Another strange Fish

[justsue294]

I have been curious about a certain fish for awhile and after the cow fish thread I thought I'd ask all you "Abaco Sportsmen" The little fish that swims around attached to the shark. I would like to know what it is, Is it edible, why is there only one per shark, are the territorial? What they do before a shark comes along for them to clean, if thats what thier doing. I hope this isn't to inane I was just curious.
Sue

[vharrison]

It is a remora, not sure if it is edible. I believe that more than one remora can be on a shark at one time, pretty sure I have seen more than one. I have actually caught one on hook and line before, and the bottom of them feels like a tennis shoe.

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

[justsue294]

Thanks V, I couldn't even google it because I didn' know what it was called
Sue

[justsue294]

Okay after reading that I'm gonna say it definitely isn't edible. Not by me anyway. But then I can't eat rare tuna. Where was that tuna salad sandwich? At the airport.LOL
Sue

[SamFamAustin]

A local down here in Texas was telling me that by the time you had a few drinks and put some hot sauce and lemon on the remora, it tasted pretty darn good! Most avoid them though ... not exactly a sports fish.

One of the reasons why dolphins jump and smack the water is to try to get the remora off their bodies. The remora is easier to pull off backwards so they do some incredible flips. They teach the youngsters the same trick.

The remora loves to chase divers around and make them nervous. Can you imagine somebody coming up to the surface with several of those boogers attached? Yipes!

[MARC VI]

Sometimes, remoras are a real pain when we're anchored up and chumming for yellowtail, especially off Bimini. Usually, intentionally hooking, fighting and releasing one or two will scare them off -just like when the barracuda pose a problem. For those stubborn/dumb/brave remoras that flat out refuse to leave the chum slick, there's always the Chum Churn - kidding of course, somewhat!

[justsue294]

Hey George, I think Megan caught one of those things on one of your shows. I don't think she liked it much. I guess they do travel even without a ride
Sue

[MARC VI]

Hey Sue:

Megan did indeed catch one. Also, we had two occasions where a remora stuck to the chest of our underwater videographer. BTW - the only remoras that make it into the Chum Churn are those who pronounce "Key", "Cay"!

[justsue294]

Now George, in my defence I was a newbie and I didn't know it was such a touchy subject. They did offer to name a lake after you though. Another board another time.
Sue

[MARC VI]

Just playing with you, Sue. I still think it was hilarious. Never heard about the lake, though.

[SamFamAustin]

I think I missed some subtle humor there ... but I have seen up to six or so remora on our bay dolphins down here in southern Texas, rarely just one. I've seen a remora about 3 foot long way out in the Gulf of Mexico and it hitched onto the boat - I guess the fishermen were throwing a lot of bait and chum overboard. I caught him and let me say, that rascal can fight pretty well on a snapper rig. I gave it to the crew ... and I think they made cut bait from it. "You'd have to be pretty drunk to eat one of those, Sammie." ;)

[justsue294]

Sam I guess I assumed that almost everyone here was on the other board 2 years ago and would remember the first appearance of George Povoromo. Well someone had posted the George was doing an episode on bonefishing at Green Turtle Cay.(I think). Well I watched the show and made a comment on the board about him saying cay instead of key. Well it got pretty heated(not like our Rants section)but pretty warm. George appeared like magic and calmed everyone down. Pretty Cool! I just recently appoligized so he's still ragging me. And thats the rest of the story. But I do think Mr. Parrott offered to name a lake after him.
Sue

[justsue294]

Oh yeah I forgot In the episode he recently did at Treasure Cay he did say Key
Sue

[SamFamAustin]

Easy thing to trip you up - at least he didn't pronounce this other word like MAHN-JACK.

Thanks for the whole story.

[HALF-A-HAMIAN]

They already named it after him! Never been to Lake George?
http://www.lakegeorge.net/

[Abacoparrott]

Of course we remember 'ol George on the old board...I believe he was fishing at Walkers KAY....hehheh....yep, we gave him a hard time and he handled it much better than any politician I've heard lately but....I don't believe I offered to name a lake after him....however, maybe we could. No one in the south can spell or pronounce "Poveromo" so mebbee we should stay away from that one......how about "Kay Lake....in memory of Geo...." oh well, you get the picture.....it IS good to have George on the Forum....Ken:D

[MARC VI]

how about "Kay Lake....in memory of Geo...." oh well, you get the picture.....it IS good to have George on the Forum....Ken:D

I like the idea. It's about time I got the respect I deserve on this site ;)

don't believe I offered to name a lake after him....however, maybe we could. No one in the south can spell or pronounce "Poveromo" so mebbee we should stay away from that one......

Abacoparrot - I don't why you'd say that folks south of the Mason-Dixon line can't spell or pronounce "Poveromo"? After all, I was born and raised in the Heart of Dixie: Miami, Florida. It has only been 14 years since I moved out of Miami, to Parkland - which is about 45-minutes north of Ft. Lauderdale. It's still the deep south. I know that to be fact. They still serve grits at the local Dennys.

[HALF-A-HAMIAN]

Yeah, but they're plastic grits! ;-)

[Rock Steady]

...Welcome back,
Hope all is well. We're now living here in Abaco since retirement last Summer.
Once this wind abates again we'l be back out Tilloo Cut.

Crispin...stay'in low in Abaco:cool:


how about "Kay Lake....in memory of Geo...." oh well, you get the picture.....it IS good to have George on the Forum....Ken:D

I like the idea. It's about time I got the respect I deserve on this site ;)

don't believe I offered to name a lake after him....however, maybe we could. No one in the south can spell or pronounce "Poveromo" so mebbee we should stay away from that one......

Abacoparrot - I don't why you'd say that folks south of the Mason-Dixon line can't spell or pronounce "Poveromo"? After all, I was born and raised in the Heart of Dixie: Miami, Florida. It has only been 14 years since I moved out of Miami, to Parkland - which is about 45-minutes north of Ft. Lauderdale. It's still the deep south. I know that to be fact. They still serve grits at the local Dennys.

[fish bum]

Remora...

Sorry to chime in so late, I've always just tossed them when they come off another fish, never thought it might be a attractive dinner item for people. That being said, recently learned that there is a interesting scientific family relationship between remora and cobia. Put a juvenile 16" cobia next to a remora, they look almost identical at that stage...who knows, since cobia is pretty good, remora might actually be better tasting than people think?

I nominate the "Chitons" thread folks to take this under advisement and let us not so appetitically adventurous on the forum know the real story...

JCT

[Abacoparrott]

Now George.......some of us in the Carolinas call Florida the "misplaced Yankee state" BUT.......if Dennys has grits it MUST be in the south. remember that breakfast food the northeners eat? Scrapple.......tastes like cardboard.......MUST have a lot of fiber! Gimmee fried Livermush (yanks call it Liverpudding), yellow grits and wet-scrambled eggs anyday...yeee-haa.....er....a.......think I figured out the cause of this expanding waistline........Ken:D :D

[SamFamAustin]

When I lived in Florida all us wharf rats ate biscuits with cream sausage gravy, keep ya plugged up fer the whole day. You should see what it does to the seagulls! Get a big ole messy plate o' them and a cup o' coffee and throw the lines overboard - let's go fishin'. :D

Sammie Wells
South Padre Kay

[JJ]

Remora we caught last summer while fishing north of Manjack. It was about 3 ft. long. We didn't know what it was and were kind of glad when it got off the hook on its own. Showed the picture to some local friends who told us what it was.

[Henz]

thats what that is?? Back in October 03 the wife and I were casting and one of those appeared out of the blue! It would keep coming from the bottom up swim around my lure and then head back down. Think I was using a jig. Then it would follow the jig back up and then go back down. I thought it was a cobia but this looks more like it

[JJ]

I was thinking cobia at first, too, but it didn't seem quite right (coloring, fins) for a cobia for the little bit I could see it before we lost it.

[Henz]

what did you catch it on

[PELLUCID]

This particular one was caught by a boy scout in Little Harbour on a bit of salt pork.

I always used salt pork for cut bait on the scout charters, because it stank less than squid or conch if the kids left it out on deck overnight. If the fish were biting, seemed most any kinda meat would work.

[HALF-A-HAMIAN]

Such a waste of an essential cooking ingredient!

[JJ]

Some kind of cut bait that we bought here in Florida and froze and packed in our cooler. On our first trip to GTC, it was hard to find bait so we have been bringing our own.

[SamFamAustin]

The cobia (ling) and remora do seem remarkably similar except for the remora's clownish sucker spot. Like each other, some of the young ones have a yellow or white lateral line as well. I'd eat the ling if I had a choice in the matter.

Not to hijack the thread, but many people complain about the lack of natural bait - and indeed some marinas and stores started stocking more of late from what I hear. To me this is strange because we always used non-sport fish for bait and caught them with glee with either nasties (salt pork or conch guts will do) or artificials. Bonita caught offshore is bar none the best. Using bait is cheating to many fishermen, although I must admit that fishing a hot dog is one of the coolest things ever.

A hot dog. Try it. You'll end up laughing and then pulling like a madman! -sammie

[DrRalph]

When we fish the reefs, my wife likes cut bait, I use jigs, we sorta have a contest. She does better on yellowtails, I do better on grouper and triggers. But you can jig up enough odd fish to make plenty of cut bait.

[flyingdogs]

In the latest Abaconian, Abaco Yamaha now carries ballyhoo rigged - $11.75/3 pac, ballyhoo $10.50/12 pac, chum-$5.95, squid-$10.50, shrimp $3.95.

[oldoc2]

Sam: one afternoon south of Block Is. I rigged a beer can with a hook and baited it with a KOSHER hot dog- caught a 45+ # white marlin! I'm certain others can tell similar tales.

[Wonkee]

Used to take Coke cans to make spinners for Cuda...Worked great

[SamFamAustin]

Well those rigged Ballyhoo really do work and are worth the money. But the kinds of homemade lures are equally impressive. Beer and pop cans make a very low-cost lure, and let's not forget our dish-soap bottles and Tylenol bottles trailed by a big hook and some chunk bait ... or a Nathan's hot dog ... to hide the shiny hook.

Save those feathers, rope hairs, and soda straws because they can be deadly in the hands of a true madman. The best flies look like nothing more than a hook with some hairs on it - the wife's will do in a pinch.

But the wildest I ever saw looked exactly like a medium-sized dog pooh. It was covered in some kind of glowing glass eyes set in epoxy ... like your dog ate a box of fluorescent Crayons and left a funny one. :D

[DrRalph]

Sam: one afternoon south of Block Is. I rigged a beer can with a hook and baited it with a KOSHER hot dog- caught a 45+ # white marlin! I'm certain others can tell similar tales.

We've caught dolphin on some goofy rigs, they'll hit almost anything; but a billfish? That's a big deal!

[HALF-A-HAMIAN]

Sammie, you'd use a good Nathan's instead of the vast array of inferior quality franks as bait? For shame! The savings in several thousand packs of these deli-dogs, would finance a trip to Abaco! What you saved by using that seagull on your boogie board, has turned into he consumption equivalent of hanging a 300hp V8. Waste not, want not.

[SamFamAustin]

Gentlemen prefer fish that have good "taste", Half! :D

LOL that was funny watcha said.

[patw]

Pattie talked about this find on the Cruisers Net the other day. Now this is a strange fish!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346289,00.html