Pacific Hake Fish OLD ASS REPORT.

Sounds like fun... That Canyon at Moss is so deep! Some weird fish out there. Will watch for the hookup...

Polepole, good eye....that's a sablefish aka black cod.
This summer will be similar with lots of anchovies outside Moss.
For the longest time, if you searched "ncka" on youtube, this was the first video that would pop up:
 

Hake can be tasty provided they are fileted immediately. Filet right on the yak. Whole fish brought back to shore decompose much faster than other species.

Sounds like fun... That Canyon at Moss is so deep! Some weird fish out there. Will watch for the hookup...

A mile out it's something like a mile deep.

Cool lookin fish.  Never seen a hake before.

I have caught hake up here in Humboldt, but it has been awhile.  I never tried eating them.  They are oily and the flesh seemed a little mushy.

Thanks for the interesting report and pics.

Hake really benefit from immediate icing.

-Allen

i've ate hake before in a restaurant.  Wadn't bad.
I'd be down to chase em in MBay to try them at home

My father smoked some black cod for a friend who brought some home from Alaska.  He will never do that again! The smoked  fish weighed 1/3 of  the original weight and left a humongous mess of oil in the bottom of his smoker 

That's way cool with it being your first kayak trip.  Just dropping a line down into the depths and seeing what's there.

Hake are often used to make surimi (imitation crab).  They, along with other low- to mid-grade commercial fish like walleyed Pollock, are ground up with glue and crab flavoring.

As for skates: yes, they're good to eat!  I've butchered a couple myself.  The flesh comes off the wings in strips, and the texture is very similar to scallop.  I would bread the strips with egg+Panko and fry them.  You could totally trick someone into thinking it was scallop meat if you cut the ribbons into smaller pieces.

I've caught Humboldt Squid in that canyon. they were between 35 to 50 lbs. I'm not sure I'd want to deal with one on a yak.

So...I just learned something. Pacific whiting aka hake are federally managed, and have a season AND depth restrictions. Same with sablefish. Same season as rockfish. Bummed...because I thought it w/b a fun wintertime option outta Moss!
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well in that case, let's call it a sand dab