[BSartistX]

Does anyone eat them or are you just shooting them for something to shoot?

I heard that they contain a chemical that can make you sick if you eat them.

Brad

 

[theangrydolphin]

Flame me if you want but I kill a few of them! I do not want the disease they carry so I don't eat them. They sure give the short snapper hell trying to get one back to the bottom. I usually shoot one or two from the boat with the riffe. Just seems to be too many of them compared to the amount of bait fish I see on the bottom.

 

[Clay-Doh]

They can have a desease called Ciguatera. Very rare, and large amberjacks and the bigger varieties of snapper and grouper are also listed as posible species. It is more common in tropical waters with coral since it is a microscopic organism that is the sourse of the toxin.

I have yet to eat a cuda, but have heard they are exellent smoked since they are an oily fish. The one I shot I didn't get to eat cuzHarry (whos boat we were on)said the thing smelled way to nasty to let on his boat! And they do stink...like baterry acid, metal, and antifreeze mixed with fish.

 

[bigfishrookie]

Clay-Doh (11/20/2007)They can have a desease called Ciguatera. Very rare, and large amberjacks and the bigger varieties of snapper and grouper are also listed as posible species. It is more common in tropical waters with coral since it is a microscopic organism that is the sourse of the toxin.

I have yet to eat a cuda, but have heard they are exellent smoked since they are an oily fish. The one I shot I didn't get to eat cuzHarry (whos boat we were on)said the thing smelled way to nasty to let on his boat! And they do stink...like baterry acid, metal, and antifreeze mixed with fish.

Clay is correct on both topics. You see a lot more cuda eaten in the Pacific and Australia, why I don't know. Maybe it's a different species, maybe it's regional (geographical), or maybe we just haven't cuz we were brought up that way. I don't eat beetles and bugs (besides crawfish and lobster!), but just cuz our culture doesn't, doesn't mean they are unedible.

Personally I think that people just like to kill em for sport. Kinda crude- but so is eatting my damn snapper as I bring him up! Bastards!

Side note: I freegaffed a 52# cuda once at the side of the boat. i had a bonita gaffed (why I don't know) and I was hanging him over the side of the boat. The cuda came up, stick his head out of the water and latched on. My buddy said "get em'!" and in slip second I pulled the steel out of the Bo-Bo and into the cuda. Damn thing stunk up the boat for days.I was only 13, so it was way cool. Nowadays- I don't mess with them. Stinky Bastards!

 

[Brad King]

I have eaten quite a few throughout the years. I think they are good table fare. While I don't kill them randomly, I dont put anyone down for it either.

I do kill Remora's though. Sorry lil' bastards.

 

[Wharf Rat]

Gloryboy (11/20/2007)I have eaten quite a few throughout the years. I think they are good table fare. While I don't kill them randomly, I dont put anyone down for it either.



I do kill Remora's though. Sorry lil' bastards.

I despise remoras...even my 7 year old nephew gets sick of em'.

 

[Frenchy]

I have had barracuda numerous times when air diving of the west coast of Africa and trolling under the flare tasks almost every nights. Had them for lunch and dinner at times, in a soup as a fish burger and even rawas sashimis philipino style !!

Great meat, I understand what you are referring to but ciguatera is mainly linked to areas with live reefs, which is seldom (wrecks/platforms/reefs) if not non existant around here (there is flower gardens in Texas).

Not sure if you have a problem with killing a fish for personal pleasure without any intent to eat it ( which I totally agree with, eat what you kill or do not bother or release) or with the ciguatera.

As far as the smell goes, might want to put it on ice guys, never was confronted to a particulary bad smell coming from cudas,comparatevly I found cobia stunk quickly (if not iced).

Only my perspective.

Take care.

Frenchy

 

[Clay-Doh]

Hey Frenchy!! I thought you were off shore livin 600 feet below the surface! Or do you have internet conection in that little pod down there?

 

[jimmyjams4110]

As far as the smell goes, might want to put it on ice guys, never was confronted to a particulary bad smell coming from cudas,comparatevly I found cobia stunk quickly (if not iced).

Then you never cought 1 cuda from around these waters FRENCHY... Stinkin cudas....:sick

A cobia smells like roses compared to those bastards.

 

[countryjwh]

i have had cuda and it is ok. i usually dont shoot them for pleasure because i fish when i go out and barraccuda makes a fine grouper bait.

 

[fishyfingers]

As Clay pointed out they have been linked to ciguatera poisoning, along with AJ and cubera snapper. However, to this date there have only been about a dozen cases reported and all were from the lower keys. This toxin is mostly encountered off Cuba. there have never been any cases reported here as these are not tropical waters and most of our cudas are resident fish. The small ones are delicous. Fair white boneless fillets. Anything much larger than my leg becomes fertilizer or shark bait. I love to catch one and they can be quite tricky to catch if you target them.

I kill cudas like I kill coyotes, and for the same reason.

 

[NoMoSurf]

I dont mean to hijack, but whay hate remoras? I have never had any bad experience with them. I caught one off the beach once. I thought he was pretty cool looking.

 

[LITECATCH]

we were at the horse shoe rigs and a buddy of mine caught a cuda. kept it and his parents almost die from eating it. we have live bottom here! the way the food chain works is, the ciguatera is on the reef. a snail eats it, a puffer fish loves snails and eats the snail. now with the cuda being one of a very few fish that has a mouth that can eat a puffer fish, it is now in the cuda where it stays until something else eats it. don't be fooled thinking it is ok to eat them. my friends parents were sick (almost died) for 6 months. they were not allowed to eat ANY fish fresh water included for 1 year. from what i understand they can't even think about eating fish even today after how sick they got. so please, throw those stinky boys back!

 

[bigfishrookie]

LITECATCH (11/21/2007)we were at the horse shoe rigs and a buddy of mine caught a cuda. kept it and his parents almost die from eating it. we have live bottom here! the way the food chain works is, the ciguatera is on the reef. a snail eats it, a puffer fish loves snails and eats the snail. now with the cuda being one of a very few fish that has a mouth that can eat a puffer fish, it is now in the cuda where it stays until something else eats it. don't be fooled thinking it is ok to eat them. my friends parents were sick (almost died) for 6 months. they were not allowed to eat ANY fish fresh water included for 1 year. from what i understand they can't even think about eating fish even today after how sick they got. so please, throw those stinky boys back!

Stories like that make me say "no thanks" to cudas. But be aware, ALL fish have the possibility of Ciguatera. So next time you unload those groupers and snappers, it's best to give me a call and I'll sample them for you, free of charge- unless I die and then my wife will pay you a couple bucks!

 

[Captain Woody Woods]

i like to kill em' just cuz they're annoying

 

[Chris V]

I've eaten a ton of them. Why not? I've never heard of one true confirmed case of ciguatera in the northern gulf. If you are paranoid of it then don't eat snapper or grouper either as they are just as likely to carry it. I have killed many for the hell of it as well but do bring them home fairly regularly. On the grill or in the smoker they're pretty good. I don't blame people for wanting to kill them and don't really care if they do. Its a lot of fun to bring them up next to the boat using a live fish and free gaff them.

 

[Bigg J]

old buddy of mine went to jamaica one time, said they hung'em out to dry and the cuda that the flies would be attracted to would be the edible one. guess the flies know which one has the crud, don't know might be the rastafarian way. don't know, kinda don't care.

 

[Beefisher]

Thecudas we caught on thewest coast are quite different. No stink and eatable. We would smoke them and eat them like jerky or grill them.

I have caught these here, as well,and they are nasty and all stank, same with the ones down by Tahati and Okinawa.

 

[GONU]

Kill a couple they need thinning out.