06-20-2005, 08:26 PM
As I'm sitting here writing this report, we are having another weather system passing through our area resulting in an all day rain with plenty of lighting and thunder. For the past several days, the mornings have been beautiful. Then as is typical of this time of year, the storm clouds build and keeping an eye on the weather is a must if you don't want to get caught out in some very violent weather. There have been some waterspouts sighted off Miami Beach.
Now on the brighter side, the dolphin fishing has been excellent. For the most part, the fish have been schoolie size and smaller with some fish up to 10 - 15 pounds mixed in. In the Haulover area, the reef fishing has been on the very slow side mainly due to a lack of any current. Tarpon fishing remains excellent as long as there is enough wind to drift with. Without a drift, the baits sink to the bottom and often times snag some structure. Also, remember to bring plenty of mosquito repellent as they have been out in force once it gets dark.
Friday (6/17) morning, Richard Finder treated his grand daughter Brittany and her friends Jade and Diego to some dolphin fishing. Our first action came on a weedline at 6.8 miles out from Haulover. Next it was 14 miles and the largest school of the day was found at 17 miles. All the fish were on weedlines and large weed patches. We caught them trolling dolphin juniors, casting 1/4 ounce Kaplan jigs, slow trolling live pilchards, and finally on chunks of pilchards. The action was so fast and furious that most of the time all four anglers were hooked up at once. The seas were almost flat calm and this made running and gunning a pleasure. Back at the dock, Brittany, Jade, and Diego pitched right in with the cleaning of the fish and were looking forward to a dolphin fillet dinner.
Saturday (6/18) morning, Emilio Martinez and family members Mike, Ernie, and Ernie Junior were out for a day of dolphin fishing. Like yesterday, we found our first fish at 6.5 miles out. It hit a dolphin junior and jumped off at the boat. A live bait enticed it back and it got released as it was under the 20" size limit. Back to the large patch of grass and this time we got a keeper size fish to the boat. Moving on, we worked numerous patches and lines out to 12 miles. From that point out to 14 miles, we found nothing and moved back toward the more likely looking areas. We found a 14' long piece of bamboo with no fish. Several small pieces of wood also had no fish. As we trolled toward a large patch of grass at 10.5 miles, both Ernie Junior and I spotted the jumping dolphin at the same time. It didn't want the juniors, however, it couldn't resist a live pilchard and he had plenty of buddies. All four anglers were hooked up and as I brought each fish on board, they'd throw back out and get hooked up again. We moved on to another area and once again we saw the fish swim by the boat as we were trolling. Out of gear and out with the livies and the action began again. We called it quits about noon and made it back to Spinnaker Marina just before the rains started. All three family members went home with plenty of fish for the fish fry that evening.
Saturday (6/18) evening was a tarpon trip with Bill Cullen and business associates Jason, Fred, and Luis. The tarpon were rolling on the south side at Government Cut and the closer we came to the dusk period, the slower the wind blew. We hooked up one fish that thrilled us all with its two great leaps before it threw the hook. When it got dark, the wind died almost completely. The drift was so slow that we hooked the bottom several times. Then the mosquitoes attacked us and we spent the remainder of the evening swatting them.
Sunday (6/19) morning it was back out dolphin fishing with Kevin McCarthy, his brother, dad, and friend. The seas picked up for the first half of the morning before calming back down. The dolphin were playing hide and seek with us doing a lot of seeking. The conditions looked great with plenty of live looking grass patches and heavy scattered lines. Trolling was near impossible without grassing up your bait. Slow trolling live baits required constant attention to keep the grass off them. We picked away at the dolphin with one here and one there. Several boats that I spoke with who went out as far as 21 miles found grass, floating structure, and some birds, but no fish. We watched the thunderstorms build up inshore and to the north of us and came in at 1 PM. We caught 5 fish in the 5 - 10 pound range and fish fillets were on the menu for that evening.
Monday (6/20), as I mentioned earlier, it has been raining most all day and we rescheduled our afternoon/evening trip for next Monday.
All of the dolphin fishing I have been doing has been in the Haulover area from the Twin Towers to the south and Golden Beach to the north. So, that brings me up to date. I've got dates open, so give me a call and lets go catch some fish.
See you out there.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
[signature]
Now on the brighter side, the dolphin fishing has been excellent. For the most part, the fish have been schoolie size and smaller with some fish up to 10 - 15 pounds mixed in. In the Haulover area, the reef fishing has been on the very slow side mainly due to a lack of any current. Tarpon fishing remains excellent as long as there is enough wind to drift with. Without a drift, the baits sink to the bottom and often times snag some structure. Also, remember to bring plenty of mosquito repellent as they have been out in force once it gets dark.
Friday (6/17) morning, Richard Finder treated his grand daughter Brittany and her friends Jade and Diego to some dolphin fishing. Our first action came on a weedline at 6.8 miles out from Haulover. Next it was 14 miles and the largest school of the day was found at 17 miles. All the fish were on weedlines and large weed patches. We caught them trolling dolphin juniors, casting 1/4 ounce Kaplan jigs, slow trolling live pilchards, and finally on chunks of pilchards. The action was so fast and furious that most of the time all four anglers were hooked up at once. The seas were almost flat calm and this made running and gunning a pleasure. Back at the dock, Brittany, Jade, and Diego pitched right in with the cleaning of the fish and were looking forward to a dolphin fillet dinner.
Saturday (6/18) morning, Emilio Martinez and family members Mike, Ernie, and Ernie Junior were out for a day of dolphin fishing. Like yesterday, we found our first fish at 6.5 miles out. It hit a dolphin junior and jumped off at the boat. A live bait enticed it back and it got released as it was under the 20" size limit. Back to the large patch of grass and this time we got a keeper size fish to the boat. Moving on, we worked numerous patches and lines out to 12 miles. From that point out to 14 miles, we found nothing and moved back toward the more likely looking areas. We found a 14' long piece of bamboo with no fish. Several small pieces of wood also had no fish. As we trolled toward a large patch of grass at 10.5 miles, both Ernie Junior and I spotted the jumping dolphin at the same time. It didn't want the juniors, however, it couldn't resist a live pilchard and he had plenty of buddies. All four anglers were hooked up and as I brought each fish on board, they'd throw back out and get hooked up again. We moved on to another area and once again we saw the fish swim by the boat as we were trolling. Out of gear and out with the livies and the action began again. We called it quits about noon and made it back to Spinnaker Marina just before the rains started. All three family members went home with plenty of fish for the fish fry that evening.
Saturday (6/18) evening was a tarpon trip with Bill Cullen and business associates Jason, Fred, and Luis. The tarpon were rolling on the south side at Government Cut and the closer we came to the dusk period, the slower the wind blew. We hooked up one fish that thrilled us all with its two great leaps before it threw the hook. When it got dark, the wind died almost completely. The drift was so slow that we hooked the bottom several times. Then the mosquitoes attacked us and we spent the remainder of the evening swatting them.
Sunday (6/19) morning it was back out dolphin fishing with Kevin McCarthy, his brother, dad, and friend. The seas picked up for the first half of the morning before calming back down. The dolphin were playing hide and seek with us doing a lot of seeking. The conditions looked great with plenty of live looking grass patches and heavy scattered lines. Trolling was near impossible without grassing up your bait. Slow trolling live baits required constant attention to keep the grass off them. We picked away at the dolphin with one here and one there. Several boats that I spoke with who went out as far as 21 miles found grass, floating structure, and some birds, but no fish. We watched the thunderstorms build up inshore and to the north of us and came in at 1 PM. We caught 5 fish in the 5 - 10 pound range and fish fillets were on the menu for that evening.
Monday (6/20), as I mentioned earlier, it has been raining most all day and we rescheduled our afternoon/evening trip for next Monday.
All of the dolphin fishing I have been doing has been in the Haulover area from the Twin Towers to the south and Golden Beach to the north. So, that brings me up to date. I've got dates open, so give me a call and lets go catch some fish.
See you out there.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
[signature]