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[redtide]

used to get them as a bycatch when on the lower fraser bar fishing with roe for coho. not very appealing to look at. Always tossed them back as not interested in eating them......

[joshuag232]

By far the worst Starries with lesions I have seen came from the left side of the Ferry causeway in Twas, caught in an inflatable. Got about 4. Great crab bait when they're all covered in parasites and sores and you don't want to eat them.

[TimL]

I have not seen any starries caught in my area with lesions or parasites other than a few fish lice. However I've caught a few sole with a few flukes encysted on the fins or under the skin on the blind side. When prepping them for eating I use to take a sharp knife/needle to "pop" them out. Gross stuff but it does the job.
There was one time I was fishing off the rocks and there was this Korean family crabbing and fishing as well. Their son was fishing off the kayak and he caught a nice sized starry flounder. He brought it back to shore and the dad proceeded to gut and fillet it on the spot. They then ate the meat raw with some kimchi and bread. They did the same thing to a greenling. I told them about the risk of catching parasites but they said they never had any problems. To each his own I guess.

[cutthroat22]

A fun way to catch them is to use 1/2 ounce jig with grub tail.  Stick some bait on and bounce and rake the bottom.  They actually hit fairly hard. 

Gave one to a friend once and his mom prepared it.  Said it was totally disgusting.   

[joshuag232]

Nice, I used to jig Rock Sole off the seawall with spoons and whatnot at high tide off the Seawall before the ecosystem collapsed. This was when I was 8 or 9. Lots and lots of fun.

[TimL]

I've caught both flounder and sole (and greenling) by slowly retrieving a (weighted) spinner near the bottom. Combining it with a piece of shrimp or sea worm works even better.

[joshuag232]

Oh yes, I forgot about Whitespotted Greenling, used to get lots of those too. I recommend Taku Lodge on Quadra Island, limited out every day on 10-12 inch Whitespotted Greenling off the pier there. Also, for sport, at the end of the pier (Huge boot mooring dock), you can catch HUGE dogfish at nighttime, tons of fun on light tackle. Again, highly recommend this place. Also, see Ed Jordan if you want to charter there. He helped me catch my first Spring.

[TimL]

You get greenlings in the Fraser too?  Belcarra has some nice-sized whitespotted greenlings too, up to 12 inches or so. I get them in areas with eelgrass and near rocks..the larger ones seem to be more common from mid summer through the fall. There's also rockfish (coppers and browns) and striped sea perch near some of the rocky outcrops, especially when there's a steep dropoff from shore.

[joshuag232]

No I was referring to the Seawall, sorry should have been more clear.

[Speyhead]

So folks, just why exactly is it, so many turn their noses up at the thought of eating bottom feeders from Flounder to Carp, but will then put on their Sunday best, visit a high class restaurant and order Delicasies like Lobster or King Crab, when those particular creatures are unarguably some of the biggest consumers of sea floor detritus that exist.........along with all manner of flatties and other bottom feeders?....Lol

[243Pete]

So folks, just why exactly is it, so many turn their noses up at the thought of eating bottom feeders from Flounder to Carp, but will then put on their Sunday best, visit a high class restaurant and order Delicasies like Lobster or King Crab, when those particular creatures are unarguably some of the biggest consumers of sea floor detritus that exist.........along with all manner of flatties and other bottom feeders?....Lol

It's a multitude of things but I say to each their own. I love fishing for carp as those little buggers can give up a good fight for their size, flounder aren't bad but it just depends on the palate of the person as some people love it and others just turn their nose up at it.
I remember showing a friend a photo of a dead corpse covered in dungeness crabs, they eat everything and anything as they play a vital role in cleaning the bottom of the ocean but some people would never think twice about what their food consumes, but my friend has since stopped eating dungees cause of that.
For some its a psychological thing to a cultural thing and so forth. If you enjoy eating it just enjoy it.

[Fish or cut bait.]

It depends where they're caught.
I won't eat bottom fish from the Fraser, Burrard inlet...due to the industrial waste that's there.
But Island beach flounder is not too bad.

Just like certain trout have that muddy taste from some lakes.

Think about what they eat and what what they eat has eaten.

[TimL]

So folks, just why exactly is it, so many turn their noses up at the thought of eating bottom feeders from Flounder to Carp, but will then put on their Sunday best, visit a high class restaurant and order Delicasies like Lobster or King Crab, when those particular creatures are unarguably some of the biggest consumers of sea floor detritus that exist.........along with all manner of flatties and other bottom feeders?....Lol

the Asian community (which I'm a part of) regards many of these bottom feeders as delicacies  Just make a trip to the T&T supermarket seafood section and you'll see the variety of critters being sold in the live seafood tanks. The Europeans also enjoy eating their local bottom dwellers (flounders, sole, turbot, codfish, conger eel, pout, monkfish, skate to name a few). I think it's a west coast thing...we're spoilt with better eating fish like salmon, lingcod and halibut (the latter 2 are bottomfish btw) so why resort to eating things like flounder?

[Speyhead]

the Asian community (which I'm a part of) regards many of these bottom feeders as delicacies  I think it's a west coast thing...we're spoilt with better eating fish like salmon, lingcod and halibut

Bingo, methinks you nailed it right there, Tim ! 

I was raised in UK so I hear what you're saying about other bottom feeders being a main fish food source, as a child our families didn't have any disposable income for luxuries like Salmon or Halibut, so when it came to buying fish for supper we didn't have that much choice....I used to love Rock Salmon (UK for dogfish) large white flakes, a more chewy texture and just one rubbery backbone (no needle bones), I love it.
I also once saw small carp standing on their heads in huge glass jars while visiting Austria.....depends where you go as to what people constitute as being edible.

I've caught flounder from the English Channel, we'd fry em up right there on the beach and gobble em up.....just add salt and lemon...Yum!....We'd also catch Dabs a smaller flattie, they were much tastier than Flounder.

[joshuag232]

Gave it a solid go today at 2 locations for flounder, No luck. Too early methinks. Another weird thing I saw yesterday, was walking the dogs in Steveston and saw an Asian man with a cooler full of herring. In there was a saltwater species, a small snake prickleback. First time I've seen one caught in the fraser. Must have went right after one of the flies on the sabiki. Pretty interesting to see. Must be really salty in that channel right now. Even though pressure has died down on the dock on the boardwalk, there are still herring to be caught! Get down there people.