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Hunter suspended from tree stand

Devilishly Delightful Redfish

Redfish, channel bass, red drum, red bass—whatever you prefer to call them—these hard-fighters are among the tastiest saltwater species
story by Soc and Wanda Clay
photography by Soc Clay

Blame it on Paul Prudhomme. You might remember the rotund, wide-smiling chef from New Orleans whose famous blackened redfish put both his restaurant and the species on the culinary map. Publicity surrounding the popular dish evolved into a new sport fishing craze that continues to explode along many coastal areas in America. And little wonder. Redfish are plentiful, grow to good size, and provide excellent sport on light- to medium-weight tackle.

Henry Miles, who handles the bait store at Devil’s Elbow Fishing Resort located along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway at Crescent Beach, Florida, said redfish live both in the surf of the Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico, invading every inshore flat they can find to chow down on live shrimp, mullet, crabs and whatever else they can crunch.

Prepping our redfish dish

Mat Wrann, who gave up a line-chef job at a famous hotel in St. Augustine to take a job selling bait with Henry, also knows the value of redfish—both for angling sport and for the dinner table. That’s because anglers come from all over to fish the nearby shallow flats for reds, and use the camp’s cleaning station to fillet hundreds of pounds of these firm-fleshed, delicious-tasting fish.

Much like his idol Prudhomme, Matt’s got a bunch of ways to prepare redfish, plain, fried and fancy. His favorite, however, is the following baked redfish creation—so simple and delicious that Matt and Henry’s customers rave about it.

Devilishly Delightful Redfish

1-1⁄2 lbs. redfish fillets (works for any firm-fleshed fish, fresh or saltwater)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. heavily seeded prepared mustard
1 tsp. garlic salt
2 cups breadcrumbs
1⁄2 cup Parmesan cheese
Juice of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepping our redfish dish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the mayonnaise with the mustard. Spread the mixture evenly over the redfish fillets.

Place in a preheated oven and bake for 25-35 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillets).

Remove the fillets and sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly across the top side. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the breadcrumbs.

Place under a broiler for five minutes or until the breadcrumbs are browned and the cheese is melted.

Serve with baked potato slices and lemon wedges.

Serves two.

When Soc and Wanda Clay aren’t whipping up freshwater fare in their Eastern Kentucky home, they can often be found along the nation’s southern shores angling for their next saltwater delicacy.