Author: Tommy Thompson
Hungry For Spanish Mackerel? Fish Cedar Key’s Seahorse Reef and “The Hook”
There’s no doubt in my mind that the small islands that we now generally refer to as “Cedar Key” was once the upper end of a ridge of land that stretched well southwest into the Gulf of Mexico. But eons of time and moving water have worn down that peninsula, and it’s now mostly submerged, …
2015 Stone Crab Season Now Open–The Best Seafood Florida’s Gulf Offers!
Stone crab season is underway, and I’m always surprised by the number of presentations in which stone crab meat is adulterated–by both amateur and professional chefs. I enjoy crab dip and crab cakes, but I reserve those recipes for either lump or claw meat from blue crabs. Stone crab claws are best left simple, only …
Cedar Key, Florida’s Main Ship Channel—No Ships, But Great Access to Some Excellent Fishing!
In the 1880’s, steamships plied the waters between New Orleans, Havana, and Cedar Key. Yet after the hurricane of 1896 and the depletion of the cedar trees by pencil manufacturers, Cedar Key became a sleepy fishing village on Florida’s Big Bend. But in spite of the town’s loss of commerce and population, its main …
Paddle Steinhatchee, on Florida’s Big Bend Coast
We’ve come full circle. Now, modern interpretations of eons-old paddle craft are the latest rage when it comes to fishing. Many are as simple as rafts and others, like Hobie’s Master Angler 12, are fitted with modern conveniences like cozy seats, pedal or electric drives, depth sounders, and even live wells. But no matter your …
New Artificial Reefs Deployed in Taylor County, Florida’s Gulf Waters, October 2015
During this past summer and fall, Taylor County deployed 2 new artificial reefs on the permitted Buckeye Reef site. This site is approximately 26 nautical miles off Keaton Beach. The first reef deployment consisted of 120 constructed concrete cubes. The cubes were placed in patches of 4 cubes per patch, for a total of …
Don’t Miss The 41st Annual Micanopy Fall Festival, October 31 and November 1, 2015
If you’re looking for something to do over Halloween weekend in the Gainesville/Alachua County area, you can go wrong at the annual Micaonopy Fall Festival. For the past 40 years, thousands have gathered under the old oak trees for the Micanopy Fall Festival. The festival is sponsored by a committee comprised of fifteen local …
Hushpuppies, Natural North Florida Style–With Guava Jelly!
Visitors to our Natural North Florida Big Bend often eye quizzically the hushpuppies served alongside their fish or shellfish dinners at local eateries. Places famous for their local seafood (Poseys or Shell Point in Panacea, Deal’s or Pouncey’s in Perry, Roy‘s and Fiddler’s in Steinhatchee, The Lighthouse in Fanning Springs, Bett’s in Chiefland and any …
Southbound To Yankeetown (Florida, That Is!)
I remember my first encounter with the waters near the mouth of the Withlacoochee River. It was the mid-1980s and my Mom and Dad had just moved from St. Pete to Yankeetown. Our boat, a Boston Whaler Montauk, was well suited to drifting the flats off Pinellas Point or for trolling for Spanish mackerel near …
Slow Down (Paddle!) Levy County’s Backwaters at Shell Mound
Whenever anyone asks me to recommend some Gulf fishing waters that are protected from early winter winds, the Shell Mound backwaters north of Cedar Key always seem to top my list. Located about 10 miles north of the town of Cedar Key and halfway to the town of Suwannee, Shell Mound offers visitors not only …
Natural North Florida’s Three “F’s” (Fall Flats Fishing)
The term, ‘flats’, means lots of things to lots of different anglers. Bonefishers love to sight fish over stretches of shin-deep, pure white sand or marl. Tarpon enthusiasts often find their prey on ‘flats’ that are six to eight feet deep, and everyone knows that redfish prefer shallows where the rough, rocky bottom holds crustaceans …