Let the (Bird) Hunting Begin

The waterfowl season has arrived, and it's time to hunt duck and geese! Over the summer, Andrew and I outfitted ourselves with guns and gear, and a few days before Thanksgiving (11/23/11) we joined Dan and Fran Sr. at the farm (see homestead at left) for a day-of-it. Unfortunately, although we hunters were primed to hunt, the weather did not cooperate (it still has not!), being unseasonably warm. What we need is cold: to drive the birds south along the East coast; to raise their metabolisms to stay warm, thereby requiring food to feed their little furnaces; and to set them in motion in search of food, flying here and there across water and fields. Without cold, there are small numbers of waterfowl around, and large numbers of frustrated hunters complaining to one another.

And yet...there was no complaining in our blind. Why? Well, we were outdoors in a beautiful environment on the Eastern shore of Maryland in pristine Chesapeake Bay country; we were spending time with best companions; and anything, indeed, can happen when hunting (and fishing)--you just never know, a slow day can prove bountiful all in the window of a minute. Besides. we were hunting--getting into the routine, breaking in the gear, sighting the shotguns--all in preparation for when it will "turn on" big time, and it will, very soon. With winter comes the cold. Guaranteed. Just a matter of when it arrives. So when, not if, is what we're talking about. And let it be formally noted that we clocked in our time this day, collecting points for having been ready, points that accumulate over time and can be turned in later for kills. See, that's the way it works: every hunter (and fisherman) must invest to reap rewards. Today we sat down at the table and anted up. So, now we're squarely in the game.

The "hedgerow blind" in the upper field--our station for the day. Fran Sr. standing

Getting settled. Farmhouse at upper right

Andrew with decoys set up behind

Dan in his element--happiest man around

12-gauge camo pumps: Andrew's Remington at left, Jim's Benelli at right

Andrew and dove shot--taking what presents

Final operating instructs prior to ride around farm's perimeter

The Blog is Back. Happy Thanksgiving!

After a 9 month break, I am returning to the blog. Since the last posting on March 11, 2011, a lot has happened to report on. Accordingly, across the next few weeks I will go back in time to pick up where I left off, making entries of notable things from the recent past. Beyond just fishing, there are other sportsman related events to report on--specifically, as related to SCUBA diving and hunting. The blog will now serve to cover these activities as well. Although a certain investment of time is involved with maintaining the blog--valuable scarce time that could be directed elsewhere--I discovered during the break that I missed it (tremendously). For one thing, the need to capture photos and details of activities keeps one mentally active and engaged--just makes things richer and more fun. Second, the blog is a great way to permanently record the comings-and-goings of our lives away from the usual chores and aspects of life, and share them with family, friends, and acquaintances. In short, I'm happy to be back to it.

2011 Fishing Season's Goals and Objectives--The Second of Three Components. An Article to Inspire Us Forward

Funny how ironic life can be: one day you talk about doing something with a fishing partner (specifically, Dan), and what appears the very next day in a fishing magazine--purchased impulsively to kill time on a flight from San Francisco to Dulles--but an article about four guys doing the same thing, except down in the Florida Keys as opposed to North Carolina! Clearly, the article's chance appearance--no doubt about it--is a sign from the Fishing God that our version of the trip is "meant to be," indeed "pre-ordained," if you will. And who would want to go against this God's wishes and risk an eternity in hell--meaning, in this case, an endless chain of fishing trips all ending with the skunk.

Read the article below carefully, Dan, and get your mental wheels in gear. (Note: their trip took place in September 2010; photos at the end of the text.)(Note: a special thank you to Sport Fishing magazine.

2010: A Skiff Odyssey
How four guys in two boats fished the Florida Keys in four days
Jan 20, 2011
By Adrian E. Gray



As I held NOAA chart No. 11450 in my hands last September, I could hardly fathom that the series of pen markings from Miami to Key West and back revealed that we had boated 415 miles in four days' time. I found it even more mind-boggling that we traversed every single mile in two skiffs.

My Cape Canaveral-based friends Derek Redwine, Tyler Shealey, Chris "Bootsy" Wilson and I had cracked open the shell of everyday life to follow our yearning for adventure by circumnavigating — and fishing — the Florida Keys by skiff. We let our instincts and passion to explore lead the way, but we carried paper charts, aerial photos and tide tables, which had helped us choose in advance which locations to fish. We outfitted an 18-foot-8-inch Hell's Bay Neptune and an equally seaworthy Chittum Islamorada 18 as the platforms for our exploreathon.

However, the National Weather Service forecast 15- to 20-knot southeast winds the day before our departure. We wondered: "Should we do it? Is it wise to go?" With "the safety in numbers" philosophy and only 12 hours to spare, we agreed to go for it and meet in Miami at 7 a.m. the next day.

Day One: Key Biscayne to Islamorada

6 a.m.: Derek called me: "Tyler slept in, we're leaving Merritt Island now." Brief silence. "Kiiidding! We are an hour away, passing through Palm Beach."

I towed the second skiff from Fort Lauderdale to Gordon's Bait and Tackle in Miami (305-856-4665), a convenient place to buy bait early in the morning, and then met the others at Crandon Park Marina.

We felt some anxiety about leaving our vehicles and trailers at the ramp for four days, but with 24-hour security at the marina, we decided to take the risk. (Ramp parking costs $12 weekdays; $15 a day for weekends/holidays.)

8:30 a.m.: We spent two hours organizing gear, officially documenting our ­departure at 10:30. We calculated our plan: Eight hours of available daylight, traveling 85 miles to Islamorada and averaging 30 mph would leave us about three hours of running and five hours of fishing time.

We couldn't account for potential weather delays, but Tyler could pull up the local radar on his iPhone as long as he was near shore. So he became the "Shealey-Weather-Genie."

11 a.m.: We ran to the shoals of Biscayne Bay's Stiltsville and poled past the ­silhouettes of seven remaining houses. Calm conditions seemed to contradict recent advisories, but we could see towering dark clouds moving our way from Homestead.

With foul weather looming and unproductive slack-low-tide ­conditions, we pressed south into the Upper Keys. When we veered around Christmas Point into Caesar's Creek, the storms passed behind us and the tide began rising. At the creek's Hurricane and Rubicon flats, we saw permit.

One of Derek's bull's-eye casts to a school of five lay rejected at first, but two fish whisked around to circle the crab again and then beelined it to a nearby channel. "Psyyyyche!" I said, while Derek still held the rod up high, maybe hoping his ­kamikaze crab might swim after the permit.

We fished for an hour. Tyler caught a bonefish. Derek hooked a scrappy bonnethead shark — his consolation prize.

1 p.m.: Winds picked up to 20 knots from the southeast. Poling the flats from the Ocean Reef Club to Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo became a less-than-electrifying plan of attack. Instead, we stopped randomly along the way and drifted, peppering 3- to 4-foot-deep grass flats with artificial lures. Tube lures out-produced Zara Spooks and spoons on 2- to 3-foot barracudas, but the detonation of each missed topwater strike zeroed out the scorekeeping.

4 p.m.: At Tavernier Key, we detoured to the Gulf side through Tavernier Creek to run the leeward waters to Islamorada. A few miles south of the creek, a communications tower marked the location of Islamorada Fish Company, the perfect place for four anglers jonesing for pints of barley pop and cheeseburgers.

6:30 p.m.: We pulled in at Bud N' Mary's Marina (305-664-2461, www.budnmarys.com) and met with owner Richard Stanczyk. We had reserved a houseboat, but Stanzyck graciously upgraded us to a gorgeous three-bedroom beach cottage, complete with 25 feet of dock for both skiffs.

Day Two: Circumnavigating Key West

5 a.m.: "What do red, yellow and green stand for?" I asked Derek while shaking him awake. "Huh? What's happening? Apples?" he groaned.

"Nope, not apples," I said. "It stands for 40-mile-per-hour winds and rain." The weather outside was howling, and those colors on my iPhone's radar image meant another hour of listening to loud snores.

By 7:30, a heavy caffeine buzz mixed with the background noise from obnoxious TV ads was distressing enough to make a cat swim laps. So we ventured through the storm to the Lorelei (305-664-2692, www.loreleifloridakeys.com) for the outstanding biscuits and sausage gravy.

An hour later, a few sun rays peeked through the clouds. "Gotta love Florida weather," Chris said. "One minute, it looks like the reincarnation of Hurricane Andrew and the next, pure paradise."

9 a.m.: Skimming over liquid glass.

9:30 a.m.: We found a slack-high tide at the Channel Two Bridge. Looking into the clear depths below, Derek waggled his first two fingers in a peace sign — the scuba diver's universal indicator for lobster. "I've always wanted to catch a lobster," Tyler said. Ten minutes later, Tyler had his wish.

10 a.m.: The Long Key State Park flats, with its roving sharks and rays, looked too good to pass. Derek and Chris stood on the casting platforms armed with 8weight fly rods and small toad flies.

Sighting a dozen bonefish in a half-hour gave us heart murmurs, but the fish remained out of range. Derek plucked a jack crevalle off the back of a ray for some excitement.

11:30 a.m.: We interrupted 20 miles of smooth running past Duck and Grassy keys with a refueling stop at Captain Hook's on the south side of Vaca Cut (305-743-2444, www.captainhooks.com).

"You think we can make it to Key West today? It's not even noon, and according to the GPS we're 50 miles from Southernmost Point," Derek said.

"Not before we catch a permit at Pigeon Key," I replied. "Then we can forge ahead."

12:15 p.m.: Call me clairvoyant. Derek poled into a strong current exiting the Gulf side over Pigeon Key Bank. Among the many turquoise pot holes on the edge of the lush flat, a 15-pound permit fell victim to my crab.

2:30 p.m.: Derek and I were on cloud nine. The adrenaline from the catch, added to warmth from the tropical sun, put us in a Key West state of mind. "A two-hour run should put us there around 5 p.m., enough time to get settled before we hit Duval Street," Derek said.

4:30 p.m.: We stopped to pole a broad flats basin between Saddlebunch and Pelican keys. Small lemon sharks chasing mullet wrinkled the calm water around us, but we had no luck fishing the hot, low water.

6 p.m.: Approaching Key West's Southernmost Point from the water differs ­considerably from walking up to the land marker amid groups of shutter-happy ­tourists. We could also look back at the 160-mile run from Miami and know that the return trip was more achievable than we'd thought.

Tyler called his friend Bear Holeman, a Key West guide who had generously offered us local intel. He said that fishing had been quiet on the ocean side, and that if permit and tarpon were our game, then we'd better cancel our Duval plans and boogie up to Big Spanish Cay.

We took his advice, and with the help of the GPS, we headed around to Big Pine on the Gulf side. Along the way, Derek called his good friend and noted TV host Jose Wejebe, who lives in Summerland Key, for advice about hotels with waterside dockage. Jose suggested Palmer's Resort in Big Pine (305-872-2157, www.palmersresort.com), but when he unexpectedly offered for us to stay at his house, we jumped at the chance.

Day Three: Summerland Key to Islamorada

8 a.m.: We stopped at Chevron Island Auto & Marine (305-744-9717) on Summerland Key for fuel and to refill our livewells. Across the parking lot, we sampled the biscuits and gravy at the Galley Grill (305-745-3446).

5 p.m.: We fished almost all day from Mayo Cay to Big Spanish Cay and Spanish Bank. Derek pitched quarter-size crabs on spin tackle; Chris tossed a Merkin on his 10-weight fly rod. They intended to hook permit, but passing tarpon made short work of their 30-pound shock leaders.

On the mental fish scale, seeing and hooking outweighed landings, but we ­apparently were paying dues for the show Mother Nature was about to present.

5:30 p.m.: We floated over white, marly sand off the ­labyrinthine Content Keys north of Big Pine, Summerland and Sugarloaf keys. The sun was two hours away from kissing the horizon, and the water's surface had morphed to a ­reflective sheen like liquid mercury.

Although our polarized lenses proved useless looking into the water, we saw the black sickle shape of permit dorsal fins and the fidgety wakes of bonefish. The creatures of the flats had roused as the lunar forces began steering water back to our side of the planet. A one-hour period gave Chris a permit on fly and two bonefish between Tyler and Derek.

6:30 p.m.: On the 40-mile run back to Islamorada, nature bestowed one of the grandest sunsets we'd ever seen. We arrived at Bud N' Mary's in the dark, but were just in time for delicious coconut-crusted grouper sandwiches at Lazy Days Restaurant (305-664-5256, www.lazydayssouth.com) next door.

Day Four: Islamorada to Key Biscayne

6 a.m.: An early exit put us on Islamorada's Gulf flats in greasy, calm conditions. At Lignumvitae Channel, Tyler and Chris caught sight of two permit and a 100pound tarpon working down the edge. After three failed opportunities there and two encounters with stuck-up bonefish on Peterson Key Bank, we ran farther into the Gulf to fish Rabbit Key on Nine Mile Bank.

8:30 a.m.: We had bonefish in mind at Rabbit, but a school of redfish surprised us. Derek unleashed his 6weight fly rod with a rust-colored Borski Slider and had no problem enticing a red. Chris and Tyler also caught two reds on crabs.

10 a.m.: We returned to Islamorada, refueled at Worldwide Sportsman and purchased more bait for the Key Largo to Biscayne Bay leg. By that time, the wind had increased from a light-and-variable puff to a sustained 15knot breeze from the northeast.

1 p.m.: Storm cells brewed over the Everglades. Conscious of safety, we stabbed our bows into a tight, 2foot chop to make good headway through Key Largo's Baker Cut into Buttonwood Sound.

Idling through Grouper and Dunsbury creeks provided some reprieve from the steady wind, but it was short-lived when we entered Blackwater Sound. Along the north shore, the prominent, new 18-Mile Stretch Overpass clearly marked Gilbert's Resort and entrance to Jewfish Creek. We tied up at Gilbert's for a powwow.

"I don't like the look of that," Tyler said pointing north. "The radar tells me those storm cells extend from downtown Miami all the way to Homestead, and they're moving over Biscayne." We made the decision to cover the next 15 miles as fast as we could through Barnes and Card sounds, passing under Card Sound Bridge to reach Broad Creek.

3:30 p.m.: We had avoided the rain, and to the north, Old Rhodes Key blocked the wind from Cutter Bank to some extent. Our vision was best poling into the wind, and it didn't take long to see our first school of bonefish.

Derek closed the last chapter of our angling adventure with a small bonefish. Only a leader length from the skiff, the fish ate a fly at the eastern fringe of Cutter Bank.

5:40 p.m.: The last 25 miles heading home rocked our small skiffs. It was a welcome sight to see our vehicles at the Crandon boat ramp, just as we had left them.

***

What to Bring

Tackle:

- Two 7-foot-6-inch, light-medium ­spinning rods with 10-pound PowerPro on Shimano Sustain 4000s for pitching light jigs and shrimp.
- For tarpon (up to 60 pounds) and permit, two 7-foot, medium-heavy ­spinning rods with 15-pound PowerPro on Shimano Sustain 5000s — kept locked and loaded nearby with a live crab dangling in the water.
- Three fly rods — 6-, 8- and 10-weights — with appropriate flies and species-specific leaders.
- Two Shimano Tyrnos 16 conventional reels with 50-pound PowerPro, medium-heavy 6-foot-6-inch Trevala rods for tugging on goliath grouper and larger sharks.
- Short- and long-shank hooks, sizes 2, 1, 1/0 and 2/0 for mangrove snappers, permit, tarpon and bones — plus, 7/0 to 9/0 circle hooks for big baits.
- Monofilament leader from 10- through 100pound. Malin stainless No. 4 wire for barracudas; doubled and twisted for sharks.
- Artificial lures: D.O.A. Shrimp and TerrorEyz, jigs with soft ­plastics and Gulps!, plugs, spoons and tube lures.

Other helpful gear:

- Besides keeping a GPS on board, print out satellite images from Google Earth (www.google.com/earth). Print the screen images from your computer and use a binder with plastic sleeves to organize the images according to the direction you'll be heading.
- A Wi-Fi-enabled cell phone that can pull up the latest weather radar. Bookmark www.radar.weather.gov into favorites.
- Insect repellent!
- Lightweight clothes that dry fast when washed with hand soap. Long-sleeve shirts, long pants, buff headwear and a hat, as well as SPF 30 sunscreen.

Gasoline needs:

- 18-foot-8-inch skiff powered by 115 hp two-stroke Evinrude EFI
- Total fuel cost = $307.60
- 415 miles/81.2 gallons = 5.1 mpg

- 18-foot skiff powered by 60 hp four-stroke Suzuki
- Total fuel cost = $192.70
- 415 miles/50.5 gallons = 8.2 mpg

Speaking of Lobsters...A Poem About Eating Them

I subscribe to a daily literary email--The Writer's Almanac, produced by Garrison Keillor--and today's featured poem was about eating lobster. Ironic, given that my last post (immediately below) was about harvesting them. Thought you'd enjoy a little bit of culture today--tapping into the sensitive side of all you big, strong (and emotionally fragile) fishermen.

Lobster
by June Robertson Beisch

On first seeing it, I was repelled
by the idea of eating something so
exotic looking and sinister,

having read Jean Paul Sartre's line
about crustaceans having a dubious
consciousness. But I was in New York, and

the young man I had met there tucked
my napkin under my chin and
handed me a nutcracker for the shell.

I was from Minnesota, raised on
lakes and brook trout. I, too, was
uncooked and formless, like the creatures

who take on the shape of their environment
My first taste was delicious, but the
third was even better and by

that time I was a real New York girl
who wore skinny black dresses and false eyelashes,
able to handle myself with any

crustacean, dubious consciousness or not.

"Lobster" by June Beisch, from Fatherless Woman. © Cape Cod Literary Press, 2004.

Tons of Lobster. Wonder If We'll Ever See Bounty Reflected in Lower Prices?

At least some fishermen are having a good year--lobster fishermen, it turns out. Well, by my compass, they deserve it, seeing how the Maine lobster fishery is perhaps the only self-policing fishery on the face of the earth. Meaning the lobstermen themselves enforce harvesting limits and will take (often violent) action against those who break the rules--and thereby pose a danger to the economic stability of the larger community. As explained in the NYTimes article below, this past season weather helped a lot as well. So the Fishing Gods, in summary, were good to them. I'm sure these folks also know that good fortune one year often means these same Gods will be predisposed to screw them the next. Moral of the story: enjoy the good times, but don't forget the bad; i.e., leave a few bucks in the bank account.

Ron Francoeur of Kennebunkport, Me., hauled his traps from the ocean on Thursday for the last time until April.

February 26, 2011
After a Record Haul in Maine, Try the Lobster Mac and Cheese

KENNEBUNKPORT, Me. — The dozens of traps that Ron Francoeur pulled from frigid waters here on Thursday held only about 30 lobsters, but maybe it did not matter. Last year’s statewide lobster haul — 93 million pounds, up from 81 million in 2009 — was the largest on record. And Mr. Francoeur allowed that he had shared in the bounty.

“I had a very good year,” he said.

Mr. Francoeur, who has been fishing since the 1980s, would not elaborate; lobstermen are famously secretive about where they fish and what price they get for their catch. But the numbers that the Maine Department of Marine Resources released this month suggested that Mr. Francoeur’s traps and untold others saw extraordinary action last year.

Unusually warm water played a role, said Carl Wilson, the state’s chief lobster biologist. Lobsters molted earlier in the year, which meant that many were big enough to legally catch by early July, a month sooner than usual.

“The planets were aligned for an early molt and really good fishing through the summer and fall,” Mr. Wilson said.

The other, more significant factor — a lobster population boom that has been building for at least 15 years — is harder to explain, he said. The decline of predators, like cod, and the state’s strict conservation rules for lobster are among the most commonly cited reasons.

“For every one that comes to market,” said Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Council, “about three go back into the water for conservation. Can you even get your mind around how many we’re talking about?”

Despite the vast supply, prices went up too, a promising turn of events after the global financial crisis forced drastic price declines in 2009. Lobster sold off the boat for as little as $2 a pound that summer, forcing many fishermen, including Mr. Francoeur, out of the business temporarily. Last year, the average price rose to $3.31 a pound, according to the state.

That was well below the high of $4.63 a pound in 2006, but it was enough to keep men like Mr. Francoeur, who had to supplement his income with a trucking job in 2009, on the water.

The 2009 crisis might have had a silver lining, Mr. Somers said. The low prices brought new markets — chain restaurants like Ruby Tuesday and Panera added lobster to their menus — and forced innovation. The lobster council is heavily promoting lobster in China, where, to the vexation of some here, they call it Boston lobster, Mr. Somers said. And a handful of new companies are producing packaged lobster convenience foods, like lobster macaroni and cheese, with the goal of selling them in grocery stores nationwide.

One such company is Calendar Islands Maine Lobsters in Portland, which will introduce its lobster mac and cheese and lobster pizza at the International Boston Seafood Show next month.

“We’re trying to put lobster into markets where it hasn’t been,” said John Jordan, the company president, “in forms where people can just buy it and put it in the oven and have an easy meal.”

Not all of the 4,260 commercial lobstermen estimated to have actively fished in Maine last year caught record amounts. Jason Joyce, an eighth-generation fisherman on Swans Island, described his catch as mediocre, even though Hancock County, where he lives, had the state’s largest haul, 31 million pounds.

“It’s very area specific,” Mr. Joyce said. “You could be within half a mile of someone who is doing three times as good as you are.”

Mr. Francoeur would not reveal where he planted his 800 traps last year but said the farther out people fished, the better they did. Thursday was his last day on the water until April.

In the meantime, he said, he will hit the ski slopes and repair his gear. He is not assuming that his luck will extend through 2011, not least because gas prices are rising again. “You never know,” he said. “It could be the worst we’ve had in years.”

Dan, Your Shirt is Safe and Clean

This shirt is history. This shirt typifies Dan. This shirt is associated with fishing trips and successful days on the water. This shirt, truly, is irreplaceable. Alas, this shirt is Dan's. And it also somehow wound up in my dirty laundry pile after our last outing. Well, Dan, rest assured, it is now clean and folded, waiting in my closet, for the next trip, and to be donned once again. Waiting...patiently...waiting...ready to go.

Spanish Mackerel: A Springtime Favorite Catch in Hatteras. Recipe to Consider, Look Forward To Trying

Spring fishing off Hatteras brings with it an opportunity to catch mackerel, both king and spanish varieties. Over the years, we've caught both on the Sea Ya Bea, and taken them home to the dinner table. Mackerel are an oily fish, and too "fishy" for some palettes. Personally, I love them and try to introduce citrus into the equation, usually fresh lemon slices laid on top under the broiler, and then squeezed lemon juice with freshly ground pepper. In today's Wall Street Journal, a professional chef weighs in with a recipe. Skimming the text, it sounded good--and what the heck, we need all the fish recipes we can get, at least to consider. After all, one never knows where new favorites dishes might surface from. Give it a quick read.

Spanish Mackerel With Blood Orange and Anchovy Sauce


The Chef:
Anita Lo

Her Restaurant:
Annisa in Manhattan's West Village

What She's Known For:
Weaving multicultural flavors with classic French themes

Anita Lo, chef and owner of Manhattan restaurant Annisa (which means "women" in Arabic), has a palate that knows no boundaries.

The Michigan native says her family obsessed over food when she was growing up. Her mother, a Chinese doctor, prepared multi-course Malaysian feasts and her stepfather, an American with New England roots, was a master of German cookery. She also had nannies who cooked delicious Polish food.

Though Ms. Lo's dishes are rooted in classical French technique (she studied at Paris's École Ritz-Escoffier), she plays with a range of global flavors. When creating a dish, Ms. Lo says she likes to take "an ingredient outside its context," be it Chinese, Japanese or French, and push it in a new direction. For example, on Annisa's winter menu, Chinese soup dumplings are filled with foie gras and roasted rack of lamb is served with South African elements such as tamarind chutney and a gussied up version of bobotie, a national South African ground meat and egg casserole. In her forthcoming cookbook, "Cooking Without Borders: Flavors for the New American Kitchen," Ms. Lo will share other recipes that blur geographical and cultural lines.

For her second of four Slow Food Fast contributions, Ms. Lo shares a winter recipe for broiled Spanish mackerel with a blood orange anchovy sauce. Spanish mackerel, she says, is a fish that's ideal in cold months because it gets fattier in winter, making its meat richer and all the more delicious. It's an oily fish that works well with the balance of citrus. Fat, she stresses, needs acid. At Annisa, Ms. Lo serves Spanish mackerel raw and thinly sliced with oranges, shaved raw broccoli rapini and a confited mustard seed oil.

Here, she has created a more approachable recipe that calls for broiled fillets served with a quick pan sauce. Broiling, she says, is a simple technique that "makes the skin nice and bubbly and crispy."

However easy this elegant dish may be, Ms. Lo advises home chefs to make sure they don't overcook the fish and that the broiler is good and hot before cooking.

This meal is brighter and lighter than most cold-weather indulgences. Ms. Lo balances the oily mackerel with a sauce made of blood oranges, which are also in season at the moment. More than just a visual flourish, the orange sections are worth the busy work they require—they add acidity and elegance to the final dish. The anchovy, which dissolves into the olive oil, lends the sauce depth and earthiness Though simplified for home cooks, this dish bears Ms. Lo's sophisticated mark.




Broiled Spanish Mackerel with Orange and Anchovy

FRESHEST FISH: Mackerel tends to be more oily—and succulent—in the winter months.

4 five-ounce fillets Spanish mackerel, skin on
6 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
Zest of ½ a lemon, grated
Zest of ½ an orange, grated
Pinch of red pepper flakes
4 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry and finely sliced
½ cup orange juice
1 tablespoon butter
2 blood oranges, sectioned
Lemon, for seasoning
Snipped chives (optional)

What to Do:

1. Heat a broiler on high. Brush both sides of mackerel with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Place mackerel, skin side up, on the top oven rack. Cook until skin is blistered and the fish is almost cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a warm plate.

3. Place a medium sauté pan over high heat. Add olive oil, shallot, garlic, zests, pepper flakes and anchovies to the pan. Cook until sizzling.

4. Add orange juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3 minutes, or until thickened.

5. Turn off heat and swirl in butter. Gently stir in the orange sections. Season the pan sauce with salt, pepper and a squirt of lemon juice.

6. Divide sauce among 4 plates. Top with mackerel fillets and garnish with chives if desired.

10 Tons of Striper Poaching in One Week. This Time in Chesapeake Bay. Sunken Gill Nets Used

Last week the Washington Post carried a story that confirms--yet again--the enormous amount of poaching that occurs and endangers the existence of already-depleted fish stocks. This time we return (surprise, surprise) to striper poaching in the northern Chesapeake Bay, at the southern tip of Kent Island, in the shallows near Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse. The thieves employed submerged gill nets, which are approved for taking strippers, but only when properly tended, used on defined dates, and in compliance with catch limits. In this case, however, the poachers caught 20,000 pounds against a daily legal quota of 300 pounds--stealing the equivalent of 66 days of legal netting from their fellow watermen. In reaction, state officials were so stunned by the size of the illegal catch that they immediately closed down the gill net fishery, which was projected to stay open through the end of February. Just to give you a sense of the magnitude of the heist, an icebreaker with a huge winch had to be called in to retrieve the illegal net from the water.

And we wonder why spring-time striper fishing in the Chesapeake Flats is dead--obviously, because fewer and fewer fish survive a treacherous passage from the ocean to their native spawning grounds, having to make it through a gauntlet of legal and illegal fishermen numbered in the thousands. In contrast to quotas set by fisheries officials, the actual number of stripers killed each year is at least 2x the official limit. When will the fishing community wake up to the scale of poaching and its devastation on the wildlife and sportfishing community? When will ethical fishermen wake up and smoke out the bandits? Personally, I think people are actually getting sick of this type of crime, and things will turn against these bums. Hope I'm directionally right--for the fish.

See below for two articles on the poaching incidents, as well as a variety of photographs.


Map of the area: Annapolis at left, Chesapeake Bay bridge in green, Kent Island at right, Bloody Point Bar at the very southern tip of Kent Island



Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse today, erected in 1882



Police discover 10 tons of illegally caught rockfish in Chesapeake Bay
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 4, 2011

Ten tons of rockfish were caught this week in the Chesapeake Bay, where the legal limit is 300 pounds a day.

It was a staggeringly high illegal fish kill in a short period of time, and on Friday Maryland officials announced aggressive steps to stop it.

Step 1: Shut down the February season for rockfish fishing with lethal gill nets.

Step 2: Offer a $7,000 reward to anyone who can help put the poachers in jail.

Step 3: Tightly enforce the quota system for fish catches.

"We seized over 20,000 pounds. That means these poachers are stealing 66 days of work from watermen," said Tom O'Connell, fisheries service director at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

State police who patrol the bay and its tributaries announced Tuesday the discovery of a poacher's gill net containing three tons of rockfish near Bloody Point Lighthouse, between Queen Anne's and Talbot counties. The largest catch uncovered by a lone patrol in at least 25 years was so big that an icebreaker was called in to haul it.

But Wednesday and Thursday, police in boats came upon more sunken gill nets, also in the vicinity of the isolated lighthouse, with illegal catches totaling seven tons. Under law, gill nets must be monitored by fishermen and must flow with the tide rather than be anchored.

Rockfish, also known as striped bass, and blue crabs have virtually disappeared in the past before being restored.

The clam population is currently low.

"The people of Maryland have invested far too much time, effort and money into restoring striped bass, our state fish," said Secretary of Natural Resources John R. Griffin.

Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call the department's Catch-a-Poacher Hotline at 800-635-6124.



Illegal Striped Bass Seizure Spurs Shut Down of February Gill Net Season. DNR, stakeholders offer reward for information leading to rockfish poachers' arrest

Annapolis, Md. (February 4, 2011) — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has shut down the February striped bass gill net season after Natural Resources Police (NRP) confiscated more than 10 tons of illegally caught striped bass in two days. NRP seized the 20,016 pounds of rockfish from four illegally anchored gill nets found near Bloody Point Light, south of Kent Island in the Chesapeake Bay.

“Wanton illegal behavior cannot, will not be tolerated,” said Secretary John Griffin. “The people of Maryland have invested far too much time, effort and money into restoring striped bass, our State fish. These poachers are stealing from every Maryland citizen... including from our honest, hardworking watermen who follow the law. I particularly want to commend our dedicated Natural Resources Police officers, many of whom staked out the sites overnight, during terrible weather conditions."

Maryland’s commercial striped bass fishery is managed on a quota system, in cooperation with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission; the commercial gill net quota for February is 354,318 pounds. When the illegally harvested striped bass confiscated by the NRP were deducted from the quota, DNR was forced to immediately shut down the fishery. The fishery will remain closed until DNR can determine the extent of illegal nets out on the Bay and the amount of striped bass caught in those nets.

“Watermen are allowed to catch about 300 pounds of rockfish per day. We seized 20,000 pounds. That means these poachers are stealing 66 days of work from honest watermen,” said DNR Fisheries Service Director Tom O’Connell.

The State, along with the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), The Maryland Watermen’s Association, the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen’s Association and the Maryland Charter Boat Association, is offering a reward of more than $7,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a person or persons responsible for setting these anchored gill nets in the vicinity of Bloody Point Light. Funding for the reward will come from dedicated funding as well as contributions from these stakeholder groups, who are publicly denouncing these crimes.

“Today’s announcement demonstrates that illegal fishing that steals the resource from all Marylanders will not be tolerated,” said CCA Maryland Executive Director Tony Friedrich. “We look forward to working with the Department and other stakeholders to insure that the penalties for these types of crimes are strengthened and those responsible are held fully accountable.”

“The Maryland Watermen’s Association is here to protect the honest fisherman,” said Association President Larry Simns. “We’d like to do anything in our power to catch the person responsible for this and we’d hope they’d lose their license.”

“The Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association is extremely disheartened and outraged over the events of the past several days,” said Executive Director Dave Smith. “This type of flagrant disregard for the law and our vital resource must end. The MSSA is working with the Department and other stakeholder groups to put in place deterrents and meaningful consequences for these types of crimes.”

The NRP found the first anchored gill net on Monday, January 31 at 2 p.m., the day before the February striped bass gill net season opened. Officers began a surveillance detail and after 17 hours without activity officers pulled up the net, which was full of rockfish. Officers continued pulling the net and offloading the fish until 9 p.m., when 6,121 pounds of fish were taken out of the 900 yards of illegal anchored gill net; 400 pounds were given to state biologists for use in an expanded gender sampling survey, and 5,721 pounds were sold.

Officers located another net at about 9 p.m. near the first net and began to pull it up immediately. NRP continued to load the net and fish into patrol boats throughout the night. While loading the second net, officers found two additional nets. The NRP worked until 5 p.m. Wednesday evening, landing an additional 13,895 pounds of illegally caught fish.

Officers also recovered 2,100 yards of anchored gill net from the Choptank River on Sunday, January 30, and 100 yards of anchored gill net from the mouth of the Chester River on Thursday. These nets had a few fish that were released alive.

Information on this crime may be called into the Natural Resources Police Catch-a-Poacher Hotline at 800-635-6124. Callers may remain anonymous.


Net and dead stripers on deck of the icebreaker








Poached fish from additional gill nets in patrol boats

NOAA Rules and the South Atlantic--What Area Are They Referring To?

Recently we have been inundated with new rules eminating from NOAA regarding restrictions on fishing in southern Atlantic Ocean waters. Which begs the question: what precise geographic area are they referring to? I've tried to provide a concrete answer below. Note that the governing fisheries management body for waters off Hatteras is the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. They write the detailed rules for waters under their management...that we in turn must comply with. First, a map of the area for you to refer to as I point things out.



Items of interest:

- The border between Virginia and North Carolina, extending 200 miles eastward to the edge of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), constitutes the northern boundary of the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC). North of this line, the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC) sets the rules.

- The border of the EEZ defines the entire eastern boundary of the SAFMC area.

- The southern boundary resides southwest of Key West, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council (GMFMC) setting rules for the Gulf of Mexico proper.


Here is the offical language for the SAFMC boundaries.

- The northern boundary begins at the seaward boundary between the States of Virginia and North Carolina (36 degress, 31 minutes, 00.8 seconds North latitude) and proceeds due east to the point of intersection with the outward boundary of the EEZ as specified in the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

- The southern boundary coincides with the line of demarcation between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, which begins at the intersection of the outer boundary of the EEZ, as specified in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, at 83 degress, 00 minutes West latitude, and proceeds northward along that meridian to 24 degrees, 35 minutes North latitude (near the Dry Tortugas Islands), thence eastward along that parallel, through Rebecca Shoal and the Quicksand Shoal, to the Marquesas Keys, and then through the Florida Keys to the mainland at the eastern end of Florida Bay, the line so running that the narrow waters within the Dry Tortugas Islands, the Marquesas Keys and the Florida Keys, and between the Florida Keys and the mainland, are within the Gulf of Mexico.

Wind Farms Off East Coast--Here They Come

Yesterday's NYTimes contained a very short piece announcing further steps towards the buildout of wind farms off the coast of eastern seaboard states--specifically, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. When we were still a homeowner in Bethany a few years back, there were ongoing reports and rumors of a windfarm being placed right off the boardwalk--the Washington Post even did a story that included an artist's depiction of what it would look like from a beachgoer's perspective, the top 15% of the towers clearly visible to the naked eye. Hey, such is progress; maybe the underwater structures will attract fish (assuming the area isn't closed to boat traffic)?

National Briefing | SOUTH
Virginia: Four Ocean Sites Identified for Wind Farms
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: February 7, 2011Twitter

Officials have identified four swaths of ocean along the East Coast as ripe for wind farm development, and leases could be issued this year, the Department of the Interior said Monday. The Department of Energy also said it intended to spend more than $50 million over the next five years to speed development of the farms. The Interior Department said the four sites are off Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Those states will receive expedited environmental reviews for the projects, which are expected to create thousands of jobs. Each site is off major tourist destinations. But Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the wind farms would be 10 to 20 miles offshore, far enough not to ruin views for beachgoers.

Thousands of Dead Stripers Off Bodie Island. Differing Explanations: Poachers, Too-Heavy Nets, "High-Grading?"

A flurry of articles/commentary (print/web) and photographs were circulating yesterday about the discovery of thousands of abandoned stripers off the North Carolina coast in the vicinity of Oregon Inlet and Bodie Island. Some blamed it on poachers (most likely: commercial fishermen stretching/breaking the law). Others the misfortune of a commercial fishing trawler that, having caught so many fish that their engorged net couldn't be lifted from the water, was forced to open it and release the catch (doubtful). Still others pointed to the illegal practice of "high-grading," or throwing away smaller fish in favor of keeping larger fish caught later on (the best explanation by me). Most of the sportfishermen involved--either those fishing that day who witnessed it, or those who posted comments second-hand on the web--were angered by the waste and prolific killing. Conversely, commercial fishing-friendly parties blamed current regulations, which place a commercial limit of 50 fish per day, regardless of weight, which indeed would encourage high-grading.

The first of two articles provided below gives the details. Notably, the second indicates that fisheries officials plan to change the regulations, switching out the 50-fish limit for one based on total pounds, in this case 2,000 pounds per trip. I agree, seems the better way to go.


One of the killing fields


Dead fish "stretching on for miles"


A suspected trawler (note surrounding sportfishermen)


A close-up of the trawler in question



Poachers toss thousands of fish, CG cites striped bass poachers
Updated: Thursday, 20 Jan 2011, 8:34 AM EST
Published : Wednesday, 19 Jan 2011, 11:15 AM EST

Elizabeth McDougall
KITTY HAWK, N.C. (WAVY) - WAVY.com has received numerous e-mails in regard to a major commercial trawler discard off the coast of North Carolina this past weekend. Several people have reported that trawlers fishing off the coast of the Outer Banks were caught tossing thousands of dead, or near dead, rock fish overboard. A YouTube video and several pictures emailed to WAVY.com show the fish floating everywhere.

A concerned fisherman told WAVY.com, "Commercial netters are dredging thousands of striped bass off the Outer Banks, and throwing back thousands of fish in the quest to fill their quotas with the largest fish possible. Miles of dead, floating striped bass are the result. Classic example of poorly designed fishing laws creating waste in a vulnerable and valuable fishery."

According to the Coast Guard , several fishing vessels were cited in violation of federal law, including one vessel in possession of 58 illegally caught Atlantic striped bass. The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Beluga, while on patrol, detected and intercepted the illegal poachers Friday.

Coast Guard officials say the economic pressures being felt nationwide and water temperatures have driven the striped bass population farther off shore into warmer waters, setting the stage for a situation that may entice fishermen to break the law.

Another concerned fisherman told WAVY.com there were several boats in the area Tuesday culling through the fish and said many of them still had life left in them.

In an online forum called " The Hull Truth ," many have expressed outrage and call the discard sickening.

Fishing for striped bass is permitted within state waters, but catching or possessing striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone , which begins three nautical miles from shore, is a violation of federal regulations, according to the Coast Guard.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries is investigating the massive discard.

Nancy Fish with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries told WAVY.com, "Both commercial and recreational fisheries have had issues with discards of striped bass in the past. However, this is the first time in several years that striped bass have migrated this close to the shore."

Fish said the commercial striped bass trawl fishery is scheduled to close at 6 p.m. on Thursday and the division will evaluate the effort and landings in this fishery to determine if quota remains and if the fishery should reopen. The division will also consider if alternative management measures could be used to prevent future discarded dead fish.

Coast Guard officials say federal authorities are taking legal action to ensure the longevity of the striped bass population and maintain a level playing field for all fishermen.

Boaters should be aware that the Coast Guard, as well as others, will continue to aggressively enforce laws and regulations concerning Atlantic striped bass.



WAVY.com
Law to change for catching striped bass. Proclamation to be released on Friday
Updated: Friday, 21 Jan 2011, 6:08 AM EST
Published : Thursday, 20 Jan 2011, 5:30 PM EST

MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. (WAVY) - Officials in North Carolina said they plan to change the law for catching striped bass after thousands of dead fish were released into the water over the weekend.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will replace the current 50-fish-per-day commercial trip limit, which has been in place for 15 years, with a 2,000-pound-per-day limit to avoid the need for fishermen to throw back dead fish.

On Saturday, an overloaded fishing net prompted fishermen on a commercial trawler to release thousands of striped bass they caught off of Bodie Island, officials with the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources said.

After towing through a school of striped bass, fishermen on the commercial trawler Jamie Lynn found the net was so full it was too heavy to bring on the boat. In order to retrieve the net, the fishermen had to open it and release the fish, the boat captain said.

The division is still investigating the incident but has been unable to confirm reports that commercial trawl fishermen were high-grading, or discarding a previously-caught, legal-sized fish in order to keep a larger fish within the daily possession limit.

Commercial fishermen will also be allowed to transfer trip limits to other fishing vessels that hold a striped bass ocean fishing permit for the commercial trawl fishery, but the transfers must be made in the ocean.

The new regulations will be implemented by a proclamation to be released Friday.
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will review these actions at its February 11 meeting in Pine Knoll Shores.

Hatteras Summer 2011 All Set

Just a quick note: Spoke with Dan today and he relayed that they (Dan, Dina, Emma, Jake) have rented their house in Hatteras Village for first week of August 2011. They are on same street as last year. The Field's have changed residence, now closer to Teach's and only two blocks from the Os. So good to go; we're all set.

To commemorate the "lock-in," here's a picture of the crew from last summer--all tanned and relaxed and loose and easy. Cheers!

Snow on Hatteras Island Today. Ferry Service Shut Down

By Jim Field

Dan and I were going to fish today out of Hatteras Inlet. The weather precluded a trip. (I also have to work all this weekend, which would have torpedoed things anyway). Turns out Hatteras got hit with a rather good snow storm--enough to suspend ferry service. Weather tomorrow forecasted for low 40s with sun. Please, may Spring come soon. Here's the story from the Outer Banks Voice:


Heavy snow shuts down Hatteras-Ocracoke ferries
Rob Morris | January 22, 2011
Heavy snow has forced the suspension of ferry service from Hatteras Island.

A coastal storm is causing poor visibility and icing on docks, the state Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division said in a statement.

Temporarily suspended were the Hatteras-Ocracoke, Ocracoke-Cedar Island, Ocracoke-Swan Quarter and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach routes.

About an inch of snow was covering N.C. 12 in Salvo, causing several accidents, Dare County reported. The county also said that the Washington Baum Bridge between Nags Head and Manteo and U.S. 264 in Manns Harbor were icy and hazardous

While heavy snow was reported on Hatteras Island, only a few showers and flurries have hit northern beaches.

A winter storm warning is in effect until 10 p.m. Hatteras Island is expected to get 2 to 3 inches of snow before the storm moves away Saturday night.

Farther north, the forecast calls for cloudy and cold weather before things clear out overnight.

Blustery winds will be from the north with temperatures in the mid-30s this afternoon and dropping into the 20s tonight.

After a sunny Sunday, rain is a possibility through at least Wednesday.

On the Hunt in Winter: For Geese, Not Fish. Good Times in the Pit. Some Notable Firsts

By Jim Field

A few Saturday's ago (January 8), Andrew and I traveled to Dan's neck of the woods to hunt for Canadian geese and duck. For years Dan has talked about "The Farm" on Maryland's eastern shore, located about 15 minutes away from Dan's homestead in Bear, DE. Dan, Fran Sr., and a handful of hunting pals--including Jon Kitchen--lease The Farm, a 250+ acre rural tract, from a local land owner. Each year Dan has extended an open invitation to me to hunt--something I've never taken him up on before. However, with Andrew now 14 years and wanting to hunt (i.e., shoot weapons), an open weekend presented an opportunity, and north we drove.

Departing Alexandria at 4:00 am Saturday morning, we proceeded up 95N in snow squalls through Baltimore, across the Susquehanna River, and into DE to Dan's house. Once there, we donned camouflage hunting attire--courtesy of Dan's extra inventory--and hopped in his truck for the brief drive to The Farm. On the way, the scenery was quiet and beautiful: open cornfields, tree-lined boundaries, a dusting of newly-fallen snow. The country.

Having now seen The Farm, I can attest to its beauty and attractiveness to hunters. Rolling fields, trees, all spread out, with a large creek constituting the entire southwest border. Dan and group have built two blinds on the creek, and a single firing pit in the center of a large cornfield, with stalks remaining. This morning we were manning the pit: Jon, son Austin, and Tim Mazol (also a Sea Ya Bea veteran) were on station in one of the blinds on the creek. We would also be joined in the pit by Travis, who I had never met before, and who turned out to be a great guy and outdoorsman, fun and knowledgeable at the same time--and an expert goose caller.

From the truck Dan shuttled Andrew, me, and the gear to the pit using his new 4-wheel toy (sorry, piece of essential equipment). We found the 30+ decoys snow-covered, and so spent time brush-cleaning and re-arranging the artificial flock (positioned face-first into the wind). Dan then instructed Andrew in firing a 12-gauge shotgun--the first time he would do this, or, to be more explicit, fire any gun above a 22 calibre. Dan set an empty cardboard coffee cup on a cornstalk at 20 paces and showed him how to site down the barrel. Andrew fired once: a hit. He fired twice: a second hit. That was that: ready to go.

We next entered the pit--perhaps 15 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet deep, and took our positions. Tied bundles of corn stalks were positioned overhead to serve as a roof, through which we would emerge--like jack-in-the-boxes--to fire at unsuspecting geese, assuming we could entice them into our field ad directly in front of us, within range.

As it turned out, the early snow had grounded the geese; when they started to fly, the activity centered in the field next to ours; it appeared that this would not be our day. That said, Travis worked the call constantly and we ended up attracting a small grouping, perhaps 10-15 birds. Dan, Andrew, and Travis stood up, got their bearings, choose their birds and fired. We got four, one of which was scored by Andrew.

By noon we were done and packing things up. It was one of the best mornings I'll ever have. Hunting with my son. His first experience with a bird gun, and exposure to the sport and the men who practice and carry on this way of living. Come on, does it get better?

As usual, Dan was a great host. Showing me, once again, something very special, passed down through families and friends, in the great outdoors. Andrew absolutely loved it--everything about it: the gear, the weapons, the surroundings, the companions, the pit conversation, and the kill. He wants to come back and "get really into it." We'll have to make this happen.


Dan begins instruction with Andrew


The young man takes it all in


Ready, aim, fire....for the first time


In the pit--Andrew peers upward


Travis and his caller


Andrew and Dan discussing Greek philosophers


Andrew and his first goose


Retrieving kills from the field

Student, instructor, morning's bag, pit

The two Fields

The essential piece of hunting gear--how cool!


(Thanks Dan--great time, man)