Everett Potter Interviews Captain Tom for Forbes.com
We opened the season with Hook It and Cook It featuring chef Ludger Szmania and his son chef Lucas Szmania who flew all the way from Munich, Germany. Lucas was a deckhand at AU back in 2012 and has been training in Germany in recent years. We had a full house for the event which opened with a great dinner on May 16. Fishing began on May 17 with variable but decent results in the Point Amelia area. The Park group, fishing with Captain Sarah lit things up that first morning with a four king (a “quad”) hook up in The Bowl, landing all four – the quickest limit of the year. The Rich Landers party watched that action with envy and patience. They were rewarded with a triple about an hour later, then a single king shortly thereafter for their limit. The rest of the boats got anything from half limits to limits and the year appeared to be off to a solid start. As it turns out, that was one of the best days of fishing in the month of May (see report).
The wonderful rhythm of Hook It and Cook It transpired with four nights of inspired three-course dinners created by the Szmanias and four days of fishing. The king fishing became increasingly challenging, the halibut and rockfish came much more easily. The food was heavenly and the instruction lively. This is truly a memorable and fun event with a large repeat customer base that comes for the fishing, the comradery, the learning how to cook fish, and, of course, the wonderful dining.
Chef Ludger will return in 2019 and we’re hoping Lucas will make the long journey from Germany.
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