Red Fish Grill

Fifth annual Junior Anglers' tournament keeps kids busy

VERO BEACH – Six-year old Alex Gahn began his Saturday eating donuts with his uncle. He ended it with a boat full of fish, 51 to be exact.

Gahn pulled in nine different species of fish in the Florida Flats Fishing Association (FLFA) "Junior Anglers Only No. 2" inshore tournament to take home the trophy for most fish for the second straight year.

"I love to fish," said Gahn of Fort Pierce. "I liked catching the catfish."

The smallest fish reeled in by Gahn was a 2-inch catfish, in large contrast to the ferocious shark swimming on his T-shirt. Gahn caught numerous trout. jacks, ladyfish, finfish and scrimp along the Fort Pierce inlet with his uncle steering ship. The young angler pulled in 63 last year to take the same trophy.

FLFA executive director Jeff Brauer sat dockside at the Dockside Grill measuring and weighing hauls of fish from the 32 competitors, while simultaneously relaying fish stories to the small crowd.

Competitors ranged from 3 to 15 years old and won awards for biggest, smallest, most and ugliest fish and more. Sponsors awarded winners with fishing rods, tackle boxes, hats and bait.

But for Brauer, the day was dedicated to the kids and worth the sweat on his back.

"We have these during the summer because all of these adults, when they fish the (Back Country) circuit during the year, kids get left at home," Brauer said.

"During the summer, we don't like to do adult tournaments because of the heat and the stress the hot water puts on the fish so we tell the adult anglers to take their kids fishing, write down what they got and put the fish back in the water."

Kody Tickle of Palm Beach caught the rarest fish of the tournament. The 13-year-old hooked a Cichlid freshwater fish among his school of 22 in the Indian River.

"Catching all of the fish was fun," Tickle said. "I caught the biggest trout I ever caught before. I love fishing at FLFA. I love all of the tournaments. And especially winning stuff in them."

Tickle departed the dock after the 6 a.m. starting time with his mom and dad and found most of his fish by Sebastian's Chapel by the Sea. This was his first year in the tournament and he plans to compete in the circuit next year.

Vero Beach's Tyler Wooley, 11, and Jordan Cole, 5, won trophies for biggest fish and most spots on a redfish, respecitively. Anthony Vercillo, 5, of Fort Pierce caught the smallest fish, while Colin Willis, 11, of Sebastian brought in the ugliest catch.

Red Fish Grill

Matheson Hammock Park and Beach is a special place in Miami, a park with a tiny beach that looks like an enchanted lagoon, bicycle paths, picnic tables, a lake with a sign that says “Do not feed the Alligators” and in the middle of this tropical setting, there is a restaurant called Red Fish Grill that used to be a former beach pavilion.

Three fat balls of conch fritters came topped with a micro-green salad and red onions. The fritters were accompanied by a basil-orange aioli that gave them a gentle citrus punch as you put them in your mouth.The micro-greens were tricky and added a subtle grassy note to the original way to serve conch fritters, which is a traditional recipe and tasty in the Bahamas, also now popular all over Miami. They are also served with tomato and ginger chutney, but we have not tried this version. They run $ 11.00 for a portion satisfactory 3 donuts.

It is always such a pleasure to eat a massive piece of meat, medium rare is my favorite. This dish was really great, the meat perfectly seared and presented with smoked paprika shoestring potatoes, a salad of baby arugula emulsion chimichurri sauce. Chimichurri, originally from Argentina, is made with chopped fresh parsley, oregano, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and red pepper flakes. This version of chimichurri however, was emulsified, all the ingredients blended instead of lightly chopped. The resulting sauce still conserved all the flavors and spark and also made a great dip for the potatoes and salad.

This was a bit too sugary for me: a huge slab of flan served floating in a sea of caramel sauce and topped with coconut flakes. Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious but I like my desserts tamer. Miss Issa on the other hand, devoured it in a blink of an eye.

This is quite an unusual location for a restaurant, inside a park. Red Fish Grill is open for dinner 7 days a week.

Please keep in mind that the items on the menu change, this is what we had when we visited. What can be guaranteed is an appetizing experience regardless of what you eat. Reserve an early dinner, sit on the patio and watch the glow of the sky after sunset: you will not be able to help but fall in love with this gem of a place.

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