Bonita, to eat, or not to eat. That is the question?

Bonita the fish that pulls hard, fights hard, bloody as hell, but can not be eaten?
These amazing fighters are primary used for bait here in south West Florida, But are we missing the meal?
More and more I hear stories of Bonita as dinner,

Related to the Tuna or so it would seem
These beautiful fish,
The name Bonita in Spanish means beautiful
they live up to that Blue colors
heavy body large forked tail,
all things about this fish show it is fast
& powerful,
Their blood seems to have a lot of iron in it
being fast requires of lot of energy
This is where the problem starts with
being edible, even when bled, there is so much
blood in this fish, they have an iron taste, "Tinny"

I do not know for sure, but from what I understood this is from the blood,
But more and more I hear about them being good to eat.

Here is a new fish cooking idea. Bonita, Ok I thought the same thing at first, cook it on leather add a
Lot of spices then slow grill for two hours toss away the fish eat the leather,

Well he had a great idea, Smoke it, Now I can say for sure smoked Jack crevalle is one of if not the best smoked fish I ever ate,
So why not Bonita?

He said when you catch it, cut the tail and the gills it is important to really bleed it out
, and just as important to keep it cold, you must put the fish on ice as soon as possible.
When you get back, fillet the slabs off then keep them on ice, for them to turn out good,
you have to smoke them before you freeze the slabs, freezing will ruin the Favor
and make the meat mushy.

This really sounds like it could be something,
he said it reminds him of belly meat from a blue fin.
Now before you think about doing this,
smoking fish is an art form,
it needs to be done slowly over as much time as it takes for the meat to be ready,
This is not a quick meal.

But I am going to try it, I have eaten Bonita when I was a commercial fisherman up in the
pan-handle. When we would catch one, as soon as it was brought on board,
you would hold it out the first mate would cut slab out from the sides of the fish,
while it was still kickin,,
Put into a hot skillet with butter and something else which I wish I had payed attention to,
It was like eating seared Tuna, really really good.
So with that in mind there my be something to this Smoked Bonita,
After all when I got here to Florida Red fish was a salt water Carp not good for anything. I believe that changed.

Good luck have fun out there and be safe
Fishin Frank

Catching Bonita

Bonita are one of the most fun to catch fish in open water all you need is a med to light tackle rod, and plenty of time.
I would suggest a 8 to 17 pound class rod, or a 6 to 12 if you really want to spend time, landing the Bonita. a 25, 30 or 40 size reel,
which in some brands is a 3000 or 4000 if they want to make the reel seem more special.

Line I prefer 10 to 12 pound mono, but 10, 15, 20 pound test braid is fine, now I use a 40 pound test fluorocarbon leader
about 2 feet, you only need a few inches of leader, but I want to be able to re-tie at least once, I do not like the long 3 4 foot leaders as it is hard to cast and get the lure where you want it.

IF I am using Braided line I would say either 10 or 15 pound and Still the 40 pound leader I can land them and actually get more hits on 25 pound test leader.
But I do lose some chaffing through the 25 pound leader.

Now what do you use to catch these mighty fighters, the way to figure that out is, what are "they" eating?
Answer is Glass minnows or you may call them anchovies,

2nd question would be how big does an anchovies get?
answer is about 2 to 4 inches, very thin and small bait, So will casting a large 1 once 4 inch spoon get you a hook up?
Nope you will cast your arm off, and go away thinking the Bonita just were not biting.
But you watched them eat on front of you the whole time, So re-think and re-size, way down.

I like a pompano Jig below you can see a Pompano Jig

this is a banana Jig or crazy or silly jig, But it is really a Banana Jig

designed for walleye but is used now mostly for Pompano
They come in different weights I prefer for Bonita the heaver the better
more casting distance and with the feather even better, kind of
a jig and buck tail combo.

This is a Pompano jig it has a very heavy head and
a small buck tail, or Mylar tail which ends right
at the end of the hook, making it small enough
to really attract the Bonita but heavy enough to
cast out at them, this is almost perfect My best Bet

This is a cast master spoon
or Berkley makes one called a splinter Spoon
these spoons are again small but heavy for their size
giving you a glass minnow presentation with
the weight needed to cast

Small and heavy is the key, under 3 inches total length,
and heavy enough to cast, bright colors seem to help,
as the glass minnow are shiny and glisten in the sunlight
making each one have a rain bow of colors,
So silver is better than gold, Chart use, pink, Mylar small jigs and spoons rule the catching world of the Bonita,

The way to fish for Bonita is to hunt them watch the surface of the water for a boil, Yes if you have ever seen a pot of water on your stove start to boil over the top that is what a school of Bonita looks like when they are feeding.

The Bonita move so fast and hit at the bait so hard the surface of the water will seem to rise up often or boil up to 2 feet above the surrounding waters, it is the coolest thing to see,

I do not cast right into the school I try to cast past the main body of fish and bring the lure back through the school, If I can not do that I will cast close along the edge / side of the school, and pick them off. If you cast right into the school you take the risk of spooking them and if they sound, "Stop feeding & dive deep where you can not see them" If they Sound they might not show up again and you have lost your chance, So don't spook them, cast past the school or off to the side,

Trolling for Bonita is a Wow, They slam the lures. But again I am using very small Lures for trolling.
a storm Twitch stik, or a Yo-Zuri 3-d fingerling small size, or Crystal minnow.
The Rapala X-Rap in the 8 or 6 size are excellent as they will not break or get pulled apart by the Bonita.

Start at about 2 M.P.H. to get your set out and I will use a Rapala Which will dive 15 feet on a rod in my back right side rod holder.
This lure is to get their attention, and can be replaced by a 1/2 or 3/4 once Rat-L-Trap. Some to let them know your lures are there.
On the other one on the back of the boat I will use the storm or another lure which will dig pretty good.
Then in the two rod holders close to Mid ship. I will do the X-rap 8 or 6 and on the other I will use the 3-D Yo-Zuri.

Where to troll? Well I like trolling the Crab trap buoys, Why? well each crab trap has bait in it and that bait attracts crabs and bait fish large and small,
So each trap has a "Chum" Package in it. So in effect you are trolling a chum line. It is not necessary to troll right next to the buoys which are placed by the crabbers in long rows, anywhere within 15 feet will do nicely. Now why not troll spoons they are highly effective on Bonita. The answer is that spoons tend to spin and now-a days most people use braided line and un-like mono line you can not effetely get the twist out of braide3d line. With mono filament line "plastic" you can remove your lures and swivels and drag bare mono behind the boat for a minute or two and the water strips the line removing all of the twists you reel back in basically "new" line tie your leader and spoon back on and troll again. To reduce the line twist Sampo ball bearing swivels are the best removing 85 or 90 % of the line twist but they are pricey, Expensive so I use the A.F.W. Ball bearing swivels which seem to keep about 80% or better of the line twist down and are much, much more affordable. While you can drag mono line to remove the twist, I have had little luck dragging braided line, it may even make the twist worse.
So if you wish to troll Spoons use a rods tat you don't use much any more and have it strung with 12 pound clear mono filament line..

Recipes for Bonita,
I have been looking around the web, & here is what I found
there are links to cooking sites, and appear to be safe and good stuff
on these web site, If you are looking for great ways to cook please visit them.

Cooking Bonita

This is where I found this rice ball for bonita

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Cook-the-Book_-Bonito-Flakes-Black-Sesame-Yaki-Onigiri-Serious-Eats-41821

Bonito Flakes-Black Sesame Yaki Onigiri

About This Recipe

Yield: 4

Active time: 15 minutes

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups cooked rice
• 1 packed cup katsuobushi, dried shaved bonito flakes (a type of tuna), chopped fine
• 5 teaspoons roasted black sesame seed
• 1/4 cup soy sauce

Procedures

1 Gently mix together the rice, bonito, and sesame seed in a bowl.
Form into onigiri (see How to Make Yaki Onigiri, below).

2 How to Make Yaki Onigiri:
Use 1 cup of hot (or warm) cooked Japanese short grain rice per serving.
Add the rice to a small bowl (like a cereal bowl) just big enough to hold it.
Jiggle the bowl, moving it in a flat, circular motion,
like the motion of a hula hoop,
until the rice forms into a ball on its own—a neat kitchen trick Tadashi’s mom taught him.
This motion packs the rice so it holds together when it grills.

3 Wet your hands and place the ball of rice between your cupped palms.
Now squeeze, flip, and turn the rice ball several times to form it into a triangular shape.
This motion takes a little practice, but after a few yaki onigiri, you’ll get the hang of it.
Make sure not to compact the rice too tight; you want it to just stick together.

4 Preheat a grill to medium. Grill the onigiri for about 6 minutes, flipping once.
Brush the onigiri with the soy sauce.
Grill for about 2 minutes more, flipping every 30 seconds,
and brushing on more soy sauce after each turn.
Grill the edges of the onigiri triangle, too, about 20 seconds per edge.
The onigiri will have a crispy, caramelized crust when they’re done.
Serve immediately.

Blend the lemon juice, olive oil,
minced garlic, sea salt and ground black pepper in a shallow dish.
Place the Bonita fillet into the dish and flip it to coat its
flesh in the marinade.
Refrigerate the marinating Bonita fillet for 10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 F or preheat the grill to medium

Lay a sheet of heavy aluminum foil on a flat working surface
and coat it in a thin layer of cooking spray.
Place the marinated Bonita fillet on the aluminum foil and pour a small amount of the marinade over the top.
Encase the Bonita fillet in the aluminum foil and add a second layer to protect the meat

Set the foil-encased Bonita fillet in the oven or onto the grill.
Allow it to cook for 15 minutes per side or until its flesh is firm, opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

If you have a preferred Bonita marinade, use it in lieu of the lemon juice,
olive oil, minced garlic, sea salt and ground black pepper.
You can cook whole, cleaned Bonita with this method as well.
However, you should increase the cooking time to about 20 minutes per pound of meat, per side.
Refrigerate leftover Bonita fish immediately and consume it within two days.

Things You'll Need

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/8 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Shallow dish

10-ounce Bonita filet, fresh or thawed

Heavy aluminum foil

Cooking spray

Recipes from
Roy's Fish & Seafood; Roy Yamaguchi et al.
The Saltwater Cookbook; Tim Lauer

I found this on http://www.dishbase.com/recipe/rice-bonito-flakes/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/grilled-wahoo-with-tomato-sauce-recipe.html
you can copy & paste this to your browser and they have lots of great stuff

Ingredients
4 wahoo or Bonita fillets, 6 ounces each (or whatever a good size is)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing dish
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 anchovies in oil, patted dry and chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Heat the grill to high. Brush both sides of the fillets with canola oil
and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Grill until slightly charred and almost cooked through,
about 3 to 4 minutes per side, (it will continue cooking in the sauce).

While the fish is grilling, heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
Add the garlic, anchovies and tomatoes and cook until slightly soft, about 4 minutes.
Add the capers, olives, lemon juice, oregano and parsley and cook for 30 seconds.
Transfer the fish to the sauce and let cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a serving platter and serve.

http://www.webnuggetz.com/bonito-fish-recipes/

Bonito Fresh Fish Recipes.
Bonito fish recipes are a great way to add some healthy fish into your diet.
Bonito fish recipes are a low calorie, low fat alternative to serving pork and beef.
Even better than chicken and turkey,
serving bonito fish recipes is a great way to make seafood at home.
Bonito is a fish with no scales and a member of the mackerel family;
it tastes great with light seasonings because the flavor of the fish alone is delicious.

The bonito is best served fresh and it’s a dark fish similar to the tuna.
Finding bonito fish recipes isn’t always easy,
but you can always use recipes for fresh tuna because the two are so similar in texture and taste.
Always prepare bonito fish recipes as well as any other fish recipes like baked fish recipes with clean,
disinfected surfaces. You want to constantly be cleaning up the surfaces that you clean, cut and cook on.
Raw fish should never touch the same counter the cooked fish without being disinfected first.
You will love the how quick and easy it is to prepare bonito fish recipes.
This fish cooks in minutes and tastes great with side dishes like fresh green salads and rice pilaf.
Serving fresh baked bread always compliments bonito fish recipes,
because of the dark rich flavor of the bonito meat.

Best Bonito Fish Recipes

Detalle de la Ventresca con tomate, Pimientos Rojos y CebollaThe best bonito fish recipes are made simple and fresh with wholesome, fresh ingredients. You can grill or cook your bonito fish recipes on the stove top but no matter how you like to prepare your bonito fish recipes; always start with the freshest fish. A deep sea fisherman’s delight is hooking on to one of these delicious fish. Having bonito fish recipes on hand is a great way to add fish recipes to your dinner menu routine. Keep your fish recipes like tilapia fish recipes and bonito fish recipes on hand in a recipe binder or box that you can access quickly and easily when you are in the mood for a light and healthy dinner.

Making bonito fish recipes is quick and easy and a healthy option for any diet. Keep dinner simple with bonito fish recipes. Serve your bonito fish recipes along side with some fresh vegetables like asparagus tips or crisp green beans. Your family will love the taste of bonito fish recipes and you will love how easy they are to make for dinner. Why make dinner healthy and simple by serving more fish recipes. Fish takes minutes to prepare and is so much better for the body than other meats. Make seafood a staple in your family dinner menu and try adding or subtracting ingredients from this recipe to make it unique to you and and your tastes.

Fish Recipe:

Prep Time: 5 min

Total Time: 8 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 pound bonito, mackerel, or yellowfin tuna fillet, cut into 2- by 4- by 1-inch strips, or 1 small whole mackerel
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more, if necessary
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for oiling grill
2 tablespoons chipotle rub
2 tablespoons diced radish
2 tablespoons very thinly sliced scallion, white and green parts

Directions:
Light the grill.
In a medium-sized, nonreactive bowl, toss the fish with lime juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, and Chipotle Rub.
Cover, refrigerate, and let marinate about 1 hour.
Oil grill and cook fish over a hot fire until lightly charred and medium-rare (it should still be pink in the middle), about 3 minutes.
In a warm bowl (so fish does not cool too much), shred fish.
Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with a little more Chipotle Rub and lime juice, if needed.
Top with radish and scallion and serve warm with salsa and tortillas.

Nutrition Facts for this Bonito Fish Recipe

Calories: 175, Fat: 11g, Carbs: 5g, Protein: 13g

I found this on a blog if it is your's e-mail me and I will put your name and all on it. I lost the page and could not find it again.
Sorry about that.

Charred Spiced Bonito tacos

For some reason, small tunas like the bonito are not as popular fresh as the large yellowfin and bigeye tunas. Bonito has a delicate yet rich flavor. In this recipe, the fish is highly seasoned, grilled, and then broken up into pieces with the tines of a fork and used as the filling for tacos. The slight bitterness from the grilling combined with the smoky richness of the seasoned fish is a perfect excuse to experiment with several salsas as accompaniments. I particularly recommend Charred Tomato Mint Salsa. Don't forget to have plenty of soft, fresh tortillas on hand.

Serves 4.

1 pound bonito, mackerel, or yellowfin tuna fillet, cut into 2- by 4- by 1-inch strips, or 1 small whole mackerel
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more, if necessary
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for oiling grill
2 tablespoons chipotle rub
2 tablespoons diced radish
2 tablespoons very thinly sliced scallion, white and green parts

charred tomato mint salsa
8 small tortillas, heated

Light the grill. In a medium-sized, nonreactive bowl, toss the fish with lime juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, and Chipotle Rub. Cover, refrigerate, and let marinate about 1 hour. Oil grill and cook fish over a hot fire until lightly charred and medium-rare (it should still be pink in the middle), about 3 minutes.
In a warm bowl (so fish does not cool too much), shred fish.

Taste for seasoning and sprinkle with a little more Chipotle Rub and lime juice, if needed. Top with radish and scallion and serve warm with salsa and tortillas.

Again I found this on the same blog if it is yours e-mail me and I will put your name and all on it. I lost the page and could not find it again.
Sorry about that. Sadly I should be better at this, and you deserve the credit.

Bonito, a member of the mackerel family, is a favorite at my house. My son is allergic to fish with scales, and bonito has no scales - great for the allergy and much easier to clean! This recipe for baked bonito seasoned with garlic and oregano is cooked with potatoes.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
Ingredients:

1 bonito, approximately 3 pounds
1/2 cup of olive oil
5-6 cloves of garlic, sliced
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Greek oregano (rigani)
juice of 2 lemons
2 1/2 pounds of potatoes
1 1/3 cups of water
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 355�F (180�C).

Remove and discard head and intestines from the fish. Carefully cut the fish in half lengthwise, cutting along the back. Sprinkle the fish with salt, pepper, and oregano. Insert slices of garlic into the meatiest parts of the fish.

Clean potatoes and cut into equal size wedge-shaped pieces. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and oregano.

Place fish in a large roasting pan, and surround with potatoes. Add remaining slices of garlic over the potatoes. Whisk together the oil and lemon juice and pour over the fish and potatoes, and add water.