Let's start with the offshore action. After a giant surge in sailfishing that had anyone who could put a live bait in the water catching numerous sails, the action has settle back to more of what normally takes place in January. How much action you'll see on any given day depends on the wind and current conditions as well as what part of the coastline you're fishing. Be prepared to make a move should the action heat up somewhere other than where you're fishing. A good run of kingfish had everyone licking their chops as it was like numerous years ago when you got the kings chummed up and the action was fast and furious. Throw in some mutton and grouper action to round things out. Just remember that grouper season is closed so you'll have to release these tasty fish.
Inshore, the tarpon action has run the gamut from cold to hot. A few of the cold fronts have played havoc with the water temperature. If you fished on any of those night, the tarpon were hard to find if not almost impossible. When the water temperature warmed back up, the tarpon were back in their usual locations in huge numbers and feeding very well. The fish have been averaging in the 30 – 80 pound range. The shrimp have been running at Government Cut, however, I have not yet seen any shrimp action up at Haulover.
Brad Coren's dad, Stewart made a visit to South Florida and of course they had to get in a day of fishing together. A few throws of the castnet had plenty of live pilchards in the livewell. We anchored up in 115' and started chumming. It didn't take long before the baits were getting hit as fast as we could put them in the water. The kingfish bite was on. We kept our limit, threw back some, and missed the hook up on several. We moved to try for some different species. The first move gave us a bonito on the downrigger in 190'. The last move of the morning saw action on the bottom rod with an amberjack.
Steve Schuman and Steve Drazin caught tarpon and mangrove snapper at Government Cut. As soon as the tide turned, the tarpon disappeared.
Alexander and Gabi Boesl also saw tarpon action at Government Cut. Alexander was amazed at how hard and for how long the tarpon could fight. Just when he thought the battle was coming to an end, the tarpon would take off on another attempt to free itself.
Jerry Halsten's 17 year old son Olin had always dreamed of catching a tarpon. That dream became a reality on their evening tarpon trip. The 16 – 20 knot wind from the NNW/NNE had the channel at Government Cut a bit on the sloppy side. The fish didn't mind and about 2 minutes after putting the first bait out, neither did Olin or Jerry. Olin was in to his first dream tarpon. He did an outstanding job of fighting the fish and soon had it along side for a DNA sample before being released. The action continued with Jerry catching a mangrove snapper, then a tarpon. Olin's turned yielded the largest tarpon (80 pounds) of the evening and Jerry added another very large mangrove snapper. It's always amazing how smooth the waters seem to become when fighting a fish.
This year I am continuing to take DNA samples of tarpon for the Tarpon Genetics Program http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/tarpon/genetics/recapture-study During 2011, I was one of the top ten persons to take DNA samples. I will continue to participate in this research program as the tarpon action heats up in 2012. I encourage everyone who fishes for tarpon to get a few of the sampling kits. Here's another link where you can get all the information you'll need about the program http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/tarpon/genetics
Give me a call or send me an email to schedule your trip. It's that easy to get in on the great action we experience every winter and spring off the South Florida (Miami, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne) coast.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net