Favorite fish to eat?

Nsmith2015

What is everybody’s favorite fish from Florida? Whether it be fresh water or salt water. 

altuck

Fresh water hard to beat a mess of fried bream,

Saltwater, probably eat mullet more than anything else, but love some triggerfish when you can find them. 

catchemup

wahoo, yellowfin grouper, yellowtail

christopher15

I love triggerfish

tankered

Freshwater...speckled perch, hands down. Bass and bream out of clean water ain't bad either.

Saltwater...pompano and tripletail are in a class by themselves, but there are far to many runners-up to mention. I really like most fish...except mullet. That's bait, you can have that crap. And I even like bonito!

gogittum

Except for Trout and a small number of Bluegill and Bass, my experience with freshwater fish is limited, but tho' Trout is good, all seemed to be quite bland to me.

Saltwater, esp. bottom fish, seem much richer in flavor.  (I'm nuts for Halibut, but they're few and far between)  Salmon are a whole different thing and unique.  I finally got tired of eating Salmon, even smoked.  For all of them, I can't stand a fishy flavor.....gotta be mild.

For Ling Cod, I liked to put a cup of half cooked wild rice on a sheet of heavy aluminum foil, then lay a fillet on top of it.  Top with paper thin slices of tomato and lemon, season, and fold into a packet.  Forget for sure, it's been a lot of years - but think it was ~350 degrees for 20 minutes.

When you - carefully - open the packet the fragrance is wonderful.  Juice from the fish and toppings soaks down into the rice and it makes a great meal.

Flash

Freshwater= Bluegills
Saltwater- Mutton Snapper

Flash

gogittum said:

Except for Trout and a small number of Bluegill and Bass, my experience with freshwater fish is limited, but tho' Trout is good, all seemed to be quite bland to me.

Saltwater, esp. bottom fish, seem much richer in flavor.  (I'm nuts for Halibut, but they're few and far between)  Salmon are a whole different thing and unique.  I finally got tired of eating Salmon, even smoked.  For all of them, I can't stand a fishy flavor.....gotta be mild.

For Ling Cod, I liked to put a cup of half cooked wild rice on a sheet of heavy aluminum foil, then lay a fillet on top of it.  Top with paper thin slices of tomato and lemon, season, and fold into a packet.  Forget for sure, it's been a lot of years - but think it was ~350 degrees for 20 minutes.

When you - carefully - open the packet the fragrance is wonderful.  Juice from the fish and toppings soaks down into the rice and it makes a great meal.

We have Ling Cod and Salmon in Florida ??!?

Geneakers

Ling cod is excellent.. "poor man's lobster",,, used to catch and spear alot of them when I lived in WA state.  Bake that bad boy with some garlic and butter, sprinkle with some paprika and dunk in drawn butter... making my mouth water as I type and remember.. would eat it till I almost got sick.

smooth move

freshwater----walleye

saltwater------red snapper

Flash

Geneakers said:

Ling cod is excellent.. "poor man's lobster",,, used to catch and spear alot of them when I lived in WA state.  Bake that bad boy with some garlic and butter, sprinkle with some paprika and dunk in drawn butter... making my mouth water as I type and remember.. would eat it till I almost got sick.

It is, just not a Florida fish as the original poster wanted. I would have said Salmon if west cost was allowed

Sixth Generation

Snook, deep fried.  The halibut momma fixed last night from Costco was like butter though.  I was impressed and usually do not like store bought.

Terry Ravenscraft

Red snapper / scamp / triple tail / flounder / dolphin ...in that order

Soda Popinski

for fried fish halibut/haddock if it's a norther fish fry style.   

For blackened fish sandwich Grouper

For blackened fish tacos Mangrove snapper

For dinner with a nice red wine risotto and a Pinot Noir blackened salmon

for fish nuggets dredged in house Autry seafood breader and fried up same day bonnethead shark.   

Really depends on what i'm in the mood for. 

1FSM

Saltwater fish:
Lookdown
Pompano
Snook
In this order.

Freshwater fish:
Crappie
Bluegill
Flathead (when cleaned and prepped correctly)

Geneakers

Flash said:

Geneakers said:

Ling cod is excellent.. "poor man's lobster",,, used to catch and spear alot of them when I lived in WA state.  Bake that bad boy with some garlic and butter, sprinkle with some paprika and dunk in drawn butter... making my mouth water as I type and remember.. would eat it till I almost got sick.

It is, just not a Florida fish as the original poster wanted. I would have said Salmon if west cost was allowed

My apologies...  lol

Jack Hexter

Freshwater - Crappie

Saltwater - Hogfish, wahoo

lakeman

Maybe i'm different, but never met a salt water fish I did not like, yes some are better that others even saltwater cat fish.  Fresh water in Florida Specs and bass from the colder season.

Soda Popinski

lakeman said:

Maybe i'm different, but never met a salt water fish I did not like, yes some are better that others even saltwater cat fish.  Fresh water in Florida Specs and bass from the colder season.

a few years ago my son caught a sailcat down in Marathon and it was a nice size, maybe 4 pounds, begged me to keep it so i did and told him he had to eat it.  Man we fried that thing up with some good breading and it was delicious!  slimy in the cooler but i don't think we'll throw eating size sailcats back ever again. 

smooth move

Soda Popinski said:

lakeman said:

Maybe i'm different, but never met a salt water fish I did not like, yes some are better that others even saltwater cat fish.  Fresh water in Florida Specs and bass from the colder season.

a few years ago my son caught a sailcat down in Marathon and it was a nice size, maybe 4 pounds, begged me to keep it so i did and told him he had to eat it.  Man we fried that thing up with some good breading and it was delicious!  slimy in the cooler but i don't think we'll throw eating size sailcats back ever again. 

Soda Popinski said:

lakeman said:

Maybe i'm different, but never met a salt water fish I did not like, yes some are better that others even saltwater cat fish.  Fresh water in Florida Specs and bass from the colder season.

a few years ago my son caught a sailcat down in Marathon and it was a nice size, maybe 4 pounds, begged me to keep it so i did and told him he had to eat it.  Man we fried that thing up with some good breading and it was delicious!  slimy in the cooler but i don't think we'll throw eating size sailcats back ever again. 

that's the only way i've ever found to eat them. smoked some a few years ago and gave a filet to the dog and she threw it up. we keep a few every spring when we're catching big one's and fry em pretty crisp.

tankered

I've tried sailcats twice.

First time was OK second it was not good at all. Very muddy taste. 

Probably won't do it again, unless I'm starving. 

conchydong

I like so many types of fish that is hard to find a favorite  as long as it’s fresh. Having said that, I love snowy grouper in the 5 to 15 pound range

abovebored

Golden tile 

Geneakers

Barrel Fish is also good (altho they will slime everything up so clean em last)..  I also really enjoy Black Belly Rosies... both have a different texture of meat

smooth move

Geneakers said:

Barrel Fish is also good (altho they will slime everything up so clean em last)..  I also really enjoy Black Belly Rosies... both have a different texture of meat

Geneakers said:

Barrel Fish is also good (altho they will slime everything up so clean em last)..  I also really enjoy Black Belly Rosies... both have a different texture of meat

only had barrel fish once and was tired and in a hurry so i fried it. sure like to try some grilled. it was outstanding.

bigfinn35

Shocked that no one's mentioned hogfish yet-- they're by far my favorite in FL. Fried, sauteed, grilled, poached, baked, however you want it. Slightly sweet and super flakey, I'm in the mood to go buy some right now.

Runners up are sheepshead, scamp, yellowtail, and fresh spanish mackerel. Probably ate 12 of them in the last month and a half, mostly raw.

For some offbeat picks, if you ever get a giant pinfish or mojarra (especially mojarra), try frying 'em whole after removing the guts, gills, and spines. Ridiculously good.

Soda Popinski

i have never caught hogfish and been able to eat it fresh. I have had it once in the keys from a restaurant and it was fantastic.  

tankered

Good to hear someone specifically mention spanish mackerel, criminally underrated IMO.

And so versatile, great from raw to smoked and everything in between. 

bigfinn35

tankered said:

Good to hear someone specifically mention spanish mackerel, criminally underrated IMO.

And so versatile, great from raw to smoked and everything in between. 

For sure. So much flavor compared to the pure white meat fish from all the oil. Long as you cook or eat 'em within a day or two they're hard to beat, easy to clean, and easy to catch a boatload of when they're running. Must have had fresh mackerel poke 15 times last month.

Flash

Soda Popinski said:

lakeman said:

Maybe i'm different, but never met a salt water fish I did not like, yes some are better that others even saltwater cat fish.  Fresh water in Florida Specs and bass from the colder season.

a few years ago my son caught a sailcat down in Marathon and it was a nice size, maybe 4 pounds, begged me to keep it so i did and told him he had to eat it.  Man we fried that thing up with some good breading and it was delicious!  slimy in the cooler but i don't think we'll throw eating size sailcats back ever again. 

 Agree. Just make sure you are never finned by one. If you are, rub some of there slime on the wound. They have saved a few poor fishing trips over the many years of fishing.

Flash

bigfinn35 said:

tankered said:

Good to hear someone specifically mention spanish mackerel, criminally underrated IMO.

And so versatile, great from raw to smoked and everything in between. 

For sure. So much flavor compared to the pure white meat fish from all the oil. Long as you cook or eat 'em within a day or two they're hard to beat, easy to clean, and easy to catch a boatload of when they're running. Must have had fresh mackerel poke 15 times last month.

 Agree with this also. If fact one day I fried up some Macs and Seatrout in different pans, using the same spices and such. The macs were fresh and you know, no one could tell which was which. Very surprising.