dogfish/sandshark question

[floggingfluke]

First off is what some guys refer to as sand sharks the dogfish that are all over the bay right now or am I wrong in that they are sand sharks? Next, are these fish edible and legal to keep. Was in to a mess of them up to three feet.

Tight Lines!!!!

[floggingfluke]

Found my answer with this video. Cant believe the age on these things 80 years old if around 3 feet!!!! 20 years until they reproduce. Crazy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L84QB1K9aQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L84QB1K9aQ

[Jigman13]

Arthur treachers fish n chips...

Ate one once. Brined in unfiltered apple cider vinegar water and salt with some red spices. Beer battered and deep fried... What waste of time and effort. The lingering piss taste made the paper plate and napkin I was using much more appetizing. I have heard the smooth bow wow is preferred over its spiny cousin.

Not sure how a piss taste can be preferred though lol

[shresearchdude]

The typical size that most fisherman see is within the range of 15 years old.

Be wary of the spines.

for some light reading on the species.
http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/tm/tm203/tm203.pdf

[Flukemeister1]

Arthur treachers fish n chips...

Ate one once. Brined in unfiltered apple cider vinegar water and salt with some red spices. Beer battered and deep fried... What waste of time and effort. The lingering piss taste made the paper plate and napkin I was using much more appetizing. I have heard the smooth bow wow is preferred over its spiny cousin.

Not sure how a piss taste can be preferred though lol

The problem is you have to clean them immediately upon catching them. Usually everyone is fishing for a more desirable species and taking the time to clean a fish right then is unwanted. They are good to eat if cleaned right away and put on ice, Hunk them up into bite sized pieces and roll in egg and Italian Bread crumbs. deep fry and dip in cocktail sauce.

[Delawareriver]

The problem is you have to clean them immediately upon catching them. Usually everyone is fishing for a more desirable species and taking the time to clean a fish right then is unwanted. They are good to eat if cleaned right away and put on ice, Hunk them up into bite sized pieces and roll in egg and Italian Bread crumbs. deep fry and dip in cocktail sauce.

X2 fillet and right in ice water. Never tried doggies but it's the same with stingrays. We cut the wings off right when we land them and right into the cooler they go. Then we fillet the wings when we get home. If you wait 20 mins it's too late.

[SaltLife1980]

Gotta clean them right away because they pee through there skin:D

[Jigman13]

The one I ate was bled out and gutted in minutes and bathed in a saltwater slurry like damn near every fish we catch on my fathers boat. It got the same treatment as the sea bass, cod, tuna and tile get. The dogfish still tasted like piss. But, to each there own. Plenty of better things in the ocean to eat. They make for decent tile bait when stripped out.

[Delawareriver]

The one I ate was bled out and gutted in minutes and bathed in a saltwater slurry like damn near every fish we catch on my fathers boat. It got the same treatment as the sea bass, cod, tuna and tile get. The dogfish still tasted like piss. But, to each there own. Plenty of better things in the ocean to eat. They make for decent tile bait when stripped out.

That's what we are saying, you can't treat them like other fish. Fillet when they are landed. Hopefully they are still alive when you fillet them. Once they die they release that piss in their skin.

[Humanzee]

Gee, sure are an awful lot of people that seem to know what pee tastes like. :D

[Jigman13]

Gee, sure are an awful lot of people that seem to know what pee tastes like. :D

Hahahaha.... Well played, sir. Well played.

[Jigman13]

That's what we are saying, you can't treat them like other fish. Fillet when they are landed. Hopefully they are still alive when you fillet them. Once they die they release that piss in their skin.

Pretty sure what you're saying and what I'm saying, albeit different processes, are not effectively addressing the "pissue" lol. Being a skin pisser equates to the issue of said pissy skin being physiologically attached the meat of the bow wow. Essentially, it seems as if eliminating the urea remnants is a difficult battle. Bleeding, gutting and soaking in salt slurry vs immediate fillet or steaking seemingly doesn't eliminate the species biological predisposition to requiring extensive work to make it palatable. Dead or alive, it's a skin pisser lol. The most effective path to minimizing that intoxicating flavor I've yet to perfect... Not that I've continued to work at it, either. :D

[Pennsy Guy]

Never thought of keeping a doggie...As for the other shark mentioned, Sand shark is very good. As a youngster, before anyone thought of limits, bans, etc., caught several. Steaked & pan fried, they were excellent...of course, back then monk fish were considered a trash fish...

[O'Man]

What's in the bay & near the beach outside right now is smooth dogfish. I'm basing that comment on what I caught in the reach channel last weekend. Spiny dogs have a spine like a curved thorn near the fin, and they are a colder water fish.

They are both good to eat, especially if you like fish & chips. There is a recipe in "the joy of cooking" cookbook. I forget the page.

There is no shortage of urban legend by people who have never kept any out there, but if treated like something worth keeping, they're very good. Compared to most sharks, they are way above average.

If you catch one and let it rot in the sun, I'd expect it to have a poor taste just like any other fish not properly cared for.

Like bluefish, not the best for freezing.