Jarhead

I've only caught a few Bonita but always been told to chunk em' back because they were trash fish. I'm seeing a lot of pics of guys keeping them. Are you guys keeping them for bait or have I been misinformed?

true-king

Some guys do keep them to eat, but I just use them for shark bait. Never tried them.

Cuz

Gut and cut the gills out as soon as you catch them, hang um in the water for about 5 minutes and through them in the cooler full of ice. Fillet as usual and cut out the blood line. Good on the grill. No joke!:letsdrink

Tuna Man

What blood line..:bangheadoke...For me BAIT only.

ElJay

Cut throat as soon as you catch them to get blood to drain out while heart is still pumping. Skin out fillet, skin adds bitter taste to me. Then grill or I also like to oak/pecan smoke and use like canned tuna in caseroles etc. I have had them pickled then cold smoked as in kippers too, not as good as herrings or mullet for that, but ok.

Its good to bleed any fish you are going to eat as the harder it fought the more adrenaline is in the blood and that rots the flesh fast. Plus there is all the toxins from the fight that the fish's body never had a chance to remove too.

Jarhead

thanks for the replies. That cleared it up.

freespool50

not an expert by any means, and i havent personally tried bonito from the gulf, but i know the japanese love the heck out of them fish. i saw an iron chef show devoted solely to bonito. if you like sushi, then the little flakes sometimes used on the rice or in the wrapper is bonito. i dont know if it is the same fish they have in the gulf though. as with anything, some people will eat stingray, others not. some will eat cow but not deer. just what you're willing to try i guess.

and for all the naysayers and old-timers, remember when triggerfish and aj's were always considered trashfish?

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fishyfingers

It's important to know the difference between bonitA and bonitO. The usual bonita is Little Tuny, all red meat and rather strong. Occasionally, Atlantic bonito are caught in the N. GOM. They are good table fare and more akin to what the asians use for sushi.

I've tried bonita 3 times using the above steps including bleeding and thorough icing then grilling. Once was palatable but the other two times absolutely disgusting. They do make great shark bait, cut bait for bottom fish and I cut strips off to troll with. Plus they can provide some excitement when other fishing is slow!

true-king

Found this site earler...

http://www.artsnflies.com/pages3/art..._fishing.shtml

Here's a screenshot:

bonita dan

Fingers is exactly right. Atlantic bonito are good to eat. Bonita,aka Little Tunny or most commonly called False Albacore are not what I find to be good table fare,JMO. There meat however does make good bait for snapper,grouper and the like. Also removing portions of the skin make excellant strip baits once brined. Dolphin can't resist a strip bait trolledbehind an Islander jr. or octopus skirt.

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