04-30-2006, 06:58 PM
With the wind howling from the NE, now is a good time to get caught up with the past week's fishing.
Tarpon are still going strong at Government Cut. They have made the change to feeding on crabs, so if you can't find any decent size shrimp, don't worry. The fish are large, mean, and full of fight. Be prepared to take the tour of the main ship channel while fighting your fish.
Offshore, the sailfish are still in a very cooperative mood. Throw in some dolphin along with kingfish and blackfin tuna and you have the makings of a nice mixed bag day of fishing.
Wednesday (4/26) evening we started out by going 2 for 2 on tarpon and 1 very large ladyfish on the south side. After the tide changed, it was to the north side for one drift with no action before we went into the Bay. In the Bay, the fish were plentiful and in a feeding mood. At the first spot we got a tarpon right away. Then the fish ignored our offerings, so it was on to the second location. There, we started off jumping 2 fish before we got a solid hook up, catch and release. Once again the fish turned off. On to the third location and we caught our final fish of the evening on a D.O.A. Glow Shrimp and 10 # spinning outfit. Final total for the evening was 5 for 7 tarpon for Jim Lefevre.
Thursday (4/27) evening Don Eichin and his two sons Eric and Randy were out to test their tarpon skills. Eric was up first and the first fish of the evening came on the first drift. Everything was going fine until we went around the tip of the south jetty on our way to the main channel. The hook pulled and we found a small scale on the point of the hook when we reeled it in. It took several more drifts and total darkness before we got our next hit. This time Randy got the catch and release on a dandy 80 # tarpon after touring the main channel. Eric was next and his shot came on the next drift. His tarpon dumped a tremendous amount of line on its initial run and ran straight toward the jetties and then west toward Fisher Island. We were in hot pursuit and had to do some fancy maneuvering as the fish ran under a boat that was drifting to the inside of us. The fish finally settled down in about 10 feet of water and Don got some good action shots with his camera. That's how the evening ended with the score 2 for 3 tarpon.
Saturday (4/29) afternoon/evening we braved the NE/ENE wind @ 17 - 24 knots. We found herring in Government Cut after checking out the bent range marker where there were no herring to be found. With a good supply of herring we started in 160' straight out from the Cuban Hole. The first drift was uneventful. We started in 280' on our next drift and at 219' a sailfish ate a flatline bait and the battle was on. Brian Carr was fighting his first sailfish while his wife Jo Ann was holding his belt and the leaning post. To say the seas were rough would be an understatement. The fish put on a great aerial display before sounding and moving offshore. The further we went out the rougher it got. Meanwhile, Bill Durham (Brian's brother-in-law) and his wife Susan (Jo Ann's sister) were taking pictures and video and holding on. We got the catch several times and the fish was being stubborn about having its picture taken at boat side. The hook finally pulled before we could get any decent pictures. The decision was made to go in for tarpon as most everyone was getting pretty beat up from the rocking, rolling, and soaking they were experiencing. On the south side at Government Cut, the seas were calm when compared to what we had offshore. While emptying my livewell of the herring, we chummed up a school of large jack crevalle and it was Bill's turn to tug on a hard fighting fish. This time we got good video and good pictures before releasing the fish. Out went the crab baits and toward the end of the first drift, the 100+ pound tarpon hooked up solid. It made 3 tremendous cartwheeling leaps during its first run. Susan was cranking with all her might while her husband was at her side giving her moral support. We got straight up and down on the fish when it made another run and the line parted. There was chaffing on the line and it must have rubbed some underwater obstruction while we were chasing the fish down. We made several more drifts with no strikes before heading back to Spinnaker Marina via the calmer water of the Bay.
The action is still great, so give me a call and lets get out and take advantage of it.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
[signature]
Tarpon are still going strong at Government Cut. They have made the change to feeding on crabs, so if you can't find any decent size shrimp, don't worry. The fish are large, mean, and full of fight. Be prepared to take the tour of the main ship channel while fighting your fish.
Offshore, the sailfish are still in a very cooperative mood. Throw in some dolphin along with kingfish and blackfin tuna and you have the makings of a nice mixed bag day of fishing.
Wednesday (4/26) evening we started out by going 2 for 2 on tarpon and 1 very large ladyfish on the south side. After the tide changed, it was to the north side for one drift with no action before we went into the Bay. In the Bay, the fish were plentiful and in a feeding mood. At the first spot we got a tarpon right away. Then the fish ignored our offerings, so it was on to the second location. There, we started off jumping 2 fish before we got a solid hook up, catch and release. Once again the fish turned off. On to the third location and we caught our final fish of the evening on a D.O.A. Glow Shrimp and 10 # spinning outfit. Final total for the evening was 5 for 7 tarpon for Jim Lefevre.
Thursday (4/27) evening Don Eichin and his two sons Eric and Randy were out to test their tarpon skills. Eric was up first and the first fish of the evening came on the first drift. Everything was going fine until we went around the tip of the south jetty on our way to the main channel. The hook pulled and we found a small scale on the point of the hook when we reeled it in. It took several more drifts and total darkness before we got our next hit. This time Randy got the catch and release on a dandy 80 # tarpon after touring the main channel. Eric was next and his shot came on the next drift. His tarpon dumped a tremendous amount of line on its initial run and ran straight toward the jetties and then west toward Fisher Island. We were in hot pursuit and had to do some fancy maneuvering as the fish ran under a boat that was drifting to the inside of us. The fish finally settled down in about 10 feet of water and Don got some good action shots with his camera. That's how the evening ended with the score 2 for 3 tarpon.
Saturday (4/29) afternoon/evening we braved the NE/ENE wind @ 17 - 24 knots. We found herring in Government Cut after checking out the bent range marker where there were no herring to be found. With a good supply of herring we started in 160' straight out from the Cuban Hole. The first drift was uneventful. We started in 280' on our next drift and at 219' a sailfish ate a flatline bait and the battle was on. Brian Carr was fighting his first sailfish while his wife Jo Ann was holding his belt and the leaning post. To say the seas were rough would be an understatement. The fish put on a great aerial display before sounding and moving offshore. The further we went out the rougher it got. Meanwhile, Bill Durham (Brian's brother-in-law) and his wife Susan (Jo Ann's sister) were taking pictures and video and holding on. We got the catch several times and the fish was being stubborn about having its picture taken at boat side. The hook finally pulled before we could get any decent pictures. The decision was made to go in for tarpon as most everyone was getting pretty beat up from the rocking, rolling, and soaking they were experiencing. On the south side at Government Cut, the seas were calm when compared to what we had offshore. While emptying my livewell of the herring, we chummed up a school of large jack crevalle and it was Bill's turn to tug on a hard fighting fish. This time we got good video and good pictures before releasing the fish. Out went the crab baits and toward the end of the first drift, the 100+ pound tarpon hooked up solid. It made 3 tremendous cartwheeling leaps during its first run. Susan was cranking with all her might while her husband was at her side giving her moral support. We got straight up and down on the fish when it made another run and the line parted. There was chaffing on the line and it must have rubbed some underwater obstruction while we were chasing the fish down. We made several more drifts with no strikes before heading back to Spinnaker Marina via the calmer water of the Bay.
The action is still great, so give me a call and lets get out and take advantage of it.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
[signature]