Many a deer hunter began their hunting career at an early age by aiming their shotguns at squirrels. For fisherman, before the bass hawgs and bull redfish, many wet their first lines catching panfish. My grandparents owned a house on a small lake in Rhinebeck NY and before I ever hooked a bass or a catfish, I hooked a sunfish. As a preadolescent, I would wake up at sunrise, walk onto the dock and lower a worm into the dark water. It wouldn’t be too long before the bobber would dip below the surface. I would proudly return home with a string of brim. My grandfather taught me how to clean them. My grandmother taught me how to cook them in a frying pan full of butter. When the saltwater fisherman of today imagines the pictures he’ll post on his social media account, he probably envisions something more like a gator trout or citation black drum than a spot. After all, spot, like their cousins the croaker and the silver perch, aren’t very impressive. These types of fish are more often considered as bait to catch fish, not the targeted species. However, with light tackle, these little fish can lead to a fun and exciting afternoon of fishing. Plus, they’re good table fare. SpotSpot can be identified by the prominent spot behind the gill cover. However, spot can often be confused with croaker and pinfish. Unlike the pinfish which has one, spikey dorsal fin, the spot has two dorsal fins. The have a downward mouth, similar to a black drum. Unlike the croaker which has a rounded tail, the spot has a forked tail. Spot can often be found right in the center of the canal. They will eat shrimp but can’t pass up a bloodworm. Since bloodworms can often be pricey, an alternative is to use bloodworm scented Fishbites. I like to make a combination, shrimp/Fishbite cocktail. A double drop rig with a light weight will work fine. Small circle hooks nothing bigger than a 1/0 will work well. Silver Perch Silver perch aren’t as hard to differentiate from spots, croakers or pinfish. Their bodies are silver and there are no confusing spots. Silver perch can be caught closer to the grass than spot. They are often in schools so if you catch one, chances are good that you’ll catch a few more. The same bait and rig set up used to catch spot will work equally well with silver perch. If you’re using light tackle, don’t be surprised if these fish put up a good fight. They are quiet feisty for their size. Croaker Croaker have big heads, tough gills, and growl (or croak) when you catch them. Since their heads are so big, there isn’t as much meat on them as you might think. For this reason, I only like to keep the largest of the croaker. Croaker don’t but up much of a fight and even the little ones are easily caught. I’ve caught croaker that are only a few inches long. It’s surprising they can even get their mouths around the hook. Like spot, croaker also hang out in the middle of the canal. They also can be found around the edges of the grass too. In fact, they are every where and once they figure out the bait is coming, they will stick around. This means you can catch a lot of croaker in a short time and not catch much of anything else. CookingBoth spot and silver perch make good table fare. Spot can be fried in a pan with salt, butter and lemon juice just like my grandmother taught me to cook bluegills. Some choose to bread and fry them in oil. Because of their relatively small size, spot are often gutted and scaled and then cooked whole. Silver perch smoke well and make a tasty smoked fish dip. Fishing on Oak Island, NC
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Ian SandsFish along with Ian Sands of 'Sands in the Surf' on beautiful Oak Island, NC. We’re fishing the surf and surrounding areas targeting everything from puffer, to blues, to black and red drum, to sharpnose and bonnetheads. Archives
February 2021
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