Tag Archives: Lota lota

How to Fillet Your Burbot (Properly)

We’ve finally come out of our ‘seasonably cold’ weather in Fairbanks. Looking back at the last months data, temperatures hovered around -20 most of time which is not good burbot fishing weather! The holes freeze up quickly both on the top and by filling in from the sides. However, temperatures this week hold the promise of our first 30 degree day all winter, and it was time get back onto the ice!

Here's the weather graph of our temperatures since January 1st. Lots of 40 below in there, and not much above zero! These data were pulled down from NOAA from the Fairbanks airport weather station.
Here’s the weather graph of our temperatures since January 1st. Lots of 40 below in there, and not much above zero! These data were pulled down from NOAA from the Fairbanks airport weather station.

When we reached our destination, it was evident the cold snap had thickened the exoskeleton of the Tanana River. The first hole we drilled buried my normal auger bar, but that didn’t worry me! A few pins removed and added, and my 18″ extension was attached. With the entire auger now towering at six feet I was pretty confident I would get through to water. The newly lengthened auger took a some teamwork to make it efficient. For instance, starting a new hole and applying enough downward pressure required one guy on each handle and working at eye level until it had cut deep enough. However, we found water just a few more inches where the old auger hole had ended. We set our lines using the method from last season and walked away with anticipation for the next day.

The next day I returned with a slightly new crew. One of the things I have enjoyed most about burbot fishing is having a reason to go outside for a walk, gathering my own food through the winter, and introducing new people to the experience. Brian, Alison, and their 1-year old pup Rue were great additions on the Tanana.  Rue in particular loved to dig the snow off the closed holes, steal bait, and watch as we scooped slush. A cute pup! To help out their experience, we pulled out a great looking, 30 inch burbot!

The crew looks on as Rue gets in closer for a look. It's a lot of fun having a young dog on the ice!
The crew looks on as Rue gets in closer for a look. It’s a lot of fun having a young dog on the ice!
Rue liked to help "dig" the holes for us, and was very curious about scooping slush.
Rue liked to help “dig” the holes for us, and was very curious about scooping slush.
Group success! The only bad part : I missed the focus on this shot. In my defense I wasn't wearing my glasses. Oops!
Group success! The only bad part : I missed the focus on this shot. In my defense I wasn’t wearing my glasses. Oops!

One of the things I have learned from people as I have talked about burbot fishing to them, is there is a lot of misconceptions on how to clean a burbot. When I was home in Minnesota this Christmas I was fishing for walleye on Ottertail lake, when we pulled a nice eelpout (burbot), through the hole. The guys I was with admitted they had never actually kept and cleaned one. I have had conversations with others who suggest to only remove the meat from along the back, but in fact there is a lot more meat on the fish than that! Contrary to these ideas, cleaning a burbot is not a whole lot different than cleaning any other fish. Here’s a couple of tips:

1) Fillet around the ribs rather than through them and remove the whole fillet from the side of the fish

2) There are some large rib bones that stick perpendicular to the side of the fish, once you are around those you’ll be able to keep all the belly meat

3) When removing the skin from the fillet, hold the knife parallel to the table and then angled slightly down. Rather than push the knife through the fillet, pull the fillet (starting wit the tail end) towards you leaving the knife in place. It will result in NO meat lost EVERY time!! If you try to push the knife through the fillet you will likely cut through the skin and that’s frustrating!

For your information, and entertainment, I’ve put together a 50 second video highlighting these tips, a poor accent, and a slightly dry sense of humor. Good luck getting those burbot!

 

Burbot Fishing : Burbot Tacos

I know my friends and family in Minnesota have been getting slammed by blizzards, wind and cold weather. But, here is Alaska, it here it quite the opposite! Our 30 + degree temperatures have caused travel havoc and even led to classes being cancelled on Friday – all because of the warm weather!

This weekend I turned over a new leaf in my Alaska adventures by digging some holes in the ice and setting some overnight lines, “trot lines”, on the Tanana River. On the river, Burbot (eel pout, slimers, Lota lota, etc. ) are pretty common. They can be captured by leaving baited lines out over night. To be legal you need to hold a current fishing license, have a hook with a gap LARGER than 3/4 of an inch between the shank and tip, leave your name on the sets, and don’t set more hooks than fish you can have in your daily bag limit. I wanted to do quite a ‘production’, so here’s a quick video of different timelapse and shots from the two days. Hopefully it captures how much fun it is to get outside and do this great winter activity!

I went out with a group of friends and we had a blast putting the lines in. Part of the challenge was having a 6 inch hand auger, we quickly upgraded to the chain-saw. With upwards of 3 feet of ice, it was quite a bit of work no matter which way you did it! At the end of the day we were happy to celebrate the sun, pack up our gear, and head for home.

The Burbot Boyz and The Burbot Girl
The Burbot Boyz and The Burbot Girl

The lines are left out over night and then checked the next day. The fish were not jumping through the hole, but here is my first one through the ice in AK! It was a pretty big one, and I have heard fish this size may be 20 years old!

Success, my first burbot through the ice in Alaska!
Success, my first burbot through the ice in Alaska!

From the river this fish was converted straight into a fabulous meal of burbot tacos. The fish was pan seared in cayenne, salt, paprika, cumin, and chilli powder. For toppings we had fresh guac, cheese, onions, black beans, sour cream and the roasted poblano peppers. One fish was enough to feed 5 hungry burbot fishers.

Burbot tacos with Roasted Poblanos and Jalapenos, Guacamole, Black Beans, Cheese and Onions. WOW! They were incredible!
Burbot tacos with Roasted Poblanos and Jalapenos, Guacamole, Black Beans, Cheese and Onions. WOW! They were incredible!

If you want to know more about Burbot fishing in AK, just Google it. The Department of Fish and Game has a great informational website on it. You can learn all about strong lines, strong poles and locations to fish. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=anglereducation.burbot