TRIGGER DINNER

by Robin

A couple of weeks ago, we caught Trigger offshore.  Correction:  I caught trigger offshore.   LOL  Here is what I did with it.

Jack fileted it without skin.  I kept the spices very simple with a little garlic powder, salt & pepper and a small amount of lemon zest AFTER rubbing a little olive oil on both sides.  I chopped some thyme and parsley to put on top.  With the pan, you get it very hot with a squirt or two of olive oil and then some fake butter.  (I can't have dairy).  Sear away!!  Only do a couple minutes on each side.  Then, squeeze some fresh lemon juice on each side before turning.  Make sure your fish is cooked through and then put onto plate.

I happened to have fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and basil from my garden to make the perfect, healthy side vegetable.



Normally, we do a lot of lime on fish in our household, but it was very refreshing to have the lemon flavoring tonight.  This dish gives you a taste of Italy when you bite into it. 

God bless & Good luck to all those fishing the CFOA fishing tournament this weekend.  We will be watching you at the weigh-in.

Robin

SOUTH ATLANTIC BOTTOM FISHING CLOSURES are LIFTED!!!

by Robin

Pic from 2009

SAFMC's Mother's Day gift to me!!

Note from Robin to you:  This does not end the ban on Warsaw & Speckle-Hind possessions.  This only opens the closure of the 6 other species that were closed to prevent Warsaw & Speckle-Hind by-catches from the 240 ft depth & out. 

http://www.bdoutdoors.com/story/south-atlantic-bottom-fishing-ban-lifted/

"Effective May 10, 2012, a federal ban on recreational and commercial fishing for deep-water snapper and grouper in depths greater than 240 feet in the South Atlantic is no longer in effect. Since going into effect on January 31, 2011, this closure had a significant economic impact on businesses throughout the South Atlantic region."

"After taking into consideration the high economic cost of the ban to the sportfishing industry, and a new analysis of fisheries data, the South Atlantic Council determined that the ban was not necessary to achieve the goal of ending overfishing for speckled hind and warsaw grouper." 



(Pic from 2007)

FISHING 4/25/ &  4/28 HIGHLIGHTS
by Robin

Wow, it has been an exhausting last couple weeks.  I needed a vacation from my vacation.  We started off with 4 days of testing, followed by a week off (2 days fishing) and then jumped into presentations, posterboards, performances, fibromyalgia attack, .... you name it.   I am just beginning to feel like myself again. 

Anyhow, here are the highlight pics from last week.

Mahi mahi fishing wasn't any good.  We were fishing the morning after a HUGE cold front (49 deg night) and nothing was biting up top so we decided to make the best of it with some bottom fishing.

We were pulling Beeliners (Vermillion Snapper), one after another until I mentioned that we may limit out on them. And Jack's take was that I shut down the bite by speaking that outloud. My take was that I was going to keep a grunt and Jack made me throw him back down to the bottom. When down there, he grunted to the others to stop eating. That's my take on it. Either way, 5 is all we came home with. Friday, we got a very late start. Here are my "men". We initially went out to bring home some vermillion but it was a zoo out there. By the time we were able to get to the "hole", the bite was shut down. Vermillion are so fussy. So, we caught a couple Chocolate Chip Porgy's, then moved to 8A for some kingfish. Well, drop after drop, we were only coming up with baby black sea bass. At one point, I got bowed over and I was really hoping for a grouper but it turned out to be this delicious guys. Then, we had 3 fish in the box. Not a spectacular day, but we had fun for a half-day. I put down my pole to take video of the guys. They were having too much fun at each other's expense. Here is a 3 min video of their goofing off. Back to the Port early. I had to force the guys to take a pic of me holding my personal best trigger. I know that many folks are fishing this week/-end. Spectacular weather and a tournament is going on. Not us. I'm trying my best to get that pool perfect some weekend swimming. Plus, I have to give my back a few more days of rest before I fish again. God bless & Happy Fishing! Robin

GOODBYE DISCOVERY

by Robin

FOUR MORE DAYS!!

by Robin

In four more days, we'll have 9 opportunities to go fishing. It has been a rough spring for us, weather-wise. Seems like every Saturday has been just awful wind or storms. This past weekend was no different.

So, Jack has taken the week off and we hope to find a couple days to fish on. Our family gets one of those days and I think the guys on the other street have all talked Jack into a trip.

Stay tuned!

Robin

PS: I hope there are plenty of mahi, cobia & vermillion snapper in my future!

GOD BLESS JOSE' WEJEBE
by Robin

It is with great sadness that I have to post up the links about Jose' Wejebe's tragic death. My heart & prayers go out to his family. He was a favorite of ours on the fishing shows because of his love of offshore saltwater fishing and for his gentle spirit. He will always be a legendary hero to me.


http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/apr/06/plane-crash-reported-everglades-city/


"Jose Wejebe, who hosted Spanish Fly, a saltwater fishing show on the Outdoor Channel and formerly ESPN, died when his kit plane plummeted into a field near the runway shortly after take-off from Everglades Airpark. Wejebe is the registered owner of the plane, according to FAA records."

This link has a bit more updated information.

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/apr/06/jose-wejebe-crash-spanish-fly-everglades-city-p/?partner=popular


"Born in Cuba, he fled to Miami with his family after Fidel Castro’s revolution, according to his website. It was in Florida that he learned to fish alongside his father at 8 years old.

As a teen, Wejebe bought his first boat with the money he made working at a gas station, his official online biography states. He ultimately became a fishing guide in South Florida, from Biscayne Bay to Everglades City. Wejebe was living in the Florida Keys at the time of his death."

Here is a 5 minute taste of his style in the Spanish Fly show. He caught a tarpon only to have it chased by a bull shark.



Here is a 1:44 video of Jose fishing for mahi mahi. Nice aerial view of a weedline.



God bless
Robin

HOLY WEEK
by Robin

It was beautiful fishing weather all week but a front has moved through and we're going to have 6-8 ft seas tomorrow. Many folks were catching Kingfish and some cobia.

Vermillion snapper & many of the groupers have opened up again, as of April 1st. BUT, do not keep your black sea bass, which stay closed until June 1st.

Oh well, maybe next weekend we can try to fish again.

God bless & have a blessed Good Friday.

CUTLASS / RIBBON FISH
by Robin


I thought that maybe I should show you our cutlass fish before I continue on with part 2 of my fishing story.

Two Texas fisherman stranded for 30 hrs at sea. One survived and the other did not. So sad. Life is so precious and fragile. My heart & prayers go out to the Coen family.

http://news.yahoo.com/boat-sinks-texas-man-survives-30-hours-gulf-165253660.html


Robin

3/17/12 - MAHI FISHING & SPINNING THE PROP
by Robin

We were finally able to get offshore on Saturday. It was a bit of a rough start in the morning as we took our time to head out to the mahi depths. Our plan was to troll for mahi in the morning and come back in once the sun was high in the sky and sight fish for cobia.

Well, we found some beautiful rips in 135 ft of water and turned south with the lines in the water. In short order, one of the lines was singing to us!! Jack was such the gentleman and gave me first dibs.

I took my time and was careful not to lose this bull. We set the drag perfect, kept tension on the line but allowed him time to wear himself out before getting to the boat. Jack made a perfect gaff shot right behind the pectoral fin and he was in the box. He kicked & kicked for 10 minutes. Once he calmed down, Jack took this picture of me holding him. Gorgeous coloration.



Then, I noticed a school of something far off in the distance and got out my Bloggie (by Sony) for video. While I was waiting for time to pass, as we approached & they counter-approached, I gave some basic commentary on our morning fishing. Feel free to skip those notes-to-self the first 2 minutes and watch the dolphin join around us.




Then, I had the Bloggie out again, trying to capture flying fish. That is when I saw this mahi right in front of us. We nearly ran over him! But, he was so smart to dodge us and run directly to the ballyhoo being trolled behind. Here is a quick video of that. I was not able to video for long since I had to pull in the other lines on the boat so that Jack's bull would not tangle into them. Be sure not to miss the mahi jumping at the end.



Our day was looking up for a while. We had 2 nice fish in the box and it wasn't even noon. We ate some sandwiches and decided we would move inshore, as planned, and find the cobia. We were 29 miles SE from the port entrance. We sped along a couple of miles when our boat's propeller decided to break loose, AKA 'spin a prop'. Grrrrrr. Didn't hit anything or come flying out of the water. It just happened. This was at 2:20 pm. We decided to limp back into port with the 7 knots that God gave us. We gave it a valiant effort for 1.5 hrs. We moved only 5.5 miles. It was apparent that the winds were slowing us back down to 2.7 knots and the propeller might have also been declining further. We were between a rock & a hard place. Four o'clock and doing some mental math. Not a good position to be in. Twenty-one miles left to go at < 3 knots. Our kids would be wondering why we did not check in, since we had no bars on the phones to call them. I didn't want to put anybody into fear over what had happened to us. That bothered me more than anything else.

Eventually, it became clear to call our towing service. We anchored up, gave coordinates and awaited their arrival. We also had them call dear friends who had agreed to be "back up parents" in case of an emergency. They were notified and kidnapped (w/ permission) our kids until we could pick them up.

Then, we waited. We heard the various cruise ships announce their departure of the port. One by one, we watched them float by us, 21 miles later. A couple hours of confusion on who was being sent out to us, four cruise ships, and an approaching setting sun, I became a bit more anxious. The only blessings that had come during that time were a couple of texts from my friend who had our boys and my mom. (I wonder if those happened because the cruise ships had wi-fi. ???) We tried fishing over the sandy bottom, but only came up with cutlass fish (fish-snake creature). At some point, our first battery died along with out hopes of being towed. Being anchored in rolling seas, we rocked to the point of the base of my chair (attached to the livewell) began to crack the fiberglass. Not good.

I did take some video of myself making comments along the way. I may release those at some point and then again, maybe I won't. They have some raw emotion ranging from slap-happy humor to lack of hope.

Soon, the tow boat arrived from the north. In short order, Jack hooked the clasp to our bow eye (thing-a-ma-jig). We were underway about 7pm. Underway but feeling defeated over our circumstances. Certainly stuff can be fixed. These aren't even super-expensive fixes either. Yet, the 14 hrs of exposure to the elements, frustration, inability to be in control of circumstances and possibly, a tiny bit of nausea from being anchored at sea, it did something to my psyche as well as my body. I haven't been, nor wanted, to process it all, which is probably why I didn't want to write this post all week. But I digress....

Back to the story, we were kissing dry land, figuratively. I backed the trailer into the water and Jack did his best to drive (guide) a near dead boat half-way into the bunks. At this point, I surrendered to my day. There was no dignity left to behold. I got into the water, thankful it wasn't freezing cold and hooked the boat up to the winch. I cranked it closer and closer but it wasn't easy. The closer I got to it, the more I was fighting the weight, angle and people staring at me. I'm giving every bit of effort to get this pig (said affectionately) up. Absolutely nobody has made any offer to help, so I cried out to God for a little more strength. I made it within 2-3" of the rubber roller by the winch. Jack says to just haul it out. I know he's right. It will be easier on level ground.

I walked carefully back to the suv, trying not to bust my rear on the slimy concrete. As I took deep breaths, my heart was pounding, I felt a touch of asthma kicking in. Not fun. But, all goes well and we came to the staging area to prep the boat for traveling on the roads. I wanted to give in to tears but not here. Not yet. Be strong Robin.

I cranked the boat all the way up to the roller. Jack tied down the boat to the trailer. Poles go down in the floor. There was a little chatter amongst the other fishermen on their day. Then, we started for home, in the dark, much like a reverse of how our day started.

We didn't even make it to the first intersection and somebody came straight for us, in our lane. I don't even think I had any adrenalin left to react with. Jack stopped the rig and she veered back to her lane without even looking at us. My guess is that she had a little too much St. Patrick's celebration already underway. We passed another fender-bender, got on the highway and all I could think of was seeing my kids. I wanted so badly to have this cry as I hug them. But in reality, I didn't. Our friends' house was filled with happiness, excitement and curiosity. Three generations of love & prayers that blessed us. I held it together as we got the boys and completed the last leg of the journey.

The drive home was about their stories of games with the other family. I tried to absorb it, but I was still rocking on the ocean. My mind refused cooperate with my intentions of putting my kids' stories first. We unloaded a few things off the boat, got showers and my head never hit the pillow so hard in my life.

To be continued.....

SEAFOOD FESTIVAL (at our house)!!!!!
by Robin

We've been landlocked for 7 weeks now. Yesterday, the gusts of wind were in the low 40's (mph). Seas are predicted to be 6-9 ft this week. Last week, they were 5-7 ft.

One thing is for certain, we are in desperate need for the salt life. So, we decided to take some of our fishing money and pick up some seafood from our favorite local dealers. I am SO GLAD that I took these pictures for the blog. Who knew I would need them for inspiration after last weekend's fish fry disaster.

We were invited to a fish fry on our street. A good time was had by all. We have great neighbors. BUT, I had to go buy frozen filets at the grocery store!! It's one thing to buy tuna because our boat can't safely travel to the otherside of the gulfstream and back, but to buy flounder & whiting?? Total humiliation. The whiting didn't even look like whiting and it smelled like 5 day old mackeral, so we tossed it. I tried the flounder and found some bizarre long, white worm in the meat. I did not eat it but the thought of it made me toss that plate too. I was nearing the end of my meal, so I guess I'm blessed that I didn't toss my cookies. I will NEVER buy locally-provided, offshore fish from a grocery store again. NEVER. Plus, I'd rather keep a commercial fisherman in business & help our hurting coastal community.

So, then, when I was clearing off the camera, I came across these photos. It almost made me forget about our terrible fish fry experience. Enjoy the trip down memory lane with me....

Here Jack has butterflied & floured/corn meal (w/ seasonings) the Canaveral White shrimp.



Then, he gets the oil really hot to fry them FAST. Shrimp do not take long and you don't want to soak in a lot of oil.



Before you know it, you have a big plate of shrimp ready to eat.



It was my job to take care of the middle-neck clams. I put these precious babies onto a hot, hot bed of coals. Do not use the clams that are dead or smelly.




In minutes, they begin popping open. See them singing the blues? Wait a little bit longer.



When they go into full opera mode, it's time to pull them. Can you hear them belting out something in Italian? You could have a couple reluctant clams but if they do not open up minutes after the main bunch, toss them. That could be a sign of a dead clam which will make you sicker than a dog.




Here are my happy clams. I had 100% of them open up. Happy cows come from California but Happy clams come from Cape Canaveral coasts (or Cedar Key, FL).



Meanwhile, Jack has the other eyes going on the stove. There is corn in the back and our fake butter mixed with hot sauce on the front eye. The guys like to dip their seafood in that. I don't use it but very sparingly or else I will have to eat tums that night. Do not worry about making a colorful spread like they do on the cooking shows. When you're working so hard to put out seafood, make your veggie convenient.



Last but certainly not the least important, yellowfin tuna. It is an expensive treat, I know (don't remind me). But, we bought just under a pound which is still cheaper than that gas it took to find it in the ocean. It feeds our whole family of 4. As you can see by the picture, it is about 1" thick .



Jack lightly seasoned it and threw it on the charcoal grill. This is a QUICK PROCESS. The goal is to NOT cook the tuna all the way through. I call it raw in the center but Jack says I'm wrong and that it is "rare". LOL. That little joke went between the two of us all night long.



Jack pulled the tuna and made several slices. I put some back on the grill for my youngest who does not like his tuna rare/raw. I tried that and it is good; however, not as good as the rare steaks.



They were added to the plates, put a little tamari or soy sauce nearby, and we feasted like kings. I'm certainly homesick for the sea but at least, now, I am no longer homesick for seafood.



Did I mention that we caught "The Old Man and the Sea" on tv a few days later? It did not help my yearning for the sea.

Thanks for joining me for a trip down memory lane,
Robin

GRRRR with this weather!!

by Robin

Earlier this week, they called for 2-3 ft on Saturday, which we can do. Today, they're saying 20 knot winds and 4-6 ft. This is just awful. 87 degrees and I can't get out on my boat to catch cobia or head out to my favorite vermillion snapper hole. That season just opened up today, March 1st.(NOTE: I was wrong with the date here. It opened Apr 1st)

I know it seems like such a selfish desire given that countries are in the midst of civil unrest and Super Tuesday is coming up in our country. People are starving in several countries and many people need the gospel brought to them in their own native language.

But, I'm only asking for 10 hrs of good weather on a Saturday. Please. For my mental health. Please? It's been 7 wks since my last fishing trip.

Senator Brown Exposes NOAA's party Boat



How did they get the money? Not the taxpayers. Nope. They got $300,000 from fishermen's fines that are suppose to stay in the local government.

"NOAA used the boat for trips to dockside restaurants, bbq and alcohol-fueled parties with family & friends." Federal rules ban non-federal employees but spouses were kicked back in the boat. They even reimbursed themselves for these trips. They were given free reign to look like they were partiers while doing undercover work, following those who were whale watching.

And there is so much more....

NOBODY has been held accountable for these actions.

COBIA SEASON is EARLY
by Robin

Yes folks, it is probably the warmest winter on record since I have lived in Florida. I had azaleas blooming in January and now that it is mid-February, they're in full bloom. The water temps are 65-68-ish. After this week of 80 deg temps, that water surface temp will be perfect for cobia floating to the surface to swim (69-70).



I have to say that it is quite an exciting thing to see a large fish swimming on the surface. Most the time, they are hungry unless people have been attacking them all weekend long.

So,

So, this is what it looks like. Sometimes you see them in singles and sometimes they are in groups like below.



They are not very shy about seeing the boat. Infact, they're very curious creatures. Probably not the smartest fish in the ocean. But, they are delicious.

In Florida, we are allowed to keep 1 per person per day in State waters (<3 mi) or 2 per person in Federal waters. They have to be 33" to the fork. And they bring a lot of the fight into the boat with them, once landed. Many are caught on the surface with pink jigs, live bait such as eels or shrimp or pinfish and some are caught off the bottom, near wrecks or good bottom surface. Another way to catch them is off of bait pods (see above picture) and swimming on the backs of manta ray. That is probably the funnest way for me. It is a double-pleasure to see the giant mantas.

My job after they're caught is to sit on the cooler for a while. We now have this giant cooler with steel clasps, which should stop the problem of them breaking our latches and attempting to jump out. Wow, what a strong fight. A few years ago, I was whipped in the face by a tail. What a stinger!

Here is a picture of me with my personal best cobia at 61 lbs in 2008. I caught it while looking for snapper and other reef fish. It came up so easily but once it saw the boat, freaked out! Nearly took me over the side and I could not control the fish or the pole. Jack had to help me fight the fish another 15 minutes. I first thought it was a shark as it swam out & away from the boat. Jack said, "No, that's cobia." I couldn't believe it, in late May. We had missed the regular cobia season because our boat was under restoration. I was SO HAPPY. I think it shows on my face, even hours after the catch. Neighbors came out to see what we caught. It was so heavy, I couldn't even lift it for the picture. I'm 5'1" and as you can see the fish is close to 5 ft long. (Forgive the large pic... it's what I had on file.)



Anyhow, if weather holds as predicted, we will head off on Saturday to cobia hunt.

Happy Fishing!
Robin

IT'S A DOG'S LIFE
by Robin

We haven't had time to go fishing lately. Jack is changing shifts again. The winds are up. So, I was looking through some old pics from October. I can't believe I never shared these with you.

One weekend, we thought we would do some river fishing. Well, we ran aground (slightly) 3 times and gave up. Fished right in the channel, catching only catfish. I suppose that is why I never posted up a fishing report.

Anyhow, we took our dogs on that trip. They seemed to have a good time with all the activity in their new world.



I cannot imagine what Captain would do if we put a big wahoo or mahi in the boat. I don't know if he would attack it or only bark. He liked being right in the thick of everybody's feet.



On the other hand, Tiki prefers to be an onlooker from a safe distance away from the action. I guess I would too if I were only 7 lbs. He's pretty quiet when onboard.

Wish I had a fish to show you, but you'll have to settle for dogs & a kid.

Happy Fishing, if the weather lets you.
Robin

KEEP FISHERMEN FISHING!!!!
by Robin


http://www.fishnet-usa.com/KFF_Release1.pdf

U.S. Coastal Fishermen to Rally in DC on March 21, 2012.

KFF organizers unite to fix Federal Fisheries Law. Signed into law in 1976, the Magnuson Steven Fisheries Conservation & Management Act has been transformed from its original intent, to conserve our nation's fisher and support our nation's fishermen, into a weapon employed by a handful of megafoundations and anti-fishing ENGOs they support to drive fishermen off the water.

On Feb 24, 2010, United We Fish brought 5,000 recreational, commercial and party/charter vessel owners and folks together in Washington. More than 2 dozen members of the Senate and the House of Representatives took time out from their busy schedule to address the crowd.

The Mar 21 rally wants to unite everyone again under one common message: fair access to the seas.

Most U.S. fisheries are in better shape biologically than they’ve been for a generation or more. In fact, last year NOAA fisheries scientists announced that 84% of U.S. fish stocks studied for fishing activity were not experiencing overfishing as of 2010. However, despite the heavy sacrifices on the part of coastal fishermen, the same federal agency in charge of managing
the resource has been using a broken law to mete out broken promises upon these constituents to ratchet down regulations as fisheries continue to rebuild.

In December 2011, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing in which several pieces of legislation to reform Magnuson were heard and debated, providing ample evidence that coastal communities are suffering from the weight of over burdensome regulation due to the rigid statutory definitions written into the federal fisheries law.

For information on how you can get involved in the national rally to help Keep Fishermen Fishing, call 888-564-6732. For more information on the rally as it becomes available, including bus sign-up information and details from the 2010 rally, visit www.keepfishermenfishing.com.

You can also stay up to date with developments via “Keep Fishermen Fishing” on Facebook
and can follow developments on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/FishMarchDC2012.

PICNIK & PURPLE PORGIES
by Robin

My favorite online photo editing program is shutting down in April. I really loved how I could make purple fish with them. I will need to start saving for the real Photoshop program or something like it.

No more purple porgies. My pictures are going to be so boring!




On the bright side, I made some killer Kingfish dip with a side slap of Kingfish that a friend gave us.

High tide will be hitting early-mid-morning on Wed through Friday. I am trying to get my other fishing lady friends to hit the beaches with me & the kids. I need to fill the freezer with some Pompano while they're in town. Not to mention, it will be 79 degrees out!! Hello?? Spring Break hit in January.

Happy Fishing everyone!

KINGFISH!
by Robin



Jack got a text last night from a coworker who caught extra Kingfish meat. He wanted to know if we wanted a piece to smoke. Are ya kiddin' me?? Of course!

So, it will be here in a couple hours. Not sure when we will smoke it but it will make into some nice tubs of dip.

By the way, the winds have picked up the seas again so we will not be fishing this weekend. That's ok. I need a break, especially after loading 20 tubs of manure from a horse farm over to our garden.

Happy Fishing,
Robin

1/9/12 No KINGFISH, but some PORGYS
by Robin

We decided that we wouldn't get up pre-dawn to fish due to the full moon, interferring with the early morning bite. It was a decent way to start the morning. An hour extra sleep makes me a happy fisherwoman. Left the driveway at 7:30 and through the port by 8:30. Loaded up with pinfish on Buoy 5. Headed over to 8A reef to slow troll for Kingfish. I mean, dead slow. Barely bumped in gear, slow. We wouldn't want to drown the little guys.

I knew that last Saturday, they were not there on 8A and on Sunday, they were at Pelican Flats, but we did not want to go that far south. We had a plan to do some bottom fishing for porgys in the afternoon after limiting out on Kings in 30 minutes in the morning. HA! - NOT!

An hour goes by and we got nothing on a "barely" troll with live bait off the back. Jack switches up to a faster troll with a rigged & skirted, weighted ballyhoo. Another 30 minutes, nothing. I suggested that he troll away from 8A, towards our porgy "hole". Jack took my advice and we did that. I stayed on the bow, looking for any signs of fish life. Twice, I saw something break the surface & make big splashes. We trolled through that area and still nothing. I found a nice "hump" while trolling & marked it. We pulled in the lines & tried to go back and bottom drop on it. Didn't have much success with that, or possibly, we weren't very patient with refinding it, either.

Knowing we were only 4 miles from the destination, we agreed that it was better to just move onto the known area. Once we got there, somebody else was fishing very close-by. It didn't seem to bother either of us, or the drifts (which were kicking!). They had their spot and we fished ours.

At first, Jack pulled up a spade fish, then a juvenile red snapper. Both were released, in great condition. I was frustrated because I knew there were fish there, tapping my bait, but I wasn't able to hook-up. Jack helped me a little with my technique and then I hit my stride.

Because there are so many closures at this time of year, our goal is to find the smaller reef fish that we are allowed & bring them home. It's plan B compared to the Kings, but it makes for a good panfish dinner.


These guys are called Vermillion Snapper, or as the locals say, Beeliners. This was my first catch and he's a fat one. But, they're closed from Nov to Mar 31st, so he goes back to grow & spawn some more. However, I will be back in April to claim a few for the dinnerplate. They are extremely tasty, as most of the snapper family fish are.




Here is the Vermillion's cousin, the Red Snapper. Red Snapper have been closed for 2 years now. They have been considered overfished, but that is highly contested & debatable amongst fishermen. Let's not go there today. Even with circle hooks, this guy managed to inhale the hook too far to take the time to mess with. They don't like being kept out of the water for too long, so Jack is cutting the line to send him back down ASAP. He was a happy guy. The hook will rust quickly & fall out.



As the hours passed, the type of fish we caught seemed to change. We went from red to spotted! We call these chocolate chip porgies but they're officially known as Whitebone Porgy. Fun-fighting and yet, they're not too much of a challenge either. It's perfect for me since those bigger ones wear me out. The meat is exceptional! So, we kept all 5 of them, that we caught.




This is one of my porgies. Pretty nice size one. I was very thankful that we didn't spend our day weeding through any black sea bass, which are also closed right now. Down by Pelican Flats, you can't get away from them and it is irritating to spend all your energy bringing them up & sending them back down.



Probably, close to 2pm, the bite changed again. Whatever this monster was, he would take my pole and bend it down. I could not turn it towards the boat. Twice, he bit my hook in half!



He even took Jack for a ride during one of the drifts, but Jack was fortunate to get his hook back in one piece. After I took this picture, below, I swapped to a heavier hook and don't you know, the fish never did try again. He either had a sore mouth or knew I was better prepared for him.




The ride back in was beautiful. Flat seas. Warm 79 degree day. Clouds giving me many opportunities for playing with my camera. It was a good time to reflect on the day. Jack did an awesome job of setting us back on the spot every drift, which wasn't very easy. The current was fast and so we only had 1 opportunity to catch something as we passed by the underwater castle. Jack nailed it every set up. Thank you babe!



The last few minutes before entering the port, we got a gorgeous display of God's handiwork. Gorgeous!! I like the orange-pink skies normally, but it was hard not to love the blue/gold one on Monday night.



God Bless & Happy Fishing,
Robin

Lures & Flys (or is that flies?)
by Robin

Seas are going up to the 12 ft range and gale force winds expected to show up at midnight. Yuck! The good news is that we may have low seas again next weekend. Cross your fingers, eyes, toes and make your puppies say their prayers!



In the meantime, Jack bought some more lead & circle hooks today. He was tying little "flys" (or is that flies?) on the backside of them so we could go catch a bunch more trigger & porgy next time out.

He also discovered a nasty smell in his lure bag. Somebody (that would be me) left some squid on a jig and it sat for close to 72 hrs, in the lure bag, and was quite ripe! Massive cleanout ensued. Jack cleaned his lures while he was also cleaning the bag & lure boxes. Good task to do in the winter while we're in-between those cold fronts.

My glow-in-the dark jig on the left was the culprit for the BIG STINK!



God bless & stay indoors! Florida is going to be near freezing temps this week.

Robin