03-17-2006, 03:46 PM
It's been another whirlwind week. Fishing offshore has been good for a variety of fish which included kingfish, dolphin, sailfish, cobia, and sharks. My goal when fishing offshore is to not have a one track mind and key in on only one species. I try my best to provide rod bending action with a variety of fish. Being keyed in on only one species of fish can many times lead to a disappointing day of fishing.
Inshore, the tarpon have been on fire. There have been some very good shrimp runs and that means lots of tarpon action. Although there have been some flurries of action at Haulover, the most consistent action is now taking placing at Government Cut. Some evenings require a bit of searching, however, you can usually find them in one or several of the know areas that they hang out in.
Here's a quick run down on what's been happening aboard Knot Nancy since my last report.
Tuesday (3/7) evening, Max Dekelbaum and his friends Gary and Gene enjoyed an evening of tarpon fishing in the Bay. The conditions were right and we found plenty of protection from the NNE wind that was blowing 17 - 20 knots. The action was hot and heavy, however, keeping the fish hooked up and away from structure was another story. That final total for the evening was 2 for 6.
Friday (3/10) evening Mike Little and business associates Mark, Bruce, and Fred sampled both Inlet and Bay tarpon fishing. We started on the south side of Government Cut with ESE/SE wind @ 15 - 19 knots. Within 30 seconds of putting out the baits, we were hooked up and released our first tarpon after an intense battle. When the tide changed, we ran in to the Bay and worked several locations where we found fish at all except one. Once again as on Tuesday evening, the tarpon cooperated, but took advantage of us. The final score in the Bay was 1 for 7.
Saturday (3/11) evening, Andrew Weisbrot and his friend Rich Konefal fished the first of three trips with me. We got a weak strike and a thrown hook early in the evening and then we had to do some searching on both sides of Government. Late in the evening, we found the fish and caught and released three tarpon on three drifts. That had us finishing the evening at 3 for 4.
Sunday (3/12) afternoon/evening, Andrew and Rich were back at it again. We were hoping for a sailfish and found green ugly water from south of the Cuban Hole up to the north end of the Anchorage area. An E wind @ 13 - 18 knots made flying a kite a breeze. Despite the lack of sailfish, we had variety of action which included kingfish on the downrigger, dolphin and a hammerhead shark on the kite, and another shark on a flatline. The inshore tarpon portion of the trip more than made up for the lack of sailfish offshore. We found the tarpon on our first two drifts and two others before it was time to head in. The final score for tarpon was 4 for 4.
Monday (3/13) afternoon/evening, Andrew and Rich were joined by Rich's dad, Rich, senior. The offshore portion of the trip was an almost carbon copy of Sunday's trip with the exception of the sharks and more dolphin. Today's wind was E/SE @ 10 - 16 knots. Back in for a final evening of tarpon fishing before heading home, was another success. Rich, senior got to feel the pull of a wild silver king. This evening we went 2 for 3 on tarpon and 1 large ladyfish. I told Rich, Jr. that the weather was going to make a change that would probably get the sailfish going for my Wednesday trip, so Rich, you might want to stop reading this report at this point.
Wednesday (3/15) Mike Kearney along with Chris, Bob, and Jim put in a full day of offshore fishing. There goal was to have a good time and have some action with any species of fish. The wind was from the N/NE @ 14 - 21 knots and in combination with a strong north current, we had 4 - 6 foot seas with some waves that were higher. The edge was in at 105 feet and it didn't take long before we found dolphin action. We kept 2 and released 2 before the school moved on. Next we had a strong run off from a mystery fish before the hook pulled. Then it was several baits knocked off the hooks by very small dolphin. I spotted a turtle and moved the baits in its general direction and we got a double hook up. One fish pulled the hook and the other was hooked solid. Ten minutes later, we put a 30# cobia in the boat that was landed on a 12# spinning outfit. I moved back south and that's when the current died and the seas dropped off to about 2 feet despite the windy conditions. Now Rich it's time to close your eyes and skip this portion of the report. While working the baits back offshore, we got our sailfish on the short kite bait in 120' of water. After pictures and reviving the fish, we made our last drift of the day and this time the long kite bait got hit. The fish initially came up on the short kite bait, however, a pesky tern picked the bait up and the sailfish went out and ate the long kite bait. We got lots of jumps and a very long run from this sail. We were within 20 feet of the catch when it changed directions and the hook pulled.
Wednesday (3/15) evening, it was Jim Lefevre's turn for some tarpon action. We hooked up on our first drift and released the fish before it made it to the deep water of the main channel. The next drift, we hook a fish that refused to jump or expend its energy on a long run. This fish made it to the deep water and started flowing in with the incoming tide. Before we finally released the fish, we dodged a cruise ship leaving the port, several sportfish style boats coming and going, the Pilot Boat going out and coming back in, and a small boat that watched us fight the fish for 20 minutes before they lost interest and went on there way. We finally released the fish on the south side of the channel in front of the Pilot Boat station. It was well after dark by then and the fish seemed to disappear for the remainder of the evening. Final score was 2 for 2.
And that brings us to Thursday (3/16) evenings tarpon trip with Tino Poo and his son, Anthony, and nephew, Ramon. When we arrived on the south side of Government Cut, there were lots of tarpon rolling. On our second drift, Ramon hooked up and fought his first tarpon. The fish put on a fantastic aerial display with numerous high flying jumps and then some long sizzling runs. Ramon hung in there and got his reward when we release a beautiful 80 pound fish. Well after dark and just before the moon came up, the shrimp made a major run and the tarpon were there to have a feast. Fish were exploding on the shrimp all around us. After what seemed an eternity, one found our shrimp and Ramon caught another 80 pound tarpon. The next drift, we had both our baits stripped off the hook and we only saw a slight twitch of the rods. With two new baits on, it was Anthony's turn. this time a 100 pound tarpon inhaled the shrimp and the battle was on. We went from deep water to shallow water and then back out to deep water again. The fish was right next to the boat when it slapped its tail on the surface and soaked all three anglers before running a 100 yards of line off the reel. In the end, the fish was released. We set up again and just as quickly as the shrimp run started, it ended and the tarpon shut off. Final score was 3 for 3.
That's it for now. I'm back tarpon fishing this evening and I'll bring my report up to date as soon as I get another short break. There's still time to schedule your tarpon trip for this season, so don't delay. Give me a call and lets get together and 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]
Inshore, the tarpon have been on fire. There have been some very good shrimp runs and that means lots of tarpon action. Although there have been some flurries of action at Haulover, the most consistent action is now taking placing at Government Cut. Some evenings require a bit of searching, however, you can usually find them in one or several of the know areas that they hang out in.
Here's a quick run down on what's been happening aboard Knot Nancy since my last report.
Tuesday (3/7) evening, Max Dekelbaum and his friends Gary and Gene enjoyed an evening of tarpon fishing in the Bay. The conditions were right and we found plenty of protection from the NNE wind that was blowing 17 - 20 knots. The action was hot and heavy, however, keeping the fish hooked up and away from structure was another story. That final total for the evening was 2 for 6.
Friday (3/10) evening Mike Little and business associates Mark, Bruce, and Fred sampled both Inlet and Bay tarpon fishing. We started on the south side of Government Cut with ESE/SE wind @ 15 - 19 knots. Within 30 seconds of putting out the baits, we were hooked up and released our first tarpon after an intense battle. When the tide changed, we ran in to the Bay and worked several locations where we found fish at all except one. Once again as on Tuesday evening, the tarpon cooperated, but took advantage of us. The final score in the Bay was 1 for 7.
Saturday (3/11) evening, Andrew Weisbrot and his friend Rich Konefal fished the first of three trips with me. We got a weak strike and a thrown hook early in the evening and then we had to do some searching on both sides of Government. Late in the evening, we found the fish and caught and released three tarpon on three drifts. That had us finishing the evening at 3 for 4.
Sunday (3/12) afternoon/evening, Andrew and Rich were back at it again. We were hoping for a sailfish and found green ugly water from south of the Cuban Hole up to the north end of the Anchorage area. An E wind @ 13 - 18 knots made flying a kite a breeze. Despite the lack of sailfish, we had variety of action which included kingfish on the downrigger, dolphin and a hammerhead shark on the kite, and another shark on a flatline. The inshore tarpon portion of the trip more than made up for the lack of sailfish offshore. We found the tarpon on our first two drifts and two others before it was time to head in. The final score for tarpon was 4 for 4.
Monday (3/13) afternoon/evening, Andrew and Rich were joined by Rich's dad, Rich, senior. The offshore portion of the trip was an almost carbon copy of Sunday's trip with the exception of the sharks and more dolphin. Today's wind was E/SE @ 10 - 16 knots. Back in for a final evening of tarpon fishing before heading home, was another success. Rich, senior got to feel the pull of a wild silver king. This evening we went 2 for 3 on tarpon and 1 large ladyfish. I told Rich, Jr. that the weather was going to make a change that would probably get the sailfish going for my Wednesday trip, so Rich, you might want to stop reading this report at this point.
Wednesday (3/15) Mike Kearney along with Chris, Bob, and Jim put in a full day of offshore fishing. There goal was to have a good time and have some action with any species of fish. The wind was from the N/NE @ 14 - 21 knots and in combination with a strong north current, we had 4 - 6 foot seas with some waves that were higher. The edge was in at 105 feet and it didn't take long before we found dolphin action. We kept 2 and released 2 before the school moved on. Next we had a strong run off from a mystery fish before the hook pulled. Then it was several baits knocked off the hooks by very small dolphin. I spotted a turtle and moved the baits in its general direction and we got a double hook up. One fish pulled the hook and the other was hooked solid. Ten minutes later, we put a 30# cobia in the boat that was landed on a 12# spinning outfit. I moved back south and that's when the current died and the seas dropped off to about 2 feet despite the windy conditions. Now Rich it's time to close your eyes and skip this portion of the report. While working the baits back offshore, we got our sailfish on the short kite bait in 120' of water. After pictures and reviving the fish, we made our last drift of the day and this time the long kite bait got hit. The fish initially came up on the short kite bait, however, a pesky tern picked the bait up and the sailfish went out and ate the long kite bait. We got lots of jumps and a very long run from this sail. We were within 20 feet of the catch when it changed directions and the hook pulled.
Wednesday (3/15) evening, it was Jim Lefevre's turn for some tarpon action. We hooked up on our first drift and released the fish before it made it to the deep water of the main channel. The next drift, we hook a fish that refused to jump or expend its energy on a long run. This fish made it to the deep water and started flowing in with the incoming tide. Before we finally released the fish, we dodged a cruise ship leaving the port, several sportfish style boats coming and going, the Pilot Boat going out and coming back in, and a small boat that watched us fight the fish for 20 minutes before they lost interest and went on there way. We finally released the fish on the south side of the channel in front of the Pilot Boat station. It was well after dark by then and the fish seemed to disappear for the remainder of the evening. Final score was 2 for 2.
And that brings us to Thursday (3/16) evenings tarpon trip with Tino Poo and his son, Anthony, and nephew, Ramon. When we arrived on the south side of Government Cut, there were lots of tarpon rolling. On our second drift, Ramon hooked up and fought his first tarpon. The fish put on a fantastic aerial display with numerous high flying jumps and then some long sizzling runs. Ramon hung in there and got his reward when we release a beautiful 80 pound fish. Well after dark and just before the moon came up, the shrimp made a major run and the tarpon were there to have a feast. Fish were exploding on the shrimp all around us. After what seemed an eternity, one found our shrimp and Ramon caught another 80 pound tarpon. The next drift, we had both our baits stripped off the hook and we only saw a slight twitch of the rods. With two new baits on, it was Anthony's turn. this time a 100 pound tarpon inhaled the shrimp and the battle was on. We went from deep water to shallow water and then back out to deep water again. The fish was right next to the boat when it slapped its tail on the surface and soaked all three anglers before running a 100 yards of line off the reel. In the end, the fish was released. We set up again and just as quickly as the shrimp run started, it ended and the tarpon shut off. Final score was 3 for 3.
That's it for now. I'm back tarpon fishing this evening and I'll bring my report up to date as soon as I get another short break. There's still time to schedule your tarpon trip for this season, so don't delay. Give me a call and lets get together and 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]