April 12
Today we had Jason and Audrey from IL and Rob from Rochester MI out for a half day of deep sea fishing aboard the Hooked Up off the coast of Ft Lauderdale.
I've got to start out by saying that while we had a great trip and we got everyone's names we never kept track of who caught witch fish. But I can say that everyone caught fish.
We started out trolling the reef catching a few king fish. Than we set out our kites with some live baits suspended from them and Audrey managed to catch a big sail fish.
As we were heading back toward the dock we decided to try one deep drop on a wreck that sat in 210 feet of water and sure enough it seemed we could do no wrong today. We landed a big amber jack.
We got a few pictures and watched him swim away in great shape.
Thanks again to our anglers today and once again sorry we did not keep track of who caught what.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344
April 13
Today we had had 8 boats booked for Richard and Karen of the Home Technology Specialist of America. Once we got everyone on their boats Karen and Richard decided to go on the # one boat the Hooked Up (LOL)
They invited Jared to join them aboard the Hooked Up and we were off.
I've got to say that my crew could not have picked a better time to have a banner trip and get some of the best photos I've seen in a long time. Thanks Captain Greg and Captain J.J.
They set out both kites with live baits suspended from them and did their best to hook Richard up with a sail fish. That was the one fish that Richard was hoping to catch.
As it turned out not only did he catch he sail fish but they all caught fish. They ended up with a sail fish, king fish and a monster Jack carvel.
Thanks again to everyone at the Home Technology specialist of America you guys were a blast and we're looking forward to fishing with you guys again next year.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll (877) SEA-4344
April 14
Today we had an all day trip with Steve and Laura from Fair Banks Alaska and their good friend Trudy from Australia. As it turned out Steve is a welder doing some work down here in South Florida and they wanted to take a day to enjoy some deep sea fishing here off the coast of South Florida.
And what a GREAT day of fishing we had. We picked up some live bait from the bait boat and went right out to 145 feet of water and set out both kites with live baits suspended from them. It was not even 10 min till our first sail fish showed up and we were Hooked Up. While Steve was fighting his sail another one showed up and now we had Trudy in on the action.
We got a few photos of the fish next to the boat jumping and got the baits right back out there. And before we knew it we were Hooked Up again. Once again while fighting this one another sail piled on one of our baits a for a second we once again had a double on. Sorry to say one of the two got away. No problem we got the baits right back out there and you guessed it another sail fish Hooked Up. O and by the way did I forget to mention all the smoker king fish we were catching at the same time we were catching these sails? Talk about none stop action.
WHAT A Day we ended up with 4 out of 6 sail fish and a box full of smoker king fish.
But wait there's more once we got back to the dock it was time for a bit of beer drinking and Steve and Laura broke out some fish they had brought down with them from Alaska.
I've got to say that nothing goes better with an ice cold beer than a big piece of fresh salmon a little hot sauce and a cracker.
Thanks again guys it truly was a day I will remember.
Hope to see you guys once more before you head back up to the cold.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) Sea-4344
April 15
Today we had john from Indiana, Kevin and Chuck from New York and Richard from Philly out for a few hours of deep sea fishing aboard the Hooked up.
We had been doing well on the sail fish and big king fish kite fishing so we decided to keep fishing with the kites and hope for the best.
We ended up having a great day with the kings but sorry to say the sails just did not show up today. But it seemed every one of the kings was over 12 pounds and a couple was right around 20 pounders.
Thanks again guys.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344
April17
Today we had 6 guys that chartered both of our boats so there would only be 3 on each boat.
We had Renan, Caique and Marcelo all from Brazil but staying in Boca Raton Florida.
We went right to trolling the reefs and ended up with a few king fish and a few bonitos. Than we ventured a bit off shore and found a couple black fin tunas.
Thanks again guys.
Captain Taco (954) 764-434
April 18
Today everyone got together aboard the Hooked up to celebrate Carry's B Day
Mom and dad Carry and Corinne came down from Orlando to join their son Jermie and their daughter Amy for a day of fishing on dad's birday.
And what a day of fishing they were in for. We started out trolling the reef catching king fish and one tuna. Then we set out the big stuff looking for big game. We set out both kites with 3 live baits suspended from the kite and one shark bait also suspended from the kite. We also set out shark bait about 150 feet down and last but not least we set a big shark bait on the bottom.
Ok so now the trap was set and all we needed was for a big sea monster to come along and take one of these baits. Than it happen our big rod with a big shark bait on the other bent over and line started peeling off as if it was connected to a freight train.
Jernie jumped in the chair and the fight was on. It was a BIG back and forth tug a war for over an hour but when it was all said and done we got this MONSTER 10 foot 400 pound hammer head shark to the boat.
We got a quick measurement to have a replica trophy made of his great catch and watched him swim away in good shape.
Sorry to say we did not have our camera onboard but if any of you on the trip with us could send us a picture we would be happy to post the photo.
Thanks again guys for a great fishing trip and once again Happy Birthday Cerry.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) Sea-4344
April 20
Today we had some repeat customers/friends from Boston out for a day of deep sea fishing.
We had Dad Lou his 2 daughters Melissa and Katelyn and his son Brain. We started out trolling our way down the reef headed for a ship wreck that lay on the bottom off the coast of Hallandale. On our way we caught some king fish.
Once we got down to the wreck we dropped a live bait down 225 feet and the second the bait hit bottom BAM we were Hooked Up. Brain jumped in the chair and the fight was on. It took brain a good 15 min to finally hoist up this monster amber jack. Ok easy enough but now could we do it again? Once again we sent down a live bait and once again BAM we were Hooked Up. This time Lou got in the chair and once again up came a big amber jack.
Well if it worked 2 times why not try again? Well I'll tell you why because just as Captain Greg was letting down a third live bait Brain yelled out what's that over there?? As I looked in the direction he was pointing I see this big sharks dorsal fin sticking out of the water and about 7 feet behind his dorsal fin I seen the tip of his tail sticking out of the water!!!
Not only was this a shark witch by the way was what Brain wanted in the first place but this was a reel monster. Captain Greg put together a shark bait and I got the boat in front of where he was headed hopping to cut him off at the pass.
We kept in front of him for over 10 min but he just was not interest in our bait. After quite some time he went down and that was the last we seen of him. (4 NOW)
We had already had some shark baits ready so we figured what the heck let's just set up for shark fishing for a while.
So we set out a few shark baits and then it happen. BAM one of the big rods bent over and all hell broke loose. We were Hooked Up with some kind of sea monster. It only took Brain about 10 min till he got this shark close enough to the boat for us to realize that not only was this a sea monster but it had to be the same one we had seen earlier.
The only problem was that once we got a good look at him he got a good look at us and that was the last we were going to see of him for quite some time.
It was a big back and forth tug a war for over an hour. About the 4th time Brain got him close to the boat we had decided to get a measurement of him to have a replica trophy made of Brain's shark. The good news was that not only was Brain whipped but so was the shark.
As Greg lead the shark to the side of the boat I got a head rope around his head and we all helped pulling and we slid him part way in the door for a measurement and a couple quick photos.
Now the problem was that even though we only had him part way in the door a shark's skin will only slide one way and we just could not back him right back out the door. (RATS)
So we had to grab his tail and turn him around in the boat than slide him out the door. Surprisingly enough the shark stayed calm during this whole affair and as we got his head out the door and into the water he just swam out pretty much on his own and in great shape.
This shark was nine feet 7 inches and we estimated him at around 500 pounds.
Holy Cow what a great catch but still we needed one more kind of fish for mama to complete our day.
We knew we were going to have to find some good eating fish for Mama to cook up for dinner. So off we went to another wreck and down went the chicken rigs with 5 hooks tied in a row. It seemed we could do no wrong today because the snappers were there and we caught enough of them for dinner.
Thanks Sooo much guys for a fun day of fishing.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
April 21
Today we started out our day fishing with 5 young guys ranging from the age of 75 to 100 and if you had spent the morning fishing with them you never would have though any of them were over 27 years old. These guys just had a blast talking about old times and catching fish.
We will start out by introducing Sidney who not only fought for this country but he had laid his life on the line 3 different times by being shot down out of the sky fighting for our freedom. Thanks Sidney for putting it all on the line for our country. Next we had George, Leo, Sam and Fred all of these guys drove down from Boca Raton to spend the day together fishing aboard the Hooked Up.
Now these may have been nice enough guys but they knew just what they want to catch and dinner was what they had in mind. So we started out trolling the reef catching a box full of king fish and a couple black fin tunas. Than just to make sure everyone got a shot at eating a few different types of fish we stopped on a wreck and dropped down a chicken rig and caught them a box full of snappers.
Thanks again guys and hope you all enjoy dinner.
As we got back to the dock I had 5 of my close friends waiting and eager to try their luck at some fishing.
We had Jeff the owner of the world famous Treasure Trove, Charles the trader who has moved to Pitt and now ruts for the Stealers, Cat Fish our local musician who plays and sings in all the local bars, Pete the music man who sells cd and DVD and last but by no means least George the Man.
Now I'm not saying that what we catch was not important I'm just saying that everyone getting together was more important than the fish we caught.
Me knowing that it was all about the beer and good times I decided to just fish for what I thought we could catch that would bust everyone's ass. So without telling them what I was up to we went right to wreck fishing and see if we could get a few of these guys to wrestle with a big amber jack.
As luck would have it not only were they biting but they were snapping.
Everyone got the butts kicked and every one of us had a ball.
Guy's thanks and next year same bat station same bat channel
Captain Taco (9540 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
April 22
Today we had our repeat customers Lynn and Michel and they brought their good friends Diane and Jocelyn all from Quebec Canada.
We started out trolling the reef working our way to the south toward Hallandale. We picked at the king fish and bonitos all the way down. I'm not sure how many bonitos we ended up with but I do know that we got our limit of king all between 7 and 12 pounds.
Once we got down to the wreck we dropped a live bait down 225 feet and the second it hit the bottom BAM we were Hooked Up. Michel jumped in the chair and the battle was on. I've got to take a second to say that threw out the year we do catch a lot of amber jacks but this fish was pulling like no other amber jack I've seen before. After a good 15 min I really was not too sure what we had on the other end but it was pulling straight down like an amber jack. Than it popped up yes it was an amber jack but this thing came straight out of Jurassic park. (What a monster). Once we got the big amber jack into the boat we took a couple of pictures got all the air out of his belly and tried to release him but I am sorry to say that this big fish fought his heart out and was just not going to make it. We don't like killing these fish but every once in a while one just does not make it. Captain J.J. knew someone who smoked them and liked to eat them so at least it did not go to waste.
Once we got done with this sea monster we dropped live bait down on the wreck and once again BAM we were Hooked Up. This time Jocelyn jumped in the chair and once again the battle began. This one also turned out to be a nice amber jack but after the one we had already caught it just did not look so big. (LOL)
We ended up finishing up the day by dropping some chicken rigs and catching a bunch of snappers for dinner.
To my friends from Quebec thanks so much and I will do my best to have the same mate for you guys next year.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
April23
Today we had Dorian from Las Angles out for a day of deep sea fishing aboard the Hooked Up.
The only problem with this trip was that Dorian has fished all over the world and has caught some world class fish. How the heck was I going to top some of the big Makos, Yellow fin Tunas Blue and Black Marlin ECT that he has caught in the past?
The only thing that I could have done to come close to a fish that he would have been really excited about was to go sword fishing. But at this point we did not have all the baits and rigs onboard to do it so I was just going to have to wing it and hope for the best.
We started out trolling the reef catching bonitos one after another. Than we tried something we never do and that was to set out our kite with some live baits suspended from them and we also set out a big shark bait on the surface another one about 150 feet down and a last one about 450 feet down but was different about this was that we usually do this in 350 feet of water today we set out all the baits in 750 feet of water and just crossed our fingers.
I wish I had some great happy ending to this fishing story but the fact was that we never did get a bite out there.
We decided to end the trip doing some deep drops on a wreck and at least we got to get him Hooked Up with a couple of big amber jack.
Dorian thanks again and we are looking forward to sword fishing with you soon.
Captain Taco (954) 764-4344 or toll free (877) SEA-4344
