Monster Jack Smelt

I have been trolling for halibut and stripers in the surfzone with great success the past week. Past few day I have been catching monster Jacksmelt a few have been 20in + They fight better than a striper in my opinion. I have never caught them before and was wondering if this was common for Monterey Are? Also I heard they taste bad. For those that say they taste good how are you preparing them?

Where there’s a fish there’s a way to make it taste good  Somebody has to have a recipe for those

Ive been thinking about trolling the surf line for stripers around Santa Cruz

They are also around further north but all my free time is dominated by surfing

I've had some huge lings take live smelt that size, esp. down in Sur.

For eating, they are full of pin bones and have that "smelt smell" , but I've talked to a few guys that fry them...I think it may be an acquired taste...

By pin bones do you mean the really sharp ones like what are in parts of tilapia?

Ok, they take work to prepare but taste awesome done right. You MUST when gutting them, scrape ALL the black blood sheath from the gut cavity walls and backbone areas. That's where the BAD taste comes from. use finger nail, comes off easy enough. Always HARD fry them. Good and crispy, worms... Then slide meat off bones with fork from the back bone down. Tacos, or strait eating. Kelsie's favorite fish..... We target them specifically in Bodega.

Not a bad tasting fish when pan-fried or BBQ but has lots of bones and usually quite a few worms in the flesh.

or they make great bait due to the oil content in crab traps and lings and all the other usual suspects