Tomorrow, it looks like I'll be trying out my newly created kahawai set-ups but later today I'll by putting my newly acquired fish&game license to use and hopefully catch me a trout, fingers crossed.
It does have a distinctive smell. Not everyone can smell it. I can tell when a kahawai has been in my chilly bin after the event. I made a beautiful plate of kahawai sushi for my family once. They couldn't get enough of it and I was gagging after my first bite. That said, I have come around to eating cooked kahawai, but it must be killed quickly, bled, gutted and iced properly.
persist with it people its a very underrated fish - I like it egg and bread crumbed pan fried fresh and yes its gill bleed - but then I can tolerate fish that is not ya bland crappy blue cod - now go up the east coast and you will be served Kahawai boiled in a big pot - and the way it is eaten is butter a piece of bread take some kahawai and onion close it into a sandwhich and munch - its damn good trust me -
dont tell locals on the East Coast ya dont like kahawai ya wont come back -- staple diet up there -- rate blue cod along with herrings
Man I love kahawai, but then again i eat a lot of fish plenty of others tell me are shit fish, like spiky dog (winter only), kelpies and other wrasse, Jock Stewart's, hell even a barracouta that's clean of worms will make some of the tastiest smoked fish you'll ever have.
Key things I've found for any fish are to iki it, gut it and straight into an icy salt water slurry.
People I know wind up with a couple feeds worth after a trip, man I'm eating for a week by looking beyond my 2 cod and couple of snapper
Especially the 5 piece kahawai
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wiCv-6...VjZSBrYWhhd2Fp
I did it! It wasn't that hard really. Learning points... you have to try to succeed and secure your braided loops.
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Caught about 15 before work the other morning after stumbling across a boil-up, on a very lightweight rod from Temu: using 12-pound braid and 6-pound leader with a small shinny wobbler also from temu.
Cut the gills and let them bleed out in the tinney before knocking the heads off and guts out taking just the split frames home. Smoked them up and they were yum. Gave most to friends, family and neighbors with many becoming pies or part of a spread. Delish.
I have ever really understood the hate the humble kahawai gets and catching them on light gear is some of the most fun I have had fishing. Thinking about keeping the fly rod in the tinney for a cheeky flick next time.
I took a mate out this weekend who hadn't really done any lure fishing, and he had a blast on the lightweight temu rods, haha. There were lots of bends and screaming reels.
Harvested another 22, put out a lively on a thicker rod to hopefully get a king but no cigar. BBQ was working overtime, smoking them up this weekend.0
Forgot to load the fly rod in
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