It's ILLEGAL To Release These Beautiful Fish ALIVE! -- CATCH and COOK Invasive Species! (NEW PB x12)

Today we are hanging out with my buddy Jared from Outside The Levees chasing down S. Louisiana's most invasive fish species! These fish are insanely beautiful and surprisingly tasty. Follow along to see what all we are able to catch and how we cook them up! Thanks so much for watching and we will see you on the next one!
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[@FAFO1983]

Try scaling, gutting, and deep frying them whole. The meat falls off the bone. You can season the oil with garlic too. It's super easy and no loss of meat. The little bones crisp up. Plus with a good dipping sauce, it's even better. Sprinkle a little seasoning on the inside once you separate it. Make sure you have a fryer with a basket that allows it to drain right after cooking. Enjoy!

[@firemedic5100]

The Rio Grande cichlid is a fine fighter, and easily caught. It is considered good table fare. The Texas state record was caught at Lake Dunlap in 2011 and weighed 2.02 pounds.They can grow up to 10 inches

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Would love to catch a big one like that! Next cichlid I’m after are Oscars and Mayan cichlids!

[@jimhahn2728]

@@COLE_and_JAY In the Everglades, I have caught red tiger Oscar's in the 4lb range. Fun fight on top water

[@fishingfreak9734]

They are also called Rio Grand Perch in Texas. We catch them in the Comal river in New Braunfels, TX., beside Heidelberg Resort Lodges. The Comal river is crystal clear. If I recall, it's the only river that starts and ends within the city limits of a city. The river comes out of the ground springs then connects to the Guadalupe River which is also beautiful, but not near as clear and clean as it used to be. The Comal River record is 1.27 pounds caught on a worm, it was 10.5 inches long. The Comal species can be tan to green colored but still has the beautiful spots on them. I'm curious as to why they're considered invasive to LA if they are native to North America and a neighboring state? They are delicious!!

[@spencersemien471]

I raised them they are Called Texas not rio grand

[@jayhouston7054]

@@COLE_and_JAY Mayans almost seem to have overrun many of the canals around my area in Ft Lauderdale for years now. You can catch tons of them with just bread balls like we used to do with bream cept they are much much stronger and fighters. Heck I can't even catch bream\blue gills with bread in the canal next to my house now a days just mayans. Live worm will get them still but then again a live worm most things will eat.

[@daerth4423]

I never even thought about people eating cichlids since I've always associated them with aquarium fish. I'd definitely give it a try. Beautiful looking fish.

[@singsongeric]

one of the most common restaurant fish tilapia is also a cichlid :).

[@XllxSilentxllX]

I thought the same thing, till I watched some documentary lol and found that It's equal to us frying up bluegill or other pan fish species.

[@ClarkMiedel-es6ud]

I just live watching you and jay fishing glad to see a man taking his better half fishing a true bond

[@scott9172]

Amazing how fast a fish from the aquarium trade can become an invasive species. These came out back around 2002. I bet they make good flathead bait. I bred them for a few years acquiring wild caught ones from northern mexico. Their breeding colors are phenomenal .

[@user-zu5fe1mp9v]

They didn’t come out they’re native to Texas and Mexico.

[@scott9172]

@@user-zu5fe1mp9v SO WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN LOUISIANA

[@susantao2891]

So happy to see you guys using my nieces cousins Bachans (pronounced “baw-chawns”, which means Grandmother in Japanese) Sauce from Northern California!

[@cwskoshikun]

"Ba Chan" not Baw Chan

[@susantao2891]

@@cwskoshikun nope

[@cwskoshikun]

@@susantao2891 yup

[@cwskoshikun]

Not even close dear....the word baw is not in the Japanese vocabulary....however ba is 😁

[@djcrash1104]

I followed you recipe on your cook and it was great. The only thing I did differently was I cooked the egg batter(5 eggs) and added them. It was great and my family loved it. Thanks!!

[@pomexfishing5061]

Always love watching your vids!

[@id10t98]

Good crunch, good color on the fry job! Some seasoned flour before the egg wash would add some nice flavor as well.

[@tonnettestrickland3141]

WELCOME TO MY STATE!!! THE BAYOU STATE!! I'm late b/c I heard you say --"still here"! 🙂 Wish I could have been fishing with you but I'm up north in Shreveport!! 😞 Hope you had fun and come back!! Blessings!!

[@jimfausset8122]

What a cool pretty fish glad you're trying them thanks for letting everyone know how good they are

[@williamstockton2344]

You should see the red Texas cichlid. They are very beautiful. They’re a fish you’d want to keep in an aquarium, but they are more aggressive than the ones that they’re catching.

[@RedlineOutdoors]

Beautiful fish and tasty! 👍🏼 Thanks for sharing

[@COLE_and_JAY]

They were so good and a lot of fun to catch!! Hope to target them again sooner than later!

[@teamjudahfishing]

Awesome!!!! I absolutely loved this one!

[@danielg2946]

I had a friend show me how he cooked Tilapia, gut it, scale it, rub it down with salt then deep fry it, eat with sauce of choice, very tasty.

[@patriciaguenzler9150]

Thanks 👍 for sharing this with us awesome 👍😎

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Thanks so much for watching!!!

[@maggiechristina8840]

In the 80s, we used to catch these tasty babies in Town Lake, Austin, Texas. They would hang out next to the shore's clear water. We would slowly lower our hooks down right in front of their mouths, hook em & quickly pull em out.

[@ronaldyeater3322]

Was on vacation and cought Rio's, didn't know had to keep, so bigger ones filleted and fried, made a chimichurri mayo dipping sauce instead of tarter sauce, was great fish fry.. next day made a gochujang, gochujaru, soy, brown sugar and sesame oil sauce👍, I wish had in RI lol. Dish looks great, was like our crappie here👍

[@vafishingandoutdoors6432]

Looks like a fun day on the water

[@COLE_and_JAY]

We had a blast!! Thanks!

[@trishaarabie956]

It's good fishing with Jared ❤

[@comiketiger]

Fun stuff! God bless all here.

[@stonescapelamps]

That first little cichlid you caught with its top fin slicked back looked like some kind of NY slicked back Mob type fish :)

[@2007crf450r]

just subbed the channel i cant believe youtube waited this long to show me your channel great content

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Thank you so much!!!

[@The-Sportsman69]

Thanks for your video 👍

[@sanster7700]

Yum. Hope to try your recipe but with bluegill.🙂

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Do it! You’ll love it!!!

[@davidchosewood647]

Get one mounted dude. Would be cool. I have mounted Bluegill in my collection that I had done just for the heck of it. Those would be a good addition and conversation piece.

[@garydirks8223]

I grew up in south Texas. We used them for bait on trotlines. I would see them for sale in pet stores many years ago. Probably how they got to that area.

[@amb-yz9ee]

They naturally occur in South Texas, another common name for them in the Texas Cichlid.

[@daviddeking2676]

The Bachan's is teriyaki sauce. It's almost identical to my mother's recipe. The noodle and fish combo looked very tasty. Thanks for sharing!

[@animulovers3881]

Wow nice one guys😊 i love fishing too

[@michellemorgan6295]

Great video and the fish looked tasty ❤😊❤😊

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Thank you! They were delicious!

[@leemowers9395]

Thanks for sharing

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Thank you!!!

[@TakeMeFishingGary]

They are on my Cichlid Bucket List!

[@michaelprue9024]

Never heard of these fish, but since watching this video would like to try. My cousins turned me on to yellow bass up here in Nebraska. They are also considered an invasive species, are very aggressive and a blast to catch. With no limit, we filled a beer cooler one afternoon a few years back and then had a small fish fry. Very tasty little fish. They don’t get much bigger than say a medium sized rio grande cichlid, so the no limit was a bonus. Tight lines guys.

[@becia1540]

If it's native then why invasive?

[@kenhuynh275]

Good size yellow bass taste better than white bass to me.

[@pitterpatter917]

@@becia1540 over breeding and destroying other fish habitat that hold more value aswell as eating prey fish that other more valued fish would otherwise eat, bass in itself is considered trash fish but they are fun to catch

[@Noone-rt6pw]

That ain't a shrimp boat, that's a "Lafitte Skiff". One of the prettiest boats there is. Buy you a real pirogue while down thar.that. Be sure to get you some ordinary, rice sausage, crawfish is my preference. Thanks for taking me for a visit.

[@bayoudreams395]

roger that... damn yankees come down and think they lived the 'life'. I spent time in Arkansas and those dudes are fake as shit. At least in Ft. Smith and Little Rock areas

[@victorrobinson7008]

Try fishing with ( chitterling's , raw uncooked ) from the grocery store ! Small bag or 2 1/2 pound tub .

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Def need to try that!

[@fgonzalez1994]

Cole & Jay, y'all need to take a trip to the rivers and creeks in the Texas Hill County, or even better, the mountains of Nuevo León, Mexico.

[@eugenegress5896]

Very Cool Fish. Its Color Pattern would look good on a T Shirt. Looks like a Type of Blue Gill.

[@michaelmosley254]

One of our church members went to FL a few months ago and caught Oscars and brought some back for a fish fry and they were great

[@COLE_and_JAY]

That sounds like so much fun!!

[@JadenHallGolf06]

Love the videos! Ive never seen a fish like that 😮

[@CoyMouton]

Good to see you down in my childhood stomping grounds with OUTSIDE THE LEVEES ❤️

[@redbeardtexasoutdoors9147]

We got those over here in Austin. There are really delicious good job guys.

[@fatmanwookie5180]

Had a Aquarium shop back in the 90s use to sell them I got $60. For the small ones you caught never tried eating them worth to much thank you for your video

[@jonant8317]

4:25 setting that hook like he is on the Bass Masters

[@thevoiceman6192]

I Like the closing song. It works well.

[@COLE_and_JAY]

It’s our jam!

[@BraddahBruce]

The pronunciation for the sauce is bah-chahn. It considered Japanese bbq. Bachan means grandma in Japanese. It is his grandmother's recipe. Great video!!! 🍍😎🤙🌴🥥🌺🌈

[@chandlernelson5391]

The Rio Grande/Texas Cichlid are found all over Texas from South Texas to the Hill Country up through Houston along the bays... wouldnt surprise me if they are found in Coastal LA. But those are some big ones

[@oneup12]

I’m in Canada, they are sold in the aquarium hobby here. I own one and they are beautiful definitely a great addition to my garden and pbass tank

[@kennethlocke4213]

Try cooking them in a beer can on a stick. Lemon butter Italian dressing. & A camp fire.

[@bradhollaway7011]

They have some big cichlids in the hippo tank at the Memphis zoo. They are really colorful!

[@richardsmith6741]

Cole Jay Yalls outta consider a trip to Maine....especially during the smelt run this coming winter...great fun and Fish fries are yumm!!. Great bait for a ice fishing experience on moosehead....you can stay at the Birches!

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Been really wanting to travel up there! Definitely high on the list!

[@richardsmith6741]

You will not be disappointed...you may never want to leave.loljust like the rest of us already here. Maine is the Best Place on Earth!

[@psiloveyouar]

Beautiful fish!!!

[@BigBass-xf5yi]

Looks tasty. I gotta get me some of that sauce

[@c7adventures376]

🤠 dang. I was thinking it was s Jack. 🤔

[@jtlynn1928]

Fish them like a Rock Bass or Bream! Rio Grande Cichlids are SUPER AGRESSIVE!!😂 I have a 150 gallon tank with Rio Grande, Maryann amd Pike Cichlids. FUN TANK amd it took time for them all to get along. We got them all AT the same time , same size and same breeder. Moving to a 300 gallon tank here soon so we can add something cool!

[@JPthebeeman]

Hey Cole, you guys weren’t too far from me, were y’all in Violet? I’ve caught those Rio Grande cichlids for many years now, they’re scrappy & good eating. As you discovered, the males get bigger, have that bump on their heads. Enjoy your time in Louisiana! 👍🐝👍

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Had a blast visiting down there! Those rios were awesome!!

[@RichardPeterson-de2fh]

Use a herring set up to catch several at a time.

[@mrboat580]

Lafitte skiff is what that boat is. Great boats. Used to be hand built from cypress.

[@Johnyrocket70]

Replace the Raman noodles with rice, chow mien noodles or a nice salad to mix the fish with.

[@ccradventures4298]

Hey cool love the vids I live on lake Conway in Arkansas so we live so close love the vids🎉

[@jakea511]

Best way to cook a Mexican cichlid in LA is u scale it then filet it then batter and fry no matter the size.they are very easy to descale when u ice them up.

[@daveyboy8907]

I remember buying these for our fishtank back in the late 80s .

[@jasonkessler6841]

Me too, I always liiked African Cichlid's myself.

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Awesome!! They would be cool to keep!

[@davidvento5481]

A lot of petshop animals became invasive in the warmer states. Besides fish; (Snakeheads, Pelcostomus & various cichlids including Tilapia) there are many reptiles (Green Iguanas, Basilisks, Cuban Anoles, Red-Eared Sliders, Burmese Pythons, etc, etc.) Some (many) aren’t even native to the US!

[@206beastman]

I had one as a pet for 8 years its crazy u guys eat them

[@robertlint4742]

With invasive species could they create contest to target them by most poundage ,size or color. Then have a fish fry

[@fgonzalez1994]

I wish we had them in numbers I'm seeing in LA. Tilapias have taken over their range in South Texas and Northeastern Mexico.

[@kayakkim]

I've pulled those out of Comal river in New Braunfels, Texas.

[@Nightbeltisback]

5:55 I don’t want to go to jail lol😂

[@timkaldahl]

I wonder if he meant "back"😂

[@rl2109]

Nice video, and great idea with the fish & pasta! God bless ALL of us! WWG1WGA

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Thank you!! We had a great time!!

[@pyrodave6407]

Wish we had those in Pa I would be using them as flathead bait

[@carolmiland9665]

Happy you are with Jarad. Love his channel and his family. Take care ❤

[@fishfriend143]

I love the videos and those fish are cool

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Thank you! They were really fun to catch!

[@kevinbabineaux3014]

Try by the rocks. I caught a bunch the other day in Westwego Louisiana. Threw them on the bank to the cranes. I hate those fish. I caught a hundred Perch , red breast and shell crackers Monday. No boats out at all

[@TheFishingNomad]

Such a beautiful fish. The Rio Grande cichlid is the only species of cichlid native to the US.

[@engineer2001]

It's good you're eating those. I kept African cichlids in my aquariums for a while that looked a lot like them, and they were jerks. Deserve to be eaten. Lol

[@bigplanet7818]

The Texas cichlid (Herichthys cyanoguttatus), also known as the Rio Grande cichlid, is a freshwater fish of the cichlid family, and the only cichlid species that is native to the United States.

[@COLE_and_JAY]

They’re a really cool fish!!

[@davidgraham2673]

As soon as I saw the fish, I thought; Freshwater aquarium fish = Cichlid.

[@amb-yz9ee]

@@COLE_and_JAYthey do occur naturally in America but in the Rio Grande only.

[@TodrickWilliams-dt3pu]

Nope,we have Mayan cichlids and Oscar and tilapia rt here in Florida, especially in the lakes and canals in south Florida.

[@TodrickWilliams-dt3pu]

Down here in Florida we have Mayan cichlids and Oscar

[@jimhahn2728]

They look just like the African cichlid except smaller. I catch them in the canals, in the Everglades.

[@davidvento5481]

Some Nimrod decided they were too big for their fishtank and decided to set them free. The same thing with Lionfish off the FL coast.

[@jimdanos9237]

Don’t forget to use the head and carcass as crab bait.

[@slapurmom5667]

Nice plants

[@RyuRaeArashi]

I feel like these would be fun to gut, scale, de-fin and just bread and fry whole.

[@thomasm9139]

Crazy I never heard of them. I fish some of the swamps in coastal Mississippi for Crappie and catch plenty other fish. When you mentioned invasive I was thinking Asia which is bad for sure, but South Texas not so bad.

[@kenneth9874]

The asian carp are terrible for the environment, are y'all plagued with the apple snails too?

[@thomasm9139]

@@kenneth9874 We don't have Asian Carp here yet. (I say yet). Don't know anything about the snails. We do have a big time problem with some of the invasive aquatic grasses though.

[@kenneth9874]

@@thomasm9139 between the asian carp and the apple snails the aquatic grass has disappeared, the carp have displaced a lot of good fish

[@ianlauhon8760]

I'm sure it's been said but that bluegill I believe and bass are a type of cichlid

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Bluegill and bass are in the fish Family: Centrarchidae and Cichlids are in the Family: Cichlidae. S

[@steelermule]

Catch and release ------------into the grease !

[@MsKindaSorta]

They’re also called Texas cichlids. They get twice that size with biggo noggins on them in Texas.

[@COLE_and_JAY]

I was hoping to catch a real big one like that!

[@kendalcobb367]

Fish is fish. It all tastes good

[@danielvelez4001]

Nice I have a friend with some of those ❤😂😂

[@gregoryyoung502]

River walk in San Antonio has ones at least foot long.

[@jeffebinger1218]

Any history with or any plans to go after any peacock bass out the florida canals? Another evasive fish in the cichlid family. 14:41

[@roygorman6624]

Watch out for those sharks boys!

[@anonymousltarmy3633]

We have a lot of cichlids here in Florida especially in Miami Beach and they are very tasty 👊🏼🔥😎 btw I'm a New Subscriber 👊🏼🔥😎

[@COLE_and_JAY]

Awesome! We want to come down there and get after some!

[@anonymousltarmy3633]

@@COLE_and_JAY well I got a fishing boat just let me know whenever you guys ready to go after some big game fishing 💪

[@duypham76]

Nice, I would put them in my aquarium lol

[@willowwisp6401]

Where in Louisiana did you go?, I live in Baton Rouge and would drive to where you went to catch those fish for my aquarium, the small ones, and to eat the bigger ones.

[@pawpaw5717]

Gotta try the Japanese bbq sauce.

[@joshslackslack8115]

Azure in Louisiana should try to link up with M.Hood fishing and hook up to some big fish

[@COLE_and_JAY]

That would be fun!!!

[@johnbubbajohnson5630]

Awesome looking fish. Thank you for sharing. God bless you and your family and your friends...🙏❤🙏❤🙏

[@heavenbound358]

That looked CICK!!

[@yeldarbarrow3172]

I used to catch these Rio Grande Cichlids in the park in New Braunfels, Tx, as a kid. My godparents lived about three blocks from the city park. Whenever we went down to visit I'd spend a lot of time there fishing, catching musk turtles. There's several fish there that can't survive our colder water temperatures up here in central Texas. I brought a stringerfull back once and we had them for dinner.... at the time I found them somewhat "chewy" more like lobster texture than bluegill. But as a sixth grader my filet skills had yet to be developed so these were head, guts, and scales removed then into the frying pan. Now that I'm a decent cook myself, some fortysomethin' years later, I'm leaning towards perhaps that sample as having been a bit overdone? I'd like to take a road trip down to Austin, San Marcos, and New Braunfels and the surrounding area, including catching another bunch to filet and cook to perfection.

[@COLE_and_JAY]

That’s awesome! We’ve been wanting to go check out that area!

[@yeldarbarrow3172]

@COLE_and_JAY It's beautiful quite unlike the boring flatland of my home grounds between Ft. Worth and Waco. 🤣

[@joshwagner8468]

I live in San Antonio tx and there not that easy to find here. Never caught any here but it would be nice to drive to New Braunfels to catch them

[@davidchosewood647]

I was the same way cleaning fish as a youngster until later on in life discovering the electric filet knife. Only way to go in my opinion. I've never heard of this fish before. They look like a trigger fish kind of.

[@williamgahman5028]

Hi Cole Great video. Neat looking fish. Have fun and enjoy making memories God bless and love yall ❤❤

[@antonyf2023]

Its pearl spot fish.. Very tasty.

[@mushroomon]

What part of the state yalls at .we don't have that way south Louisiana at least I never caught any fishing

[@jesusgaytan1353]

Use them for cut bait

[@COLE_and_JAY]

We saved some for that later!

[@americanfortruth]

We need to get the Asian carp to market. Some that ate them said they're good when prepared properly. Or even cat food.

[@brenda4937]

Do They cook up Nice & taste Good ?? Also, even though you can't toss them back .. can you use the smaller ones as bait for bigger fish?

[@COLE_and_JAY]

They tasted amazing