Whats the big deal with Burbot or ling cod?

[crf250xtom]

Just wondering why you guys like them and also why they decided to make them a game fish.

[BeeGuy]

They get big.

They are delicious.

They are pretty easy to catch.

Sadly, it appears as though they can be fished out pretty easily.

[Cal]

Originally Posted by crf250xtom

Just wondering why you guys like them and also why they decided to make them a game fish.

I never target them and rarely eat them, their not bad eating but they have got to be the only game fish that fights worse than a Walleye. I'm glad they made them a game fish though, helped put an end to that assinine practice of chucking them on the ice and leaving them there that used to be so prevailant.

[Lefty-Canuck]

When did they make them a game fish?

LC

[kevinhits]

As I have said before...."If you can get past the look and feel of them, they are so tasty....."

Was out the other night, had a 1lber wrap his body around my arm like a snake.....Pretty ugly feeling but I thought it was funny

[kevinhits]

Originally Posted by Cal

I never target them and rarely eat them, their not bad eating but they have got to be the only game fish that fights worse than a Walleye. I'm glad they made them a game fish though, helped put an end to that assinine practice of chucking them on the ice and leaving them there that used to be so prevailant.

LOL....Not much of a fight...

[kevinhits]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

When did they make them a game fish?

LC

Could be wrong here but I heard nothing of making them a game fish....They just dropped the limits from 10 to 3 and closed them for spawning on some lakes...

[yoteblaster]

They are delicious, that's the big deal!

[Shmag]

Originally Posted by kevinhits

Could be wrong here but I heard nothing of making them a game fish....They just dropped the limits from 10 to 3 and closed them for spawning on some lakes...

If there's a limit / regulations on them then they are considered a game fish. I do beleive that came into effect around 1996...

[WayneChristie]

taste as good as they ugly look

[kevinhits]

Are they classified as a game fish? That is the question?

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by YODA

taste as good as they ugly look

What he said

[Sooner]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

taste as good as they ugly look

Yoda is that you?

[MtnGiant]

Originally Posted by crf250xtom

Just wondering why you guys like them and also why they decided to make them a game fish.

Where do you fish for Lingcod in Alberta??????

[TylerThomson]

Right on bottom with a piece of bait.

[MtnGiant]

I didnt know burbot was a lingcod.
I'm used to the ocean ones in BC.
Learned something new again

[Cal]

Originally Posted by mtngiant

I didnt know burbot was a lingcod.
I'm used to the ocean ones in BC.
Learned something new again

If you call a pike a jackfish, and a walleye a pickerel, then you probably call a burbot a ling. I remember my grandfather and great unkle calling them "Mariah", not sure where that came from. As an 8 year old I was always confused because the fishing regulations never made any mention of any of the kinds of fish we caught.

[rapalaman]

They actually have a few names for he same species of that fish freash water cod, ling cod, there actual name is burbot some of the older generation will call them merria and in the us. they call the same fish eel pout.

no matter what you call them they tast no diffrent then the fish & chips that you buy and can provide non stop action when they are in there spawning balls or feeding in the eavning and through the night.

I for one am glad they are now a game fish.

[Wolverine Boy]

They are a game fish as they should be.........I'm guessing as of about ten years ago?

Really ugly but decent eating fish. They are the only fish though that I still have trouble bare-handing out of the hole.....gives me the creeps when they wrap around your arm!

[snowman160]

I remember on calling lake when I was about 14.dad an his friend were havin a Siesta in the truck while I caught perch in the tent!filled half a pail fishin in 8' of water.anyhow I rigged a Jig n minnow on an old hockey stick rig lol an threw the bait down the hole then just chucked the stick in the pail.short while later I heard the pail move so I though what the heck an looked down the hole to see the biggest beast of a thing I ever did see with my line disappearing in its mouth!!!i grabbed the line an reefed on it to watch the jig pop right out of its mouth!!!!f&@k!!this thing was so big in the body it looked like a dinosaur!!!
Thinking back to that I'm pretty sure that burbot was over 15 pounds.an another thig I know is I never woulda got it outa that 8" hole that's how big it's body was.anyway..thought I'd share this story since burbot came up...
Oh an thanks to the commercial fisherman a few yrs ago on utikima that were checking their nets an throwing multiple 2-5 lb burbot on the ice still alive!!we had a great time driving around behind you wasteful losers throwing them in the back of my truck to almost fill our burbot limit!! Tight lines boys!

[Gust]

Originally Posted by Cal

I never target them and rarely eat them, their not bad eating but they have got to be the only game fish that fights worse than a Walleye. I'm glad they made them a game fish though, helped put an end to that assinine practice of chucking them on the ice and leaving them there that used to be so prevailant.

Read the regs,,, it's weird because they are the only gamefish you can discard or waste.

I'm worried about them becoming so popular,, only as of recent (last 5 years) I have been seeing 12 inch ling, as a kid 36 inches was average.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Wolverine Boy

They are a game fish as they should be.........I'm guessing as of about ten years ago?

Really ugly but decent eating fish. They are the only fish though that I still have trouble bare-handing out of the hole.....gives me the creeps when they wrap around your arm!

Yes and no.....if you retain burbot there is a limit, sadly they are still the only "game fish" that the meat can be legal wasted. Look in the reg under additional restrictions....so they may have a limit and no retention in certain places during certain times....but they are not respected enough to fall under a species you cannot waste.....which is wrong IMHO.

LC

[fishtank]

poor mans lobster all u need is some garlic butter ...

[last minute]

Originally Posted by crf250xtom

Just wondering why you guys like them and also why they decided to make them a game fish.

humm

They get big.

They are delicious.

what else do you need to know.

[Gilligan]

Mid Feb - March I always make a trip to LacNonne to fish Burbot.

There is a healthy Population there and the the "Fish Gov't dudes " set
up a Net there to do studys because of its consistant population.
They start collecting at this time to do their spawn at this time so
they can get pretty thick in one area.

I was talking to them a few years ago and they told me that they
catch approx. 300 in their net in a 24 hr. period.
( the net is more like a Cage.... not a fishing net )

so there you go....... if you want Burb's ..... LacNonnne

[Fishnafterwork]

I love Mariah.....my favorite fish in Alberta!..... Like stated before delicious!... Just an all around cool fish

[crf250xtom]

So then if you waste their meat you can keep your limit and just leave them on the ice or put in the garbage that seems weird.

[keep6matt]

They taste just like lobster and I always had luck using a yellow twister tipped with a salted minnow (salt your minnows in pickling salt and it makes them tuffer on the hook) Jig off the bottom like walleye fishing...they tend to be in 16 to 25 ft of water this time of year but move in shallow as spring approaches. Also they bite best before dark and during the night. Anyways they are a great fish to eat, you have to clean them like peeling off a tube sock, slit around the circumference behind the gills (usually a nail thru the lips or head in a board helps) then peel back the skin to reveal two beautiful and boneless back fillets...do not puncture the organs or you risk spoiling the meat. Then you can fry them in garlic butter and carmelized onions and presto tastes like lobster. I recall one day on Elinor Lake when one circled my aqua vu camera then attacked it! I seen right down its throat as it grabbed the camera and tried to eat it. Beware as they have extremely strong jaws (they eat clams etc) and have a grip of a pitbull. Happy fishing!

[Cal]

Originally Posted by Wolverine Boy

They are a game fish as they should be.........I'm guessing as of about ten years ago?

Really ugly but decent eating fish. They are the only fish though that I still have trouble bare-handing out of the hole.....gives me the creeps when they wrap around your arm!

The thing that my wife realy has trouble with is how their slime sometimes leaves a brownish stain in the snow. I gotta admit that is a little friggin weird. So long as I clean them befor I bring them home everyone enjoys them.

They taste good but they are the only fish I know of that gets tough and chewy if cooked wrong. Deep fried or as poor mans lobster they are good, fryed too long they can get tough which sucks for me because I like my fish well done, and baked they get realy chewy.

[Bigmountainrider]

Originally Posted by WayneChristie

taste as good as they ugly look

X2