How to clean up Tautog (blackfish)

[chingweiliao]

Dear Stipedbass friends:

It is tough or nearly impossible to remove the scale or skin from tautog.

Is there any idea to remove them easily?

Ching-Wei Liao

[milo]

Its pretty easy,just cut off the head and all the fins.Then get a towel or rag to hold the fish down and get some pliers and try to grab at the skin that was attached to the top of the head and start pullin ...It is actually pretty easy since the skin is like leather...........................OH yeah dont forget to get all the good stuff in the stomach out before you skin

[fishweewee]

You don't "skin" a tog.

You "peel" it.

-WW

[Notaro]

won't peeling a tautog's skin strip the flesh off? i better start tautog fishing in may on the patriot party boat. and also i better watch the mate demonstrate us on cleaning a tautog. and i might pick it up.

[fishweewee]

Notaro, work slowly but firmly.

Use pliers. You'll be surprised how easily the skin comes off without taking off too much meat.

-WW

[Notaro]

alright, thank you, fishweewee. i will keep it in my mind.

[redcrbbr]

MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!! TOG CHOWDA!!!!!

[chingweiliao]

Dear Milo and fishweewee:

Thanks! With a plier I hope that I will peel it easily and this time I am going to show my wife that tautog is not a junk fish at all.

ChingWeiLiao

[DRUMCORPFAN]

do you guys clean the fish at home, and if you do what happens if you catch on a saturday and the trash pick up is on friday. it's gatta stink if you put it in the trash, sorry for the stupid question but i gotta know.

[Mr. Sandman]

I skin tog with a fillet knife, works fine...just like most fish I catch.
(BTW, tog is no junk fish...it is one of the best tasting fish going....it is my wifes favorite by far!)

I use to clean fish on the boat or at the beach and just touch-up the fillets in the kitchen when I got home, but last year I started doing it all at home at the side of the house. I want to build a fish cleaning station in the woods next to the shed. As far as the remains...I use to fold in newspaper, then double wrap in HD plastic bags..generally not a problem. This year I plan to grind up almost everything and use as chum. I am in the process of assembling a custom "Tony Sapranno" power chum grinder a-la Vans design. Its gonna eat anything. I wonder how cat-chum works?

[fishsmith]

Drum,
I always clean the fish at my house, I double up a heavy black trashbag and haven't had any problems. If I know I'm heading back towrds the water, i'll feed the crabs or give the carcass to a lobsterman.

[Squid Hound Bob]

Tautogs are my favorite fish to catch. I use fairly lite gear A Shimano Corsair 400A reel and A 6 ft. BWC 1120 H Action Ugly STICK with 20 lb. test line. I make my own rigs. I use the old tarred braided hand line that you can not buy anymore. The tree huggers say it pollutes the water. I like that line because it is stiff and it keeps the baits apart to increase your chances of double hook ups. As for when and where to clean or fillet your fish. The most important thing is make sure the fish are dead and with tautog that could be as long as the next day. They are a very hardy fish. If you don't wait till they are dead the blood will pump right into the meat giving the fillet a very strong fishy taste. Another tip for good fillets is not wash your fillets with fresh water until you are going to cook them. The fresh water takes away the natural juices and starts the aging process which makes the fillets age faster. Look for the dandylions and that's when they'll start biting.

[Notaro]

interesting, squid hound. i never thought of that. my mom and aunt always wash the fish with fresh water. so u re saying that i should wait for it to die bec the blood will pump and make the meat tastes too fishy?

[BigBo]

Any fish going home for the table; cut the gil plates and bleed them. This goes for any fish. They'll taste better and you don't have to worry about the blood contaminating the meat.

[Notaro]

what kind of cooking method for tautog does everyone on this list like? chowder, fried, grilled, broiled, steamed, or baked? im not a big fan of fish chowder. in most chinese restaurants, they tend to steam or fry the whole body of tautog. im not a big fan of a steamed fish or fish chowder.