03-31-2003, 03:14 AM
[font "Arial"][size 2]On Wednesday while I was cleaning Alex Szilaygi's dolphin catch, he was awestruck at the sight of several tarpon feeding on the scraps. He wanted to catch one in the worst way. We planned on going Thursday evening, however, that was the day when the severe thunderstorms moved threw our area. We rescheduled for Saturday evening.[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Meanwhile on Friday evening, we fished another tarpon trip. The wind was very light and constantly changing directions making it difficult to set up a good drift. On our first drift, we caught and released a spanish mackerel that measured 32 3/4 inches. Well after dark, we managed to keep from drifting back on our baits and were rewarded with a tarpon. The next drift, a steady SW wind allowed us to cover a good area. We had two quick strikes. The first jumped off before we could get the rod out of the holder. The second made three jumps before throwing the hook. Then the action died. We moved in to the Bay and fished 4 spots. The results were 2 for 5 on 12# line. Total for the evening was 3 for 8. The tarpon have been hitting both crabs and shrimp. We have been getting 2 strikes on crabs for every strike on shrimp.[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Saturday morning, it was a fishing lesson on kingfish and dolphin. Fishing aboard Sandy's boat, he learned about rigging for kings, some areas to fish, and how to put out baits. We caught and kept 2 of the 5 kings we hooked. Next it was offshore and some dolphin fishing. We found a good edge with lots of grass and debris at 8 miles out. The first method Sandy learned was slow trolling live baits. This produced 2 dolphin. Then it was trolling small lures. We caught 2 more dolphin and released one. With enough kingfish and dolphin for dinner, the half day ended all to quickly.[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Saturday evening the tarpon were almost none existent. Alex was back out with me and wanted to catch his first tarpon. We were very fortunate and hooked up the one and only tarpon strike we had the entire evening. The 70# fish gave Alex all he bargained for and more. In the end, Alex won by catching his first tarpon. The tarpon won by giving him a great workout and a great appreciation for the power and stamina of these beautiful silver fish and then being released to give someone else the same thrills.[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Sunday morning with a SW wind and a forecast of increasing winds with the approach of a cold front, we headed offshore in search of dolphin. We found lots of weed and floating debris. After lots of searching, our persistence paid off and we caught 2 dolphin that thrilled two wonderful lady anglers. Next it was in to the scattered patches and lots of fun catching grunts and triggerfish. The wind started to pick up as predicted as we headed in.[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Sunday late afternoon, a light rain had started as we got to Haulover Inlet to do some barracuda fishing. It was already raining a lot heavier down at Government Cut. We pulled the hooks on two fish before heading south. It rained almost the entire time we were at Government Cut. It certainly didn't bother the barracuda though. Every bait we put out produced some type of action. Two 20# barracudas kept Steve Phillips and his son very busy. By now, the wind was hollowing and the air temperature was dropping quickly. We had accomplished what we had set out to do, so we called it an evening.[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Captain Dave Kostyo[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]Knot Nancy Fishing Charters[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]305 620-5896 Charter[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2]305 732-2628 Beeper[/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2][url "http://www.knotnancy.com"]www.knotnancy.com[/url][/size][/font] [font "Arial"][size 2][url "mailto:nkostyo@bellsouth.net"]nkostyo@bellsouth.net[/url][/size][/font]
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