Since my last report, it's been nothing but WOW fishing. Offshore the sailfish, kingfish, and bonito have kept many anglers busy. Throw in an excellent run of blackfin tuna just for good measure and the offshore angler could hardly ask for anything better. Move back inshore and the tarpon fishing has been outstanding with many many fish over the 100 pound mark.
Gary Benivegna, his son, Matthew, and long time friend Rick Kapouch had a day they will long remember. We loaded the livewell with pilchards and set up between the Monument Buoy and Fowey Light. The day seemed to progress in an orderly fashion for various species. First it was kingfish, then it was dolphin, throw in a bonito and a remora and we're into the afternoon time frame. That's when the sailfish showed up. Matthew caught his first sail as did Gary. Rick had his fish coming and all was going well until the fish gave a big head jerk and broke the line. When we tallied up our fish at the end of the day, We had 4 kingfish, 4 (actually 3 1/2 as a barracuda got half) dolphin, 1 bonito, 1 remora, and 2 for 3 on sailfish.
Ashley and Will Little and Brad Capas were looking for some tarpon. The evening started out on the slow side with no action on the south side of Government. A move to the north side gave us our first shot of the evening. The fish made a good long run and jumped. The end result was a thrown hook. When the tide got right, we moved to the Bay and the action got fast and furious. In less than an hour, Ashley, Will, and Brad each caught and released a tarpon. The fish were in the 30 - 50 pound class and the final tally for the evening was 3 for 5.
Jack Halliwell and his 5 year old son Jackson shared some quality time together doing what they both like the best. Fishing, what else!! Jack's friend Brian Stone was also along to share in the experience. Fishing was a bit on the slow side this day. We worked hard to catch a barracuda while slow trolling and a very nice size kingfish while drifting. As Jack said, they grow up way to quickly and he wants to spend as much time as possible with his son sharing experiences together.
Brad Coren and Neville Blake wanted some eating fish to take home in the form of dolphin and kingfish. We started with dolphin and that turned out to be a very big disappointment. We covered the area from the Sea Buoy to Fowey Light and out to just over 15 miles. We saw mostly a very clean ocean with only a few birds that were searching just like we were. There was only a clump of grass here and there and no dolphin. We ran back in still looking and started fishing south of Fowey Light in 100 feet. Almost immediately we had 2 hook ups. 1 kingfish and 1 bonito. The action was fast and furious for a while and then slowed down. The current was pushing us north at a good clip so we were covering lots of ground. We had spurts of action the remainder of the trip. There was plenty of kingfish to take home and the bonito kept Brad and Neville busy while waiting for another kingfish bite. And of course we had our 1 remora.
David Labaton saw the tarpon feeding at the cleaning station at TNT Marine Center and asked his Dad if he could catch one. Sandy came over to me and we set up a tarpon trip. Also along on the trip was Steve Shatzberg and his son, Dylan. On our first drift, a tarpon ate our crab and David started the battle. After a while he passed the rod off to Dylan, who in turn passed it off to Steve, and Sandy finished the fight. The next tarpon was started by Dylan. The rod was passed around to everyone again before we released our second tarpon. Sandy fought the third tarpon and was determined to battle the silver king from start to finish. He hung in there and completed the battle. On the way back to TNT Marine Center, the boys slept part of the way as they were exhausted from fighting their first tarpons. Final count was 3 for 3.
David Merkel, his wife Ellen, and parents Jack and Joyce originally had an afternoon/evening trip scheduled. The weather was rainy and windy and we decided to do the tarpon portion of the trip only. Our first 3 hook ups resulted in thrown hooks. Then after it got dark, the tarpon started feeding on the shrimp that were flowing through the area. It's a sight to be scene and will have you tense with excitement waiting for a tarpon to find your bait. When we got the hit, Ellen started the fight and then passed the rod off to David who finished the battle. The fish cooperated by not running into the deep water of the main channel. The fish were still popping shrimp off the surface and it didn't take long before we had another one on that also cooperated. On our way in, we made a quick stop at one of my Bay spots and had a large fish on that found some structure and ultimately cut us off.
The trip with Oscar Marrero and Ray Cruz started off with some dolphin searching. Once again a very clean ocean and no fish to be found. We ran back in and anchored on a wreck where we had action with sailfish, bonito, kingfish, and mutton snapper.
Brothers Walter and Mike Wilkowski along with Ray Kalita and Fred Sprano had one goal in mind. Catch their first tarpon. The tarpon were rolling in the area and they were in a feeding mood. The action was hot and heavy all evening long and by the time we were ready to call it a night, everyone had their shot with at least 1 tarpon. All the fish were large and they all made it to the main channel except for one. Final count for the evening was 4 for 5.
Walter Wilkowski and his group were back for round two. The south side was quiet this evening, so we ran over to the north side. It was a good move. We had 4 shots this evening and the tarpon evened up the score a bit with us. We had thrown hooks as well as a broken one. Final tally was 1 for 4.
Another evening of tarpon fishing, this time with Tony Tavares and his sons Andrew and Kevin. Also along was Zac Grossman who needed to get some good tarpon shots for an article he is writing for a Northeast magazine. Once again this evening the tarpon were very cooperative and large. The first fish was a 120 pound tarpon that took us from the south side at Government all the way in to Miami Beach Marina before we finally released it. The second fish was a 110 pound fish that took us into the main channel again, however, this fish gave in a whole lot easier. The second fish had us dodging a large container ship coming into port at the same time our tarpon made it to the main channel. The action slowed down and a move to the north side had us hooked up again. This time the 140 pound tarpon ate both baits we had out and we started the battle with father and son fighting the same fish. After about 20 minutes, one hook pulled and Tony was left to finish the fight. The fish had other thoughts on it's mind and the fight raged on. We'd gain line and then the tarpon would gulp air and get strong. It would make a good run and jump. We'd gain line and the tarpon would once again gulp air and get strong. This continued over and over again. Tony hung in there and soon started to gain an advantage. We got the massive fish boat side and the camera flashes popped and the video camera was rolling as the fish posed for only a brief moment before I released the fish. It was a win win situation for all. We were 3 for 3 on some really big fish, the tarpon won as they were all released in good condition, and Zac got the shots he needed on the first trip out.
An afternoon/evening trip with Francois Tamborini turned into an afternoon only trip as some very heavy weather moved in around 7:30 PM. Before that, Francois had the thrill of a doubleheader sailfish and he was the only angler. We fought both fish from a drifting boat and he did an outstanding job of pressuring the fish and bringing them along side for release. We added a kingfish to the fishbox for a dinner and were looking for more when the weather moved in and had us running into Government Cut for calm water.
Eileen Clark and her daughter, Sharon Whitney had a trip they will long remember. We started off buying some pilchards from Mike on the Greenline. We added some herring just outside Haulover Inlet. We then ran south to Key Biscayne. The first bait got hit as I was putting it out and Sharon caught a cero mackerel. The next strike we had was on a flatline and Eileen caught a fat husky blackfin tuna. Then it was a bonito on a flatline. The kite then saw action in the form of another blackfin tuna caught by Eileen. Once again we had action on the kite. This time a doubleheader bonito. The final action of the trip was on a flatline and Sharon caught a blackfin tuna. Final total for the 3/4 day trip was 3 (23#, 25#, 25#) blackfin tuna, 3 bonito, 1 cero mackerel, and a couple of cutoffs. The tuna were weighed back at TNT Marine Center on solid ground and after having been bleed before they went on ice. Tuna steaks on the grill. YUMMY!!!
The action is hot and heavy. Give me a call 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and get in on the fun.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
