over the weekend i saw alot of people bringing back big red fish that they caught from the jetties that day. what do you do with a fish that big? (30+ inches)

eat it

i know the slot red fish are good to eat. but what do you do with the larger ones? (40+ inches)

i've heard that reds that big have tough meat and aren't good to eat. i personally catch-and-release everything. btw, were all those big reds properly tagged?

yes, i could see tags on them.

The big bull reds get a lot of red meat in their fillet. You have to cut it out (if you want a good fillet) and once you take it all out there isn't much good fillet left. I let all big bull reds go.

Personally, I CPR (catch-photo-release) 'em.

I would just toss it back. Those things are usually loaded with worms and not that great to eat. The best red is a max of about 24 inches. But ideal is 18-20".

A few years back the slot was 18 to 30 inches. I caught and kept several which were at the top end of the slot. They were great on the grill. The white meat seperates from the red meat when yoy grill them with the skin and scales.

i agree the smaller ones are better to eat but i haven't had a bad tasting red yet as long as you prep the Fillets correctly...

if you had to choose between port a and port oconnor for a bull red this weekend which would it be?
my son is dieing to go and I cant decide.

if the large red fish are not good table fare, why does tx. parks & wildlife give you a tag to keep one? i saw several big reds (40+ ins.) being brought in with tags.

Some folks will eat anything.

Waaaay back when I first moved to the coast the size limit was 12" minimum and no maximum. I think you could keep 12 or maybe 20 of them. A 13 inch red is as good as it gets for table fair, same as a big croaker. By the time the red gets to 25 inches or so it gets tough, grainy and wormy. Still not bad, but not great.

Bull reds are hardly fit to eat, I might keep a trophy someday, but almost all the reds I catch, I turn back. I keep a 22 incher now and again. Just me and the wife, and she much prefers flounder to redfish.

Its legal to keep a big one (tagged) so I'd say do so if you want, but my personal belief is that bull reds should be returned in good shape.

My tag is reserved for a 28 1/4 - 32 inch Red on a day when I have otherwise been largely skunked. You can't convince me that a 30 inch Red is that much worse than a 28 incher.

Of course I am one fisherman who wants to explore the culinary possibilities of Jacks and Ladyfish. I will try smoking and pickling (like pickled herring) the Lady's and try soaking the Jack in Buttermilk to pull out blood. My bet is that with both I'll come up with something really good.

caught my first bull red 46' and first time tasting one. it was okay.i am a freshwater fisherman so dont know too much about saltwater fish and fishing.