# Mullet



## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

Went to Milton to snatch some mullet. Started fishing at 7 and was run off by a thunderstorm about 10:30. Caught 23 and as always forgot pictures until they were all gone.


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## Emerald Ghost (Mar 11, 2008)

23, that's a good morning.


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

That's a good morning. Couple of friends over here went yesterday but got late start and storm ran them off before they could really get things started.


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Hey Billy I've got a question for you. Do you notice a river muck smell or taste on the mullet that you catch in the river ? I can bait them up and catch'em at the house but they all taste the way that the bottom of the river smells. I've even tried cleaning them without busting the guts and going above the ribs....still I taste river muck ! I like saltwater mullet as much as anybody. Anyhow I was just wondering if you soaked your mullet in something to get that taste out ?


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

The hole that I fish in Milton is right in the edge of Blackwater Bay. No one has ever complained about their taste. In fact a few years ago I gave some to a local restaurant. Saw a man that knew I fished in Milton at the post office the next week. He said " Do you still caught those nasty mullet?" I said yes and he went on to say "I can tell the difference between a gulf mullet and those you catch. Last weekend I ate some of the best I have ever had." Guess where he ate them? At the restaurant that I gave them to. He was eating the mullet that I had caught.


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Lol ! My place is probably 3 to 4 miles up river from the bay....I guess that it is just a little bit too far up. I catch and eat mullet from Mobile , Perdido , and Pensacola bay with my cast net and love them. I just enjoy catching them on a rod and reel at the house....just wish I enjoyed eating them.


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

Same over here on the Choctawhatchee like Billyb. Holes are on the edge of the bay. Taste must be just fine if the number of fishing boats is an indicator. Years back there was a hole about 3 or 4 miles up the river but is no longer fished. That was before I got started mullet fishing.

On eating the old wives tale that mullet is not fit to eat unless fresh is false and it can't be frozen. A vacuum pack is best but I freeze mullet fillets without skin in water now and then. If I know it will be eaten in a few days I don't use water. It taste just fine to me. 

All my life I lived under this false impresseion because that's what my grandaddy believed, but a couple of years ago I started reading about this on the net and tried freezing. It works just fine if you don't leave them frozen for many months. If the truth was known I bet restaurats serve frozen mullet now and then.

Note: My granddaddy had an ice box cooler and the ice man delivered 25 lb block of ice box very few days. He eventually got a small refridgerator with no freezer except a tiny compartment for an ice tray. So actually he was probabbly right.....mullet had to be fresh to eat. I never thought about that before.


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

I once had a fishing and hunting buddy and we would freeze mullet in a 5 gallon bucket during the summer so that we could eat them during hunting season. We hunted some private land in Baker and was cooking fish one day when the mayor of Crestview at the time, Ted Mathis, pulled up. He picked up one of the fillets and ate it while we cooked. He said "Billy y'all must have went fishing this week. These mullet sure taste fresh." I replied "we did Ted, we did" and he never knew the difference.


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

I freeze my mullet as well, and I find that it keeps pretty well.... up to about 3 months.


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## radtechbob (Jul 5, 2019)

*Radtechbob*

How do you "snatch mullet"??


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

radtechbob said:


> How do you "snatch mullet"??


Put one or two treble hooks ( about 3/0 to 5/0 ) on a leader about 2 ft. long, 
1/2 oz. egg sinker above swivel, throw it out to a baited hole. When the mullet start feeding and swimming around they will bump your line and jiggle the tip of your pole....then give a mighty jerk (snatch) and hopefully snag the fish. That's a simple explanation.
Watch the video below for a better understanding.


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

I use a 7/0 treble with a 12" leader then a swivel and a 1/2 oz egg sinker above the swivel. I paint the end of my rods pink so I can see when the fish bump the line. Might put a small piece of mathialate colored worm on the point of one of the hooks. Some folks use bigger hooks some use smaller. Some use gold hooks some use tinned. Whatever works for you.


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## olegator (Dec 6, 2014)

fishwalton said:


> Same over here on the Choctawhatchee like Billyb. Holes are on the edge of the bay. Taste must be just fine if the number of fishing boats is an indicator. Years back there was a hole about 3 or 4 miles up the river but is no longer fished. That was before I got started mullet fishing.
> 
> On eating the old wives tale that mullet is not fit to eat unless fresh is false and it can't be frozen. A vacuum pack is best but I freeze mullet fillets without skin in water now and then. *If I know it will be eaten in a few days I don't use water. It taste just fine to me.*
> 
> ...


 I know some restaurants freeze them for short periods. I think bleeding mullet makes a big difference in their taste too.


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## billyb (Aug 22, 2012)

We used to carry a coleman stove on the boat and clean the mullet as we caught them and fried them right away. Passed the plates down the line of boats. The texture of the meat and the taste was different. I think they are much better after they sit in ice for a few hours or even overnight.


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