Discussion in 'Sea Fishing Forum - Shore, Boat & Kayak Fishing' started by steven watt, Mar 5, 2011. steven watt seafishing more.
But if they can get over those two hurdles, anglers might just find that the fish they’re catching by accident are just as tasty as those they’re actually trying to catch.It’s not usually necessary, but to enhance the opportunity of catching these sharks anglers can do a little light chumming by hanging a can of fish-flavored cat food over the side of the boat.Something else anglers need to be careful with are the inch-long spines in front of each of the two dorsal fins on the shark's back. They lay much fewer eggs which are protected in cases, known as mermaid’s purses. Once it is ready to hatch the baby dogfish is between four and five inches long and can fend for itself. In areas where dogfish are numerous and anglers are fishing with rigs with multiple hooks a dogfish can be taken on every hook if a shoal descends on the area. The fact that, unlike other fish species, dogfish have to be skinned before they can be filleted puts commercial fishermen off catching this species due to the extra work and processing time this takes.
Dogfish can prove difficult to unhook when they are caught as they twist their body and tail around the angler’s arm, and their rough skin can cause painful abrasions.
The International Game Fish Association (the governing body for international fish records) lists the world record for this species as a dogfish of an incredible 11lb 10oz caught by Jacques Andre at Guerande, France in 2002. Dogfish are common around the UK, especially around the south and west, and their willingness to feed on pretty much any bait presented on any rig sees them turn up regularly in anglers’ catches. Dogfish have a different method.
It's widely eaten in the UK as part of Fish & Chips, usually sold under the name Huss or Rock Salmon (Spiny dogfish). The dogfish lives and feeds on the seabed in relatively shallow water around the UK, rarely venturing beyond fifty metres deep, and prefers sandy to mixed ground, although they can be found in numbers in some rockier marks.Dogfish is not particularly nice to eat and has little commercial value, although it was once highly sought after for its rough skin which was used to polish wood and as a replacement for pumice.
The population of dogfish appears to be staying stable and even increasing in certain seas around the country – a rare thing indeed in these days of huge commercial pressure on fish stocks. These spines are very sharp and can easily impale someone (even right through a rubber boot) when the fish is freshly caught and still thrashing and kicking about the deck.They’ll never be seen on the cover of a fancy sport fishing magazine, and I imagine that more of them will always be caught by accident than on purpose.But despite their low stature among anglers, the lowly spiny dogfish is an interesting critter that provides early and late-season fishermen with the opportunity to land good quantities of a fine-tasting fish when there are so few other options to choose from. Simple one or two hook flapping rigs with size 1/0 or 2/0 hooks presented on the seabed is all that is needed. Cooking Fish: Skinning a Dogfish ready for cooking and eating There are other species found in UK waters which have the name dogfish associated with them, but they are relatively rare compared to the abundant lesser-spotted dogfish.
I don't do catch and release unless a fish is undersize because I fish for food not for sport and we eat very well with dogfish and many other fish species to catch.
Who knows. Spiny dogfish shark: Good action and good eat.
Yes, dogfish can be eaten. However, the dogfish is a member of the shark family, and does provide a dependable catch on days when little else is biting, especially as dogfish feed just as well in bright sunlight as they do at night. Baits should not be too large as the dogfish has a small crescent-shaped mouth, situated fairly far back on the underside of the body which forces the fish to turn sideways to attack its prey. The bull huss – also known as the greater-spotted dogfish – is probably the best known to anglers (there is more information on this species below). Some anglers have an irrational dislike for dogfish and use the relative abundance and pest reputation of this species as an excuse to treat caught dogfish badly, for example yanking hooks out of the mouths of dogfish and launching or kicking the fish back into the sea.