishing regs apparently.
I always release them.
Another oddball fish that may be extremely tasty is Ocean Pout (AKA eel pout, pout eel, ocean catfish at Sobey's) They look almost like a wolf eel mixed with a cod. I've caught them one after another in the spring fishing flounder in beaver harbour. My dad had filletted one in the boat and it was nothing but a big long boneless tail fillet.
Although common and popular in the US, but not here, blue fish is better than striped bass in my opinion. Much softer, finer flesh. I've only caught them once and I caught so many I got tired and went home. I easily could have filled my boat, but was unsure of the restrictions. I asked DFO and they said fill your boat next time because they aren't covered by our fishing regs apparently.
I'll try it if you promise not to laugh!
I was just over on the NFLD coast on a wharf in clear water trying to hook something the locals called rock cod; but whenever a sculpin came by all the other fish scattered, including a flat fish the locals called 'black-backs.' The sculpin were chasing away anything near my hook, trying their best to get into a fry pan.
I was using a little green plastic minnow with a bit of extra wagging tail on the end from CndTire.
I was just over on the NFLD coast on a wharf in clear water trying to hook something the locals called rock cod; but whenever a sculpin came by all the other fish scattered, including a flat fish the locals called 'black-backs.' The sculpin were chasing away anything near my hook, trying their best to get into a fry pan.
I was using a little green plastic minnow with a bit of extra wagging tail on the end from CndTire.
You should have tried for the black backs. Very good eating in them. I have heard of "sea wolves" before and they are suppose to be good eating but are also endangered around PEI. They have fangs like a wolf I guess and strong jaws. Can bite through 2 x 3/4 inch oak gaffs. Rock cod look like a cod but aren't as tasty as "Tommy Cod". The "Tommy Cod" is what compromised the atlantic cod fishery which collapsed back at the start of the 90's.
We had sculpin as kids, my Grandmother would cook them up when we came back from cod fishing. Usualy got 1 to 3 cod fish and 15 -20 sculpin. We ate the tail sections. It was good eating from what i remember. This was back in the 80s.
never got that hungery to eat sculpin...lol
Bigfish, where were you getting those blues?
I lived on Grand Manan for 12 years...never even heard of anyone eating a sculpin....yuck..garbage fish that lay on the bottom, especially around fish plants or warfs eating the guts etc... and they eat just about anything.... and have poisonous spikes on their heads..used to watch carefully for them when swimming. We threw them back as i figured they helped keep the bottom cleaned up....EAT ONE?....your a better man than me...lol
dragon, the cod fishery that collapsed was atlantic cod, not tommy cod. tommies are a freshwater cod that also spends time in saltwater. some people call any small cod tommy cod, especialy in nfld becuase the fish buyers there called them that and gave them a lower price for them.
i have a friend who always says he will eat the scalpin...but i've never seen it happen!! like mentioned above, they just keep the tail. we got into a bunch of scalpin yesterday, supprisingly they fought a bit, and i landed a fair size one, about 5#
we hooked into 2 of something else in the same area but never landed them to see what they were - heavy, almost no fight, both lost on the way up from deep water and then no more bites (from them, that's when we started getting the scalpins)
i have a friend who always says he will eat the scalpin...but i've never seen it happen!! like mentioned above, they just keep the tail. we got into a bunch of scalpin yesterday, supprisingly they fought a bit, and i landed a fair size one, about 5#
we hooked into 2 of something else in the same area but never landed them to see what they were - heavy, almost no fight, both lost on the way up from deep water and then no more bites (from them, that's when we started getting the scalpins)
I grew up on Grand Manan and fished there until I joined the army, there is no way I would willing eat one. A knife threw the head and back into the lobster trap was standard practice...
I wouldn't eat a sculpin even if you put it in a pretty dress, put lipstick on it and called it Edna.
Maybe someone can clear something up for me.Are tommy cod and hake the same fish? I see some of the ice fisherman hauling in what they claim are hake from out in the deeper water, I used to catch them in the Kennebesasis when I was younger but they were much larger.To look at these so called 7-10 inch hake that they are catching now,I swear they look like the tommy cod that we catch in the ice shacks. Just curious!I wouldn't eat a sculpin even if you put it in a pretty dress, put lipstick on it and called it Edna.
lol!!! lobsterman! lol!! edna! lolololol!
gmac, hake and tommy cod are not the same species, although like polluck, they are a member of the cod family. i tried to show my nephew what they were like on line, but the web only showed netting them. a small green/atlantic hake is around a foot or more, a small white/silver hake is about 10". it sounds like they are pulling your leg, or just haddn't caught a hake yet and were talking about the little tommies we get here in the winter. you are remembering correctly, we used to get tons of big ones years and years ago. i heard they were doing well with them last year untill we had that early break up.
hake make a great fish chowder.
hake make a great fish chowder.
Scuplin... I can't imagine anyone wanting to eat them! As a kid they were fun to catch off the warf in NFLD, but they were never kept for food that I know of.
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