Forestry team fishes

[caveman]

This evening, two of the 2114 Kathleen FFA Forestry Team went mangrove snapper fishing in Tampa Bay. We got our limits and will eat them tomorrow. Tomorrow morning five of us will head offshore and try to catch some bigger stuff. 

  

  

 

[Chuck White]

Nice catch.

Always nice when Forestry Forum members get together!

[drobertson]

Looks like a very good mess!  Mouth watering tasty, love the snapper,

[caveman]

We went about 25 miles offshore the next day in search of good grouper.  We did not catch the large ones like we had hoped but the young men (3/4 of the forestry team) got to see some things they had never previously seen-cobalt blue water, flying fish, and a few other things.  On the way in we stopped at a couple of wrecks hoping to hook a barracuda, amber jacks, king fish or other large fish that pull hard.  Unfortunately there were divers on the two wrecks that we intended to stop at.  We did salvage the trip and caught quite a few mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel. 

Three days later, our FFA officer team was having their annual officer retreat at Anna Maria Island.  On Tuesday morning, the ones who were ready to leave the dock at 6 a.m. went fishing while the others slept in.  We did not have anything on the agenda until 9 a.m. so we had a few hours to net bait, fish, clean the fish, wash the boat, bait net and other stuff that was subjected to the salty environment.  The students fished for about an hour and a half while I got to practice tying on hooks, line to line knots and unhooking toothy critters.

We ate fried snapper and grilled mackerel for supper.

After the officer retreat was over, my youngest daughter was my fishing partner for a couple of days.  She is pure poison to snapper.
Caveman

  

  

  

 

[Carson-saws]

OUTSTANDING pictures!..Lookin REAL tasty!  How do YOU fix-um up for eatin?

[caveman]

Carson-saws, I typically fix snapper one of two ways.  Most often, I fry them in peanut oil and batter them in yellow corn meal with seasoning added to taste (it is gluten free, which is important for some of my family).  We mix the batter together in a one gallon zip lock bag, add the fillets and shake them until adequately coated.  The fillets are fried for3-5 minutes, depending on the size.  Grouper usually get fried a few more minutes.

Another favorite way to prepare snapper is to blacken them in a cast iron skillet.  We do this outside due to the smoke produced.  We dredge the fillets in melted butter, apply the blackening seasoning and drop them in the buttered skillet.  When the edges of the fillets start to turn white, they are flipped.  The whole cooking process usually takes about three minutes.  Also, if there are ripe or over-ripe mangos available, they are mushed up with a fork and slathered on the cooked and ready to eat blackened fillets. 

[tule peak timber]

Looking good !

[Carson-saws]

caveman...you said the magic word.."slathered on" the gluten free is outstanding I can relate to the whys.  Now I'm wondering how much it would cost me to get ya to freeze some up and mail um North.  ARGH...wouldn't be the same as fresh catch so I'll just drool here thinkin about it.  Enjoy and thanks for the secret recipe.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Wow I wish I could get in on some of that, but Im only there in the winter.
How is the forestry team doing in competitions?
Pete

[caveman]

I do not get many fishing days anymore.  The way it works in Florida's FFA, is that up to two teams of four members can compete at the district event.  The state is divided into 12 districts.  The winning team from each district advances to the state competition.  The winning team at the state competition advances to the national FFA forestry contest.  In 2015, the team that we had that won the district and advanced to the state contest placed 4th.  The previous two years, 2013 and 2014, the teams won the state event and advanced to the national event which they won the following Octobers (2014 and 2015).  Also, once a team wins the state contest, the members cannot compete in the state or district forestry contests.

Last week, the Florida Forestry Service hosted the 82nd annual FFA Forestry Camp at O'Leno State Park.  11 of my students attended.  Some of them will be on the forestry team.  Most of the students pictured with the fish have attended forestry camp, either this year or previously and some are national champions.

Thank you Pete and WDH for providing dendrology samples for the teams.
Caveman

[Raider Bill]

We went about 25 miles offshore the next day in search of good grouper.  We did not catch the large ones like we had hoped but the young men (3/4 of the forestry team) got to see some things they had never previously seen-cobalt blue water, flying fish, and a few other things.  On the way in we stopped at a couple of wrecks hoping to hook a barracuda, amber jacks, king fish or other large fish that pull hard.  Unfortunately there were divers on the two wrecks that we intended to stop at.  We did salvage the trip and caught quite a few mangrove snapper and Spanish mackerel. 

Three days later, our FFA officer team was having their annual officer retreat at Anna Maria Island.  On Tuesday morning, the ones who were ready to leave the dock at 6 a.m. went fishing while the others slept in.  We did not have anything on the agenda until 9 a.m. so we had a few hours to net bait, fish, clean the fish, wash the boat, bait net and other stuff that was subjected to the salty environment.  The students fished for about an hour and a half while I got to practice tying on hooks, line to line knots and unhooking toothy critters.

We ate fried snapper and grilled mackerel for supper.

After the officer retreat was over, my youngest daughter was my fishing partner for a couple of days.  She is pure poison to snapper.
Caveman

  

  

  

 

FYI, Divers pull pretty hard too. ;)

[petefrom bearswamp]

You can always count on me to send samples
Pete

[caveman]

Raider Bill,
Funny you should say how hard divers can pull.  Years ago, when I exercised less self control than now, we were anchored over the Gunsmoke Wreck catching snapper and attempting to catch grouper when a very large and very new Grady White boat approached.  The "captain" tried to anchor three times before successfully sticking the hook.  On the first two tries they nearly smashed into my old Dusky.  A few minutes later, divers hit the water and bubbles began coming up from the bottom under my boat.  The fish quit biting so I had an enormous weighted treble hook that I put down on my grouper rod and began working it like a jig.  My intention was to let the divers know of my disappointment in their decision to be rude.  My inclination was to pelt their pristine vessel with six ounce egg weights and cut their anchor line.  Instead we moved on and fished somewhere else. 

Imagine being out in the Gulf far enough that you cannot see another boat and some richy riches show up and anchor right on top of you.  Anyway, I did not hook a diver but I will have to take your word for their ability to put up a fight when hooked.

Pete, thank you for your continued support. 
Caveman