Rick Hale
Rick’s Bait Shop
904.372.4689
Fishing the St. Johns River
From September 2019 issue of
“The Fishing Connection”
Wow! I guess by the calendar, fall is almost here. Someone needs to tell mother nature!
She still has the oven turned on broil. Soon it will be fall though, and it will be apparent by all the boats stacked up on the side of the river fishing the drop offs for all the huge breeder Red Fish. They will be along the rocks at Blount Island, the jetty rocks at White Shell and around the Dames Point Bridge looking to land a monster Red Fish.
Just remember, if you participate, make sure to up size your tackle so you don’t fight them too long and you are able to release them unharmed. They are the future of our fishery. And remember your etiquette as well… remember that if it looks like your too close, you probably are. There are plenty to go around.
This month continues to be a great month for trout. They continue to be fairly easy to find along the grass lines with running water - usually a little better on the incoming with clean water but I’ve had luck on both tides.
Jerk Baits, Tip Water Spook Jr’s, One Knockers, and the occasional sub surface hard bait does the trick as well. I will always take a top water over subsurface but I have slowed it way down and had a couple of them knocked completely out of the water lately.
It looks as though the highlight of the fall might be the Flounder though. My buddy Josh landed a nice Flounder on my last trip making it three trips in a row that I’ve brought Flounder in the boat.
Revo is mad because flounder don’t stay in the boat long enough for him to get a lick. They are either in the box or back overboard for another day.
Hopefully, that is just a sign of things to come… that the doormats are going to be in this fall. They are definitely high on the list for the best table fare.
Well I hope everyone is having a great summer - Tight Lines!
From “The Fishing Connection”
By John “Chappy” Chapman
Recipe by Jeff Altman
Hook It… Cook It!
Here is another great grilled fish recipe with a spicy flair… sweet, savory and spicy. Everything you want in a summer dish.
2 pounds Fish Filets
1 cup - Teriyaki Sauce
1 cup - Mango peeled and diced
½ - Red Onion finely chopped
½ - Red or Green Bell Pepper chopped
4 - Green Onions chopped
1 teaspoon - Cilantro [optional]
1 - Jalapeno Pepper seeded and chopped
½ teaspoon - Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon - Chipotle
1 teaspoon - red pepper flakes
1 Lime Juice to taste
1. Place fish filets in pan and brush with Teriyaki Sauce - place in refrigerator for one hour.
2. In a medium bowl combine Mango, Onions, Bell Pepper, Green Onions, Cilantro, Lime Juice and Jalapeno Pepper.
3. Salt and Pepper to taste.
4. Place in refrigerator until fish is ready.
5. Set your grill for medium heat, add chipotle and red pepper flakes to fillets.
6. Place filets on grill for 10 to 12 minutes or until fish is flaky.
7. Top with mango salsa and serve.
This dish goes well with rice pilaf.