Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: joshuag232 on March 10, 2016, 04:12:16 PM
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Just so you all know, there's Starry Flounder starting to come into the river to spawn. Not as many right now as there are in April but they can be caught from March-late April with ease. All you need is shrimp on a sliding bottom rig. Just to get all you people off of your asses, go give it a try! They are edible if you like mushy fish meat (Which I do). Or possible sewage contamination. They don't taste bad fried, my disclaimer is there however. Get out and wet a line. Went out this morning walking the dogs with a friend and tried for a few minutes(Massive storm lol), lost my bait. Was thinking could have been a flounder due to bullhead swallowing the whole freakin' bait every time. So why not go give this interesting fishery in a try. If you care to look back to a last year or longer you can see my results. For those that don't want to do that I'll make it easy for you.
(http://i67.tinypic.com/b985mr.jpg) Those were caught just at the end of No.5 road, by the tunnel. Yes they do come that far upstream to spawn.
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Mmmmmmm contaminated mushy meat!! You really sold that one. ;)
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Nice fish! How big was the largest one you caught out there? I went out to fish for them near Garry Point and Imperial Landing earlier in the year and then near the mouth of the Cap but was not successful. I was aware that they spawn near river mouths and estuaries during late winter and early spring but I previously have not tried targeting them this early in the year. I've usually caught them from shore in Indian Arm (Belcarra area) from spring through summer- biggest ones around 2-3 lbs I think.
As for eating, they're ok but I still prefer sole (rock and English soles) over starries. Meat is much firmer and tastier. There is also a weird iodine smell in the meat of starry flounder.
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Lol,sounds like a great meal.
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quote : TimL (There is also a weird iodine smell in the meat of starry flounder. )
Are you sure that it isn't an ammonia taste or smell, if so your meat is already started to decompose. Sounds like you do a lot of bottom fishing, so I would guess you probably know the difference
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quote : TimL (There is also a weird iodine smell in the meat of starry flounder. )
Are you sure that it isn't an ammonia taste or smell, if so your meat is already started to decompose. Sounds like you do a lot of bottom fishing, so I would guess you probably know the difference
I think it's just starry flounder..I don't get that from sole..anyway they still make good fried fish or fish tacos.. :)
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The largest one Ive got is the big boy on the left.
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And yes english and rock sole over starries anyday. Still the survivorman in me tells me to eat them for some reason. At least it's better than eating squaws and peamouths. I graduated from doing that at age 13. Been on this forum a long time lol.
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BTW, May is best if you're targeting starries. Judging by the reports section, it seems like nobodies going fishing so I figured I'd share what I like to do at this time of the year. And nice catch man 2-3lbs is biggg. They get huge in the salt. Saw the shrimp draggers selling one in Steveston that must have been 7-8 lbs. My buddy got one once off the ferry causeway that was about 2lbs or so.
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Back in the day (late 90's) I sampled fish and crustaceans from the lower Fraser River and tribs like the Brunette and Serpentine for contaminants; Starry Flounders were part of the catch, along with various sculpin species, Largescale Suckers, Pikeminnows and crayfish.
Starry flounders were by far the worst looking fish with lesions and pustules very common, especially near fins and on the back. As far as I know the data collected was not analysed nor published, sadly a common practice back then ... I can attest the flounders were fish I would not eat.
Perhaps the quality of these fish have improved since then; let's hope so.
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Many years ago, not long upon settling in Vancouver, a friend invited me to go fish for flounders off some rocks in West Vancouver. We caught a bunch. I invested all my culinary skills in preparing them so they'd taste at least decent. No luck. :-[
They have been off my list since.
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And yes english and rock sole over starries anyday. Still the survivorman in me tells me to eat them for some reason. At least it's better than eating squaws and peamouths. I graduated from doing that at age 13. Been on this forum a long time lol.
Pikeminnows have lots of bones don't they? I've never eaten one, but that's what I've heard.
There's plenty of sole in the areas where I catch starries...rock sole is the species I most often catch from shore/pier- biggest I've seen are around 1-1.5 lbs. They can come in quite close to shore during the incoming tides. English sole from slightly deeper water further offshore..when we had the inflatable years ago, we used to get them in the middle of bays, in areas near eelgrass (where starries like to hang out as well) and off the pier at Belcarra.
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The two undersized ones look like they were flossed. ::) Yes it's time to start warming up the annual flossing debate.
Given that they are flat like halibut, I bet they put up a fun battle on light gear.
I wouldn't knowingly target or consume that bottom crap eating fish.
But, enjoy. :P
Fishing is whatever you make of it and as long as you enjoy it, don't let guys like me give you a hard time. Hey, I love fishing Mill Lake in Abbotsford. I wouldn't eat anything from there but that's my choice. I know there are lots of people that won't even step into or even run their line through that lake but to each their own.
Nice to see something different caught in local waters, that I would ever target.
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I went after them at Cresent beach last year in my Kayak, kept a couple to eat but was not impressed with the taste, still fun to catch and release though.
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I have caught flounder and the odd eel over the years just using worms and roe under the Knight Strret bridge and off Mitchell Island...I never eat them, I toss them back.
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used to get them as a bycatch when on the lower fraser bar fishing with roe for coho. not very appealing to look at. Always tossed them back as not interested in eating them...... :P
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By far the worst Starries with lesions I have seen came from the left side of the Ferry causeway in Twas, caught in an inflatable. Got about 4. Great crab bait when they're all covered in parasites and sores and you don't want to eat them.
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I have not seen any starries caught in my area with lesions or parasites other than a few fish lice. However I've caught a few sole with a few flukes encysted on the fins or under the skin on the blind side. When prepping them for eating I use to take a sharp knife/needle to "pop" them out. Gross stuff but it does the job.
There was one time I was fishing off the rocks and there was this Korean family crabbing and fishing as well. Their son was fishing off the kayak and he caught a nice sized starry flounder. He brought it back to shore and the dad proceeded to gut and fillet it on the spot. They then ate the meat raw with some kimchi and bread. They did the same thing to a greenling. I told them about the risk of catching parasites but they said they never had any problems. To each his own I guess.
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A fun way to catch them is to use 1/2 ounce jig with grub tail. Stick some bait on and bounce and rake the bottom. They actually hit fairly hard.
Gave one to a friend once and his mom prepared it. Said it was totally disgusting. ;D
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Nice, I used to jig Rock Sole off the seawall with spoons and whatnot at high tide off the Seawall before the ecosystem collapsed. This was when I was 8 or 9. Lots and lots of fun.
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I've caught both flounder and sole (and greenling) by slowly retrieving a (weighted) spinner near the bottom. Combining it with a piece of shrimp or sea worm works even better.
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Oh yes, I forgot about Whitespotted Greenling, used to get lots of those too. I recommend Taku Lodge on Quadra Island, limited out every day on 10-12 inch Whitespotted Greenling off the pier there. Also, for sport, at the end of the pier (Huge boot mooring dock), you can catch HUGE dogfish at nighttime, tons of fun on light tackle. Again, highly recommend this place. Also, see Ed Jordan if you want to charter there. He helped me catch my first Spring.
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You get greenlings in the Fraser too? :o Belcarra has some nice-sized whitespotted greenlings too, up to 12 inches or so. I get them in areas with eelgrass and near rocks..the larger ones seem to be more common from mid summer through the fall. There's also rockfish (coppers and browns) and striped sea perch near some of the rocky outcrops, especially when there's a steep dropoff from shore.
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No I was referring to the Seawall, sorry should have been more clear.
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So folks, just why exactly is it, so many turn their noses up at the thought of eating bottom feeders from Flounder to Carp, but will then put on their Sunday best, visit a high class restaurant and order Delicasies like Lobster or King Crab, when those particular creatures are unarguably some of the biggest consumers of sea floor detritus that exist.........along with all manner of flatties and other bottom feeders?....Lol
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So folks, just why exactly is it, so many turn their noses up at the thought of eating bottom feeders from Flounder to Carp, but will then put on their Sunday best, visit a high class restaurant and order Delicasies like Lobster or King Crab, when those particular creatures are unarguably some of the biggest consumers of sea floor detritus that exist.........along with all manner of flatties and other bottom feeders?....Lol
It's a multitude of things but I say to each their own. I love fishing for carp as those little buggers can give up a good fight for their size, flounder aren't bad but it just depends on the palate of the person as some people love it and others just turn their nose up at it.
I remember showing a friend a photo of a dead corpse covered in dungeness crabs, they eat everything and anything as they play a vital role in cleaning the bottom of the ocean but some people would never think twice about what their food consumes, but my friend has since stopped eating dungees cause of that.
For some its a psychological thing to a cultural thing and so forth. If you enjoy eating it just enjoy it.
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It depends where they're caught.
I won't eat bottom fish from the Fraser, Burrard inlet...due to the industrial waste that's there.
But Island beach flounder is not too bad.
Just like certain trout have that muddy taste from some lakes.
Think about what they eat and what what they eat has eaten.
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So folks, just why exactly is it, so many turn their noses up at the thought of eating bottom feeders from Flounder to Carp, but will then put on their Sunday best, visit a high class restaurant and order Delicasies like Lobster or King Crab, when those particular creatures are unarguably some of the biggest consumers of sea floor detritus that exist.........along with all manner of flatties and other bottom feeders?....Lol
the Asian community (which I'm a part of) regards many of these bottom feeders as delicacies ;D Just make a trip to the T&T supermarket seafood section and you'll see the variety of critters being sold in the live seafood tanks. The Europeans also enjoy eating their local bottom dwellers (flounders, sole, turbot, codfish, conger eel, pout, monkfish, skate to name a few). I think it's a west coast thing...we're spoilt with better eating fish like salmon, lingcod and halibut (the latter 2 are bottomfish btw) so why resort to eating things like flounder?
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the Asian community (which I'm a part of) regards many of these bottom feeders as delicacies I think it's a west coast thing...we're spoilt with better eating fish like salmon, lingcod and halibut
Bingo, methinks you nailed it right there, Tim ! :)
I was raised in UK so I hear what you're saying about other bottom feeders being a main fish food source, as a child our families didn't have any disposable income for luxuries like Salmon or Halibut, so when it came to buying fish for supper we didn't have that much choice....I used to love Rock Salmon (UK for dogfish) large white flakes, a more chewy texture and just one rubbery backbone (no needle bones), I love it.
I also once saw small carp standing on their heads in huge glass jars while visiting Austria.....depends where you go as to what people constitute as being edible.
I've caught flounder from the English Channel, we'd fry em up right there on the beach and gobble em up.....just add salt and lemon...Yum!....We'd also catch Dabs a smaller flattie, they were much tastier than Flounder.
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Gave it a solid go today at 2 locations for flounder, No luck. Too early methinks. Another weird thing I saw yesterday, was walking the dogs in Steveston and saw an Asian man with a cooler full of herring. In there was a saltwater species, a small snake prickleback. First time I've seen one caught in the fraser. Must have went right after one of the flies on the sabiki. Pretty interesting to see. Must be really salty in that channel right now. Even though pressure has died down on the dock on the boardwalk, there are still herring to be caught! Get down there people.
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Gave it a solid go today at 2 locations for flounder, No luck. Too early methinks. Another weird thing I saw yesterday, was walking the dogs in Steveston and saw an Asian man with a cooler full of herring. In there was a saltwater species, a small snake prickleback. First time I've seen one caught in the fraser. Must have went right after one of the flies on the sabiki. Pretty interesting to see. Must be really salty in that channel right now. Even though pressure has died down on the dock on the boardwalk, there are still herring to be caught! Get down there people.
Caught snake pricklebacks in the salt as well, almost always in deeper water off piers. Don't like handling them at all due to the numerous dorsal spines. I wonder how they taste as I always throw them back. Went for stocked rainbows instead at nearby Lafarge Lake and got myself one for dinner..lol Will like to try a nearby slough again for cutts and bulls this weekend so flounders will have to wait till next week.
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Tried eating one when I was a kid. Really bony not bad meat though, too bad they're so thin. Caught tons in my inflatable off Kits Beach.
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Caught snake pricklebacks in the salt as well, almost always in deeper water off piers. Don't like handling them at all due to the numerous dorsal spines. I wonder how they taste as I always throw them back. Went for stocked rainbows instead at nearby Lafarge Lake and got myself one for dinner..lol Will like to try a nearby slough again for cutts and bulls this weekend so flounders will have to wait till next week.
One thing widely used a lot by UK beach match anglers while flounder fishing is to incorporate a sequin or two (yes, the kind you see in ladies dressmaking stores) threaded onto the hook trace..... these sequins are set between brightly coloured beads, they add that extra sparkle and seem to work quite well when placed near the hook bait to attract all manner of bottom fish, like flatties, doggies, etc. ;)
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Probably be just as effective by just placing a bead or 2 on top of the baited hook...combined with a slow stop/start retrieval, should be deadly for flounder.
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Probably be just as effective by just placing a bead or 2 on top of the baited hook...combined with a slow stop/start retrieval, should be deadly for flounder.
Yep, that's exactly how they set their rigs up with beads and sequins right next to the hook....in addition they're using tiny spoons with colored beads too and many US anglers are also using Gulp shrimp as their hook bait with great success.....Youtube is your friend. ;)