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Rainy where you are? Chances are, the sun’s shining on Pensacola Beach
Hello from Paradise! Folks, the big storms have moved and there has been plenty of good fishing going on. Also, now that the big storms have moved on it has been pretty nice out here on Pensacola Beach. However, for our neighbors to the north of Gulf Breeze, it has been wet in the afternoons!
I generally do not talk much about the weather, but today I am going to talk about a phenomenon that Islanders are very aware of… the Mysterious Beach Sunshine phenomenon. That is, when it’s raining buckets in Pensacola there is a huge chance the sun is shining on the beach. Why?
Well, in the middle-to-late afternoon thunderstorms will form mostly northeast of the beach in the distance. The storm with then track south and most of the time and stop just short of the island, lucky for us huh.
 | | Tanner Reynolds holds a red snapper he caught aboard the
Reel Eazy.
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Beach weather scientists have discussed this for years, including Captain Kirk Newkirk of Key Sailing and myself on occasions. Our belief is that the cooler moist air is pushed north by our southerly breezes and it clashes with the hot air over land. (And I do not mean the type of hot air that is generated by fisherman telling stories). The air masses rise where they meet, condensation forms, static builds, lightening pops here and there and you have all the requirements of a small isolated storm. As the storm moves closer south toward the beach it is no match for the southern breezes and is held short.
What does this mean for you? Well, the next time you want to go fishing on the beach chances are you will not get rained on — even if it is raining at home or on the mainland. Now, if it does rain, well I’m like any other weatherman — there are no guarantees just chances. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. Weather prediction is an imperfect science you know, even for beach weather scientists.
OK, now on to something I do know a little about and that is fishing around the island. It seems as if the close-in Snapper bite is still slacking off and the fish have moved further offshore. Last week Captain Buddy Rogers, aboard “The Reel Eazy.” was working the wrecks really hard and finally hooked into a nice Snapper and grouper.
Red Snapper are being caught using cigar minnows and snail rigs easier than circle hooks these days. If you are unsure of a snail rig that is a hook tied below a hook on a swivel leader 2 ft. below a slip lead. We are seeing a few King Mackerel; however, the low salt and dirty water has them further offshore too. Triggerfish are hanging out in close on the taller wrecks. Hard Tails can be caught some days in the pass for Amberjack bait; however, you have to look for the large flocks of birds and troll for them. In short, if you want AJs in the morning you might have to get bait the evening before.
After the storm, the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier reopened once visitors were allowed back and the King Fishing started as soon as the first bait was in the water. The bite has started a little slower with the reduced salinity from the rain in the North and the beach re-nourishment project.
Kings are taking hard tails and minnows caught
here at the pier. Also, there have been some nice
Spanish visiting the pier fishermen that are
prepared with light tackle and a gotcha rig.
In other pier news, site fishing for Pompano is
slow since the water clarity is down, but they are
being caught on live and dead shrimp at 1/3 pier.
In addition, fishermen fishing with small grubs
with a taste of shrimp are hooking Flounder in
the late evenings and early mornings. Remember
that Flounder are tough because they will not
come to you so retrieve very, very slowly and
move around for best results. If you pick up some
live shrimp on the way to the pier, you can get
some nice Flounder and Pompano. I noted one
man with a nice cooler of fish and that was his
secret weapon!
Inshore, the guys are saying that the
Redfish are out and the Speckle Trout are in. East
of the Bob Sikes Bridge has been producing the
best results. In fact, just east of Portofino has
been really productive for the last couple weeks
with both Speckle Trout and Redfish. In the last
week we have seen some fishing activity in Little
Sabine Bay which is a good bet with the reduced
fishing pressure. So, take some time, take a
charter, fish from the pier, the beach or the bridge.
Fishing is good.
Shelley’s Curry
Baked Snapper
Shelley Reynolds recommends that you try this
recipe when you do not want to fry your fish, but
would like a very yummy, low fat, simple fish
dish.
1/3 Cup Mayo
¾ Tsp Creole Mustard
¾ Tsp Lemon Juice
¾ Tsp Hot Sauce
¾ Tsp Worcestershire Sauce
½ Tsp Garlic Powder
1/8 Tsp Curry Powder
2 ½ Dozen Ritz Crackers
4 Nice Red Snapper Filets
Combine Mayo, Creole Mustard, lemon Juice, Hot Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, Garlic Powder, and Curry Powder. Brush the mixture on both sides of the filets. Crush the Ritz Crackers and place in pan. Dredge fish filets through the crushed crackers coating the fish. Place filets on lightly greased baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or slightly longer if the filets are really thick.
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