The Poor Man's Lobster: Eelpout and Lingcod

Bill Kinney Photography

A couple years ago when we were out west a friend of ours wanted to take us fishing.  It was winter time, but the ice had not quite frozen over.  Ice fishing was out of the question and so we asked him,"What are we fishing?"

"The poor man's lobster."

I found out that the poor man's lobster belongs to a group of fish including Eelpout and Lingcod.  They are a little different to catch, but apparently, taste amazing.  It is popular in the Midwest to go after these "lobster" and I found out the Missouri River is full of them as well.  So we decided,"Why not?"  And went after our "lobster."

These fish are long and eel shaped and can grow to huge lengths.  They are bottom dwellers and like deep water.  The thing about them is not the taste, (Many call it the poor man's lobster, but there has been more than one story about how unedible they are.) but the way they fight.  They are known as a sport fish, and a big one at that.  They put on a great fight, so be prepared to use a heavier duty line.

Bill Kinney Photography

Our friend took us out to the river and we actually fished for them in the slack water under the dam.  You need a set line and heavy weight to make sure your bait stays on the bottom.  We cut up pieces of frozen smelt, but any larger piece of bait will do the trick.  They are bottom feeders and will toy with the bait a little at first so you have to wait a little to set the bait, but once you got them hooked, great fun!

The one thing we can say is that we have never tasted "The Poor Man's Lobster."  We may have tasted Eel pout, but the lobster quality taste escaped ours.  We weren't exactly sure how to clean it so that was probably the reason for our mud tasting fish, because we have heard over and over again that they are quite a feast!  We since looked it up so no one else has to try and figure out what to do with them.

To cook "The Poor Man's Lobster" flip the fish on its stomach and cut out the back straps.  As with any bottom dwellers you want to remove as much fat as possible to get rid of that "bottom feeder" taste.  Take the back straps and cut them into cubes.  These can then be placed in a pot to boil.  You then eat the pieces in garlic and butter like you would pieces of lobster.  Sounds good to us!  Unfortunately we haven't gotten the opportunity to try it, so let us know how it turns out or if you've ever eaten it before and what you think!