Fish and Sea Creatures That Live In The Canal Systems of Punta Gorda Isles
Many of my customers are sailors and cruisers. There are also quite a few that are fisherman as well. The one thing in common is that everyone likes to fish a little bit or when company is in town nothing is more fun than people catching fish off the dock! Add to that who doesn’t like a fresh fish dinner? It’s all part of the lifestyle.
The obvious part of my real estate service of 19 years to my customers is finding the right house for them and their boat at the right price. My service continues long after the sale and includes helping you choose the right boat, what services and contractors to use that are honest and fair AND a guarantee that you can catch good fish off your dock to eat! Of course, I am there for anything and everything else as long as you live in this town.
So, the “Catch Fish Off Your Dock Guarantee” in Punta Gorda Isles or Burnt Store Isles goes with the closing on your home. This is an easy guarantee for me to make because the canal systems are home to so much aquatic life.
Snapper, Redfish, Speckled Trout, Flounder: Do I have your attention yet? Yes, fish you can order at the finest restaurants are swimming in the canals and pretty easy to catch if you know how. Imagine how much better they taste when just caught and cleaned (yes, I can show you how to clean fish as well? 🙂
Other species that live in the canal are: Snook (taste a good bit like grouper), Goliath Grouper, Sheepshead, Tarpon, Mackeral, Mojara, Black Drum, Jack Crevalle and a bunch of others. One thing that you might be surprised to know is that blue claw crabs migrate into the canal systems and they are big! Crabs are delicious and easy to catch. Being from Maryland and catching crabs on the Chesapeake since I was a boy makes me an expert in cooking them as well. Crabbing in the canals of Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Charlotte Harbor is pretty easy but there are some subtle things that will catch you a lot more crabs. If you don’t like eating crabs (however unlikely), they make excellent fish bait for everything that swims.
Other sea creatures that you will see include dolphins, manatees, stingrays and an occasional shark will reveal the telltale fins coming through the surface. Tarpon are a regular visitor into the canals and you will see massive schools of Jack Crevalle (one of the hardest fighting fish that swims) pushing baitfish up against docks and seawalls and creating a literal whitewash of water as they hord baitfish and feed.
When showing homes you will likely see fish jumping of significant size. They are Black Mullet. The are fun to watch. Punta Gorda Isles canal systems are a spawning location for Black Mullet and massive schools come and go all the time. Mullet has a reputation for being very fishy in flavor and not good to eat unless smoked. Trust me they are fishy smoked too HOWEVER, they are a delicious fish to eat if you do the right things. First, Mullet do not take a hook in line but are easily trapped with throwing a cast net off the dock. After netting the Mullet, gut and bleed them immediately then place in ice cold water. When ready, fillet like any other fish and you will see perfect white flesh with a wonderful texture. Fresh Mullet done like this are as good as any fish out there. So much fun living on the water!
