Ireland Spearing 2012

[bobdonny]

Dont forget to vote for your choice of fish of the month for April folks:
http://forums.deeperblue.com/uk-ireland/94815-poll-fish-month-competition-april-2012-a.html

yes... Speaking of all this spider crab should be a good q for ye guys to vote for it in the link above

PS mart is dead right... There is a huge difference between fish and shellfish mostly in the way they decompose after death. A fish can last up to 10 days post mortem and still be safe to eat. A shellfish only up to 6 hours (assuming both kept on ice).

its the internal organs that break down first but especially the gills on crabs. Leave fish gills and crab gills on a plate over night and see the diff next day...

if you shellfish dies take off claws and legs and chuck the rest... Too risky.

the actual flesh should be safer on its own as its mainly the gills that turn the flesh off by proximity (i.e. Dead man's fingers!)
but I don't like the idea of ripping claws of live shellfish... I'd rather take the whole crab and kill it humanely.

crabs are not fully watertight as they will suk up water to bloat their shell before molting... But they do have seals to retain that water... And keep it out also. Cooking it hole does in fact steam it and it is tastier and less mushy)

think that covers everything... Not geeky into shellfish but I feel the need to educate myself about the creatures I kill.

I really hope the weather lifts and I can get a few more spiders...
regan... Do you kill the crab before cutting it? Do you use the same technique as with a brown crab?

 

[Derekn]

Damn, I'm drooling now....ohh for a crab sandwich

Foxfish... I gotta go for dinner to your house .......mmmm :thankyou

 

[johnnybuoy]

I have to agree with foxfish too. I'd only ever cook a crab whole unless I had a few claws from brown crab. They always cook and taste better when cooked whole....
I'd be very wary of cooking any crab/shellfish dead. Not worth the risk.

 

[scottwilson]

Nice dive this afternoon vis about 8-10m easy saw twp takeable pollock but very skittish, flat lik e a lake and I got a new mask, clear skirt so it seems brighter but doesnt go well with the camo suit. who am i foolin?

Can really get lost in that first picture mate. No hustle or bustle. Sat on that wall enjoying a pork n pickle pie and an ice cold Crabbies

 

[plbenza]

....Any weekend report around here......?

 

[zaratustra]

Yes, went out today. The visibility was very good. anything from 5 up to 20 mts.
No fish I am afraid I sow large schools of mullet.

I was surprised as I did few dives around 8 mts in spot usually covered by pollack but could not see any pollack today Is it still to early ?

 

[plbenza]

Yes, went out today. The visibility was very good. anything from 5 up to 20 mts.
No fish I am afraid I sow large schools of mullet.

I was surprised as I did few dives around 8 mts in spot usually covered by pollack but could not see any pollack today Is it still to early ?

No I don´t think so. Water got a bit cooler from what I can see, so it´s difficult to see a proper pollack in less than 12/15m deep. Apparently is coming warmer water ahead, maybe in one and a half week time looks to be the "official turnover"

 

[vasile]

No I don´t think so. Water got a bit cooler from what I can see, so it´s difficult to see a proper pollack in less than 12/15m deep. Apparently is coming warmer water ahead, maybe in one and a half week time looks to be the "official turnover"

Hope so,I'm nearly dry here

 

[Broseidon]

its the internal organs that break down first but especially the gills on crabs. Leave fish gills and crab gills on a plate over night and see the diff next day...

if you shellfish dies take off claws and legs and chuck the rest... Too risky.

the actual flesh should be safer on its own as its mainly the gills that turn the flesh off by proximity (i.e. Dead man's fingers!)
but I don't like the idea of ripping claws of live shellfish... I'd rather take the whole crab and kill it humanely.

^^^

That's not quite true, in the body of the crab, decomposition takes three routes:

1) Bacteria; crab meat contains a high carbohydrate content, at the point of death, the immune system fails and bacteria run riot in the moist, sugar rich environment. These produce volatile amines, notably trimethylamine, which causes the fishy smell.

2) Enzymes; crab meat contains a very high quantity of protease enzymes (protein digesting) which attack the loose & moist connective tissues.

3) Highly unstable fatty acids; crab meat contains a relatively large quantity of very delicate omega-3 fatty acids (poly-unsaturates) which readily oxidise on exposure to oxygen - these will subsequently decay into ketones, aldehydes etc which all smell bad

The gills are where crabs excrete ammonia, which is the by-product of their metabolism / catabolism (like we excrete urea) - ammonia itself readily breaks down (and smells) but it is not the gills themselves that play an overly active part in making crab meat go off.

If you're worried the crab is going off, pulling the limbs off is not the best of ideas as decay within them could be well under way.

 

[NZRegan]

regan... Do you kill the crab before cutting it? Do you use the same technique as with a brown crab?

My previous post generated waaaay more comment than I thought it would. The spider crabs went into the freezer first which put them to sleep while I tidied up my gear, they then had a dive knife put through their heads before cutting them up.

The reason I took their legs off was to save space in the pot. I have a big pot, too. 5 spiders didn't fit in the pot on their own. For sure, a lone spider crab would've gone in the pot whole.

I don't see what the problem is. Some of the flesh was exposed to boiling water and got poached out of its shell...? Mon Dieu?! I'm quite certain that the Maryland crab soup I made was in no way diminished. I might have lost some foodie street cred, though...

Brown crabs go in whole. Lobsters go in whole. And I eat the 'mustard', too.

 

[mirror]

^^^

That's not quite true, in the body of the crab, decomposition takes three routes:

Your in depth and scientific explanation of the decay process is probably correct ,but at what rate does this occur ? temperature will have a considerable effect I would imagine ,and I would think cooking would kill the bacteria . I know it is not quite the same but in principle it would be like putting a chicken in boiling water whole and alive and picking the meat out afterwards !!! lol !

 

[ryanod90]

Hi all have a load of mussels spotted and just wondering is it ok to eat them there at the bottom of the drowes river in just outside Bundoran, anyone have any do's and don't when it comes to this fish

 

[foxfish]

Hi NZ, sorry if I came across as critical, I was meaning to be helpful

 

[Broseidon]

Your in depth and scientific explanation of the decay process is probably correct ,but at what rate does this occur ? temperature will have a considerable effect I would imagine ,and I would think cooking would kill the bacteria . I know it is not quite the same but in principle it would be like putting a chicken in boiling water whole and alive and picking the meat out afterwards !!! lol !

Decay is generally directly proportional to temperature.

You're right, cooking will kill the bacteria and denature the enzymes; it will also alter the fats as delicate unsaturated carbons in polyunsaturates auto-oxidise on exposure to heat forming more stable lipid molecules. That's why cooked crab can last for a fair time while raw crab goes off really quickly.

 

[chealy]

After blanking 5 consecutive times on a trot had a cracking day yesterday, viz was about 4 to 5 mtres in places with a little swell making things a tad interesting.
I nailed these two with the biggest one being a personnel best, I don't have scales so not sure of the weight but if I had been inclined I could nearly have fit my fist in its mouth.

 

[bobdonny]

nice one man... I'm impressed that you found vis... Did you have to travel far for it?

 

[chealy]

not far at all, if you live in Cork you probably fish this spot fairly often.

 

[foxfish]

You are missing out from being able to enter your fish into the deeper blue competitions mate, that looks like a nice bass, that could of won you a prize!

 

[chealy]

I will have to invest in a set of scales, actually saw bigger Bass after I shot these 2.

 

[sunfish]

After blanking 5 consecutive times on a trot had a cracking day yesterday, viz was about 4 to 5 mtres in places with a little swell making things a tad interesting.
I nailed these two with the biggest one being a personnel best, I don't have scales so not sure of the weight but if I had been inclined I could nearly have fit my fist in its mouth.

Well done mate. Rep sent.
I swam for two hours yesterday and found plenty of good vis but saw no fish - not even a mullet! That's two blanks in a row for me now but two outings before that with lots and lots of bass and mullet seen and some shot! Things seem very hit and miss this early in the season and you either land on fish or don't.