Sailfishing is off the scale as evidenced by the 462 sailfish released at the Florida Billfish Masters Tournament by 32 boats in two days of fishing. If that isn't hot sailfishing, then there is no such thing.
Tarpon fishing has finally come to life. The fish have been at Government Cut for a while but have been slow to feed. They are now taking live shrimp that are being presented to them. Also, the good news is that the tarpon are back at their Bay spots and are readily feeding.
Last Saturday evening, Tara Sullivan along with JJ, Amanda, and Fabio were down from New York for a quick vacation and rest from the cold weather up north. We started the evening with 3 spanish mackerel on the north side at Government. The sea conditions started to get to two of the anglers, so we moved to the south side where the water was much calmer. No action on that side. When the tide turned, we moved to the main channel and on the 3rd drift, JJ was hooked up with a very mean and nasty 80 pound tarpon. The fish fought deep and made a few jumps close to the boat toward the end of the battle. It was his first tarpon and several cameras were flashing throughout the fight. JJ won the battle and happily watched as I released the mighty silver warrior. One fish was enough for him and the others chose to not even try to catch another fish.
Last night (3/17), Edward Kim and his friend Chang Lee from New Jersey got to participate in tarpon fishing at its best. When we arrived at Government Cut, the tarpon were rolling in the main channel. The wind was from the N @ 11 - 16 knots and we had an incoming tide. They played hard to get at first, however, when we got to the dusk period, the feed bag was turned on. With 2 quick bites, Edward landed 1 of the 2 fish. As quick as they turned on, the fish disappeared. At the tide change, we went inside to two different Bay locations. At location 1, it didn't take long before Edward made quick work of a 40 pounder that spent more time in the air than in the water. Next, Chang had a 50 pounder on that acted like it was 80 pounds. It made several very long runs and also put on a great aerial show. The fish was released Palm Beach style after it wore through the leader. Prior to this action, we had 1 fish that threw the hook on its first jump. At location two, it took a bit long to get the fish going. Edward got the first shot on his side and the fish jumped about the time he got the rod out of the rod holder and proceeded to give us back out hook. Next, Chang picked on a bigger fish the made another great run and jump. The end result was another Palm Beach release. The action was fast and furious from dusk until the end of the trip.
It appears that the tarpon action that has been so hit and miss has finally settled into what it is supposed to be for this time of the year. I'll find out for sure tomorrow evening and will post the results as soon as I can. In the meantime, call me to book a sailfish or tarpon trip. If you want to try for both in the same day, then ask about the afternoon/evening trip. Now that we're in the Daylight Savings mode, it's a perfect time for this style of trip. With April just around the corner, we'll be getting more consistent dolphin (mahi-mahi) fishing and the blackfin tuna will be making their springtime showing. Give me a call @ 305 965-9454 to get your trip scheduled.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net