Fall has finally arrived and along with it some good to very good fishing.
Offshore, the dolphin (mahi-mahi) are migrating south, sailfish are showing up in better numbers, skipjack tuna are finding the live chum and hitting the kite baits, down deep there are mutton snapper, grouper, and amberjack. You might have to pick your day(s) if you have a weak stomach as cold fronts are now moving through and bringing windy conditions to our area for a few days. There are usually a few days of calm weather in between the passing of the fronts so it's just a matter of being flexible with you schedule.
Catching live bait (pilchards) has mostly been making a few throws with the castnet or finding the schools of herring and going to work on them with sabiki rigs.
Eileen Clark, her daughter Sharon Whitney, and granddaughters Olivia Whitney and Natalie Whitney braved some windy conditions. Their reward was dolphin for both Olivia and Natalie.
Mike and Trevor McCarthy along with Matthew Fitzgerald and Thomas Abrams also had a trip with windy conditions. They saw kite fishing for the first time and immediately took to it as if they'd been kite fishing for years. We saw action with dolphin, skipjack tuna, sailfish, and bottom action with bluerunners.
Richard Rusak, Craig Liszt, Jason Harris, and Pat McAleer had a trip that many anglers dream of. The wind was blowing hard from the NE giving us seas of 6 – 8 feet. Everyone had strong stomachs and it paid off as we were able to stay out the entire length of the trip. We started our first drift in 300'. Richard caught a bonito. Next we set up in 300' again and back drifted. In 270' we caught a dolphin. Followed by an amberjack caught by Jason. Then the large school of dolphin showed up and it was a frenzy. When the school finally moved on, we had 10 dolphin in the box. As we drifted inside of 200' we caught a grouper and then a mutton snapper. Another dolphin went into the box. A kingfish and bonito were released along with a small shark. Richard hooked up again to what everyone thought would be another amberjack. When the fish came up, someone said shark and Richard immediately said cobia. The cobia made it into the fish box and at TNT Marine Center it weighed in at 36 pounds.
That's Fall fishing for you. Time to schedule your trip and get out and enjoy the variety of fish that are along the Miami/Miami Beach/Key Biscayne area of South Florida.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
