Where have all the mullet gone? When I first moved on the Little Manatee River, some 20 years ago, the mullet were so thick in the river that at times they would jump into my boat.



The most popular way to catch a mullet is not by hook and line, but with a cast net. It is possible to catch them with a hook and line; as I remember Shorty Brown and Ernest Williams of Plant City would make small balls of oatmeal or bread, put it on a hook and somehow, without losing the bait, would catch a mullet. This is a challenge, and patience is the name of the games, as I tried this method and would lose my bait every time.

This method would get one ­mullet at a time, but if you know how to read the water and know that a school of mullet is swimming by -- and have mastered your cast net to make a complete circle over the school -- you then have a dozen or more mullet at one cast. So maybe this is why the average angler throws a cast net for mullet, instead of a hook and line.

As I talk to anglers at the bait shops, they tell me that mullet are just not in the rivers as they once were. There are many theories on what has happened to this fish. Some think some anglers have netted them with commercial nets before they have a chance to come into the rivers. Others are sure that they have been overfished. Some say that it is impossible to catch enough for a group fry as they have in the past. If you wanted a fish fry for one hundred people, you would throw a net and catch mullet. This is impossible now. Is it growth and too much building on our waterways?

If you have been watching the tube lately, some athletes are showing off their mullet hair styles. Why would a hair salon name a style for men ‘mullet?” The style is short on top and sides with hair long and flowing down your back. This style was worn by country, football, basketball, hockey stars, as well as some not-so-famous people.

I wonder if the guy or woman who named this style knows what a mullet is? Next time you go to get a haircut, just tell them that you want one of those fish haircuts. Now the mullet is the most common of fish and I know the person who invented this style knows nothing about fishing... ‘cause what do you pay the highest price for in a restaurant...crab legs or grouper, and lobster. If I were the owner of a first class salon, it would not be a mullet cut, but one of the above.

Some mullet are jumping in canals. I saw a school over at Simmons Park.

I remember that mullet seemed to be a fish that was so common that some didn’t want people to know that they were eating mullet, so they coined the name of Lisa for this fish.

Then the story that I have heard a thousand times is the one where several anglers from Ruskin were caught fishing out of season or had too many fish. Anyway, the catch was mullet and they told the judge that mullet had gizzards (which they do) and they were not a fish, but a chicken. With this story, the judge let them go.
When I first came to Ruskin, I went to a political party over at Simmons Loop, and they had ­mullet and hush puppies along with corn on the cob, served in tubs of butter. This was my first mullet party and my first hush ­puppies. Those days seem to be gone, but it was an experience that I will always remember -- everyone rubbing elbows together and having a grand time, with no one a ­stranger. In those days, it was Elsworth Simmon’s place for parties.

Mullet is also smoked, and to some it is the only way to eat it. Everyone has their own secret recipe for smoking. Try and ­obtain a recipe from these anglers; it is ­impossible. Some tell me that it was one handed down through generations and it could not be known to anyone else. The most frequent ­answer is, “It is a secret and I ­cannot reveal it.”

Yes, we (two city slickers), my husband and I, tried the art of smoking mullet. Those in the know told my husband to use an old refrigerator as a smoker. He loaded the trays with mullet and got a recipe for the brime and had me sitting guard on the patio, watching it smoke, when suddenly a car skidded into our drive and a man jumped out, telling me that he had called the fire department since my refrigerator was on fire. After all of this, our mullet was great.

Fishing has been slow this week with the rain and wind, with a few redfish catches at Simmons Park, some sheepshead from piers, and some catch and release snook in the rivers. Some largemouth bass have been boated in the upper fresh water of the rivers.

Watch the weather and always fish together.

 -- Aleta Jonie Maschek is a ­member of Florida Outdoor Press­.

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