Saltwater Panfish.

[Pferox]

We eat a lot of fish and none of it comes from the grocery store.  And like an old salt once told me: "There are a lot more little fish in the ocean than bigguns."  He wasn't kidding.

Here in Texas there are a number of fish that are popular as table fare and bait, so they are pretty much unregulated so filling up a cooler once in a while is a great way to help with the food bill.

Before I got sick we would have a fish fry about once a month or two for friends many of them helped to contribute to the fish pile in the freezer.  Most of them were croaker, whiting, sand trout (a true trout species) and my wife's favorite Pompano.  There were sometimes a few slot sport fish mixed in the batch, but the panfish carried the most weight.

There were many a trip that we would use smaller hooks and little baits catching bunches of fish, keeping 10 inch or bigger specimens while the big game hunters with huge hooks were sitting on the dock twiddling their thumbs.  And in the middle of all this, would hook on to a slot or bull something or other.

What kind of saltwater panfish do you have in your neck of the coast?

[bigjim5589]

Great post Jim! 

I enjoy catching fish & enjoy eating fish, but not always the same fish for both. My favorite tidal water species to catch here is Striped Bass. They're fine for the table occasionally, a legal schoolie size, but frankly I would rather eat White Perch. IMO the flavor is better. The big Stripers are fun too, but I could be very happy catching the smaller ones the rest of my life especially casting lures or on a fly rod.

When I've traveled south for vacation, to the NC or SC coast, a lot of the folks there are looking for those bigger fish. Drum, Sharks, or whatever! I'm happy as a lark with Flounder, Silver Perch, or the small Drum, Croakers or Whiting. All good table fare!

Since I've finally caught a Redfish on a fly rod, I've got a particular fondness now for chasing them! They're fine on the table too, but IMO it's more fun caching them than eating them!

[Pferox]

I've caught quite a few reds in my time, and they are fun to catch.  My favorite fish to catch are snook, I chased them a lot in Florida.

We were catching huge pin fish the past two summers I saw some posts on FB and another site that they are good table fare when big enough, but I dunno, the have quite dark meat for my tastes.

But then again I like smoked mullet once in a while.  From what I have learned, they are both an acquired taste and only eaten by Floridians.

I was talking to Bull Dog, the owner of a bait shop in Galveston named after him, and we started to talk about mullet and I asked him if he had any big enough to eat, first thing he said was "Oh you are one of those crazy Florida boys." 

[bigjim5589]

Well, I'm not from Florida, but might be considered crazy! 

A couple of years ago we caught some Pinfish in SC & ate a few of them. I knew they were often used as bait, but had never heard of anyone eating them. Now I know why! 

Yes, it's an acquired taste. Wasn't "bad" but wasn't something I would grow fond of either! 

Mullet are a different story however! My dad liked Mullet! When we would go down to NC to visit the grand parents when I was a kid, we usually went to the coast & spent some time. My one uncle had a beach house at Holdens Beach. Dad would go to one of the local fish houses & get fresh Mullet & shrimp if they had them. Those I liked, but haven't had any Mullet in many years!