Straight Hooked

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.

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.

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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.  Information taken from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Your fishing equiptment changes very drastically when going offshore. The fish are usually bigger and a lot stronger. You have deeper water and different structures to deal with. One of my favorite combos is the shimano tld 25. This reel is very versitale it can be used for bottom fishing, or trolling. I have caught many different species of fish with this reel. It is strong enough to pull fish off the bottom away from structue, and a quick enough gear ratio to bring in those drag burners from trolling. I also recomend the diawa sealine, and penn reels also. You also need a good beef stick to go alone with those fishing reels. I recommend penn, shimano, and shakespeare.

Recipe for Hush Puppies with cream style corn, chopped onion, and cornmeal. These
hush puppies are deep fried. Ingredients:½ cup all-purpose flour, 1teaspoon baking
powder, 1 salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ cup onion, chopped, 1 cup yellow or white
cornmeal, 1 can cream style corn (16 oz), milk, if neededPreparation:
Mix dry ingredients. Add onion and corn. Mix well. If more liquid is needed to make
desired consistency, add a little milk. Drop heaping teaspoons into deep hot grease,
about 360°. Fry until golden brown. By Valarie Wells

GRILLED SALMON BY: Valarie WELLS
6 SERVINGS INGREDIANTS
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil DIRECTIONS
Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.
In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil
until sugar is dissolved.
Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and
turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Preheat grill for medium heat.
Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade.
Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

The blood knot is can be used to add more line to your reel spool, join to monofilament lines that are are equal or slightly different diameter, or to join your tapered sections of fly leaders. Grab the end of two lines put them toghether to where both ends are facing opposite directions. The lines overlaping each other should be close to equal length. Then take one end and wrap it around the other five times, and then the other line five times in the opposite direction. Now place both ends through the center one from top and other from the bottom. Finnally pull both lines in opposite direction of each other the knot will draw tight just be careful not to pull the line ends through. Cut off the access line and leave a short end on both sides.

Trolling for fish is a great way to cover a lot of ground in little time. Sometimes you are out and your honey hole may not be producing, or the bite is just slow. You shouldn’t let that discourage you there are more ways to improve your odds. Many people use trolling to discover new fishing ground or to target certain fish that you wouldn’t ordinarily catch from bottom fishing. There are various methods used for trolling. 1 is using lures with lips that causes them to dive at various depths. 2 using a plainer or down rigger to target a specific depth. 3 using out riggers to have a wide spread of lines and at the end of these lines skirted jigs with ballyhoo or some other type of bait to attract the top water species of fish. You can use all these methods and they will increase your chances of catching more fish. Don’t forget this is an trial an error just like any other type of fishing you may do. The color of the lure, the speed that you troll, and even the area that you are in or all vital factor on your success. Don’t be afraid to try something new keep trying until you find what works for you, and remember even the pros don’t get it right all the time they change it up and so should you. Fish have a mind of their own and change from time to time that’s why they call it fishing.

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 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 saltwater 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.  Remember the last day for scalloping is September 10.   So I hope you give this a try and happy fishing.

I have a couple of rod and reel combos I like to use when fishing inshore. One of my favorite is the Shimano Calcutta baitcaster reel which I use for trout, shark, red fish, jack, small snapper,and cobia. As you can see I like to use it for an wide variety of fish. This is because it is very durable and versatile. No matter how good your reel is you must compliment it with a good rod, and I use a 6 and a half foot G-Loomis pole which is very durable. I also stand behind G-Loomis because their warranty is one of a kind if you break your pole all you have to do is send it back and they will replace it free of charge. I also use the Shimano baitrunner reel because I can leave it in the pole holder and set the clicker while fishing with another rod.

Shimano Calcutta TE Baitcasting Reels Model

Baitrunner Reel