Oyster Toad?

[Tyson]

So... Everytime i ask someone about eating a mud toad everyone says the same thing "No! you dont eat them, they are posionous,"(not true) or "They taste like mud," or "they are too ugly to eat,"(like tog) or "They eat dead things/ slime off the bottom" ( like catfish) Then i ask if they have EVER tried one.. To which they all answer.. NO.. No. NO. No..

Has ANYONE ever tried one? And if so.... How was it? LoL PM me if you dont want everyone to know about your lobster like fish of gold called the oystertoad..

Tyson

[27 sailfish]

Never heard of anyone eating them.Might be like Goosefish/Monkfish-ugly as sin but good to eat.If you are that curious-why not try one this summer and let us know.Some huge ones hang out at the western rockpile at the bay bridge-put a chunk of cut spot down and you'll catch some almost 12'' long . Skip

[Good Chance]

One of my charter guys eats them. Cut off the head and eat the meat in the tail section. Says it's excellent.

[done workin]

I ground one up for chum when I was a kid one time and it made the Essex Sh--t Plant in August smell good.

Couldn't imagine eating one.

[Crabslayer]

Family: Batrachoididae

Species: Opsanus tau (Linnaeus, 1766)

Range: western Atlantic from Maine to the West Indies.

Habitat: found on mud, oyster shell, rock, along sand bottoms and garbage dumps in shallow water.

Food: preys on crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and just about anything else it can get its mouth on.

Characters useful in identification: bulging eyes; fleshy flaps (whiskers) on cheeks and jaws; broad, flat heads.

Color: skin is yellowish to brown with dark brown oblique bars and brown reticulations.


Image courtesy: Fisherman's Guide: Fishes of the Southeastern United States.
Charles Manooch, III, author. Duane Raver, Jr. , illustrator.

Reproduction: toadfish are known for producing vocalizations, accomplished by rapid muscle contractions. The male produces a "foghorn" sound which may attract females to a nesting site. The spawning season lasts from April to October.

Maximum size: 38 cm TL (1.25 ft.)

Other interesting tidbits:

The toadfish has no commercial value and is generally considered a nuisance due to its powerful and potentially dangerous jaws which make it tough to remove from fishing hooks; however, it is edible.
It can survive out of water for extended periods.
This fish is also plays an important role in medical research.
NASA and the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole just completed experiments in which toadfish were sent to space. To read about this research, go here.
References:

Murdy, E.O., R.S. Birdsong, and J.A. Musick. 1997. Fishes of Chesapeake Bay. Smithsonian Institution Press, 324 pp.

[wetaline]

Thats funny. I just told my brother that he could catch a toad fish in a mud puddle on the moon. He's a "brown trout" catchin fool.

[ekim22]

I'm curious if anyone ever got bit by one....would it really mess you up?

[redcat]

I killed one on a fishing pier when I was a kid and the seagull would not even try to eat it .I think I am at least as smart as a seagull!

[redcat]

My dad used to call them Gorilla Fish.
I always smile when I think of Him trying to show my daughter how they were harmless and stuck his finger in the mouth of a small toad and got nipped ,

[college fund]

I had a crabber tell me once that he could get more money for oyster toads than he could for croaker. He even said he had special pots for them.