What is the easiest way to scale/skin redear and similar fish with large tough scales? My wife loves to cook redear but will not eat planter trout, and I c & r bass, so I need something to show from my upcoming trips to Cachuma; and redear is it.

My previous experience with scaling/skinning redear has been too effortful. After getting up well before dawn and putting in a "hard" day of fishing, scaling/skinning a dozen redear has been a chore, compared with my experience with filleting any other species. I am thinking of buying a "can opener" type of skinner. Do these work?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Bob

Hey Bob ~
Where do you usually fish for redear at Cachuma? Techniques? I loooove to eat fresh fish and sunfish are the perfect catch and eat fish. Saves the Bass for C&R and we still get to have a nice dinner at the end of the day.

I am a relative newcomer to the area, so locals can give you better advice, but here is what I do.

#6 or #8 baitholder hook with 1/2 (or sometimes whole) nightcrawler with 6 or 8lb test line. I often use a 100% fluorocarbon leader, but most others do not. I fish on the bottom with the minimum sinker (usually a sliding sinker) required to keep on the bottom given the wind condition, anchored at dropoffs off Storke Flats. I also like either side of Arrowhead Island (stoney areas preferred), especially the back of the Island if there is less wind there. During a year of normal rainfall the dropoff is at about 35 feet. In heavy wind I use two anchors, bow and stern. I am sometimes told to try Cachuma Bay, but I have had less luck there. December and January may generally be best, but the redear have not had a good consistent season this year, possibly due to the dry winter. Always check with the Lake Cachuma marina store for the latest information. I checked with the store once AFTER a slow redear day and found out that there had been an unusual run of large crappie that I should have tried for. Good luck. Now, can anyone help me with my question about the best way to scale/skin/filet redear, and are can opener type fishskinners good for fish like redear?



Bob

Hey Bob, why not just fillet them like a bass or rockfish? just get yourself a very sharp thin bladed knife like a russell or forchner, they sell some at boaters world that are perfect. with the right knife it is no problem at all carving up them tasty buggers, ever tried them as a fish taco?...And yes Ive been known to fish a redear or two up there!....Larry

Bob ~ Thanks for the reply... About your scaling/skinning question, if skinning the fillets is a hassle for you try just scaling the them and cooking with the skin on. I have done this with other sunfish and had good luck... cook it skin down first and cook it most of the way through then give it a quick flip to the meat side and cook until it flakes easily, the skin will fall right off. This works really well on a grill with narrow gaps between the tines as opposed to a wide grill, the meat should hold together...It works even better in pan frying with a lil butter and herbs...nummy.
Now I am getting hungry! :9

Thanks mceehops. I forgot to include Jackrabbit Flats dropoff as another Cachuma redear spot.
Bob

Thanks Larry. I use a professional butchers' filet knife (the same as our butcher uses, bought at a butchers' supply warehouse) and a professional 3-stage electric knife sharpener, and have no trouble fileting rockfish and other species. Maybe my problem with fileting redear is that they (at least the ones I have caught recently) are the smallest fish I have ever tried to filet and I am trying to get more meat into the filet than I should reasonably expect to get. Thanks again, Larry, and you are so right about redear tacos.
Bob