Wildlife, including opossum, raccoons, quail, turkeys, eastern kingbirds, catbirds, robins, veeries and red-eyed vireos, relish this fruit. To beat the animals to the fruit, some people pick it while it's still on the tree. Ripeness, however, can't be judged by the color. The only dependable sign is a slight softening of the fruit.
If you own a smoker - one of those contraptions designed specifically for slow-cooking fish and other delicacies over wood smoke - you probably already know how to prepare fish that would bring tears of happiness to a gourmet's eyes.