One of the things I have been looking forward to is learning to saltwater fish. Dorothy said she is happy to prepare anything I catch. But she wants nothing to do with catching and cleaning the fish. So a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to go fishing with a good friend Mike who has a center console boat in Marco Island, FL. We headed out onto the gulf on a beautiful flat water day. He targeted several artificial reefs were we drop line fished and trolled for fish.
It was a great learning experience, in no time I was baiting my hooks, taking fish off the hook, and putting them in the box. We ended up with a respectable haul of 11 keepers for the day. Snapper, Key West grunt and Bob caught a sizable Sheepshead. My trill of the day was hooking a Goliath Grouper. He put up quite a fight for his size.
Goliath Grouper are endangered and must be tossed back into the Gulf. I must say they are an UGLY fish.
Greg and Garrett’s first saltwater catch.
After a great day on the water, then came cleaning the fish, it is easier than I thought. I found out a very sharp fillet knife is the key, and try not to get every last morsel of meat and check for bones. After a fresh water rinse we took them home and they were baked with a lemon butter sauce. DELISH!
My next step, was to go to the local Ace Hardware store (4 isles of fishing stuff including clothes) and stock up on additional gear. I brought some stuff from Wisconsin which will work in saltwater as well. Can’t wait to have an awesome fish dinner on the boat.
Look out Trophy fish, I am angling for you.
SEASONS underway 