# RIBBONFISH



## chopsinblack (Mar 12, 2008)

I am looking to go fishing in galveston area around 2nd week of august.
I will be targeting Flounder, Trout, Redfish, and others.

Ive heard about ribbonfish in galveston... Where can I catch ribbonfish without
a boat, fishing usually from the bank or piers.

Please help me out, never targeted ribbonfish in galveston, only in Florida and Corpus.

Where are the fish ar? Seawolf Park? Ferry Boat landing? Beachfront jetties?
Are the Blue Crabs out yet?


Thanks for all your help!


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## AimlessRolling (Jul 9, 2006)

Highest concentration of Ribbonfish in this area are in Moses Lake, but there is not a lot of access without a boat....

Aimless


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## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

You can buy Ribbion Fish right off the boat on the West End of the island marina.

In Sea Isle on the Bay side.

Get there around 10 am and he will have plenty for you....


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## Red Tuna (May 19, 2007)

In my experience, there are times when ribbonfish are thick at the jetties (freeport and galveston) and that's almost all you can catch, but only for a brief period. They seem to be kind of either hit or miss...either they are everywhere, or no where to be found. 

If you are wanting to catch them for bait, frozen ribbonfish are easy to find at almost any bait shop. Why else would you want then?

There have been a ton of blue crabs in the surf over the last month or so during their spawn, but the bays are usually the best place to find them.


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## chopsinblack (Mar 12, 2008)

muddskipper - thanks for the help...
but I want to catch them on rod and reel.

Where is the best place to fish at Moses Lake without a Boat?


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## LPKENNER (Apr 26, 2006)

JUST CURIOUS.... WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO CATCH RIBBONFISH? THEY DONT FIGHT VERY GOOD AND THEY ARE ONLY GOOD TO USE FOR BAIT. I FISH OFF A PIER CLOSE TO SEABROOK AT NIGHT, AND I ALWAYS SEE THEM OUT THERE. THEY LAY IN THE DARK SPOTS AND DART UP TOWARD THE LIGHT TO GET BAITFISH / MY LURE. I HATE CATCHING THOSE THINGS, THEY HAVE SOME MONSTER TEETH.


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## chopsinblack (Mar 12, 2008)

I used to live in Florida and we would go every weekend to fish, and caught hundreds of them at night. Its fun, its been about 10 years, so I thought it would be cool to catch again. Our family also eats them (Korean dish). Havent tasted the fish for over 12 years though. Tons of little Bones! 

Where is the pier located in SeaBrook?


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## Slim-N-None (Sep 16, 2005)

they were thick at the north jetty last weekend. i coulda filled 120 qt in under 5 min.


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## Ducksmasher (Jul 21, 2005)

you could go find a shrimper for some..


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## Batboy0068 (Oct 10, 2006)

boyds in tc has them. by the way Kings love that Korean Dish too.


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## Alex258 (May 27, 2006)

I always catch them in the rocks at the surfside on jetty. Pretty much anything works but I usually catch them mostly on silver spoons or chrome rattletraps


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## sabine lake hustler (Dec 17, 2007)

chopsinblack said:


> I used to live in Florida and we would go every weekend to fish, and caught hundreds of them at night. Its fun, its been about 10 years, so I thought it would be cool to catch again. Our family also eats them (Korean dish). Havent tasted the fish for over 12 years though. Tons of little Bones!
> 
> Where is the pier located in SeaBrook?


Chopsin I am your ribbonfish GURU!! you can go to HONG KONG market on bellaire and buy all you want!! the big ones 40-50 inches long. being vietnamese i know a few ribbonfish dishes myself. hehhee
I know where to catch some really big ones, but its usually NOVEMBER/DEC. thats when the big 40-50 inch ones spawn in galveston. There is a lagoon on 61st street...it may be called offats bayou or something.. you can google map it. they have a couple of little fishing piers and boat ramps. wait until 4 or 5 good cold fronts blow through and go down there around a full moon. stand on the bank or those wooden piers and cast out. carolina Rig with seven strand wire. take a strip of sand trout and bait the hook. fish it just like flounder fishing. drag it real slow. when they pick the bait up hit freespool and let them swallow it. you will know that you are in the right spot when you see like 30 or 40 asians there at night fishing for them.


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## sabine lake hustler (Dec 17, 2007)

http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTExNmIycG51BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEc2VjA2ZwLWJ1dHRvbgRzbGsDbGluaw--#mvt=h&lat=29.282455&lon=-94.835229&zoom=17

the area i was referring to.


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## scubaru (Mar 28, 2005)

Are they biting at Seawolf Park right now?


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## surfwalker (Jul 14, 2006)

If you dont do anything or think these ribbon fish are to small for eating they sell giant ribbon fish at hong kong market, the fish are 3' to 5' long and im guess as thin as they are they still weigh over 10#


chopsinblack said:


> I used to live in Florida and we would go every weekend to fish, and caught hundreds of them at night. Its fun, its been about 10 years, so I thought it would be cool to catch again. Our family also eats them (Korean dish). Havent tasted the fish for over 12 years though. Tons of little Bones!
> 
> Where is the pier located in SeaBrook?


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## Cajuncranker (Jul 26, 2006)

Other than Kingfish, what other types of fish can will eat ribbonfish? In other words, if I use ribbon fish for wait, what should I expect to catch?


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## Troutfisch (Jun 19, 2005)

Cajuncranker said:


> Other than Kingfish, what other types of fish can will eat ribbonfish? In other words, if I use ribbon fish for wait, what should I expect to catch?


Sharks and jacks.

I've personally witnessed the latter tearing up a school of them near the ferry landing at Bolivar. That was quite a sight.


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## Cajuncranker (Jul 26, 2006)

I imagine it was.


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## Cat O' Lies (May 21, 2004)

Beside excellent king fish bait, cut ribbon fish make excellent snapper bait because it has a little silver flash and its tough to get off the hook. Cut it into 1" pieces. Sabine Lake Hustler is right about Offats Bayou. I got into them thick one time with a light weight rod and reel. They can swim backwards better than the can forwards. Wire is a must, so be very carful of the teeth on those things. At Hong Kong Market the big ribbons are quite expensive and most are cut up.

When you do eventually catch them, take a lenght of coat hanger wire, (after they are dead) loong enough to reach from thier mouth to thier stomach and make a small "u" bend at one end. Push the "U" end down the throat of the ribbon untill it reaches the stomach and then give it a twist and pull it out. This will remove the digestive system which has very strong acid and will rot the stomach of the ribbon. Then, mix up a icy, salty brine and brine them for about 48 hours. When you pull them out of the freezer to use, they will still look fresh and the brining will make them even tougher.


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## bigmex (Aug 12, 2005)

seen a 28 inch trout caught on cut ribbon fish early this summer at TCity


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## Lord of the Salmon (Feb 17, 2008)

Cajuncranker said:


> Other than Kingfish, what other types of fish can will eat ribbonfish? In other words, if I use ribbon fish for wait, what should I expect to catch?


I've caught trout on 2" secions of ribbonfish under a popping cork. i think the flash helps.


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