# Crevalle jack



## GRITS

My husband caught this huge Crevalle jack yesterday somewhere off the coast of Pensacola Beach. 














We kept the fish, thinking it would be good to eat, but everybody says you can't eat them. Wikipedia says: "Crevalle jacks can be poisonous to eat due to the threat of ciguatera poisoning, but they are prized as a game fish."



If we'd known that, we would have taken a picture and thrown him back! The meat is dark red, like tuna. Any thoughts or suggestions? Anybody brave enough to try eating it? I'm not throwing it away. I'll make my husband eat it - just in case it's toxic. I mean, he did catch it!


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## jamesc

I am not sure, but rest asured that one with the answer will let us know.

Nice fish, though.


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## FishinFreak

Not sure if maggots would eat a jack cravelle. Do yourself a favor and don't. Fertilize your garden with it or chum him up if you have the means...


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## FenderBender

Pm Clay Doh, he has eaten them and had no apparent ill effects. Or search for a thread either on here or maybe even the old forum called "******* yellefin tuna" or something along those lines. I'd try it for sure, I wouldn't worry about ciguatera around here.


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## jim t

That's a big'un for sure. Here's what I'd do. Take a couple small filets from the tail where it'll be easier to cut. 

Do a Google search for Jack Crevalle Recipe.

There are a few that look good. Try one or two. 

Save the rest of the fish for bait or freeze it and offer it up as bait for our shark fishermen here. Just ask them to come by and pick it up. It'd be a shame to waste a nice fish.

Good Luck and tell us if you found them edible.

Jim


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## FenderBender

found it.... check the pics

http://www.pensacolafishingforum.com/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=36344&start=1


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## Travis Gill

I wouldn't eat it! Give it to someone for the shark tourney coming up


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## GRITS

Thanks, FenderBender and others. I checked out Clay-Doh's post. I'm not going to waste that big fish. I'm going to try cooking some of the jack - but I think I'll cook it just a tad longer than Clay-Doh cooked his - that's a little too rare for me! 



I lassoed a big barracuda a few years back when he slashed at a pin fish. I tore up his gills with the leader trying to get him to the boat. He was dying, so we put him in the cooler, brought him home and cooked him. (I sautéed him after marinating.) He was delicious! The crowd at dinner ate all of him, passing up the king mackeral and spanish in favor of the barracuda. 



I'll let y'all know how it is. We'll either have some good eating or plenty of chum for the Chum Churn! Whatever, it was a fun day. We limited out on kings, caught some spanish and the big jack. We had to pull anchor twice to follow the big ones, or get spooled. Didn't even try the snapper because our arms were too tired after the fights with the big kings.



Just don't get no better than that!


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## Travis Gill

Save yourself the trouble and go straight to the chum churn....


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## Chris Couture

I never ate Jack Crevalle but you are correct that Cuda is AWESOME! A lot of people wont eat them but if we caught one 3 feet or less, he was in the cooler and on the table!


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## BADBOY69

Don't know how they taste but I CAN tell ya never to shoot one while spearfishing!:banghead


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## Jhoe

> *BADBOY69 (7/13/2009)*Don't know how they taste but I CAN tell ya never to shoot one while spearfishing!:banghead




I mean if you were good you'd killshot it right? haha





but yea, not if you don't want to go for a ride.


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## fred

I've always used them for crab bait, but I've *<U>read</U>* that the finer textured pink flesh is the best. Told myself I would try it one day but haven't done it yet.


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## cobe killer

years ago i sold many jacks to asians at the palafox pier, they seem to love them....but wait they also eat ly's and hardtails and probly menhaden for desert. so i guess thats not a good example of wether or not they are fit for human consumption. i cleaned one when i was about 13 and it looked like i had killed a cow in my back yard. used it for chum. i've got one in my freezer right now for shark bait. good luck with it. different people like different things. so try it and let us know what you think.


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## Ajerv

Ciguatera poisoning can be a devestating poisoning. Many years ago, I had dinner at a meeting in Miami with a doctor whose partner had it and was partially paralyzed and could not work for a year. It scares me to death and would not take a chance eating a fish species that is not commonly consumed by others.

It is a horrible poisoning.



http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/813869-overview


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## fred

> *Ajerv (7/13/2009)* It scares me to death and would not take a chance eating a fish species that is not commonly consumed by others.


Quite a list:


> Species of fish most frequently implicated include groupers, amberjack, red snappers, eel, sea bass, barracuda, and Spanish mackerel.


I would surely be careful of imported fish and fish that travel large distances as it does not seem to be endemic to our area. From reading the treatment and prognosis (good) I would say the important thing is to know the symptoms and get immediate care, unless you just want to stop eating reef fish.

Barracuda are usually in the list, maybe they are not because people avoid them because of the ciguatera.


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## SheYakFishr

I LOVE fish... BUT I wouldn't eat it!!! I caught one... and had to bring it home to get a picture of it... and it went for BAIT!!! :letsdrink


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## Rag-Tag

At the captains meeting or awards banquet for the Outcast Cobia Classic in about 1994 before dinner was served there was a keg or two of beer, other beverages, and several big metal kitchen pans full of some sort of what appeared to be a Cajun style deep fried fish. The meat looked like a porkchop and there was a very good cocktail type dipping sauce and it was VERY good. Several folks asked others what it was but basically everyones take was "who cares it damn good". Well when Tommy I suppose began to speak before dinner he asked for a show of hands of who all has eaten or eaten and enjoyed jack cravalle, most said no or it was terrible why you ask. He said well anyone who ate the fish thats been out and torn through several pans over the past hour or so has just eaten jack creavalle prepaired by, I believe, Ben?? the cook from the old Pensacola Beach Pier?? Anyways, we have never forgotten it and at the time us as well as most claimed they would never toss a Jack Chevrolet back again. Well about the next one we came across I kept, cleaned, tried to cook, then soaked some in milk then cooked it etc well as you probably suspect that was the last one I have fooled with because mine was never better than a fried deck shoe soaked in pogie oil and topped with Cajun seasoning. Hats off to who cooked that one batch and I am very surprised we never saw that done again esp at the captains meeting where the crowd is large, the expense of the meal he serves is probably quite expensive and there is usuallyno cobia caught and donated to him yet.

Anyways, you can probably find out exactly what was done to that fish by getting with Ben and you can probably do better than I. We have and do usually eat fresh fish several times a week from the spring through November but more often than not will go through that entire time and numerous species and not fry fish even once. I am not good at it and my parents probably have not fried fish at their house since I caught a 53# cobia in 7th grade and the frien I had with me's dad owned Jamies French Restaurant and he fried some of it for us while we were griling some.

Good luck and let us know what happens. Also, as far as ciguratta poisoning, 99.9% of the time I hear of it, read about it or think about it, its baracuda that is being referenced. They usually mention too that the fish either fresh or cooked not sure eith taste or smells or both slightly like mint as peppermint or spearmint etc. It is caused from a species of something in or on certain live coral reef systems and cudas etc eat fish that have eaten fis that have eaten plankton or the stuff in the coral itself and it builds in their systems. This is why people don't worry about it here as much as more tropical areas and also on younger fish who's chances of relocation here after a life in the tropics where possibly exposed. I don't eat cudas though cuz they stink and are nasty to me. I have never heard of Jack Cravalle mentioned in the same sentence with ciguratta but just one more good reason to stay away from those beast!


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## ScullsMcNasty

> *Rag-Tag (7/13/2009)*Also, as far as ciguratta poisoning, 99.9% of the time I hear of it, read about it or think about it, its baracuda that is being referenced. They usually mention too that the fish either fresh or cooked not sure eith taste or smells or both slightly like mint as peppermint or spearmint etc. It is caused from a species of something in or on certain live coral reef systems and cudas etc eat fish that have eaten fis that have eaten plankton or the stuff in the coral itself and it builds in their systems. This is why people don't worry about it here as much as more tropical areas and also on younger fish who's chances of relocation here after a life in the tropics where possibly exposed.!


yep, what he said!


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## true-king

That's funny, we had a school roll up on us while king fishing about 1.5 miles off the beachsaturday before the show. I thought I saw a busting bonita and low and behold a school of 20+ pounders blew up on my bonita jig. Congrats on the catch!


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## Kim

jack Crevalle and other related species are highly prized food fishes in Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. The Trevalle Jack is the most sought after, they call it Ulua and is a large sector of the recreational fishermen out there. As with any fish, the care taken after it's caught and it's preperation is very important. Cigutera poisoning is not really an issue for us here in the northern Gulf of Mexico because we don't have live reefs full of reef fish that the Jacks would eat to concentrate the poison in their flesh. The reef fish eat the reef critters and pollups and the poison accumulate in them and on up the food chain. If you want to eat a Jack, the first thing you want to do while he is still alive is to cut his throat at the base of the gills and bleed him out, a 15 gallon bucket works great for stuff like that, keeps the deck cleaner too. After 5 minutes or so in the buckek bleeding out, then you ice it down real good. Fish need to be kept as cool as possible once out of the water until they hit the pan or grill. When you clean it, go the american route and filet it, then cut the strip if red meat out of the middle of the filet and you are good to go. Best of luck to you fishing and cooking your catch.

Kim


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## littlezac

Ive seen some that big in the bay recently and that looks like some fun.


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## Jhoe

> *Brent (7/13/2009)*they are a blast on a flyrod, not sure why you would stick one with a gaff then wonder if it's good to eat though




why not? worste case scenario you have some great bait.


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## true-king

> *Brent (7/13/2009)*they are a blast on a flyrod


I tried! After I hooked one on my 10# spinning outfit I said screw this and I broke it off and grabbed the 12 weight. I put a pencil popper in there but I couldn't get one to eat. They followed, but wouldn't take it. I couldn't believe I didn't get one out of that school since I've been trying to catch one on fly for like a whole year.


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## sunvisor1

GRITS said:


> My husband caught this huge Crevalle jack yesterday somewhere off the coast of Pensacola Beach.
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> We kept the fish, thinking it would be good to eat, but everybody says you can't eat them. Wikipedia says: "Crevalle jacks can be poisonous to eat due to the threat of ciguatera poisoning, but they are prized as a game fish."
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> If we'd known that, we would have taken a picture and thrown him back! The meat is dark red, like tuna. Any thoughts or suggestions? Anybody brave enough to try eating it? I'm not throwing it away. I'll make my husband eat it - just in case it's toxic. I mean, he did catch it!


I've been eating jacks for years and I'm still here!


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