To Catch a Fish

Whenever we are going somewhere in open water on our boat we always have a fishing line trolling off the stern. We’re fish eaters so foraging in this easy way makes a lot of sense. And after catching hundreds of fish over the year, we’re getting a little fussy about what we keep and what we throw back. Our favorites are mahi mahi and Spanish mackerel, which both fillet easily, are not too bloody or oily tasting, and freeze well. Mahi mahi is one of the most beautiful fish in the sea and it is always slightly sad to watch their brilliant yellow and blue markings fade as they die for our benefit. Fish we tend to throw back are smaller tuna, jack, skipjack and anything that looks like a barracuda. In summer, we occasionally will hook a bass in our home waters and count ourselves lucky; bass is good eating and tastes great when smoked in a smoker.  The biggest fish we ever caught was on a passage from Virginia to the BVI with Tim Robinson aboard his Hylas 54 Thumbs Up. In the horse latitudes we hook a magnificent yellow fin tuna that weighed north of 100 pounds. It took us half a day to clean it and cut away the steaks. And, then we ate prime tuna in every imaginable way for the next four days – grilled, shish kabobs, ceviche, sashimi, cold in a salad, raw, you name it. It’s always a pleasure to catch a fish, particularly if you are lucky enough to hook a delicious one.