wanted in Flaming Gorge, but they're feeling quite cozy in their new home.
Burbot, a fish angler's generally consider as a "junkfish" is a freshwater fish
related to cod and looks a lot like an eel, with a mouth full of very tenacious
teeth.
It is commonly found in streams and lakes of North America above the 40°N
latitude. And Burbot were recently illegally introduced into the Green River
drainage in Wyoming, which is how they've recently made their way into the
Gorge.
Although nearly every sport fisherman consider them "trash", there was a day
Burbot were in demand. In the 1920's, a Minnesota druggist, Theodore H. Rowell
and his father Joseph Rowell were using the Burbot to fee the foxes on Joe's
blue fox farm. The Burbot contained some mysterious element that improved the
quality of the fox's furs. Testing proved that Burbot oil is 4 times more potent
in vitamin D and as much as 10 times more potent in vitamin A than cod liver
oil. And Ted discovered that the oil is more rapidly digested and assimilated
than most other fish oils. This led Ted to establishing the Burbot Liver
Products Company, which later became Roswell Laboratories, Inc.
Despite all of that, anglers know Burbot compete with other game fish, feeding
on insects and other invertebrates until they are old enough to feed on other
fish. Because their diet is the same as sport fish, it's unfortunate they are
now in the Gorge. Most of the Burbot in Flaming Gorge are in the upper end of
the lake. The Division of Wildlife Resources is requesting anglers to catch
their bag limit of 25 and kill them if they don't eat them.
Here's how to catch them. Use spoons and jigs that have some type of glow on
them. Don't be afraid of their appearance if you catch one. Their teeth are sort
of like catfish or bass teeth and they won't bite. But they are slimy.
Surprisingly they are very tasty. Bread and fry them, or boil them lightly for 4
minutes then dip them in butter. You'll find they taste a lot like lobster.
To clean Burbot, cut the skin behind the head and peel it off with pliers. Then
fillet the meat off around the rib cage and down the tail, leaving you with nice
boneless fillets.
Take advantage of a bad situation and try fishing for Burbot at Flaming Gorge
Reservoir. The fish taste very good and you'll be helping the lake by fishing
out these non native squatters.
For an updated Utah fishing report visit
http://squidoo.com/utah-fishing-report for any other questions you may
have about Utah Fishing Report, UT