2022 Burbot: a sought-after game fish

Burbot: a sought-after game fish
Jump on the burbot bandwagon! That’s right, many anglers seek out and enjoy catching burbot. These fish are known as very good table fare that can have a consistency similar to lobster. The state record burbot was a 19 pound, 10 ounce fish caught in 2016 on Lake of the Woods.

Burbot are no longer considered rough fish in the Minnesota fishing regulations and the species will be listed as a game fish in the 2022 Minnesota fishing regulations booklet available this March.

Please remember that if you are not planning to use the burbot you catch, release it for others to enjoy — the same goes for any other fish you catch. It is illegal to leave fish on the ice. Also remember to check for any special regulations that apply to burbot on the water where you’re fishing.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

Also remember to check for any special regulations that apply to burbot on the water where you’re fishing.

Maybe I’m wrong but they actually made it illegal to specifically target or harvest burbot on Mille Lacs now.

I thought that was changed last year. They, along with cisco/tulibee, are listed with whitefish in the list of species in the 2021 MN fishing regulations book. It’s also stated that they are no longer considered rough fish species (in the portion defining rough fish).

I think limits on burbot and tulibee is coming, and agree that there should be limits on them.

Burbot are awesome – fight like a sonofabuck and they don’t bite you off like pike. Great fun for kids. My 7yo caught a nice one on lotw this year and we released it. 31” or just a tad longer.

We did see a stack of them outside the fish cleaning shack at the resort we were using. Looked like 4 or 5 just frozen in a pile someone left.

Last time we caught a burb, we kept it, boiled the backstraps up in 7up, and dipped in butter. It was fine, but I didn’t get the craze and not close to lobster imo, and I’m not a big lobster fan either. They still rank pretty low down my list of fish. Smoked Tullibee on the other hand, now that is near the top!

BigWerm wrote:

Last time we caught a burb, we kept it, boiled the backstraps up in 7up, and dipped in butter. It was fine, but I didn’t get the craze and not close to lobster imo, and I’m not a big lobster fan either. They still rank pretty low down my list of fish. Smoked Tullibee on the other hand, now that is near the top!

To be fair, I wouldn’t expect anything boiled in 7up to taste good. I know that somehow caught on as the normal way to cook burbot, but just cook them like any other fish… they are good.

BigWerm wrote:

Last time we caught a burb, we kept it, boiled the backstraps up in 7up, and dipped in butter. It was fine, but I didn’t get the craze and not close to lobster imo, and I’m not a big lobster fan either. They still rank pretty low down my list of fish. Smoked Tullibee on the other hand, now that is near the top!

Well that’s a bummer- was hoping to try that one day. Maybe still will. Thanks for sharing!

I keep one a year while ice fishing on lotw. It gets deep fried the same as the saugers.. the difference in flavor between them is distinct. 100% of the time the preferred fish is the pout. I have taken whole fish home but they seem to get a funky muddy taste to them after being in a bucket full of slush for a day or 2.

We have caught and released them on LOTW for over 15 years. Last year I decided to keep a 30″er I caught, fillet it up and eat it. Cut out the back straps and tail sections, cubed them up and battered them just like the Walleye and Sauger. Well, I cooked it last and the other guys would not try it. I was doing all the cooking so didn’t grab any right away either. I grabbed a couple of pieces, munched them down, and SURPRISE!! They were very tasty, and I would say it has a similar taste and texture as Lobster. The other guys thought I was joking, but tried it. Well, we have a bit of left over fish at the end of the night, none of it was Pout. Imagine leaving Walleye on the plate and eating Pout, that is what happened.

I will definitely keep more if we get them on this years trip to LOTW.

toddrun wrote:

Imagine leaving Walleye on the plate

OMG! Did you see what he said!!