Scofield Chubs Question

[UThunter]

Does anyone know if the Chubs at Scofield Reservoir are similar to the Chubs in the Great Lakes? The Chubs in the Great Lakes were fished to near extinction because they are considered a delicacy when smoked. Has anyone tried smoking the Scofield chubs? If the Scofield chubs are good smoked maybe people will target them to eat and help reduce the population. Just interested. Hope someone responds.
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[Therapist]

Not sure about any relationship, but I know that they are difficult to light and stay lite when you try and smoke em !!!

Actually, I believe the Great Lakes variety are closer to suckers and white fish. The Utah variety is in the family, but different !!

[ColdWaterCoord]

Hello,

No, they are not the same. The Utah chubs in Scofield Reservoir are a member of the minnow family, whereas, the ones in the Great Lakes are actually members of the trout and salmon family (whitefish).

Other than an abundance of bones to deal with like all minnows, Utah chubs are high in oils and may smoke up nice. Let me know if you figure out something there.

Paul Birdsey
Coldwater Sportfish Coordinator
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
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[UThunter]

Paul,

I will try some different recipes and see if they taste good. I will be fishing scofield soon and I am sure I will catch some. Thank you for the information and I will get back to you.
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[ColdWaterCoord]

Thank you. I am interested to see what you figure out.
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[TubeDude]

[#0000FF]When I was a kid in Idaho I caught lots of chubs from the Snake River. There was a European lady (not sure of country of origin) who lived near my family and she loved to get all the suckers and chubs I would bring her. She either pressure cooked them and made them into fish "croquettes"...or pickled them like pickled herring. I sampled both and found them excellent...with no problem with the bones.

The flesh of our Utah chubs turns white and flaky when cooked and is very mild. The primary deterrent is the myriad of small bones. Some folks prepare suckers, chubs and other bony fish by filleting and cross-scoring the flesh before deep frying until they are almost crisp. The bones crisp up and are safe even for kids to eat.

I have tried smoked chub and found it not as good as trout...or catfish. It is a soft fleshed fish with a lot of tiny bones. The end product tastes okay but it takes a full day to eat one...while picking out the bones.

I have smoked almost every kind of fish in the US. As a general rule, the oilier fleshed fishes and firm fleshed ones respond better to smoking. Some of the white meat fishes...like wipers...are not nearly as good for smoking. Others, like stripers (same family) often turn out great after a trip through the smoker. But a lot depends on the recipe and the skill of the smokeologist.
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[Therapist]

There was a discussion a while back on WaynesWords about the palatability of Gizzard Shad. One of the guys tried them and they were disgusting.

Being from Missouri, I know that Suckers are considered a delicacy back there. When the Dog Woods are in bloom, it is time to go sucker fishing. Along the same line, the precious June Sucker in Utah Lake was the primary fish caught and salted in barrels by the pioneers for food !!