White Christmas

[Mikey Likes It]

I was lucky enough to catch a white sea bass the Monday before Christmas. Perfect timing to put it on ice, drive it up north and enjoy it with friends and family.

Night 1 - Christmas Eve:
White Sea Bass Sushi: maki roll, inside-out maki roll, nigiri, and hand roll

Night 2 and 3 - Christmas Day and Day After Christmas:
Rack of White Sea Bass

Days 4-6:
White Sea Bass Ceviche

Thank you to all the people who helped make this fish happen, it’s been a while in the making. Merry christmas and happy new year. I can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store!

[MITCHELL]

Nice display.
And where did you catch it....

[MattRabasco]

Right on Mikey! It was a good day!! Thanks for the photos and I am stoked you got one!

[Murray]

Very nice indeed. Congrats on making it happen.

[blitzburgh]

That's awesome! :cheers1:

[ROSSOLY]

Wow, looks good. What did you put in the ceviche besides the wsb, tomatoes and mangos?

[tunaseeker]

Awesome! Great Xmas gift!
Cheers
Todd

[Geno Machino]

Congrates on the Cbass!!!

The eats look off the hook!!

Thanks for sharing!

Geno

:luxhello::wsb:

[summers in kuwait]

beautiful fish and nice presentation on the dishes.
Congrats!

[Iceman]

Nice way to start the day and finish off the year! :wsb:

[steveooo]

Yeah Mikey! Solid fish!

[FISH11]

Congrats Mikey on the nice WSB. I am still kicking myself for not having gone out that day, it seems that several people I know had great luck landing a trophy WSB. The pictures are great and the table fare looks awesome. Tight Lines, Mark

[Deamon]

Good job Mikey! Beauty. Suggest you flash freeze your wsb sashimi, I'm just saying.

Jim

[WARRIORMIKE]

Very nice!! :you_rock::reeling:

[ctfphoto]

Bro !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sully1]

Great job Mikey. I love it when their dorsal fins stick up like that for the photo op. You'll be eating well this new year!

[Bert Vega]

Very nice fish. Made me hungry looking at the pictures.

[spicolly]

Nice tanker!

[Mikey Likes It]

Nice way to start the day and finish off the year! :wsb:

I actually hooked up after the sun went down. Landing in the dark in decent sized surf with a bigger fish was sketchy.

Jim,
Why do you suggest flash freezing the WSB first? i had it on ice for 2 days, does that help?

[Deamon]

[QUOTE=

Jim,
Why do you suggest flash freezing the WSB first? i had it on ice for 2 days, does that help?[/QUOTE]

Hey Mikey, nothing better looking or tasting than a fresh wsb filet, that's for sure. But croakers def have worms. I don't go looking for them because...well I just don't want to go through the disappointment mentally. Belly/anal areas, esp. All of mine is cooked anyways. IDK whether icing for a couple of days kills all...maybe someone else can respond. Good job brotha. Jim

[summers in kuwait]

Hey Mikey, nothing better looking or tasting than a fresh wsb filet, that's for sure. But croakers def have worms. I don't go looking for them because...well I just don't want to go through the disappointment mentally. Belly/anal areas, esp. All of mine is cooked anyways. IDK whether icing for a couple of days kills all...maybe someone else can respond. Good job brotha. Jim

The last thing I want to see is worms when I pull in a nice fish, but the reality is that its pretty common. I remember the first halibut I caught had them and I was bummed, before I read up on the subject.
Don't rely on salt or lime to kill them and freezing can help at -4°F for a few days.

Here is a nice read (https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Parasites) and best practice for dealing with parasites.

[Geno Machino]

Just cut the worms out and press on...

[Murray]

How does one "flash freeze"? Is there a special kind of freezer required?

[ful-rac]

How does one "flash freeze"? Is there a special kind of freezer required?

No, no special freezer required...just liquid nitrogen.

[Murray]

No, no special freezer required...just liquid nitrogen.

What?

[kayakfisherman]

Worms or no worms? My dad lived to 104. He ate plenty of
white sea bass. Just saying...

Mikey, congrats on the fish. You put your time on the water with a
wet hook and up pops a white sea bass. Amazing!

The food looks so good. How did it taste?

[Mikey Likes It]

Thanks for the pointers on white sea bass sashimi. I will definitely consider freezing next time.

I always eat yellowtail raw without freezing, is that OK? And what about white sea bass ceviche. Does the acid kill the parasites or does that need to be frozen as well?

Yanni, the food tasted incredible! Shout out to Fisherman's Belly for the Rack of White Sea Bass recipe, it was a huge hit with everyone. I still have a couple more recipes to try. McWhite Sea Bass is next.

[MITCHELL]

But I don't think I'll be canning WSB again I'll try anything once,it doesn't have the fish oils like tuna and yellow tail but still good....better to eat fresh or vacuum packed by a professional $28.95 a pound in some fish markets...The fryed wsb reminds me of the Salton sea...days and corvina...

[JohnMckroidJr]

Congrats on the WSB, that food looks delicious !

[Muddog24]

Beast fish way to end a year

[ratdog]

Nice Fish, Congrats, any chance it had a 3 ft flor leader sticking out of his mouth? Doh!

[ceviche eater]

nice!!!great story

[GBF]

Nice everything!!

[RookieYakker]

Bad ass! Thanks for sharing the story! I just wish you had shared the spread!

Happy New Year!