Over the last few months I've been preparing for the upcoming season. The first order of business was to upgrade the boat and after months of careful consideration I decided to go with a 28' Whitewater. Whitewater boats have an excellent reputation for providing an excellent ride and are built with quality in mind. The boat is rigged Key West style with light tackle fishing in mind. Another important aspect of this boat is that it will give me added speed, comfort, and range for those out of the way fish. Twin 200 HP Yamaha outboards provide more than enough power even when fully loaded. Now, I can easily carry over twenty fishing rods and more than enough bait for a long day of fishing.
Needless to say, I haven't been fishing as much as I like over that last couple of months. I just started fishing less than a month ago and the extremely windy conditions have forced me to reschedule several trips. On the days that have been fishable there has been a excellent numbers of mahi around. Besides the dolphin there have also been a good number of sailfish heading south.
Closer to shore the Spanish mackerel have been plentiful, especially on the outgoing tides and near the inlets and channel markers. The key to catching these fish is a well loaded with 2"-3" pilchards. Tarpon are also starting to show up and should only get thicker off the beaches and in the inlets and bridges. Last year, we had a good tarpon season and this year should be no exception.
My next trip is scheduled for tomorrow with my good customer JJ and his son JJjr. I'm hoping that the 25 knot winds that we are experiencing now will diminish just enough to make it out. This father and son duo caught a lot of fish on the old boat and hopefully will keep it up on the new boat. On our last trip Jr. caught a wahoo pushing 60 lbs. on 20# spinning tackle. The duo then caught a nice dolphin and some bonito before hooking up on a pair of sails. Juniors' fish was quite large and the decision was made to submit the catch to the IGFA. Now it's no longer pending, the catch was accepted as the new Junior IGFA record for Atlantic Sailfish. Congratulations are in order for both father and son.
Before, I wrap things up; I'd like to thank River Marine Supply for their hospitality during the seminar I conducted for them this past Wednesday. We had a great turnout and a great time was had by all. Now, it's time to get back to work and prepare for my next outing. Rods need rigging and the baits need feeding.
If you'd like to book a trip or have questions about any of the trips offered, check out my website, email omuniz@bellsouth.net or give me a call at 786.266.0171.
Happy Holidays,
Capt. Orlando Muniz
Nomad Fishing Charters
786.266.0171
