Favorite shoreline fish to eat

The Holoholo writers share their favorite fish to eat that could be caught, netted or speared from shore and how they like those favorites prepared. Matthew, our youngest writer, starts off with the most descriptive list. The other writers have provided their top 5. Please drop a comment and add yours.

If you’re not familiar with all the names, please refer to the Hawaiian Fish Name Translations.

Matthew: Over the years, I’ve eaten a lot of fish, but some I like more than others. Most of the fish I like are meaty and don’t have much bones, but there are certain exceptions.

My top ten list for shoreline fish only is as follows (ten being the lowest out of the ten and one being the best out of the ten): 

1. Mu. In my opinion this is a well-deserved top spot. Mu are very meaty, have no bones except for the center bone, and have no fishy taste to them. Steamed chinese style with onions and garlic, and a little bit of butter, it is heavenly, and cannot be beaten. You don’t even need to pan fry this fish to make it good. Baking or steaming is the best way I think. Maybe roasting would be good too. 
2. Uku. This one was a tough fight against Moi. Even though it isn’t caught often from shore, it still lives pretty close to shore, where shorecasters catch them sometimes. This is a non-fishy fish, and about the same as the Mu. No bones except for the center and has a very mild taste. However, sometimes they have ciguatera poison in the areas of the head and stomach region. Don’t let that stop you from eating it though. Occasionally on restaurant’s special of the day list.
3.  Moi. Some people would put Moi in the top spot, and I would too, but after Mu and Uku, I think that Moi should belong in the number three spot. Moi is a very moist fish that is often served in Japanese izakayas. In the izakayas, they serve it deep fried with special salt and a ponzu dipping sauce. It is a killer dish, and that is that is why I go to izakayas a lot. In particular, Uosan (Ala Moana/Ward area) has very good Moi, as well as a lot of other dishes. However, they are very hard to catch, so your best bet at eating one unless you are one of those Moi hammahs is at a Japanese izakaya.
4. White/Yellowspot/Omilu Papio. All species of Papio are great eating. They are a meaty fish, and have more bones than Mu or Uku, but the taste is definitely there. It is mild, and a lot easier to catch than Moi, Uku, or Mu from shore. However, they are still somewhat difficult to catch, especially during the winter months. Certain species of Papio have their strengths in eating. Yellowspot Papio make fantastic sashimi, and lots of bottom fishermen praise Yellowspot Papio for their moist and fatty flesh. Omilu are great any way possible, sometimes a little fishy as it gets bigger. White Papio when they are small are very mild, tasty, and soft. However, once they reach Ulua size, their table fare rapidly goes down. Some Ulua fishermen love to eat Ulua, but there is risk of ciguatera and the meat is quite dry and tough when it gets big. 
5. Aweoweo. In my opinion, Aweoweo are a great eating fish. I like them steamed chinese style and a ponzu or soy dipping sauce. They are somewhat easy to catch if you know the spots to catch them, but however, I don’t know the right spots for them. I would assume they are good fried as well. I know of one restaurant that served them as a special once. 
6. Toau. Toau are very abundant, and easy to catch if you are light dunking at nighttime or dusk/dawn. They have a lot of bones, but when they are over ten inches, they have more meat than bones, and become good for eating. If you fry them enough, you can eat the whole fish, even the bones, if you cook it until it literally shrivels up. However, that is a waste of oil. They are good steamed or pan-fried. Pan fried, you can add shoyu, garlic, and onions to make a great meal. Throw in some butter and parsley to make it even better.
7. Small Halalu. Small Halalu when deep fried with panko and oil are very good, almost like french fries. Upper class restaurants will sometimes have deep fried smelt, this is very similar to it, but homemade. Japanese restaurants sometimes sell them labeled as baby Aji. Aji – Akule
8. Small Oama. Same as halalu, but a little less meat and more crunch. 
9. Menpachi. A very flaky fish, good pan fried in butter and oil, with salt, pepper, and other garnishes. You can also deep fry them, but their main flaw is that you have to scale them more than other fish, since they have a lot of big scales similar to Toau. Some restaurants serve them as a special occasionally.
10. Po’opa’a. I ran out of best options, but Po’opa’a is decent table fare. They are a huge pain to clean, I would only bother with the bigger ones. Their two filets are just perfect size to make into fish and chips. Soft and meaty. However, there is quite a bit of fish taste to it, so be advised of that. 

Please understand that this is all opinion, but in my mind these are my top fish.

Kelly: Steamed kumu, raw moi, raw uku, raw mu, raw yellowspot papio.

Thad: Dobe papio sashimi, moi steamed, uku sashimi, yellowspot papio sashimi, aweoweo fried.

Erik: (Not in any particular order, I like ’em all) uku sashimi/poke, moana kali / weke ula steamed, akule fried, yellow spot papio sashimi/poke, awa aua made with Thad’s kamaboku recipe all day!!!.

David: Fried kole, steamed weke ula, deep fried moi, steamed mullet and steamed kumu.

Frank: Moi steamed, uku sashimi/fried/soup, dobe papio poke, akule fried, palani steamed in ti leaf w/lemongrass pulehu style.

Robert: (not in any particular order I like ’em all) Fried shark steak, Oriental steamed mu, Thai style oio or awa aua cakes, nenue sashimi, pickled halalu.

Jason: Aholehole, aweoweo, omilu under 1lb, moana, kupipi / mamo, all fried, I’m a simple guy. 🙂