2 Tricks for Catching Tripletail: An Underrated Delicacy
a slice of florida keys living
book your vacation at hawk’s cay resort today
written by Evan Anderson
When you think of delicious game fish in the Florida Keys, tripletail is probably not the first thing that comes to mind due to its dinosaur-like appearance. But captains Tom Rowland and Rich Tudor are here to make you rethink that presupposition on this episode of Saltwater Experience . “By outward appearance,” says Rowland, “you might not think that that’s a fish that would be so good on the table because the fish that we have down here that are known to be such good eating like the yellowtail snapper, the mahi, those are beautiful fish...but, you can’t judge a book by its cover because that fish is particularly good on the table...” Here are two tips for catching Tripletail: the Keys’ underrated delicacy.
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LATE MORNING SIGHT-FISHING
As Tudor and Rowland exit the marina at Hawk’s Cay Resort, they decide to stay inshore for the day due to high winds. Tudor directs them to a spot just off a beach where he camps with his kids. On the way, he explains to Rowland that 2 years ago they increased the size limits on tripletail. “They raised the size limit from 15 inches to 18 inches, and it’s hard to catch an 18 incher,” says Tudor. So, going into this, they weren’t exactly sure about their odds…until they pull up to their spot. To their delight, the area is loaded with tripletail.
Brand new season of Saltwater Experience will be airing on Samsung TV+ channel 1070 (Waypoint) January 19, 2020 at 5:40pm EST
Because of the clear water and the time of day, they were able to sight-fish, cutting down their time spent fish-finding. Tudor remarks, “That opportunity to sight-fish is as good as it gets when it’s between 10 and 2 o’clock when the sun’s straight up and down.”
LIVE BAIT IS BEST BAIT
While the water was full of fish, the biggest challenge these two ran into was getting the fish big enough to keep to bite their hook. “We saw a lot of really big ones,” remarks Tudor, “They were hard to feed; we’d bring that artificial lure right in front of their face and they’d follow it and they just wouldn’t commit. And that’s where having live shrimp or live bait really would have helped. We just didn’t have many shrimp...just because it’s tough to get them this time of year.” To get around this, Rowland came up with the brilliant idea to add a small shrimp onto his artificial lure. Tudor remarks after that it was smart, “because now [Tom] had the smell and taste of the natural shrimp, but you had the weight with the artificial.”
After a full day of fishing, the two captains are able to haul in enough keepers to make a meal out of it. They bring it back to the Angler and Ale restaurant at Hawk’s Cay Resort where the chefs prepare it a few different ways, fried, seared, with sauteed tomatoes and onions glazed in oil and spices. “Some people would say ugly on the outside, beautiful on the inside,” says Rowland.
Check out the full episode below! And look for the brand new season of Saltwater Experience that will be airing on Samsung TV+ channel 1070 (Waypoint) January 19, 2020 at 5:40pm EST
