Fishing Report 10/01/2007
Capt. Terry Frankford
An "Inshore Slam" aboard the Reelin & Chillin, sixteen inch trout, nineteen inch redfish, and a thirty-one inch snook was caught by angler John Bielanski of Venice Florida. Also, trout are still on a rebound in the Sarasota area, a few Pompano have showed up, and four nice black drum to twenty-four inches tightened lines this past week. Just a quick review at what happened aboard the Reelin & Chillin this week:John and Kelly Bielanski of Venice with out of town friends from Chicago Jon, and Karen Hoch all enjoyed some great action fishing the edges of grass flats in Sarasota Big Pass. Several species including ladyfish, mangrove snapper, and trout made for some great light tackle action. All anglers were enjoying this light tackle action when all of a sudden John's ten-pound test line screamed off his reel and his rod bent clean in two. We quickly reeled in all other lines and threw the anchor line off the stern that has a cork attached just for this type of fire drill. We had to move towards the fish at a fairly fast pace to keep line on the reel, this fish wasn't giving up easily. After several minutes a beautiful thirty-one inch snook broke the surface, and we were able to get it to the landing net
. This was the second species John caught to achieve the "Inshore Slam" title - he already landed a sixteen inch trout. 
We had about a half hour left so we took a chance and headed to some structure close to New Pass. As John's luck was still with him on his first cast he boated a nineteen inch redfish completing the Slam - congratulations John.
Starting at dusk with angler Frank Winkle we targeted grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and docks with not much success. Small juvenile grouper, mangrove snapper and a few trout were the only species we caught. Then we found a large dock area that was pretty much falling apart and threw a couple large shrimp into the structure. Franks rod bent in two with a twenty-four inch black drum on the other end. We landed this fish and with in a half hour had boated three more - all in the slot. An evening trip with Dave, and Sue Mathias started out looking a little rough in the beginning with rain in the area, however it cleared and we were able to hit the bay running. We were heading out to see if we could find a hungry snook or two to tighten our lines. Dave and Sue did manage to find two snook both being under the size limit. They did however give us a nice battle on the light tackle, both fish were around twenty-five inches. Snook didn't end up on the table, however they did pick up two nice redfish. First Dave caught the tournament anglers dream a twenty-seven inch redfish, then Sue caught a nice twenty-four inch red. A nice ending to top off Sue's birthday fishing trip. Black Drum - great on the line & great on the table:Black Drum regulations:Size - not less than fourteen inches, or more than twenty four inchesBag - five per dayYou may have one over twenty-four inches, and there is no closed season.Recipe for Lemon-Crusted Black Drum:Four tablespoons mayo - half tablespoon grated fresh lemon rind - quarter tablespoon salt - quarter tablespoon coarse ground black pepper - two tablespoons butter - two-thirds cup Italian breadcrumbs - cooking spray - four black drum fillets. Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl. Arrange fish on a foil-lined broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread mayo mixture evenly over fish. Microwave butter until melted; toss with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over fish. Bake at four hundred fifty degrees for ten minutes or until fish flakes easily. Certain species of fish may have an "off flavor" this can easily be eliminated with just a little preparation. Put the fillets in a bowl and cover with water - add about a half cup white vinegar and let sit for an hour - drain and rinse fillets. Do not let sit much longer than an hour or the fish will cook. I do this with species like black drum, redfish, and sheepshead - it really makes a difference with little effort. Tight Lines & Good Times, Capt. Terry Frankford
. This was the second species John caught to achieve the "Inshore Slam" title - he already landed a sixteen inch trout. We had about a half hour left so we took a chance and headed to some structure close to New Pass. As John's luck was still with him on his first cast he boated a nineteen inch redfish completing the Slam - congratulations John. Starting at dusk with angler Frank Winkle we targeted grass flats, mangrove shorelines, and docks with not much success. Small juvenile grouper, mangrove snapper and a few trout were the only species we caught. Then we found a large dock area that was pretty much falling apart and threw a couple large shrimp into the structure. Franks rod bent in two with a twenty-four inch black drum on the other end. We landed this fish and with in a half hour had boated three more - all in the slot. An evening trip with Dave, and Sue Mathias started out looking a little rough in the beginning with rain in the area, however it cleared and we were able to hit the bay running. We were heading out to see if we could find a hungry snook or two to tighten our lines. Dave and Sue did manage to find two snook both being under the size limit. They did however give us a nice battle on the light tackle, both fish were around twenty-five inches. Snook didn't end up on the table, however they did pick up two nice redfish. First Dave caught the tournament anglers dream a twenty-seven inch redfish, then Sue caught a nice twenty-four inch red. A nice ending to top off Sue's birthday fishing trip. Black Drum - great on the line & great on the table:Black Drum regulations:Size - not less than fourteen inches, or more than twenty four inchesBag - five per dayYou may have one over twenty-four inches, and there is no closed season.Recipe for Lemon-Crusted Black Drum:Four tablespoons mayo - half tablespoon grated fresh lemon rind - quarter tablespoon salt - quarter tablespoon coarse ground black pepper - two tablespoons butter - two-thirds cup Italian breadcrumbs - cooking spray - four black drum fillets. Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl. Arrange fish on a foil-lined broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread mayo mixture evenly over fish. Microwave butter until melted; toss with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over fish. Bake at four hundred fifty degrees for ten minutes or until fish flakes easily. Certain species of fish may have an "off flavor" this can easily be eliminated with just a little preparation. Put the fillets in a bowl and cover with water - add about a half cup white vinegar and let sit for an hour - drain and rinse fillets. Do not let sit much longer than an hour or the fish will cook. I do this with species like black drum, redfish, and sheepshead - it really makes a difference with little effort. Tight Lines & Good Times, Capt. Terry FrankfordReelin & Chillin Charters Inc.
941-228-7802
Capt. Terry Frankford
941/228-7802
