It's Spring time so whether you like to fish offshore or inshore, pick your place and there are plenty of fish to be caught. Lets start with the offshore first. On the days when there is north current, sailfish are usually fairly easy to find and catch. Mix in kingfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), bonito, and amberjacks and there is a great variety of fish to bend rods and please most everyone. On the days when there is no current and green water, sailfish become scarce, however all the other species I've mentioned above are still available.
Moving inshore, tarpon fishing is still red hot. The shrimp have been running once it gets dark and the tarpon are having no problem finding them. This equates to plenty of rod bending action with fish in the 40 - 120 pound class. By far, the evening time is still the best, but tarpon are cooperating during the daytime. Keep that in mind if you can't make an evening trip. Don't let it hold you back from getting in on the tarpon action.
Jeff Godel, Luke Boe, Matt Freeman, and Chad Orlich took advantage of some great conditions. The wind was from the WNW/N @ 12 - 22 knots and the current was roaring to the north. This gave us some bumpy seas, however, the great conditions gave us some outstanding fishing action. We only had one angler who felt the effects of the motion of the ocean and it only lasted for a short period of time. By the end of the trip we saw action with 3 for 4 sailfish, 3 bonito, and one pesky remora.
The father and son team of Carlos and Eduardo Pellas took part in some red hot tarpon action.We had the right conditions to fish both along the beach and in the bay. The beach tarpon took advantage of us. We had plenty of strikes, however, they gave us back our hook 4 of the 6 times we hooked up. Things changed for the better when we went into the bay. The action was fast and furious and it took several fish before I could get two baits out. By evening's end, we were 4 for 6 in the bay. Combined, the final tally was 6 for 12.
Brad Coren saw plenty of action on his half day trip. We started by hooking up before I could get a second flatline out. This fish had us guessing most every hard fighting species but the correct one. Brad kept up constant pressure with the 20# spinning outfit and we finally saw our fish. It was a whopping 60# amberjack. The next action was with dolphin, then bonito, kingfish,and more dolphin. The dolphin also had some remoras mixed in with them and we of course caught a couple of them. The final fish of the morning was the one we were looking for. The sailfish put on one heck of an aerial show while stripping plenty of line off the reel. We pulled the fish alongside and released it while thanking it for the thrills and pleasure it gave us at the end of our trip.
That evening, Robert and J T Dollar along with Burt Marante experienced what they had heard me talk about at a tarpon seminar I did for their fishing club. J T saw first action, followed by Robert, and then Burt. Everyone caught fish and the last action we saw was a doubleheader. The anglers won some and the fish won some. Final total for the evening was 3 for 6.
The Svensson Family, Patrik and Malin along with their son and daughter, Alexander and Frida experienced some great tarpon action at Government Cut. Patrik started things off, followed by Alexander, then Frida, then Malin, then Patrik again, and for the last fish of the evening it was Alexander. In between the tarpon, we also caught and released mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper, and bluerunner. The first fish of the evening was the only fish that the hooked pulled on after a 10 minute fight. Each and every other fish was caught and released. Final total for this trip was 5 for 6 along with the snappers and bluerunner.
The following day it was Jay and Riley Kline, Vaugh Murphy, and Steve Guaico. Big swells, no current, and green water had us searching hard to find some action. Along the way, two of the four anglers experienced motion sickness, however, they hung in there. We finally found some action in the 60 - 75 foot range. Kingfish and bonito pulled hard on the rods and had everyone except for one angler anticipating the next strike. Everyone took home kingfish steaks and were planning a fish dinner.
That evening, the father and son team of Chris and Christopher Nichols spent 6 hours of quality time together catching tarpon. And of course we had a few pesky bluerunners muscle in on the action. As soon as Christopher hooked up, dad would call mom back in North Carolina and fill her in on the action. It seemed that Christopher had the hot hand on this trip. The only rod that saw action all night long was the one that he put out. There's no explaining it, we just all laughed and enjoyed it. When Chris took the rod to fight a fish, it was Christopher's turn to call mom and inform her. They also called two of their friends who had backed out of coming along on the trip. Everyone was kept in the loop each time we hooked up. The last fish of the evening was the big one. Chris was considering having a mount of the fish so we took a measurement on the fish. Christopher fought the fish till the very end when he needed a little help from dad to finish subduing the fish so we could measure it. The total length was a stout 70 inches. Final total for the evening was 5 for 5.
Rodrigo and Christina Pombo along with their son and daughter Rodrigo, Jr and Annie saw some hot kingfish action on their half day trip. We started off with slow trolling as there was no current. In a matter of minutes, we got our first action and it remained fast and furious for the next hour. Everyone got in on the action except Annie as she came along to catch some sun. Mom was busy taking pictures before she caught the biggest fish. Both father and son were kept busy baiting hooks and catching fish. We moved out deeper to try and find some dolphin. We didn't find any, however, Rodrigo, Jr caught a blackfin tuna. All the fish were released after a picture.
Once again we're caught up. It won't last long as I'll be back out both offshore and inshore over the next two weeks. I'll post another report as soon as I get a break, so check back to see what we catch next aboard Knot Nancy.
To get in on the action, it's as simple as calling 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to reserve your date. As you can see from the individual reports, families that fish together spend good quality time together. It's fun and everyone can participate in some form. Family fishing is fun, so don't hesitate to call and book a trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
