I'm long overdue with catching up on the fishing activities aboard Knot Nancy. So let's get started.
Offshore, the blackfin tuna of all sizes have and are making a very strong showing. If you've ever wanted to catch one of these tasty tunas, now is the time. Mix in some sailfish action along with a few kingfish and dolphin and it's good springtime action.
Inshore, tarpon is still the king and they are cooperating very nicely. Live mullet and crabs will do the trick and be prepared for a long hard battle as the fish are very healthy in size and stamina.
Conditions: wind from the East @ 11 – 21 knots and north current.
Sebastain and Jack Lombardo along with Toby Castillo caught a half dozen tasty dolphin during their half day trip.
Conditions: wind from East @ 15 – 17 knots. Top of incoming and first of outgoing tide.
Andy Mattice, Brady Maw, and Cory Reeves got to pull on tarpon both at Government Cut and in the Bay.
Conditions: wind From East @ 10 – 14 knots. Incoming and outgoing tides during the evening tarpon trip.
Shaun and Lu Hoskins caught and released 2 tarpon at Government Cut and 1 tarpon in the Bay. Shaun caught all the fish and Lu was along for moral support.
Conditions: wind from ESE/SE @ 4 – 10.3 knots. North current and incoming tide.
The father and son team of Louis and Benoit St-Hilaire caught 3 blackfin tuna of 8, 25, and 29 pounds, 1 sailfish, and 1 snapper during the afternoon portion of their trip. During the evening portion of the trip, we had time enough for 1 tarpon at Government Cut. This was Louis' first fishing trip.
Conditions: wind from SSE/S @ 9 – 14 knots. North current.
The Westcott Family (Vern, Christine, and Luke) caught a 15# blackfin tuna and 2 bonito on their ¾ day trip.
Conditions: wind from South @ 10 – 17 knots with an incoming tide.
Shaun Hoskins was back by himself during this tarpon trip. We caught and landed 1 of the 2 tarpon that we hooked up.
Conditions: wind from S/SSW @ 10 – 19 knots with a north current.
The Westcott Family was back for day two. This time it was a full day offshore. The first two locations produced no strikes. At the third location things started heating up. It started with a sailfish on the flatline caught by Luke. Next it was a 29# blackfin tuna by Vern. Another sailfish hit our kite bait and threw the hook on the first jump. Then Christine got the big blackfin tuna of the day weighing in at 31#'s.
Conditions: Variable wind @ 6 – 23 knots. Stormy conditions passing by us. Outgoing and incoming tide during the trip.
Cenk Durukal got his wish of fighting a large tarpon. It took a while to find the fish, however, in the end we got what we were looking for. After one large tarpon, Cenk decided he was happy and had enough pulling on the tough fighting tarpon.
Conditions: wind from NE/ENE @ 9 – 15 knots. Outgoing and incoming tide during the trip.
A 9 member Bachelor Party had myself and 2 other boats fishing 3 anglers each for an evening tarpon trip at Government Cut. Every boat had multiple shots at tarpon and every boat successfully land their fish.
Conditions: wind from ENE/E @ 13 – 15 knots. Outgoing tide during the entire trip.
The Schoch Family (Jose, Erika, Kristina, and Charlie) had their first experience with catching tarpon. On the first drift, we hooked up and Jose started fighting his first tarpon. After a long battle, Charlie took over the rod to give Jose a breather. He finally succeeded in bringing the 90# tarpon alongside for a few pictures. Next we went into the Bay to give everyone a break from the rough sea conditions of the main channel. Kristina battled a 50# tarpon and released her first one. We had to go back out to the south side of Government Cut to get Erika her shot at pulling on a tarpon. It didn't take long. This time it was a 100# tarpon that made a beeline for the deep water channel and then up to the north side of the north jetties. Jose helped her hold the rod until he needed a breather. Charlie took his turn helping his Mom. Jose took over again when we got the fish up alongside of the boat. Four very tired and exhausted anglers have some great stories to tell about their first experiences fighting the silver king.
Conditions: wind from E/ESE @ 6 – 13 knots. Outgoing tide during the entire trip.
I helped a fellow Captain out with his trip because he had engine problems. His clients from Canada had tarpon on their bucket list of fish to catch. Shortly after the sun set, we hooked up and the battle began. The fish ran for the deep water of the main channel and then the hard work began. By the time the fish was released, we had gone offshore with the tide to past the third set of red and green markers. The total time of the battle was about 50 minutes. On the very next drift, we got hit almost instantly. This time we got to see the fish make a 6' high jump into the air and throw the hook. We moved into the Bay and saw several fish, however, they were not in a feeding mood.
That sums it up. Blackfins, sailfish, and a few dolphin offshore and tarpon inshore.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
