St. Marks 4-9-11 AM

[lordsfisher]

Almost all of my fishing revolves around putting my daughters on some fish that are going to pull some drag. That means this time of year, I'm targeting Spanish because they are plentiful, fast, aggressive, and contrary to most, I find them excellent to eat. The Spanish were in 4-6' (basically along the stakeline east of the Lighthouse). In 7' we had no hits. Small gotchas with white tails and red heads were the most productive. We lost the biggest Spanish which hit a MirrorMinnow. It cut 30 lb flurocarbon leader, so nothing less than 40 lb where toothy critters are around for me. I loved that lure, but at $7 a pop, I'm not wasting them on Spanish anymore. Also I lost the identical lure to the gold Mirrolure found in the red a couple weeks ago.

About 10 am the sun came out and the wind died down. My daughters enjoyed seeing big rays, a 4' shark and other creatures in the clear water. We saw another Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle so maybe they are not as rare as advertised, so that's encouraging.

We found a floating white crate about 2.5' long that was an un-opened naval aircraft flare. I didn't really want to leave it out there for a boat to hit so I hesitantly took it on board. It looked live so I gave it to the kind coast guard auxillary at the ramp. He didn't really want to take it in his car but was kind enough to do so. What was I going to do, throw it in the trash? Has anyone else seen one of those? I'm curious about it now.

We fished where dozens of other boats were about 1 mile east of the lighthouse in 4' of water. Caught lots of dink trout. It was a little too crowded for our taste so we headed home about 2 pm. We kept 1/2 dozen spanish and blues for dinners. We saw spanish in the river just south of the fort.

Also if you're blessed enough to afford a 30' boat that will travel 30 knots, it'd be appreciated if you would slow down for the on-coming 14' that has no where to go in the narrow channel. That's the second time I've had to face into a 3 to 6 foot set of wakes. My little Boston Whaler is unsinkable (like the Titanic), but having water come over the bow is not the best.

[Reel Cowboy]

Glad ya'll caught some fish.
As far as the channel deal, if he slows down then it's only gonna be worse. Heck, I thought I was gonna put a canoe up in the trees but I couldn't slow down.

[Jhults11]

I hear ya, some people have no common courtasy and little do people know that they are responsible for their wakes they push and if something happens to that oncoming vessel as a result of their wake, the can actually be sued!! By the way nice fish, spanish are thick as thieves out there right now!!

[lordsfisher]

As far as the channel deal, if he slows down then it's only gonna be worse. Heck, I thought I was gonna put a canoe up in the trees but I couldn't slow down.

Here's a video of me getting hit by the wake http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vK074Ymlqw

OK, not really, but you get the idea. When I can't get away from them, all I know to do is keep a little momentum (not stop) and point at a slight angle into the wakes. I can get over the first no problem. It's the bow down in the trough just before the second one that gets me nose in. Once in Panama City, I met a huge charter boat coming full throttle around the blind corner in the channel at Deep Water Point. I had 30' between the charter's 6' wakes and the beach to deal with it. I got over the first one, then tip down the trough to nose into the next which put 6" of water into my boat. Fortunately it didn't cause any problems, and just put it up on a plane and pulled the plug and the water drained out. I don't know if that's advisable, but it worked.

[lordsfisher]

If you want some coordinates of where we caught fish, PM me and I'll find the coordinates if you'll give me the pleasure of knowing if you caught them there.

[Scoop Sea]

OK, not really, but you get the idea. When I can't get away from them, all I know to do is keep a little momentum (not stop) and point at a slight angle into the wakes. I can get over the first no problem. It's the bow down in the trough just before the second one that gets me nose in. Once in Panama City, I met a huge charter boat coming full throttle around the blind corner in the channel at Deep Water Point. I had 30' between the charter's 6' wakes and the beach to deal with it. I got over the first one, then tip down the trough to nose into the next which put 6" of water into my boat. Fortunately it didn't cause any problems, and just put it up on a plane and pulled the plug and the water drained out. I don't know if that's advisable, but it worked.[/quote]

Having run 12-14 foot Kennedy Crafts from a boy up until I was in my 30's, I can relate to the wake problem you experienced at St. Marks. I used to try and ease over the first one, then gas it a little to climb the second one and that usually worked pretty well. As for pulling the plug while running to drain the boat, I've done it hundreds of times, that's how I was taught as a boy.

[lordsfisher]

I used to try and ease over the first one, then gas it a little to climb the second one and that usually worked pretty well.

Thanks for that tip. It's good to know what works. I've been tempted to get a bigger boat, but I love my little whaler. Especially when i can fish all day for less than $10 in fuel. It's bad when the lures you lose cost more than the fuel! ha ha

[newboy]

Small boat or not, it must be wind powered to get that good mpg.

[tallykenj]

Nice report. I caught some Spanish in the same area a few weeks ago and they brought a great time and some good dip.

[SS-342]

Thanks for the report lordsfisher.

I don't like Spanish and leave when they are around but it would be fun pulling them in especially for a child. Heck, a fish on is fun anytime for anyone! Well, those cats can be troublesome but fun to pull. Lady Fish might be the worst. I remember the first we caught and pulled inside the boat. Just like a manure spreader! We learn quick and take them off out side the boat now.

[leonreno]

We kept 1/2 dozen spanish and blues for dinners. We saw spanish in the river just south of the fort.

lordsfisher, I have never eaten a blue before, how do you prepare them? I know up north they seek them out. I am like you and like to eat spanish mackerel. I like them as much if not more than trout. Thanks.

[lordsfisher]

Here's my treatise on cooking blues and unlovable fishes:

Leonreno, bluefish are excellent fried, but I'm trying eat more healthfully. {Humorous side note: My friend's wife has a new diet plan for him, "If it tastes good, spit it out."} Disclaimer: No one showed me any of these ideas and just invented them so there may be better tips from chefs or pros.

For grilling bluefish, I filet them. (If it's easier leave the skin on, place skin side on grill first then pull the skin off when you flip it.) If I'm not going to eat them immediately, I either freeze them in a baggie with water or soak them in the fridge in a bowl of water prior to eating.

Before eating, I marinate them. For average-sized blues, 2-3 filets per person is about right. I put the filets in a bowl with some cheap italian dressing and I splash in a good bit of red wine vinegar. I even put a few dashes of hot sauce in there last time, but I couldn't taste the difference. I put some salt in the marinade too because I think it might cause osmosis and draw the marinade into the meat (it works for chicken). 30 min or more of marinating seems to be good.

I prefer to use a fish grill basket that you can probably get at Walmart. It keeps thin filets from falling apart during flipping. I spray the basket with some Pam olive oil spray or something to keep the fish from sticking. I place the filets on there. First I put lemon pepper on it. Put any other spice on there too. Grill it for maybe 7-10 min on side until flaky with a low to medium flame.

Here's what I really like to do. I take some pure tupelo honey and drizzle just a little on the fish a couple minutes before i take it off. It's really easy, all healthy and melts in your mouth.

This is actually a good recipe on any fish. Here's the thing about mackeral and blues and other pelagic fish that swim all the time. They have dark meat called the "rete" region. It's a bunch of blood vessels for long-distance high performance swimming. Personally, I don't prefer dark meat chicken or this in fish so sometimes I pick it out with a fork after it's cooked. Trying to cut it out is a pain. My kids say it tastes just as good with it in there to them.

On another note, I highly recommend raw local tupelo honey. It's not diluted like store-bought honey. It doesn't turn to sugar as long as the lid is kept on. Interestingly, honey is the only food that doesn't spoil. Bacteria can't eat it, and I heard of an OB/GYN putting in on wounds to keep them infection-free. A great source is from P. Owen at 19 Old Nails Road in Crawfordville, 850-421-1071. They also ship. A guy usually sells it for them on the side of the road at Hwy 98 just west of the St. Marks river bridge. It is the best Florida gift for someone out of state. Traditionally, the Owen's have given most of their profits to charity.

(I encourage you to eat Tupelo honey and go to eat at the Wakulla State Park for the ambiance. For a number of reasons, I have a feeling that these great experiences may be lost to the younger generation.)

While you're killing time on here, read this interesting thread on hardhead catfish.

[url]http://www.catfish1.com/forums/sitemap/t-69962.html[url]

I thought it made an interesting point that our throwing hardheads back allows them an advantage for bait over trout and reds. And there were some really delicious-looking recipes, like pecan-crusted fish.

Now if someone else will kindly eat hardheads and tell us how they taste.

[leonreno]

Thanks lordfisher, I will try a blue or two next time I catch one. I usally bake or broil the spanish I eat, so the Blues grilled sound good to me. I have always prefered grilled/broiled/baked fish to fried fish anyway, so these types of fish with a little oil in them are a good match for me.