This surprised me.

T-Boy

Senior Member
The thing is there are so many other choices to eat that I have never tried one. Also the shark guys love Bonita's for bait.
 

Dustin Pate

Administrator
Staff member
The thing is there are so many other choices to eat that I have never tried one. Also the shark guys love Bonita's for bait.

Terry, when are you heading back down to PCB? We are booked up for the first of October.
 

little rascal

Senior Member
you'll throw Kingfish

away if you ever eat Bonita! Especially Broiled or Smoked! Been there done that got the t-shirt! Bonita is cheap in the market too. All it is a poor man's tuna, but taste better than tuna to me! Especially fun to catch on hook and line!
 

georgia_home

Senior Member
We caught them occasionally when I worked on a head boat.

They are pretty good. Not quite as good as tuna, better than mackerel bluefish and many others.

I'd bring them home every chance. As in the video, getting the blood line out is a must.
 

weagle

Senior Member
That's a great video. It's funny how some fish get a reputation for being trash fish and everyone just assumes its fact. Freshwater gar and bonito fall into that category. A few years ago, before the blackened redfish craze, I didn't hear of a lot of people eating redfish. On the gulf piers, not many people keep bluefish, but in the Carolinas they target them.

Sort of the same situation; they used to use chicken wings for pet food and now you pay more per pound than thighs.

The guys on the Gulf Shores pier make Sashimi out of fresh caught bonito.
 

Last Minute

Senior Member
I have smoked my fair share of Bonitos and they aren't bad. Every once in a while I'll smoke a bunch up and bring it down to the dock and pass out to all my buddies ..Everyone eats it up and they all wanna know what it is.. I just say it's smoked fish eat it lol. Once it's all gone and you tell'em what they ate they can't believe it. I wouldn't try it any other way though lol
 

Last Minute

Senior Member
The best thing to do with a Bonito is make strip baits out of the skin. I run fishing charters in Ft Lauderdale and it never gets old the reactions of the tourist when they watch you clean a pile of Bonitos and they think we're cleaning Tunas lol. They'll stand and watch and take pics and ooh and ahh while you're filleting them but once you take that big slab of meat and chuck it in the water they loose it lol
 

notnksnemor

The Great and Powerful Oz
All this reminds me a carp recipe I once had.

Take a 20" carp, nail it to a 24" board and season to taste.
Grill for 15 minutes on each side.
Remove carp from the board, throw carp away and eat the board!
:D
 

FishingAddict

Senior Member
A few beers in, I thought I'd impress my friends by eating a strip of bonita loin off the bait table. I thought that I must have been deeper into the beer than I realized because it tasted like raw tuna- just larger grain.

I've tried it at home twice. If it's very fresh it's pretty good. But it does not store well at all. Day old max. Gets a bit mushy texture wise.
 
Top