Tarpon, sailfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), kingfish, blackfin tuna, bonito, and skip jack tuna are all off the Miami/Miami Beach coast and they have all been hungry and feeding. It has not made much of a difference which way the wind is blowing from nor how hard it blows. The key factor has been current. Even on the days when there has been little to no current, the fish have still been feeding. On the no current days they are more spread out over a greater depth.
All the various methods of presenting baits have been producing their fair share of fish. On several days, the flatlines saw action before I could deploy the mid-depth or bottom rods. Even with enough wind to fly a kite, the action on the flatlines, mid-depth, and bottom rods has been so good that there was no time to get the kite up and flying. On other days, the kite has produced the most action.
Inshore at the Inlets, the action for tarpon has been outstanding. The fish have been putting on a great show with their rolling antics. Persistence has paid off on more than one occasion when it took a while to get a hit in the deep water. Once we got the first hit, then the action picked up and many anglers have gotten sore backs and arms while doing battle with the mighty tarpon. Throw in hits from mangrove and mutton snapper along with some snook action and you have a fun filled evening.
Bill Parr along with Sandra & Michele Wright, and Chris Ferrell saw the good and frustrating parts of dolphin fishing. Bill spotted working birds and we ran out to investigate. We quickly hooked up a dolphin, then another, and watched as numerous fish swam along with us and would not feed. We worked another flock of birds with the same results. And so it went for the remainder of the morning. Hook a fish or two and then try to get the rest of the fish to cooperate. The final results were several meals of dolphin fillets.
Brian Jinks and several friends fished an evening tarpon trip at Government Cut. We hooked and fought a beautiful 90 pound tarpon in the deep water and it took two anglers to whip the fish. The anglers were exhausted and the fish gave us a good tail slap on the water's surface as I released the fish to fight again on another day. Throw in action with mangrove and mutton snapper while waiting for another tarpon strike. The final fish of the evening was one that Brian talked about and was hoping for. He thought he was hooked to the bottom, however, the bottom moved and with steady pressure, he got his wish. The snook posed for a few pictures and was carefully unhooked, revived, and released.
Craig Dunn and Zair Fishkin had their hands full. By that I mean steady and constant action on all except for one drift during their 3/4 day trip. It started with a double kingfish bite before I could get the bottom rod unwrapped and deployed. It continued with more kingfish on flatlines, mid-depth, and bottom rods. On two drifts, we limited out on kingfish and then released them after that point. When the action slowed down in the shallower depths, I allowed our drift to continue out deeper and then the dolphin (mahi-mahi) started. It was a single, then a double, then more singles. All the fish were in the 6 - 12 pound range. The bottom rod continued to see action with kingfish that were released. Then bonito and skipjack action. The kings attacked our baits in the 100 - 190 foot depth range and the dolphin in the 150 - 350 range.
Ed & Laura Ward along with Mark Rachal saw great action on their 3/4 day trip. We broke the ice on this trip with a sailfish that hit the break away lead outfit fished at a mid-depth. Mark did the honors as Laura took pictures and Ed helped clear rods and gave moral support to Mark. Then the bottom rod took over with kingfish and bonito action. The dolphin on this trip were smaller and much more picky. Ed seemed to have the magic touch with the dolphin along with Laura. Everyone got in on the kingfish action and Laura had the toughest fight on the bottom rod with the bonito.
Jeff Godel's birthday present from his Dad was a fishing trip. It started out slowly and built momentum as the trip progressed. The current had dropped off almost completely from the previous several days. We missed several fish on the bottom rod and the small dolphin just molested our baits for the most part. The wind switched to the east and picked up some speed. Up went the kite and the action began to improve. First with a blackfin tuna, then a sailfish. The sail put on a good show and strong fight. Jeff countered its every move with one of his own. We pulled the sail along side and Jeff gave it a pat of thanks before we released it. After reorganizing and putting out fresh baits, the long kite bait saw almost immediate action with a nice 20 pound plus kingfish. The final drift of the trip had more small dolphin grabbing our baits and allowing us to bring them to the boat before jumping and spitting the baits back at us.
That brings me up to date once again. As it is easy to see, the action is great. All it takes on your part is a phone call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get in on the action. The dolphin will be getting bigger and more cooperative. The blackfin tuna will become more prominent over the next several months. Sailfish will continue to please many anglers with their acrobatic jumps and leaps. Tarpon will grow in size and 100 pound plus fish will test the angling ability and stamina of many anglers. You and your family or friends can be the ones to experience most or all of this. Just contact me and get a date on my schedule.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net