While I have the time between trips, lets get caught up again with the activity out of the Haulover Inlet area aboard Knot Nancy.
Over the last week, there has been no current in the area. That area ranged from south of the Twins to the north end of Haulover Beach. Despite this less than ideal condition, the fishing has been quite productive. Wind conditions have range from 5 to 19 knots and have come from all directions. I've had some stout hardy anglers who have been rewarded with many eating style fish. In on the beach, the tarpon continue to please anglers by giving them a great fight and show with their powerful runs and acrobatic leaps and jumps.
Bill Parr, Sandy & Michelle Wright, and Chris Ferrell combined to catch a variety of fish that included kingfish, bonito, red grouper, and spanish mackerel.
Jeff Godel, Dave Bonebreak, Dave Thome, and Steve Severance got into some heavy dolphin action. Throw in kingfish and spanish mackerel to round out the day. The dolphin were under birds in 155' and on weedlines in the 750' - 850' range. Thanks Jeff for the help with filleting all the dolphin your group caught.
Dan & Don Samuelsen, Robert Henderson, and David Good experienced the roughest sea conditions with wind from the ENE/ESE @ 13 - 17 knots. Almost as soon as we put baits in the water, the action started and remained steady through most of the trip. The kingfish and bonito were snapping and with no current, we even managed to catch a couple of the pesky triggerfish that kept stealing our bait. The bottom rod had the most action on this trip with just a few hits on the break away lead and flatline outfits. All the action came in the 120 - 160 foot range.
Joe Ballarini and Samantha Cunningham got into some good action as well. We fished a 6 hour afternoon/evening combo. During the afternoon portion of the trip it was kingfish and rainbow runner. Just before sundown we moved in to Haulover Beach and topped off the trip with an 80# tarpon. These two anglers also qualify as Vikings since the winds on their trip were E/ESE @ 13 - 19 knots.
Rob Fitzpatrick, Dave Fitzpatrick, and Caitlin Fitzpatrick had a goal in mind. The goal was to catch 8 year old Caitlin her first fish. The SE winds @ 11 - 13 knots had the seas a bit on the sloppy side. It took one drift and some slow trolling to get the goal accomplished, however, Caitlin caught her first fish. The bonito put up a hard pulling battle and Caitlin was wondering if she would ever get the fish in. Her persistence paid off and she won the battle and was all smiles. At that point, the motion of the ocean started to get to her and she laid down for a rest while her Dad (Dave) and uncle (Rob) took over. We added another bonito and a few kingfish before the half day trip was over. The kings came on the bottom rod and the bonito on the flatlines. The breakaway lead rod finally produced in the form of a remora or as I call them "sneaker heads". Caitlin got quite a thrill when she put her hand on top of the remora's suction cup. It brought another big smile to her face. Just another great example of Family Fishing Is Fun.
John Vassallo and Tanya Liebal got in on the good weather before the most recent cold front came through. Tanya wanted to try for some dolphin. We found a weedline in 350' in green water and worked it for a while with no results. We ran out to 800' and slow trolled baits back toward shore before deciding to run back in. We found another weedline on a blue/green edge in 350' and worked it. The birds put us on the fish and we picked off one dolphin at a time as we followed the school as they moved south along the weedline. Tanya had the hot rod and caught 4 dolphin before John got his first. The school disappeared and we continued on in to check out the kingfish action. The SSW/SW wind was pushing us offshore so we started in 110'. When we reached 130' the breakaway rod came to life and John got a kingfish. While trying to put the weight back on the line, it got jerked out of my hand as another kingfish ate our offering of a live pilchard. Then a flatline hooked up and so it went until we reached 140'. At that point, the action stopped and we moved back in. Once again the breakaway lead rod started the action. Tanya caught another king and while we were fighting that fish, a flatline took off and John was back in the action. John's fished weighed in at 26 pounds back at TNT Marine Center. The limit of kingfish we caught took just two drifts.
Despite the lack of current, the kingfish, dolphin, and bonito have given us plenty of action, lots of smiles, and some good eating fillets. Throw in the good tarpon action and you have the makings of a great day of fishing. If you want to get in on this action just call me at 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
