Fishing on the edge has still been the best bet. Even though we are entering August and the water is plenty warm, there are still a lot of fish around. Bonitos, bonitos, and more bonitos. Although bonitos can be a nuisance at times, they are a very hard fighting fish and can definitely keep the rods bent for quite a while. They are a great fish for beginners as they can really teach you a thing or two on how to properly fight a fish. There have also been quite a few kingfish around and most have been on the large size with 20 and 30 pounders around in good numbers. I also heard of a few 40 pounders caught last week. Along with the kings and bonitos, there have also been a few sailfish. You will see a few free jumpers every day and hopefully will be able to catch a sail or two. This week we have had ripping north current and blue water on the edge which are perfect conditions for sailfish.
The next best bet has been daytime swordfishing. I haven't had any daytime trips since my last report, but I did hear of a few fish in the 300 to 350 pound class being caught. The action hasn't been red hot as it is going to be real soon, but if you stick out a whole day, you will get some shots. Remember it is big game fishing and like marlin fishing you are not expecting to catch a bunch but are totally thankful for catching at least one. We are entering prime time for daytime swordfish and August through early November are the best months to fish.
The night time swordfishing on the other hand remains slow. I purposely have not taken any night time charters out for a while, but August has traditionally been a good month for evening swords. I did have a client that preferred to fish for swords at night rather than day, so we took him and his family out this week. I was actually pretty excited about the trip as I haven't fish for swords at night in a while and had a good feeling about our trip. I had plenty of quality bait, both dead and live, and if needed I was prepared to stay out all night to catch my customer a swordfish. Although we had a great drift and great bait, we didn't get a bite and by 12:45, the mom had decided that she had enough, so we packed it in early and headed home. The night swordfishing has been slow for a while now and I can't quite put my finger on it. I do hope it heats back up, because swords are a great fish to catch on stand up tackle and can really test your skills. I remember just a few years back when we would get 5 to 10 shots a night on these great fish, I hope that happens real soon. I'll keep everyone posted on the sword bite both day and night.
I have plenty of open dates in August and fishing the edge should stay good and the daytime swordfishing should get very good. I also heard of good reports on dolphin from down south which means those fish are making there way up here in the next few weeks. Last year the dolphin fishing was actually better in August and September than it was in July, so hopefully the same will hold true this year. Give me a call and let's set up that trip.
P.S. The Islamorada Swordfish Tournament is August 29th and 30th. I am open for this tournament and have done well in it in the past. Give me a call if you are interested.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Dean Panos
www.doubledcharters.com
(954)805-8231
