Yellow Spot Papio (Island Jack) and Weke Nono (Pfluger’s Goatfish) – how are they raw?

August 22, 2024 By Scott 2 Comments

Yellow spot papio, also called Island Jack, can be caught in waist deep water on the flats and thus may be more commonly caught than weke nono / weke ‘ula or Pfluger’s goatfish which is normally encountered in water deeper than 100ft.

Yellow spot papio are considered about the best eating of the papio we have in Hawaii, only possibly surpassed by kagami papio or African pompano. Yellow spot initially may look like omilu (bluefin trevally) in the water because they both have blue colored fins and opaque blueish sides, but on closer examination, yellow spot papio have the yellow spots they are known for, as well as thicker skin with tiny scales and a downturned mouth equipped to suck up crustaceans. Their diet of shrimp and crab are the reason for their light tasting, non-fishy, slightly fatty flesh.

Weke nono are a beautiful red goatfish with white stripes, when alive, that aren’t generally as well respected as kumu, munu and moana kali because weke nono have flesh that tends to get a little dry when cooked.

But weke nono make great sashimi, especially when over 2lb and prepared properly. Their diet is similar to yellow spot papio, feeding on shrimps and crabs. Since their flesh, like all goatfish, is on the soft side, icing the fish overnight and then dry aging the fillets for a day or so really help to tighten up the meat.

Yellow spot has a softer meat than most papio but are still firmer than weke nono because they have more muscle fiber/tendons. Both fish have a very “clean” taste.

Neither yellow spot nor weke nono sashimi got fishy after 3 days but the weke nono was beginning to soften further. Yellow spot sashimi “feels” more like you’d expect of raw fish, whereas weke nono have a softer less “connected” feel. Both are excellent in my very humble opinion!

Back to the South Side to kayak hunt for preds

July 27, 2020 By Scott 5 Comments

Since the summer brought bigger surf to the South Side, we had been taking advantage of the small surf on the East Side when the wind allowed. In general, there were more fish than what we encounter in the South, but the fish were not the predators like uku and pelagics we were hoping to run into. We found protected, sandy bottomed areas that held tasty fish like nabeta and juvenile opakapaka but not the rocky drop offs that attract the bigger fish.

Surf and wind dropped on the South Side this past week, and Frank and I went back to one of our favorite spots. We started off looking for bait but couldn’t find any sizable bait balls, so it was time for Plan B. In 100ft of water, I dropped down a frozen, well preserved, year-old local opelu, about 7 inches long. Within a minute, I felt the taps, then the tugs, and then line peeled off my reel. Hanapa’a, but the fish felt really weird. No sustained runs, instead, quick downward pulls.

After a jerky 2 minute fight, this popped up. I thought it was a big omilu but noticed the 4 yellow spots on the side and the down turned mouth. Stoked, I let Frank know of the catch and he set up to drop bait.

Yellow spot / yellow dot / island jack papio are often caught in very shallow water as they feed on crabs and shrimp. Fly fishers seem to get them more often than whippers, since their flies do a better shrimp imitation. Yellow spot are one of the best tasting papio because their diet gives them a fatty, less fishy taste.

My next drop got tap, tap, tapped, then picked up. Initially I thought it was a big jack but when it slowed and felt heavy I knew it was a shark. Even with the 2-speed Avet SX reel in low gear, I had to endure a 20 minute bicep burn. Man I hate these things. It had taken me from 100ft to 200ft, with Frank keeping watch, before I could raise it high enough to cut it free. On the way back to shallower water, we dropped our damashi on deep bait marks, and when that failed, dropped opelu down but nothing bit.

I rested my arms and let the Bixpy motor take me back to where the yellow spot bit, but all our bottom fished and trolled baits eventually got ripped off without hooking anything. I even tried dropping a small 60gm tungsten jig to hook the bait stealers but they were wise to it. The yellow spot and shark had hit on the slack low tide, and the bite oddly slowed as the tide rushed in. Maybe it was midday slowdown?

Frank caught a nice sized nabeta on the damashi, and I caught some taape and moana just to feel some tugs, but that was it.

The shorter paddle on the South Side was appreciated, and it was nice to hear the ratchet sing but I could do without the shark-isometrics.

Hanapa’a writer Kelly caught a 7lb yellow spot in 4 feet of water a few years back, so I weighed mine to see if it was close. A few ounces less at 6lb 9oz! Here’s Kelly’s write up. I thought these fish don’t eat other fish much, but I guess a tasty frozen opelu was too much to resist. Glad the yellow spot bit before the shark shut things down for us.

Badly sliced yellow spot about to be eaten as sashimi

Kelly and Hanapa’a writer Coach Haru said to clean the fish right away, remove the head, gills, and blood, and wrap the fish in paper towels to extract the blood. Let the muscle tissue loosen over 2 to 3 days, then eat as sashimi. On Day 2 I ate the fish as sashimi and poke and found the meat to be soft but not too soft, and very mild tasting. It was better as poke, with the sesame oil adding some richness as well as flavor.

A friend who enjoys uku received the fish on Day 3 and his wife Joanna made a Thai vinaigrette sauce so they could eat the fish over mixed greens. Joanna doesn’t like fishy raw fish and loved the yellow spot.

Sharing fish, a Hawaiian tradition

November 12, 2018 By Scott 2 Comments

It’s Hawaiian culture to share your catch with family and friends, especially with those who are unable to go out and catch for themselves. I’m not a big fish eater and rarely bring home more than one fish, so I didn’t participate in this tradition too much. But a friend from church had asked me if I could keep hage for him, if I caught that incidentally, and I thought that would be a slam dunk. Turns out I didn’t get to fish much since he asked, and when I did, I didn’t bring up any of those bait stealers.

I mentioned this to Capt Darren, so he kept a big, unusual looking deepwater hage during a Penguin Banks trip. When I picked it up, he insisted I also take a yellowspot papio for my friend since he has never had one before, and an uku and yellowspot for my family. Uku and yellowspot are my favorite fish to eat because they are not fishy and you can sashimi/poke them as well as steam and fry. And, it’s possible that I can catch them myself nearshore. Besides ono and nabeta, they are the only ones I cook at home. I felt a little “shame” to take such good fish when I just went to pick up a hage, but Capt Darren said no big deal, he just likes to share with people who appreciate the fish he quickly chills in a salt water/ice cube brine on the boat to slow down the spoiling process.

The uku looked big by my standards, although he said it wasn’t big but it wasn’t small either. I didn’t weigh it but measured it at 20.5″ FL. I told him I’d be stoked to ever catch an uku that size on my kayak. That night, the day after the fish were caught, I made a simple onion, inamona, sesame oil, Hawaiian salt and chili flake poke with some uku and yellowspot. The uku was so fresh it still was very firm, whereas the yellowspot was much softer. Both were very good, and good together with the contrasting texture. I shared the uku and yellowspot with my parents and collectively we ate them raw, steamed, sato-shoyu and fried. I don’t like cooked fish because it tastes fishier than raw, but wanted to see how the day 3 (two days out of the water) uku poke would be lightly fried. Had the tiniest fishy aftertaste but I liked the flavor and texture. Capt Darren really does take care of his fish!

He also gave me their leftover fresh halalu bait that his first mate had caught since I was going kayak fishing the next day. I’d be targeting uku and yellowspot, but I figured “pressure is off” since my church friend got his hage and bonus yellowspot and my family got such prime fish. I was moved by Capt Darren’s generosity and didn’t think I’d ever catch such a big uku on my kayak. Turns out I was wrong! Here’s what happened trolling that fresh dead halalu bait!