Snook or Pike
My Grandfather had a shack on whitford beach from just after the second world war till they had to pull them down (late 70s i think) Amongst the more prized fish there was a long fish 2 to 3 feet long with sharp teeth & a protruding lower jaw that they used to troll for in the shallows just off whitfords point (now called Pinnaroo point) There was a smaller similar looking fish also that was considered an undesirable catch. The bigger fish was called a pike & the smaller fish was called a snook. My mother having spent many holidays at whitford says that pike was one of her favorite eating fish. Quite a statement considering the more common catches of groper & dhuies etc
I spent many childhood holidays there too
Yesterday for the first time at Mandurah I caught one of the fish they called a pike- 62 cm. 'Dont tell my mother that i used it for bait'. Looking at the fish ID on this site, i see that its the other way around. The big fish is a snook. So either the old fisherman had it arse about or the names have changed - in WA at least (seems more likely)
Anyway - has anyone eaten a snook? The guide says they are very good eating so maybe my mother had it right all along.
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darren monks
Posts: 110
Date Joined: 25/09/14
pike used to be the little
pike used to be the little ones and snook the bigger.
from memory the boffins reversed the names about 20 years ago.
could be wrong, but that's my assumption from memory.
plenty of people like eating snook, very average imho. probably smoke it be best?
however - outstanding bait.
ProFish
Posts: 66
Date Joined: 21/03/14
Snook or Pike
Went out fishing last wednesday off Dawesville , hooked a 70 cm Snook . I was going to throw it back but remember reading on here they were good eating .
Took it home & cleaned it up , got two nice fillets off it. Cooked it up for tea & it was nice & firm and a nice white flakey flesh with a nice light flavour .
Had some cold next day & still very good . Will definately keep them in the future .
C.P
Posts: 345
Date Joined: 04/01/12
White flesh
Yes when I filleted it for bait, the flesh looked as white & appealing as any good eating fish. Thats why i started thinking that i should have kept it for eating.
Belly88
Posts: 380
Date Joined: 08/02/12
Snook
100% big ones are snook small are pike.. In saying that I've seen 30cm snook but generally snook are the big 1kg plus fish.. Not sure if the names were ever reversed but I've got old boy mates that love eating snook and have called them snook for 50 plus years.. Think is just one of those fish that get called different names by different folks.
I haven't eaten them but have been told by many they are nice to eat..
Belly
Hutch
Posts: 2221
Date Joined: 21/04/13
Small ones are pike, big ones
Small ones are pike, big ones are snook. Snook are great to eat, pike are pretty good to eat too but require a lot more care as have soft, easily bruised flesh.
We cook snook as cutlets on the barbie and pike as lightly battered fillets shallow fried and both are delicious.
That being said I keep most pike for bait as they are exceptional, everything loves them dead or alive.
darren monks
Posts: 110
Date Joined: 25/09/14
well Hutch and Belly88 I've
well Hutch and Belly88 I've called the big ones snook and small ones (touch of yellow on 'em) pike all my life as well.
Dunno where I read the names had been reversed, but I do remember someone years ago on Wangler forum stating there had been a change.
But a bit of research and glad to see that hasn't happened and you are both 100% correct.
http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/Documents/occasional_publications/fop086.pdf
Hutch
Posts: 2221
Date Joined: 21/04/13
A lot of people think it's
A lot of people think it's the reverse for some reason. Maybe just general confusion
z00m
Posts: 1086
Date Joined: 10/05/14
And there are still plenty
And there are still plenty of them in the shallows off the northern beaches. I trolled some big lures across the weed beds on Saturday in 7 or 8 metres of water and when the snook were hooked on, another 2 or 3 would follow him to the boat.
C.P
Posts: 345
Date Joined: 04/01/12
Thanks all
Thanks for the replies. There wouldnt have been many fish I.D guides post WW11 so i suppose people called em what they called em. I recall also that mulloway were called Kingies. As for the Snook taste question , ill have to keep the next one I catch & try it for myself. Might try z00ms lure method.