Mullet - yum yum??

Lads,

Just flicking through Irish Angler, looking for any sea sections.
I came across the Mullet article, in it, Johnny Woodlock said they can be likened to bass, taste-wise.
Has any of you ever kept a mullet for eating? Ever tried it?

Saw a couple of guys pulling a mullet from Malahide estuary last week & it brought me back to when I was a nipper & caught a fine grey mullet (had thought it may have been a salmon) what a fight !!!

Wanted to bring it home until my friend informed me of their unpleasant eating habits. Next one is definietly for the pan.

I know I'm deviating a little from your question but I'd love another Mullet fight - what bait would you recommend 4 mullet ?

yes heard theyare edible.one old man said to me they taste like cardboard when they are cooked..

you eat mullet a lot more then you think...seagulls too!!
ever think what a chicken ball really is from the local chinese??!! :lol:

theres no need to kill a mullet to eat. there are plenty more nice eating fish in the sea....or if you cant catch them its only a few quid in the supermarket.

in my opinion mullet are a far more valuable fish alive than when they are dead - brilliant sporting fish that can be caught on ultra-light tackle

Open sea mullet are quite nice to eat but the estuary dwellers are something I wouldn't be that keen on having on the plate.

Pete

I remember I foul-hooked a mullet in Malahide estuary when I was about 13, brought it home and ate it...... to be honest I don't remember really it being nice, quite the opposite in fact !! Further to the message from guest I was once down on Malahide estuary and I must of been 15 or so when an oriental man pulled up in a merc with a net in the boot, he set it up and proceeded to pull in a load of mullet. He loaded his catch into his boot and drove off - I've been looking for the take away with that merc parked outside ever since :oops: !!!

I have taken a few mullet to eat and they r quite like bass. real firm white flesh. the taste is like bass too maybe a bit more oily tasting. only take open sea mullet tho as harbour mullet can taste a bit muddy. if in doubt give them a try. they r plentyfull and if u r taking a fish better a mullet than a bass i reckon

I saw a recipe once that if you soak the mullet overnight in buttermilk it gives it a good flavour and the fry the fish!! Never tried it though as i have not been fortunate to catch a mullet yet :cry:

Fairly firm white flesh . Not bad if you like fish , which I don't much . Not a lot of flavour .Needs to be cooked with a little seasoning .
First catch your fish !
n/

PS Guest - you could be right but I thought seagull tasted fishy so not likely to be in chicken balls . Never tried it tho ' ( illegal to kill , I believe ) .

And just to be contentious - if you're prepared to pay for any flesh from the shop you should be prepared to kill your own . If you want one you kill ONE . If you buy commercially , how many others including undersized and non-target species have been killed in the process , not to mention disposal of unsold stock ? In my view SELECTIVE killing FOR THE TABLE and conservation are by no means mutually exclusive .
Whole other subject , this . One I think we should really get our act together on before the anti hunting lobby gets around to angling as a sport . My guess is that it won't take long - a few years maybe . Anyone interested in setting up a thread for serious discussion of the subject ? Maybe SAI should adopt a position ( apologies if this is already in hand ) - bit like the current move on catch and release in comps - now that is truly inspirational . Good on ya .
BTW I'm not knocking those responsible skippers etc who catch fish for a living . I know there are all sorts of issues around that too .
Sorry to bang on . Feel better now !
Nick

Sorry - that tirade was me , not another wild shot from a guest . Line went down so lost login .
nick

Did it again . I hate computers .
n/

Hate to put anyone off trying mullet, but they are very slow growing fish and if you get one of 4lb, it’s already about 12 years old. Luckily they are very difficult to catch, fight incredibly hard and for most of us are very difficult to catch so they are still swimming around. If they grabbed bait like a mackerel, they would have become extinct years ago.

Leon Roskilly has written some excellent stuff on mullet and gives some great advice here:-
http://www.anglers-net.co.uk/authors/leon22.htm

I’m sure he won’t mind but I’ve copied some bits below which may be of interest.

Mullet first spawn around 10 years old, then only every other year, sometimes every third year.

Feeding mainly by ingesting mud from the bottom, and passing that very slowly through their long digestive tracts, and remembering that a 3lb fish has been doing that for the last ten years, I reckon that there has been plenty of time for dangerous pollutants to build up in mullet flesh.

I guess it’s best to have the sport and return them to carry on getting bigger. If they get damaged, then it’s up to you, but just make sure there are no sewer pipes around where you caught it. :shock:

Tim

im not saying theres anything wrong with killing a fish to eat, my point is there are plenty of nicer eating fish in the sea.
dont you think it would be better to take a flounder for instance, for the pan rather than a mullet?
there are always going to be quotas and a demand for fish whether people catch them themselves or not. after all even if everybody who fishes caught their own fish, there are still millions of people who cant catch their own! (including many anglers!! :lol: )

Cheers for all the replies lads, interesting stuff.
Gonna try head down to Malahide soon for a bash at them with the light gear. The article in IA has got me wondering now, about the fight a big one can put up, not the taste :shock: .
The da likes the odd bit I catch, maybe he can be my test subject. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Apols to Guest - I misunderstood you . Do agree that it would be better to buy something you like rather than kill something you don't .
Hadn't considered the lifecycle stats before . Are mullet particularly slow to grow and breed or are there loads of species like that ?