Does anybody know where I can buy  fresh cala

V

Vasbait

New member
Does anybody know where I can buy  fresh calamari in Cape Town ?
This is for eating, not fishing .
 
J

jb2

Sealiner
Vasbait wrote:
Does anybody know where I can buy  fresh calamari in Cape Town ?
This is for eating, not fishing .
Click to expand...

Hi Vasbait

I don't eat chokka but it is important to remember that there are a few different species around.

The loligo that is caught in  SA usually goes overseas.

We import ilex which is caught around the Falklands. (This has smaller tubes and is sometimes called patagonian squid. )

I think that the huge steaks come from squid that have been treated to remove the ammonia taste.
 
V

Vasbait

New member
thanks Jb2. So our best chokka goes overseas and we import chemically treated ammonia drenched patagonian ilex. My appetite just went out the window this very moment.
So Pick n pay would be my best bet ?
 
R

rob billimore

Sealiner
JB2....Illex and Patagonica are 2 very different species. Both are caught around the Falklands, one inshore, the other offshore. Illex is the big Squid, Tube length that we import is 18 - 23cm, Patagonica, smaller, tube length 9 - 11cm. Patagonica is imported whole, and Illex mainly as cleaned Tubes, and as this is generally a longline bait Squid, it has to go through a chemical tenderising process to make it edible. Patagonica is naturally tender, and has quite a thin wall. Our local specie is the best, even though it is quite tough (crisp is a better way to explain it), it is definitely the most tasty Squid specie in the world by far.....that is why it is exported, it fetches the highest prices traded into Europe.
We stock about 7 species of Squid at any given time, please contact me for further info, and we can happily supply ex our shop in Montague Gardens. Alternatively, you can contact my wife on tamarab@telkomsa.net for a price list for home delivery.
Cheers
RB
 
K

kraken

Senior Member
Thats easy! Call Henning Venter of ProBait and buy a kilo or two of export grade chokka.
The chokka we use for bait is far superior to any calamari you will buy at the supermarket.
Otherwise, look out for California Squid. I'm told its almost as good as our loligo.
 
Marthin

Marthin

Sealiner
ok which one is the one with the thick walls that you sometimes get from the bait shops... it's about 30cm long but then the walls are almost 1cm thick... absolutely useless as bait in my opinion.
 
W

Walt

Sealiner
Vasbait wrote:
thanks Jb2. So our best chokka goes overseas and we import chemically treated ammonia drenched patagonian ilex. My appetite just went out the window this very moment.
So Pick n pay would be my best bet ?
Click to expand...
My son & his wife bought prawns directly from Ocean Basket.Try Ocean Basket for Calamari/Chokka if you don't come right elsewhere!

Cheers!
 
R

rob billimore

Sealiner
Morning Andrew........we have some Californian in stock too, its the same size as Patagonica, but not as tender, thats why its better as a bait Squid than Patagonica. We have some nice Californian Squid coming over shortly, packed in 1Lb (0.454g) boxes, perfect for bait, and quite cheap too. As far as taste goes, nothing can beat our local Loligo........best eaten fresh, and caught yourself !
RB
 
Marthin

Marthin

Sealiner
rob now there is something we can agree on... the candles from Kalkbay harbour... breaks my heart when i have to use one as kob bait, but when they are still see through they are so fresh, i doubt there is any other bait as good for kob.
 
R

rob billimore

Sealiner
Hi Marthin, that is probably a local specie called Pota, very good eating as it has thick walls, is naturally tender and white......but has very little taste. If we cant taste it, how do we expect the fish to taste it ??? I agree !
 
R

rob billimore

Sealiner
Marthin, I caught some the other day from my boat, and I have been dying to eat some........alas.......they are still safely frozen in my freezer awaiting Kob season ! So I rather eat the inferior imported products, some of them are really not too bad.
 
K

kraken

Senior Member
rob billimore wrote:
Morning Andrew........we have some Californian in stock too, its the same size as Patagonica, but not as tender, thats why its better as a bait Squid than Patagonica. We have some nice Californian Squid coming over shortly, packed in 1Lb (0.454g) boxes, perfect for bait, and quite cheap too. As far as taste goes, nothing can beat our local Loligo........best eaten fresh, and caught yourself !
RB
Click to expand...
Howzit Rob!
Yup, our loligo is definitely the best taste wise!
I usually get a block flown down from PE and a fair amount of it ends up on the dinner table instead of the bait box!
 
V

Vasbait

New member
THanks Kraken. Would you eat the probait chokka or would you rather buy the imported one from Rob for the table ?
 
R

rob billimore

Sealiner
Vasbait.......it also comes down to price......not sure what export quality Loligo sells for now, but would estimate anything between R60 - R90 per kg, depending where you buy. Imported Squid is a LOT cheaper. Comes down to what you can afford, but in my opinion, if you get some Loligo at a good proice, I would rather eat that than anything else.
 
R

rob billimore

Sealiner
Put it this way, all the Calamari that you eat in restaurants in South Africa is imported, and most as Patagonica......its really not bad at all.
 
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