After buying a truck to tow a boat four years ago, I finally picked one up. I’ve been lurking on the forum the last few years reading, and I figure I should start contributing.
Well, I guess technically this really isn’t a contribution but an ask for help. We fished the Charleston 60 the other day, and caught two fish I couldn’t identify. The top fish looks like a grunt of some sort. The closest looking one I could find in the DNR fish ID book was a tomtate, but I’m not certain. The bottom fish looks like some kind of snapper. Nothing in the DNR book looks like it though. At least not to my eyes.
Hopefully this summer we’ll be having some success fishing and I’ll start posting in the reports forum. Thanks for the help.
Ahh. Thanks. Don’t I feel like a dumb@$$. The bottom one looked much lighter and jaw didn’t seem to hinge open the same way. Sometimes you need a second set of eyes.
They both went back in the water and were promptly scooped up by the shark hanging out by our boat.
In FL, at least on the Gulf side, they are called Key West Grunts. They actually taste quite good and I keep them if they are large enough to get a decent filet off of them. I don’t get them here that large very often. Used to catch them while searching for Grouper off of Tarpon Springs, FL. Charter Captain turned me on to them as table fare. Glad he did, mild flavor, handles most cooking applications pretty well, though frying is best.
Thanks for the replies. It’s always good to know someone else has tried something before and found them edible. Kind of like lobsters, escargot, or oysters. The first person to try them must have been pretty hungry.
The fish weren’t very big. Next time I’ll keep one to see how they taste. They seem to be the perfect size for fish sandwiches or tacos.
Thanks for the replies. It’s always good to know someone else has tried something before and found them edible. Kind of like lobsters, escargot, or oysters. The first person to try them must have been pretty hungry.
The fish weren’t very big. Next time I’ll keep one to see how they taste. They seem to be the perfect size for fish sandwiches or tacos.
They are actually perfect size for a grouper sandwich
That’s not a key west grunt. That’s a Tomtate. A key west is the slang for a white grunt which is a different (larger) species. If you guys are going to start eating Tomtate, I would recommend as much catchup as you can stomach.
They make good BSB bait. I kinda know that much about them.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
2007 Grady White 222 Fisherman / 250 Yamaha
Simrad NSS evo2 and G4
1- 22 boy that won’t move out)
1 - 18 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)
Mark
Pioneer 222 Sportfish Yamaha F300
Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn’t go so far as to call a dog filthy but they’re definitely dirty. But, a dog’s got personality. Personality goes a long way.
“Life’s tough…It’s even tougher if you’re stupid” John Wayne
They are actually perfect size for a grouper sandwich
I imagine at most restaurants, “grouper” is code for “something that came out of the water, somewhere”. Which I imagine is why most of us are on this forum. If you want to know what you’re eating, go get it yourself.
quote:Originally posted by claim
They make good BSB bait. I kinda know that much about them.
I imagine you’re cutting them up into chunks and putting them on the bottom on a chicken rig?
quote:Originally posted by Toothy12
Bright orange mouth= tomtate. I wouldn't eat it, but grouper on the other hand...
If it’s good enough for grouper, maybe they don’t taste too bad?
I imagine it’s the same setup for grouper as BSB? Chunks on a dropper rig?
quote:Originally posted by saltydog235
Cobia candy, too bad you can't keep the cobia.
I’ll give this a try next time. I’ve been reading through the threads on this forum referencing cobia fishing. It’s one of the fish on my list I want to catch. Just throw it out whole and alive on the hook I imagine? Nice long leader with just an egg sinker?
We went in Red’s at Bohicket before weigh in of the Gov cup, and had a Grouper sandwich. It was Flounder. I called out the server, said I grew up eating flounder, and not grouper, and knew for a fact it was not grouper. She told me I was wrong, that they didn’t even have flounder on the menu. I refused to accept it. Manager came out and reported that “the new guy” put flounder on my sandwich. “But I thought you didn’t have flounder on the menu?” I got a grouper sandwich.
Next weekend a friend had the same thing happen at Red’s at Shem Creek!
We went in Red’s at Bohicket before weigh in of the Gov cup, and had a Grouper sandwich. It was Flounder. I called out the server, said I grew up eating flounder, and not grouper, and knew for a fact it was not grouper. She told me I was wrong, that they didn’t even have flounder on the menu. I refused to accept it. Manager came out and reported that “the new guy” put flounder on my sandwich. “But I thought you didn’t have flounder on the menu?” I got a grouper sandwich.
Next weekend a friend had the same thing happen at Red’s at Shem Creek!
Wadmalaw native
16’ Bentz-Craft Flats Boat
Drink at reds, don’t eat at reds, unless you want some freshly frozen three month old shrimp from Thailand. It is pretty sad that a restaurant on Shem Creek can’t serve fresh local shrimp, I am sure a lot of people would gladly pay extra for them, I know I would.
Red’s (Shem Creek) is easily my favorite spot in the world - I spend waaaay too much time/money in there, so much so that I was given a plaque at one of the waterfront tables.
That being said, I go there to drink, socialize and check out the scenery. If you go there looking to be impressed by the food, you’re going to be depressed. And that’s not to be taken as a knock on Red’s, I love it - it’s just the way it is.
We went in Red’s at Bohicket before weigh in of the Gov cup, and had a Grouper sandwich. It was Flounder. I called out the server, said I grew up eating flounder, and not grouper, and knew for a fact it was not grouper. She told me I was wrong, that they didn’t even have flounder on the menu. I refused to accept it. Manager came out and reported that “the new guy” put flounder on my sandwich. “But I thought you didn’t have flounder on the menu?” I got a grouper sandwich.
Next weekend a friend had the same thing happen at Red’s at Shem Creek!
Wadmalaw native
16’ Bentz-Craft Flats Boat
Drink at reds, don’t eat at reds, unless you want some freshly frozen three month old shrimp from Thailand. It is pretty sad that a restaurant on Shem Creek can’t serve fresh local shrimp, I am sure a lot of people would gladly pay extra for them, I know I would.
290 Sailfish “GameChanger”
x2 300 Yamaha’s
OH I know…that’s why I got grouper sandwich. Hard to mess that up…but they did. Royally.
I mistakenly called these White grunts. They are definitely Tomtates.
Slim-bodied, the tomtate is silver-white overall and has a yellow-brown stripe along the length of its body, ending in a dark blotch on the caudal peduncle. The pelvic and the anal fins are yellowish. The inside of the mouth is red. It has 13 dorsal spines and 14 to 15 dorsal rays, 9 anal rays, and 17 to 18 pectoral rays.
I have no idea if they are decent eating or not, though given their smaller size, I would use as bait as others have suggested. Sounds like Red’s is already feeding them to folks.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
2007 Grady White 222 Fisherman / 250 Yamaha
Simrad NSS evo2 and G4
1- 22 boy that won’t move out)
1 - 18 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)
Lot’s of folks turn their noses up at anything other than Mahi, grouper, snapper, and maybe flounder. (BTW, my son calls Tomtates “Orange mouth Snappers”)
I’ve had Tomtates before and they taste fine. Battered and fried is Ok, but I like them seasoned and pan seared then served as fish tacos.
Mighty tasty.
Buddy of mine can’t believe I eat Spadefish. About the only fish I’ve tried that I really don’t care for is Amberjack. Just not crazy about the texture and flavor.
