With everything that has been going on with the economy, it's time to give our minds a rest, relieve some stress and participate in much more pleasant things. The first thing that comes to mind is FISHING!! The fish don't care about the economy and they've been willing and eager to please. Kingfish are making a strong fall showing. They are still feeding in a summer fashion, that is on the downrigger and bottom rod. Mutton snapper have been pleasing many people as they too are making a strong fall showing. Further offshore, the dolphin are still flowing through. The moderate winds we've been having make it a bit more difficult to spot the floating debris, however, the birds will still put you on the fish. If you pick a day when the seas have calmed down, then running and gunning is a great way to go and with calmer seas, it's also easier on the body.
Aboard Knot Nancy, we've been sticking to the closer waters since the wind has been in the moderate range on the days I've fished. Aaron Wages and his parents Randy and Helen along with his girlfriend, Erin Roof got in on a mixed bag day. With green water, no current, and wind from the E/ENE @ 12 - 16 knots, we took our time getting out to the 250 foot range to start our drifts. The fish were scattered throughout the 90 - 250 foot range. On this day, all the action came on the flatlines with the exception of kingfish. Add to that dolphin and barracuda and the half day trip put smiles on 2 of the anglers and the other 2 hung in there with mild cases of sea sickness.
My next trip was a very special one. It's been a very long time since I've fished with my brother Dennis. We've always had great trips together, so I expected this was going to be another one of those trips. Besides my brother, his girlfriend Teresa Ottaviano, and Teresa's sisters Darinda and Collette made up the rest of the group. Darinda and Collette were visiting from Washington state and had never been out on the Atlantic or caught any fish. We had similar conditions from the previous trip with current and water color. The wind was down a bit coming from the E @ 11 - 13 knots. As with the previous trip, catching bait didn't take very long and only required about 3 throws of the castnet to stuff the livewell with pilchards. Once the baits were out, it didn't take very long for the action to start. The kingfish were snapping in two very distinct depth ranges. The first was 180 - 190 feet and the second was 100 - 120 feet. All the action we saw during the morning trip were on the downrigger and bottom rods. Everyone got multiple shots at catching fish and a fish fry was being planned from the first kingfish that went into the fish box. On the way back in, we slow trolled in the canals back to TNT Marine Center looking for a possible tarpon. Instead, we did battle with some very feisty jack crevalles that exploded on our live chum baits. There were lots of pictures taken at the dock and smiles on everyone's faces. It's been way to long Dennis, we need to fish together much more often.
There you have it. Isn't it much better talking about and participating in fishing rather than worrying so much. Lots of dates are open. All it takes is an email to nkostyo@bellsouth.net or a phone call to 305 965-9454 to set up your trip and relieve some of the everyday stress.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
