Back to the Sea

Finally went surf fishing last Friday. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and a cool breeze coming off the surf. The surf was clean and just right for pompano fishing. Ended up catching 8 pompano, five came home in the cooler along with 4 really large whiting. Finally have figured out how to fillet the fish and get most all of the meat. The fillets were seasoned with lemon pepper, covered in a mixture of bread crumbs and corn meal and fried in a thin layer of hot oil. That combined with a baked potato and fresh corn on the cob made for an outstanding dinner – both Friday and Saturday. Plus there is a vacuum sealed bag of pompano fillets in the freezer. Those were two of the best fish meals I have ever had.

My catching fish in the surf has improved dramatically since I started 3 years ago. Now a poor trip is the exception not the rule. Of course trips are not planned a random. It is a matter or weather, tides and moon phases combined with fish habits. Each trip has been logged into the computer in excessive detail which makes for great reading a year later. It is amazing what we do not remember.

Next the correct bait is critical and at least four different types are taken each trip. Freshly killed shrimp is the best bait along with sand fleas. The fleas have just started to show up now that the weather is warmer. I found the first ones right at high tide Friday and was able to catch enough in my “magnum flea rake” (photo is in my November 2004 blog) in two scoops to last the day. That coincided with a surge in the amount of strikes we were getting. Any unused fleas are tossed back rather than frozen since I have not had much luck fishing with frozen fleas.

If the weather is good there may be another surf fishing trip soon. Want to study more about catching the sand fleas. One thing about surf fishing, there is always something to do, and new data to record, to make the time fly by.

Now that there is a lull in flower sculpture activity I may make a couple more of my "magnum sand flea rakes" and see if I can sell them. Hey, there may be more than fish to skin on the beach.