Fishing the past 2 months has had it's ups and downs. We have done quite a few swordfish trips along with some sailfish trips the past week or so. I will start off with a great tournament I had the pleasure to be a part of down in that Cayman Islands. Through my good friend Capt Steve Huddleston I was put in touch with one of the most well known and respected Captains in South Florida, Capt Bouncer Smith. Bouncer was kind enough to add me to a great group of Capt's such as Bouncer, Steve, Alex, Jeff, Harry and Shreman to fish the first annual "Cayman Islands Swordfish Tournament". We arrived on Grand Cayman not knowing what to expect but were greeted with open arms and smiling faces.
The first night we were there we gave a seminar on how "WE FISH" here in the states and were able to talk to a few local fisherman who have caught a few swords to compare notes. The next morning we all gave a extensive rigging seminar and traded tips and notes once again. At about 1pm the 7 of us were auctioned off to the highest bidders to raise money to a local charity. What a success. We all got on good boats with a great group of guys. Just before dark Charles, a local fisherman hooked up to the first swordfish of the night. He landed the fish and we were all excited for him. As the night went on we all got a few bites, but Steve hooked up to a nice fish. Unfournetly he lost the fish boat side after about 1.5 hour fight. The tourney ended with 1 swordfish caught and 1 threasher fish caught. All in all it was a great tourney with a great group of people. I would like to thank everyone for their kind hospitality and generosity. A special thanks goes out to Clarence Flowers for hosting us and putting on a great tourney. I would also like to thanks the group of guys I was able to fish with. I truely had a great time and can't wait to come down and slay some hoos'!
Now for some local news. Sailfish season is starting off pretty well. We fished the past 3 days in these heavy winds and were able to catch 8 sailfish, numerous kingfish, some bonita, small blackfin tuna, and 1 really nice yellowfin tuna that went around 65lbs. We have also been pulling some really nice groupers and snappers off of the deep wrecks. In a couple of weeks the season will really kick off with the tournaments. Hopefully we do well in the majority of the tourneys like last yr and have a great time.
Well swordfishing has also been great. We have been catching them during the day as well as at night. We did a few day trips where we never got a bite and a few trips where we caught fish up to 200lbs. We have been having good luck at night on the live baits the moon phase. We also have the Hydrow Swordfish Tournament coming up on December 1st. I am still open for this tourney please call for info.
Now that the season is kicking up lets get out there and see how many double digit days we can muster up this yr. Give me a call and let's get out there and catch some fish!
Tightlines,
Capt Joe McGiven
305 588 8030
www.southflfishing.com
