Tacodawgtim - 11-21-2013 at 09:39 PM
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Well I got down to San Felipe and headed to punta Bufeao. After great help on gear for trigger fish I got hooked up. Now tomorrow it will be
ceviche. Thanks for all the suggestions on gear
[Edited on 11-22-2013 by Tacodawgtim]
dizzyspots - 11-21-2013 at 10:02 PM
what did ya use....
Tacodawgtim - 11-21-2013 at 10:23 PM
Not sure the correct name but used a a 4-6 oz sinker with a hook tied on about 18" up from that. We used squid on the hook, I tried to use a lure and
the boat owner said just use the squid up. We hit the bottom and almost immediately had a bite. Landed almost everyone. Great fun for such a
small fish.
bajabuddha - 11-21-2013 at 11:05 PM
Now, i don't know chite from Shinola when it comes to serious ocean fishing but when it comes to Cochito, i consider myself an afficiaonado.
First, it's the 'Pobre Langosta', the poor man's lobster. Love it, both for the flavor and the fight, pound-for-pound over MOST fish in the sea (a
few exceptions). Soooo many ways to prepare it, to follow shortly...
The hide should have been used for chaps riding through the Cholla and Mesquite; very few things can penetrate the skin. I enter my filleting knife
at gill-point and work the tip under the skin CUTTING OUTWARD; you cannot enter a trigger from out-to-in. Up and around the skull, and down the back
from INSIDE the skin, fillet to tail. NOW.... just below the gill-fin is a little bone i call 'the toothpick' and i use TIN SNIPS, clip it, and then
w/knife follow jaw-line to ventral belly-line and move south ( yes, there is still meat on the jaw, and it's red and bitter, i don't keep it). So,
follow ventral belly-line to anus, there's a 1" line of 'taint' skin (ain't we al got it?) that's tough as nails, and again, snip w/ tin snips.
Then, free-sailing south from rear-ventral fin to tail.
LEAVE fillet attached to carcas. forgot to mention, first cut from gill, follow UNDER HIDE up to head and then southbound to tail, simple fillet
technique, only to spine bone. After doing underbelly, there's only the tail-to-head zip to release the fillet. With the fillet still attached at
the tail, CUT THE FILLET OFF THE HIDE. Mexican tradition is to pull the rhinosauros hide off the fish, but i find it leaves a membrane and makes the
fish tougher. Fillet the meat off the skin w/ knife, makes 100% better flavor, and no more work (if not easier than 'pliering' it off).
sound like a lotta work? A simple 2 -snip-snip and a good knife, i can fillet a trigger faster than most can do any other catch. Oh, you always have
the 'center-bone' line, i cut right down center, remove the rib-bones, no waste. If you 'tin-snip' the gill'bone i call the toothpic, you get a full
morsel extra of meat that's deliciouse. Fillets off the skin mui facil.
Now, recipes. Cut the pieces in 'dedos' (fingers) and in full roiling boil water, put in for only 5 minutes. Out and serve w/ garlic butter, Pobre
Langosta. Same technique, only out in 5 minutes in ice/bath for 10m, and serve cold w/c-cktail sauce like peel and eat shrimp. Mojo de ajo,
tambien. Mojo en molcateje, tambien.
My favorite is i have a blackened spice called 'Cajun Dust' (u2u and i'll hook you up w/ the makers). Blackened Cajun Trigger is to die for. i feel
it's the most understated fish and personally my favorite, both for flavor and pelaya en el mar, and where we are at there's a 'bloom' of 'em this
year, and i'm gonna dine well.
I've also noted thoughout central Baja, 'Cochito' is the prime carne in most taquerias, gracias de dios.
LONG LIVE TRIGGERS !!!!!!!
Osprey - 11-22-2013 at 07:37 AM
Great stuff Buddha. Also have to be careful. Caught and cleaned too many cochitos at Pt. Bufeo one time. My hand slipped and my little finger went
into a fish's mouth for less than a second. He chomped down on my pinky, didn't break the skin and I thought nothing of it.
Back home in the U.S. the finger began to change -- turned grey then almost black and I was afraid I was going to lose the tip. Took months to heal
but my little digit was in a real fight for survival for awhile. I think some coral triggers eat is very toxic to humans.
Tacodawgtim - 11-22-2013 at 07:45 AM
They definitely have a set of teeth and jaws. We had several hooks that were bent so bad when we tried to open them they broke
Powerful biting machines. Great eating
woody with a view - 11-22-2013 at 09:18 AM
we got 2 at BoLA last Tues. one was big at a trash can lid, well, ALMOST!
durrelllrobert - 11-22-2013 at 09:25 AM
texture of flesh does make it perfect for ceviche. yummm
Triggers !!
captkw - 11-22-2013 at 09:34 AM
Awesome eating fish !! I have caught two types of triggers in Baja...Fileskin like in the top picture and a red/tan brown type that's not very
tasty...sorta clean like a catfish and easy once you get the nack...I use a wire leader and a small solid hook..after trolling for the big fish I
would change my guest gear for triggers and come inshore....I can't tell you how many guys hook up on what I know to be a trigger and they yell
Oh..sh__!! I got a monster !! its a big fish !! get the fish up and they look confused and say wtf ??? what happened to the big fish I had on??? has
happened so many times for newbie's that I expect it..LOL..lb for lb One Hell of a tough fish !!and will take a bite out of you in a second...Muy
peligrosso !! 
[Edited on 11-22-2013 by captkw]