octopus for bait???

[benji64]

when we went fishing the other day we caught two larger octopi??. thinking I might eapand my culinary talents beheaded the larger one (about a metre across) and kept the tenticles ,well they didn't cook up as well as I thought they would.i boiled first and then stir fried them . and have decided to use rest as bait . do you cut them in strips or chunks ?and are they any good for most reef fish. I reckon they would last a while against the pickers .any info on how to treat them for bait or eating would be appreciated ,thanks

[Justin Rossiter]

Hi Benji

We use them down in Tassie quite a bit, and there is actually a company down here that catches them primarily for the bait market out of Eaglehawk Neck, they are just as good as squid and I use them the same way, strips or pieces of tentacle. They are tough as and very resistant to pickers, I use the blunt end of my bait knife to tenderise the bait before putting it on the hook, also helps to get a bit of scent out as well.

J

[GCfisherman]

Octopus tentacles are deadly baits for Snapper and Mulloway. Also they work very well on a wide range of species, just cut the tentacle to match the size of the fish you want to catch.

[yakka]

get a kiwi fruit, put your octopus tentacles in a plastic bag, squash the kiwi fruit and cover all the tentacles and let sit for a while 1/2 - 3/4 of an hour (may depend on size tentacles) the protein in the kiwi fruit breaks down something in the octopus and makes it tender. If you leave it to long it nearly looks like the octopus has melted. Have done this many times with baby octopus with excellent results.

[Noelm]

Do the Snapper like the Kiwi fruit?

[Justin Rossiter]

I reckon the back end of a bait knife is quicker and cheaper than kiwi fruit. Having said that I do use kiwi fruit to tenderise my calamari before I cook it.

[theoldlegend]

Do the Snapper like the Kiwi fruit?

Dunno Noel. Never caught one using Kiwi fruit.

TOL

[Crunchy]

It's the enzymes in the kiwi fruit that break down the proteins in the meat (Octopus in this case) which just got me thinking since we are made up of protein what the hell does kiwi fruit do to our guts? Never eating it again!

[clevelandv8]

Try milk to tenderize for eating purposes obviously

[steenscgull]

Agree with and recommend the Kiwi Fruit Marinade.....Not too long though, turns to soup. as for bait, fantastic on Snapper, Bream etc very tough so don't bury your hook point in it.

[steenscgull]

One more thing "A metre across"????

[benji64]

from tentacle to tentacle tip it was ^%^% huge probably over a metre
the head a bit smaller than a half way between a soft ball and a soccerball

[rabbi]

Sounds more like the Kraken than an occy..

I catch occy about 40cm long here and quickly boil them in lightly salted water, cool them in the fridge and cut them up and put in a nice salad with dressing,, very nice..

While I was in Korea a while back we would go out at night onto the tidal flats and get a dozen or so occy about 30cm long.
The preparation was a tad different though. Quickly wash them in fresh water and cut them into 50mm lengths and dip them into a nice chilli paste,, while still wriggling.Took me a few rice wines to make them edible though..
cheers.