In my opinion, hands down, the finest freshwater table-fare is the burbot. We've caught 'em every way imaginable in every month of the year. Most commonly, people catch 'em through the ice with set-lines, but we also caught burbot (lawyers, eel-pout, fresh-water ling, lush, Lota lota) in fishwheels, on rod and reel in summer, and through the ice in gill nets.


Miss Lisa with a couple of bubot caught on rod-and-reel from the Tanana River, Alaska. For bait, we used red-backed voles or chunks of lamprey. The Sportfish biologists always did well with chunks of whitefish.



Spring ice-fishing on the Tanana.



Mixed bag from open water in October.



Our fishwheel on the Copper River. Mainly for reds (sockeye salmon), but we'd always get a few bonus fish (burbot).



Kinda homely, but taste is fantastic.


Never bothered me much, but I'm sure we'll get comments about the high content of worms sometimes encyisted in the flesh. Most often caught in rivers, but can be good fishing in ponds and lakes.

Great info and photos
worms fry up

I've eaten them in Rock bass

Caught many while fishing through the ice on lake of the woods.

Can usually tell if it's a Burbotski by the tell tale ( thumping) while realing in.

I have caught them through the ice from Sullivan and Bead Lakes in north eastern Washington. We can now fish for them in the Kootenai River and Bonner Lake in north Idaho but I haven't made it up there yet. One of my planned trips this winter.

Because of the no scales on this fish it is a taboo for Jewish people to eat this.

First story I heard from a retired HBC post manager was how he lost his ice spud and was shown how to put one live burbot on a line and it swam around the spud and he retrieved it. The story was told during a crib game and it went on and on till the game ended.

Every winter we would catch them on Lake MilleLacs. Haven't caught one in years anymore. I don't know what happened to them. There isn't much meat on them. Just along the upper back and tail. I've eaten them, but didn't think they were as tasty as perch or walleyes.

Oh, meant to say those are some great photos. Thanks for the post!

Thanks for sharing, Jack. Never had one of those, myself....I admit, anytime I hear of a parasite risk , I recoil from eating it. No matter if it is cooked. Just me.

They are called .Cusk ..in this paaht of the woods

Excellent chowdah fish...white and firm meat

Interesting, Nessie. I've never heard the moniker "Cusk". Learned something new. Thanks...

Jack, are they in the catfish family? They resemble a long skinny channel cat!

Pic taken at the Annual Meridith Rotary ice fishing Derby...lake Winnipesaukee NH

We catch them in NW Ontario early in spring when fishing on the bottom for trout. Normally using ciscos fishing on the bottom. Never caught any as big as the ones in your pic that’s for sure! We call them Ling. What’s your favorite way of cooking them?

The folks that live in the little Siberian village featured in “Happy People” live on Ling the whole winter it seems.

No, Lee. From what little I know, they are related to cod. I believe the only freshwater cod. One central "whisker" rather than two.

Jack

Well I wish I'd not heard anything else about them, they sound good , from the description of the meat. I would want to try it.

Sharon -

The Clark Fork has reasonable numbers. Up until a couple years ago, harvesting them across the border in Idaho was not legal. They have since opened a season in Idaho. Far as I know, always legal in Montana. Utah, last I heard, has a regulation to kill every one of them that you can.

The Tanana and Copper are a ways removed from each other. You got around, Jack. Wish I would have taken advantage of that. I made do with halibut.

Poor mans lobster, good tasting fish.

Would catch many of them on Oneida lake in NY ice fishing. They would feed right along with the walleye. Sadly they are few left. The cormorants are to blame. Oneida lake is a shallow body of water and the burbot are sluggish in the warm summer water. The young burbot were decimated by the invasive cormorants. They can easily dive to the depths that burbot summer in.
Many people also relish the burbot livers.
Many names for them I've heard on that lake, some include
Coney
Cusk
Lush
Birdbolt
My friend had his own term: Poor mans lobster
He would parboil them like monkfish and dip them in butter

Burbot is a big part of our diet over the winter months. Checking the burbot sets and rabbit snares is the kids chores before homeschool.