venkovich

I lived in New Zealand for a while and used to eat Pipis (Paphies australis) quiet often as they are a very popular shellfish over there. When I arrived here I thought Goolwa Cockles (Plebidonax deltoides) might be the same as New Zealand Pipis, but when I suggested to mates that they might be edible they thought the idea of eating Cockles was very amusing. I can also remember when very few Aussies would eat Squid, Cuttlefish, Octopus and Morton Bay Bugs.

replace them with Goolwa Cockles you've collected yourself

Definitely intend to do that along with trying your Fresh Chilli/Garlic Goolwa Cockles when the season opens.

My wife recently cooked a Bouillabaisse, but we suspected the Mussels she bought had been out of the water for a fair while. Anybody know good place to buy *fresh* Mussels, my best idea is a place with with a big turnover like Angelakis Bros in the Central Market.Here's the recipe she used:Bouillabaisse2 kg mixed fresh fish250 g prawns250 g scallops250 g mussels or clams (in shell, well scrubbed)6 tablespoons olive oil2 onions, sliced4 cloves garlic, crushed4 tomatoes, skinned and cut into sectionsteaspoon tumericteaspoon paprika1 chilli, dried2 cups fish stock1 cup white wine2 tablespoons chopped parsleySalt and pepper to taste Fillet fish, use heads and trimmings for the stock. Cut fillets into 8 cm pieces (approximately). Heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan over low heat. Add onion, garlic, tomatoes, stir well. Add tumeric, paprika, chilli and simmer for 30 minutes. Add fish stock and wine, simmer further 20 minutes. Add fish and prawns, simmer until cooked, add mussels, simmer until opened, then scallops until heated through. Season to taste. Toss in the parsley, stir quickly and serve with garlic bread. Serves 4 – 6.

I've never heard of using aniseed oil or squid ink as an attractant before reading this thread. Where do you buy aniseed oil? I don't recall seeing it in tackle shops...

Bruce Harris used to say that he always kept a coupla cans on his boat as an emergency burley supply.

Now that's a top idea, but for in my boat rather than the boot of my car. A couple of times recently I've run out of burley in the middle of a session and watched the fish disappear at the same rate as my burley disappeared. It's so obvious I can't believe it didn't occur to me :-\

anyone else use it?

I use it and I know a number of people who also use it. We mince our fish frames with leftover bait like pilchards, cockles and squid in an old food mincer and then top it up with cat food and pellets before freezing it in blocks. I agree about using the tuna based versions, but have never thought about using the dry food. I might try adding some to my mix before freezing it next time.

I saw it on an ABC documentary

I'm happy to discuss taxes and government subsidises further, but this topic should probably be moved to the off topic forum first.

Isn't that funny! China, with a much larger population, huge growth/expansion/building projects, and a far greater consumption to us here, and their government can subsidise the fuel!

Some interesting reading on the subject here: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/20/asia/20china.php and here: http://news.google.com.au/news?hl=en&safe=off&resnum=0&q=Chinese%20gasoline%20subsidies&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn

I'd like you to show me otherwise though if you have that information at hand

I don't, it's just that I often hear or read that statement about Australia being one of the highest taxed nations, but never actually see any empirical evidence to support the claim so I have my doubts about it's legitimacy.

Ya know, last time I was there, fuel was less than half the cost we're paying here, and I had to ask myself why, coz it's all the same fuel

Simple answer to that, China subsidises the cost of petrol and other petroleum products. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_usage_and_pricing

We are one of the highest taxed countries in the world as it is

Citations or references for that claim? Having lived in Europe I have my doubts about that.

Berri Barmera Council: $20,000 for modifications to the ramp adjacent to the Yacht Club on Lake Bonney at Barmera

I read that last night and wondered about it the same as you. It did occur to me that they might have taken the opportunity to do some work on the ramp while it was it was high and dry and easier to work on.

Maybe they just need to introduce recreational fishing licenses

I wouldn't necessarily object to paying for a recreational fishing license IF the money was spent on restocking some fisheries. For example, I happily pay for fishing licenses in Victoria and NSW because I know that some of the money is used to stock the Murray with Cod (and Callop?). I'd be happy to pay if they stocked Mt Bold and Myponga reservoirs with Trout or Cod and allowed us to fish there.

How long will it keep once smoked?

SunovabeachI smoke meat and fish quite often, either in a Weber or in the familiar stainless steel smoking box that all the tackle shops sell—so it's alway hot smoking rather than cold smoking. I knew cold smoking was used before refrigeration to preserve meat and fish, but wasn't sure if hot smoking could also be used for preserving. Your question prompted me to have a search around on the net for the answer and I found this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_(food)#PreservationThe simple (and safe) answer seems to be if the meat or fish isn't also preserved by salting or some other method, treat smoked fish and meat as you would any other cooked fish and meat.Roger I presume your recipe is for Australian Salmon rather than Atlantic Salmon?

BurlzWe tried your batter tonight with some West Coast Trevally fillets.We had to use Coopers Light as I don't like their Sparkling Ale so I didn't have any in the fridge, but......We thought the batter was excellent, thank you.My wife was particularly impressed with the Anchor SRF and is keen to try it again for coating KGW fillets with flour before dropping them in the fry pan.Now... About that chilli crab recipe

Thanks BurlzWe'll give your beer batter a try next week and I'll let you know how we go.

Thanks Ranger, much appreciated.We'll give your recipe a go next cockle season. We have plans to try cockles in a bouillabaisse, it would need a couple of dozen cockles and should make an interesting variation to mussels.My wife will look out for your fettuccine recipe.

Relaced the washes with teflon and rub in some graphite powder on both sides and never had a sticky drag again

AlanWhere did you get the teflon washers from?

Those bureaucratic name changes don't work.For example, I can remember when the "official" name for Crayfish was changed to Rock Lobster probably more than 20 years ago. Everyone I know, including a couple of Cray fisherman still refer to them as Crayfish. I recently chatted to a couple of young Deckies at Robe who were working on the Cray boats, they were probably about 19 or 20 and even they were calling them Crayfish.So in 20 years time I suspect we'll still be referring to Donax deltoides as Goolwa Cockles and Arripis georgianus as Tommy Ruff.

Thanks to the smarmy little parasite who now governs this country

WinoI've got some good news for you {SMILIES_PATH}/wink.gifThat mendacious little sycophant was defeated in a general election last November. The lying rodent is gone. George Bush's poodle lost his seat to a girl and he now spends his time making surly speeches to his former neocon handlers in the USA. Or he's holed up in suburbia, not talking to anybody.There, I knew that would make your day {SMILIES_PATH}/cheesy.gif {SMILIES_PATH}/cheesy.gifV

You asked about pain? I [i:3pa7nggp]personally[/i:3pa7nggp] believe that a fish sucking in copious amounts of oxygen and other gases in our atmosphere cause more pain to them than the actual 'catching' of them, therefore I personally find it relevant to point out how to minimise their pain - in my [i:3pa7nggp]personal[/i:3pa7nggp] opinion. You, of all ppl, can surely appreciate expressing one's own [i:3pa7nggp]personal[/i:3pa7nggp] opinions on what we [i:3pa7nggp]personally[/i:3pa7nggp] find is relevant to the topic of discussion.

WinoI agree with you. Dying like that must be truly awful?death by slooow suffocation must induce fear, panic and pain. I always kill a keeper as soon as it's in the boat?hot bite or not?I'd rather miss a fish than leave a keeper flapping around in the bottom of the boat. I don't rely on the iced slurry method to dispatch fish as I'm not sure it's humane. I use a priest, iki jimi spike or break their neck.The Japanese reckon fish taste better if they are is dispatched as soon as they are out of the water (iki jimi) so the fish and I both benefit by delivering a quick death.I also kill squid as soon as they are in the boat for the same reasons.

Some say "NO", fish cannot feel pain in a manner in which us mammals recognise it, as their nervous system and cerebral cortex are not sufficiently developed, and instead, the fish merely "respond" to external stimuli.

I thought that kind of Descartesian madness masquerading as science disappeared in the Enlightenment. Apply Occam's razor to the question and anybody who's seen the difference in how a gut hooked fish fights or watched someone fillet a living fish knows without any doubt that fish feel pain. BTW I like PITA {SMILIES_PATH}/wink.gif