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Tarpon Poem

May 10, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

I hope to publish the poem below every year until I die.

an ideal world
hot sun, blue sky, clear, slick water
sweat
a graphite wand, a sliver of steel, a wisp of feathers

a flash of silver breaks the mirror
then another, and another
feathers land in water
magically, they come to life

line tightens
mirror smashed
power
water flies, gills flare, body shakes, shudders
again, and again, and again

the beast tires
arms ache
hand grasps jaw
feathers removed
great fish swims free once more

tarpon
one of God’s gifts to fly fishers
———
it’s tarpon fishing time…

John Kumiski

Home- Spotted Tail Outdoors and Travel

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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The Continuing Saga of the Bang-O-Craft- A Photo Essay

April 30, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

The Continuing Saga of the Bang-O-Craft

the Bang-O-Craft

Alex and Maxx in the Bang-O-Craft.

In my yard sits a 14 foot long MonArk jonboat. I call it the Bang-O-Craft. I have had it for a long time, since before my kids were born. Although I love the boat and we’ve had many awesome adventures together, it’s just been sitting there collecting leaves for way too many years now. Very sad.

the bang-o-craft

The late Joe Mulson, on an Everglades trip.

I am trying to get it water ready again. I had to replace the old rotten tires. There went a hundred bucks. When I was putting the new tires back on the trailer I discovered (to no surprise) that the starboard wheel bearings were shot. Further investigation revealed that the spindle on the axle was shot, too.

the bang-o-craft

Maxx runs the boat on the Gulf of Mexico in Everglades National Park. Brother Alex enjoys the ride!

I bought that axle at Tractor Supply. It’s about twelve miles from my house, pretty convenient. A phone call revealed that they no longer stock that length axle. No one locally does. WTF??? I had to order one from a place in Delaware. There went another hundred bucks. It’s now on the trailer, though, some of my work for today.

the bang-o-craft

Maxx’s first camping trip the Everglades National Park. He was two years old at the time.

I wanted to put the wheels and tires back on today, too. I went to Auto Zone to get bearings and seals. It’s easy to see why they don’t call it “Trailer Zone.” They had neither bearings nor seals. I had to order them. I don’t get it. Parts stores used to always have that kind of stuff in stock. Now you have to order them? It’s just another indication of the decline of western civilization. Along with the dust covers and an adaptor for my socket set, there went another fifty bucks, and, I was unable to finish the job today like I wanted to.

the bang-o-craft

In Lake Ingraham on the same trip.

This boating stuff could get expensive.

the bang-o-craft

Maxx running the Bang-O-Craft on the Indian River Lagoon.

I found a new motor for the beast, a 9.9 hp Suzuki. It’s “previously owned,” a two stroke. I hope to go over to Pinellas County this week and pick it up. It’s $850. I need a new fuel tank and fuel line. There goes another hundred bucks.

the bang-o-craft

Dad and Alex with a redfish caught from the Bang-O-Craft.

The boat must be registered. I don’t know what the state of Florida is thinking. It only charges twenty-two dollars to register that boat.

I am lucky to already have a pushpole as well as oars and oarlocks, investments I made years ago. I plan to use the Bang-O-Craft as a St. Johns River fishing boat, with occasional use as a scouting vessel over in the lagoons. I know from past experience it works very well for that. We’ll see how it performs as a river boat. My guess is it will be better than a drift boat. The St. Johns River version of a Hyde!

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of the Bang-O-Craft!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Stories, opinion, Photo Essays ·

Saturday in the ‘Goon

April 28, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Saturday in the ‘Goon

Guest Blog by David Caprera

Did you ever get a tune stuck in your head while paddling? How about while paddling in a crowd? I launched a bit before ‎7am and caught a ‎24 inch red at ‎7:30. By ‎2 when I called it a day, I had still caught a red at ‎7:30. With apologies to Chicago and sung to the tune “Saturday in the Park.”

Saturday in the ‘Goon
I think it was a boaters’ convention
Engines raring, JB’s blaring
Ear plugs are a good invention.

People swimming, people sailing
The water is the color of tea
A boat staked out on every point
I couldn’t find a place to pee.

Saturday in the Goon
Isn’t there a race at Daytona
Men with guts, but women with breasts
Big enough to give you a bonah.

The weatherman said “‎2 to ‎4”
Building in the afternoon
By ‎2pm a guy was surfing
On the white caps in the lagoon.

Saturday in the Goon
I think that the fish are all gone
If you must fish on a weekend day
Plan to be launched by dawn

Can you dig it (Yes I can). Fade out.

In addition to his career as a poet, David Caprera has had a moderately successful career in law. He guest blogs for us now and again.

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Bananas and Boats

April 22, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Bananas and Boats

banana and boats

Have I doomed these flies to a lifetime of failure???

Fishing has been important to me my entire life. Bananas have been important to me my entire life. Fishing and bananas always went together like beans and franks, ham and eggs, beer and pretzels. Et cetera.

It came as a shock when someone tried to educate me in the mid-1980s that bananas in a boat are bad luck. “Hooey!” I said when I heard this. “Bananas are delicious, nutritious, and filling, and have nothing whatsoever to do with luck.”

I still believe this, and take bananas aboard my boat all the time. Of course lately my luck has been declining, but so has everyone else’s around here. Water quality has nothing to do with bananas.

However, having said all of that, I found a video that seems to indicate that bananas may actually be bad luck when taken aboard a fishing vessel. Of course one trip is a small sample size, and preconceived notions may have come into play during filming.

Watch the video yourself, and then let me know what you think by using the comment form below. And thank you for reading!

John Kumiski
www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Port Canaveral’s Giant Jack Crevalle

April 16, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Port Canaveral’s Giant Jack Crevalle

MaxxBigJackLR

It was one of my most memorable fishing charters. The surface of the Mosquito Lagoon was slick. We’d been on a school of redfish for two hours and gotten one bite, which was missed. I said, “We should go to Port Canaveral.” So we left the reds, pulled the boat out, and drove to Port Canaveral.

The wind had come up by the time we got there, but by the grace of God we found a long string of jack crevalle only a half mile from the south jetty. These weren’t little hockey puck jack crevalle, or even nice, healthy 10 and 12 pounders. These were the big, mean, break-your-back, take-no-prisoners 30 and 35 pound jack crevalle.

We had four ten pound spinning outfits on board. As I tied a one ounce jig onto the line of one I told my angler, “This is like hunting elephants with a spitball shooter.” I threaded a five inch chartreuse jerkbait onto the hook of the jig and handed him the rod.

We idled around briefly until we found the fish again. Mike started casting. In short order he made a good cast and a cooperative jack nailed the jig.

By this time the sea breeze had kicked in. We had to chase the fish into the waves, which were pouring over the bow. I had serious concerns that Mike would be going swimming, so I had him get behind me and use the poling tower as a lean bar. This had the advantage of slowing down the flood coming over the bow. I told him, “If you catch this fish it will be a miracle.”

The guy was a solid angler, and before too long the fish was beneath us. Mike would pull him in close, and the fish would take off again. Mike had to work around the poling tower, and the pushpole, and the motor. The Mitzi was rocking and rolling, waves were still coming in, and the bilge pump was running non-stop. It was true combat fishing, an awesome battle between two equally determined antagonists.

Read the rest of this story here…

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Poppers for Seatrout

April 2, 2014 by · Leave a Comment

Poppers for Seatrout

poppers for seatrout

Lovely when alive, tasty on the table, spotted seatrout are one of Florida’s favorite saltwater fish. The problem is, unless you find a really big one (not easy to do) trout are weaklings at the end of your line. They just don’t get the adrenaline going. But you can make trout fishing more fun by using poppers for seatrout.

There’s the visual aspect of using the plug. You can see the lure, and you can see the fish hit it. There’s the very satisfying “Smack!” sound when a good fish takes it. Believe it or not, the missed strikes are fun, and sometimes a fish will hit it four or five times in a row until the hook finally sticks, or doesn’t.

As in all things in fishing there are a variety of plugs on the market that will work. For most of this type of work I like a popping plug, and the Chug Bug (made by Storm Lures) is probably my favorite. Not only does the “pop” of this lure attract the fish, but it has rattles inside for extra attraction power. It calls the fish to it from quite a distance and there’s something almost magical about its appeal to seatrout. Of course, redfish, snook, tarpon, and crevalle will whack it too. I’ve even caught snapper with them.

poppers for seatrout

Storm’s Chug Bug comes in three sizes. All are effective lures for seatrout.

Another excellent surface lure for seatrout is the DOA Shallow Running Bait Buster. This soft plastic mullet imitation features a single hook, great for when floating grass or other debris makes using a lure with gang hooks impractical. While you don’t get the “bloop!” of a Chug Bug you fish it much the same way.

Seatrout on DOA Bait Buster

The Bait Buster is a great lure for any mullet-eating fish.

During the summertime (coming right up!) your best strategy is to get out early (before sunrise) and find a flat that’s about two feet deep with a bottom that has a mixture of sand and grass. Lots of mullet in the vicinity are a definite plus. Working around the edges of bars or docks is also a very good idea. If you’re in a boat you can drift, use a trolling motor on slow speed, or push the boat with a pushpole. Waders can have good success too, though.

Cast the lure as far as you can, and work it back to you. How fast should you retrieve? How hard should you pop it?

Only the fish can answer this question, and experimentation with your retrieve is the best course of action. When you find what they like best, keep doing it until it stops working.

One time when I had Michael Grant out in my boat we were both tossing Chug Bugs. I was using small, steady pops, reeling at a moderate rate, and was getting the occasional bite. Michael was using great, loud pops, reeling slowly. He was getting bites every second or third cast. Of course I changed my retrieve to imitate was he was doing and my success rate went right up.

So if you want to make trout fishing more entertaining, try to using poppers for seatrout.

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2014. All rights are reserved.

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Third Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Report

December 22, 2013 by · 1 Comment

Third Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Report

A Merry Christmas to All!!!

Blog Posts this Week:
Demand Clean Water Now!

In our last installment our Paddle Adventurers were at River Palms Cottages.

The remaining Paddle Adventurers ended up spending two nights at River Palms. The second day there we gave a talk at the Florida Oceanographic Institute on Hutchison Island. Ellie kindly gave us a $100 gift card for a local restaurant, so we got to eat once again.

Son Maxx and his darlin’ Sydney showed up to join the adventure that night. So did Nate Lemars, a friend of Rodney’s. Maxx came in a vehicle. Nate had been chasing us in a kayak for three days.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Stretching before paddling.

Sunrise was spectacular. A departing sportfisherman serenaded us for a while with Eminem at ear-shattering volume. Then we packed up and departed ourselves.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Mike Conneen watches as the sun rises at River Palms.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Eminem goes out to sea in this sportfisherman.

Our goal was modest- Long Island, near the St. Lucie Inlet. It was an easy paddle. Rodney and I spotted a couple of fish on Marcia’s flat. We stopped and fished it but nothing bit our offerings, so we continued to the island.

Long Island was one of the nicer spoil islands that we camped on, so much so that we spent two nights there (unused weather days). There was some seagrass on the ocean side of it where there were a few fish. Rodney got a seatrout, Nate got a legal-sized snook on the last day of the season. Most of us got a few jack crevalle, although they were all small.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

The peas grew around out campsite.

The next morning Nate got a nice flounder. Then we had some visitors (other than the rats).

First were Marcia Foosaner and her friend Ros. They gave us presents including a pair of pompano jigs (never did catch a pompano, though) and a pompano. They couldn’t stay long and were too soon gone. Thanks to them for being so gracious.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Sydney with a sea star.

Jim Moir, Disney Conservationist of the Year, was next. He did not bring gifts but invited us to camp in his yard. As it turned out we did, too.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Rodney takes a turn at the stove.

Dinner that evening was a fish-lover’s extravaganza- pan-fried flounder and snook, baked trout and pompano. Delicious and bastante!

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Dinner- delicious and plentiful.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Everyone was happy, feeding the beast.

After dinner we got the fire cranking. Mim and Sydney went to work with the palmetto fronds, making a fire visible from space. Yes, I’m exaggerating.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

The ladies were pyromaniacs. Who knew?

In the morning Mark Nichols and Ed Zyak came in. They had coffee and doughnuts- how to be popular when visiting campers!

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Coffee and doughnuts will make friends quick when offered to campers.

Mark invited me to go fishing with them, and I jumped at the offer. We stopped at a flat near the inlet and got out to wade. Almost immediately I spied a cruising fish and tossed a faux shrimp at it- BANG! A twenty-four inch snook was my reward. Other than a few small jacks it was all we got, but the wading was very pleasant and it’s always enjoyable being around Mark and Ed. Many thanks to both of them.

When I got back to camp everyone was gone to Jim Moir’s house but Rodney. The paddle was short and easy, an outgoing tide and north wind pushing us along. Then we got to the house. I had missed Maxx and Sydney, who had already left for home.

It’s on top of a cliff. Two telephone poles with a pulley system are used to move the boats up to the top. I wanted a photo of the operation but all able-bodied men were involved in moving boats and gear, so no time for photos.

The house was gorgeous. The fact it had hot showers and flush toilets made it that much more appealing. We shared our dinner with the Moirs and they shared theirs with us, quite lovely. Our most heartfelt thanks to them for their hospitality.

It was cold that night. For the first time on the trip I got inside of my sleeping bag.

An early start greeted us the next morning. We had a long paddle, a tide to beat, a program to give at the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, and had to find a place to camp. We slid the boats down the “ramp” with the help of the pulley, loaded up, and headed out.

We paddled south through the Narrows. Aptly named, in spots it was barely wide enough for the Old Town. I thought we should see fish and wildlife there but it was very sparse.

We came back out to the ICW. A north wind pushed us along nicely. We came to the Hobe Sound refuge and beached our craft. Mike volunteered to stay with the boats while we did our talk.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

A dredging operation along the ICW.

In the middle of the talk a woman stuck her head into the room and said, “You guys have a place to stay tonight at the Jupiter Pointe Marina.” She came in a woman but left as an angel. What great news that was! As it turned out Mike was not only watching the boats, he was looking for a place for all of us to sleep.

A little after 3 PM we left the refuge, with three and a half miles to paddle to reach the Marina. We got there about 30 minutes before sunset. What a place! A beach for the boats, a big grassy area for us, a bar and restaurant, flush toilets, running water, picnic tables, firewood- they really did us right! All the Paddle Adventurers send Jupiter Pointe Marina their deepest appreciation.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Jupiter Pointe Marina by moonlight.

In the morning we took our time. It was our last day and we did not have far to go, so no need to hurry. That last paddle took us past some plush properties to the north of Jupiter Inlet, and Rodney even caught a crevalle jack. We came to Jupiter Light and the light keeper came down to yell at us- “You can’t stay there, you have to go on the other side of the fence!” What a jerk. We just left.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Jupiter Light was nice, the keeper, not so much.

We got to the River Center on the Loxahatchee River, at Burt Reynolds Park. It was kind of a weird feeling. We were done paddling! What an anticlimax! Jim, Mim’s friend, showed up with some sparkling cider and champagne for us and we all had a toast. We took a few photos. Rodney and I had a presentation to give at the River Center, so we headed off to do that.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

Photos were taken.

When we were done our friends were still waiting for us so everyone could say goodbye. I don’t know if there were any tears but there were plenty of hugs. Then we all loaded our gear into vehicles and got in. That was that.

That wasn’t that, though. I have the most wonderful new friends, new brothers as Bones would say. I had been blown away all along the lagoon by the kindness and generosity of strangers. I have new hope that the people who had been so kind, so generous, so concerned, can all get organized and fight to preserve, to restore this fabulous place we call the Indian River Lagoon.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

The core group. We grew on each other.

It would be a tragedy to do anything less. Demand Clean Water Now!

My most sincere thanks to everyone who paddled with us, especially the core paddlers- Nick, Mike, Bones, and Rodney.

Indian River Paddle Adventure

That is this week’s exciting version of the Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Filed Under: Fishing Reports, Fishing Stories, Paddle Fishing Florida, Photo Essays · Tagged: , , ,

Second IRL Paddle Adventure Report

December 14, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

paddle adventure

Second IRL Paddle Adventure Report

Gray sky, howling wind. The whitecaps were breaking over the gunwales of the canoe. The shoreline was only inching closer. The “adventure” part of the IRL Paddle Adventure made its presence felt in an all-too-real way.

The IRL Paddle Adventurers left Samson’s Island after a pleasant two night stay. A pair of great horned owls serenaded us to sleep each evening while we were there. We observed that they were a mating pair. Apparently the actual act of mating occurs very quickly in great horned owls, taking approximately three seconds in this particular case.

paddle adventure

These owls serenaded us.

I thought I might find owl pellets at the base of the tree they were in. What I found was an active beehive. I left the area as quickly as possible.

The Trip to Lagoon House was uneventful. There was not a lot of camping space there and several of us were literally at the water’s edge, But the Lagoon-Palooza was well attended and MRC garnered several new members. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely thank everyone who came out to see us.

On the next day’s paddle we stopped at Honest John’s Fish Camp and ate our lunch. Honest John’s represents the finest of what’s left of old Florida- funky, laid-back, gracious, a cool place. We chatted with Elliot, who worked there, and Barbara Arthur, a wonderful lady, one of the owners. She has several IGFA world record seatrout to her credit, quite the woman.

paddle adventure

Honest John’s Fish Camp

Our next stop was Long Point Park, near Sebastian Inlet. The park graciously donated two campsites to us for our stay. It was sad getting there in a way because that’s where Dee Kaminsky was leaving us. Mike Conneen’s brother Matt came by with two pots of vegetarian chili with all the fixin’s and fed the lot of us, the sort of kindness that has made this trip so outstanding. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely thank Matt Conneen for his delicious contribution.

paddle adventure

The storks hoped for handouts that never came.

On the bright side of this particular stop, Karen of Karen’s Kayaks joined us for the overnight and the next day’s paddle and Brian the kayak fisherman joined us for three days.

paddle adventure

Brian brought a cheering section.

A half-dozen wood storks hung around waiting for handouts. Since we had hardly caught any fish (a recurring theme on this trip) we had nothing for them. Feeding the wildlife is never a good idea anyway.

We paddled through miles of stinky water the next day. The seagrass has been replaced by a red alga that collects in depressions on the bottom where it rots. The rotting algae stinks. It was like that for miles.

paddle adventure

This stuff collects and rots, raising quite the stink.

We thought we would catch some fish in the vicinity of Sebastian Inlet but no one did. Nearing Wabasso Rodney managed to get a slam- redfish, two snook, seatrout, and a crevalle thrown in for good measure. All the fish combined maybe would weigh two pounds.

paddle adventure

The larger of Rodney’s two snook.

paddle adventure

Our best redfish of the trip- so far.

Evening found us at the Environmental Learning Center at Wabasso, the nicest of this type of facility that I’ve seen. They allowed us to camp there, take showers, and wash our nasty clothes. Then, Lou and Laurie of Chive in Vero Beach came out with a portable kitchen and cooked us an amazing dinner- steak, shrimp, three-beans and rice, condiments, sauces, truly amazing stuff. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely thank Lou and Laurie for their delicious contribution.

I got confused navigating the next morning and missed the route I wanted to take. Because of that error we got to meet Dr. Grant Gilmore, who had come out to see us. We stopped and conversed about IRL fisheries and their protection. Apparently the county wants to put in a boat ramp at the location of the best seatrout spawning habitat remaining in the south end of the Indian River Lagoon. Dr. Gilmore does not think this is a good idea, and I agree with him.

paddle adventure

Dr. Grant Gilmore makes a point.

Just north of the north causeway in Vero Beach the most amazing thing happened- we began seeing seagrass again. With the seagrass came all kinds of bait, too. Crabs, no. Large fish, no. Rays, no. But there was still grass there, and we’ve seen it more or less all the way to Jensen Beach.

Rodney’s son James and two of his friends joined us on the south side of Vero beach. They camped with us that night on the best spoil island of the trip. There was a pocket of deep water on the north side of it and we caught jacks and ladyfish there, most of us catching at least a few. I even broke out the fly rod and caught a ladyfish.

paddle adventure

James was happy to see us too.

Sunset was spectacular, a gorgeous, calm evening.

paddle adventure

James photographs the sunset.

 

paddle adventure

Dusk at Home Sweet Home.

Morning broke gray and windy, a solid 15 from the north. Mim, a kayaker from Sebastian, joined us for the duration of the trip.

paddle adventure

Mim truly is epic.

Rodney and I tied our canoe to Nick’s and we put up sails. We made great time to Fort Pierce and without thinking it through too well kept right on going. We stopped at a speck of dirt south of the causeway. Suddenly the wind doubled in intensity, pushing up big, ugly whitecaps. We had to leave- our speck would be underwater at high tide. So we made for the nearest shore. It was a tense, scary ride but fortunately everyone made it safely.

But now we had to find a place to stop.

The entire shoreline there is mangroves behind which are mosquito impoundments. There is no place to stop, much less camp. We got to Little Mud Creek just before sundown and that’s where we spent the night, wind howling, surf crashing.

paddle adventure

There were miles of mangrove shorelines south of Fort Pierce.

We got going as early as possible the next morning. Our destination was Jensen Beach.

Both Caribbean Shores and River Palms Cottages offered us donated lodging. We ended up at River Palms, from where I type this. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely thank both facilities for their generous donation. My only regret is we couldn’t manage to stay at both places.

Mim bought all the Paddle Adventurers dinner last night. The IRL Paddle Adventurers would like to sincerely her for her generous donation!

Speaking of donations, you can still sponsor a paddler and donate to the MRC Education fund at this link…

We are scheduled to give a presentation at the Florida Oceanographic Institute in an hour. Tomorrow we recommence our adventure.

Life is short- go fishing.

Life is great and I love my work!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Eating Cannonball Jellyfish from Mosquito Lagoon

November 4, 2013 by · 4 Comments

Eating Cannonball Jellyfish from Mosquito Lagoon

A Guest Blog by Dave Caprera

OK, last time I collected ‎30-40 fiddler crabs and made a bisque.  The picture of the crabs in the pot caught some of you unaware*.  Well, I have upped the ante and gone one better.  The cannonball jellyfish, Stomolophus meleagris, are now in large numbers in the lagoon.

cannonball jellyfish

A cannonball jellyfish

Two days ago I collected four specimens and started reading.  (I actually collected eight and threw four back.) There are about a dozen species of jellies that are eaten, almost entirely by Asians.  One is the cannonball.  (Its name is well deserved, it is round, about ‎8 inches in diameter, and weighs around ‎1 pound.  Ready! Load! Fire!)

You can buy them dried and salted.  They are salted because they do not keep fresh for very long.  But there is little literature on preparing fresh jellyfish.  The following is my recipe for their preparation.

1.  Catch jellyfish.  The cannonballs are among the strongest of the swimmers.  Don’t worry, you are up to the task.  They do not sting per se, but their mucous is found to be irritable to some.  Didn’t bother me.

2.  Rip the cap off.  No one told me how to clean them.  At first, I cut them carefully.  Then I figured it out.  Think of them as a mushroom.  Separate the cap from the stem.  Throw the stem away.

3.  Scrape off the scum.  Ah, this is the yucky part.  They are slimy.  Using a knife edge, scrape away.

4.  Brine for ‎24 hours in the fridge in a salt water solution.  Rinse.  Brine again.  Rinse. Rinse again (you are getting rid of the salt.). The brine cures them and assists in the slime removal.  Scrape again.

5.  At this point you should have firm, clean jellyfish filets.  Drain.  Now cover with boiling water for ‎15 minutes.  Magic!  They shrink in half.  They also soften up.  Rinse immediately in cold water.  Now you can slice ‎in 1/4 inch lengths.

6.  There are two “common” recipes.  Both served cold.  The Chinese use soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil and sugar.  Toss and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.  The Vietnamese use “fish sauce”, vinegar, oil, red pepper flakes and sugar.  They toss with cucumbers, cilantro and shredded carrots.  Variations are numerous.  Both are good.

7.  Eat.  I am not kidding.  This is good shit, almost zero carbs, high protein, low calorie.

cannonball jellyfish

Does this look like dinner to you?

Tune in next time for my dog whelk scungilli.

*This was not posted on this blog, unfortunately.

Dave Caprera, a retired attorney, now makes his home in New Smyrna Beach.

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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Port Canaveral Fishing Report

October 12, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Port Canaveral Fishing Report

Upcoming Events-

Mosquito Lagoon Show and Tell Fishing Seminar, October 26


Mosquito Lagoon On-the-Water Show and Tell Seminar, October 27

First Coast Fly Fishers meeting, November 4

Indian River Lagoon Paddle Adventure starts December 1. Paddle the length of the lagoon with us!

 

The forecast for Tuesday was NW at 5-10, seas 2-3 feet. I went out of Port Canaveral in the Mitzi. The forecast was not exactly correct. The seas were at the limit of the Mitzi’s capabilities. I got exactly one crevalle before turning around and bagging it.

Wednesday after the colonoscopy I was too wrung out to do much of substance. Regular readers may have read about this long canoe trip Rodney Smith and I (and others!) will be taking in December. The Coleman stove came out for testing, since we’ll need it and it hadn’t been used in several years.

After oiling the pump that baby started right up.

I then went into the cook kit to see what was in there. As strange as it might seem it was like reuniting with an old friend.

A long time ago I lost my favorite camping spoon on Cape Sable while on a canoe trip. As stupid as it was I almost went into mourning over that spoon. For years I looked for another one just like it without success.

A fan took me out to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Somerset NJ while I was at the Fly Fishing Show. To my joy that restaurant had my spoon. I told the guy about losing my other one and said I was taking one, which I put in my pocket. Then I started feeling guilty. “I’m 53 years old, I shouldn’t be stealing silverware from a restaurant.” So I put it back on the table, and left with a clean conscience.

My friend gave me a ride back to the hotel. When I got out of the car he had a present for me- he had stolen the spoon.

It was in my cook kit, along with a cooking pot I bought in LaPaz and many other treasures filled with memories. It was like opening a time capsule.

I am so looking forward to that canoe trip.

 

Thursday I took a long bike ride through the state forest by the Econlockhatchee River. It was glorious. The river was still a little high but has dropped a lot. It looked good.

 

Friday I went out of Port Canaveral with Steve Butrym and his nephew Steve. It was a gorgeous day. The water was pretty dirty in most places, cleanest in the Bight.

We ran down the beach all the way to Satellite Beach without finding any bait. Once there I caught a single Spanish mackerel.

We headed east and went out four or five miles looking for anything that might indicate fish, heading north and heading past Cape Canaveral. We found nothing.

At that point we got close to the beach again. The water was close to nasty, very dirty. Once we cleared the tip of the Cape it cleaned up a little. I netted about 15 mullet and we started casting them into the surf. We got exactly two small jacks.

The bluefish ought to be nuisance thick right now, and there should be all kinds of fish in the surf. There wasn’t much bait, and there were hardly any fish. Is the mullet run over already??

That is this week’s not-so-exciting version of the Port Canaveral Fishing Report.

Life is great and I love my work!

Life is short. Go Fishing!

John Kumiski
http://www.spottedtail.com

All content in this blog, including writing and photos, copyright John Kumiski 2013. All rights are reserved.

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