Strange & Edible: Would You Eat a Lizardfish? Some Do

I certainly appreciated the fact that I was fishing with the great Captain Bouncer Smith. He is not only one of the best of the best, he’s legitimately a great guy. I can’t think of a saltwater delicacy he doesn’t have access to. Imagine my surprise when he stopped me from throwing the front half of a blue runner back overboard, after a kingfish had cut it in half. I was shocked when he filleted what was left of the runner, and stuck it in a tiny Ziploc full of sashimi ingredients. Blue runner? When you catch tuna, wahoo, and mahi on a regular basis, how can Capt. Bouncer’s delicacy be blue runner?

My buddy Dan Parker pulled a fast one on me offshore Fort Pierce one winter. We were trolling for sails, but the blackfins and bonito were going through our ballyhoo in a hurry. I ran into the cabin after something, and Dan had laid out a gorgeous spread of what I knew was fresh blackfin. I grabbed a thin slice, dipped it in soy, and swallowed. “Taste good?” Dan asked. “Of course,” I replied. “Who wouldn’t love fresh tuna?” “It’s bonito,” was his response.

I was shocked. I actually had to go open the fish box to count the tuna. Bonito shoulder makes pretty darn good sashimi. Is it as good as ahi? Well, probably not. It’s chewier, but if I’m in the mood for sashimi, I will cut a small piece of shoulder out of a smaller bonito, slice it thin, put it in a baggie with soy and lime, and the baggie goes in a saltwater slush.

That got me to remembering Florida Sportsman founder Karl Wickstrom. Ladyfish, jack crevalle, blue runners, you name it. Karl loved to bring just about any species to the office, and have the team try to guess what it was. That got me to wondering about our weekly Action Spotter podcasters. They are all lifers and they had to have tried eating some species most of us had never considered.

Captain David Borries brought me some fried ribbonfish one day, and I can promise you, I now know why kingfish love them so much. David, who by the way has served as chef for many a fine restaurant, says bonnethead sharks are fantastic. Get them gutted and iced as fast as possible, but get ready for a taste that rivals swordfish.

Brandon Storin who makes his living as an Islamorada fishing guide, says nurse sharks are more than just edible, they are mighty darn good.

Captain Greg Stamper knows what a good snook tastes like. He loves pufferfish. Puffers have long been known to be a delicacy in Asian countries. Do not ever fillet a puffer on your own. They carry a toxin deadlier than just about any other fish. To make matters worse, not all species of puffers have the same toxin in the same part of their body. Probably better for us mortals to eat any other fish.

Maybe nobody but podcaster Ray Markham would eat a lizardfish. He swears they are delicious. They ain’t pretty, but if you’ve ever cut one up for bait, you already know they have meat as pretty as any sea bass.

I was watching an early episode of Swamp People when I saw brothers Glenn and Mitchell rejoicing over the fact they had caught a garfish. Ugh. What a terrible existence I thought. “Not so fast,” our podcaster Jim Ross says. “I have stood in line to get a ‘gar ball’ before, and I will do it again if I ever get the opportunity.”

I have been saved from trying a fish that has always intrigued me. I love cobia, and everybody knows remora look a whole lot like little cobia. Captain Kevin Lanier saved me the trouble. He tried one and said it was horrible. I must have forgotten to tell my radio co-host that I already knew it was horrible, because he said he wanted to try it. What do you know, it’s unanimous, remoras are crummy.

Captain William Toney sealed the deal for me on another fish that has often tempted me. Mudfish are ugly, but so are puffers. Could they be a delicacy hidden behind a face as ugly as mine? NOPE says Captain William Toney. They earned their name. They truly are mudfish.

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• This article was featured in the July issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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