High hook of the week goes to VIP angler Lee for landing this 43 pound Cobia. A whale shark estimated at 30 feet cruised by the Lady K and brought some following Cobia along with it. Lee reeled his bait quickly and let it dropped next to the whale shark in order to hook his catch. Other anglers also caught Cobia as the shark fish swam alongside the Lady K, giving many customers a glimpse at one of nature’s largest marine fish.

Many anglers are still catching King Mackerel from 5 pounds up to 12 pounds. During one afternoon some lucky anglers caught a few large Yellow-eye Snapper and plenty of big Gray Triggerfish to bring home for dinner. Mutton Snapper have been caught during the afternoon trips as well with fish up to 5 pounds landing in the cooler.

Anglers can now check out our Face Book page and post photos of their catch or tag us on their photos. Just one more way for our giant fishing family to stay informed on what’s being caught. Thank you for fishing with Bar Jack Fishing and welcome aboard the Lady K.

This recipe will take some time to make but is well worth the effort for feeding a large group of people. Cobia are large fish which average 25 pounds and yield very thick fillets of firm white meat. For the best results, remove the blood-line or any dark meat before rinsing and cooking.

Pan-Seared Fresh  Cobia

Yield 12 ea

Ingredients:

12 ea 3 oz Belize Cobia Medallions, rinse with cold fresh water and patted dry with paper towel.

Marinade:
1 cup olive oil
4 tbsp red pepper flakes (2 tbsp for less heat)
1/4 cup fennel fronds
2 ea lemons, zested
Salt and pepper, as needed

Garnish:

Cilantro leaves, stems removed and parsley.

Directions:

1) Steep the olive oil and the red pepper flakes. Strain off.
2) Season the cobia.
3) Coat the cobia with the lemon zest and fennel fronds.
4) Drizzle chili oil over the cobia. Coat the fish with the marinade,
Place in a container, wrap with plastic and place in refrigerator
for 30 minutes.
5) Heat a sauté pan over medium high heat.
6) Lightly coat bottom of pan with olive oil.
7) Place cobia in the pan and cook for 3 minutes, turn fish and cook
another 3 minutes, you may turn a third time and cook additional
2–3 minutes. The filet will have a slight crust to the flesh.

Crisp Paella Cakes

Yield 12 ea

Ingredients:

2 oz whole butter
½ cup chorizo diced ¼ inch
4 ea shallots, finely chopped
2 ea garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 ea red pepper, finely chopped
2 cups Arborio rice
1 quart chicken stock
2 tbsp chopped oregano
4 teaspoons saffron
4 teaspoons chopped chives
24 ea mussels, chopped
1 lb fine lobster meat, diced ¼ inch
3 oz olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Melt the butter in heavy bottom pan.
2) Render the chorizo. Add the shallots, garlic, red pepper and cook
until translucent.
3) Add the rice and cook for three minutes. Add the stock, oregano,
saffron and chives. Bring to a simmer until the rice is cooked
through, about 20 minutes.
4) Add the mussels, lobster, salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
5) Place in molds and chill in refrigerator for one hour.
6) Pan fry as needed.

Olive Tapenade

Yield 1/4 cup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Empeltre olives, pitted
1 ea anchovy filet
1 ea garlic clove, peeled
2 oz olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Puree the olives with the anchovy and garlic.
2) Stream in the olive oil.
3) Adjust seasoning.

Herb Oil

Yield 1/4 cup

Ingredients:

2 oz cup olive oil
1/4 cup parsley stems removed and blanched
1/4 cup chives, blanched
1/4 cup chervil, blanched
1/4 cup, tarragon stems removed, blanched
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Blanch all the herbs in salted water. Drain off water, ring out
excess water.
2) Place in blender.
3) Add the olive oil. Puree until smooth.
4) Adjust seasoning.

In addition, we will also need to cancel our 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm evening trip on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 in preparation for the inspection.

All other trips are planned to run as scheduled for the 1 pm to 5 pm and 6:30 to 10:30 pm trips. We apologize for any inconvenience and hope all of our customers can schedule their trips around the inspection black-outs. Thank you.

Fishing around the cold fronts has proven successful for many anglers fishing aboard the Lady K this past week.  Catches like this football sized Black-fin Tuna and plenty of King Mackerel have been keeping anglers warm with excitement. Look for the Tuna when schools of Bonito or False Albacore start hitting baits. Fresh grilled tuna or sushi rolls for lunch, a perfect end to a wonderful morning.

Plenty of Porgy species have been coming aboard the Lady K this week. Most Porgies will be caught by anglers using bottom rigs and cut squid but every once in a while extra-large fish like the seven pound Jolt-head Porgy pictured above will surprise an angler by feasting on their sardine. A tasty addition to the frying pan.

Both the morning and afternoon trips have been producing action from King Mackerel (l) with an occasional keeper sized African Pompano coming aboard. Over the next couple of months the Pompano should start increasing size. African Pompano are a specie of jack also known as Trevally.  They are hard-hitting fish which make lighting fast runs to the bottom in search of obstructions in order to break off an anglers line. They will hit small jigs, sardines, squid and live shrimp.

 Cobia continue to come aboard the Lady K like this 30 pound fish caught during the morning at the end of the week. Plenty of smaller fish are also being released which shows great promise for a spring season this year. Cobia love eating crabs but will also feast on sardines, cut squid fished on bottom rigs, jigs or feathers and other artificial lures.

This huge Unicorn Filefish gave a visiting angler from Minnesota quite a surprise. The firm, white meat makes these fish excellent table fare and comparable to Flounder. Filefish can be caught using bottom rigs and cut squid for bait. So after a day at the South Florida Fair, plan a relaxing trip  fishing aboard the Lady K . Its family fishing fun for everyone !

It is always a good start to the day when one of the first brought aboard is a Wahoo. Frank V. (l) caught his first Wahoo while fishing aboard the Lady K during a recent morning trip. In addition to catching one of the finest eating fish in the ocean, Frank also boated King Mackerel, jacks, small flounder and a nice scrawled filefish to complete his day. Congratulations on your first Wahoo Frank and thank you for choosing the Lady K to help make your dream become a reality.

Another high hook catch this week was a 40 pound Cobia caught over the reef during a morning trip. The fish ate a dead sardine spooled along the bottom and put up quite a battle alongside the Lady K. The fish was finally subdued after a ten minute battle. Back at the cleaning table there was a large Sea Robin found in the stomach of the fish, proof that these fish will eat just about anything!

Despite losing the wind, new VIP angler Rick S. managed to bring aboard this nice 15 pound Cobia fishing on Lady K during a recent afternoon, his first ever and after catching two smaller Cobia prior to this one. All in all there were over a dozen Cobia released during the afternoon with a few of the bigger fish being taken by sharks before the anglers could hoist them up from the depths. Most of the fish were caught on sardine rigs although anglers using bottom rigs and cut squid did manage to catch a couple. Other anglers also caught snapper, porgies, triggerfish, jacks and a host of other reef fish including a Blue-spotted Coronet like the one pictured below.

(photo courtesy of National Geographic Stock.com)

 Night fishing continues to prove productive with anglers catching Mangrove snapper to 4 pounds, Mutton snapper to 5 pounds, Lane snapper to 2 pounds and King Mackerel along with releases of Grouper. There is also plenty of catch release action with Bluefish, Banded Rudderfish, Blue Runners and Grunts. During the evening trips anglers should bring some extra clothing, for the nights can get a bit chilly. Affordable, relaxing and fun everyday fishing aboard the Lady K.

VIP angler Lee Hooker fished aboard the Lady K on New Year’s Day and caught a nice King Mackerel along with a beautiful African Pompano. Other anglers also caught King Mackerel, Snapper, Banded Rudderfish and other reef fish throughout the day.

Fish and marine life isn’t the only amazing sights one can see while fishing aboard the Lady K.  This gorgeous Barquentine type fully rigged sailing vessel approached out of the gloom with an encroaching cold front, like a ghost ship set for an unknown course.

Night fishing continues with catches of Snapper and Bluefish although some larger fish have started to join the bite like the King Mackerel and Mutton Snapper pictured above. Bring some extra clothing when planning a winter night trip and rest assure that the Lady K does offer a HUGE open cabin so customers can find shelter and warmth when needed.  The perfect way to get away is fishing aboard the Lady K.

VIP angler Roberto caught this beautiful 44 pound African Pompano after switching from a dead sardine and trying a shrimp fished on the bottom. Other anglers caught Black Grouper, Gag Grouper, Scamp, Graysby Grouper, Yellow-tail Snapper, Gray Triggerfish and large Porgies during the morning trip aboard the Lady K. Nice catch Roberto!!

Anglers fishing at night have been taking Lane Snapper, Bluefish, small Sharks, Banded Rudderfish, Grunts, and releasing many Blue Runners. The Lady K will be sailing this New Year’s Eve. Try a four hour night time fishing excursion this New Year’s Eve, something different that the entire family can enjoy, please note that there is a three beer per person limit and we hope everyone has a very safe New Year’s Eve.

 This family enjoyed the benefits of landing a nice Gag (Gray) Grouper, good ole’ fashion quality time, both on the water and at the dinner table. Fishing really helps to build fond memories of family and friends. The professional crews of the Lady K understand this and strive very hard to bring the best customer service to the industry. Every trip is an adventure bringing with it the possibility to also see other marine life such as Sea Turtles, Sharks, giant Ocean Sunfish, Porpoise or Dolphin and sometimes a sighting of different Whale species.

Another beautiful Grouper catch from a recent morning trip. Grouper season closes as of January 1st so don’t miss out on an opportunity to catch one of these wonderful tasting and hard fighting game-fish. Anglers catching these unique reef dwellers have been using dead sardines fished on or near the bottom. If you’re a first time angler, please ask your captain or mate to show you how to spool the bottom for a chance at hooking one of these battling brutes.

BarJack Fishing also offers group rates for ten or more anglers, please call us at 561-588-7612 for more information. The Lady K is an open boat so no reservations are needed. So plan a trip today, sit back, relax and let us do all the work aboard the Lady K.