2010 It Was the Hottest of Years, it was the Coldest of Years

What the Dickens was going on?  The first and last of the year delivered record low temperatures.  So low that I was thinking Central America was in my future.  Then the summer was so hot I had my first experience with heat stroke.  The extremes in weather strengthen my resolve in one way.  I will stick to my guns on having fun fishing and not push the stupidity envelope.

By that I mean if I politely tell people that it makes no sense to fish all day in marginal conditions I will refer them to some younger guy that has not had enough near death experiences yet.  So no fishing tournaments for me this year if the winds are over 20 knots or all day long in the sun on a flats boat in 100 plus degree heat.  Call me captain wussy.

The Gulf oil spill last year was a PITA.  While everything was causing turmoil I was on a radio show and asked my opinion.  I said that mother nature is a tough old broad and that things would not be as bad in the Keys as predicted.   I was right, but no body listens to guys like me when there are a wealth of educated people that think they know what they are talking about.  Just remember the predictions of the educated butt holes before discounting the opinions of guys that have to watch weather and currents to make a real living.

Health wise, the new year pretty much has to be better for me.  Can't be much worse anyway.  So I should be back into the game as much as I like this new year.  Just need to finish some paper work and all will be back to normal again.

Speaking of paper work, BP has requested that I don't sue them.  So I have signed a paper to that effect.  That doesn't mean I am a sell out to big oil.  The only people I would sue because of lost wages would be the mainstream media and the educated idiots that predicted things that would happen with high confidence that did not happen.  BP by the way has gone above and beyond helping out the regular folks that were impacted by the spill.  Scoff if you like at the commercials, but they have helped out guys that lost cash because of closed fisheries and fear of oil causing canceled vacations.

Well, time to try and tackle my tackle and get ready for this season.  Happy New Year guys.  Come on down and do some fishing.

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

Joe Box Thermal Pants Save the Day!

It was 50 degrees when we left the dock at 10:15 this morning.  I don't do cold well at all.  The delayed start was mainly me while I made a trip to Kmart for another layer of clothing.  Luckily, I stumbled upon Joe Boxer Thermal Pants!  They are almost like designer long underwear complete with the lable on the waist ban so people might think I am styling if my breaches sag.  Not only did they keep me warm I felt all sexy in my designer underwear. 

We managed a keeper group and a fair mess of yellowtail snapper.  Had it not been for a big, hungry bull shark, we would have had a nice mutton snapper and probably a few more bragging fish.  Other than the cold in the morning, the day was beautiful especially after my Joe Boxer discovery.  Here is a neat catch that we released.  A Spanish Hogfish.

This regular hogfish didn't make the cut so I let him go.  A photo of me with a fish is pretty rare, so enjoy.

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

After Christmas Fishing Plans

It is chilly this morning so we are getting a late start.  The winds are a bit high, but living on an island we can find some place to fish out of the wind.  Grouper are definitely the target species since the season closes on the first of the month.  Barracuda, like the one pictured above add a little spice to the day, but I only target them for folks that have little experience catching them.  Sharks are also in the loop for action, but today is meat fishing.

The weather this time of year tends to rotate during the average week with one or two nasty days, one or two great days and the rest marginal.  Try to plan your trips around the weather after you get to the Keys and you will have a great vacation.  Forcing a fishing trip on a miserable day can be memorable, but in a bad way.

I have been working on restaurant reviews with wifi access.  That should be done in a few days.  

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

Get Your Grouper While You Can!

Grouper season closes in the Florida Keys January 1st.  So the last two trips I have been targeting grouper.  They are not thick as thieves, but we are getting a couple Keepers per day along with the usual Mangrove and Lane snapper in Hawk Channel.  Blogger is making it more of a challenge uploading pictures, so I will add some after I figure it out.

In any case, Chicago Joe and his son Joey have put four nice red grouper in the box so far along with a good number of Mangroves, Lanes and we kept a few Spanish Mackerel for fish fritters.

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

 Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

The Great Spanish Mackerel Cook Off

When I have too much time on my hands I come up with off the wall stuff.  Once in a while there might be a little something worth while in my rambling thoughts.  The Great Spanish Mackerel Cook Off may not be a bad idea.

A bunch of years ago I had clients down from the frozen north that had a great time fishing.  They would not even think about tasting a Spanish Mackerel though.  In the winter, especially on windy days, it is hard not to catch Spanish Mackerel.  They fight good.  They are plentiful.  They would be a top notch game fish if only they had a better reputation on the table. To prove to my clients from lLong Island that our local Spanish Mackerel should not be confused with Boston Mackerel or Jack Mackerel, I created a recipe for Spanish Mackerel cakes. 

My crew sampled the cakes in silence.  I was getting the impression they thought my skills in the kitchen sucked until they finally said angrily that my fish cakes were better than the crab cakes they had paid out the nose for in Key Weird.  I am not trying to say my fish cakes are better than properly prepared crab cakes.  They do beat the heck out of crap cakes that many restaurants pull out of the freezer and broil for unsuspecting customers. 

Spanish Mackerel also make great fish dip.  Most of the dips are made from smoked mackerel fillets, though the meat can be prepared in a variety of ways for dips or fish salads.  Fried Spanish Mackerel can also be quite tasty, though you can fry about anything and someone will eat it.  The biggest problem with Spanish Mackerel is that the raw fillets do not freeze well.  The fillets tend to get mushy when frozen.

So I recently did some research while I was freezing my own butt off during the recent cold front.  Salting Mackerel removes a good deal of the moisture from the fillets enabling the fillets to be frozen with less damage.  The salting firms the fillets enough that new texture may lend itself to a wider variety of recipes.  The next local step in my deranged mind was to have a Spanish Mackerel Cook Off to get more people involved in the project.  It is a quirk of human nature than normally sane people will suddenly start working their butts off to win a stupid ribbon or spend hundreds of dollars to win plaque or trophy.  Throw in a keg of beer and you can dozens of spectators cheering on the chefs.

Not being the most organized person in the world, I would be a poor choice to head the select committee for the Great Spanish Mackerel Cook Off.  I am devious enough to Tom Sawyer some poor unsuspecting individual into taking the Cook Off ball and running with it.

Now I will start my diabolical plan to get more people to eat Spanish Mackerel and have fun doing it.  If you would like to assist in this endeavor, start spreading the word that Spanish Mackerel can be good eats.

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas

Winter Means Mackerel

Winter fishing for Mackerel is a pretty big deal here in the Keys. We get all kinds of Mackerel, Kings, Spanish, Cero and even Wahoo this time of year. Spanish Mackerel is the main target mainly because winds keep most smaller boats on the Bay Side many days. Spanish are fun to catch but on the table they require a little special treatment for most appetites. The Seven Mile Marina last Tuesday had a Mackerel seminar and covered most of the info including smoking the fillets for snacks and making fish dip. Well there are a few more things you can do with the Spanish fillets.

Mackerel generally does not freeze very well. It tends to get mushy if frozen. The cooked meat does freeze well, so good mackerel recipes should start with precooked meat if you plan on taking a bunch home for the neighborhood. Precooking can be smoking, grilling, broiling and even poaching, just make sure it is not over cooked. For those that want Mackerel frozen to take back home to fry, the thicker fillets will do best. Still, they won't last long frozen without suffering a little mushiness. So let's say you whack a few hundred pounds of Mackerel on your Keys vacation, what ya gonna do?

Smoking is a good idea. Porky's Bay Side in Marathon will smoke your fillets for you and swap out smoked fish or smoked fish dip in exchange. Several local captains are firing up their own smokers for themselves and customers. Just about everyone down here has a good fish dip recipe that most will share. My dip recipe has been online for years.

The cooked fillets can be used in just about any recipe calling for tuna. In salads it tastes milder than tuna. Some people like it some don't. What is does great is make fish cakes and fish fritters. A fish fritter is nothing more than a hush puppy loaded with fish. I may have to type up my recipe for some of you non-believers. They are good though. The my fish cake recipe is in the link list above.

Marathon in the Florida Keys should be your next fishing vacation destination. Join us for charter fishing, fishing guide trips or our fishing 101 so you can fish on your own with better success.

Tight lines,

Capt. Dallas