# How many of you eat mullet?



## eyc0r (Apr 1, 2010)

I'll be headed to Pensacola tomorrow, so naturally, I was perusing the interwebs to find out what to be prepared for out there...

Long story short, I came across a thread of a guy's in their fishing reports section about how much mullet he caught, and the rest of the guys were chiming in about how good they taste...

Personally, I've never once seen anyone keep mullet for eating except a couple Asian fellows... (obviously not insulting Asians)...

My question is this... Do you keep your mullet for eating? 

I assume most use mullet for bait...


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## Friendswoodmatt (Feb 22, 2005)

never had it to eat-- they eat it in Fla though -- I try not to eat bait as a practice. That's me though


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## eyc0r (Apr 1, 2010)

To say they eat it in Florida is an understatement! lol

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/f29/killed-mullet-134537/


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## Gilbert (May 25, 2004)

yup. common practice over in FL. I'd have to be pretty dang hungry before I cook up a mullet.


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## Kolorado_Koolaid (Mar 19, 2012)

too much work. i'd have to catch a dozen just for one meal. i hear they tend to be larger in florida too but that might be a misconception


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## eyc0r (Apr 1, 2010)

Pier-Dude said:


> I personally wouldn't eat mullet in TX or LA due to the muddy bottom. The mullet here in FL are pretty good eating due to the very clear sandy bottom. I usually get my mullet near the pass at Pensacola. The Black Mullet get pretty big any where from 2 to 4 pounds depending on if it is Roe season. I like mine fried or smoked, once you fillet they and cut all of the red out it's pretty good white meat.


Interesting... Interesting...


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

Ive caught some giant ones. I have noticed ours are pretty nasty and full of mud. Im not sure but with their clearer water id assume the fish are cleaner over there. If they are that might explain why they eat them their but not common over here. Id eat one if they didnt seem so nasty when I cut them up for bait.


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## Smellin' Salt (Jun 28, 2011)

My friend is St. Teresa FL routinely smokes it. I can tell you it's not my favorite thing. There is also another part of the Mullet thats a delicacy: what they call the gizzard. 

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2


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## Bonito (Nov 17, 2008)

You're going to Pensacola at the perfect time to eat Mullet. The Gulf mullet are making their run. Florida Mullet taste great. Very clean meat, not like other places on the gulf. Definately try some smoked or fried Mullet. You'll be very surprised how good they taste. Can find them in just about any resturant. I'm jealous ! Also this time of year the females are loaded with row. Try some fried row.

Hope you're planning on doing some surf fishing.


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## cfulbright (Jun 24, 2009)

My mom and I snuck in some Mullet and hardheads one time for a small family fish fry, I had some there not bad, not the best. No one else knew about it, and no one complained, spit it out, gaged, puked, got ill.


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## El Trucha Rey (Jul 29, 2012)

Being from Florida we ate mullet all the time. Most seafood festivals served it before the net ban. Tried to cook up some here in Texas an wow very nasty. Fried mullet,swamp cabbage,hushpuppies and grits,that's good groceries right there.


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## hk (Oct 31, 2011)

caught many a mullet in large seine nets over in pensacola .Good eating ,love it fried with a side of cheese grits. they are clean in florida but would not touch one here in galveston.they are oily muddy tasting here. If you are real brave eat some fried mullet eggs, it is considered a delicacy by many people in florida.


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## Csalls (Jul 30, 2012)

I grew up in Florida and we ate mullet a few times a year. BUT, we only ever ate smoked mullet. Chop it's head off, gut it, scale it and smoke it over some oak. Although around here I'd imagine mesquite would be the wood of choice. It's not bad that way, I always ate it with some crackers and a beer.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Nov 4, 2011)

Csalls said:


> I grew up in Florida and we ate mullet a few times a year. BUT, we only ever ate smoked mullet. Chop it's head off, gut it, scale it and smoke it over some oak. Although around here I'd imagine mesquite would be the wood of choice. It's not bad that way, I always ate it with some crackers and a beer.


Ill eat anything but you may have to get me wasted to eat it again

-mac-

http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


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## eyc0r (Apr 1, 2010)

Bonito said:


> You're going to Pensacola at the perfect time to eat Mullet. The Gulf mullet are making their run. Florida Mullet taste great. Very clean meat, not like other places on the gulf. Definately try some smoked or fried Mullet. You'll be very surprised how good they taste. Can find them in just about any resturant. I'm jealous ! Also this time of year the females are loaded with row. Try some fried row.
> 
> Hope you're planning on doing some surf fishing.


I will definitely try fried mullet, and surf fishing is on the to-do.. from a kayak anyway...


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## Swells (Nov 27, 2007)

Did somebody say swamp cabbage? 

I'll eat some smoker mullet if you got some swamp cabbage!


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## DANO (May 23, 2005)

Been eating mullet over 40 years, smoked & fried.
Get them out of a clean surf.
Scale, fillet, cut the belly section out above rib cage.
Fry in cornmeal skin side down.

I will eat a mullet before I eat speckled trout.


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## El Trucha Rey (Jul 29, 2012)

Swells said:


> Did somebody say swamp cabbage?
> 
> I'll eat some smoker mullet if you got some swamp cabbage!


That's some good stuff right there. I wish I could get some down here. I don't get to Fla much anymore cept once a year to Isle of Capri to chase permit. If right person makes it,it will be so yummy.


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## 15476 (May 15, 2006)

went to mazatlan mexico about 25 years ago and took a day trip out to one of the islands. the trip included lunch on the beach prepared by the locals. while sipping cold ones my girlfriend and i saw the women building fires in some homemade stone pits. we could see they were grilling fish. we went and sat down at the tables, and when the lady brought our plates to us, to my surprise it was a whole mullet head on and eyeballs included ! i told her "**** lady thats redfish bait in texas" ! after the first taste of it though, it was really good. (might have been all the beer)


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## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

i have heard that smoked mullet is the way to go.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Nov 4, 2011)

I aint smokin no mullet

-mac-

http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


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## Timemachine (Nov 25, 2008)

I think it's a different mullet.

White mullet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_mullet


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## Timemachine (Nov 25, 2008)

We have stripped mullet (I think)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flathead_mullet


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## eyc0r (Apr 1, 2010)

Timemachine said:


> I think it's a different mullet.
> 
> White mullet
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_mullet


I think you're right... They did mention they were 'black mullet'... Either way, those Florida boys make me feel like I haven't lived yet unless I eat some fried or smoked mullet haha...


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

small mullet (14") or so that come out of sandy areas are very good fried. Sprinkle a few drops of pepper vinegarette sauce....ketchup, cole slaw, and some cold pork and beans, tangy hush puppies....some iced tea and boy or boy.........N. Carolina style ed/vb


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## eyc0r (Apr 1, 2010)

Timemachine said:


> We have stripped mullet (I think)
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flathead_mullet


I'm definitely no expert (obviously), but you might have it backwards...


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## B-Webb (Sep 5, 2011)

Bonito said:


> You're going to Pensacola at the perfect time to eat Mullet. The Gulf mullet are making their run. Florida Mullet taste great. Very clean meat, not like other places on the gulf. Definately try some smoked or fried Mullet. You'll be very surprised how good they taste. Can find them in just about any resturant. I'm jealous ! Also this time of year the females are loaded with row. Try some fried row.
> 
> Hope you're planning on doing some surf fishing.


 Don't fall for it, next thing us Texas boys will be trying is spinning reels. Bonito all that mullet you ate might be contributing to that stent your gonna have put in. Lol

BTW I know Bonito well from work and know heart problems are not a laughing matter. Praying for you man. Stay away from the mullet if you love your heart.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## fishin minnie (Jul 13, 2010)

Mullet caught east of the Mississippi are suppose to be great to eat because the water is not muddy . On the other hand west of the Mississippi the mullet are muddy and not fit to eat!!


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## GeauxGet'Er (Jul 15, 2011)

Growing up in Louisiana, we use to fish commercially for mullet, season open only during the month if November. Them things were pretty big, and they were harvested only for their eggs. As a teenager, I'd go with him when I had a chance. They'd catch hundreds at a time in the nets and put a quick squeeze on them- if they saw some roe come out the stomach, it goes in the ice box, if not, throw back in the water. Then back to the house to cut out and package the eggs. Then off to the market, sometimes they don't buy the fish they throw it away and just but the eggs. Not sure what they did with the eggs B&V I never seen it ever sold there or anywhere. Heard they ship it to Asian markets, it's some good eatin though!!!


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## Smackdaddy53 (Nov 4, 2011)

Like they say- dont knock it till you try it

-mac-

http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


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## BullyARed (Jun 19, 2010)

Oily fish maybe rich in Omega 3?


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## Lexy1 (Jul 12, 2012)

Mullet is good eating but need to be big size (10" +).
I had smoked and fried mullet before in Floriday and they were tasty.
They are not the same mullet as in TX.


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## hookset4 (Nov 8, 2004)

The mullet eaten in Florida ARE the very same mullet we have in Texas. I have tried them and if large enough they cook up just fine, taste like many other fish.

Considered a delicacy in many countries around the world. I found them to taste similar to speckled trout. I prefer to chase flounder for eating, but if it were a situation of 'eat mullet or die' there would be no reason to starve.

-hook


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## gater (May 25, 2004)

*Mullet*

Ah, Biloxi Bacon! I have eaten plenty from and can not tell the difference between one from here or one from Florida. When I was younger and before they changed the castnet laws I had mullet cast nets my uncle sent me from Florida, one was 10' and the other was 12'. Smoke are fried they are good and if you like gizzards don't throw them away, they are good too.

People will talk about eating mullet and then turn around and eat pork, chicken, crawfish........ you been to a chicken farm, that's some nasty stuff. I guess next year we might have to have the first annual 2Cool mullet fry, heck might throw in a few gar as well!









Gater


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## george.maness86 (May 29, 2012)

Im not as brave as a bunch of you, I think I'll stick to letting the fish eat the mullet.


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## omcast (Aug 3, 2011)

Before I married my current wife, the only way that I served mullet was on a hook. She loves them fried, smoked, or dried. I have not gotten up the nerve to try them yet, but someday, after enough beer, I may give them a shot.


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## Lexy1 (Jul 12, 2012)

BAF said:


> Before I married my current wife, the only way that I served mullet was on a hook. She loves them fried, smoked, or dried. I have not gotten up the nerve to try them yet, but someday, after enough beer, I may give them a shot.


This reminds me of a a fishing buddy I used to go with. He never wanted to take any croaker or sand trout. He always left all of them in the cooler for me.
One day when I brought with me a dish for deep fried croakers, he tried it and told me "I want all my croakers back" 
Personally, I would not mind to try anything specially if someone already tried it. You have to try it once. At least you can know for sure if you like it or not.
There are few stuffs that I tried once and I never want to go for the second round.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Nov 4, 2011)

These guys do








-mac-

http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


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## whistlingdixie (Jul 28, 2008)

I think it is funny what each state will and won't eat. Most people on the east coast will not eat Amberjack and black drum due to worms. I grew up eating mullet and I have always thought that if you fry it soon after catching it that it was very good.


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## LaddH (Sep 29, 2011)

Years ago I was working on a project below the dam on Lake Texana. There were huge mullet milling around in the freshwater below the dam we ate some of them and they were very tasty. I would not try to eat the ones around POC.


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## Saltconversion (Feb 24, 2012)

*Fried Mullet*

If you have never had "Biloxi Bacon" and cheese grits, a Mobile favorite, you have really missed something. We also do that h:an5:ere on Crystal Beach, its like that old joke, "Its a real good deal, you just don't want to talk about it very much".


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## coachlaw (Oct 26, 2005)

I had never eaten it until I had to. Went to the camp with no food, had a bunch of guests and didn't catch but a few trout. Threw a cast net and got about 50 mullet and set about cleaning them. They are the same mullet as elsewhere in the southern U.S. I fried them up with the trout and everyone enjoyed immensely. I will still eat them, here or back in La., if I don't have what others might consider better table fare. 

The trick I found is that you need to clean and cook them fresh, like white trout. Also when you clean them, DO NOT puncture their gut. If you do, it messes up the meat. Just throw the whole thing back to the crabs. 

There was an article in Gulf Coast Connections or whatever their new name is about a year ago about eating mullet. The gist was that it is actually good, but most Texans are too set on it not being good, so they won't try it. 

Now why do y'all insist on using bass reels in salt water??? Stop picking out those backlashes and get a spinning rig.


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## DMC (Apr 2, 2006)

Clean a mullet in Florida and compare the abdominal cavity color to that of a mullet in Texas. Not even close. Texas mullet are born and raised in a different environment. 

The eat boiled peanuts in Florida as well.


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

When I went to the Asian market to buy some shrimp for bait I saw this. Apologies for the photo being out of focus.


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## Charlie2 (Aug 21, 2004)

*Mullet*



fishingcacher said:


> When I went to the Asian market to buy some shrimp for bait I saw this. Apologies for the photo being out of focus.


Look at those white eyes! Don't buy them with white eyes because they're not that fresh. Probably soft with mushy flesh also. No wonder that some people don't like them.

Fresh is the magic word. We get a fire started, get the grease hot, then go cast net some. Clean and fry them while still 'flopping'.

We cast net them at night, put them on ice right then, clean and eat them the next morning. Mullet and Grits!

Like one poster says: If you eat a fresh fried mullet, you'll throw the Speckled Trout back.

The roe is a 'give and take'. It resembles cornmeal when fried. Try some; you may like that also. The white roe?(milt) is also good fried along with the gizzards.

Are you allowed to use a cast net over 'there'? We can use a cast net for almost everything but there are restrictions on them. I have different nets for different purposes. A heavy brail net for the pier and a lighter bag net for wading.

Welcome to Pensacola and the white sugar sands of the Emerald Coast. C2


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## Fish-N-Fool (Sep 7, 2012)

*Eating Mullet*

Approximately one month ago my son and I were fishing the surf. While trying to catch bait in a castnet, we noticed that every cast yielded about 6-7 large Mullet. After fishing most of the day with no luck we decided to catch a few ands see what all the talk of eating Mullet was about. We took about 15 or so and filleted them up, making sure that the belly area was completely removed (especially the black area which will taint the meat). We took them home where we fried them up. Let me say this, after listening to all the naysayers I have found that I enjoyed the fried Mullet as much or more than I do Flounder, which is one of my favorite fried fish to eat. So, if you get a chance to try it, I say go for it cause you will not be disappointed.


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## Colorado (Jun 24, 2009)

Tried smoking large mullet once. Taste like mud and very gritty, never tried Florida mullet.


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## Fish Specialist (Aug 20, 2012)

Big silvers are really good eating. I've had it blackened and it was awesome. I've never eaten black mullet. Although everyone tells me it's good.


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## lighttackle (Aug 17, 2012)

We fished in MS few years back and learned that they are quite fond of the mullet too. We were close to Biloxi, so they appropriately referred to mullet as Biloxi Bacon. We told them in TX it's called BAIT.


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## POCplugger (Jul 6, 2011)

mullet are actually very good. Got a buddy that lives in st pete and his bro in law lives on a canal and routinely shoots em with his bow. and big ones up to 14 to 15 inches and when he gets a big batch he smokes em all, picks all the meat off the bones, mixes em with mayo and sweet relish and voila you got smoked mullet spread. I must say i was pretty skeptical at the beginning but dang that spread was phenomenal! Would love to have it again!


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## MikeS2942 (Mar 5, 2010)




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## SwineAssassiN (Jul 24, 2011)

This is madness!


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

Mullet from the clear waters around Florida are GREAT smoked and that's the only way I've eaten it. I've had it and believe me it's good.

Not so much the mullet from our coast...don't ask me how I know. 

TH


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## Guy from Sealy (Mar 31, 2005)

SwineAssassiN said:


> This is madness!


LOL

thas where I'm at


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## Gluconda (Aug 25, 2005)

Do they eat Hardheads over there too? 

Florida is America's wang! - Homer Simpson


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## HTC (Jun 8, 2012)

Ate them in Mississippi several times, not to bad.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Nov 4, 2011)

Gluconda said:


> Do they eat Hardheads over there too?
> 
> Florida is America's wang! - Homer Simpson


Sheet thats funny

-mac-

http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


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## shank00 (Dec 15, 2005)

They are right! Mullet is delicious. Everyone should target them and leave those nasty tasting trout to me. Man I can't believe that I eat those slimy things. People in Florida must think I'm crazy.


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## mikereds (Jul 1, 2011)

Friendswoodmatt said:


> never had it to eat-- they eat it in Fla though -- I try not to eat bait as a practice. That's me though


x2


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## Jacinto (Sep 14, 2013)

Old thread, but I read it recently and decided to try mullet for myself. Got 3 of them, about 12"-15", in the bay. Water was very clear, hard bottom, and these were very healthy-looking fish. Cleaned them. Yes, their guts look damned nasty compared to a lot of other fish..... maybe any fish I've ever cleaned. Right then I thought "Yeah, this is going to suck". Filleted them and did a good job of getting the bloodline out.

Fried them up, and..... they're delicious  Surprisingly white meat, pretty mild. Not greasy or oily. Not saying they can't be that way, but these were not. Heck, I'd put it up there with most any of my favorite fish. To me, definitely better than tilapia or redfish (unless blackened, cuz blackened reds are dang good eatin'). My wife makes the Paula Deen house seasoning and right now that's what we use as our default. Egg and milk dip, pretty thin coat of cornmeal with Paula Deen seasoning in it, veg oil cuz that's what we had on the stove, and there ya go. Lemon and tartar but being so mild I think the bites without tartar were better.

I thought they MIGHT be okay, but I was prepared for them to taste like mud or worse. Nope, not even close. Maybe out of some waters they wouldn't taste this good. As far as being a bait fish, well, everything out there is bait for something else. I tossed the gizzards, not gonna eat anything that was sitting in THOSE guts


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## Fisher Rick (Jan 12, 2009)

Never tried it but the guy I bought my fishing cabin from in Pure Oi Channel said in the summertime the mullet get huge and he would catch them with a cast net. he said they were good


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## Scout177 (Oct 23, 2006)

Couple years ago my wife and I were in the Orange Beach, AL area. There was a nice restaurant out in the sticks we ate at and noticed they had all you could eat fried mullet on Wednesday nights. We decided to try it. It was hard to get over the "bait" mentality but it was actually pretty good although we didn't eat a lot.. Not fishy tasting and not grouper either.


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## Fun_fishing (Sep 28, 2014)

*Gizzards!*



Jacinto said:


> Old thread, but I read it recently and decided to try mullet for myself. Got 3 of them, about 12"-15", in the bay. Water was very clear, hard bottom, and these were very healthy-looking fish. Cleaned them. Yes, their guts look damned nasty compared to a lot of other fish..... maybe any fish I've ever cleaned. Right then I thought "Yeah, this is going to suck". Filleted them and did a good job of getting the bloodline out.
> 
> Fried them up, and..... they're delicious  Surprisingly white meat, pretty mild. Not greasy or oily. Not saying they can't be that way, but these were not. Heck, I'd put it up there with most any of my favorite fish. To me, definitely better than tilapia or redfish (unless blackened, cuz blackened reds are dang good eatin'). My wife makes the Paula Deen house seasoning and right now that's what we use as our default. Egg and milk dip, pretty thin coat of cornmeal with Paula Deen seasoning in it, veg oil cuz that's what we had on the stove, and there ya go. Lemon and tartar but being so mild I think the bites without tartar were better.
> 
> I thought they MIGHT be okay, but I was prepared for them to taste like mud or worse. Nope, not even close. Maybe out of some waters they wouldn't taste this good. As far as being a bait fish, well, everything out there is bait for something else. I tossed the gizzards, not gonna eat anything that was sitting in THOSE guts


Just started fishing here in TX, originally from North Fl. Eat mullet regularly. Just cut each side of the gizzard off and then slice it halfway so it uncurls. Clean the dirt out he's been grinding food with, it is a piece of fried up heaven!


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## bmccle (Jun 10, 2012)

*Mullet*



Smackdaddy53 said:


> Ill eat anything but you may have to get me wasted to eat it again
> 
> -mac-
> 
> http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


Lol. Ditto!!!


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## tmanbuckhunter (Aug 1, 2014)

Moved to Tallahassee a few years ago... sorry, but mullet to me tastes like **** and will always be a bait fish to me.


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## bmccle (Jun 10, 2012)

*Muller*



Jacinto said:


> Old thread, but I read it recently and decided to try mullet for myself. Got 3 of them, about 12"-15", in the bay. Water was very clear, hard bottom, and these were very healthy-looking fish. Cleaned them. Yes, their guts look damned nasty compared to a lot of other fish..... maybe any fish I've ever cleaned. Right then I thought "Yeah, this is going to suck". Filleted them and did a good job of getting the bloodline out.
> 
> Fried them up, and..... they're delicious  Surprisingly white meat, pretty mild. Not greasy or oily. Not saying they can't be that way, but these were not. Heck, I'd put it up there with most any of my favorite fish. To me, definitely better than tilapia or redfish (unless blackened, cuz blackened reds are dang good eatin'). My wife makes the Paula Deen house seasoning and right now that's what we use as our default. Egg and milk dip, pretty thin coat of cornmeal with Paula Deen seasoning in it, veg oil cuz that's what we had on the stove, and there ya go. Lemon and tartar but being so mild I think the bites without tartar were better.
> 
> I thought they MIGHT be okay, but I was prepared for them to taste like mud or worse. Nope, not even close. Maybe out of some waters they wouldn't taste this good. As far as being a bait fish, well, everything out there is bait for something else. I tossed the gizzards, not gonna eat anything that was sitting in THOSE guts


Shrimp is bait and I don't know a single person who doesn't like shrimp!


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

I took an assignment in South Carolina when I was young. No HEB's in SC, and the Food Lion stores are just nasty! The first time I went to the fish market and saw a big pile of horse mullet for sale as food, I was ready to come home. I thought, "These people are crazy."

When we lived in Israel, they sold mullet that were smoked until they looked like they were dry inside. I guess they keep forever that way, but it looks and smells pretty sketchy. The mullet didn't bother me as much as the great big, golden-scaled carp that they sold in the fish markets. (They got a premium price for them, too.) Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) has a BUNCH of these great big catfish swimming around in it, but they don't fish for them. Most people there aren't devout, they just think the catfish are nasty - but not the #@&* carp.


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Here... for those of you who haven't had the pleasure. (I just can't find any way to see this as appetizing.) They smell just about like you think they would, too. Maybe they don't handle them as well as they do in Florida.



















And don't the carp just make your mouth water?


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## surfspeck (Jun 7, 2006)

We used to sein them out of the freshwater canals in Danbury and clean em up, some of them were pretty large 3 plus #'s and the meat was very clean/white/tasty.


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## Its Catchy (Apr 10, 2014)

Mullet is not just popular in Florida. It's considered a delicacy from Virginia to Alabama. If you are ever in the Tampa area get you a plate of smoked mullet at Ted Peters. It is really good. There used to be a guy in Kemah who built a small smoke house and smoked mullet for some of the local restaurants. The response was huge.

I look at it like this. Crawfish are used as bait, they look like an insect and spend their time crawling around in the mud. Yet they taste oh so good!


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## Fishin' Texas Aggie 05 (May 27, 2012)

Can't be to much meat on one that's 2-3inches long. 


(I kid)


When the rib and I went on our honeymoon to FLA we went to Disney and then rented a car and went down to Marco islands/Naples and went fishing one day. On the drive we saw several places of hanging mullet that was being smoked. No thank you, I don't even like shrimp


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## brad king (Jul 21, 2009)

From the panhandle of FLorida... We eat them daily, the commercial guys actually make a good living off them year round. We have a rule at our hunting camp, the last guy to the woods has to bring the mullet. We eat the fillet, the roe, the backbones and the gizzards!!

Fine fine eating for sure!!!!


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## ssloan (Mar 6, 2007)

I was eating at a Restraunt in Pensicola and they had mullet on the menu and it was more expensive than red snapper. There was no way I would pay more for mullet, it just did not sound right.


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## lamar44 (Nov 26, 2011)

The Florida mullet and texas mullet are not the same. You should try it.


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## Fish Specialist (Aug 20, 2012)

yes! Im in south FL. I caught a couple of 20-22'' mullet in sept and had a nice fish fry for my small fam. YUM!!


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## GulfCoast1102 (Dec 30, 2013)

Jacinto said:


> Old thread, but I read it recently and decided to try mullet for myself. Got 3 of them, about 12"-15", in the bay. Water was very clear, hard bottom, and these were very healthy-looking fish. Cleaned them. Yes, their guts look damned nasty compared to a lot of other fish..... maybe any fish I've ever cleaned. Right then I thought "Yeah, this is going to suck". Filleted them and did a good job of getting the bloodline out.
> 
> Fried them up, and..... they're delicious  Surprisingly white meat, pretty mild. Not greasy or oily. Not saying they can't be that way, but these were not. Heck, I'd put it up there with most any of my favorite fish. To me, definitely better than tilapia or redfish (unless blackened, cuz blackened reds are dang good eatin'). My wife makes the Paula Deen house seasoning and right now that's what we use as our default. Egg and milk dip, pretty thin coat of cornmeal with Paula Deen seasoning in it, veg oil cuz that's what we had on the stove, and there ya go. Lemon and tartar but being so mild I think the bites without tartar were better.
> 
> I thought they MIGHT be okay, but I was prepared for them to taste like mud or worse. Nope, not even close. Maybe out of some waters they wouldn't taste this good. As far as being a bait fish, well, everything out there is bait for something else. I tossed the gizzards, not gonna eat anything that was sitting in THOSE guts


I love it when a fisherman gets past "hype" and tries something new. I've eaten mullet many times. It is as you said it is. Good eating!

I don't eat them on any kind of regular basis, but that is because i'm not really targeting thing. You have to catch em in a net, and get the ones are big enough to fool with. Normally i manage to catch fingerling size.

One mo' fish to save a bad day if you happen to catch some.


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## RiverRat1962 (Mar 23, 2009)

El Trucha Rey said:


> Being from Florida we ate mullet all the time. Most seafood festivals served it before the net ban. Tried to cook up some here in Texas an wow very nasty. *Fried mullet,swamp cabbage,hushpuppies and grits,that's good groceries right there*.


I was raised in south Florida in the Glades and that meal right there is very popular with the folks there. I've had it several times with relatives and friends. Old 'Florida Cracker' tradition. They sell mullet in the grocery stores and fish markets there. Funny, they only eat the mullet from the gulf side and not the mullet from the Atlantic side. The mullet roe is a delicacy there as well fried and dipped in mustard like a corn dog..


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## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

I took a friend fishing in Sargent a little over a year ago. He asked me if I had ever eaten mullet, and I told him no. He said lets get some and see how you like it. We ended up with three and he prepared them and put them on the grill, wrapped in foil. It really was not bad, I was very surprised.


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## brad king (Jul 21, 2009)

Headed back home to Pensacola for the weekend to go Surfing... You guys want me to bring a cooler full of fresh mullet back for you Guys to sample?!?!? I throw a 14' mullet net, make a mess in no time?!?!?


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

A friend from Louisiana asked me about my bait for bull reds and I told him I used whiting or mullet mostly.
he asked what a whiting was, after some back and forth he understood it to be a fish they called "channel mullet" back in his home town area., close to Bayou Black I think.
I remarked that whiting were very good to eat and he went nuts saying no one at home would consider eating a channel mullet.
I replied "You guys eat real mullet!" and he said "d... straight, that's good!"


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## surfdad_96712 (Aug 29, 2006)

I think mullet are in the same family as these which were only served to the kings and royal family http://www.zengyotaku.com/fish_of_kings.html


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## ngrant (Jun 18, 2011)

I saw them on ice next to the snapper and flounder in a grocery store in Florida.


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## AlCapone (May 28, 2014)

I remembered few years ago that a lot of my fishing friends would not eat croakers. They said it was bait fish. Look what happened now. Just about everyone eats them.
Mullets are fine table fare. I guarantee that few years later people start talking about how yummy they are. Why? I've tried them few times already.


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

It was hard to get over the feeling that this was all one big elaborate "snipe hunt". That when people started reporting back about how they ate mullet and it was terrible, a bunch of people were going to start laughing and say, "Oh, man, I can't believe you fell for that."

But since that hasn't happened, here's an article on how you can get yourself some of those fine-eating mullet for your next fish fry. I would try it, but it's snipe season and I've got a hunt to go on.
http://www.getreeled.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-catch-mullet-without-a-net


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## Bull Red (Mar 17, 2010)

Hey I saw some Yankees stringing hardheads before. I guess if you're hungry enough you will eat just about anything. But to answer your question, no I don't eat bait..... well.... besides shrimp, I don't eat bait.... then again.... I do like calamari too.... hell, maybe mullet might not be that bad.... but I still won't eat it. :slimer:


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## Jetty Rat (Feb 16, 2015)

I had to try smoked mullet in a fish place in Jax Beach. It wasn't terrible but I didn't want seconds either. Kinda strong tasting, a little like bluefish.


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## Nathan Hoyt (Jun 28, 2007)

I have a feeling mullet is like catfish. I have had really good catfish (bullheads from a pond in Iowa, go figure) and really bad catfish (almost every farm raised catfish I've ever paid money for) and a bunch of okay catfish that we caught back before we reached our current level of sophistication. I think the care you put into cleaning them and the freshness will have the biggest impact on whether you like or hate any fish. We never threw a net much, so we seldom caught any mullet big enough to eat. Guess I'll have to try them. Hell, I'll happily eat crawfish or shrimp, so I'd be putting on aires if I claimed not to eat bait.

Nate


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## cva34 (Dec 22, 2008)

*Mullet*

I eat a few back when we (fished and camped and ate what you could catch)..Sometimes it was only Mullet in cast net...Edible (must have been cause I ain't dead) what I remember is MUDDY taste and Bony..Would eat again if had to/// BUT hope I do not Have To..


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## Slow Boat (Jun 12, 2011)

We ate a lot of them back home when I was a kid (St.Pete). Same mullet but different water. If nothing else was biting we chummed them up with oatmeal and tossed the cast net. Easy couple of buckets of fish. One day I'll try some here but might stick to smoking. Soak just about anything in brine overnight and smoke it low and slow and it taste great. We do any kings we don't eat the same day like that and it's delicious. It even freezes and cans well after its smoked.


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## lamar44 (Nov 26, 2011)

Back in younger times working at the Tampa ship yards and all the lay offs. If it were not
for mullet thing would have been rougher then they were.


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## jamisjockey (Jul 30, 2009)

Smellin' Salt said:


> My friend is St. Teresa FL routinely smokes it.2


How does he keep it lit?


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## V-Bottom (Jun 16, 2007)

One thing I'll always remember while living near Swansboro,N.C. on the coast for many years is this. First of all in the early 70's and until I moved in 88', gill netting was the way folks harvested the mullet. We used 1 1/4" stretched mesh netting. The mullet we catch were called inch and a quarters, hence the net size. NOT the BIG mullet. The mullet sold for ten cents a pound then. When locals bought the mullet, the first thing they asked was.."Where did the mullet come from" ? I know what your thinking, "in the water". Well, what they were asking was ..did the mullet come from a MUDDY area or a Sandy area. That was the MAIN thing wanted to know before they bought them, usually from a local commercial fishermen.
You see, these fish are bottom feeders and then will tend to eat some of the "muddy" bottom which embeds itself in the fish. This gives it a bad taste. Now, if it came out of a sandy bottom area, the fish tend to be cleaner and has a better taste. Again the smaller size fish are better tasting. Fried in a regular corn meal batter and for a nice touch...sprinkle a small amount of a vinegarette on them after they are fried...Yummy.


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## Its Catchy (Apr 10, 2014)

V-Bottom said:


> One thing I'll always remember while living near Swansboro,N.C. on the coast for many years is this. First of all in the early 70's and until I moved in 88', gill netting was the way folks harvested the mullet. We used 1 1/4" stretched mesh netting. The mullet we catch were called inch and a quarters, hence the net size. NOT the BIG mullet. The mullet sold for ten cents a pound then. When locals bought the mullet, the first thing they asked was.."Where did the mullet come from" ? I know what your thinking, "in the water". Well, what they were asking was ..did the mullet come from a MUDDY area or a Sandy area. That was the MAIN thing wanted to know before they bought them, usually from a local commercial fishermen.
> You see, these fish are bottom feeders and then will tend to eat some of the "muddy" bottom which embeds itself in the fish. This gives it a bad taste. Now, if it came out of a sandy bottom area, the fish tend to be cleaner and has a better taste. Again the smaller size fish are better tasting. Fried in a regular corn meal batter and for a nice touch...sprinkle a small amount of a vinegarette on them after they are fried...Yummy.


VBottom,

I worked on a gill net boat in the late 80's early 90's out of Sea Level, NC. We fished for flounder in the Summer and Roe Mullet in the fall.

Had a blast, best job I ever had.

Any time we got a mess of mullet the entire town would come get some and they preferred it over any other fish in the Sounds.


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## dinodude (Mar 17, 2013)

A bit off topic but my dad's friend enjoys fried shad, and I know that it isn't common to eat shad, maybe one mullet wouldn't hurt to try?...


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## jampen (Oct 12, 2012)

My dad loved canned sardines in oil, bones and all...nothing fishier than that.

Different time


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## Slow Boat (Jun 12, 2011)

jampen said:


> My dad loved canned sardines in oil, bones and all...nothing fishier than that.
> 
> Different time


Yeah, that's a funny thing isn't it? I've done a little travelling and the US is the only place in the world I've been where carp isn't a regular part of the menu. I think tilapia is about the most bland, tasteless fish ever but people here lap it up even though a lot of that farmed stuff is grown under grosser conditions than any mullet ever lived in. We lived in Alaska when I was a kid and ate a LOT of salmon and I still love wild caught but farmed salmon is like fishy mashed potatoes to me. We've all got different tastes for sure but also different willingness to ignore stuff.


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