03-21-2005, 01:12 AM
Whether you choose inshore for tarpon or offshore for sailfish, kingfish, or dolphin, the action has been good. The tarpon are still be very cooperative at Haulover Inlet using live shrimp. The sail action has been from the Miami Sea buoy south. The kings have been scattered up and down the coast and dolphin can be found on the blue/green edge.
Friday (3/18) morning Rob and Laura Hughes finally were able to get out and do some fishing. The strong wind on Wednesday and heavy rain Thursday evening put a damper on the scheduled trips. We started just south of Haulover in 90 feet. A few minutes later we hooked up and after a 20 minute battle, Rob landed a 30# kingfish on a 12# spinning outfit. The next move was to just north of the Twins area. The action was fast and furious with several double headers. Both Rob and Laura were busy catching and releasing kings. Both surface baits and downrigger baits were being hit. We kept 3 kings, released 4 more, and pulled the hooks on 3 others for a total of 10 shots.
Friday (3/18) afternoon/evening we had two goals in mind. First was to catch a sailfish and second was to catch a tarpon. We caught several dozen herring at Government Cut and then worked the north end of Key Biscayne. For several drifts we had no action. Then the wind started dropping off to the point we were having a hard time keeping the kite flying. As I was dealing with the kite, the bow flatline took off and we got our sailfish reward. The fish was fighting extremely strong and making no jumps. After a very tough 30 minutes, my suspicions were confirmed. The fish was foul hooked in the tail with a circle hook. First goal accomplished. It ws time to run back up to Haulover for part two of the trip. The shrimp were put out and it didn't take long before we caught and released our first (60#) tarpon. I moved up to the Inlet itself after several drifts with no further action. It turned out to be the right move and we were soon hooked to a freight train of a tarpon. The fish kept running north until it was in the middle of the rough outgoing tide water. It then started doing circles and kept us on our toes to out maneuver it. We got some great action photos and the 120# tarpon finally gave up just long enough for a final shot before splashing us all as it was released. 2 for 2 and the second goal accomplished.
Saturday (3/19) was a full day trip. Bait fishing at Government was excellent for both pilchards and herring. Starting just north of the Cuban Hole, we caught several kings in the 90 - 190 foot range. When we crossed the blue/green edge, a dolphin joined the party and was added to the fish box. Up to this time, we had a good NNW wind. Then it died off to almost nothing, and the fishing for kings shut off. Moving back out to the blue water, we started picking away at the dolphin. By days end, we had 6 dolphin and 3 kingfish for the fish fry.
As you can see, the action has been good. As spring time comes on, it will only get better, so give me a call and book your trip today to get in on the action.
I'm scheduled to do a sailfish seminar at the Miami Outboard Club on Monday evening March 28th. It's open to everyone and if you have questions or need directions, give Eddie at El Capitan (305 635-7500) a call. Hope to see you all there.
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]
Friday (3/18) morning Rob and Laura Hughes finally were able to get out and do some fishing. The strong wind on Wednesday and heavy rain Thursday evening put a damper on the scheduled trips. We started just south of Haulover in 90 feet. A few minutes later we hooked up and after a 20 minute battle, Rob landed a 30# kingfish on a 12# spinning outfit. The next move was to just north of the Twins area. The action was fast and furious with several double headers. Both Rob and Laura were busy catching and releasing kings. Both surface baits and downrigger baits were being hit. We kept 3 kings, released 4 more, and pulled the hooks on 3 others for a total of 10 shots.
Friday (3/18) afternoon/evening we had two goals in mind. First was to catch a sailfish and second was to catch a tarpon. We caught several dozen herring at Government Cut and then worked the north end of Key Biscayne. For several drifts we had no action. Then the wind started dropping off to the point we were having a hard time keeping the kite flying. As I was dealing with the kite, the bow flatline took off and we got our sailfish reward. The fish was fighting extremely strong and making no jumps. After a very tough 30 minutes, my suspicions were confirmed. The fish was foul hooked in the tail with a circle hook. First goal accomplished. It ws time to run back up to Haulover for part two of the trip. The shrimp were put out and it didn't take long before we caught and released our first (60#) tarpon. I moved up to the Inlet itself after several drifts with no further action. It turned out to be the right move and we were soon hooked to a freight train of a tarpon. The fish kept running north until it was in the middle of the rough outgoing tide water. It then started doing circles and kept us on our toes to out maneuver it. We got some great action photos and the 120# tarpon finally gave up just long enough for a final shot before splashing us all as it was released. 2 for 2 and the second goal accomplished.
Saturday (3/19) was a full day trip. Bait fishing at Government was excellent for both pilchards and herring. Starting just north of the Cuban Hole, we caught several kings in the 90 - 190 foot range. When we crossed the blue/green edge, a dolphin joined the party and was added to the fish box. Up to this time, we had a good NNW wind. Then it died off to almost nothing, and the fishing for kings shut off. Moving back out to the blue water, we started picking away at the dolphin. By days end, we had 6 dolphin and 3 kingfish for the fish fry.
As you can see, the action has been good. As spring time comes on, it will only get better, so give me a call and book your trip today to get in on the action.
I'm scheduled to do a sailfish seminar at the Miami Outboard Club on Monday evening March 28th. It's open to everyone and if you have questions or need directions, give Eddie at El Capitan (305 635-7500) a call. Hope to see you all there.
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]