# most over rated eating fish



## soloyakka85 (Sep 19, 2012)

This should cause a bit of debate. Just curious as to what people rate as the most over rated eating fish. 
My top 3 over rated eating fish 
3. Bream, not a bad feed but alot of better eating fish around

2.Snapper, nice texture but not a fan of the flavour nice base fish for soup or similar

1.Barramundi, I caught a 70cm SALTWATER Barra up at weipa killed it immediately put on ice, eaten that night, I don't think I've found a more over rated eating fish in my life I'd rate a blue throat wrasse better eating. Texture bad, flavour horrible and that was supposed to be the best eating size and from the salt too. Was very disappointed. Not a bad sport fish but on the plate no way. 
Phil


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

Bream is probably something we should simply C&R. Cant remember how they taste these days.
Snapper, agree completely over-rated. But it's an edible flesh that takes on flavour well. If you are out for ideas just toss in garlic, it'll work fine.
Barra - you seem to have had an odd experience. I rate it a bit like snapper but with more flavour. And you are talking fresh, wild, slat water - i'd expect a fine eating fish with that spec. Bad luck maybe? Once it's frozen, probably farmed, and from fresh water... it's an eating fish that is totally over-raed.

You seem to have nailed my over-rated eating fish in one post. Wow. So here are some completely UNDER-rated eating fish:
x Bonnito
x Spanish Mack (probably my favourite)
x Kings ( we are meant to pretend we dont like them, but they are fantastic)
x the humble frog, best fish in Aus I think
x Whiting, yes good enough to excuse a refusal to off shore and hunt the estuaries

After that the best eating is obvious. It starts with freshly caught Coral trout. And moves quickly to red flesh tuna.


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Surprised about number 1! I eat a lot of barra up here and I agree that is the best size. It's one of the best eating fish I've ever tasted. Maybe you got a bad one. I would actually nominate mangrove jack. Not bad but not as good as they're made out to be.


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Why do Sydneyites like eating the bait?....Is it because thats all you catch.

It often comes down to how you prepare and cook.
Snapper is best deep fried in batter in palm sized pieces, otherwise it dries out too much if you cook it too fast. Slow steam cookers are also a good way of cooking fish with thick flakes.
Tailor is good if its fresh, well bled and cooked quickly. Breams the same.

My least favourite a Yellow King fish and shark, doesnt mater how you cook, bleed them or whatever, they taste really bad.

Ditto on Parrot, tuskfish and Coral Trout being the best.


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## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Barra definately over rated. 
Coral trout also over rated.


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## mudpat (Feb 21, 2011)

Overated - Bloody Coral Trout when holidaying in the Pacific Isles - Best seafood restaurant in Fiji, lovely piece of CT. Gave me Cigautera, which is the worst bloody thing short of tetradontoxin a fish can give you. 6 Months off booze and a cold shower was like bathing in fire.
It was my second bout also, you would think I would learn.

Most underated - Slimies (pickled, BBQ), Yakkas (Aji sashimi), Silver Trevally (around a kilo)


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## wfish (Sep 17, 2008)

Should start a most under-rated eating fish.
Wfish
PS...I love eating bait (tailor, slimies, bonito ect) and had anyone mentioned a nice big silver sea mullet on the BBQ.


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## spork (Jan 21, 2012)

Never considered bream a good table fish.
Morwong = shit. Only the charter captains tell you they are "almost as good as snapper".
Tailor. Bleed it. Ice it. Feed it to the dog.
Tench. Even the dog (and a bloody labrador at that) wouldn't eat it.
Grenadier. Why? Strong tasting, oily... Sooner eat an Australian salmon.

I've liked most of the others, except the ones everyone knew were shit.

Most underrated?
Leatherjacket. Gotta skin 'em, but worth the effort.
Red rock cod / gurnard. All head and spikes, but the small fillets are a real treat.
Redfin perch. Noxious pest, but firm, sweet, delicious white flesh.
Blackdish (freshwater) As above, but native.
Kings. Mmmm. Cutlets...
Flake. Only "fish" I know that is better after freezing.
Garfish. Mmmm, sweet


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## Foxxy (May 12, 2008)

Barra! What a waste of plate space. And farmed fresh water Barra is unbearable.

Albacore and grinners are massively underrated.


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

*Most over rated*
Farmed Atlantic Salmon
Farmed Sea Bass
Farmed Trout
Farmed Prawns
Bream
There's a theme there - "sh*t goes in, sh*t comes out"

*Most underated*
Tilapia
Redfin
Wild Trout
Wild Prawns
Fresh Squid


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

anselmo said:


> *Most over rated*
> Farmed Atlantic Salmon
> Farmed Sea Bass
> Farmed Trout
> ...


And if we had a *"Highly rated and deservedly so"* category:

Flathead
Walleye (In the US)
Wild Salmon (Atlantic and Pacific)
Fresh sardines
Garfish
Whiting (particularly winter whiting)
Wild sea bass ("catch your own only" rules apply here in Ireland - only farmed bass allowed to be sold commercially)
Scallops, mussels, clams and cockles


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

patwah said:


> Neighbours goldfish


is that under rated or over rated?


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

Ocean run bream may be okay but I would still have have my doubts, the ones I've tried taste like mud.

I guess what ever you catch the most loses it's appeal so I find kingfish okay but love any of the mackerel.
Large bonito are the best sashimi.
Flathead are delish.
Mahi mahi is probably my fav.


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

patwah said:


> anselmo said:
> 
> 
> > patwah said:
> ...


Rotten stuff


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

nezevic said:


> Poo eaters, whiting and kingies are all on my "meh" list.
> 
> Any of the tusk/parrotfish are pretty high. Yellowfin Tuna is massively up there after getting a little one a couple of years ago. Grass emperor is considerably higher than snapper.


How do you rate mulloway then?


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## Brez (Mar 2, 2012)

Couldn't agree more that bream and snapper are overrated , I have to be hard up to eat either of those but I love eating barra !


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## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

nezevic said:


> And its addictive. And. And. And.


,And you need to take me.


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## GaryD (Apr 7, 2012)

I thought I was the only one coming in here saying Bream was over rated but obviously not. I still rate flathead as one of the best table fish and able to be cooked in a heap of different methods. Plus it helps they're about the only thing I can catch around here :lol:


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## Marty75 (Oct 23, 2007)

$46/kg at the moment for skinned flatty fillets in Sydney confirms their popularity on the table! At that price they'd wanna be good.

I love them and so do the rug rats.


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## soloyakka85 (Sep 19, 2012)

Well seems like most of us here have a similar view on eating quality of most fish. 
Flattie tails deboned and shallow fried home made chips and a bit of salad yum.
With my experience with Barra it wasn't just 1 it was 3, all between 60 and 75cm caught just before the season closed. And out of the salt. On my trip up the cape in 09 the Barra we kept, were caught in the morning immediately bled, kept on ice and then in the engel when back at camp then cooked up for dinner that night. Filleted, skinned then removed the darker meat from the fillet and shallow fried. Flavour was like the Carp I tried, only worse.
With whiting I find the bigger they are the better they are to eat . Most whiting I keep these days are high 30s upto high 40s and as big around as a VB stubby. once they get over 40cm they are much nicer tasting and easier to clean and debone as well. Not to mention 1 fillet is enough for a meal, with chips and salad for one person.
Phil


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## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

- Snapper has to be top of the list as the most over rated fish and it's the start of red fever down here where everyone just goes nuts chasing them
- Bream ( sewer rats ) not sure I dont fish for them as a rule and just put them back anyway - most of the time around here they are in water you wouldn't swim in and much less eat things coming out of it
aust salmon - much better as bait , although not bad pickled

top eating fish - the good old Gummy fun to catch and a top fish on the plate
KG whiting again a very nice table fish 
the humble flathead - not many would knock them as a table fish

Under rated - Leather jackets ( not a game fish to catch but still good on the plate )
fresh snook eats up well or goes good on the hook for something bigger


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## ScottLovig (Aug 7, 2006)

Under rated......Gurnard

Over rated.......Elephant Fish......shit.

Cheers


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## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

ScottLovig said:


> Under rated......Gurnard
> Cheers


had to agree Gurnard and scorpion cod both great to eat - a little tricky to handle on the yak though


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## spork (Jan 21, 2012)

You just eat all the tiny little bones. They won't hurt you, and good source of calcium. Once I figured that out garfish went well up on my list of good tucker.


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## solatree (May 30, 2008)

Garfish are succulent - but buggered if I have the skill or patience to fillet them. Make great bait though !


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## Salty Dog (Sep 18, 2005)

> Ocean run bream may be okay


Got into some out at sea at Lennox Head with my Dad & uncle at one stage. They were really much nicer than your regular bream.

If you I am eating bream from brackish water, I prefer them steamed with gingers, shallots, shao xing wine &a bit of soy.

As for over-rated, Australian salmon for me. I really wanted to like it & tried to treat it right, bleed it straight away & straight on ice. Found it just barely edible. Fun to catch, but I think strictly catch & release for me.

Working on that principle though, does it mean that eventually there will only be rubbish tasting fish left in the ocean?


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## anselmo (Aug 26, 2008)

Leftie. Split the gar to the tail, spread the flaps (I know patwah, I know)
And roll it with a rolling pin

The backbone lifts out pulling all the bones with it


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## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

anselmo said:


> Leftie. Split the gar to the tail, spread the flaps (I know patwah, I know)
> And roll it with a rolling pin
> 
> The backbone lifts out pulling all the bones with it


or catch bigger ones that are easy to fillet - a mate got some garfish to 45 cm out off quail bank in westernport , they are easy to fillet at that size


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2013)

I pulled a 44cm Blue Morwong off the rocks recently between losing Drummer after Drummer. It was first of that species for me. Despite all the talk of them being a good gift for the Mother-In-Law, I kept it alive, killed and filleted it just before going home where it soaked 24 hours in milk before pan frying. Delicious!

Most edible fish treated properly are OK on the plate. Never take another person's word that any species tastes bad. Find out how to cook it and give it a try.


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## Salty Dog (Sep 18, 2005)

Morwong is a funny one for me - have had a couple that were fine.

Caught a few down in Bermagui & every one had a really strong iodine taste & I found them inedible.


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## Guest (Oct 9, 2013)

Salty Dog said:


> Morwong is a funny one for me - have had a couple that were fine.
> 
> Caught a few down in Bermagui & every one had a really strong iodine taste & I found them inedible.


The flavour is probably coming from their diet. I've had Whiting I'd prefer to not eat again (can't remember where I caught it). The hundreds of others from Lemon Tree Passage that went before keep it on the menu. Many years ago I found Silver Trevally caught in Botany Bay inedible. It went to top of my fish to avoid list - well above Carp! Recently I kept one from Pambula River and found it almost on par with Bream.


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## Monstaf1sh (Sep 16, 2013)

Barra is terrible I cant understand why people rate it? Its good to see I aint the only one...


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## avayak (May 23, 2007)

SteveR said:


> Most edible fish treated properly are OK on the plate. Never take another person's word that any species tastes bad. Find out how to cook it and give it a try.


Wise words. Every species is unique, you just have to crack the right recipe that suits it. Sometimes it takes a few attempts.


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

I think it's fair to say that if the right recipe involves soaking it in milk overnight, it's a shit eating fish. As opposed to a bream, a shit-eating fish.


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## Salty Dog (Sep 18, 2005)

Oh dear, Escalor is definitely on my sh!t list, (pun intended) after reading about the spray painting girlfriend incident!


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## tsea (Jan 26, 2012)

Barra for me! \
Great to catch...yet people in restaurants get excited when its on the menu...not me.


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## tsea (Jan 26, 2012)

But when it comes to the worst eating....Motherinlaw Morwong....never again.


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## ajbigfish (Sep 16, 2013)

I reckon the Aussie herring or tommy ruff, very tasty and fun on light line.


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## bunsen (Jan 2, 2009)

Most overrated: whiting. Bland.

Most undrerrated: rock blackfish ( black drummer). Succulent.

Small snapper are ok IMHO if deep fried Asian style. Crispy fins are the best part, sweet and crunchy.


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