The offshore fishing is right on schedule for this time of year. We continue to have decent sailfish action. There are still some very decent size kingfish around. Throw in the fact that it's now worth running offshore in search of dolphin (mahi-mahi). Add to that the large blackfin tunas have shown up and grouper season is now open. With all those different species in our offshore waters at the same time, it makes for some fun times.
Now let's move inshore and talk about the tarpon action. If you want the smaller fish in the Bay, you'll have to be willing to fish the right tide. Since the time of the tides changes each day, that means that you could be fishing some late or very early hours if you want to get in on this type of action. At the Inlets, we've had to do some searching to locate the fish. The average number of hits has dropped off to 1 to 3 per trip, however, once we find them, the fish we are hooking up are big, mean, nasty, and tough.
Matt wanted to catch his tarpon on spinning tackle. We did some searching the area to find the fish. After it got dark, the fish started popping baits on the surface and gave away their location. A quick reset of our drift and before the boat settled into the drift, Matt got his wish. The big fish ran straight for the deep water of the main channel. The normal slug it out battle continued from that point and Matt finally got the upper hand and brought the fish alongside for release. After that, the fish went back into playing hide and go seek.
Brad Coren only had a short window of time for fishing offshore. He made the best of it. We started off the Sea Buoy and drifted north with the strong current and blue water. With no wind to fly the kite, we fished flatlines. It didn't take long before we hook up a double header of sailfish. Brad fought and released each fish. The next fish fought deep. As we worked our way toward it, the fish bit through the wire leader and released itself. We ran back to the south some and put the baits out again. This time it was another double header of sailfish that were much larger than the first two. Again, Brad fought and released each fish. The final action came on the deep rod. We had the fish coming and it would soon be in sight. We never got to see it as it cut through the mono leader and is still swimming out there somewhere.
Josh wanted to catch his first tarpon. His friend Brent came along to video the happenings. Once again it was playing hide and seek with the fish. We never marked nor saw a fish rolling. At 8:45 pm one of the spinning outfits protested loudly as a big tarpon made a long run with several jumps. The battle was on and the video camera rolling. This fish had no intentions of making it easy. It started moving offshore and then into the deep water of the main channel. It continued offshore and stayed deep. It was give and take and mostly taking for quite a while. The fish did come up out of the deep water while a cruise ship passed us by on its way into port. It then went back into the deep water. When we finally brought the estimated 140 pound fish alongside, it laid still for about 30 seconds while the camera continued to roll and I prepared to release the tired fish. Josh got to touch his catch as I moved it through the water to revive it some before releasing it. The big fish gave a huge slap of its tail as it swam away from the boat. It was now 10:00 pm and Brent had the entire fight on video.
Jan's tarpon trip had us watching fish rolling around during the daylight hours. At one point they were within casting distance of the boat. It didn't make any difference when I tossed the bait almost on top of the fish. Even the dusk and sundown bite period didn't turn the fish on. We had good tides for the Bay so off we went. At the first location we saw no fish. A move to the second location had us seeing several tarpon. We set up and put out one spinning outfit. Within 30 seconds we had a tarpon hooked. Jan brought it alongside and I held it as he took numerous pictures. The baits went back out and the fish disappeared. We had no further action that evening.
That's it, up to date once again. This is now the time of year when we'll start doing the afternoon/evening trips more often to take advantage of the good fishing both offshore and inshore.
Till my next report, tie good knots and us frisky live bait to get the action.
Capt. Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
