On Saturday calm seas had us out a little earlier to avoid boat traffic at Port Canaveral. We headed north to Hetzel Shoal, and arrived just before sunrise. A little early for any real chance of shiny bait attracting much attention, or visually seeing a target in the water, but we made a few slow pass's none the less. Our only result was a small Shark.
Stops at the first bouy showed us what we can expect to see a lot of this summer, with water temp's topping 90 deg, CUDA, and lots of them. A fun fight can result when targeting these toothy fish with medium to light spinning tackle. Thats what we did, giving the youngest guest on our trip the thrill of the fight. Every wreck, bouy, and even floating debris seemed to be holding these fish, so might as well have some fun. We headed out for deeper water looking for the weedline that had been around 140' all week, but only found scattered weeds around that depth, where the line had started falling apart. We did take the time to work the area, but seemed to do what a lot of others did, NOT MUCH. Radio traffic, which is usually quite heavy on a Saturday was unusually quite. Apparently there was not much to talk about. Only a few reports of Mahi, and not till later in the day did any Cobia reports come in, and again, it was only a few. The 90deg water temps have Cudas everywhere, but seem to have other fish on the run.
We hit some different bottom structure, and ended up on 8A, as did many other boats looking for some end of the day fish to add to the icebox. Sea Bass and Triggers are the norm here, so we added a few to the cooler. We decided to have some more catching fun, and made our way to the Ships Channel to catch a few more Cuda. They were plentiful, so catch we did. A couple smaller ones were taken home to add some pounds to the catch.
Many people shy away from Barracuda, fearing the ciguatera toxin. This toxin however is also just as possible to find in large Kings, Grouper, Sharks, etc.,. The heart of the tropic's find the presence of this toxin more common than our sub-tropical waters. In addition, the toxin generally is found in the brain, organs, and roe of the fish, which tends to explain why certain regions of the Carribean, with a custom of cooking the fish whole, or making fish stock out of the carcus have higher incidence rates. The fleshy portion is the safest part of most and preditory fish, with Barracuda being no exception. Even so, we stuck with the smaller sized fish to add to the icebox, from 36-42 inches, which adds a lot of meat. The taste is a little 'fishier' than seabass, snapper and the like, but anyone that likes Mackerel, Blues, and such will really enjoy Cuda. They make a test kit for the toxin, which takes about a hour for results. Anyone really concerned about it, but interested in trying another fish can find these kits on the web. The large fish we tend to treat as catch and release fish, enjoying the fight. Just be careful however, when getting them close to the boat, as some have come into the boat before the angler was ready, and with large sharp teeth, and an open mouth, that can spell trouble!
Captain Henry
"Wile E. Coyote"
ACME Ventures Fishing
www.ACME-Ventures-Fishing.com
321-794-7955 / 407-349-1546 |
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