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Black or stripped mullet, are a versatile fish
that can be found throughout the world in warm,
coastal marine waters and sometimes in fresh
water. They are abundant in Florida waters,
especially in Choctawhatchee Bay and its bayous
in and around Niceville.
These fish, well known
and held in high esteem for centuries,
 were
often included in the writings of ancient Romans. They were cultivated
along the Nile River, and native chieftains of the Hawaiian and
Philippine Islands had large numbers of fish ponds built throughout the
islands to raise the fish.
Mullet
are sometimes called jumping, or happy mullet
because the fish leaps out of the water and skips
along its surface with great exuberance.
Mullet have
elongated, rather stout bodies. They are a dark bluish color on the top
part of the body and have silvery sides. The head and mouth are small
with closely-set teeth in the jaws. Mullet have large scales and, on the
sides of these fish, the scales have dark centers which give an
appearance of dark, horizontal stripes. Mullet range up to 2-1/2 feet in
length (that's a real big one) and have an average weight of 2 to 3
pounds, though they can get up to 6 pounds.
Mullet, which feed on
vegetation, algae, plankton and such, take on the flavor of its
surroundings. In most areas, dirty, muddy or polluted waters render
mullet inedible. The reason mullet is no longer a prize delicacy in Rome
is because Italy's canals and coastal waters became polluted (that's why
there's no Roman Mullet Festival).
Mullet taken from
Niceville's sandy-bottomed waters are fat and clean. It's firm-textured
flesh has a mild, almost sweet, nutlike flavor.
During the depression,
mullet literally saved the Boggy Bayou area by providing pioneer
families with the means to barter with farmers in nearby Alabama and
others for needed goods and services.
These days mullet is
largely caught by individuals with small cast nets who watch and listen
for the leaping fish and spot schools beneath the surface of Niceville's
crystal clear waters. The best fishing months are from April to
November, with the heaviest run usually in September.
These versatile fish
adapt readily to deep-fat frying, oven frying, baking, broiling or
smoking. Mullet are exceptionally good smoked!
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Group Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MulletFestival.com is not affiliated
with nor is it any part of the Boggy
Bayou Mullet Festival Council, Inc. |
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