Hey Folks, fishing season is in full swing in the Pensacola Area and has been really good so far. The good news this year is that the baitfish are starting to show up.

Every year fisherman from the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier to the Charter Boat Captains has been able to rely on this tasty baitfish for King Mackerel, Cobia, Amberjack and other species. In fact, the charter and offshore fisherman have been enjoying the services of the "bait boat" selling live baitfish which is always good to have. The bad news, man we have had a windy spring. The good news, fishing pressure is down so better bites ... The REALLY GOOD NEWS, Federal Waters open up for Red Snapper June 1. I know I am confused now!

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reminds anglers that new rules go into effect June 1 requiring all people fishing from a vessel in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida for any reef fish species must carry and use circle hooks, de-hooking devices and venting tools. You can download all the rules at http://myfwc.com/marine/ . So, please be sure not to use stainless hooks, have your circle hooks, de-hooking devices and have a venting tool. For those that might not know, when you bring a reef fish from the bottom in deep water their swim bladder can take in air preventing them from descending when you release them. So, please be sure if you are fishing out in the gulf to follow these rules along with your size and bag limits.

It is June now and May was the Oriskany's second anniversary as a fishing reef. The Oriskany is a Korea / Vietnam era aircraft carrier measuring 888 ft in length. By today's carrier standards, she is small. However, by today's artificial reef standards, she is the largest intentionally sunk artificial reef in the world. Sunk on May 17th 2006 the USS Oriskany only took 37 minutes from detonation until the last starboard corner of her bow slipped beneath the waves. Now, plenty of fish are calling her home.

With the opening of Federal Red Snapper, the bite offshore right now is still pretty hot with Red Snapper holding in there since the opening day in April. As you know Red Snapper are reef fish which Pensacola is famous for. They are caught offshore in the Gulf of Mexico as well as in some secret spots in the bays mainly on artificial reefs and a few live bottom spots.

Catch a nice snapper this month.

With the storms from previous years the artificial reefs took a beating out there and all the Charter Boat Captains had some reefs missing. Now with several years of no storms, the good news is that all the charter boat captains running their bottom machines and GPS are finding spots too as well as building new ones. In addition, the Charter industries through the Captains are always building new reefs which increase fishing populations. That is a bonus for anyone fishing a charter.

So, what is being caught other than Red Snapper, well, the Amberjack bite is pretty good and holding strong. They are taking small baitfish and jigs. There is also plenty of grouper being brought in too, which I believe is one of the few benefits of Ivan. Grouper are more plentiful to the South and Southeast of Pensacola and Ivan seemed to drive them into our part of the gulf in greater numbers.

The Cobia has slowed down on the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier it seems, but steady. They are being replaced with the King Mackerel bite. Each week more and more kings are being landed and this year they have some really nice size to them too. The interesting point to make this year is that there seems to be a wider variety of species being caught at this time of the year. The Kings that are caught also seem a little larger than the ones caught last season at the pier. The question is will this trend continue throughout the summer? Also being caught on the Pensacola Beach Gulf pier are Spanish mackerel, pompano, and some flounder in the early mornings.

Inshore, you can count on a healthy speckle trout bite on the grass beds near shore. At night if you are fishing near a dock with a good light there are plenty of Specks and Redfish being caught on live shrimp.

Red Snapper Primavera Recipe

7 oz snapper fillet
2 oz low cal Italian dressing [to marinate fish]
3 oz angel hair pasta [flavor with saffron]
2 oz beurre blanc [butter sauce]
2 oz vegetable mix [fresh!!]
Broccoli florettes, pencil asparagus, Julianne carrots, Julianne yellow squash, blanche all of it together
salt & white pepper to taste
1 oz olive oil
pinch chopped fresh herbs
 

 

Marinate snapper in dressing for 5 min. [score the skin so it will not shrink when cooking]. Sauté in olive oil till golden. Roll Pasta with fork length wise, place at edge of plate 12 o'clock. Place sautéed snapper on pasta, 1/2 way [let pasta show] heat up veggies and toss with Beurre Blanc. Place at edge of fish. Pour the rest of Beurre Blanc over the pasta. Sprinkle the chopped fresh herbs over dish. This should not take more than 15 min at best. You should have the vegetables, fish and pasta in that order going from six o'clock up towards 12 o'clock.