The cold weather has finally left us, but not without leaving a bad taste with many fisherman. Massive fish kills because the water temperature dipped into the 50's have caused emergency regulations to be put into effect. Despite the bitter cold the offshore scene survived with some slow downs. The good news is that the tarpon fishing along the beach has bounced back. We've found tarpon action on every trip I've done thus far this season. More good news is that the current has finally found its way into the depths we like to fish for sailfish. The action for sailfish has picked up dramatically. Some dolphin continue to move south and feed very good on some days and ignore our offerings on others. Prior to the cold wave, the kingfishing action was outstanding. It has had a few flurries since, however, not as consistent. The shallow water artificial reefs still hold a variety of species that are willing to please.
Nick Luders and Darrell Neuberger got a trip in on the beginning of the first cold wave. NW winds at 13 - 19 knots had us bundled up to keep warm. The kingfish didn't seem to mind as we had fast and furious action on both the mid-depth and flatline rods. We limited out and moved south to try and find current. We saw lots of bird action offshore and ran out to investigate. We added dolphin and also released two sharks that cut in on the action.
Dane and Lori Martens had a day in between cruises. They wanted to try some tarpon fishing. The wind was howling from the SE/SSE @ 22 - 27 knots. We took advantage of the protection offered by the north jetty at Government Cut. It took several drifts to locate a tarpon, but we finally did. Lori caught her first tarpon and has the pictures to prove it. The fish put on a great show at boat side by jumping and doing a bit of tail walking.
Steve Phillips and his son Steve, Jr fished a half day in the afternoon. We started offshore in search of sailfish. We had a visit from 2 sails in 168' off the County Wrecks. Both fish managed to bend the rods, take the baits off the hooks, and neither hooked up. Toward the end of the trip, we moved in shallower and caught and released numerous yellowtail snapper, lane snapper, mutton snapper, bluerunners, margate, and several other species of fish.
John DeJong and his sons, Jack (11 years old) and Sam (9 years old) fished a combo trip. We had great calm sea conditions, however, there was still a lack of north current up off the Haulover area. We ran out to 450 feet and found an edge with heavy scattered grass and lots of birds working it. We found lots of dolphin that refused our baits. When we finally got a hit, Sam took the rod and with some help pulled in a 40# shark. Moving inshore to finish the trip for tarpon, Jack's turn came and he did battle with a 60# tarpon along Haulover Beach.
Fred Glauser and Rachel Cain saw two different kinds of weather during their trip. The morning started out with very calm wind and quite slow fishing. We caught a spanish mackerel on the downrigger and a skipjack tuna slow trolling baits. Then the change came and the wind came and whipped up the seas. The combination of wind, strong north current and seas produced by E/ESE winds of 15 - 18 knots got the sailfish feeding steadily. It started with a flat line, progressed to the kite and finished with a flat line. Both Fred and Rachel caught and released their first sailfish. Rachel's fish put on a spectacular 8 jump series that started just 30 feet off the stern of the boat. Fred's fish was a jumper and a bull dog. We went completely around the boat 4 times before the fish finally gave in. Both their fish were caught using 12# tackle.
Scott Miller and Mundy Stafford braved SE/SSE wind @ 26 - 29 knots to catch a tarpon along Haulover. Even with a sea anchor out, we were drifting quite quickly. On the third drift, we got the hit we were looking for and Mundy did an outstanding job of chasing the fish around the boat while Scott videoed the fight. We tried to fish in the Bay and with the wind we couldn't hold the position we needed too. The north side at Government Cut produced nothing but us getting soaked when a large wave broke at boat side. As both Scott and Mundy said "we hate wind but it's always windy when we get to go fishing."
On Friday, January 29th, you can check out the most recent show I did with Mark Sosin on his TV show Mark Sosin's Saltwater Journal. It will also air on Sunday, January 31st, as well as Wednesday, February 3rd. Mark's show airs on the Sun Sports Channel. Check your local listings for the times.
That brings us up to date. It's time to go fishing again. Check back for another report soon. In the meantime, you can check my website at www.knotnancy.com or to book a trip, call me on 305 965-9454 or email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net