The Archambault group from Cincinnati didn’t let the rain stop them from having a great day fishing aboard the Mr. Z.  They had an impressive catch of dolphin and wahoo of up to 36 pounds!  One nice thing about Key West is that all the local waterfront restaurants will cook your catch for you, but just in case these guys wanted another idea of what to do with the fish… 

I had a request from a very reputable (ie, highly-searched) website for my favorite fish recipe.  At first, I was at a complete loss, but didn’t want to miss the opportunity to market my business and vowed that if I have to dig deep to come up with some fancy way to cook a fish, I will!

After wracking my brain and cursing my poorly-developed culinary skills, I reverted back to my life’s motto, “Keep it simple stupid.”  In fact, the only time I cook fish is on our overnight charters either to the Dry Tortugas, Marquesas Keys or Habana, Cuba.  The charter always expects the Captain to make dinner each evening after a fruitful day of fishing and I actually do have some very basic recipes that always go over well, especially when you’ve been fighting fish all day in the sun and could eat the hind end out of a horse!

The charter, at least for the crew, always begins the day before in preparation for the trip.  Ice, fuel, bait and tackle, water, bed-linens, safety gear, navigation charts, etc. all have to be accounted for or loaded on board.  Including, the part I hate most, food shopping!  I like to keep eating simple while on board.  Ham sandwiches (sorry Capt. Steve!) for lunch, cereal for breakfast, Pop-tarts, cookies, and of course, beer.  Besides the four basic food groups, I figure the adventure should be about the great fish we catch and I usually don’t put much emphasis on the great grub the Captain served as a highlight of the trip.  So, here’s all you need to be a hero come dinner time…

While at the grocery store, purchase two very important ingredients.  Even better that they live in the same aisle.  Ranch Dressing and Italian Dressing.   Yep, those are the secret ingredients.  You’ll also need some salsa (Ragu spaghetti sauce), pasta and toast.  That’s bread that you have heated up.  That garlic bread that comes in a frozen box works well too.  Remember, keep it simple.  On board, you’ll need a heat source.  I have an aversion to grills on boats (see my “El Tourneo del Fuego” story) so I have a flat surface range, but a microwave will do in a pinch. 

For the first “recipe,” fillet the fish and soak, I mean “marinate,” the fillets in the Italian Dressing.  Yes, I am talking about Italian Salad Dressing that comes in a plastic bottle ie, Ken’s, Four Seasons, Newman’s Own, whatever.  Remember, no glass on a boat.  This can be done with the first few fish you catch, the best being Snappers or Groupers, but Porgy, Macheral, Kingfish even Grunts will work, any white fish will do.  You can do the filleting and marinating while the clients are embroiled in the first of the morning bottom bite and they won’t even notice that you are already working to make that evening’s dinner!  The less you have to do after a twelve-hour workday, the better.  Pour on the dressing generously, A, because you are not cheap, and B, because you will use the marinade to oil the frying pan later.  Ahh, good thinking.  When that evening finally comes and you can hear everyone’s stomach growling, throw the fillets and marinade in the hot skillet and cook for up to a minute on each side.  Flipping only once and try not to screw it up.  Presentation is important to how much the client thinks you are cool.  You’ve already microwaved some frozen veggies for sides and throw the just-barely-turned-white fillets on some minute rice (although a real rice cooker is easier and cheap.  It plugs in just like a toaster. Check it out).  Serve on paper plate with a cold beer from the cooler.  Take a bow.

Recipe number 2.  Complicated by two more ingredients, so stay with me.

Again, fillet the first decent fish of the morning and throw them in the tupperware that contains the previous nights left-over marinade you saved in the cooler.  You did save the dressing in the tupperware?  Or, crack open the second bottle of Italian Dressing…  you did buy two didn’t you?  Don’t be cheap, the clients are paying top dollar for this trip, you can afford the best!  Shake up the fillets and put it back in the cooler.  By now, the clients are wise to your recipe and you pat yourself on the back for making the best fish dinner they ever had using only one ingredient.  Soak up the glory because it is always short lived.  Tonight they will expect more.  They always expect more.  They will settle for less, but that doesn’t encourage them to come back next year and that’s your number one goal as a fishing guide, repeat clientelle!  Anway, now go take a nap because you were up all night worrying about the weather, the generator, that white light in the distance, or the anchor dragging, etc.  On an over-nighter, the Captain never sleeps.

Again, throw the marinated fillets in the skillet, cook appropriately, then throw them in a big plastic bowl.  Huh?  Pay attention, this is where things get interesting.  Pour on (squeeze on) the Ranch Dressing and mash up the fish with it.  You want to make a fish spread.  I like lots of Ranch, but start with a little and add as you go.  You’ve boiled some pasta or microwaved some frozen pasta, now spread the fish on top of the pasta.  Heat the salsa (Ragu works fine) and spread it on top of the fish spread.  Parmesan cheese is a great topping if you really like to show off.  Serve with the (garlic) toast and you’ve got a multi-colored seemingly complicated fish dish that will impress the pickiest of clientelle.  Now relax, you’re a hero.  Get everyone back to the dock, smile, and book them again for next year’s charter.

OK, I know this is a fishing blog and there shouldn’t be a single post without a dead or molested fish pictured below, but I do spend 10% of my time with my 5 year old and sometimes I just can’t help but post a picture or two of little Zachary spending quality time with his old man in front of 10,000 plus people.

For the past 4 years, Key West has held the Key West Seafood Festival during January to bring out the locals and tourist and show them what real fresh seafood is like.  Also, there are raffles, 50/50 drawing and BEER!  Zachary and I have played every year so far and this year we were the warm-up act for ZZTop.  Little Zach Nasty, as we call him, played his acoustic bass while I strummed my Ovation Baritone guitar.  You couldn’t have asked for nicer weather and the temps dipped into the 60’s!  A friend of mine captured one of our songs appropriately named, “I’m Your Captain” by Grand Funk Railroad.

Mike and Toni Shelton of Virginia have been some of our most coveted repeats clients for several years now.  And in this economy, we can use all the return business we can attract.  They have fished several times a year with us and caught everything that is to be caught.  Except for an elusive big Wahoo for Toni. 

But, today, we made up for that by catching not one, but 4 Wahoo ranging in size from 43 pounds to 52 pounds!  The largest Wahoo measured 58 inches and the Sheltons are having it mounted for the wall back home.  Oh, did I mention the 7 Blackfin Tunas?  The Dolphin?  The Kingfish?  Yep, we caught those too.

Certainly, this is an out of the ordinary day and not to be expected.  But, it shows what time and patience can do with the right boat and crew.  Today was truly what I got into this lifestyle for in the first place!

Thanks so much to the Sheltons for making it happen.

From Christmas through New Years is notoriously the busiest week of our year and signals the kick-off to our “Season.”  Keep in mind our season runs from Christmas to some time around Labor Day, so we get quite a few months where we almost turn away business.  The fish don’t seem to know when people are in town though and it works out great that way!

This Christmas brought our loyal repeats Todd and Heather Kramer out fishing on the 25th.  Now a Kramer holiday tradition, they brought the in-laws and Gary Johnson managed to wrangle the largest Dolphin of the bunch.  We caught several Dolphin (Mahi-mahi) proving once again that you can catch any fish at any time of year here in Key West….  or was it that it’s better to be lucky than good… ?  No matter, the Kramers have got it and we hope they continue to make our Christmas for many years to come!

The rest of our Holiday week went by like a blur.  Lots of trips, some faces were familiar and some were new, but all were pleasant and we sent them away happy, wiser, and with large bags of fillets.  Here are a couple of the more memorable catches!  We also gathered quite a bit of “Gaffcam” footage and will insert it here in the next week.  Also, look for “Gaffcam” on Youtube.com to get the full story!