Spot are often plentiful in the waters surrounding Chincoteague Island Virginia. These small members of the croaker family are easy to catch and are held in high regard as table fare. Spot are caught in the back bays, around pilings, in the surf, and around near shore shoals.
Inshore, spot are caught sporadically as early as June. A few fish sometimes appear in July or August mixed in with runs of Atlantic croaker. By Labor Day, they begin to show up large numbers in the surf, around the inlet, and along many of the near shore hot spots.
In order to be successful catching spot, small hooks and downsized pieces of bait should be used. Bloodworms are the best bait for spot, although expensive. Other local baits for catching spot include squid, clams, shrimp, or processed baits which require no refrigeration.
In addition to catching spot for fun or the table, these fish are extremely valuable as bait. Small spot can sometimes be caught in the shallows with a cast net or seine. Bait-sized spot also be caught around pilings using sabiki rigs and tiny morsels of bait.
Live spot make excellent live or cut baits for striped bass, red drum, seatrout, sharks, and other predator species.
Cleaning and Cooking Spot
Spot are usually scaled and rinsed well, and then headed and gutted or carefully filleted with a small, sharp knife. After filleting, fishermen lay the fillet down flat and cut a v shape in the front of each fillet in order to remove several small bones that occur along the flank. Fillets or whole spot should be refrigerated overnight with a dash of sea salt before cooking.
The following is a traditional recipe for cooking spot fillets:
Pan Fried Spot
Ingredients:
12 spot fillets
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Rinse fillets and allow to drain.
2. Mix together egg and milk; dredge each fillet in the mixture, then place in a plastic bag of flour and cornmeal and shake well.
3. Simmer fillets in hot peanut oil until browned on each side.
4. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.