Headed south and fished out of Atlantic City this morning with my good friend Capt Bob of AC Light Tackle Charters. Fishing green crabs in the back bay we easily caught our one fish limit ( )of blackfish to 18”. We released another 16 or so half of which were keepers. In addition, I caught my first and second trigger fish in NJ. The triggers were about 4 – 5 pounds each. I can’t wait to cook them up!

Caught a trigger about a month or so ago on a wreck outside BI, heard they were good to eat,but heck if I could figure out how to clean it,I gave it away.

You need to stick it with the point of the knife facing outward and cut the skin from the inside out.

Thanks,will try it next time,assuming they are worth the trouble,a taste report would be appreciated,just don't say they taste like chicken.

Capt. Alex I assume when you say inside out you mean like you would clean a fluke keeping the fillet in one piece by running the knife up the backbone and working it out to the finlets?

Extremely tasty! The meat is very firm also. My wife thought it tasted like grouper. My boys liked it also. I am going to try to get some more and stock the freezer!

JJ, what I meant is just to cut the skin enough from the inside out to get access to the meat starting behind the gills and then moving down the back from the head down. Once you have access then you can filet it like most fish. IMO it was not that hard to filet and with the skin so thick it is the easiest fish I have ever skinned.

the next time you guys bag a trigger try using the dorsel fin slot as a guide and go all the way through and cut down to the tail like a bluefish and then take a pair of those heavy paramedic shears and cut the fillet off and then just skin as usual. real tasty eating and with a little practice they are not hard to fillet. tony