My wife and kids went fishing on a commercial party fishing boat called the Miss Avalon at the Jersey shore a few days ago. I'm not much of a fisherman except for some fly fishing out west. I learned as a kid I could handle the bay, but not so much the ocean as my wife also came to know for herself.
My girls had a blast, and each caught a fish, as you will read about in Meg's description of the fishing trip. I missed seeing both expressions when they reeled in their first fish especially when the boat mates got my youngest to kiss her first catch. We cooked up the fish that night for dinner, and I took a photo recipe of their catch of the day. Here's my wife's fish story. - RG
A Wife's Fish Story
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By Meg Jones - wife, mother, professional, contributor |
Since we started planning our beach vacation, our 11-year-old Maddie kept asking to go deep-sea fishing. After last summer’s boat trip — which had us all reaching for Dramamine — we were hesitant. But Maddie’s persistence paid off.
Luckily, friends at the beach shared the same idea. So, at 8 a.m., we boarded the Miss Avalon for a fishing adventure. “High seas” might be a stretch — five miles off Cape May counts, right?
The ride out took 90 minutes. I spent most of it at the bow, eyes glued to the horizon, trying to keep my stomach in check. The wind whipped through our hair, sea spray hit our faces, and we were this close to singing “Barnacle Bill the Sailor.” Just as we hit our groove, the boat stopped. The captain’s voice crackled over the speakers: “Drop your lines!”
The water supposedly teemed with porgy, sea bass, fluke, and skate. But the fish weren't biting — except for John, a few rods down, who reeled them in like a pro. Meanwhile, the boat rocked, drifted, and… my stomach gave in. Without that forgotten Dramamine, I made the first of several trips to the “head” (that’s nautical for bathroom).
My girls? Rock-solid. They gripped their rods, patiently waiting for a nibble. Suddenly, Nell shouted, “Fish on!” — official fishing lingo for I’ve got one, and someone better help me! She braced herself, reeling in with all her strength. One of the mates rushed over to help, and together, they hauled in a sea bass. Gigantic by my standards — though, after filleting, it came to about a pound.
Turns out, it was big enough. Nell’s catch won second place in the onboard pool. First place got $106. Second place? A free fishing trip on the Miss Avalon. (Cue the old joke: First prize is one week in Philly. Second prize? Two weeks.)
Maddie cheered for her sister but stayed laser-focused on her own mission. Minutes later, she squealed with excitement — her rod bent under the weight of a flounder. Her first-ever catch! The crew told her to kiss the fish for good luck. Nell opted out, but Maddie? She went for it—full lip-to-fish contact.
Too bad I missed that shot. Credit goes to my friend Kim, who captured the moment while I clung to the railing, fighting nausea.
With our fish cleaned and filleted, we headed back to port. I counted down the minutes until I could grab a ginger ale. The girls, however, were on cloud nine — the only ones in our group to catch anything.
Back at the house, The Reluctant Gourmet took over. He sautéed their fresh catch in butter and olive oil, with lemon and a sprinkle of Old Bay. A light dusting of flour gave it that perfect golden crust.
The result? Spectacular. Dinner never tasted better.
Total catch: one pound of sea bass, 12 ounces of flounder, and a full GI cleanse — $114.
Watching my daughters catch their first fish? Priceless.
Pan Fried Flounder and Sea Bass
This is a quick and easy dish to make at home and extremely tasty if you can find fresh sea bass and flounder. We cut it up into smaller pieces because it reminded us of how our Bermudian friends Will and Linda prepared fresh "catch of the day" fish when we visited them a couple of years ago - just dip in some seasoned flour and pan fry in olive oil and butter.
Start by cutting the fish into pieces or you can leave it as whole filets if you like a more traditional serving. Dredge in some seasoned flour. I used Old Bay seasoning since it was in our rental house.
Heat up a fry pan, cast iron works great for a fish fry, add some butter and oil and let it get hot but don't let it smoke. Add the floured fish and fry for a couple of minutes each side.
Remove the fish when done and drain on a plate covered with a couple of paper towels.
Do the same with the flounder. I used tongs on the sea bass because it was sturdy but used a spatula on the flounder since it started to fall apart.
Fry and drain the flounder on paper towels.
We served the girl's catch of the day fish fry with what else? - Fresh local Jersey corn, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with fresh pressed extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. A nice bottle of Chardonnay completed the meal.
Everyone enjoyed the meal, especially my daughters, who caught the fish. There's nothing like fresh fish right out of the ocean. As my wife said, this meal was "Priceless!"
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