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Went scouting today with Blake in preparation for Paddlepalooza next weekend. I wanted to find some trout and possibly some flounder and that goal was accomplished. I caught 5-6 trout, while Blake caught 3-4 flounder. Reds were caught too, I think Blake limited out. Water was high in the marsh, but the clarity wasn’t too bad. Sight fishing was pretty much a disaster with the high water. I did manage to find one shallow flat that was loaded with sheepshead and scattered with reds and black drum. I got a few of the sheepshead to eat the fly I was throwing but they came off before I could land them.

Looking forward to next weekend. With over 180 people already registered, the guys at Bayou Coast are estimating around 200 kayak fishermen competing in Paddlepalooza. This blows my mind, kayak fishing is blowing up down here.

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It won’t be long until the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour is back in town with the first Louisiana division event slated for April 22, 2012. It will be held in Empire at Delta Marina. Louisiana will host 3 events this year (and potentially a 4th if the final comes back). The 2nd event will be June 17th in Delacroix and a regional event will be held in Slidell on September 9th. I am making plans to attend all of them, hopefully I can compete. The tournament is a CPR(catch-photo-release) style tournament of the combined length of your biggest redfish and speckled trout. I can handle the redfish, pretty clueless when it comes to trout, no less it should be a lot of fun. They always have a lot of great raffle prizes too.

A copy of the rules and signup form can be found here: http://ifakayakfishingtour.com/2012_signup_form_rules.pdf

Empire event details here: http://www.ifakayakfishingtour.com/tournaments/2012/details/empire_12.html

Another oldie, but a goodie – here is an easy way to grill redfish for those who don’t like to leave the skin on (my wife).

I often keep the redfish I catch because they are so delicious on the grill. I’ve experimented with a lot of different ways of cooking and preparing the fish, but I always come back to this simple recipe. It works just as well with trout, black drum, sheepshead, and flounder, so don’t think this is redfish specific.

What you’ll need: Redfish fillets (scales off), aluminum foil, butter, olive oil, worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lemon pepper, blackening seasoning, cajun seasoning, and beer of your choice.

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– Fillet your redfish with the scales off (or thaw those fillets from a previous trip, fresh fish is always better however).

– Light your coals and open up a beer.

– Tear off a piece of aluminum foil big enough to completely encapsulate your fish fillet, place your fillet on the foil.

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– Gently season each side of your fish fillet with cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, and blackening seasoning.  Don’t overdo it.

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– Pour a little bit of olive oil, worcestershire, and lemon juice on your fillet. Not too much, just a little strip down the fillet.

– Add about 1 Tbsp. worth of butter to your fillet. I usually cut it into 2 pieces and place them on the fillet.

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– Fold up your fillet and repeat with the rest of your fish. I usually grill up 4 fillets so I can have leftovers the next day.

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– By now your coals should be hot, so place your foiled fish on the grill.

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– You’ll cook the fish for 20 minutes. My grill is not that big so at 10 minutes I rotate the inside fillets with the outer ones.

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– I like to serve each fillet with a side of rice/pasta and a vegetable.

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If you’ve got any leftover crawfish etoufee, add that to the top of the redfish when it’s done, talk about good! Hope y’all enjoy this simple way of preparing redfish. I know I did!

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