Welcome to my fishing blogs.
October 27, 2008 at 2:01 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: bonita, bottom fishing, fishing, grouper, grunts, king fish, night fishing, trigger fish, trolling
If you have never experienced this the first chance you get try it out. You need to make sure you have at least two days of calm weather and preferably a full moon it makes it easier to see. We went out on the 17 of October and had an awesome adventure. I went out with a couple of my good friends about 40 miles out. We uses squid and live bait fish we caught on the way out. As soon as we anchored on the spot my friend dropped down a piece of squid and immediately was hit and brought up a nice size Grunt. I wanted a something bigger so I dropped down one of our live baits. Immediatly I was hit I pulled up a 24 inch Gag grouper. I pulled up 3 keepers back to back. This action made my friend change his fishing strategy, and he began to fish with live bait as well and caught 2 keepers Grouper back to back one gag one red. As morning began to approach we continued catching nice grunt and the cooler was starting to look very nice. We decided to start trolling at day break my friend got a nice king fish, and I got a nice Bonita. The action was great I had something that decided it needed my plug more than I did so I had to let it go maybe I”ll catch him next time. Before we left we stopped at one more spot and it was on from the moment we got there. The action made my friends wife want to get in on it. She caught 1 keeper red grouper and me and him put 6 more in the boat for a total of 12 Grouper, 1 King, 1 Trigger fish,1 Bonita, and 50 to 60 Grunts. We headed in about 10am while everybody else were just coming out. If you ever get the chance to do this type of fish jump on it you will not be disappointed.
September 7, 2008 at 7:24 pm · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: filet knife, fish cleaning station, fish scaler, knife sharpener
You’ve had a great day of fishing now it is time to clean your catch. You aren’t looking forward to this because it takes so long. I am going to instruct you how to fillet out your fish instead of having to use a fish scaler, removing the head, and then cutting in to remove the guts. There is nothing wrong with this method some people believe you get more fish that way. The benefits of knowing how to fillet the fish is it saves time,and mainly you don’t have to worry about bones. Some think also if you remove the skin it takes away from the meat tasting so fishy. The first thing you need is a fish cleaning station. Normally you can make your own or just have a table preferably hard plastic or steal. Ok now this is very important you need a couple of very sharp fillet knifes different sizes to go along with the size of your fish. You also need a knife sharpener because they will get dull and you need to keep them sharp this will make your job easier. Now that we have everything lets get started take your fillet knife and from the back of the fishes head cut towards the fishes belly at a slant. This will allow you to avoid the rib cage. Once you have reach the bottom cut in a straight line back to the fishes tail. Next do the same at the top of the fish make sure your fillet knife is running against the bones. Now from the top of the fish run the fillet knife down against the back bones and the meat will be cut cleanly from the bones. Their will be nothing left but the head backbone, and guts that will all be connected together you won’t even have to deal with them. All you have to do now is separate the skin from the meat. Start at the tail meat side up at a slight angle cut the meat away from the skin don’t worry if it gets to be to much meat you can cut it in sections. Also if you have a bunch of smaller fish like grunts I recommend using a electric fillet knife its just as fast and easier on your hands.
September 7, 2008 at 5:49 pm · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: how to clean scallops, scallops, shell fish, shucking knife
Now that you have had a productive day in catching your scallops you now need to know how to clean them. This is a job that takes a little bit of time and effort, but if you assign specific jobs to your helpers it will move right along. First you need a glove and shucking knife. With the glove on one of your hands if the scallop shell is not already open gently put your knife between the shell and gently pry it open just enough for you to get your finger in there. Now you take your shucking knife and keep it against the inside of the shell and separate the matter from that side. You can know pull the shell apart. While you are doing this your helper can now remove the guts from around the meat. This process will get easier the more you do it and by the time you finish you should have mastered this technique. Place the shell in the palm of your hand and take your thumb and push all of the matter around the shell in the middle towards your meat. Then take your hand and just pull it out over the meat. You are almost finished have someone with a spoon scoop the meat out of the shell. Now all that is left is to clean the meat basically by rinsing off what ever excess that was left behind know your are ready to cook them up.
September 3, 2008 at 2:45 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: bowhunting, gigg, gigging, gigging pole, spearfishing
It has just become dark as you slowly troll across your unsuspecting prey and then is one quick motion you lunge your spear (aka) gig forward. Did I get it? You ask but you don’t have to wait long for your answer as the sweet feeling of the vibration of the gig pole in your hand as you raise your prize in the boat. For those of you that have never tried this form of fishing I recommend that you do. Be warned once you try it you will be hooked! One may ask what does it take for me to be able to gig fish. You need a boat that preferably can go in the shallows typically we fish in 1 to 6 feet of water. Also you will need lots of lights so that you can see down in the water. A good trolling motor to push you around, a couple of gigging poles,a valid fishing license, and a generator to power your lights so that you don’t run down your battery. You may want to stay out a little longer, so be sure to take some extra gas to keep that generator running. We strap our lights down on the boat with bungy cords at the front, middle, and back of the boat. Find what works best for you and your boat. We went out last night August 29 and didn’t do to bad considering the high tide. We caught four Sheepshead which have to be 12 inches and eight Mullet. The best time to go out is on an outgoing tide with as little wind as possible it doesn’t take much to mess up the clarity of the water. Check the laws in your area to see what can be harvested in this manner. ”Spearing is defined as the catching or taking of a fish by bowhunting, gigging, spearfishing, or any device used to capture a fish by piercing its body. Spearing does not include the catching or taking of a fish by a hook with hook and line gear or by snagging(snatch hooking). Spearfishing is defined as the catching or taking of a fish through the instrumentality of a hand or mechanically propelled, single or multi-pronged spear or lance, barbed or barbless,operated by a person swimming at or below the surface of water. The use of powerheads, bangsticks,and rebreathers remains prohibited.”
July 25, 2008 at 1:32 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: circle hook, fishing law, grouper, hook law, snapper
Recently for state and federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico now require all commercial fishers and recreational anglers fishing from a vessel for and Gulf reef fish species to use circle hooks, dehooking devices and venting tools. June 1, 2008 marks the date when these new rules took affect and apply to all reef fish species including groupers, snappers, amber jacks, trigger fish, porgies, sea bass, hog fish, and tile fish. The intent of these rules is to help conserve fishery resources by reducing the mortality associated with releasing fish not harvested due to regulations or personal reasons. They are also asking you to use common sense when releasing an unwanted fish, if a hook is to deep to retrieve if is much better to cut the line by the hook rather than to try removing it with a dehooking device. Also they would like you to use non-stainless steel hooks because they will disintegrate in a short period of time and should cause the fish less harm. New rules also require you to use a De-hooking Device for reef fish species in the Gulf to remove hooks embedded with minimal damage. It has to be of appropriate size and be blunt and all edges rounded. Lastly a venting devices also required for fish caught in 50 feet or more. When fish are brought up from this depth the gases in their swim bladder expand. Signs of this are protrusion of the stomach from the mouth, bulging eyes and a bloated belly. The venting tool must be a sharpened,hollow instrument such as a hypodermic syringe with the plunger remover. Don’t use a knife or ice pick. Insert the venting tool into the fish at a 45 degree angle under a scale approximately 1 to 2 inches from the base of the pectoral fin and be inserted just deep enough to release the gases so that the fish may be released with minimum damage.
July 14, 2008 at 12:44 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: saltwater fishing license, scallop, scallop season
July first marked the official opening date for
scallops season. If you have never tried this I highly recommend this. We went out on Friday July 4 got our limit and had a blast. Not only do you get to beat the summers heat but you are rewarded at the same time by being able to take advantage of the oceans booty. They are found in grassy areas and blend in well with the brownish grass patches so you have to know what you are looking for. When we get in a area that we may think they are we look for this brownish grass and try to see them swimming along. Once we stop and have the boat anchored we put on our
snorkel mask and fins and jump in. All you need is a
mesh laundry bag to put them in while you are collecting them and another to to transfer them in when moving from one spot to another. We always leave the transfer bag in the water so that they can stay fresh. Your daily bag limit is 2 gallons per person or 10 per boat which ever is less. You should also need to have a
dive flag, signal device,
paddle, vessel registration, valid fishing license, and the appropriate number of
life jackets. Remember while swimming try not to venture off more than 100 feet from the boat their are other boaters out there and you don’t want to have to be trying to dodge another boat. So I hope you give this a try and happy fishing.
July 8, 2008 at 3:38 pm · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: cost del mar, maui jim, oakley, rayban, sunglasses
To protect your eyes from sun rays
a good pair of sunglasses should have A,B, and C protection. A- is for aging, B- is for burning, and C- is for cataract and cancer. For extra protection there is polarization. This reflects the glare and allows you to see about 4-6 feet into the water while fishing. In my opinion the most appropriate pair of polarized sunglasses are
Maui Jim hands down! They come with a glass lens which is a little heavy, and then they also have a polycarbonate lens which is a lot lighter as far as weight. There are others brands such as
Costa del mar sunglasses,
Oakley sunglasses, and
Rayban sunglasses. You can also get these in prescriptions, so you can use one pair to do it all. Make sure you get the pair that suits you best accessories with straps so that don’t fall off, and make sure you use the appropriate cleaning solution. The better you take care of them the longer they will last.
