how to Do florida » Doing Florida

Jesus Surfing

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:07:33 +0000

Stand Up Paddle boarding is quickly becoming a global phenomena and it’s presence here in Florida is becoming hard to miss. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have a paddleboarding magazine or trade show already. I honestly was not expecting much, but once I got my first taste of standing on water Jesus style, well, I quickly got why this sport is exploding. Standing up on the water is an amazing feeling that has to be experienced to really understand. This sport has its root in Hawaii and has only recently become popular here in the USA in the past few years. Most surf shops that rent surfboards now carry paddle boards, I paid $50 for a 24 hour rental with a paddle. So, next time you go to the beach, rent a stand up paddle board and see what all the hype is about. The camera I used to make this video is called a Go-Pro HD, (surf hero). Great little camera. Here’s a trick, slice an apple and rub on the lens, it will help water sheen of the lens. I couldn’t find an apple for this video so you will notice water spots on the lens. Grrrrrr.

Enjoy Florida, Chad Crawford

Florida Bucket List: #3-swim with dolphins

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 05:07:04 +0000

Who doesn’t want to swim with dolphins right? We heading up to the little town of Marineland for a family dolphin experience at, none other than, Marineland. Yes, the town is called Marineland and so is the Dolphin Park. We had a amazing time petting and swimming with these truly amazing mammals. Marineland is dripping with history that dates back to 1938 when it was originally called Marine Studio’s as it was used for filming marine life for movies. They have a great website full of info and you can get pricing for you and your family to check off “swim with dolphins” on your Florida bucket list.

Question: What would be your top five things to do in Florida on your bucket list?

Big Speck, You Go Girl!

admin — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:20:33 +0000

March is a great month to catch speckle perch all over Florida. They gather to spawn during February and March. Speckle Perch fishing is a great intro for kids. You’ll need an ultra light action rod and reel, bobbers, small hooks and live minnows. Here is a link I found to some hot spots in Florida for specks. Below is a picture of my daughter, Kasey, holding up a huge speck she caught in Lake Monroe. Go girl!

Enjoy Florida-Chad

Question: Do you say speckle perch or crappie? Personally I’m a speck man.

Kasey and her big speckle perch

BIG RED FISH!

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:59:43 +0000

Chad Crawford, Larry Meador and Mr. Red

The next best thing to catching a big fish is watching someone catch one for the first time. After a 30-minute fight on light tackle, Larry Meador, a close friend of mine, hauled in a massive redfish this summer. We bounced hand-sized blue crabs on the bottom as we drifted the outgoing tide. Summer months are great times to catch BIG fish in Florida’s many inlets and deep waterways. A few tips: Fish the outgoing tide and use big bait. Don’t get frustrated if you have to re-rig multiple times from snagging the bottom- that’s part of it.

Enjoy florida!

Chad Crawford

Surfing the Concrete Pond

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:53:51 +0000

Last week I joined a group of guys to surf the waves at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. We had a blast, but If you’ve never surfed in man-made freshwater wave, it takes some getting used to for sure. Unless you’re on the pro tour, riding a short performance board at Typhoon Lagoon makes for somewhat of a mushy ride in my opinion. I used a 8-foot longboard, the extra buoyancy seemed to help with speed and longer rides. They offer classes to teach beginners how to surf as well. Typhoon Lagoon is an awesome experience, one every Florida surfer should have and as bonus they have a “no shark guarantee.”

Enjoy Florida, Chad Crawford

Here are some of the details for renting to Lagoon:

Times- You can surf before the park opens or after it closes.(times vary based on time of year)

Cost- Weekdays are cheaper at $12 instead of $14 for the weekends.

Surfers- 8-12 is ideal

Number for reservations and more info- 1-407-939-7873

Below are some pics we snapped, thanks John.

Citrus and Shrimp, welcome to yummy town

admin — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:06:17 +0000

I wanted to share a recipe that I prepared for my family a while back. Let me be clear, by no means am I a cook. Most of my cooking involves a blend of raw invention and a lack of proper ingredients. If you start with something that already taste great, then it’s harder to mess things up. Not to say I’ve never botched a meal. So, I stick to cooking Florida seafood and try not to get in the way of its naturally gorgeous flavor. This recipe is the infusion of two of my favorite things, citrus and seafood. The recipe calls for 2 lbs of the biggest Pink Gulf Shrimp you can find and variety of citrus and a grill.

Grilled Citrus Shrimp (serves 4 adults)

Ingredients:

2 lbs of big pink gulf shrimp
2 cups of ginger & garlic marinade (I purchased from publics or you can make your own, try this link for a simple recipe)
4 Florida Oranges
2 bell peppers
1/2 of a pineapple

Directions: Soak the shrimp in the ginger garlic marinade for 30 minutes. Cut oranges, bell peppers,and pineapple into large quarter. Keep in mind all of this is going on skewers so keep the sections large so they don’t fall off. Make sure you sandwich the shrimp between an orange and a pineapple. Use plenty of olive oil on the grill so your seafood won’t stick making it harder to rotate your skewers. If you are using wood skewers, use two, this will help keep the food in place. As you grill keep brushing the ginger & garlic marinade on the shrimp, I also squeezed the oranges as I grilled for flavor. Your are done when your shrimp are snow white and pink, don’t over cook them. Serve over a bed of your favorite rice and enjoy.

Here are a few pictures taken during the process. One is the kid-sized shrimp I used and the other is a finished skewer, you will see mango on my skewer, but I don’t recommend it, it kept falling off and just didn’t taste good grilled. The final picture is my seafood cooking timer, seafood typically cooks in about the same time it takes to drink one glass of beer or so I’ve noticed.

Enjoy Florida!

Chad

Fried Trout!

admin — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:39:16 +0000

Last week, my son Chase (age 5) and I went Trout fishing in the Indian River. Having not caught much all day, I was quickly approaching my limit with Chase. Anyone fishing with small kids knows that after 2-3 hrs they are done. To complicate matters I was trying to catch fish, which is another mistake. Just as we were about to leave we hooked a nice fish. At first I thought it was a Redfish but as we reeled it closer to the boat I noticed it was large Seatrout, the biggest I had ever seen much less caught. When I first hooked up I was going to let Chase net the fish but I quickly took over that job once I saw how big the trout was. Looking back, it was not my finest moment. The beautiful fish was 27 inches long and weighted right at 5 lbs. I asked Chase to hold the trout for a picture, he said no way!

Ok, now for the fried part of the story, I love to fry fish- I have a restaurant grade frier on my porch, so yes I’m serious. I had never fried seatrout so I did so research and found this recipe that turned out awesome. If you like heavy crunchy batter, this recipe will not disappoint and it will work great on any fish so please fry away.

Fried Trout Recipe

4 8-to-10 ounce speckled trout fillets (or bass, redfish, grouper, catfish, etc….)
3/4 cup finely crushed saltine crackers (21 crackers)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon snipped parsley
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 beaten egg
3 to 4 tablespoons shortening or cooking oil
Lemon slices, halved (optional)
Thaw fish, if frozen. In a shallow bowl, combine the crushed crackers, grated Parmesan cheese, and snipped parsley. In another shallow bowl, combine the flour and pepper. Place lemon juice and egg in separate bowls. Dip fish in lemon juice, then in flour mixture, then in egg, and finally in the cracker mixture.

In a 12-inch skillet heat shortening or cooking oil. Add fish in a single layer. Fry over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or till brown. Turn fish; fry for 5 to 7 minutes more or till fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Drain on paper towels. Serve fish with lemon. Garnish with parsley, rosemary, and dill if desired.
Serves 4.

I got the recipe from, fishingworks.com, which a great resource for all things fishing.

enjoy Florida! Chad