| Fishing Guide / Author |
Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 189
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - 1:02 pm: | |
The winter sailfish season arrived with the most recent cold front that passed through the South Florida area. That's the best news that most anglers have been waiting to hear after a long hot summer. With winds from the WNW to N @ 15 - 20 knots, a strong north current, and a large NE ground swell, the sailfish came through in big numbers. It was time to get out the kites and present baits down wind. What a thrilling sight it is to watch a sail stalk the baits suspended from the kite.
Along with the cooler weather, the surface water temperatures also cooled off and this has been driving dolphin (mahi-mahi) through the area also. The fish have been coming along as singles and small groups. There have also been some fairly large fish mixed in. This is also great news as we had a very dismal dolphin season this summer.
Not to be left out, kingfish have pushed down our way also. It's time to start anchoring and chumming them up with pilchards, herring, and chunk baits. Once around the boat, the action will be fast and furious and limit catches will not take long at all to accomplish.
While there are tarpon to be had inside in the Bay, another cold front or two will get the shrimp running and the tarpon will move out to the Inlets. This will get the winter tarpon season kicked off and it'll be time to start fishing in the late afternoon and into the evening to take advantage of the best time for the best action with these giant silver beauties.
So the winter season has arrived and now it's up to you to call or email and schedule your trip to take advantage of the good fishing. There will be more and colder weather going through the northern part of our country. After a while it'll be time for a break from shoveling snow, icy conditions, and bitter cold weather. A trip to Miami will give you a much needed rest from those harsh conditions. A fishing trip will get your mind off all the weather you just left, so don't get left out by trying to arrange a last minute trip. It might be difficult to get the date(s) you want, so book your trip early and make sure there won't be any surprises.
And finally, with the Holiday Season fast approaching, gift certificates are a great way to give the one you love a fantastic day or evening on the water that they'll thank you for all year long.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 188
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 02, 2009 - 8:09 am: | |
The first signs of Fall have arrived. By that I mean that we finally had a two day run of mullet in the Haulover area. The mullet were being harassed by numerous tarpon as they exploded in the large schools of bait. Also, there have been some sporadic runs of spanish mackerel just outside the inlets.
Moving offshore, there are some dolphin migrating south and a few kingfish to be had. The large schools of kingfish have not yet made it down our way. Fishing baits down deep is still producing mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper along with kingfish and AJ's.
Ken Steinberg was bored with sitting around the pool and at the beach while his wife attended a business convention. Being an avid fisherman, he felt much better as we fished a 3/4 day trip offshore. We had no current and green water. We had to work hard and all our hits came on the downrigger and deep rod. Mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper, red grouper, and kingfish were our reward for fishing deep. The kite and flatlines saw no action. As we approached Haulover Inlet on our way in, we both saw schools of mullet getting blasted by tarpon. One throw of the castnet and we had more than ample bait. We kept several to slow troll and threw the rest back. This resulted in our chumming the tarpon up to our boat as we threw the mullet back in. We got our big reward when a 120# tarpon inhaled our mullet offering and Ken was hard into a battle with the giant fish. Ken countered every move the tarpon made with a move of his own that soon had the tarpon along side the boat and posing for several pictures. We revived the exhausted tarpon and sent it on its way to do battle again on another day. With a huge smile on his face, Ken said that he always wanted to catch a tarpon in Florida. Now he could check that species off his list.
John Burrows spent time with his grandsons Evan and Luke along with a friend Tyrone on a half day offshore trip. We loaded the livewell with pilchards on two throws of the castnet. We started just north of the Twins in 170'. While I was putting out the second flatline, it took off and we had a dolphin hooked up. Evan was up first and this was his first fishing trip and first fish ever. While Evan was busy with his fish, the other flatline hooked up and Tyrone added a second dolphin to the fishbox. We made a move to the south end of the Anchorage area where a flatline produced a throw back kingfish. Then the deep rod gave us a red grouper. Toward the end of the trip, I moved back north and out to 215'. The downrigger went down an extra 10' and before I could drop the bottom rod down, we were hooked up on the downrigger outfit. Luke got on the rod quickly and everything was going like it should until the line went slack. The fish bit though the wire leader. We continued drifting and more live chum went overboard. Two of the flatlines got hit and we hooked up solid on one. This time everything went as planned and Luke added a very nice kingfish to the fishbox. Back at TNT Marine Center, lots of pictures were taken and the jack crevalle and tarpon gave us a good show as I cleaned the dolphin and kingfish.
Fishing will only continue to improve as we get another cold front or two to come through our area and cool the water temperature down. Planning and booking your fishing trip now will insure that you get the date that you want, so give me a call or email me to get your trip scheduled. Great sailfishing and the winter tarpon run are just around the corner.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 14
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 4:35 pm: | |
You can tell Fall is here! As I'm writing this report the wind is blowing 15 to 20 out of the west northwest and the temperature has dropped 10 degrees from what it had been. A cold front as everybody knows by now came through South Florida early this morning and moved into the Florida Straits and past the Bahamas. A welcomed change from the very hot temperatures we had been experiencing. You may be wondering how that is going to affect the fishing in South Florida well as long as we don't get another front as strong as this one during the next few days things will warm up quickly and the fishing will be as good as it was before the front passed through. Just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about here are the results of my last three charters of last week.
Fishing in Flamingo I had Jim and his son Matthew for two days. From the start my plan was to fish them one day on the outside and one day on the inside to give them an idea of just how big and beautiful Everglades National Park is. The guys are from Canada and enjoy freshwater fishing but where they fish the strikes are few and far apart and the water is cold so the fish are bit sluggish. We started out throwing Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp baits and Jim gets the first strike next to an island near the marina. Jim's rod takes a nice bend but the fish does not get hooked and we move on. We head up into one of the channels that intersect two flats and casting the same baits the guys start hooking ladyfish and jacks on every cast. They can't believe the action and are having a ball. Unfortunately for me I did not come to this spot looking for ladyfish and jacks but snook, redfish and tarpon. The snook are there but the guys are casting where the snook aren't. they are so excited by the jacks and ladyfish that I must throw a Hook Up lure with a Gulp shrimp to show them bigger fish are available right under there noses. First cast I hook up with a snook and hand the rod to Matthew who now wants to catch one of his own. For the next two hours the guys release four out of the six snook that hit their lures plus a few redfish. We move on and Jim hooks up with a nice redfish at the next spot and again we move on. Heading for the next spot we find at least four free floating tripletail and land two on Hook Up lures. For the next few hours the guys catch jacks, ladyfish, snapper and catfish and lose a nice blacktip shark that got away when one shark ate the bait under a CajunThunder and another ate the Cajun Thunder cutting the line. During the day we saw a lot of Bottlenose dolphins, manatees, tarpon and three crocodiles.
Day two we head inside and hit a few islands in Whitewater Bay. Matthew hooks a big fish on a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp jerk bait and while fighting the fish the handle on his reel breaks off. The fish is very big and at first can't find anything to break his line on but while trying to replace the handle the fish finally gets its act together and breaks Matthew off on a tree. The next island produces some jacks and two small snook. We move on and head to the Gulf. Once out in open water we see large schools of threadfin herring and I make a quick cast with my 10 foot West Coast net and fill the live well. We fish the baits under Cajun Thunders and the guys are catching only catfish but are happy with the catfish. I convince them that the spot I was headed for before we spotted the baitfish might have better fish. At this spot the baitfish schools are thicker and I think we missed the bite because the dozens of terns that are in the area are just sitting looking full. At this spot we catch a small snook and redfish and head back to the large baitfish schools in open water. Once again the guys are catching catfish along with blacktip sharks. We have about two hours left to fish and I am always looking for that pot of gold around the corner but the guys are having fun with the sharks and catfish. Another 15 minutes of nonstop action and the guys are ready to move on. We head out to a spot in open water anchor and start chumming. Almost immediately fishing live baits under a Cajun Thunder the guys start getting strong hits and by the time it was time to head in we had caught of 15 mackerel to five pounds on live baits and Rapala X Raps and lost four times that amount.
Back in Flamingo with Jerry C. and Gerald M. in Florida Bay. The front is slowly moving closer to Florida and the fish must sense it because in our first spot the water is loaded with small to medium sized tarpon and they are feeding. We rig up with Hook Up lures tipped with shrimp and jerk baits and Rapala Twitchin Raps. For the next three or more hours the guys land two redfish and one nice snook, plus lots of ladyfish and jacks and have more missed strikes then you can imagine by the tarpon and only put one in the air. We move on. We head out to the edges of Florida Bay and spot two tripletail but miss each fish. The next four spots produce a lot of jacks and bluerunners. While we are catching the jacks a few schools of permit appear but ignore our artificial lures. We get cut off by a few mackerel and decide to look for some more tripletail. On the way to the next spot I see some nervous water in front of us and as we approach the fish I can't believe my eyes. Not one but dozens of schools of permit with 20 to 50 fish in each school. The fish range in size from 15 to 40 pounds but will only chase our baits not eat them. We played with them for over an hour before catching a nice pompano on a Gulp sand flea. That one pompano came out of a school of close to 50 pompano. We did not catch a lot of fish this day but we saw more fish in one day then one might see in a lifetime. We also saw the first flock of white pelicans of the new season.
Today I am on a two boat charter out of Miami. We are to meet our guys at 7 AM and I have launched my boat at a boat ramp about five miles south of where we will meet our clients. On the way to the docks that our clients will be I sense that a school of baitfish are somewhere in the area that I am heading. I already have four dozen handpicked shrimp in my live well but live pilchards in the well will be a nice added edge on the fish. You're going to laugh at what you are about to read because my wife did when I told her that I could smell the baitfish from a distance. I could smell them. The wind was from the west northwest and somewhere in front of me was a big school of baitfish but I did not see them on my Lowrance depth recorder at first. After traveling a few more hundred yards my depth recorder lit up with baitfish markings. It was dark so I could not see them but I could hear them on the surface. One quick cast with my 10 foot cast net and I had at least three hundred pilchards in the well. We picked up our guys and headed to our first spot. I threw some live baits out for chum but only saw one explosion. A quick cast with a live bait and we got a solid hit but lost it. I think that fish was a snook but we will never know for sure. No more bites so we moved on. Our next spot is notorious for small tarpon at first light on calm mornings and that's just what we had. The tarpon were there and we put our baits out and waited. We fished live pilchards under a Cajun thunder with a #1 Mustad long shank hook to keep the barracudas from cutting our leaders and live baits free lined on Mustad circle hooks. Bill had the first strike but missed the fish. Paul got the second strike and caught a small sea trout. Paul had a vicious strike and hooked the fish. All of our jaws dropped when the 60 pound tarpon cleared the water. The guys were excited and I was worried because the fish was an 8 pound spinning tackle that was better suited for the 20 pound tarpon I was expecting. Paul fought the fish well and the fish started towing the boat south. After 30 minutes and getting the fish close the tarpon headed for the many docks in the area and then ran under one of them. I thought we were done but the homeowner was there and watching what was going on. He allowed us to get on his dock and helped us pass the rod and reel under the dock and to the clear side. The reel dipped into the water but the 8 pound line held and the fight was still on. The fish ran right down the shoreline threatening to repeat what it had done before. Forty minutes into the fight the fish ran under the 79th st. bridge and then turned and ran back under the bridge again. During all of this the fish jumped once again. At the 90 minute mark the fish ran under a dock and was so tired that we were able to pull it out and away from the dock only to have to repeat the process five or six more times only to have the fish try once more and break the thin line. Paul was disappointed and so was I but we had done what we could on the light tackle. We only had one hour left of our four hour trip so we raced back to the spot and put our baits out again. The action had slowed but we did manage to get one more strike and bill fought a nice bonnet head shark to boat side where it was released. During our long battle the other boat was able to release three tarpon in the ten to 20 pound range.
That catches us up for now!
Check out my new web site and see your monthly catches and pictures.
www.getemsportfishing.com
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report
(www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
I have recently been wearing a lot of Columbia Sports Wear on my fishing charters and the new Blood & Guts shirts are amazing. I have had mackerel, cobia and snook just splatter me with blood and one good washing and the shirts are as good as new. Check out their web site at www.columbia.com
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Cajun Thunders, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com, Columbia Wear
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
www.getemsportfishing.com
Host of Florida Sportsman Radio Live/South
1080 WMCU AM Saturdays 7 to 8 AM
786-436-2064
Miami Fishing Forecast:
This action will continue for the next six weeks when water temperatures will send the snook and tarpon to deeper water. The large jacks, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pompano, snapper and groupers will pick up the action through May.
Target Species:
Snook, Tarpon, Mackerel, Dolphin, Cobia, Tripletail, Redfish. Shark, |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 187
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 2:37 pm: | |
Finally!! We get a break from the HOT weather.
Before the cold front passed through, the 100 - 200 foot zone was the place to get plenty of action with kingfish, AJ's, and small sharks. The surface action for these fish was poor at best. All the bites were on either the mid-depth baits or the bottom baits. Fishing the deeper wrecks has been to say the least an adventure. We've seen plenty of action with either sharks or AJ's. Getting them to the surface is another story.
Now that the cold front has passed through, the air temperature is moderating back to a more comfortable zone. It has left behind some strong winds in the 15 - 30 knot range. Don't let this scare you as there is good action in the protected waters of the Bay for tarpon. The wind should push the mullet into our area and that will get the fishing going hot and heavy both offshore and inshore.
Nick Luders and his friend Loren Gardner fished a day trip during the heat. It took us a little while to zone in on the fish, however, once we did, the action was fast and furious. Slow trolling live pilchards on the downrigger along with 2 flatline baits in 190 - 205 feet did the trick. As fast as I could get the bait down on the downrigger, we had instant action. We won 4 times with kingfish in the box and the kings won 3 times. The action shut off and it was back to drifting which produced a small AJ that thought it was a monster. Loren couldn't believe how hard that fish pulled.
Anh Duong and his brother Huan learned many lessons on their trip. First, the bait was crazy solid inside of Haulover. We started with sabiki rigs and then I threw the next a few times to fill the livewell with pilchards. The only action we saw was on the bottom rod in the form of a small shark. We trolled up some larger live baits (bluerunners and small bonito) using the Kaplan jig. We then put a bluerunner down on a deep wreck off Government Cut. It got hit almost immediately by a shark that cut us off. Next it was a small bonito that got inhaled and got back in the wreck. And that's the way it went for the next 2 baits we dropped. We'd get several good turns on the fish before it dove straight back into the cover of the wreck. The end result was a cut off and time for a new hook and bait.
The cooler weather will get the sailfish and tarpon going very soon, so now's the time to book that trip while there are still plenty of dates open. Don't delay too long and be disappointed when I tell you that the date you want is already taken. Call or email me to get that date on the schedule.
Till next time, tie good knots, fish with live bait, and vary your techniques till you find the fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 186
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 05, 2009 - 7:13 am: | |
If you're looking for plenty of action, it's been hard to beat the 100 - 200 foot depth range all along the South Florida coast. Yes, there has been a good improvement in offshore dolphin fishing, however, its still been inconsistent. In the meantime, the action in the above mentioned area has been steady and consistent. Put out your spread of baits at various depths and it won't be long before the action begins.
Fabio Nick needed a day off from his busy work schedule. A half day trip was just what he needed. With one throw of the castnet, we had more than ample bait to fish and do some heavy live chumming. The bottom rod and break away mid-depth rod saw almost all the action. By the end of the morning, he had caught several kingfish, even more bonito, mutton snapper, and barracuda.
Ray Young wanted to learn a bit about fishing the area. A half day trip turned out to be just the ticket. We started with a bonito, followed by a mutton snapper, and then a vermillion snapper. The middle portion of the trip was very uneventful. Almost at the end of the trip, we caught a lone dolphin in 175 feet. The northwesterly wind had us drifting offshore, so we continued out to deeper water. In 240 feet, the action began with a double hook up of dolphin. The school followed the hooked fish up to the boat and we managed to hook a few more before the remainder of fish moved on. The fish were all in the 8 - 10 pound class.
Derrel Hurst, Dwight Fiore, and Joseph Fiore combined to catch bonito, skipjack tuna, and kingfish on their half day trip.
Chelsea, Robert, and Dan were part of a large group that were split among three boats. They were here for a meeting and had a free day to go fishing. There was a good natured competition going on amongst the group for the largest fish and most fish. We ran straight out from Government Cut and started in 110 feet. A west wind was pushing us offshore. In 160 feet both the mid-depth and bottom rods hooked up and we landed 2 kingfish. The next drift we had to wait till we hit 200 feet before another kingfish ate the bottom bait. The mid-depth rod scored the largest kingfish on the next drift and finally a barracuda ate a flatline bait. We then dropped on several wrecks with no results before going back on the drift. I marked a wreck in 230 feet and we dropped on it and immediately hooked up with an amberjack. We had the fish up to the boat and on the leader before it decided to head back down to deeper water. Once the leader slid through my hands and the line came tight, the leader wire popped through the eye of the hook and the fish released itself. The 3/4 day trip came to an end all to soon and back at the dock, we learned that we had caught the most and largest fish. Lots of pictures were taken as the group celebrated a great day of fishing.
As you can see, the best action still comes on the bottom and mid-depth rods. Once the water temperature begins to cool down, better action will return to the surface baits as well. All of the action above took place between the Cuban Hole to just north of the Twins. It won't be long before we get a Fall run of mullet to spice up the action both inshore and offshore. The Winter sailfish and tarpon seasons are just around the corner. The major kingfish runs should begin before then along with spanish mackerel action. Now's the time to get your dates booked so you won't miss out on any of the great fishing we have in the Miami area. Give me a call or send me an email. It's just that easy.
See you on the edge.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 185
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 09, 2009 - 2:35 pm: | |
It's time for another update, so let's get right to it.
We'll start with dolphin (mahi-mahi) fishing. As everyone in this area knows, we've had a very poor season since the beginning of June. So bad that it's just not been worth even running out to look with the hopes that you might find a few dolphin. With that said, there is a bit of encouraging news. This past week, I spoke with two friends who took the plunge and found some action. One angler had to go 20 miles out and another found action at 12 miles, although he found nothing on the previous day. It's still on the hit or miss side, however, for those who like to catch and eat or release these colorful acrobatic fish, then it's just a matter of getting lucky and finding the right conditions.
For the most consistent action, it's still fishing the 100 - 200 foot range for kingfish, bonito, barracuda, AJ's, and a few sailfish. Fishing around the various wrecks and in the 80 - 100 foot range has been producing mutton snapper and yellowtail snapper. The current that was almost none existent has been running to the north at between
2 - 3.5 MPH. The water temperature is still in the very high 80's so action at the surface has been on the slow side. Most all the action aboard Knot Nancy has been on the bottom rod and mid-depth rod.
Captain Gil Gutierrez and I went out for a half day of fun fishing just to get out on the water. We found plenty of action with mangrove snapper.
Richard Killen and Miguel Rivera had a half day of steady action. It started off with several bonito that had both of them dancing around one another as they chased their fish around the boat. Then the bottom rod produced a kingfish. This was followed by a very large porgy that a barracuda decided to sample almost half of. The final fish of the trip was an AJ that had Richard working hard to get up to the surface before we released it.
Dave Avila was celebrating his birthday with his girlfriend, Vicki Konya, and friends Harold Rondan and Derrel Hurst. The mid-depth rod with the break away sinker produced the only action of the trip. We were in 150' off the middle of the Anchorage Area. Dave had his first sailfish on the line and it put on a spectacular show. Everything that you have ever seen a sailfish do was done by this fish. In the end, Dave won the battle and the sailfish earned its release after a few quick pictures.
Gee Scruggs and his sons, Michael and Anthony got a taste of the fishing and a good dose of South Florida stormy weather. We started with a red grouper and then got rained on. The sun came out and we got more rain. Running south got us into better weather for a while. The action improved some with the mid-depth rod catching a kingfish in 120' just north of the Cuban Hole. Then we had some rare action on a flatline. After a couple of minutes, the hook pulled so that fish will remain a mystery. Then it was back to mid-depth action again in the same depth in the form of another kingfish. After putting the second king in the fish box, that's when the skies turn an ominous black and started closing in on us with plenty of lightning and thunder. A quick decision was made that everyone had caught a fish and we didn't want to get caught in this bad thunderstorm, so we made a quick dash back to Haulover Inlet and then to TNT Marine Center with the storm right on our heels.
Javier Andrade loves to fish and he was sharing his passion with his girlfriend Yaner Figuero. This was Yaner's first fishing trip offshore. The wind had kicked up higher than was predicted. The 13 - 15 knot winds had the seas just a bit on the sloppy side. We started just south of the Twins in 140'. Both the bottom and mid-depth rods got hit just seconds apart from one another. The bottom rod gave us a nice mutton snapper. The mid-depth rod didn't hook up. That was OK with Yaner as the motion of the ocean was fast taking its toll on her. She hung in there and on the next drift, we got another mutton on the bottom rod and this time the mid-depth rod hooked up solid with a kingfish. By now, Yaner was in full blown motion sickness mode. She was still hanging in and said it was OK to do another drift. That next drift produced a very nice 15# kingfish on the mid-depth rod. At the end of the drift, the bottom rod gave us a fat yellowtail snapper. It was all Yaner could take, so we called it a morning and ran back to calmer water and solid ground back at TNT Marine Center. All of our action came in the 80 - 110 foot range.
That brings me up to date. It's easy to see that the mid-depth and bottom rods are getting all the action. We'll continue with this type of action until we get our Fall mullet run that should take place in late September to early October. It's hard to predict the exact date and how long the run will last. If you're fortunate enough to be out on those days, the action can be outstanding for snook, tarpon, jack crevalle, and sharks as they blast the schools of mullet that are migrating south along the beach. The winter sailfish and tarpon seasons are right around the corner, so now's a good time to start thinking about some dates and get your trips scheduled. The tarpon action normally is in full swing by mid to late December and the fronts that will start coming through our area during that time will get the sailfish going big time.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 184
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 17, 2009 - 2:26 pm: | |
Surface water temperatures in the ocean have been between 88 - 91 degrees. In Biscayne Bay it's been even higher. With the temperatures this high, it calls for a change in technique to have a reasonable chance at a successful trip. In the ocean, fishing your baits deeper will improve your chances. In the Bay, fishing early and at night will help combat the high temperatures.
Dolphin fishing has improve slightly. By this I mean that you will have to search long and hard to catch between 5 to 8 fish on a 3/4 to full day of fishing. The best bet for good steady action still remains fishing the reef for kingfish, bonito, barracuda, amberjack, and small sharks. When there is current, anchoring on wrecks will also get you your fair shots at mutton snapper. For those who find the heat of the day unbearable, then fishing after dark should be your choice. Anchoring up on the second or third reef will give you a shot at yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, and a host of other bottom fish.
Inshore, tarpon will be readily active after dark on a falling tide. For those who like to tangle will these silver beauties, it means that you'll have to adjust your fishing hours according to the tides. On most nights, losing a bit of sleep will be well worth it.
Jay & Dana Perez, Steve Stock, and Greg Jacoski beat the heat and saw action with tarpon both along the beach at Government Cut and in the Bay (falling tide) during an evening tarpon trip. The Silver King in both locations ate live crabs and put on a great show for the anglers before they were released.
The next morning, Frank, Sam, and Ashley Wallberg along with Joe Acquaviva got into lots of kingfish and bonito action during their 3/4 day trip. The action took place off the Twin Towers area in 130 - 180 feet. Live herring by far produced the most strikes with action coming on flatlines, mid-depth baits, and the bottom rod. By the end of the trip we had 5 kingfish and 3 bonito in the fish box and missed the hook up on several other fish.
Alex Aru and three other friends did a late afternoon/evening trip. We fished off of the 87th Street area making four drifts before heading to Government Cut to tarpon fish. We had north current, blue water, and loads of grass to the point of being a nuisance. On two of the drifts as soon as we got to 190 feet, the bottom rod produced kingfish. At Government, we made one drift for tarpon before the group decided they wanted to call it an evening and take a tour up the east side of the Bay.
Sue Cocking and Steve Waters fished a 3/4 day trip. We started by buying some pilchards and then catching herring along the beach south of Haulover Inlet. The herring were playing very hard to get and it took a while to catch about 18 baits. We put our first baits out in 198 feet just north of the Twin Towers. It took less than 5 minutes for the bottom rod to hook up and Sue caught a very nice 30# amberjack. Then the break away lead rod saw action with a bonito followed by a kingfish. Each drift produced action mainly on the bottom and break away lead outfit (70' down). We worked the same area and every time we got inside of 190 feet, we saw action on in to 150 feet. Final count was a 30# AJ, 3 kingfish in the 12 - 14 pound range, and 4 bonito, along with numerous chopped baits, pulled hooks, and cut offs.
Mauricio Ruiz, Caroline Almoracid, Mark Perez, and Andre Ocampo fished a half day with plenty of action on a variety of fish. We worked the area between the Twin Towers and the Cuban Hole and saw all the action in the 130 - 180 foot range. Once again, the vast majority of the action came on the bottom rod and break away lead outfit. The variety of fish included kingfish, bonito, barracuda, amberjack, and shark. All the fish ate live herring that were caught at the crooked range marker outside of Government Cut.
As you can see, the place for action and plenty of it is in the 130 - 190 foot range. The rest is up to you. Simply give me a call 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to set up your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 183
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 26, 2009 - 1:35 pm: | |
The rod bending action for kingfish and bonito in the 110 - 150 foot range has and continues to be off the scale. Many times during a trip we are getting hit as the baits are being deployed and this happens numerous times during each trip. If you want to have plenty of action then fishing for these two species is your best bet. Throw in a few barracuda, an occasional cobia or sailfish and if you drop a bait to the bottom on a wreck you'll find decent mutton snapper fishing. You'll be very hard pressed to find any better action for variety and quantity during the daytime. Get out early as the thunderstorms have been rolling through in the late morning to early afternoon and they have been very strong.
Dolphin fishing offshore continues to disappoint most everyone who has gone out looking for these colorful and tasty fish. There have been a few caught, however, nothing like it normally is and most anglers come back in with empty fish boxes and no fish tales to tell.
For the small children and young anglers who are going out for the first time, there is plenty of none stop action on the shallow patch areas and artificial reefs. The variety includes grunts, triggerfish, bluerunners, yellowtail snapper, lane snapper, mangrove snapper, and more. The action is fast and furious and will keep your young anglers busy for hours.
Steven Grover and his sons Joshua (8 years old) and Ethan (4 years old) along with his friend Johnathan Robertson and his son Peyton (7 years old) wanted to try for dolphin. Our search took us as far as 21 miles offshore. We found very little to say that there should be dolphin. We live baited the most likely looking areas and blind trolled jigs for about ten minutes. The result was no fish. While running back in we found a weedline with some debris in it and still no fish. To save the day, we fished the 120 -130 foot range and had the boys and their Dad's busy with action on bonito. Double hook ups were common and each young angler got his turn pulling on these hard fighting fish.
Fred Gates and his son Michael along with Prosper Azerraf and his grandson Benjamin Siboni started the day off with fast and furious action catching pilchards and herring. We then anchored up on the shallow patches and artificial reefs. Both boys had none stop action and it wasn't long before Fred and Prosper had to get in on the action also. With about an hour left in the trip, I suggested that we take a quick run out to deeper water and see if we could catch a larger fish. Off we went and out went the live pilchards and herring. It didn't take long before we got our first kingfish cutoff. Then the bonito attacked us. While Fred and Michael fought one fish, the second rod got hit and it was Prosper and Benjamin's turn. Both fish were landed and it capped off a great morning of fishing.
Mike and Richard Goulet were honoring and remembering their Dad and his love for fishing. Once again the action for kingfish and bonito was hot and heavy. We loaded up on pilchards and herring and both anglers enjoyed that portion of the trip. We ran south and fished between the Anchorage and the Twins to find plenty of action. Mike and Richard took turns and if one of them missed a fish or the hook pulled during the fight, there was plenty of good natured ribbing going on. They remembered how much their Dad loved fishing and wished that he could have been with them on this trip. When we returned to TNT Marine Center, the final count was 5 bonito and 5 kingfish in the 8 - 10 pound range along with some sore arms.
John and Annette Annoni wanted their son Landon (11 years old) to have plenty of action. Quantity was much more important than quality. They ended up getting both. We caught plenty of live bait with Sabiki rigs to begin with. We then anchored on a shallow artificial reef area. As soon as I put out the chum block, the quantity appeared. Grunts, triggerfish, bluerunners, mangrove snapper, and then yellowtail snapper. It soon became a competition between Mom and Son to see who could catch the largest fish. It was very close, however, Landon had a slight edge. John got in on the action also when we started using the Kaplan jig to catch bluerunners and yellowtail snapper. Once again, I suggested we run out to catch a larger fish. On the second drift, we found the bonito and Landon and his Dad had their hands full as the fish swam circles around the boat. In the meantime, Annette hooked up and here fish was making a run for Key West. As the fish started to slow down, the rod straightened up as the hook pulled. Back to Landon and the excitement rose a notch when he saw his fish. I leadered the fish and we took a few quick pictures before releasing the bonito.
Rob and Hunter Fitzpatrick and Dick Carroll fished a 3/4 day before the thunderstorms started to roll in. With a livewell full of bait, we headed out to find plenty of good north current. As I was deploying the second bait, the first bait got hit and the action started. The first three fish were a bonito, kingfish, and 21 pound cobia. That's the way the action went for the remainder of the trip. Everyone took turns or if they were standing next to a rod when it went off, they'd grab it. The action was at all levels with the flatlines shining during the first portion of the trip and the break away lead and bottom rod coming on strong during the last portion of the trip. Final count was 6 kingfish in the 10 - 12 pound range, 7 bonito, and a 21 pound cobia.
William Swantner's half day trip was filled with more action than he ever imagined. His comment after catching bait was that he really enjoyed that portion of the trip. He had no idea what was about to happen when we started in 125 feet north of 71st Street. With only two baits out on flatlines, both rods hooked up. After a long battle, we broke our wire leader on both fish. While putting out the next bait, it got hit and we were hooked up again. Again, we broke the leader. Finally, we solved the wire leader problem and we started landing fish. All the while, I was marking fishing at a mid-depth on the recorder. The action was so fast and furious on the flatlines, that I couldn't get a break way bait down. With flatline rods needing leaders retied, I put the break away rod down. No sooner did I have it at the right depth, then it took off and the action continued. The storms started to build up early on this day and William said he didn't want to get caught in the ran. He was more than totally satisfied with the action and the fish and was ready to head in. We just about made it back to TNT Marine Center before it started to rain and luckily it only lasted for a brief period of time. The kingfish, bonito, and barracuda action on this trip was fabulous.
Once again we're caught up with the reports. If you want action with your fishing and plenty of it, then take advantage of the action on the reef. There is no telling how much longer we'll be enjoying it. The kings and bonito have put lots of smiles on the faces of many anglers and the great thing about our fishing is that you never know what is going to bite your bait next. It's a beautiful thing.
Give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get your trip scheduled so that you can get in on this action too.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 182
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 7:56 pm: | |
Since my last report, we've done our fair share of fishing along with Knot Nancy going into Whitewater for new electronics and many new upgrades. In general, we are now into our summer fishing mode. The unusual thing about this summer so far is the numbers of days that we've had south, southwest, and west wind. It's produced calm seas and driven the blue water edge out to anywhere from 600 to 1000 feet. This has resulted in many days of no current in the depths that we all like to fish. It has also given us a very poor dolphin season thus far. The bright spot has been that the kingfish action has been very good and bonito (little tunny) have shown up in massive numbers. Throw in some good mutton snapper and AJ fishing and it's been quite easy to find plenty of rod bending action.
Let's get caught up with the various reports on the fishing action aboard Knot Nancy.
Robert Dollar, Steve Pericht, and David Hirsch got in their tarpon trip after the first one had to be rescheduled due to heavy late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms. The wait was well worth it as the tarpon bite was very good that evening and when it was time to start heading back to TNT Marine Center, the final count was 4 for 4 on some healthy tarpon that tested each angler's skills.
Knot Nancy then spent 7 days at Whitewater getting outfitted with new electronics, transducers, and some upgrades.
Rob and Laura Hughes fished a 3/4 day trip and saw plenty of action with a variety of species. The deep rod produced red grouper. The flatlines and downrigger added cero mackerel, several kingfish, and plenty of bonito. There was action on every drift from the beginning to the end of the trip.
Brad Coren, Brad Kiassman, and Charline Morris also fished a 3/4 day trip. We spent the vast majority of the trip looking for the elusive dolphin. The lines we found were needle and eel grass. Not the best for finding dolphin but better than a clean ocean. We managed two strikes from small fish that both threw the hook as they jumped. Then we found and followed a frigate bird for several miles as the bird was also looking for fish. After leaving that bird, we found another one that was diving and we could see a dolphin jumping as we approached it. Slow trolling our baits in the area finally paid off and we caught 1 decent dolphin to break the ice and it was big enough for at least two good meals. It seemed that the further we went out, the less we saw. The little we did see was just a clump of grass here and there. We worked our way back in with no further action. We had just enough time to make a drift and catch a bonito before the end of the trip.
Todd and Scott Milne along with Tom McSweeney spent some good quality time together as well as seeing action with bonito on their trip.
Knot Nancy then went back to Whitewater to finish up with all the various upgrades.
My next trip was with Shannon and Dan Geister who had just returned from their honeymoon cruise. When Shannon called to book the trip, she said they wanted to fight some hard pulling fish. Species didn't matter, they just wanted action. After catching bait, we had action with the first bait I put out and got a clean cut line back. Then it was a bonito, followed by a kingfish, and then more cutoffs before the action died off. Two moves and about a hour and half later, I moved out to some deeper water and the action got real crazy. They both hooked up and were chasing their fish around and around the boat. I threw out another bait and it got hit immediately. As soon as one of them got their fish close, they handed me the rod and took the one with another fish on it. That's how it went for the next 45 minutes. They were both on the verge of saying enough when we got a break in the action. They had long enough to rest till I reset our drift and the action began again. Each drift after that saw action with either bonito or kingfish. They both got their wish for plenty of action with hard pulling fish.
John and Kree Perkins along with Charlene Wilkinson got into plenty of kingfish action with every fish cutting off the hook. When I put out wire leaders, we saw no action on that rod. Stick with the mono leaders and we got cut off. We finally got the hook to stay in a fish without getting cut off and it was work our way up the food chain starting with a houndfish and progressing to a remora. The break away lead rod finally started doing its job with barracuda and bonito. The flatlines saw some action with the bonito. Most people have no desire to eat bonito and consider them a nuisance while they are fishing for other species. Everyone in this group decided they want to try the bonito and form their own opinion on how good or bad it might be. I fillet two of the fish and took the loins off the skin. The report I got was that they prepared it both Greek and Blackened style. The consensus from all three anglers was that they liked it and would definitely eat it again. That's good news as there are plenty of them out there to give a hard fight and a good meal also.
There you have it, once again we're caught up to the current time with the reports on the action off the Miami Beach area. There are plenty of fish out there to test any anglers skills. If you want action, it's there to be had. When the wind turns back to the east and southeast, I would expect the dolphin action to pick up. In the mean time, take what Mother Nature offers and get out and enjoy the weather and the action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 181
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 12:16 pm: | |
Ron Walker has caught a lot of tarpon, but never one that was at least 100 pounds or better. There have been plenty of fish that fit that category and that was our goal this evening. The first action we had was from a permit that we released. Next it was a tarpon of 40 pounds. By this time it was well into the dusk period and the action continued with a double hook up. We landed the 70 pound fish and the other one threw the hook on its second jump. The next fish was the one we were looking for. It made a run straight for the jetties and in the process, dumped about 90% of the line off the reel. We had a little over half the line back when the fish ran parallel with the jetties as it made a dash to get around the corner and into the deep water of the main channel. Everything was going fine except for one thing. There was a boat anchored up next to the jetties at the tip. Yes sir, you guessed it, the tarpon went around the anchor rope and cut us off. After two more drifts with no further action, we moved to the north side. On the first drift, we caught another 70 pound fish. The next drift had us hooked up again with the right size tarpon. This one was well educated also and made a fast and furious dash for a swim buoy. It found the rope holding the buoy in place and once again we got cut off. That's the way the evening ended. Final total was 1 permit and 2 for 5 on tarpon.
Brad Coren had a dolphin dinner in mind as we headed offshore after catching plenty of bait. We found a nice line of grass in blue water and put out two baits. The action was almost instant, however, the fish knew how to throw the hook. As quick as we found the blue water, it turned green so off we went going further offshore. At about 7 miles out, we found the blue water again and then all signs of good fishing conditions became very hard to come by. At 19 miles we found one lone fish swimming in some scattered grass. It was a start and we had the skunk out of the boat. We stopped in several likely looking spots on our way back in with no results. Finally at 13.5 miles out, we found another single fish swimming at the surface and pushing a wake. Then another single and then a 16.5 pound bull. Fresh dolphin fillets for dinner was looking much better. Once again we saw another single fish pushing a wake to add to the fish box. The morning ended all to quickly, however, Brad was all smiles as I cleaned the fish back at TNT Marine Center and he filled numerous zip lock bags with fish.
Frank and Tammy Marino were in Miami for a business and vacation trip. For the pleasure part of the trip, they had an evening tarpon trip in mind. We didn't have to wait long for our first action as a nice 90 pounder found our crab on the first drift. Tammy was up first and she did a marvelous job of fighting the fish after we overcame a problem with a backlashed reel. The fish made its way straight to the deep water of the main channel. The fight went back and forth for a long time, before Tammy started to get the upper hand. Frank had both the video and digital cameras going as Tammy put the finishing touches on the tired tarpon. It was then Frank's turn. He didn't have to wait very long either and he was fighting a 100 pound tarpon. By now the tide had changed and was coming in. His fish also made it to the main channel and started working its way inland. After a long drawn out battle, all the pictures got taken and the fish was released. We made one more drift with no action and both Frank and Tammy said they had enough and we called it an evening going 2 for 2.
Knot Nancy is going in to Whitewater for some new electronics and upgrades on Tuesday, June 16. The work is going to take about a week. She'll be out and ready for fishing action again starting on June 23rd, so don't delay in giving me a call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip. The action is still going strong as we get further into our summertime fishing.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 180
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 1:03 pm: | |
Good dolphin fishing has finally arrived off the Miami area. There are large numbers of fish in the schools and they can be found through a wide range of depths and distances offshore. The fish range in size from schoolies to fish into the 20 pound range. If you come across a school of smaller fish, remember that there is a 20 inch minimum from the lower jaw to the fork of the tail (LJFT) and a 10 fish per person limit. Keep a few and then move on to find some larger fish. With the large number of fish, catching your limit can be very easy. It is also very easy to get so caught up in the feeding frenzy that you go over your limit. Someone needs to keep track of how many you've caught so that if you get stopped and inspected, a good day won't be ruined by getting fined.
There are still plenty of sailfish and kingfish being caught in the 90 - 200 foot range.
Move inshore and the tarpon bite is still going off most every evening with the fish in the 90 - 150 pound range. If you've ever had a dream of catching a tarpon that weighs 100 pounds or more, now is the time to make that dream become a reality. Don't be put off by the afternoon rain storms as they have usually passed through and the skies clear up by 6 - 6:30 in the evening.
Dennis and Don Cataldo along with Dale Cochrane and Peter Holehouse tangled with a large mean nasty tarpon that didn't want to give up. The battle started on the south side of the jetties at Government Cut. The fish played it very lazy to begin with and did little to no jumping. Without expending much energy, the tarpon had twice as much stamina as they usually have. The fish made its way into the main channel and with the tide going out, we followed it as it went offshore staying in the deep water. The fish finally came up and gave us a few jumps and then went right back down. It was a see saw battle back and forth for a very long time. Neither the fish nor the angler wanted to give in and we continued to move out the channel. By the time we made it out to where the channel dog legs to the left, the tarpon was finally wearing down, but not enough to pose for a good boat side picture. With two cameras going, enough pictures were finally taken and the fish was released. The battle lasted for well over an hour.
Ben and Jenny Skinner along with their son Charlie got into to some hot and heavy dolphin action. We started the morning off with catching herring and pilchards in the Haulover area. We worked our way offshore checking each and every slick and scattered weedline we came across. At 10.5 miles out we found a large weed patch along with a heavy scattered line. As we slow trolled our baits down the line, we saw dolphin swimming along side of the boat and it was time for the dolphin frenzy to begin. Ben was hooking fish on Kaplan jigs, Jenny and Charlie were hooking up with the live bait. Charlie had never seen anything like this back home in Virginia and this was his first time catching dolphin. By the time the fish moved on, the boat needed a good hosing down and everyone needed some liquid refreshment. We regrouped and moved back to the weedline and within minutes, we were back in the fish again. All of the fish were schoolie size with the exception of a few throw backs. Between catching fish, Jenny was busy taking pictures of Charlie fighting his fish. Ben was busy with hooking fish and handing the rod off to either Charlie or Jenny. After the second blitz of fish, we hosed the boat down again and counted our catch as we were getting close to limiting out. We had room for a few more fish, so we moved back to the line. By this time we were joined by two other boats who were busy catching fish also. Once again we got into the fish and I counted down as we approached our limit. Ben and Jenny decided that we had enough and we called the trip at the half day mark and ran back to TNT Marine Center where Ben and I cleaned all the fish that they want to take back home with them. While we were cleaning the fish, they all got treated to the sight of the barracuda, jack crevalle, and large dolphin that were getting their fair share of the action by eating the skins and rib sections. Once again a family spent good quality time together catching fish, having fun, and making memories that will last for years to come.
It's time to book your dolphin charter. Give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get your date scheduled to get in on the action. Tarpon fishing will remain strong through the end of June before it begins to rapidly wind down for another season, so don't delay on getting in on that action either. And finally, think about an afternoon evening trip where you can catch dolphin offshore and finish the evening off with tarpon. It's the best of both worlds.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 179
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 10:21 am: | |
Take your pick of either offshore or inshore fishing. They are both producing many satisfying catches.
The action offshore continues to be outstanding for sailfish, blackfin tuna, kingfish, dolphin and bonito. It has been best to get out early in the day as we are in that time of year when we have almost daily afternoon thunderstorms. If the morning doesn't fit your schedule, then wait out the rain and get out in the later afternoon till dark and the reward is usually very good for blackfin tuna.
Inshore, the late afternoon, evening bite for tarpon is outstanding. There are lots of fish well above 100 pounds, so if you've ever had the dream and desire to catch a large tarpon, now is the time to get out and get that goal accomplished.
Eddie Hudon, Steve Wallace, Gary Seidman, and Tony Marmon hung in with fairly windy conditions of E/ESE @ 14 - 19 knots. The reward was well worth it. Action with sailfish on both the kite and flatlines, along with bonito, kingfish, and dolphin kept us all busy waiting for the next strike.
Brad Coren and John Perkins also hung in with the windy conditions of ESE/SSE @ 12 - 25 knots. The day started off with a triple header of kingfish; one on the kite and two on the flatlines. The fish on the kite was the biggest of the day weighing in at a very nice 36 pounds. We had other cutoffs and chopped baits and added another kingfish and a tasty cero mackerel. Fishing a bit deeper, we had action with dolphin. On the final drift of the 3/4 day trip, John hooked his first sailfish ever. The fish ate the long kite bait while I was wrapping up the deep rod and getting ready to make the run back in. The sail put on a very exciting aerial show for us While making numerous runs in every direction. The fish was released after posing for pictures at boat side.
Evan Rees was celebrating his birthday with his friends Josh Rutter, Charles Gonzalez, and Brian Mormile. Of the four friends, he was the only one who hadn't caught a tarpon yet. That was all to change before the evening was over. After putting out the baits, we settled into our first drift. It didn't take to long before we had action and Evan was first up. The 100 pound tarpon did its thing and Evan enjoyed the entire fight. Every time the fish came near the boat or made a jump, he gave out a shout of joy that could be hear for miles. Both pictures and video captured the moment as Evan caught and released his first tarpon. Afterwards, we had two more strikes. Both fish were solid hook ups. We landed one after a very hard fought battle that took us from the south side at Government Cut all the way in to just west of the Coast Guard base. The other fish managed to find an obstruction on the bottom and cut us off after several minutes.
The next evening, it was back to tarpon fishing after the rain storms passed through. This time I had Mark Sosin on board and we were shooting a segment for his series Mark Sosin's Saltwater Journal. The fish were not camera shy on this evening. Within 30 seconds of putting out the baits, we had our first fish on. We fought and filmed this one from start to final release and had one on film. The next drift we got 3 tremendous jumps out of a tarpon before it gave us back our hook. The next fish cut us off on a bottom obstruction. The fish remained cooperative and we filmed another to right up next to the boat before the hooked pulled. The final fish of the evening was a total film success and the first evening of filming ended with a 3 for 4 count.
Mark was back for the second evening of filming. It took a bit longer to get the fish going on this evening. The first 3 fish did not want to cooperate with us and threw the hook on either the first or second jump. The last two drifts were the money drifts. We got a complete fight start to release with both fish. The last one was a huge 140 pound fish that did us a great favor by running into the shallow water instead of the deep water of the main channel. The fish spooled 3/4's of the line off a Penn TRQ300 reel before we could make any headway toward gaining line back. Twice, we thought we had pulled the hook when the fish turned around and charged toward the boat. The second time, it took Mark about 30 seconds to catch up with the fish while he was reeling madly to gain back line. In the end, the fish was released and another successful evening of filming came to an end.
There you have it, offshore and inshore the fishing is outstanding. Now all you have to do to get in on the action is to either email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net or call me 305 956-9454 to schedule your trip and get ready for some action. Offshore or inshore, you pick the type trip you want. Don't forget you can experience both with a afternoon/evening trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 178
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 16, 2009 - 2:09 pm: | |
There is no better time to go fishing then now. Offshore the fishing is outstanding. Sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna, and bonito will stretch your line and test your angling skills. Inshore, the tarpon are still hungry and willing to do battle with you both at the Inlets and in the Bay. The wind has been up, however, that will not last forever. If you can handle some big sloppy seas, then you'll experience some great fishing. Whether you like to kite fish, use flatlines, fish the bottom, get down with downriggers, or use a combination of some or all, you'll find action with all these techniques.
Steve Demilliano, his Dad, Joe, and friend Darrin Barritt started offshore with catching bonito, kingfish, and barracuda. As dusk came on, it was time to move inshore where the tarpon were quite cooperative. At trips end, we had add 2 for 3 on tarpon to the offshore catch.
Brad Coren and John Gonell chose a very light wind day to fish. Early in the morning, there was just enough wind to fly the extra light kite without helium. We put out one bait and minutes later, Brad was hooked up with what would weigh in as a 24 pound dolphin. As Brad was fighting his dolphin, John was fighting his first fish ever, a very respectable 13 pound dolphin. Both fish made it to the fishbox and the fillets made for a great meal.
Gary Rosenbaum treated his son, Grant to a tarpon trip. On this evening, the tarpon played a bit hard to find. We started on the south side where we went 1 for 2. After that they shut off. A move to the north side and we found the fish again. This time we hooked up a double header for a brief period of time. One fish hooked solid and the other gave us back our hook on its first jump. Grant started the fight and did everything he could until he asked his dad to take over. Gary continued the fight that took us back around the north jetty, into the main channel, and in to Smith & Wollensky's where the fish was released.
Walt & Michael Wilkowski, Fred Sprano, and Ray Kalita had tarpon fishing on their minds. They were down for two evenings of fishing. The first evening, the tarpon action was hot and heavy. Everyone caught tarpon with one extra for good measure. That make us 5 for 5 and add in a yellowtail snapper. The second evening got started with a tarpon on the first drift and a legal size mutton snapper. The fish then disappeared. We moved over to the north side and on our first drift over there, we had 2 fish on. The key word was on. Both fish made great runs and then when they jumped, it was thrown hook time. Once again the fish disappeared. We moved back to the south side where we caught a red grouper before heading in.
The next trip was more tarpon action, this time with Andy Mattice, Brady Maw, and Scott Aitchison. Andy got first chance and he caught and released his tarpon. When the tide changed, we went into the Bay. It took 7 minutes for the first strike. After resetting, it took another 7 minutes for the next strike. Both Brady and Scott got there chance to fight their first tarpon.
The four angler group of Steve Nicodemus, Gene Johnson, Brad Rivituso, and Dave Herrema definitely earned the title of Vikings. Normally with the sea conditions we fished in there is usually at least one angler who would feel the effects of motion sickness. Not this group. We had wind from the E/ESE @ 19 - 22 knots with higher gusts. We started off with a kingfish and then added 3 dolphin. By this time, I finally had a chance to get the kite up with baits on it. We started working our way back out to deeper water when the flatline got hit and we had a sailfish on. After releasing the sail, we set back up again and this time it was a bonito on the kite. After that, all the action was with sailfish on the kite. The final tally was 3 for 5 sailfish along with the kingfish, dolphin, and bonito. All the action came in the 70 - 140 foot range.
Once again we are now current with the reports. I'll be out again tomorrow and most every day next week. This is the time of year when the action is hot and heavy with both summer and winter time species here at the same time. Don't miss out on the action. Schedule your trip and lets go catch some fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 177
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 02, 2009 - 5:20 pm: | |
Dolphin, kingfish, and sailfish with some blackfin tuna beginning to show up are the main offshore species to be found. They are hitting everything from the kite, to flatlines, to downrigger, and the bottom rod. This is also the time of year when you'll have your best shot at catching a large dolphin. the wind has finally come down to a more comfortable speed, resulting in calmer sea conditions.
Meanwhile, inshore the tarpon are still here and cooperating. It's also the time of year when what you think is your next tarpon hit turns out to be a permit. We don't target them in the tarpon area, but they will be swimming there and the next strike could be a nice size permit.
An evening tarpon trip with Scott Salyers, George Large, and David Bertolozzi had an added bonus. We are in the time of year when it is not uncommon to catch a permit while we are drifting for tarpon. That's exactly what happened on our first drift. George was up and he got the pleasure of catching and releasing a 30# permit. The next drift had David hooked up with a tarpon that decided to give us back our hook on its third jump after dumping about 100 yards of line off the reel. The next hit we had was a solid hook up and David caught and released the tarpon after plenty of pictures were taken at boat side.
Oscar Marrero and Ray Cruz had one goal in mind. They wanted to catch some dolphin to take home for dinner. We loaded up with herring and pilchards at Government Cut and put out our first baits in 100' as I slow trolled offshore. Our plans changed when we decided to run further out to find better water conditions. We found the conditions and found frigate birds beating the surface. The only thing was that we found no fish under or around them. I set up and drift and 5 minutes later the dolphin found us on both the flatlines and kite. They were singles and large schoolie size. We started working back out deeper with the kite and we had steady action for the remainder of the trip. All the action came on the kite from that point and it was all singles. We also had visits from 2 sailfish. We caught and released one and broke a line on the other. By the end of the trip, we had 10 fish in the box ranging in size from 4 - 12 pounds along with a 1 for 2 on sailfish. Lots of smiles and lots of fillets as they both thought about the fish dinners they were going to have.
Today was one of those days that most all anglers who fish for dolphin (mahi-mahi) dream of. John Masel, Gary Masel, and Rodney Raub wanted to spent some quality time together and get in some fishing. We started out by buying bait so we could get more fishing time on their half day trip. We took our time getting out through some bumpy sea conditions to the 300 foot depth. Out went the kite with 2 baits and I started working the 300 - 400 foot depth range. It didn't take long before a small dolphin came calling on the short bait. I turned the boat to get ready to catch the fish and when I looked back at the short bait, a very large dolphin had pushed the small fish out of the way and ate the bait. John hooked the fish and the battle was on. The fish made numerous great jumps as it ran away from us. Then it sounded and John worked it back to the surface where the fish made several more high jumps. It went down again and John kept the pressure up and as he worked the fish back up, only to have the fish go down again. It was a see saw battle for a while with John starting to win. He slowly worked the fish up and the very tired bull dolphin came along side quietly for me to gaff and put in the boat. Everyone was amazed at the size and strength of the fish. We took pictures before the fish was thrown into the fish box. Back at TNT Marine Center, the fish weighed in at a healthy 48 pounds. The kite baits were put back out and we worked in depth from 180 - 500 feet the remainder of the morning. Our best action came in the 300 - 400 foot range with 3 more schoolie size fish.
Fishing's great so give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and get in on some great springtime action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 176
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 1:27 pm: | |
WOW!! Time flies when you're having fun. It seems like just yesterday that I wrote my last report. We've had some great weather conditions with the wind ranging from 2 - 27 knots. The fish have been very cooperative both offshore and inshore. The main players are sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, bonito, and tarpon.
Michael Chera and his son, Ray spent some great quality time together on their half day trip. The main criteria was calm sea conditions and a few fish, species didn't matter. They picked the right day for both. The wind was NW/N @ 5 - 13 knots. We slow trolled live pilchards in the 60 - 75 foot range and were rewarded with 2 kingfish. Then we noticed the bird and surface activity. Large schools of bonito were creating a commotion on the calm surface. Out went the Kaplan jigs at a high speed troll and the action got crazy. We didn't have to move very far before we had plenty of action for the remainder of the trip. To sum it up, Ray reached the point where he was tired of reeling in fish. His dad was loving the doubleheader action. The fish were everywhere from 50 - 220 feet. Final count was 14 bonito and 2 kingfish.
The next trip was one of the very rare occasions when you'll see Nancy on the boat. We took a Bay cruise as part of celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary.
Nick and Joy Dilegge experienced tarpon fishing for the first time on a 6 hour evening trip. This couple are avid anglers who both hunt and fish together. The friendly competition between then gets very serious. The wind was ENE/E @ 14 - 20 knots. Hiding behind the south jetty at Government Cut gave us fairly calm conditions until the wind switched to the east and picked up. We started off slow with Joy catching a grunt and then a mangrove snapper. She won the first fish and most fish categories of their friendly contest. Next, Nick hooked up with his first tarpon. The fish kept taking us further and further offshore and the waves got larger and larger as the fish made it's way toward the outgoing tide of the main channel. Nick did a great job of whipping the fish before it made the very rough water of the main channel. After releasing the fish, they were both impressed with how hard and how much power the tarpon has. The next stop was the Bay. It took 5 minutes and Joy had her chance at catching a tarpon. The fish came along side very quickly and Nick made a comment about this fish not fighting very much. Wrong thing to say about a tarpon. It exploded and it was another 10 minutes before Joy's fish came back to the boat and was released. This is where it gets good with their competition. Her fish was slightly smaller than Nick's so he had the biggest fish so far. She still had the first and most. Back outside along the beach and the tarpon took some revenge. We had 3 more bites and all three gave us back our hook after several jumps.
The next evening it was Nick and Joy Dilegge again and the competition continued. The wind this evening was E/SE @ 8 - 17 knots. This was to be a carbon copy of last night as far as tarpon go. Joy started thing off with a giant porcupine fish. Next, she caught a tarpon along the beach. Back to the Bay and Nick hooked up 5 minutes after putting out the baits. This fish turned out to be the largest of the tarpon that we would catch and release. We took a tour of the area and when we released the fish, they both were amazed at how far we had traveled. Next, we netted about 2 dozen shrimp as they were making a great run and were everywhere. With no more action inside, it was back to the outside. The water was a lot rougher now, but the tarpon didn't mind. We had 3 more shots and the last one was hooked solid. It made a bee line for the deep water of the main channel with us in hot pursuit. Joy was doing everything she could to hold on and Nick had a good grip on her as the waves were very high in the Cut. We got Joy into a more comfortable position sitting on the leaning post. The battle raged back and forth with the tarpon spending most of the time near the bottom of the channel. Finally after several dashes under the boat, the tarpon made a major run underneath us and the line rubbed under the boat and broke. Joy was both disappointed and relieved at the same time. Disappointed that she didn't catch the fish, but very relieved that we could get out of the rough water. Final total for this evening was 1 for 4 along the beach and 1 for 1 in the Bay. Joy caught the first and most fish and Nick caught the largest. They are now both hooked on tarpon fishing.
Zac Grossman, John Kauffman, and Ira Drogin fished an afternoon/evening trip. The wind started off very light at SSE @ 2 knots and built a switched around to west @ 18 knots. We had no current and green ugly water conditions. All of our action came on the downrigger and bottom rods in the form of 2 kingfish and 1 AJ. Moving inshore to tarpon fish we started of with a small red grouper and bluerunner. Next it was 1 tarpon before we moved inside to the Bay. We got our chance and the fish was hooked solid and right alongside the boat before it dove under and came up jumping on the opposite. That's when we parted ways. We saw no more action for the remainder of the trip.
Ron Galley and his sons, Jake and Mitch also did an afternoon/evening trip. This time we had perfect conditions. A strong north current and wind from the E @10 - 15 knots. It took a bit of searching to find bait, however, once we found it, the action was fast and furious with herring. We put out our spread of baits and it didn't take long for the action to start. It kept everyone busy and before we ran in to tarpon fish, we were 2 for 2 on sailfish from the kite, 1 for 2 on sailfish from the flatlines, 0 for 1 on sailfish from the downrigger, 3 dolphin from the kite and flatlines, and a 20# kingfish from the kite. Moving inshore, we hooked up on our second drift and every thing was going find until the fish dropped over the edge into the main channel. That's when the hook pulled and that's how we ended the evening. Everyone caught they're first sailfish and Dad beamed with joy as he watched his sons catch theirs.
Then the wind started howling and we rescheduled a trip and had to cancel a trip. It was steady wind from the E @ 22 - 27 knots.
Fred Buck and his son Bailey shifted their tarpon trip so we could take advantage of the tides to fish the Bay. That had us fishing from 11 pm - 3 am. The wind was from the E @ 24 - 27 knots with higher gusts. We saw no action at the first two spots. The third spot had too much wind to fish it properly, so it was off to the fourth spot and pay dirt. We finished the evening with 1 for 2 tarpon and a pesky squid eating our bait.
That's it for now. We're once again caught up and getting ready for some more action aboard Knot Nancy. Call or email to schedule your trip and get in on the fun.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 175
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 11:06 am: | |
It's Spring time so whether you like to fish offshore or inshore, pick your place and there are plenty of fish to be caught. Lets start with the offshore first. On the days when there is north current, sailfish are usually fairly easy to find and catch. Mix in kingfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), bonito, and amberjacks and there is a great variety of fish to bend rods and please most everyone. On the days when there is no current and green water, sailfish become scarce, however all the other species I've mentioned above are still available.
Moving inshore, tarpon fishing is still red hot. The shrimp have been running once it gets dark and the tarpon are having no problem finding them. This equates to plenty of rod bending action with fish in the 40 - 120 pound class. By far, the evening time is still the best, but tarpon are cooperating during the daytime. Keep that in mind if you can't make an evening trip. Don't let it hold you back from getting in on the tarpon action.
Jeff Godel, Luke Boe, Matt Freeman, and Chad Orlich took advantage of some great conditions. The wind was from the WNW/N @ 12 - 22 knots and the current was roaring to the north. This gave us some bumpy seas, however, the great conditions gave us some outstanding fishing action. We only had one angler who felt the effects of the motion of the ocean and it only lasted for a short period of time. By the end of the trip we saw action with 3 for 4 sailfish, 3 bonito, and one pesky remora.
The father and son team of Carlos and Eduardo Pellas took part in some red hot tarpon action.We had the right conditions to fish both along the beach and in the bay. The beach tarpon took advantage of us. We had plenty of strikes, however, they gave us back our hook 4 of the 6 times we hooked up. Things changed for the better when we went into the bay. The action was fast and furious and it took several fish before I could get two baits out. By evening's end, we were 4 for 6 in the bay. Combined, the final tally was 6 for 12.
Brad Coren saw plenty of action on his half day trip. We started by hooking up before I could get a second flatline out. This fish had us guessing most every hard fighting species but the correct one. Brad kept up constant pressure with the 20# spinning outfit and we finally saw our fish. It was a whopping 60# amberjack. The next action was with dolphin, then bonito, kingfish,and more dolphin. The dolphin also had some remoras mixed in with them and we of course caught a couple of them. The final fish of the morning was the one we were looking for. The sailfish put on one heck of an aerial show while stripping plenty of line off the reel. We pulled the fish alongside and released it while thanking it for the thrills and pleasure it gave us at the end of our trip.
That evening, Robert and J T Dollar along with Burt Marante experienced what they had heard me talk about at a tarpon seminar I did for their fishing club. J T saw first action, followed by Robert, and then Burt. Everyone caught fish and the last action we saw was a doubleheader. The anglers won some and the fish won some. Final total for the evening was 3 for 6.
The Svensson Family, Patrik and Malin along with their son and daughter, Alexander and Frida experienced some great tarpon action at Government Cut. Patrik started things off, followed by Alexander, then Frida, then Malin, then Patrik again, and for the last fish of the evening it was Alexander. In between the tarpon, we also caught and released mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper, and bluerunner. The first fish of the evening was the only fish that the hooked pulled on after a 10 minute fight. Each and every other fish was caught and released. Final total for this trip was 5 for 6 along with the snappers and bluerunner.
The following day it was Jay and Riley Kline, Vaugh Murphy, and Steve Guaico. Big swells, no current, and green water had us searching hard to find some action. Along the way, two of the four anglers experienced motion sickness, however, they hung in there. We finally found some action in the 60 - 75 foot range. Kingfish and bonito pulled hard on the rods and had everyone except for one angler anticipating the next strike. Everyone took home kingfish steaks and were planning a fish dinner.
That evening, the father and son team of Chris and Christopher Nichols spent 6 hours of quality time together catching tarpon. And of course we had a few pesky bluerunners muscle in on the action. As soon as Christopher hooked up, dad would call mom back in North Carolina and fill her in on the action. It seemed that Christopher had the hot hand on this trip. The only rod that saw action all night long was the one that he put out. There's no explaining it, we just all laughed and enjoyed it. When Chris took the rod to fight a fish, it was Christopher's turn to call mom and inform her. They also called two of their friends who had backed out of coming along on the trip. Everyone was kept in the loop each time we hooked up. The last fish of the evening was the big one. Chris was considering having a mount of the fish so we took a measurement on the fish. Christopher fought the fish till the very end when he needed a little help from dad to finish subduing the fish so we could measure it. The total length was a stout 70 inches. Final total for the evening was 5 for 5.
Rodrigo and Christina Pombo along with their son and daughter Rodrigo, Jr and Annie saw some hot kingfish action on their half day trip. We started off with slow trolling as there was no current. In a matter of minutes, we got our first action and it remained fast and furious for the next hour. Everyone got in on the action except Annie as she came along to catch some sun. Mom was busy taking pictures before she caught the biggest fish. Both father and son were kept busy baiting hooks and catching fish. We moved out deeper to try and find some dolphin. We didn't find any, however, Rodrigo, Jr caught a blackfin tuna. All the fish were released after a picture.
Once again we're caught up. It won't last long as I'll be back out both offshore and inshore over the next two weeks. I'll post another report as soon as I get a break, so check back to see what we catch next aboard Knot Nancy.
To get in on the action, it's as simple as calling 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to reserve your date. As you can see from the individual reports, families that fish together spend good quality time together. It's fun and everyone can participate in some form. Family fishing is fun, so don't hesitate to call and book a trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 174
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 05, 2009 - 9:26 am: | |
The saying "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb" definitely applied this March. While the winds roared like a lion through the end of March, the lamb portion of the saying never occurred. It wasn't until the several days into April before the lamb showed up and the wind calmed down to a more comfortable level. During the windy conditions, I even had to reschedule several tarpon trips as the 25 knot plus winds made it almost impossible to fish either side of the jetties along the beach safely. The Bay, however, was very fishable as the various structures surrounding the northern portion of the bay did a great job of knocking down the wind.
Stan and Diane Feltman along with their daughter, Tiffany and son, Jason were looking forward to a sailfish trip. Windy conditions had them changing their minds and we fished a 3/4 daytime trip looking for tarpon at Government Cut. We started off with a large bluerunner. Next it was an undersized red grouper and then another. I had just set out the jig and shrimp combo and was about to put it in the rod holder when it got hit hard and we had our first tarpon on. Tiffany along with help from Dad battled the fish as it stayed in the deep water and worked its way out the Cut. She caught her first tarpon and was amazed at how hard they fight. Another red grouper released and the jig and shrimp combo scored again. This time Jason was on the rod. He was a veteran of a previous tarpon trip and knew what he was in for. It took a while and we had several tense moments as the fish used every trick in the book to try and cut us off. However, in the end Jason won the battle and the fish was released. It didn't take long for the next tarpon to hook up and Stan took his turn. This time, the fish ate the shrimp on the break away rig. Stan made quick work of his fish as you can apply more pressure with a conventional outfit. More red grouper and another tarpon hit the jig and shrimp combo again. It was now Diane's turn and she picked on the largest tarpon of the day. It was a tag team effort with Stan helping to hold the rod when the fish made strong surging runs and then Diane recovering the line only to have the fish take it all back out again. She hung in and got her reward of releasing her first tarpon, a 110 pound fish. The last strike was on the conventional outfit and it was Tiffany's turn again. Everything was going fine and we were gaining line until the fish decided to come up and make three consecutive jumps straight up and turning in three different directions. The third jump won the fish its freedom as it bit through the leader. To sum it up, we had action with 5 red grouper, 1 bluerunner, and caught and released 4 of the 5 tarpon we hooked. The tarpon were in the 70 - 110 pound class.
Several days later, Brian Jinks, Jose Perez, Gaby Herrero, and Ray Alvarez braved the east winds blowing at 15 - 21 knots. The first tarpon we hooked made several jumps and was running for the deep water before the hook pulled. When the tide changed, we moved into the Bay and after a reasonable period of time with no action, we moved back out to the south side. It was now quite a bit more rough. A move to fish the more shallow area paid off and Brian hooked up solid, he fought the fish to boat side and handed the rod off to Ray who thought the fish was whipped. He immediately found out the exact opposite. The fish took off and we battled it for quite a while longer. Ray was amazed at how hard the fish fought and never ever gave up.
Paul Meyers was visiting his brother Peter and neither one had ever caught a tarpon. The wind was a brisk 22 - 28 knots and I suggested that we start later in the evening to catch the tides for the Bay where we would have more protection from the wind. They both agreed and we met back at TNT Marine Center at 11:00 PM. It turned out to be a good move on our part. Tarpon action turned out to be a night of ones. At each location that we fished, we had a shot at one fish. The first one took almost 45 minutes before we hooked up. This is very unusual for the Bay. The 80 pound fish had Paul going around the boat several times before we got the catch and then some pictures prior to releasing the fish. The next location was more the norm as it took only 10 minutes for the strike. This time Peter hooked an identical 80 pound fish that put on a great show for us. This fish also got caught and had its picture taken before releasing it. The third location only took 5 minutes for the 40 pound fish to explode on the bait and make an 8 foot jump into the air. The jump was so high that the fish almost hit the bottom of the structure we were fishing. The jump was all it took for this feisty tarpon to throw the hook. That's how this Bay trip ended, going 2 for 3 on 80 pound tarpon.
Tony and Kathy Tavares were down in South Florida to take a long awaited vacation. Besides the warm weather, Tony had one thing on his mind. It was time to catch another tarpon. We caught a little break with the wind so we could fish both sides of the Cut along the beach. We started in the main channel and released a small red group. A move to the north side and several drifts later had Tony hooked up and in the battle he was looking for. Back and forth it went and neither the fish nor the angler was giving in. Slowly but surely, the fish began to give in and Tony won the battle and the fish also won as it was released to fight again another time. With no further action on the north side, we moved to the south side. As all fisherman say, we wanted just one more fish. After several drifts, we were still waiting for just one more fish. I thought out loud, "what time is it" and as I checked the time, the tarpon hit. My comment was "it's tarpon time". Another great battle and that ended the evening going 2 for 2.
It took several reschedules before we finally got this trip in. Brother and sister Kim Kishel and John Warrick, along with their long time friends Elizabeth Shegelski, and Mike Mongiello wanted to catch a tarpon, but also wanted some action. They got both. The jetties knocked down the SE/SSE wind and gave us very smooth waters on the north side. Before it got dark, the light spinning rod with a jig and shrimp combo saw plenty of action with 4 spanish mackerel, 2 lane snappers, 1 mutton snapper, and 1 bluefish. After it got dark, we caught 1 ribbonfish. We moved to the south side where the conditions we quite a bit more sloppy and got the tarpon were looking for. John and Mike took turns fighting the fish and it got its picture taken numerous times before being released. We tried to get another for the girls, however, it did not happen.
Brad Coren, his Dad, Stewart, and uncle, Harold wanted to do some sailfishing. The wind was back up and like the Feltman Family, they also changed their trip to try for tarpon. We did an evening tarpon trip and fished the calmer waters on the north side at Government. We saw fish roll both in the main channel and on the north side. We had action with lane snapper, kingfish, spanish mackerel, and bluerunner, but nothing doing with tarpon. We moved to the south side where it was very sloppy and saw and heard fish busting shrimp off the surface. We marked lots of tarpon on the recorder and still couldn't get a hit. The back rod bent over and it turned out to be a ladyfish. We marked more fish on several more drifts and still could not get a tarpon to hit. We all finally agreed that it just wasn't going to happen this evening and called it an evening. The tarpon beat us this night.
That's it, we're now up to date again. At least for now, the winds are more normal. It's April and that means the transition month. Both the winter and summer time fish are here at the same time and that makes for some great action. The afternoon/evening combo will give any angler a chance to catch a sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna, and a tarpon all on the same trip. It's also the time of year when you'll have your best chance at catching a big dolphin (mahi-mahi). As it's said, "Spring has sprung" and that makes for some outstanding fishing.
Give me a call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and take advantage of the great fishing opportunities we have off the Miami/Miami Beach area.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 8
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 02, 2009 - 12:06 pm: | |
Spring is definitely in the air and the fishing is starting to reflect just that. One of my favorite places to fish is North Biscayne Bay mainly because it has a great population of sea trout that can reach six pounds and during the month of March, April and May these fish are spawning giving my clients the best chance at their catching one of the biggest sea trout of the year that this Bay has to offer. Because these fish are spawning I suggest releasing the bigger fish to give them a chance to release their millions of eggs to be fertilized by the smaller males. My last three bay charters have produced large numbers of sea trout to just over 4 pounds caught on live shrimp and pilchards under a Cajun Thunder and on Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp soft plastics and Rapala X Raps, Twitchin Raps and Skitter Walks. Along with the trout we have had snook during the daytime, jack crevalles to just over 14 pounds plus lots of barracudas and ladyfish. I expect to see some Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pompano and maybe a cobia to be caught by my anglers in North Biscayne Bay anytime now. Tarpon have been scattered in the Bay but most have been hitting at night.
I am not fishing South Biscayne Bay as much now due to the warmer conditions. The warmer water pushes the groupers out into the ocean and the mackerel, bluefish and pompano are now starting to head north for the summer. During the Spring and Summer I only fish the South part of the Bay to target bonefish, permit, sharks and barracudas for a select few that know my boats capabilities and are OK with fishing the shallow flats from my 22’ Pathfinder Bay Boat.
Flamingo is a destination I like this time of the year. With warming conditions snook, redfish, tarpon, sea trout, cobia, tripletail, jacks, ladyfish, permit, pompano, mackerel, bluefish and sharks can all be targeted in one full day. Fishing select areas for short periods of time will allow me to cover a lot of Florida Bay and the Gulf and into Whitewater Bay during a full day charter giving my clients a real chance at catching a Grand Slam. The bugs are still months away from being a problem and last year we were able to catch, snook, redfish, tarpon, goliath groupers, sea trout, snappers, jacks and ladyfish on Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp baits or a Rapala Twichin Rap by casting to mangrove shorelines in Whitewater and Oyster Bays .
Recent Catches:
David Lang and his sons Alan and Ryan fishing North Biscayne Bay caught and released over 20 sea trout to 2 pounds casting Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp and live shrimp on a Cajun Thunder in 20 + mile an hour winds in four hours.
Alex, his step son Alec and his nephew Alec fished North Biscayne Bay and caught over 30 sea trout keep nine to 3 pounds and releasing the rest during a four charter. The trout were caught on Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp shrimp and Cajun Thunders with live shrimp in 25 mile an hour winds.
Jerry Chaves and his grandson’s Jake and Spencer teamed up to catch and release 4 snook, four jack crevalles to 14.5 pounds, lots of ladyfish and barracudas plus over 50 sea trout to four pounds during a ¾ day charter in North Biscayne Bay while using live shrimp and pilchards under a Cajun Thunder and Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp.
Today I am fishing with Gene and his granddaughter Lauren in North Biscayne Bay. I n our first spot the trout bite is going strong when Lauren hooks a trout that keeps getting bigger as she fights it. Next thing we know a tarpon in 125 pound class is in the air and then as the tarpon starts to run the trout Lauren origionally had on her line slides out of the tarpons mouth. We land the trout a fat 3 pounder but the tarpon is gone. We see one more tarpon in the 4 hours we are on the water but catch more trout, barracudas a small snook and a snapper before calling it a day.
Well that catches us up for now.
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
786-436-2064
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report (www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches and pictures.
I have recently been wearing a lot of Columbia Sports Wear on my fishing charters and the new Blood & Guts shirts are amazing. I have had mackerel, cobia and snook just splatter me with blood and one good washing and the shirts are as good as new. Check out their web site at www.columbia.com
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Cajun Thunders, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com, Columbia Wear
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786 436 2064
shermana@bellsouth.net
www.getemsportfishing.com |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 173
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 4:21 pm: | |
I know it sounds like a broken record, however, what a great broken record it is. Tarpon, tarpon, and more tarpon and the bite seems to just keep getting better. The shrimp have been running as soon as it gets dark. With that much bait in the water, the tarpon are there to get their share of the tasty crustaceans and they are having no trouble whatsoever finding the baits on our hooks. We're also getting into the good tide period for finding them in the Bay also. The tarpon have not disappointed inside either.
Offshore, the larger dolphin are beginning to make their showing as well. Kingfish are pleasing many anglers and it's well worth the trip out to the blue water.
Brothers Brian and John Fritz along with Chris Thom partied at bit to hardy the night before and over slept. As a result, we got a later start on their half day trip. John hooked up with a very nice size tarpon at Government Cut and everything was going great until the fish decided to head for the rocks of the south jetty. It turned and ran parallel with the rocks and the bow in the line found a shallow rock and the rest is history. The fish won its freedom fair and square. We moved to the north side where we saw several fish rolling, but no takers. In the meantime, we filled in with action from several kingfish, AJ's, mutton snapper, and the pesky bluerunners.
Father and son Brian and Tim Bach along with brothers, John and Patrick Deleonibus got in on the great evening tarpon action. Brian was the coach and cheerleader. Tim, John, and Patrick took turns doing battle. Patrick hooked the monster fish of the evening. We hooked the fish on the tip of the south jetty and when we finally released it, we were at the Ferry Boat Dock on the Causeway. The fish was a whopping 140 pounds and Patrick looked as if he had been in a fight with a heavy weight boxer. He hung in there throughout the entire fight and did an outstanding job for having never battled a large fish before. The action that evening was 3 for 5 tarpon.
Eduardo Pellas, Raul Lacayo, and Eduardo and Luis Arguello got their taste of tarpon fishing that left them excited and drained at the same time. We started off with a large fish in the main channel. The closest we came to a catch was about 1 foot from the leader touching. After a 45 minute battle, the hook pulled. After that the action got fast and furious. A major shrimp run had us seeing action on almost every drift. The tarpon had it in for us on this night. We broke hooks, broke a line when the fish beat us to the drop off, and had numerous fish throw the hook on either its first or second jump. To sum up the evening, we went 3 for 10. The fish we managed to land and release this evening were in the 70 - 120 pound class.
The Frederick Family, dad, Richard, daughters Grace and Sandy, and son Josh, experienced their first tarpon trip. It's one they will long remember. We started by having a hook pull on a fish that we hooked in the main channel. As soon as it got dark enough, we took advantage of the tide and ran inside. Richard caught the first tarpon, Josh got the second, and the third fish was a tag team effort. We were 3 for 3 on tarpon on the inside in the 25 - 80 pound class before we went back out to Government Cut. The action out their started almost immediately. When the end of the evening came, everyone had caught at least 1 fish and we were 3 for 4. The fish outside were in the 70 - 120 class. There were two beautiful thing about this trip. First, it was a Family trip and as I've said in the past, Family fishing is fun. Second, it was the first tarpon for each of them. They took lots of pictures and have memories that will last a lifetime.
That's it, we're up to date again. I'll write another report as soon as I get another break. In the meantime, give me a call on 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net if you want to get in on the action and make your own personal memories.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 172
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 14, 2009 - 3:54 pm: | |
It's more tarpon action with an offshore trip thrown in. We had a few days just after the full moon when the tarpon played a bit of hide and seek, but the 3rd day after the full moon that changed and they're back to giving many people lots of thrills and angling excitement.
Tom Duffin, and father and son, Nelson and Tommy Mendoza caught 2 of 4 tarpon to 80 pounds on the south side at Government Cut. Nelson and Tommy did a tag team effort on the 80 pound fish. This was the first time fighting a tarpon for both of them. Tom Duffin caught and released the next fish. The other two shots resulted in thrown hooks when the tarpon make their first jump.
Brothers Tim and Dan Nickolaus caught 1 tarpon at Government Cut before we went into the Bay where we were 3 for 6 in about an hours worth of fishing. The tarpon at the Cut was 70 pounds and quickly made its way to the deep water of the main channel. The water in the main channel was very rough as a result of an outgoing tide against an ENE/E wind of 19 - 22 knots. The calm water of the Bay gave us 5 more shots. We were able to convince 2 of the fish to come to boatside and be released. Those fish were 35 & 80 pounds respectively.
The full moon.
The next evening, Darrin & Lori Barritt along with their friend Jason Marsh got some first hand experience with several tarpon. We started outside and had to wait and wait and watch lots of fish roll around. While we waited, we caught a few bluerunners and a small red grouper. Finally a tarpon came along and Darrin caught and released his first tarpon. When the tide changed, we went into the Bay and the action improved quickly. The landing and releasing of these beautiful silver kings was another story. We had a hit about every 10 minutes. The first three fish just did not want to cooperate. They gave us a good first run, then jumped, and promptly gave us back our hook. Finally, the fourth fish had a good hook up. We had to chase it and Jason got the catch.
Ralph Broeckel had the experience of fishing the best of both worlds. That's an afternoon/evening trip to fish offshore and finish up with some tarpon fishing. Offshore we got into a school of dolphin that hung around long enough for Ralph to enjoy seeing the fish swimming around the boat, eat our baits, and catch a handful of fish. We had more action on the downrigger with snake size kingfish and had numerous chopped baits and cut offs. Moving inshore, we immediately saw lots of fish rolling. Out went the baits and within a minute or two, we were hooked up with Ralph's first tarpon. He did a great job of fighting the fish and got the leader to touch the rod tip before he was exhausted. I finished catching the fish and he got some great pictures before releasing the fish. Ralph has terminal cancer and was weakened by the treatment he is currently going through. We made two more drifts before we called it an evening.
Anthony Caridi and his girlfriend Ella Rabayeva fished their first tarpon trip. Anthony is a die hard fishing fanatic who wanted to catch his first tarpon. After putting out the baits, it took only 2 minutes before he got his chance. The 80 pound fish was very cooperative except for the picture taking part. A few drifts later, we were hooked up again and this time there was no camera shyness on the part of the tarpon. The wind was from the E/ESE at 12 - 20 knots and the motion soon had Ella not feeling very well. She hung in their throughout the entire trip. By the end of the trip we had shots at 7 fish. They all at live shrimp and all were hooked on the south side of the south jetty at Government Cut.
That's a lot of tarpon action and it'll continue on through the end of June. I have a variety of trips coming up, so check back in about a week to see how we did. If you want to be a part of the report and get in on the action first hand, then give me a call at 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 6
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 7:04 am: | |
Once again its time for my fishing update.
After yet another strong cold front water temperatures have dropped a bit but will quickly start to rise since another cold front is not due till next week. Spring is just around the corner and many migratory species will slowly start heading north for the next three months. Mackerel have already started to show up in Biscayne Bay and soon the big jacks, ladyfish, bluefish, pompano and cobias will follow. Snook are starting to think about relocating in areas that they will spawn and in Flamingo a more spring pattern has already started in the backcountry an area that I explored a lot with great success last year. South Biscayne Bay continues to provide lots of actions and on my last trip in that area we caught three different kinds of jacks to six pounds on light tackle in just one spot. Yellow jacks, bluerrunners and jack crevalles. Snapper, grouper, mackerel and a large houndfish added to that day’s action. North Biscayne Bay continues to produce lots of sea trout but very soon we will start seeing the spawning trout that are large and fat. Catching trout to 6 pounds in March, April and May is a real possibility and many of these fish will be caught on Rapala Twichin Raps, Skitter Walks and X Raps along with the ¼ ounce Hook Up lure tipped with either a Gulp shrimp or pogy. The Cajun Thunder fished with live pilchards a baitfish that will start moving back over the grass flats as water temperatures rise above 75 degrees will catch the bigger trout plus the snook, tarpon, jacks and bluefish that will be chasing the baitfish schools. Large tarpon continue to be targeted at night, early mornings and just before sunset in and around Haulover Inlet and government Cut.
Flamingo in Everglades National Park will start to bloom as water temperatures start rising look for snook, redfish and tarpon to be hot items on the flats, shorelines and creek and river mouths. Pompano, mackerel, bluefish and cobias are available and can be targeted during half the day and then the inshore species can be targeted during the second half of the day. Large sea trout will be loaded on the flats and eager to eat surface plugs.
Recent Catches:
Last week started out with two back to back four person charters to Flamingo in Everglades National Park. The weather was a bit windy but warm and partly cloudy and on the first day and this trip was a short four hour charter. Our first spot was non stop action with a trout, ladyfish or jack hitting our live baits and Hook Up lures on every cast. A few mackerel and bluefish were beating the other fish to the lures every now and then. Since the charter was a short one I was eager to try our luck at the pompano, cobia and tripletail that we had encountered a few days earlier. Unfortunately the water was a bit choppy in the Gulf and the first spots I checked out already had been hit by other fishermen so we moved on. We fished a spot that had been producing black drum, redfish and snook but the spot was dead and with little time remaining we turned to the flats and finished the day with more trout, jacks and ladyfish.
The second four person charter was a full day and after a late start we headed to the same lat that produced so well the day before. The fish were there again and the guys loaded up on trout, jacks, ladyfish a nice pompano and a few mackerel before we went looking for bigger fish. On the way out to the Gulf every spot we tried was just dead and it wasn’t till we anchored in 10 feet of water and started chumming that we began to get some action again. A flurry of mackerel ended quickly and after boating a six pounder, some jacks and sharks we moved on. Ever spot that I hoped to catch redfish or snook was dead and we finished the day with lots of trout, jacks and ladyfish.
Today I am in South Biscayne Bay with John and his dad Frank. We have a short day to fish and a cold front is on its way. Winds are blowing at 15 to 20 out of the south but that is good for this area. The dirtier water seems to get the fish going here and in no time we are into a short mackerel bite that lets us land a six pounder and lose a few fish to miss strikes and a spit hook at the boat. Our next spot produces at least 8 porgies to five or ix pounds, mutton and mangrove snappers and a grunt before we move on. We have time for one more spot and within minutes of anchoring and chumming a small grouper and some more mutton snappers come over the rail. Frank gets a big hit and after a nice fight his fish turns into a beautiful yellow jack. For the next forty minutes the guys hook a bluerunner, yellow jack or jack crevalles on every cast plus a large houndfish and its back to the barn just as the rains start.
If your in the Miami area for the next few weekends head over to Outdoor World in Dania and check out the fine line of Hook Up lures, Mustad hooks, Berkley Gulp baits and Rapala lures during their Spring Classic and then on the weekend of March 19th – 22nd at the Dania Jai Alai parking lot in Dania.
Well that catches us up for now.
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report (www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches and pictures.
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 171
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 8:56 am: | |
Tarpon, tarpon, and more tarpon!! By the way, did I mention that tarpon fishing has been outstanding. Just wanted to make sure that you understand that tarpon fishing has been red hot. The wind has been howling, however, that hasn't effected the tarpon none in the least. Government Cut is the place and live shrimp has been the ticket. Throw in Berkley Alive Gulp Shrimp and you have all the bases covered. After that it's just a matter of figuring out where the fish are feeding on any given night. Like with all fishing, there has been a night here and there when the fish have played a bit more scarce than on other nights.
Pete & Matt Schwartz along with Dexter Romanez, and Gary Schaffer had one goal in mind. That is to have Dexter experience the thrill of catching his first tarpon. Our first shot came just after setting out the baits and moving the rods to new positions on the boat during the dusk period. Gary was in front of the rod that got hit and despite being told not to grab a rod that got hit, he couldn't resist himself. The fish made a complete circle of the boat before heading for the jetties. It made its second jump at that point and gave us back our hook. The action slowed and we moved to the Bay. No action there and it was back out to Government Cut. No action there so off to Haulover we went. On our last drift of the evening, we got our reward. Dexter got his chance and he made the best of it. The fish pulled hard and made several beautiful jumps before we released it to fight again. Goal accomplished.
Mike Riccardi and Ted Brillon experienced an evening like mentioned in the above report. The only expectation was that we hung in at Government and got 2 shots. The first fish was caught and released by Ted. The second came off on the tarpon's first jump. The shrimp ran heavily for about 5 minutes and tarpon were blasting them off the surface in a feeding frenzy. They managed to avoid our baits and as soon as I reset the drift, they shut off. The evening ended 1 for 2.
The next evening, everything changed. Rocky Taranto and his friends Brian Gallagher and Randy Fisher were taking a brief vacation from the cold weather up north and wanted some tarpon action. It took 2 drifts and off we went to the deep water of the main channel chasing a not to happy tarpon that was giving Rocky fits. After about 30 minutes, Rocky won the battle and watched as the tarpon swam off quickly after being released. Back outside, the action continued. Brian had his turn and Randy his. The evening ended with the anglers winning the fight 3 of 5 times.
The next day, the same group was offshore. The wind was E/ESE @ 14 - 18 knots. There was little to no current. The water had a decent color and all these conditions had the fish spread out. Everyone on the radio was complaining about basically slow fishing. We had a spread of kite, flatline, and downrigger baits and worked the water from 80 - 250 feet. At the end of the trip, we saw action with dolphin, bonito, spanish mackerel, and bluerunners.
A few evening later, Rocky, Brian, and Randy were getting their last fishing trip in before heading home to a major snow storm. A front was pushing through our area and we had wind from the W/WNW @ 20 - 26 knots. We made a few brief stops at Haulover before heading down to Government Cut that resulted in one bluerunner. When we arrived at Government, the tarpon were rolling everywhere in the main channel. We put out a bait and in less than 5 minutes, we had him on. Once again it was Rocky on the rod. This tarpon never jumped and fought deep during the entire fight. The fight went back and forth with the tarpon in charge most of the time. Gain 10 feet and lose 15 feet was the mode for the first 20 minutes. We had to dodge a large container ship going out to sea, but that was no problem. The bigger problem was the physical whipping the fish was putting on Rocky. He hung in and after 45 minutes he got the reward he was looking for. The 110 pound tarpon came along side the boat for a few quick pictures before shaking its head and throwing the hook. By now, we were out to the dog leg in the channel. Back to the south side and on the next drift we had another fish on for a brief moment. A few drifts later Randy caught his tarpon. A couple more drifts and once again Randy did battle. This time the fish ran out from the boat turned around and charged the boat. It made two jumps at boat side, one of which almost landed on the engines. The fish ran out and made two more jumps about 50 feet away before charging off again. The fish made another run, turned around, and charged the boat again. This fish was absolutely wild. When it got back to the boat, it made two more jumps, slamming into the side of the boat and soaking all of us as it exploded away from us again. Randy had his hands full just trying to keep a tight line. Despite all the tarpon's best efforts, we finally got it along side for several pictures and a release. Going 3 for 4 was a perfect way to end the evening and end the vacation before heading home to deal with major snow fall and lots of shoveling.
If you want to experience action like this, it's just a matter of a phone call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and get in on the tarpon experience.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 5
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 6:17 am: | |
Fishing in South Florida continues to be as good as it gets with a few ex captions as always as long as you are willing to put the time in and be a bit patient. Pretty much every charter I have had has had some decent fishing at one point or another during the charter. Hitting the water at first light is not a priority this time of the year because most of the fish in South Florida are more likely to feed after the sun has had a chance to warm up the water a few degrees. Best fishing has occurred after 8 AM and before 5 PM so many of my anglers have been able to get a few extra winks or two before meeting me at one of the three boat ramps I have been using. Cool temperatures are making fishing a full or ¾ day a pleasant experience.
Fishing in Biscayne Bay has been pretty good with action from sea trout in North Biscayne Bay a reliable target. We are catching plenty of trout on live baits fished under a Cajun Thunder and on Capt. Hank Brown ¼ ounce Hook Up lures with a Gulp shrimp. Large jack crevalles are always roaming the North part of the bay and pay us a visit when we are least expecting them so I always have a Rapala Skitter Walk or X Rap on a rod just in case they appear. Small snappers and groupers are biting around rocky shorelines and channel drop offs and we are catching them on live shrimp and live pilchards fished on the bottom. Plenty of small barracudas can be found on the grass flats and around shorelines and snook have been holding around dock lights after the sun sets. There have been tarpon along the beaches just before sunset and in to the evening but if the winds starts blowing which happens most of the week it becomes to choppy for me to comfortably fish for them and we have to come back into the bay.
South Biscayne Bay is still full of action for small red and gag groupers and an occasional larger fish and my clients have been catching them almost non stop. Porgies, mutton and mangrove snappers plus jacks, grunts, bluerunners, a few bluefish, mackerel and a possible pompano, permit or bonefish are just other species that we run into and add some extra spice to the fishing while fishing the Finger Channels of South Biscayne Bay. We are targeting these fish with live shrimp, dead and live pilchards that we catch with my cast net or on a Sabiki rig and then fished on the bottom on 10 lb. spinning tackle to keep things interesting. Jacks, barracudas and a few snook have been available on the warmer days in South Biscayne Bay.
Flamingo continues to be the most consistent area I have fished this past month. The possibility of catching so many different species of fish in one day and the seeing all f the wonderful scenery and wildlife makes the 45 minute drive through the Park well worth the extra drive time from wherever your starting point maybe. Deer, a rare Florida panther, snakes, alligators, storks, herons, ibis, hawks and egrets can all be seen on the drive in and the Sawgrass prairie can be breath taking at sunrise and sunset. Once you arrive at Flamingo things get even more interesting with the incredible sights of Florida Bay on one side and Whitewater Bay on the other. On either side one can witness bottle nosed dolphins as they corral schools of mullet and take turns feeding on the helpless baitfish as they leap out of the water or a slow moving group of manatees feeding on the bay bottom grasses and then there are all of the wading birds and skimmer birds that make whooshing sounds as the fly by your boat. Catch the tide right and you can see huge sharks as they work the shallow flats looking for unsuspecting prey and large mud rays with their wings flapping in the sun light as they root crabs and shrimp off the bottom and wait I haven't even mentioned the fishing. Isn't that what we are going there for? For the next two months with water temperatures being on the cooler side the fishing for snook and tarpon is best on the warmest days but redfish, black drum, sea trout, snapper, grouper, cobia, mackerel, bluefish, pompano, jacks, ladyfish and tripletail don't mind the cooler temperatures and can be targeted throughout the day.
So maybe this little fishing report has sparked a little interest in you and now your getting that bug to wet a line so GIVE ME A CALL and lets see what kind of a fishing memory we can come up with.
Recent Catches:
Today I am fishing a short charter in South Biscayne Bay with Craig and Scott. Scott is a fly fisherman and with winds blowing from the north at 20 he will have to work hard to make a catch. Craig will be throwing a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp shrimp mostly because it was too windy the night before for the shrimp boats to catch shrimp for the local bait shops and we have no live shrimp. Working shorelines we spook a 20 pound snook that saw us before we saw him but nothing else so we head further south. In a channel we quickly catch lots of red groupers on the Gulps and Hook Up lures plus a few muttons but time is running out so we head to our last spot. Here the Scott continues to throw the fly and hooks a large fish. It's the one he has been patiently waiting for. A snook! The fish is kind of lethargic probably due to the 63 degree water temps but eventually takes off on a run and Scott has the fish on the reel. The snook looks to be in the 10 pound class and on its next run wears through the leader and is gone. Craig continues to cast and he hooks up on the Hook Up lure and Gulp shrimp. This snook is a 26 inch fish and is released after a few pictures. The guys have a meeting later in the afternoon so its time to head back to the barn.
Last up this week are Fred and his son Ben. Its Fred's birthday and his wife has treated him to a fishing charter with me. We start a little later in the day to let the water warm a bit and after launching at Crandon Park Marina we head to Government Cut to catch some pilchards. On the way to the Cut I discover that my Sabiki Rig bag is gone so we head over to Miami Beach Marina and buy a few. The bait is there in the Cut and we quickly fill the well with pilchards that help compliment the shrimp that we have for bait today. We fish from Government Cut south to the Finger Channels and by the end of a 6 hour charter the guys have tallied up a catch of three snook to 27 inches, over 40 red, black and gag groupers to 9 pound and mutton and mangrove snappers. Nice way to celebrate a birthday!
This weekend I was invited to go to Orlando with my wife Dana to fish one of the Disney Lakes for largemouth bass. The event was sponsored by Doug Hannon who has introduced a new fishing reel called the Wave Spin. We all met on Monday and fished out of two boats. Three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. The lake was beautiful and the fishing guides great. The new Wave Spin Reels were exceptional and should become very popular among inshore, offshore and freshwater anglers. What sets this reel apart from the rest is the design of the spool. It has 16 teeth cut into the top of the spool that lets the line flow off the reel with less friction giving the angler a much longer cast and it worked for me and my wife. Between the two boats and 8 anglers our tally was over 20 bass caught mostly on artificial lures in water temperatures that were 55 degrees. We had a blast! Thanks Doug!
Today I have a tarpon charter and we hit the water at 5 PM with Faustino and his girlfriend Walessa both from Puerto Rico. We start off of Haulover Inlet and start looking for the silver kings rolling but we see none. On the depth recorder there are schools of baitfish but not much else. We start our first drift just outside the swim buoys and as I am explaining what they should expect one of the reels gets hit. Auction grabs the rod and a beautiful 50 pounder is in the air. On the tarpon's 6th jump the circle hook comes free of the fish. We start another drift and for the next hour manage to catch one bluerunner, a mutton snapper and loose a squid at the boat so its time to move into the bay. We hope to find some tarpon but manage to catch 3 out of five snook hooked plus a few snappers and jacks before calling it a day.
Today I have Jerome and Jerry from Miami on the boat and am in Flamingo. At our first spot we quickly release a 24 inch snook that ate a live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder plus a bunch of jacks and ladyfish on the Rapala Twitchin Raps. Next spot we jump a snook and loose him and that fish ate a Hook Up lure with a Gulp shrimp. After releasing a half dozen trout to 16 inches we move on. In this spot we catch a shark and lots of ladyfish, jacks and trout before moving on. The day is getting late and the tide is getting right so our last spot needs to be good and it was. Casting live shrimp on a Hook Up lure and Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp the guys land three snook to 30 inches, one redfish 19 inches, jacks, ladyfish and 4 out 6 hooked black drum that are in the 6 pound range.
I am back to the Finger Channels for a ¾ day with Jerry, Tom and Tony from Miami. After catching some live bait on Sabiki Rigs we head for the grass flats in hopes of catching a quick limit of sea trout. Fishing live baits under a Cajun Thunder and Hook Up lures with Gulp baits the guys catch a half dozen trout to 14 inches and we decide to head for the Finger channels of South Biscayne Bay and in no time have caught and released over 40 gag and red groupers plus lots of mangrove and mutton snappers, bluerunners, jacks, barracudas and porgies all on live shrimp or live pilchards fished free lined or on the bottom.
Last up is Pat and old customer of mine from my Party Boat days. Another cool morning with water temperatures in the upper 60's! We head into a Channel that has a shallow mud flat on either side hopping that any fish nearby will be holding in the deeper channel but after30 minutes of no action we move on and fish a deeper grass flats were we catch dozens of sea trout on Hook Up lures and Gulp shrimp to just over 20 inches plus mackerel, bluefish, jacks and ladyfish. Pat is looking to take some fish home and with trout in the release well we move on in hopes of finding some redfish and black drum. Instead of redfish we catch and release a few snappers, snook and one small black drum and were on the move. We are on a shallow bank and there are lots of pilchards in the area but nothing eating them except a 40 pound sawfish that we spook. I net a couple hundred pilchards with one quick cast of my 10 foot Lee Fisher Net and we are on the move again. Our next spot is a redfish hole but after chumming hard with the pilchards all we catch is another snook. On the move again! We head offshore and fish the boundary markers and crab trap buoys and manage to release two under sized tripletail and a nice six pounder that ate a live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder before we hit one last marker that has two cobias circling it. I have one pinfish in the live well and I hook it to a big rod with a Green Cajun Thunder. Pat makes the cast and one of the cobias engulfs the pinfish. Pat sets up but the bait flies out of the fishes mouth only to get eaten by the other cobia and the same thing happens again. The hook has turned into the bait and there is no way the fish will get hook but wait the other cobia rushes the bait but eats the green Cajun Thunder and as it flees the line comes tight and the cork plops back to the surface and the cobias are gone. We fish the marker some more in hopes the cobias will come back but instead there is a large school of pompano here too and we catch 8 or 9 pompano to three pounds. While casting Hook Up lures tipped with live shrimp for the pompano we catch a 35 inch cobia plus a 20 inch cobia and have another cobia eat a 1 pound jack right at the boat that pat was reeling in. We let the cobia eat the jack for a while hopping that the Hook Up lure will some hope stick in the cobia but when Pat sets up on the fish and after a blistering run the jack comes out of the fishes stomach and ends our day.
Well that catches us up for now.
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report (www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches and pictures.
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786 436 2064
shermana@bellsouth.net
www.getemsportfishing.com |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 170
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 12:54 pm: | |
February has flown by very quickly with lots of fishing action. Recently, kingfish have finally made the showing that we've all been waiting for. Sailfish action continues to be strong as long as we have north current. Throw in some dolphin, a few bonito, and action with blackfin tuna and it's well worth spending time in the 100 - 200 foot range fishing with kites, flatlines, downrigger, and bottom rods.
Now for the news on tarpon fishing. With only a very few exceptions, the action has been outstanding. The action at Haulover is making its normal late February slow down. Government Cut is seeing its action picking up. In the Bay, the cold fronts get the shrimp running and the action around the bridges has been outstanding. The good thing about Government Cut is that there are places to hide from any wind that comes from any direction from north to east to south. This makes it possible to fish the area no matter how hard the wind is blowing, so don't let wind speed discourage you from going.
Here's a quick summary of the trips I've done.
Jose Perez, Erica Perez, and Brian Jinks caught dolphin in the 10 -15 pound class as well as one of a double header sailfish. Erica caught her first sailfish and did an outstanding job of fighting the fish.
Nick Luders, Dan Fedders, Darrell Neuberger, and Court Campbell went 3 for 3 on tarpon at Haulover.
The next day, the same group caught bonito, kingfish, blackfin tuna, red grouper, and missed a sailfish at the end of the day.
Marco Guarisco and Lorenzo Ruggeri saw action with tarpon at Haulover Inlet. After having fished world wide for tarpon with no success, Marco finally realized his dream and caught his first tarpon. That evening we went 2 for 4 on tarpon to 80 pounds as well as a small grouper and a bluerunner.
With the wind howling from the N/NNE at 18 - 20 knots, Matt Santamauro, Matty Santamauro, and Joe Lorusso took advantage of good tides for the Bay and finished the evening going 5 for 6. The fish were in the 40 - 90 pound class.
Ken Tapman, Micah Tapman, Rich Collins, and Robert Collins caught a slow evening of tarpon fishing. It started off great with a tarpon in the Bay. The action shut off and we moved outside where we worked hard to get one more shot. This time the fish gave us back our hook after a few jumps.
Brad Coren and Harold Coren shared the rod on a beastly 130 pound tarpon at Haulover. The fish had its normal don't give up attitude and both anglers were utterly amazed at the power and stamina of the big fish. A bit later in the evening we caught a 60 pound fish that was a bit more cooperative. The final fish of the evening was another beast. This time the tarpon dumped so much line off the reel that it found an obstruction on the bottom and cut us off. Both anglers breathed a sigh of relief when this happened as the first fish pretty much had exhausted both of them.
Tino Poo, Louise Poo, and Allan Herman did some wreck fish. We re-anchored 3 times on two different wrecks and found no current. Persistence paid off when the kingfish moved in and we ended on a high note with kingfish, AJ's, and bonito.
Gene Walsh, Tom Zappulla, Carl Peroni, and Joe Capuano started the evening going 0 for 3 on tarpon in the Bay. When the action turned off, we moved outside and redeemed ourselves. It was steady action for the remainder of the trip. The interesting thing about the action was that each fish got progressively larger. When the final tally was counted, it was anglers 5 and fish 1. The size range was 15 - 90 pounds.
The Little Family (Mike, Ann, Ashley, and Will) are the perfect example of an outdoors family. They all participate in hunting and fishing and they are very competitive. We started in the Bay and Ashley had her tarpon just beginning to come toward us when the hook pulled. Will was up next and he caught and released his fish. The brother and sister competitiveness started with Will giving Ashley a hard time. Ashley didn't stand for it for a moment and gave it right back to Will. We had two more feeble bites before the action turned off. Time to head outside and try there. Ashley had to wait a few drifts before she got her chance at redemption. The wait was over and she was hooked up solid to a not to happy tarpon that took us for a very long ride. We got the fish up to the leader many times, however, it just didn't want to give us an opportunity for some good pictures. It kept using the run under the boat tactic as it continued to move south. The chilly weather soon became very warm for Ashley as she broke out in a sweat while she was determined to get the fish up for a picture. Meanwhile, both Dad and Mom were beaming with pride as they watched their daughter continue the battle. Ashley won when here Dad got some good pictures and the fish won as it was released after giving us an outstanding battle.
We're now up to date with reports. As you can see, the majority of my fishing has been for tarpon. There is still time to get out and catch one of these beautiful silver beauty's. The experience is awesome and one that won't soon be forgotten. March - June will see consistent action for them. Who knows, you might get the chance to tangle will a real big brute and experience the pleasure and pain like Brad and Harold did. No matter what size, it's a thrill!!
Call me, 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to book your trip and get the experience started.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 169
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, February 05, 2009 - 5:12 pm: | |
Here's a quick update to keep the report as current as possible.
Yet another cold front has made its way through South Florida. This one packed the coldest punch so far this winter. As soon as the sun set, both the air and water temperatures started dropping drastically. The strong NW winds at 20 - 24 knots have kept the shrimp running and the tarpon bite remains OUTSTANDING.
Tino Poo treated two of his employees, Jose Verez and Jack Perdomo to their first tarpon trip. We left TNT Marine Center at 5 pm for the short run to Haulover Inlet. We put out the baits and less than 2 minutes later, Jose was in a tough battle with a very stubborn tarpon. It was a back and forth battle with the fish holding the upper hand for the first 10 minutes of the battle. Slowly but surely Jose started to win the battle. After another 10 minutes, Jose had expended all his energy and Jack took over. Jack fought the fish for another 5 minutes before it came along side to have its picture taken by Tino and then released. The next strike came a bit further down the beach just after the sun set. Jack took his turn and this fish was just as feisty. Tino got more pictures at boat side and the tarpon was released.
We had a short window of the right tide to fish the Bay and we ran to the first location. Out went the baits and in about 10 minutes we had our first hit. That location produced 2 more hook ups and we successfully landed 1 of the 3 fish. The action turned off, so we moved to the second location. This time it took about 15 minutes for the first hit. This location also gave us 3 shots and this time we landed and released 2 of the 3 fish. By now, the air temperature had dipped into the upper 40's and was continuing to drop. The tide was almost gone and it was time for the trip to end.
To sum it up, we were 2 for 2 on the beach at Haulover. In the Bay, we were 3 for 6 for an evening's total of 5 for 8 with fish in the 40 - 60 pound class.
Don't let the cold weather stop you from enjoying the strong tarpon bite that we have going. All it takes is to brings many layers of warm clothing and put them on as needed. Once you start your battle with the Silver King, you'll warm up in a hurry. Also, despite the strong wind conditions, the direction it comes from when these fronts pass through has quite calm sea conditions along the beach as we are on the lee side. In the Bay, there are plenty of buildings and land masses to knock down the wind so the Bay is also quite calm. Give me a call at 305 965-9454 or email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get your trip scheduled and enjoy the action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 168
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 31, 2009 - 2:30 pm: | |
Red Hot Tarpon Action With The Passing Cold Fronts - January 31, 2009
Tarpon fishing has been excellent. If you're willing to dress warm for the cold weather or give up a little sleep it has been outstanding.
With the passing through of the most recent cold front, once again the tarpon fishing got even stronger to the point of being on fire. The NNW winds in the 24 - 29 knot range had plenty of shrimp moving and the tarpon where there having a feast. Reeg William from Milwaukee and William Brooks from Dallas wanted to do some fishing, but not out in the rough conditions of the ocean. A quick check of the tides showed that a 12 midnight to 4 am trip for tarpon in the Bay would have us in calmer waters. They were both up for the trip as neither had caught a tarpon before. As we left TNT Marine Center, the hollowing winds had the temperature dropping at a steady pace. Once I got to the first location, it took 10 minutes for the first tarpon to hit. That location produced 4 tarpon before we moved to the second location. This time we had 3 fish in 15 minutes. At 3:15 am they decided it was time to head in after having done battle with 7 tarpon in the 50 - 70 pound range.
Once the cold front mentioned below ran its course, the air temperature and water temperature quick shot back up to more comfortable levels. The wind died off to a more normal speed and the tarpon returned to the beach. Matt Vigliotti along with his friends Richard Chase and Mitch Scarlin wanted some tarpon action. Off Haulover, Matt fought a 70 pound tarpon that refused to jump and expend energy. This led to a much longer than normal fight, however, Matt was up to the task at hand and the tarpon eventually gave in to the pressure and was released. Next stop was in the Bay. Not as many shrimp were running as with the previous cold front. This had fewer tarpon at the first location. A move to a second location did the trick and Richard fought and released a very feisty 35 pound tarpon. Mitch was very happy just watching and did not want to fight a fish. With the more pleasant conditions on this evening, we finished the trip going 2 for 2.
Fishing on the evening when another cold front came through the previous week had us once again see outstanding action with tarpon in the Bay. A cold front had passed through our area that afternoon. The air temperature and water temperature was dropping rapidly. Scott Dubiel and Ken Carman from Port Saint Lucie and Miami wanted to show Clay Norris and Joe Meyer both from Spirit Lake, Iowa what tarpon fishing in Miami is all about. After it got dark we headed into Biscayne Bay and the action started. To sum up the evening, it went like this. The four anglers tangled with 13 tarpon in the 35 - 80 pound range. Four of the fish were hooked using Gulp shrimp on spinning rods. The other nine ate live shrimp. The cold and wind was hardly noticed as the action was steady once it got dark. The ride back to TNT Marine Center was filled with lots of talk and laughter about the great fishing that they all had just experienced.
Give me a call to schedule your trip and get in on this action. Who knows, the next strike could be that 100 pound plus fish that you've dreamed about catching. If not, the 35 - 80 pound fish will be more than a hand full to handle. For Bay action, call to find out when the tides will be right for the evening hours that you're willing to fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 167
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 19, 2009 - 5:33 pm: | |
The action has been hot and heavy both offshore and inshore. Offshore, the main attraction has been sailfish. The good north current has finally become much more prominent and consistent. This along with the fronts passing through our area has produced outstanding sailfish action. Move inshore and tarpon has remained steady. The cooler weather has the shrimp moving and the tarpon are taking advantage of good feeding opportunities. They are now even feeding better during the daily light hours. Mixed in with them has been bluefish and spanish mackerel. The one puzzling item is the fact that live bait fishing has been hot and cold. Some days it's a struggle to find enough bait while others it's a piece of cake.
Chris Nichols from Raleigh, NC caught and released his first tarpon while his wife, Beverly caught all the action of video. The fish hit a jig and shrimp combo during the daytime along the beach at Haulover. Prior to the tarpon hit, Chris also caught a spanish mackerel of 5 pounds.
Carol Skriloff from New Orleans, LA saw plenty of action on an afternoon/evening combo trip. We had action with sailfish on the kite in 126', tarpon along the beach at Haulover, and also had bluefish crash our baits while we were waiting for the tarpon hits.
With more cold fronts coming through this week, the action should continue to be great, so give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your fishing trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 166
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 1:58 pm: | |
Miami Tarpon Action Is Fast And Furious! January 8, 2009
The New Year has started off on a very positive note with tarpon being the most reliable catch. The action has been hot and furious on every evening that I’ve fished. This action should continue throughout the entire season from now till the end of June and with some luck the first week of July.
The Green Family, Harry, Tami, their daughter Holley along with Holley’s boyfriend, Reid Coley spent half a day fishing in the afternoon. The first action we saw was a kingfish on the downrigger. We had good north current and the water color was decent. We had to wait a while for our next strike, however, our patience paid off when Harry watched the bow flatline get hit and the fish came charging toward the boat before veering off and making a very long run. The sailfish finally showed itself with a series of tremendous jumps. At that point, Harry turned the rod over to Reid and the fight was on. There were lots of jumps, long runs, and some sounding done by this very large sailfish. Reid kept the pressure up while everyone else marveled at the size and strength of the fish. Lots of pictures were taken before the fish finally gave in to Reid relentless pressure. More pictures were taken and the fish was released. A quick measurement on the boat side showed the fish at a very nice 7 foot 8 inches total length.
Jamie Rivero is a tarpon enthusiast at heart. It always amazes and thrills him when he gets to fight his favorite fish. Our first two drifts produced two strikes. One gave us our hook back and the other put on a great leaping show at boat side. The action slowed for a little while and then got hot again. Once again, we had two strikes on two drifts. As if a carbon copy of our first series, the first fish was dumping line off the reel at an alarming rate before jumping several times and giving us our hook back. The second strike hooked up solid and Jamie was all smiles as this fish also put on a great aerial display at boat side while I was shining a spotlight on the feisty tarpon. The sight of a fish jumping and throwing water and sprayed every where is one that is not soon forgotten.
Mark Davis from the Big Water Adventures TV Show and I go back a long ways. He came down to shoot a show featuring the great tarpon fishery that we have in Miami. His timing was perfect. Before getting into the tarpon, we spent several hours offshore during the late morning and early afternoon. Conditions were less than ideal; however, the show got off to a good start when a 25# bull dolphin ate both baits that we had flying from the kite. We ran in, got a quick bite to eat, regrouped our tackle, and went back out in search of our main goal the tarpon. On the second drift, we got ‘em on, for 4 jumps and a thrown hook. Then the fish shut down for a while. I worked the entire length of the Haulover Tarpon Hole before we found one out deeper than the fish have normally been holding. Everything went fine and we got lots of film footage. After moving all the way to the far end of the Hole, the action turned on. Another very feisty tarpon made lots of jumps for the camera. Another drift and the big boy of the evening had Mark working hard to keep up with the fish. The cameras kept rolling, Mark kept fighting, and I was very busy with maneuvering the boat while the tarpon did everything it could to try and get away. With all the success of the first evening, we called it a night and made plans for the next evening’s Bay tarpon trip.
The next evening we got to our location just as the leading edge of a cold front was passing through. We waited out the rain and wind while hiding under a bridge. As soon as it passed through, the skies cleared and the wind switched to the NW and conditions got perfect for what we were trying to accomplish. To quickly sum up the action, we had 6 fish on in a time frame of 1 hour and 20 minutes before it started to rain again and we said we had more than enough action for the show. As soon as I’m given the dates for when the show is to be aired, I’ll be sure and pass the info on in my report.
The tarpon action is great. Give me a call at 305 965-9454 or email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your evening tarpon trip and test your angling skills with the strength and power of the beautiful Silver King.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 165
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - 4:00 pm: | |
It's the last day of 2008 and it's been another very successful year of fishing for me aboard Knot Nancy. I'd like to thank everyone who fished with me this past year and look forward to fishing with you again in 2009. I very much appreciate your business and confidence in me and will continue to work hard to make your fishing dreams come true.
To all the people who will fish with me for the first time you can be assured that I will do everything I can to make sure you have a pleasurable trip. Making your dreams of catching a fish that you've only seen on TV shows come true is one of the things that I enjoy most about being a fishing guide.
Lets start with the offshore. The good news is that we've finally gotten some good blue water and good north current in close. This means that the sailfishing has picked up and there are still dolphin passing through the South Florida area. We've had more than our share of very windy weather and this too has calmed down. On two of my recent trips, I've had either one or two anglers feel the effects of the ocean motion.
Now for the OUTSTANDING news. Tarpon fishing is red hot in the winter time spots. Live shrimp is the ticket and there are plenty of fish and they are hungry and eager to please.
As I mentioned before, two of my trips involved windy weather with winds as high as 22 knots. To the die hard sail fisherman, this is perfect weather, however, to the casual angler it's mighty rough. Both trips were cut short, but not before catching dolphin and kingfish.
The wind calmed down and Monty Rabner and his 8 year old son, Jake spent some quality guy time together. Jake caught his fish kingfish and yellowtail snapper and we had a shot at a sailfish, but it decided to give us back our hook as it came charging toward the boat.
Brothers Court and Herb Conover fished and afternoon/evening trip. We worked hard and got our reward late in the afternoon when Herb did battle with a very large and feisty sailfish. This was only a warm up for what was to follow as dusk and darkness came on. By 6 pm we had our baits out for tarpon. It didn't take long for a silver beauty to find a shrimp. For the remainder of the evening, we seemed to get a tarpon strike on every other drift. By the end of the trip, we had put in 3 hours of effort to catch tarpon and were rewarded with four Silver King in the 40 - 70 pound class. There was no hogging of the rods and Court and Herb each caught and released two fish.
The next night, I had three Cincinnati fans, Dan Young, Joe Young, and Jeff Whited who had never caught tarpon before. They were really psyched to catch one. The tarpon were just as psyched to show them what tarpon fishing is all about. One our first drift, Joe got his chance. We got the fish up to the boat and got the catch, however, the tarpon was camera shy and gave us back our hook on its third jump. Next it was Jeff's turn and he got to pull on a hard fighting tarpon. His fish also was camera shy. Dan was up next and a few drifts later he too was connected to a mean and nasty tarpon. A lull in the action and a couple of ladyfish and a blue runner filled in the time. Then the fish turned on again and it was time for round two for each angler. By the end of the evening we were 6 for 7 on tarpon in the 40 pound class. They also got less camera shy and the entire roll of film was used up getting some get boat side and action shots. Each angler had realized his dream of catching a tarpon and are now hooked on tarpon fishing. Wait till you get your first 100 pound fish guys. The sight of 6 foot of silver dynamite clearing the water in a 6 foot high jump will have your adrenaline rushing.
Jeff Godel, Luke Boe, and Dave Bonebreak closed out 2008 with a bang. Blue water, north current and light wind had us using a helium balloon to keep the kite up. Along with two flatlines, we worked our way north from the Sea Buoy. The kite saw the first action and then a flatline. Both fish were large bonito and Jeff said he could catch these fish all day long. The baits went back out and the flatline saw the next action this time it was a sailfish and Luke had his hands full. He did an outstanding job of keeping pressure on the fish and after what seemed like an eternity, the sailfish finally gave in to the pressure and Luke had caught his first sailfish. After that excitement, the action slowed down as the current slowed down.
That sums up the action through December 31st. January means more sailfish and more tarpon. The dates are beginning to fill up so don't hesitate and lose out on getting in on the action. It's just a phone call or email to get a date scheduled and realize your dream of catching a quality monster fish.
See you on the edge.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305-965-9454 cell
305-620-5896 charter
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 164
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 13, 2008 - 6:45 am: | |
Old Man Winter is definitely making his presence felt in South Florida. Cold front after cold front have been pushing their way through our area and each one is dropping our temperatures down a bit more. For many, this is a welcome relief from the summer heat. For others, its something that has to be tolerated, but they prefer the warm climate that South Florida normally offers. The good news is that it only lasts a few days and our temperatures climb back quickly to a more comfortable range.
For our friends up North, however, the cold grip of winter lasts much longer and snow, ice, and blustery wind conditions become daily hazards that have to be dealt with. After a while it's time for a break and we welcome you to South Florida for a vacation from the cold weather.
What these cold fronts do for us is jump start our winter fishery. And that's just what they have been doing. Offshore, we are seeing more and more kingfish and sailfish. Dolphin continue to push south past our area seeking warmer water. This gives us good action as the winds associated with the fronts will kick up the seas and the fish just love the addition aeration in the water. Kite fishing becomes the most popular method for seeking sailfish action. Flatlines catch their fair share of sails also. Kingfish and dolphin aren't very choosey and will hit baits on the kite, flatlines, downrigger, or bottom rod.
Closer to shore and right off the beaches, spanish mackerel become a target for many. We've already had a few runs of these tasty speedsters. Fishing an 8, 10, or 12 pound spinning outfit will give anyone lots of fun and enjoyment. When the spanish are about, the action becomes fast and furious in a hurry.
Now let's move right in on the beach around the Inlets and into the Bay. The cold fronts and associated winds do wonderful things in this area also. They get the shrimp up and moving. Shrimpers brave the blustery conditions from their boats, seawalls, jetties, docks, and bridges to dip up their fair share of these tasty crustaceans. The fish also take notice of the shrimp moving and that brings us to my favorite fish the mighty TARPON. Also known as the silver king, these fabulous fish will test your tackle and angling skills to the max. Whether the fish is 30 or 150 pounds or anywhere in between, from the initial strike through the long hard powerful runs, giant leaps into the air, stubborn down deep fighting, and a never give up attitude you'll listen to the reel scream and you'll be tested both physically and mentally before bringing the fish along side for a few pictures and release. After catching one, it's a quick set up again to try for another and don't be surprised if it happens before you've hardly had a chance to catch your breath.
Last night, we had another successful evening of tarpon fishing at the Inlet. Not only did we catch tarpon, we saw then rolling, marked them on the recorder, and watched one jump completely out of the water as it exploded on shrimp that it was feeding on. And yes, we also saw shrimp moving in the water.
The winter tarpon season is here and it will continue on through the end of June. That may seem like a long time, however, the time will fly by very quickly and I'm already starting to book tarpon dates, so get your trip scheduled early before you forget and miss out on challenging this mighty fish. I'm also starting to book dates for offshore trips too. For those who have a limited time schedule and would like to catch both the sailfish and tarpon in the same day, you might want to consider an afternoon/evening trip or as I refer to it, the best of both worlds. Booking a trip is very easy, just email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net or call me at 305 965-9454.
As we get toward the end of December, the college football season will end with many many bowl games across our great country. This year we are very fortunate to have both the Orange Bowl game (Jan 1, 2009) and the FedEx BCS Championship Game (Jan 8, 2009). South Florida will host many fans from the teams of both games. To the teams from Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and Florida I say congratulations on your achievements. To the fans of these teams who will be attending the games, thanks for coming down and visiting our area. There are many sites and things to do and see, but most of all, make plans to take advantage of our great fishing. Come down a day earlier or stay a day later and schedule a fishing trip. Not only will you have memories of your team's victory, but additional memories of catching fish species that you don't have back home.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305-965-9454 cell
305-620-5896 charter
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 163
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 30, 2008 - 6:53 am: | |
The offshore scene has been seeing its ups and downs. On days when there is wind blowing, the fishing has been very good. On days when the wind is calm or very light, the fish are spreading out and it takes a lot of searching and some luck to put together a decent catch. If you are out on a day when there is north current in on the reef, the fishing is good. When the current moves out, the best bet is to find the current edge and fish it no matter how deep the water is. Both trolling and live baiting will produce fish, with live baiting being more productive on most days. By fishing the entire water column, you'll be able to zero in on what method the fish prefer on any given day.
Tino Poo and his associates Felipe Echeverri and Romano Arango got in a 3/4 day of fishing. The weather was perfect and the fish co-operated. Fishing on the edge, the birds put us on several dolphin in the 5 - 10 pound class. Slow trolling in closer in the blue/green water added a kingfish and a nice 12# dolphin to the fish box. Add a shark and bonito to round out the catch for another good fishing trip aboard Knot Nancy. Back at TNT Marine Center after cleaning the fish, everyone went home with enough fillets and steaks for several meals.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305-965-9454 cell
305-620-5896 charter
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 162
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 - 7:33 pm: | |
Its been quite a while since my last report. It's now time to start fishing on a more regular basis, so lets get caught up. Knot Nancy is now equipped with a new set of Yamaha 150hp Four Stroke engines. The combination of more quiet, more fuel efficient, and no more adding oil to a reservoir is outstanding. On the tackle front, all my conventional reels are now Penn brand. My spinning reels continue to be the Pflueger series. Now lets get to the fishing reports.
To sum it up very quickly, fishing has been outstanding despite the lack of north current. Sailfish, dolphin, and swordfish are being caught on a regular basis. Kingfish are being caught, however not on as steady a basis as they will be shortly when we get our first run. Spanish mackerel have made a strong showing close to shore.
My favorite fish, the tarpon, are already feeding along the beach and in the Bay. That's a great sign as they normally don't begin to show until mid to late December.
Fabio Nick and Luis Stabinski spent a half day catching kingfish and several small sharks. The sharks ate flatline and kite baits and the kingfish ate baits on both the downrigger and bottom rods.
Bill Davis, Jim Jordan, and Aaron Given took advantage of tide conditions to fish both along the beach and in the Bay. The result was tarpon action in both areas.
Brian Jinks hosted brothers Gaby, Kiki, and Andy Herrero of Herrero & Sons to a 3/4 day trip. Fishing on the blue/green edge, we had action with sailfish, dolphin and bonito. All the sailfish action came on the kite and the downrigger and flatlines accounted for the dolphin and bonito strikes.
Spencer Pepe loves to fish. So much so that he no longer keeps any fish nor does he want to take any pictures. That was very good news for the dolphin we caught during a full day trip. They're still swimming out there today and maybe a bit wiser. The fish were in the 5 - 10 pound range and Spencer had a blast baiting, hooking, and fighting lots of dolphin during the course of the day. The action came in the blue water in the 650 - 850 foot range. On the way in we found large flocks of birds working over skipjack tuna. We hooked up two fish, landed one and pulled the hook on the other while high speed trolling jigs.
The action is great, so give me a call to schedule your trip. On the day of your trip, if the wind is up, don't forget to take your sea sick pills. The fish don't mind the bumpy seas and most times, the fishing is even better.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305-965-9454 cell
305-620-5896 charter
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 161
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 - 8:20 am: | |
With everything that has been going on with the economy, it's time to give our minds a rest, relieve some stress and participate in much more pleasant things. The first thing that comes to mind is FISHING!! The fish don't care about the economy and they've been willing and eager to please. Kingfish are making a strong fall showing. They are still feeding in a summer fashion, that is on the downrigger and bottom rod. Mutton snapper have been pleasing many people as they too are making a strong fall showing. Further offshore, the dolphin are still flowing through. The moderate winds we've been having make it a bit more difficult to spot the floating debris, however, the birds will still put you on the fish. If you pick a day when the seas have calmed down, then running and gunning is a great way to go and with calmer seas, it's also easier on the body.
Aboard Knot Nancy, we've been sticking to the closer waters since the wind has been in the moderate range on the days I've fished. Aaron Wages and his parents Randy and Helen along with his girlfriend, Erin Roof got in on a mixed bag day. With green water, no current, and wind from the E/ENE @ 12 - 16 knots, we took our time getting out to the 250 foot range to start our drifts. The fish were scattered throughout the 90 - 250 foot range. On this day, all the action came on the flatlines with the exception of kingfish. Add to that dolphin and barracuda and the half day trip put smiles on 2 of the anglers and the other 2 hung in there with mild cases of sea sickness.
My next trip was a very special one. It's been a very long time since I've fished with my brother Dennis. We've always had great trips together, so I expected this was going to be another one of those trips. Besides my brother, his girlfriend Teresa Ottaviano, and Teresa's sisters Darinda and Collette made up the rest of the group. Darinda and Collette were visiting from Washington state and had never been out on the Atlantic or caught any fish. We had similar conditions from the previous trip with current and water color. The wind was down a bit coming from the E @ 11 - 13 knots. As with the previous trip, catching bait didn't take very long and only required about 3 throws of the castnet to stuff the livewell with pilchards. Once the baits were out, it didn't take very long for the action to start. The kingfish were snapping in two very distinct depth ranges. The first was 180 - 190 feet and the second was 100 - 120 feet. All the action we saw during the morning trip were on the downrigger and bottom rods. Everyone got multiple shots at catching fish and a fish fry was being planned from the first kingfish that went into the fish box. On the way back in, we slow trolled in the canals back to TNT Marine Center looking for a possible tarpon. Instead, we did battle with some very feisty jack crevalles that exploded on our live chum baits. There were lots of pictures taken at the dock and smiles on everyone's faces. It's been way to long Dennis, we need to fish together much more often.
There you have it. Isn't it much better talking about and participating in fishing rather than worrying so much. Lots of dates are open. All it takes is an email to nkostyo@bellsouth.net or a phone call to 305 965-9454 to set up your trip and relieve some of the everyday stress.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 160
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, October 01, 2008 - 1:13 pm: | |
It's been a while since my last report. Between the Tropical Storms, Hurricanes, the economy, back to school, etc., there have not seemed to be to many people interested in fishing. This is quite a shame as the fishing has been quite good.
Lets talk about what you've been missing. This is the time of year when the dolphin typically start their migration back south from cooling northern waters to warmer southern waters. Add in all the easterly winds and swells we've been having and the combination has pushed lots of debris into and through our area. Along with the debris there have been plenty of dolphin. Most of the fish have been in the 5 - 15 pound range with some larger ones mixed in. Throw in some wahoo that are deeper under the debris and schools of dolphin and the combination of fish makes for a tasty treat at the table. Most all of this action has been along the blue/green edge which has been mostly on the deep side from 5 - 11 miles out. There have been plenty of frigate birds working the edge and they'll put you on the fish.
Now lets move in closer. There is still action with kingfish, bonito, and barracuda. The bottom rod seems to be the one that is still seeing the majority of action. Work the artificial wrecks in the 200 - 300 foot range and hold on tight as you tangle with the strong and powerful amberjack (commonly referred to as AJ or reef donkey). Reel up one or two AJ's and you'll be ready to move on to another species of fish. Anchor up on wrecks in the 100 - 180 foot range and the tasty mutton snapper could be added to the fish box. When you can find some north current, the chances of getting a visit from a sailfish will greatly increase and don't be surprised if a sailfish crashes your bait while you're working the edge for dolphin no matter how far out you find the edge.
For those who want to stick to the inshore waters, there are plenty of finger mullet and the tarpon are having a feast. This is the time of year when the tarpon are in the 5 - 20 pound range and, yes, there can be some bigger ones mixed in. Slow trolling finger mullet along seawalls, canals, current edges, shadow lines, and mouths of canals will have you in awe as these acrobatic fish put on a spectacular aerial show. It'll be a couple of more months before we get our winter push of tarpon at the inlets and along the beach. Besides the tarpon, mix in some hard fighting jack crevalle and some snook and any inshore angler should be in fishing heaven.
For those who want to get together and find out more about the various styles of fishing and how to in our area, Tom Davies is putting together a series of seminars in the auditorium at the IGFA Hall of Fame. The first one is Oct 2nd at 6:30 pm. It's free to the public, so make some plans to attend. The plans are to hold this event once a month. Check the fishing forums and blogs for future dates. I'll being doing a seminar on winter tarpon fishing at the inlets and along the beach at the first event.
There you have it. The fishing is good. All it takes is to pick up the phone and call 305 965-9454 or email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip. There are plenty of open dates and everyone needs some play time to take their minds off the everyday grind and events of the past several weeks. Call me and lets get out there and catch some fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 159
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, September 07, 2008 - 12:13 pm: | |
We are now having a very busy hurricane season. The major networks seem to want to cover the storms starting when they are thousands of miles away. They show seven day forecasts that turn out to be just that, forecasts. Even the three day forecasts turn out to change in a day or two. There is just to much information being passed along to the general public and in reality, all it is doing is scaring a whole lot of people and getting the rest all worked up. Yes we need information, however, unless you are very lacks about hurricane preparation, then you already have your supplies and a plan for your family, house, boat, car, etc. Hurricane warnings are issued with at least 24 hours of notice. How much longer does one need to prepare. Every time a storm approaches, plywood goes flying out of the lumber stores. I often wonder what happens to that plywood afterwards. Does it just get thrown away, because when the next storm comes close, plywood becomes a big demand item again. It would seem that after a few threats of storms, that most everyone would have all the plywood they need.
Enough said about hurricanes and tropical storms. Fishing prior to and several days after a storm passes through can be outstanding. The trouble is that the networks have everyone so worked up that they can't take advantage of the good fishing. I'm not talking about tropical storm force winds. We get worse wind conditions with summer time afternoon thunderstorms and with cold fronts during the winter. The three trips listed below had wind conditions in the 9 - 17 knot range. Perfect for kite fishing if you choose.
Greg Socherman, Kevin Corona, and Scott Bronante got in a half day of fishing the day before TS Fay arrived. The trip was cut short when the first band from the storm barreled down on us and had heavy rain, strong wind, and lots of lightning strikes. Before that happened, the downrigger produced a 20# kingfish and the bottom rod added a 25# amberjack. Both fish made it to the smoker and by now has been enjoyed by everyone. Every time one of the anglers (I won't mention him by name) touched a rod, he reeled in a remora. Just to prove it wasn't a fluke, he did it 3 times.
John & Kevin King and Brian & Keith Peacock fished after TS Fay on the first day when the weather settled down to almost calm. The current was pushing very hard to the north and the beautiful blue water was in as shallow as 105 feet. We started off the Twins and had to run back south once before the half day trip came to an end. Every time we came close to the color change, we had action. When we ran out to deeper water, the bottom rod got hit by something that got use back in some structure. The fish pulled so hard that the angler could not even turn the handle on the reel. Everyone got in on some action and having fun and not catching any particular species of fish was the goal of the trip. When the morning came to an end we had seen action with bonito, kingfish, barracuda, and the mystery bottom fish.
Camilo Vasquez, Olga Rodriguez, and Jose Puerta had the honor of taking the first trip with my new Yamaha engines. With Hurricane Gustav churning to our south, the wind was starting to pick up all morning long. Off of the Twins, there was a hard blue/green edge in 120 feet. Working the blue side paid off very quickly in the form of a sailfish that hit the downrigger bait. Camilo did a fantastic job of fighting the fish in some rough sea conditions. Video and pictures were taken and the fish was released. Back to the edge and the next fish was a barracuda that Jose caught and released. We had another sailfish come up and take a look at our baits, chase them around for a while, decided not to eat and disappeared. Shortly there after, a shark cooperated and Olga fought and released that fish. By then, the motion of the ocean had gotten to be more than one of the anglers could take any longer and we called it a half day. Once back at TNT Marine Center and on solid ground, they recovered quickly.
Besides the usual kingfish, bonito, barracuda, and AJ's that are around this time of year, the mutton snapper are making a strong showing. Sailfish are also cooperating when we have a good strong north current and there are still dolphin offshore.
Hurricane Ike is making its way toward Cuba. The Keys are keeping a close watch on its progress. Here in Miami, the wind today is in the 8 - 15 knot range. So lets keep up with the storms progress and in the mean time, lets get out and do some fishing to take advantage of the great weather we're having. Send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net or call me 305 965-9454 and lets set a date and go catch some fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 158
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 01, 2008 - 3:08 pm: | |
It's summertime and that means fish early or late and watch for the afternoon thunderstorms. It's also the time of year when the downrigger and bottom rod will out produce the flatlines on most trips. The majority of action will be for kingfish, bonito, and AJ's with a few sailfish, mutton snapper, and blackfin tuna. Offshore, the dolphin have made a return after mostly being absent for several days after the full moon. Inshore the tarpon have gone into their summertime mode. The means fishing dead bait on the bottom, slow trolling pilchards in various canals, or fishing the bridges after dark. The action isn't always as reliable as during the January - June time frame, however, when the silver king is flying high on the end of your line and pulling like the dickens, it'll make all the effort well worth it.
Neil Schlesinger treated his friend James Ponsford from Paradise, Australia to a half day of fishing. The wind kicked up so calm seas were not in order. Our first drift had us putting two kingfish in the fish box. One on the downrigger and the other on the bottom rod. The flatline gave us a remora that was released. The second drift added another kingfish from the downrigger and a dolphin and bonito from the flatlines. By this time, the motion of the ocean had one of the anglers feeling very bad, so the decision was made to call it a morning and get him back to more stable ground.
Barry Rosenberg and his son Eric wanted some fishing action during the late afternoon. Enter the bonito. Starting south of the Cuban Hole, it didn't take long for the bottom rod to bend into action. Eric had his hands full as the bonito didn't want any part of being reeled in. Meanwhile, his Dad was hooked up with his bonito that ate a downrigger bait. Both fish finally gave in to the pressure that the father and son team put on them. Before it got dark, we had action with more bonito and a chopped in half bait by a toothy critter.
Steven Grover and his 7 year old son, Josh along with Seth Lehrman and his 7 year old son, Josh wanted to catch some dolphin. We started much later than normal, however, it didn't make any difference in the long run. Our first order of business was to catch some live herring to add to the live pilchards. Both boys got to get in on the fun of bait fishing outside of Haulover and we quickly had all the bait we needed. While running out looking for signs of fish, I spotted a floater that held no bait and no fish. Continuing our run out, we came up to a very good weedline. As we slow trolled our baits down the line, we saw a school of dolphin holding under another floater mixed in with the grass. The fun started and the fish were hungry. Along with help from their Dad's, each boy caught dolphin till they asked to fish for something else. When we had all the fish we wanted, the school was still with us and continued to swim around our boat while we cleaned up and drank lots of water and sports drinks. We ran back in to 170 feet and put out the downrigger outfit and the bottom rod. Within a minute of setting the bottom rod, it got hit and we caught a very large bonito that had both Steven and Seth sharing the rod. The weather started to build up and we decided to call it a half day and run back to TNT Marine Center where everyone got to see lots of jacks and tarpon eating the scraps as I cleaned the dolphin.
Today's trip was a dolphin hunt with Tito Quinto, his 11 year old daughter, Lauren, and his sister Bessy. We headed offshore with a livewell full of pilchards and herring. At 8.5 miles out from Haulover, we found several frigate birds and some terns working a heavy weed area. Slow trolling didn't take very long to locate some dolphin and Lauren caught her first two dolphin. Tito caught another one and then the motion of the ocean had two of the anglers feeling real bad. They hung in there for just a little while and then it was decided to run back in to find calmer water inside the Bay back in the canals leading to TNT Marine Center. We slow trolled a couple of pilchards in the canals and were rewarded with a visit from a tarpon that ate and hooked up solid. Tito did a great job of fighting and bringing the fish along side for a few photos taken by Lauren. Some of the home owners along the canal got to see the show the tarpon put on as it make more than a few jumps both away from and close to the boat.
Jason Smith along with Dani Prinzing, Eric Didio, and Francis Mace got into to some very good summertime fishing. Fishing from the Twin Towers north to 87th Street in 190 - 210 feet gave us all the action. The blue water and strong north current gave us ideal conditions. The bottom rod was the hot rod on this day except for the first kingfish and a sailfish. Add four (4) more kingfish and a 40# amberjack and everyone got in on the action. It was Dani's turn when the AJ hit and she did an outstanding job of handling the fish and showing it who's boss.
Federico Restrepo and his group spent a full day sampling the summertime action both on the reef and offshore for dolphin. The conditions on this day for kingfish, bonito, and AJ's were far from good. Green water and no current had us barely moving. Despite these less than ideal conditions, we caught a kingfish and bonito on the bottom rod fished just off the bottom in 213 feet. Dropping on several wrecks produced no further action so offshore we went in search of dolphin. The weedlines and large patches that we found were nothing less than fantastic. They started in 800 feet and we went no further than 950 feet and found line after line after line. There were lots of bait fish under most of the weed and it didn't take long before there were dolphin all around the boat. Most of the fish were less than legal size, however, that didn't matter as we were doing catch and release on this trip. Everyone got in on the action using both live bait and jigs. There were times when the fish got very finicky about feeding. All it took was to move out to the next line and find another school of fish that were more cooperative. Lots of pictures were taken to capture all the memories of the action and by day's end, the sun and action had everyone very tired.
There's action to be had, all it takes is for you to make a phone call to 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net and schedule your trip. The days are available, so contact me and let's go catch some fish and make some memories.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 157
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 06, 2008 - 2:54 pm: | |
The last part of June and the beginning of July has seen excellent fishing both offshore and inshore. If you fish the waters in the 100 - 250 foot range its been bonito, kingfish, amberjack, and an occasional blackfin tuna or sailfish. Move further out in the 800 - 1000 foot range and the dolphin fishing has been very rewarding. The key to finding the dolphin in our area has been to find birds, both terns and frigates. The schools have been fast moving and going south for the most part.
Inshore, the tarpon have remained very consistent. Throw in a permit now and then and you have the makings for an excellent evening of fishing. If you're out on an evening when you have the first of the out going tide after it gets dark, there have been shrimp runs and the tarpon are feeding good and it won't be long before they'll find your bait.
Peter Hare and his son David took their first saltwater fishing trip off Miami. They didn't know what to expect and they just wanted some rod bending action. They got just that in the form of bonito and a dolphin. Within minutes of putting out the first baits, the action started and was consistent throughout the morning. When we reeled one bonito up to the boat, it usually had a few friends following and ready to eat our live bait. The dolphin was a welcome relief after several bonito since it didn't fight as hard. At the end of the morning, both father and son were very tired with sore arms, sore backs, and big smiles on their faces.
Stan Feltman and his 14 year old son, Jason wanted to pull on some tarpon. They got to do just that. It didn't take long to get the first tarpon to eat our crab offering. The tide was going out with a decent ENE/E wind and the fish made its way to the main channel very quickly. Jason did an outstanding job of staying with the fish as we rocked and rolled offshore with the out going tide. His persistence paid off and he released his first tarpon after a long hard fight. When the tide changed and started in, it was Stan's turn to do battle with a tarpon. His fish also moved to the main channel very quickly, except this time the Cut was very calm as the fish made its way inward. Just when Stan thought the fight was going to end, the fish made a very strong run right back to the bottom of the channel 45 feet down. He kept the pressure up and once again the fish went back down. Each time the tarpon showed signs of weakening. After we got all the pictures, I released the big tarpon and we headed in going 2 for 3.
Each year, Captain Dave Sutton puts on an event called the American Veterans Fish-Off. Numerous guides in the area donate their time to say thanks to our Veterans by taking them fishing for a half day. The fishing is followed by a luncheon and the event is growing larger and larger each year. I have to thank the following business and persons for making it possible for me to participate in this event. TNT Marine Center, where I dock my boat, donated the fuel so I could make the run from North Miami to Homestead Bay Front Park where the event originates from. Thank you John and Donna Tomlinson and Mike and Marilyn Thomas for this generous donation. You run a first class operation and I know I'm located at the best marina in all of South Florida. Thank you also goes to Brian Jinks who made a donate in memory of his father who was a veteran. And finally to Mike Gintoli (Mike on the Greenline) for kicking in some extra bait that morning. On board my boat for this event was Darrin Barritt and his wife Lori. Darrin was in the Air Force for 10 years and is now an instructor pilot for F-15 and F-16 fighter jets with the Missouri Air National Guard. Sue Cocking from the Miami Herald and professional photographer Sam Rootjanapunt (Sam Root) rounded out the crew. We ran out through Caesar's Creek and fished the area north of Pacific Light up to Triumph Reef. Darrin spotted a flock of terns that were over a school of dolphin. The action was instant when I put the first bait in the water. Everyone got in on the action and Sam got some outstanding shots of jumping dolphin. Things then settled down and we had action on the bottom rod but failed to hook up until the very last drift. That's when Darrin got to do battle with an amberjack that while not large in size, put up one heck of a battle. After a few quick pictures it was released and immediately headed straight back down to deeper water. If you're reading this report on a website other than mine, you can go to http://www.knotnancy.com/report.html to see the outstanding shots that Sam got of jumping dolphin. For pictures that Sam took during the entire event, check out the following link http://www.saltyshores.com/vetfishoff2008.html Also, be sure and check out his website at http://www.saltyshores.com/
Mark and Carol Little along with their two children James and Emily experienced a family tarpon fishing trip together. The action started quick and continued till just after dark. During that time, we had 3 shots at tarpon. The first one was on and everything was going well for about the first 5 minutes of the fight. Then for no apparent reason, the hook pulled. The next fish was hooked up solid and was on for three jumps before it bit through the leader. The third fish went ballistic from the start and after 3 tremendous jumps it threw the hook. It was a real frustrating evening on my part, however, everyone had smiles with just seeing and feeling the power of a tarpon.
The next evening, Mike Little treated Scott Bakos and Chris Baxter to an evening of tarpon fishing. Also along was Mike's brother Mark. The first action of the evening had Scott hooked up with a fish that just wasn't acting like a tarpon. Scott kept the pressure up and it didn't take to long to confirm my suspicion about it not being a tarpon. Scott caught and released a very nice size permit. After it got dark and the tide changed and started running out strongly, the shrimp made a run and tarpon were there to feast on them. That's when Chris hooked up solidly to a tarpon. His fish cooperated by staying on the south side and not running to the main channel. After releasing the tarpon, the very next drift had us hooked up again and this time it was Scott's turn again. The fish had us making a mad rush for the deep water of the main channel and that's where the majority of the battle took place. Back and forth it went with Scott gaining the advantage only to have the tarpon run off all the line Scott had gained. This went on for a while with Scott gaining just a bit more each time. The fish finally allowed us to take a picture or two before I released it to fight again on another day. Final count on this evening was 1 permit and 2 for 2 on tarpon to 90 pounds.
John Perkins and Brad Coren had been waiting for me to let them know that legal sized dolphin had finally shown up in our area. We had a trip scheduled earlier, however, we postponed it a week due to windy conditions. Also along on the trip was John's brother, Kree and Brad's uncle, Harold. You couldn't have asked for a better day weather wise. It started out a bit on the windy side but it soon calmed down to almost no wind. We found 2 frigate birds beating the surface along a weedline in about 800 feet. The action started immediately and the fish hung around for quite a while. When it stopped, we were well on our way to a good catch. We ran south looking for more bird action and saw none. I swung offshore some and Harold and I spotted some likely looking slicks. As I approached the first one, we spotted one tern that was acting like they do when they're over fish. Then we saw fish busting the surface. We were back in the action again and this school also hung around. When the action stopped this time, we called it quits for dolphin fishing as we had our limit of dolphin. We made one drift in the 110 - 200 foot range before heading back in to clean the fish.
Eileen Clark, her brother Stephen Berish and his 15 year old son Matt had a few goals in mind. First, they wanted a few dolphin to take home for dinner. Next it was to catch a kingfish as neither Stephen or Matt had caught one. We ran out looking for dolphin first. After finding two frigate birds working close to the surface, we broke the ice with two dolphin. The birds kept moving south and several of us kept moving south with them. It was get up ahead of the birds, put out the baits and wait for the dolphin to find them. We kept picking off a few until we had half a dozen. With dinner accomplished, it was time to head back in and try for the kingfish. We started our drift in 200 feet and when we reached 140, the action started. A flatline hooked up with a bonito that Stephen fought. The downrigger got hit also and Eileen caught a very nice size kingfish. The next drift saw action with another bonito and a small kingfish on the bottom rod. The final action was once again on the bottom rod and was a nice size mutton snapper. Final count for a half day of fishing was 6 dolphin, 2 bonito, 2 kingfish, and 1 mutton snapper with all the action taking place in the 110 - 140 foot range.
Phil Griswold, his son Richard, and Richard's girlfriend Angelica Sunday had two goals in mind. First was to have Angelica catch her first fish and second to take home some fish for a fish fry. Offshore we ran looking for birds. We found a flock of terns working the surface at about 11 miles out and the first goal was accomplished with Angelica catching her first fish. We also caught another dolphin before the school moved off. On this day, the schools didn't want to hang around to long. The next set of birds had us putting a couple more fish in the box. We kept an eye on a storm cloud that was well offshore from us and watched a water spout fill the clouds up. It got darker and the rain got heavier, however, it never pushed in completely toward us. The action got scarce until we were heading back in and found more frigate birds and terns working over a scattered weedline. By know, we were off Key Biscayne. The fish in this school were very picky eaters. Their stomachs were full and we watched them swim by us and ignore our offerings both live and jigs. Like yesterday, it was get up ahead of the birds as they moved south, put out the baits and hope that we'd find a fish or two that wanted to eat. This was the ticket as we would get one or two each time. We had enough dolphin for the fish fry so it was time to head in to try for something different. After setting up a drift starting in 160 feet, it didn't take very long before the action started. Phil grabbed the first rod and fought a bonito. As it got close to the boat, another bait got hit and Richard was hooked up. Then it was Phil again and then Richard again. Angelica finally wanted to try it and along with Richard's help, caught her first bonito. The bottom rod got hit by a toothy critter that could only put slash marks in the bait. Then finally in 100 feet, the bottom rod got hit immediately after the bait hit bottom and Richard caught the last fish of the trip. It too turned out to be a bonito. Final count was 12 dolphin and 7 bonito.
There it is, we're now caught up again with the action aboard Knot Nancy. It only takes a phone call to 305 965-9454 or an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to set up a trip and get in on the action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 156
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 2:25 pm: | |
The good news is that legal size dolphin have finally shown up in good numbers in our area. We've been waiting and not so patiently for the dolphin run to begin. Be prepared to burn some fuel in your search. The best action has been in the 13 - 25 mile out range in scattered weed, under birds, around floating debris if you're lucky enough to find any, or by just blind trolling.
Meanwhile, back in closer, it's been a mixed bag of bonito, kingfish, some blackfin tuna, and sailfish. We're in the summer time mode and that means fish early or fish late after the afternoon thunderstorms. The fish have mainly been hitting on the downrigger and/or bottom rod fished in deeper water. The sailfish are still hitting flatline baits so don't neglect putting out a few lines on the surface.
Inshore at Government Cut, the tarpon action has still remained consistent. Live crabs are seeing the vast majority of the action and it's been coming after dark.
Roko Izarra and Gabriel Bonsorte fished a half day before the thunderstorms rolled in. We had action at all three levels with the downrigger and bottom rod seeing the majority of hits. Kingfish, bonito, dolphin, and amberjack comprised our catch.
Jay Gamez tangled with some tarpon for the first time. Government Cut was the place and live crabs gave us all the action. We were 2 for 2 on large tarpon that took us for a tour of the area.
Paul Leader, Armando Deferia and his son Nicholas saw some hot tarpon action. Within 3 minutes of putting out the first baits, Armando was hooked up to a very angry tarpon that ran immediately for the deep water of the main channel. Paul had the video camera going and Armando had his hands full fighting the fish. Consistent pressure and some good angling finally subdued the fish and it was released. We reset our baits and before the lines can tight, we had another fish on. This time Nicholas was on the rod along with some help from his Dad. Paul's video camera was not getting any down time. The father and son combo finally got the best of the second fish and it too was released. When the tide changed, we went into the Bay and Armando got to experience what I refer to as gorilla tarpon fishing. The fish just did not want to give up and Armando was just as stubborn. We all got soaked by the tarpon when it splashed us all as it exploded away from the boat. The evening came to an end going 3 for 3.
Peter Pillone and Steve Harrington had their turn at tarpon fishing. The first fish hooked up solid. It took us for a nice long ride before we released it. More action on the south side never materialized and we ran over to the north side. We found the spot and had hits on three consecutive drifts. The tarpon, however, had other ideas about staying hooked up and letting us fight them. The evening ended at 1 for 4.
Steve Daitch along with co-workers Kenny Robbins, Rick Murphy, and John Ambrose flew in to go tarpon fishing. Things started off correctly with a large fish that took us into the main channel and then in to about the east end turning basin before it was finally photographed and released. Our next hit resulted in the tarpon throwing the hook on its first jump. Out third hit had us chasing a very hot fish toward the shallow water and then south. Every time we stated to gain line on the fish, it kept changing directions on us. It finally won its freedom when it found an underwater obstruction and frayed the line, resulting in the line parting. We went into the Bay and for the first time in many many trips, we had no action. Final for the evening was 1 for 3.
Roko Izarra and Gabriel Bonsorte came back for another half day of fishing. They wanted to learn more about fishing the area. The action started a bit on the slow side, however, it seemed to pick up momentum as the morning progressed. By the end of the trip, we'd seen action with shark, several bonito, kingfish, and sailfish. All the action came mainly on the downrigger and bottom rod in the 205 - 220 foot range.
That gets me caught up for now. I have more trips scheduled, so check back and see how the action is going. If you want to be a part of the action and the fishing report, give me a call at 305 965-9454 or email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule a trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 155
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 08, 2008 - 7:38 am: | |
The action offshore for sailfish, kingfish, bonito, blackfin tuna, and an occasional dolphin remains good. Some days require patience and a bit of searching, however, it's worth the wait to get the action going.
Meanwhile, inshore for tarpon, the action has been very consistent. Most of the time you have to wait them out till dusk and after dark, but once the action starts, it's almost every drift there after.
Jerry Scala and his sons Nick and Jack fished an afternoon/evening combo trip. With the wind coming from the ENE/E @ 12 - 18 knots, it wasn't long before one of the boys succumb to the motion of the ocean, but not before catching a bonito. We moved inshore to calmer waters to fish for tarpon. The fish were rolling all around us and ignoring our baits. We ran in to Monty's for a bite to eat and came back out ready for some tarpon action. We weren't disappointed. We hooked up and Nick caught and released his first tarpon. Next it was Dad's turn. We hooked up again and this fish never quit running. After a 150 yard run, the line went slack and we reeled in a pulled hook.
John Riechard, Evan Rodriguez, and Ken Hudson sampled the evening tarpon action at Government Cut. The conditions called for using floats on the baits as we had little to no wind. One of the floats finally went down and it took some quick reeling to get the slack out and come tight on the tarpon. John fought the tarpon and it took us for a tour of the main ship channel. When we released the fish, he was amazed at its power, stamina, and how far we had traveled. The next drift had Evan hooked up and this fish took the same route to the main channel. We got the catch on this fish early in the fight and once it found the deep water, Evan kept the pressure up. The hook pulled and Evan was also amazed at how powerful the tarpon are. After the tide changed, we were treated to tarpon exploding on baits drifting out with the tide. A tarpon finally found our bait and John was hooked up again. This time it was a short fight as the fish threw the hook on its first jump. We ran into the Bay for the last part of the trip and it didn't take long before John got to experience what I call Gorilla Tarpon fishing. The fish ran straight at the boat and we got the catch. It then took a tour around the boat and under and over the anchor line twice before heading back to where we hooked up. It then made a mad dash down current as we started to chase it. It found some structure before we could clear past it and released itself. It was just another wild evening of tarpon fishing going 2 for 3 outside and 1 for 1 in the Bay.
Brian Jinks, Jose Perez, Rob Pearson, and Stewart Butin experienced some great afternoon/evening action. It started out very slow with a remora eating one of our kite baits. A move further south got us into the action. First it was Rob who caught a dolphin. Then it was Rob again who hooked up with a sailfish on the bow flatline. After a great fight, we released the fish and moved back in to set up again. While Stewart was trying to put the line in the release, it kept jumping out of his hand. Jose told him he had a fish on and he closed the bail and was hooked up with a sailfish. While we were fighting this sail, we all saw another sail swim up to the hooked fish. Brian threw out a bait and by the time I was ready to release Stewart's sail, Brian was hooked up. We released Brian's sail after a few pictures and then we caught a kingfish. All this action took place on the flatlines. As dusk approached, it was time to run in and do some tarpon fishing. On our second drift, Stewart hooked up with a mean and nasty tarpon that wasted no time heading straight for the main channel and deep water. The fight was so intense that Stewart had to give up the rod to Rob, but not before he got a legal catch. Rob fought the fish to get it up close for some pictures at boatside. The fish had other ideas and stayed deep except to come up and gulp air before heading back to the bottom of the channel. Rob kept the pressure up and the fish finally came along side for several pictures before I released it. We ran back out to set up again and it didn't take very long before Brian was hooked up with a much more cooperative fish. The 100 pound tarpon ran straight in toward Fisher Island and shallow water. We had the fish up several times and got the catch. We were working on getting better boatside pictures and the tarpon decided to head for parts unknown. It screamed line off the reel, jumped, and took more line. We were gaining back the line when it went slack and the tarpon had won its freedom. To sum it up, offshore we were 3 for 3 on sailfish with a dolphin, kingfish and remora. Inshore it was a 2 for 2 tarpon evening.
The action is still going like gang busters, so give me a call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and be a part of it.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 154
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - 8:26 am: | |
Since my last report, it's been nothing but WOW fishing. Offshore the sailfish, kingfish, and bonito have kept many anglers busy. Throw in an excellent run of blackfin tuna just for good measure and the offshore angler could hardly ask for anything better. Move back inshore and the tarpon fishing has been outstanding with many many fish over the 100 pound mark.
Gary Benivegna, his son, Matthew, and long time friend Rick Kapouch had a day they will long remember. We loaded the livewell with pilchards and set up between the Monument Buoy and Fowey Light. The day seemed to progress in an orderly fashion for various species. First it was kingfish, then it was dolphin, throw in a bonito and a remora and we're into the afternoon time frame. That's when the sailfish showed up. Matthew caught his first sail as did Gary. Rick had his fish coming and all was going well until the fish gave a big head jerk and broke the line. When we tallied up our fish at the end of the day, We had 4 kingfish, 4 (actually 3 1/2 as a barracuda got half) dolphin, 1 bonito, 1 remora, and 2 for 3 on sailfish.
Ashley and Will Little and Brad Capas were looking for some tarpon. The evening started out on the slow side with no action on the south side of Government. A move to the north side gave us our first shot of the evening. The fish made a good long run and jumped. The end result was a thrown hook. When the tide got right, we moved to the Bay and the action got fast and furious. In less than an hour, Ashley, Will, and Brad each caught and released a tarpon. The fish were in the 30 - 50 pound class and the final tally for the evening was 3 for 5.
Jack Halliwell and his 5 year old son Jackson shared some quality time together doing what they both like the best. Fishing, what else!! Jack's friend Brian Stone was also along to share in the experience. Fishing was a bit on the slow side this day. We worked hard to catch a barracuda while slow trolling and a very nice size kingfish while drifting. As Jack said, they grow up way to quickly and he wants to spend as much time as possible with his son sharing experiences together.
Brad Coren and Neville Blake wanted some eating fish to take home in the form of dolphin and kingfish. We started with dolphin and that turned out to be a very big disappointment. We covered the area from the Sea Buoy to Fowey Light and out to just over 15 miles. We saw mostly a very clean ocean with only a few birds that were searching just like we were. There was only a clump of grass here and there and no dolphin. We ran back in still looking and started fishing south of Fowey Light in 100 feet. Almost immediately we had 2 hook ups. 1 kingfish and 1 bonito. The action was fast and furious for a while and then slowed down. The current was pushing us north at a good clip so we were covering lots of ground. We had spurts of action the remainder of the trip. There was plenty of kingfish to take home and the bonito kept Brad and Neville busy while waiting for another kingfish bite. And of course we had our 1 remora.
David Labaton saw the tarpon feeding at the cleaning station at TNT Marine Center and asked his Dad if he could catch one. Sandy came over to me and we set up a tarpon trip. Also along on the trip was Steve Shatzberg and his son, Dylan. On our first drift, a tarpon ate our crab and David started the battle. After a while he passed the rod off to Dylan, who in turn passed it off to Steve, and Sandy finished the fight. The next tarpon was started by Dylan. The rod was passed around to everyone again before we released our second tarpon. Sandy fought the third tarpon and was determined to battle the silver king from start to finish. He hung in there and completed the battle. On the way back to TNT Marine Center, the boys slept part of the way as they were exhausted from fighting their first tarpons. Final count was 3 for 3.
David Merkel, his wife Ellen, and parents Jack and Joyce originally had an afternoon/evening trip scheduled. The weather was rainy and windy and we decided to do the tarpon portion of the trip only. Our first 3 hook ups resulted in thrown hooks. Then after it got dark, the tarpon started feeding on the shrimp that were flowing through the area. It's a sight to be scene and will have you tense with excitement waiting for a tarpon to find your bait. When we got the hit, Ellen started the fight and then passed the rod off to David who finished the battle. The fish cooperated by not running into the deep water of the main channel. The fish were still popping shrimp off the surface and it didn't take long before we had another one on that also cooperated. On our way in, we made a quick stop at one of my Bay spots and had a large fish on that found some structure and ultimately cut us off.
The trip with Oscar Marrero and Ray Cruz started off with some dolphin searching. Once again a very clean ocean and no fish to be found. We ran back in and anchored on a wreck where we had action with sailfish, bonito, kingfish, and mutton snapper.
Brothers Walter and Mike Wilkowski along with Ray Kalita and Fred Sprano had one goal in mind. Catch their first tarpon. The tarpon were rolling in the area and they were in a feeding mood. The action was hot and heavy all evening long and by the time we were ready to call it a night, everyone had their shot with at least 1 tarpon. All the fish were large and they all made it to the main channel except for one. Final count for the evening was 4 for 5.
Walter Wilkowski and his group were back for round two. The south side was quiet this evening, so we ran over to the north side. It was a good move. We had 4 shots this evening and the tarpon evened up the score a bit with us. We had thrown hooks as well as a broken one. Final tally was 1 for 4.
Another evening of tarpon fishing, this time with Tony Tavares and his sons Andrew and Kevin. Also along was Zac Grossman who needed to get some good tarpon shots for an article he is writing for a Northeast magazine. Once again this evening the tarpon were very cooperative and large. The first fish was a 120 pound tarpon that took us from the south side at Government all the way in to Miami Beach Marina before we finally released it. The second fish was a 110 pound fish that took us into the main channel again, however, this fish gave in a whole lot easier. The second fish had us dodging a large container ship coming into port at the same time our tarpon made it to the main channel. The action slowed down and a move to the north side had us hooked up again. This time the 140 pound tarpon ate both baits we had out and we started the battle with father and son fighting the same fish. After about 20 minutes, one hook pulled and Tony was left to finish the fight. The fish had other thoughts on it's mind and the fight raged on. We'd gain line and then the tarpon would gulp air and get strong. It would make a good run and jump. We'd gain line and the tarpon would once again gulp air and get strong. This continued over and over again. Tony hung in there and soon started to gain an advantage. We got the massive fish boat side and the camera flashes popped and the video camera was rolling as the fish posed for only a brief moment before I released the fish. It was a win win situation for all. We were 3 for 3 on some really big fish, the tarpon won as they were all released in good condition, and Zac got the shots he needed on the first trip out.
An afternoon/evening trip with Francois Tamborini turned into an afternoon only trip as some very heavy weather moved in around 7:30 PM. Before that, Francois had the thrill of a doubleheader sailfish and he was the only angler. We fought both fish from a drifting boat and he did an outstanding job of pressuring the fish and bringing them along side for release. We added a kingfish to the fishbox for a dinner and were looking for more when the weather moved in and had us running into Government Cut for calm water.
Eileen Clark and her daughter, Sharon Whitney had a trip they will long remember. We started off buying some pilchards from Mike on the Greenline. We added some herring just outside Haulover Inlet. We then ran south to Key Biscayne. The first bait got hit as I was putting it out and Sharon caught a cero mackerel. The next strike we had was on a flatline and Eileen caught a fat husky blackfin tuna. Then it was a bonito on a flatline. The kite then saw action in the form of another blackfin tuna caught by Eileen. Once again we had action on the kite. This time a doubleheader bonito. The final action of the trip was on a flatline and Sharon caught a blackfin tuna. Final total for the 3/4 day trip was 3 (23#, 25#, 25#) blackfin tuna, 3 bonito, 1 cero mackerel, and a couple of cutoffs. The tuna were weighed back at TNT Marine Center on solid ground and after having been bleed before they went on ice. Tuna steaks on the grill. YUMMY!!!
The action is hot and heavy. Give me a call 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and get in on the fun.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 153
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008 - 9:30 am: | |
Sailfish, kingfish, a few dolphin, bonito, and plenty of tarpon have given us steady action. The weather has run the gamut from no wind to as high as 19 knots. North current and blue water accounts for the good offshore action. The windy conditions stirred the water just enough so that the tarpon dropped their guard a little and are feeding pretty good both during the daylight hours and after dark.
Lindsay Glazer and her friends Matt Rosen and Fernando Amuchastegy picked one of the more windy days. It didn't take long before the motion of the ocean got to Fernando and we had to run back in and drop him off on some solid ground. After getting back out, slow trolling produced a dolphin and then we put the kites out. Toward the end of the morning we got the visit from the sailfish we were looking for and Matt caught and released his first sailfish.
Eileen and Fred Clark had great sea conditions and lousy current. We had none. Running offshore for dolphin had us coming heading back to the reef in short order as we found nor saw hardly anything to fish to. Even the birds we saw were heading back toward shore. Slow trolling with the downrigger around several different wrecks off the Twins produced a kingfish that by now has become Fred's famous smoked kingfish dip.
Nick and Charlotte Hansen from Denmark along with their son Jonas experienced afternoon sailfishing. We found good north current and blue water in the Anchorage area north of the Miami Sea Buoy. The first action was a kingfish on the downrigger. Next it was a sailfish on the flatline. This was Nick's first sail and he did an outstanding job of fighting the fish. Charlotte was busy with the camera and they got lots of excellent pictures of the action. We had a second sail once again on a flatline shortly thereafter. That sail decided it didn't want to play for very long and gave us back our hook on it's first jump after running about 100 yards of line off the spinning outfit.
The Westcott family (Vern, Chris and son, Travis) experienced the kind of day that folks from the mid-west dream of. It started off with steady bonito action with a kingfish thrown in. Then Travis caught and released his first sailfish. Back to more bonito and kingfish action followed by a double header sailfish. Travis fought one and Vern caught his first sailfish. Chris was on the camera and also caught bonito and kingfish. During the morning, the blue edge was in 100 feet and all our action took place from the Monument Buoy north to the north end of the hotels. In the afternoon, the edge pushed out to 160'. Our last drift of the day had us chumming with a steady stream of live pilchards. We wanted another sail, however, the bonito found us first. All three anglers were hooked up and when Vern had his fish close to the boat, a large barracuda decided it was an easy meal and ate half the fish in one bite.
Rob Leva, Joe Tetrault, John Lazar, and Dan Coes were in Miami for a business convention. None of the group have ever caught a tarpon and they planned an evening to try and change that. When we arrived at Government Cut, the tarpon were rolling everywhere. Just the site of these great fish had everyone very excited. For a while, the bluerunners decided they liked our shrimp better and we kept catching one or two on each drift. The first tarpon action we had lasted about 10 seconds when the fish immediately jumped straight up into the air about 8 feet and promptly gave us back our hook. The second tarpon stayed on for just a while longer before jumping and doing the same thing. The sun set and dusk came on and the third tarpon was the charm. Rob caught and released his first tarpon. The next drift after that had us hooked up again and this time the fish took us to the rough water of the main channel. Everyone took turns fighting this one and it took a while before the fish finally gave in and was released. We started back to TNT Marine Center and as I was passing through one of my Bay spots, I saw two tarpon. This was too much for the group and they decided to give it another shot. It turned out to be a very wise move. I put out the first bait and before I could get the second bait ready, we had a tarpon on. This one had the angler moving back and forth across the stern and up the side and back down the side of Knot Nancy. We got lots of pictures and released the fish. I put out the now rigged second rod and was tying a hook back on the first rod and we had another tarpon on. This tarpon jumped wildly numerous time before it came to the side of the boat and was released. Finally we got both baits out and waited about 5 minutes. We saw a fish flash on the bait first and then 10 seconds later it came back and ate. The third tarpon was another wild one that had us all laughing when it soaked several of us as we brought the fish along side of the boat. It got its picture taken before we released it and called it an evening. Final count was 5 for 7.
The action is still fast and furious, so don't miss out on it by putting off scheduling your fishing trip. Give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to book your trip and get in on the fun and excitement.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 152
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 01, 2008 - 4:25 pm: | |
It's time once again to get caught up with the fishing report. Since my last report it has been almost none stop fishing each day with just a few exceptions. Most of the days we've had good blue water and north current. It's been dolphin, kings, sailfish, and blackfin tuna, with bonito getting in on the action too. Inshore, the tarpon are hungry both at Government Cut and in the Bay. We've seen numerous shots at the tarpon regardless of which location you fish.
The Wroblewski Family (Lenny, Carol, & Jenny) along with Jenny's fiancé Pete Kudhl fished an afternoon/evening trip. Offshore we caught dolphin and kingfish. Inshore, Carol caught her first big tarpon on the outside at Government Cut. The tide was right to fish the Bay spots and the tarpon were very cooperative. Pete caught and released his first tarpon. Not to be out done, Jenny caught her first tarpon and it was larger than Pete's. Now it was Lenny's turn. We put the baits back out and then it happened. The lights went out and didn't come back on. We tried one more spot with no action and called it an evening.
The next evening, it was Dave & Christina Ziegler. The tarpon were once again very cooperative both at Government and in the Bay with numerous hook ups. Inside, we had an eyeball to eyeball experience with an angry 90 pound tarpon when it ran straight at the boat and came up like a missile only inches from the engine bracket. What a site it was. We all thought that the fish was coming in the boat to pay us a visit.
It was tarpon fishing again for brothers Steve and Mark Todd. We started the trip later so we could take advantage of the tides to fish both outside and inside. On the outside we had two fish on along with a ladyfish. Inside we matched that number with two fish on also.
The next evening, Rick Chase treated his grandson Rob Chase to his first tarpon trip. Rob caught and released his first two tarpon and learned first hand how tough it can be to fight a tarpon. Rick took delight in watching his grandson get whipped by the tarpon. Rob is now hooked on tarpon fishing and can't hardly wait to go again.
The following evening, Max Dekelbaum treated his grandson Justin Dekelbaum to a tarpon trip too. We started off with a ladyfish and then had a double header on.
Gary Edge has a list of fish that he'd like to catch. One of the fish on the list is a sailfish. He was in Miami on business and allowed some time for a late afternoon trip. We ran south to the Monument Buoy and put out the kites. It didn't take to long and the first sail was hooked on the right hand kite long bait. It put on a great aerial show much to Gary's delight and then took us offshore. We got the photos Gary wanted and released the fish. Moving back into the same depth range, I put out the baits on the right hand kite and was about to load the baits on the left hand kite when Gary hooked another sailfish on the long kite bait once again. This one was even more acrobatic and kept Gary busy going round and round the boat. When the second fish was released, he said he was thrilled and had enough so we headed back to TNT Marine Center before it got dark. You can cross the sailfish off your list Gary as mission accomplished.
John and Rachel Perkins and their friends Brad and Harold Coren fished a late afternoon trip. We chased diving frigate birds for a while with no takers. After setting up a drift, Rachel caught and released her first sailfish on a flatline bait in 118'. More chasing birds and trolling lures resulted in a blackfin tuna. Back to drifting and this time the kite produced a sailfish for Brad. The blackfin made it to the grill in the form of tuna steaks.
On the day that Jeff Godel and his son, Jamie fished, the current died. We worked hard to get a kingfish on the deep rod and had a sail on the kite.
On the trip with Charles and Camille West, the downrigger shined. There was still no current and every hit we had came on the downrigger. Several kingfish were caught while drifting and the bonito hit on the slow troll.
Mark Rubert, Kenneth Cohen, Casey Mathys, and Matt Aschbrenner sampled the tarpon fishing at Government Cut and in the Bay. We hooked up fish in areas and the tarpon tested the anglers skills and stamina. At the end of the evening, they had tarpon fever and plans were being made to do it again.
To get in on the action it only takes a phone call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to book a trip and create memories that will last a lifetime. You'll get the fever too and want to come back for more.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 151
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 30, 2008 - 3:58 pm: | |
Since my last report, we've seen the north current off Miami continue to be strong and then die off to little or no current. While we had to good north current, the fishing was very good to outstanding. When the current died, the action has been hard to come by and persistence has paid off with getting the fish to strike.
Sailfish are available to be caught almost everyday. Finding them on no current days amounts to covering plenty of ground and getting lucky.
Cobia are making their appearance and if you're fortunate enough to find a turtle, whale shark, or manta ray, then you've improved your chances of catching a cobia dramatically. Otherwise, you will get your shots at cobia that are free swimming in the same depths where you are sail and kingfishing.
More and more dolphin are showing up. They're being found from 100' out to 1000' and everywhere in between. Some days they are good sized fish and on others you'll have to wade through lots of throw backs (less than 20" fork length) to catch a few keepers.
Kingfish started to make a good showing and for the last few days have slacked off. I expect they'll be back strong again once we get a little current going again.
Tarpon fishing has mostly been on the good side with only an occasional evening when they decide to take the night off. To fill in while you're waiting for the dusk period, trolling small jigs has been paying off handsomely with good catches of spanish mackerel and small kingfish. There have been some evenings when the shrimp have made a run and when that happens the tarpon are johnny on the spot to feast on them. If you've never experienced an evening when they're blasting shrimp off the surface, it is a sight to see and even the most seasoned of tarpon anglers will get excited. You can't predict when it's going to happen, you just have to get lucky and be out on an evening when it takes place. If you are fortunate enough to experience this event, it is one that will not soon fade from your memory.
Lenny and Carol Wroblewski experienced a day of kite fishing from the Miami Sea Buoy to the north. Our first visitors were barracuda that proceeded to make a feast of our GI's and only put on an aerial show for us as they sky rocketed to long kite baits on each kite. Next it was a 60# hammerhead shark that picked on the kite baits that Carol was tending. She fought that fish to the boat where we cut the leader as close to the fish's mouth as I dared get. Next it was a large shark that chose Lenny long kite bait. That fight lasted for about a minute before the leader parted. Next it was a skipjack tuna before we finally had a visit from a sailfish that ate and decided to spit the bait back at us.
Carlos Gonzalez and his step son Brian Roa spent two hours with me going over safety on board a boat and learning some basic boat handling. Carlos recently purchased a boat and realized that there is a lot to learn about boating. When we talked about various topics such as crossing on coming boat wakes, he'd say yes, I've done that and it wasn't fun. Yes everyone got soaked. He learned lots of new things about docking and boat handling that he is now practicing at his marina.
Josh Willingham and Mike Rabelu started the evening of tarpon fishing off with a bang. The baits were in the water about 1 minutes and Mike was fast into a very healthy and angry 90 pound tarpon. It ran straight for the deep water of the main channel with us flying to play catch up before it dropped over the ledge. We won that part of the battle and then the hard work began. When we finally released the fish both Josh and Mike were amazed at the power of the fish and where we ended up. during the rest of the trip, we saw tarpon come up and blast shrimp for 10 seconds and then disappear. We were either to the west or east of the action each time. Next time, Josh will be first up to get his turn at fighting the powerful and mighty silver king.
Randy Wong treated Edward Dubernay and Jamie Vazquez to and evening of tarpon fishing. Ivan Rodriguez also came along to help Ed and Jamie when the time came. The first action came late in the dusk period in the form of a large jack crevalle. Ivan said that it was a good warm-up for what was to come. The next drift the two young men found out what he was talking about. They shared the battle as each one tired out. With the first fish released, it was time to try for another. A few drifts later, the second fish was hooked solid. This one stayed in the shallow water of the south side and still gave both young men fits. It was released after Randy got lots of pictures. The fish played hide and seek for a while before they started feeding on shrimp floating through the area. That gave their location away and it wasn't long before we drifted through them and we saw more action. We caught and released another tarpon and had yet another that threw the hook on its second jump. A ladyfish got in on the action before we called it an evening.
Brothers Don and Vincent Puolouo and their friend Mark Perkowski were finally able to get their trip in. The first time we tried, the wind was blowing extremely hard and we postponed the trip. We started off the southern end of Key Biscayne and that's where we ended the trip. The current had died and all our drifts were straight in with an East wind. The remoras were out in force and all except two of our GI's were killed by the hungry remoras. Our first action was an exploding strike on the left long kite bait. Mark caught up to the fish and it made a very quick run away from us before reversing direction and coming back at us. He reeled frantically and caught up again and the fish changed directions and ran away from us again only to come back at us. This time the hook came out and it will remain a mystery fish. Next, we saw action with 5 - 10 pound dolphin and put several in the fish box. Then things slowed down till almost the end of the trip. While Don and Vincent were catching some shut eye up front, Mark hooked another fish on the right short kite. This on turned out to be a 20# cobia that had a friend following him. It ignored our offering on a spinning rod and swam away. It was time to head in and I started to pull in the right side kite. As I was reeling in the GI, the cobia chased the bait and ate it. By now, everyone was awake and Don did the honors with the second 20# cobia.
Steven Phillips and his 14 year old son Steven, Jr. spent some good quality time together on an evening tarpon trip. We started off with trolling 1/4 ounce Kaplan jigs and catching lots of spanish mackerel and one kingfish. We kept the spanish and released the king. We then set up to drift for tarpon. Our first drift produced a very small gag grouper that was released. The next drift we had a rod bend over sharply and never take drag. Steven, Jr. did everything right as the rod kept bending more severely as he turned the reel handle. Then the hook popped loose and all we had to show for it was a scarred leader for several inches above the hook. That was the end of our action for the evening.
Brett Cardinal, Alex Deleon, and Cameron Roche were treating their friend Mike Ready to a 3/4 day fishing trip as the first part of his bachelor party. They had other festivities planned for later that evening. Once again there was no current in the normal depths that we fish commonly known as the reef or on the edge. The reports for those who ventured out some was there were dolphin, but they were small with many throw backs. We decided to run out and get in on some action. We found the weedline of mix needle grass and Sargasso in 960 feet. At one very large grass mat, a boat that was fishing toward the middle of the area called me and said there were lots of small fish under the grass. We moved to the very south end of the mat and proceeded to catch bar jacks and throw back size dolphin. They we very finicky about feeding, however, we got them to eat live baits and jigs. Everyone caught several fish. We moved back inshore to try the area again before the end of the trip. In 140' we found a slick with just a sprinkling of grass in it. We saw a dolphin jump to the north of us and I moved back toward the slick and we finally caught a keeper size dolphin. CONGRATULATIONS Mike on your upcoming wedding.
April is right around the corner and it's the transition month with sails and kings being joined by dolphin and blackfin tuna. You can also expect to see action with some cobia, bonito (little tunny), and hammerhead sharks. The next time you hook up, you just don't know what it might be. Tarpon fishing will continue strong with many many fish over the 100 pound mark. It's also the month when the afternoon/evening trip shines. Sleep in during the morning and fish starting in the afternoon and finish the trip with tarpon fishing during the dusk and early evening. It truly is the best of both worlds fishing. Give me a call (305 965-9454) or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net for details or to schedule your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 150
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 5:05 pm: | |
Spring is in the air. Sailfishing continues to be outstanding in the 100 - 130 foot range. Kingfish are starting to make their appearance after a very disappointing winter and are being found in 100 - 115 feet. Dolphin are coming through in the 200 - 400 foot range. Finally the blackfin tuna in various sizes have made a showing in depths of 140 - 400 feet.
As for tarpon, they are in an inconsistent mode as I write this report. One evening they are easy to find and the next they are hiding. Many of the spots in the Bay are now fishless due to the lights being out. Seems like our taxpayer dollars are not being spent on keeping the lights in working order on the bridges. The lights on some of the outstanding spots have been out for months. With that being said, the size of the tarpon that we are catching are consistent with the normal size for this time of year.
Brad Coren, his uncle, Harold, and friend Neville Blake fished a 3/4 day trip for sailfish. With the live well loaded with large herring we ran south a bit to fish off the middle of Key Biscayne. Brad was looking to catch his first sailfish. We slow trolled the baits to cover some ground as there was no wind and very little current. The technique paid off after about 30 minutes. Brad was fighting his first sailfish. The fish was released after posing for some quick pictures and we went back on the slow troll. Action was very slow for a long time until right after we ate lunch. Still in the same area, we had a double come up and both fish were hooked solid. Neville's fish ran NE and Brad's second sail ran south. We chased Neville's fish first as it was the hotter of the two. Brad's fish finally gave in to having to pull lots of line and the drag pressure. It turned and started coming toward us. Meanwhile, we caught up to Neville's fish and released it. Brad picked on a very large sail that had a lot of spunk. It took a while, but the fish finally gave in and it too was released.
Mark Cannon and his two sons, Keith (12 years old) and Chris (17 years old) got a good taste of tarpon fishing. When we arrived at Government Cut, the fish were rolling everywhere and marking on the recorder. They did not want to cooperate until we were late into the dusk period. Keith hooked up first and his fish made no bones about wanting to get to the deep water of the main channel in a hurry. We beat the tarpon to the deep water and it did the normal thing of going to the bottom once it swam over the ledge. At that point as soon as we came tight on the fish, the hook pulled. We immediately ran back to set up again and marked fish. It was only a short time after marking the fish and this time Mark was hooked solid to his tarpon. We landed and released Mark's fish and went to work on trying to catch one for Keith. The fish just shut off for us and we ended the evening at 1 for 2.
Darren Rak, Scott Black, and Mike Asher fished a 1/2 day for sailfish. Once again we slow trolled baits as we drifted north with the current. Toward the end of the morning, I saw a free jumping sail just to the north and inside of us. I moved in line to intercept the fish and threw out a handful of live baits. It paid off almost immediately and we hooked up with a double. One fish charged the boat and then swam under it. The other ran toward the SE. We fought both fish for several minutes and the hook pulled on one of the sails. Now we concentrated on the other. It continually ran offshore and when we finally landed the fish for a quick picture, we were in 400 feet.
John Shupenko and his son Greg spent some quality time together while Greg was home on Spring Break. Greg was looking to do battle with his first tarpon. During the incoming tide, we made drift after drift with no results. When the tide started to turn, we ran into the Bay where we discovered that the lights were out at the first location. We ran to the next spot only to find the lights out there also except for one. We tried it for a while with no results. Back to Government and on the second drift, Greg was hooked up and fighting a nice 60 pound tarpon. We got the catch and some pictures before I picked up a large piece of rope on my port engine. while I was dealing with the rope, Greg was going round and round the boat. About the time I cleared the rope, the fish made a final jump and threw the hook. On the next drift, John hooked up and everything was going well as we started to chase the fish. As happens with tarpon, the hook apparently didn't penetrate the rock hard jaw and the hook pulled.
Ed Carr, Steve Craig, Tom Haelsig, and Charles Vitale came down to Miami to do nothing but fish. They booked two days and wanted to have a great time. The first trip was a sailfish/swordfish combo. We did this trip on board my good friend Captain Gil Gutierrez's boat. We started between Fowey and the Monument and before we could get all the baits out flying from the kites properly, we had a sailfish on. With that fish released, our next action came in the form of a sky rocketing kingfish (??) that turned out to be a wahoo!! The next hit was an unknown fish that dumped a lot of line. Everyone was guessing and when we finally saw it, Gill had it right from the beginning. It was a hard fought battle and there was a lot of good humored ribbing going on for Tom to hurry up and get the fish in so we could get the baits back out. When we finally got the answer to the mystery fish we were both happy and sad. Happy because it was a large blackfin tuna and sad because it got sharked and we only got the head. The baits went back out and it wasn't long before we hooked up another sailfish. After releasing the second sail, it was time to start offshore to set up for swordfish. Conditions offshore got bigger as we approached the area for swords. Out went the baits and the wait began. We made a move and waited some more. the end result was no hits no runs and no errors. We paid our dues on the way in with some rough sea conditions.
The next day, Ed, Steve, Tom, and Charles were back for day two. We caught bait and ran south of the Monument. Everyone was psyched to get the kite out and continue where we left off yesterday. There was only one thing that changed. There was no wind so even helium wouldn't help. Out went 4 flatlines a we slow trolled between 70 - 210 feet. On our second pass heading offshore in 130 feet, the short flat on the left got hit and we caught a wahoo. With no further action, we headed off a bit further to look for dolphin. We found them and they were very picky eaters until we put on the 1/4 ounce chartreuse/white jigs. We caught a few more before the school moved on. We then started trolling the jigs and found schools of small blackfin tuna and bonito busting the surface. Trolling the jigs through the schools resulted in lots of action including 4 times when all 4 anglers were hooked up at the same time. We worked our way down a weedline and caught 2 more dolphin including a bull of 10 pounds. The action was fast and furious and kept everyone busy and looking for more schools of busting fish. The next stop was to run in and get some soy sauce for some sushi. Two tunas were cleaned and marinated in the sauce while we were waiting for the tarpon action to start. The tarpon were playing hard to get on this evening and we called it an evening at about 11 pm to run back to TNT Marine Center and finish cleaning the remaining blackfin tunas, wahoo, and dolphin.
Jeff Godel, his son, Jamie, and friend Kevin Douglas got in some kite fishing action. When Jamie saw the first kingfish skyrocket the gog, he was hooked. He fought the next king all the way to the boat before it released itself. Next it was an arctic bonito and finally we got a sailfish to give us a small show before spitting the bait back at us. A few days later, Jeff gave me a call and told me that I had done in 1 trip what he had been trying to accomplish in 25 years. That was to get his son interested and hooked on fishing. It gave me a great feeling to know that I was able to get this father and son to spend quality time together fishing. It's time to say it again. FAMILY FISHING IS FUN!!!
Steven Rosenstein and his family spent some quality time together looking to catch their first tarpon. Noah was to be the angler. Things started slow and continued that way until the last drift of the evening. We finally got the strike we were looking for and Noah had his hands full with an 80 pound tarpon. The fished started offshore and then moved into the deep water of the main ship channel. He turned the rod over to his Dad after a long time and Steven fought the fish till he tired. Noah took the rod back and continued the fight as we moved further out the channel. Tiring again, Johnathan took up the fight while Emily took pictures and Mom gave encouragement and showed concern for the rocky sea conditions. Before the fish finally submitted to the continuous pressure, we had to dodge one container ship that was heading out to sea. Pictures were taken and the fish was released. Everyone was amazed at the size and power of the fish.
That brings me up to date. As you can see the action has been good and it will only get better as Spring continues to come on. Now's the time to give me a call and book your trip to experience the thrill of catching the fish that the offshore and inshore waters offer in Miami. It truly is a fishing adventure.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 149
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 3:12 pm: | |
The tarpon season has finally kicked into gear like it should be for this time of year. The fish are feeding both in the Bay and at Government Cut. The ones at the Cut are of the large variety in the 90+ class. Live shrimp is the bait of choice and it's just a matter of waiting them out till they flood into the area and turn on the feed bag.
Don Eichin and his two sons Eric and Randy experienced both the Bay and Cut tarpon action. In the Bay, we caught the very last of the tide and the tarpon were hungry. Before heading out to the Cut, we were 2 for 2. When the tide changed, the Bay fish shut off and the Cut fish turned on. We made one drift and in minutes were hooked up to a large tarpon. The fish found the deep water and Eric spent the rest of the evening pulling on the tarpon. We got the catch making us 3 for 3 for the evening. Eric wanted to get a better look at his fish and it had other ideas. Each time the tarpon came up to gulp air, it was just far enough away from the boat so we couldn't get a good estimate on its size. The fish finally found an obstruction and won its freedom.
John and Patricia Bragg picked a very windy day for their offshore trip. We found some birds working over a school of dolphin first thing and watched as they all ignored our live bait offerings except for one fish. After that it got slow and it wasn't long before the motion of the ocean took its toll. We called it after the second round of motion sickness and decided to do only the tarpon portion of the trip the next day.
Back again for a tarpon trip this time, John and Patricia Bragg were happy to fish the calm waters of the Bay. The fish cooperated and it wasn't long before John caught and released his first tarpon out of two hits. We moved to a second location and the wind kept blowing us away from where we needed to be. At the third location, everything went well with the wind and tide and John got his second fish of two strikes. That's the way the evening ended going 2 for 4.
Our goat the next night with Mike Larkin and Nathan Vaughn of the University of Miami was to tag a large tarpon with a satellite tag. When the tide changed, the fish at the Cut turned on and we had the large fish we were looking for hooked up solid. The tarpon made its way to the deep water of the main ship channel and proceeded to head out the channel. Nathan was on the rod while Mike prepared everything. The tarpon was large and stubborn, so progress in getting the fish to the surface was slow. We had to dodge two gambling boats heading out and two freighters coming in as the fish continued to head out the channel. We got a very good look at the fish (130# estimate) before it went straight back to the bottom. Once again we got the fish up only to have it gulp air and get a surge of energy. This see saw battle went back and forth until Nathan handed the rod off to Mike so we could have a fresh angler fighting the fish. Again we had the fish up to the boat twice only to have it slap its tail and go down. The next time it came up, the leader had taken its toll and when I touched it to test the fish, the leader broke. All this action took place over the course of 1 hour and 20 minutes. We didn't get to tag the fish, however, the anglers were happy with the experience and amazed at the power of the mighty Silver King. We'll get the next one.
The tarpon action that is normally hot and heavy for this time of year has finally kicked in. If you're fortunate enough to be out on a night when the shrimp run, you be in for a treat as you watch lots of tarpon busting and eating shrimp off the surface. They find the hooked baits quickly and then it's time to test your angling skills and stamina. Give me a call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to book your trip and get in on fun.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 148
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 26, 2008 - 4:07 pm: | |
EXCELLENT sailfishing is the only way to describe it. On some days it's been off the wall. We've had a strong north current with blue water. The sails are being caught all along the South Florida coast mainly in the 90 - 110 foot range. The typical weather patter over the last few days has been light wind in the morning and south wind of 15 to 20 knots in the afternoon. That's when the sails start chomping. Put up the kite and a few flatlines and it won't take long for the action to start.
Mix in with the sails have been a few dolphin, a kingfish every now and then, and some bonito, but mostly sailfish.
Inshore, the best bet for tarpon have been in the Bay after dark with the right tide. This means the tarpon fanatic will have some very late sleepy night if they pursue the fish around the clock to get the right tides. Outside at the Inlets, the tarpon fishing has been spotty at best. I expect this to change as we get into March.
Tim Gipe and Jason Grey participated in the South Florida Fishing Club annual tarpon outing. Everyone started at Haulover and the fishing was slow. We ran to Government Cut only to miss a short bite by about 5 minutes. The next stop was into the Bay. The first fish we had on made a jump away from us and back toward us and immediately gave us back our hook. Finally at 5 minutes before lines out at 9:00 PM, Tim hooked up solid and Jason did the honors of releasing the fish as I called it in to the committee boat. Congratulations Tim and Jason on winning the 2008 SFFC tarpon tournament.
Cary Breese and Mark Grayer had their shot at two Bay tarpon. The battles were very short as the fish had other things on their minds and didn't keep the hooks in their jaws for very long.
Tom Schaefer and his friends J. R. and Tony caught a couple spanish mackerel and a ladyfish before we went to the Bay to find the tarpon. It didn't take long and the action was fast and furious. When the fireworks cleared, we had 4 shots and the fish won all four times.
Jon Gardner, Eric Schubert, David Hartman, and Mark Guthrie fished an afternoon/evening trip for sails and tarpon. The seas were up and several of the group were feeling the effects of the rolling and pitching ocean. The sailfish were doing their part by eating our herring offerings on the kite. Jon and Mark each got to experience the thrill of fighting a high flying fast moving sailfish. During the evening portion of the trip, the tarpon played hard to get at Government Cut.
Brothers Walter and Mark Wilkowski and Mark's son, Steve faced even rougher sea conditions. The goal was for Steve to catch his first sailfish. It didn't take long for Mark to feel the ill effects of the heavy seas. He kept hanging in through several bouts of motion sickness waiting for the sailfish to come along. The first fish on the kite bait was a bonito. The second fish was the one we were looking for and Steve caught and released his first sailfish. At that point, Mark had all he could stand and we called the trip at a half day.
Miguel Arends and his friend Zoilo Hernandez wanted to catch their first sailfish. The radio was alive with reports of sail action in the 90 - 110 foot range. Our efforts in that range had us watching our baits and waiting. Our first action resulted in a broken main line. I ran back south and set up again. We saw a sail chasing our live chum inside of our location. We quickly moved in shallower to that area and put out some more live chum. It took less than a minute and the flatline came alive with Miguel's first sailfish. After several pictures and some video, we released the sail and started working the kite bait into the right depth range. At 140', the long kite bait was eaten and Zoilo saw his first action. Everything was going fine until the fish made it's 7th jump about 200 yards from the boat and gave us back out hook. Just before it was time to go in, we had a double come up on the kite baits. One ate the short kite and Miguel caught and released his second sail of the half day trip. Final results we 1 for 2 on flatlines and 1 for 2 on the kite.
Paul Smith, Joel Rodriguez, and Dave Miemi fished an afternoon/evening trip. The current was roaring to the north at 3.5 MPH. We had no action with the kite and flatline while the wind was blowing. When it died to the point of the kite falling from the sky, I set up to slow troll several baits. The first bait went out and before I could pin the line to the release, we had the sail on. Dave caught his first sail that put on a great show for us. Tarpon fishing at Haulover finally paid off and Paul fought a 100 pound fish that was a very stubborn one. It finally came up and made several jumps to show us its size before digging down deep again. Paul was up to the task and when we had several boat side picture, I released the fish to fight again another day.
John and Kree Perkins, John's wife Rachael and their friend Christian had dolphin in their thoughts. We ran out and looked around and found scattered weed and some lines trying to form. The birds were searching just like us. Without success, the decision was made to fish the morning off on the reef. There was basically no wind and just a trickle of current so we worked our baits out to deeper water by slow trolling. In 175 feet, Christian saw a dolphin swim by the boat. It ignored one of our baits and went for the other. It also got caught up in the downrigger bait and shortly thereafter it made it into the fish box.
Mark and Heather Ulmer had never caught a sailfish before. That was their goal. Bait fishing was a snap and the wind had picked up plenty from the morning as did the current. Our first action came just north of the Sea Buoy in 125 feet. Mark hooked his sail on the long kite bait. Very shortly thereafter, the flatline took off and Heather was on her first sail. Heather's fish was landed and released first and then Mark's. We continued drifting north and had the baits get nervous a few times. Then as if a repeat of the first action, the same thing happened again. Mark on the long kite bait and Heather on the flatline. This time Mark's fish was the more cooperative one and after releasing his, we went to work on Heather's fish. For never having caught anything larger than a garfish, Heather did a fantastic job of fighting the fish. It finally gave in to her constant pressure and it too was released. We tried Haulover again for a tarpon and they once again played hard to find. We did catch and release two bluefish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 147
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - 6:43 am: | |
As I'm writing this report, we're experiencing some very windy, rainy weather that is coming through the South Florida area. Prior to this, the weather has ranged from almost calm to the point of needing helium to fly the kite to very windy and needing to put up the kite with the holes in it. The air temperature has been perfect with mornings in the upper 60's to low 70's and the daytime temperatures in the 70's. Throughout this range of wind conditions, the one constant has been that there have been sailfish on most every trip. Throw in some dolphin ranging from schoolie size up to 30 pounds and a sprinkling of kingfish and the fishing has been good. Besides the fish mentioned above, we've had visits from mutton snapper, bonito, barracuda and a 6 foot hammerhead shark.
Over the past several days, I've had the pleasure of fishing with Ed Donovan on one trip, Ken Karetnick, his son Jeff, his dad Barry, and his brother-in-law John Cross on another trip, an evening trip with brothers Nick and Jeff Luders and their wives Erin and Heather, and on the windiest day brothers Paul, Joe, and Bruce Rougraff.
On these trips, we covered the area from Haulover Inlet to as far south as Triumph Reef. The offshore trips were productive in the 105 - 130 foot range and we had north current on all the trips. The water color ranged from ugly green to a beautiful deep blue. The interesting thing was that the sails were in relatively shallow and the water color didn't seem to matter to much.
What you'll notice about all the trips except one is that they were family groups. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Family Fishing is FUN!! To get in on the fun, all it takes is a phone call (305 965-9454) or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to arrange your trip. Get your family or group together and lets get out and enjoy the beautiful outdoors and the fishing the Miami area has to offer.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 146
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 03, 2008 - 12:57 pm: | |
Both the offshore and inshore fishing continues to be good. Fair numbers of dolphin have shown up and are in the 5 - 25 pound range. They're being found in a wide range of depths from 150 - 650 feet. The dolphin are being found along weedlines, under birds, and on the blue side of a blue/green color change.
Sailfish are being caught on an almost daily basis. Depending on what kind of current there is or isn't, the water clarity and color, and how much wind will determine the numbers of sails to be found. They've been spread over a wide range from as shallow as 60 feet to as deep as 450 feet and in green, blue/green, and blue water.
For the most part, there have only been a few kingfish being caught. Move in close to shore and there have been a few days of great spanish mackerel fishing.
Meanwhile, the tarpon fishing remains consistent.
Michael Oshry tangled with 2 tarpon of 70 and 40 pounds in the Bay. Heavier drag settings are necessary when we're fishing in the Bay. That's because of the structure that the tarpon like to hang around. We all know what happens when mono line rubs against a structure. Both fish had Michael running from one end of the boat to the other. The larger fish made a complete circle of the boat and it got very interesting as we passed the rod under the anchor rope. We successfully landed and released both fish.
Peter and Yamile Jimenez along with 2 of their children Gabriel and Victoria spent some good quality time together doing a family trip. We were looking for lots of action so a Kid's Introduction to Fishing style trip was in order. Quantity and variety was the key. We fished in 5 different spots and when the trip was over we had caught 8 different species of fish. The ninth fish ate a freelined live shrimp and Victoria was doing a fabulous job of fighting the fish. We had it in our sites and saw that it was a bonito of about 10 pounds. It was within 10 feet of the leader touching the rod tip when disaster struck and the hook pulled. It was disappointing, however, the lesson that both Victoria and Gabriel learned was that not every fish gets caught and it was just as fun fighting the fish. We'll get the next one. Mom and Dad were having as much fun fishing as their children and we kept a few fish for dinner. Everyone got their hands dirty and smelly with the bait and it was a challenge to hook the fish that everyone mastered very quickly. Toward the end of the trip both children decided that next time they wanted to go offshore and fish for the bigger fish, especially dolphin. They proved that they have the patience it sometimes take to get the bigger fish to bite.
Business partners Federico Restrepo and Camilo Vasquez took a day off to sample the fishing off Miami. They had loads of fun catching herring and pilchards and once offshore, a sailfish visited us within 10 minutes. Camilo caught and released his first sailfish. Another sailfish released itself early. The downrigger produced 2 sharks that Federico handled. The sails were spread out with the first in 150 and the second in 450. The sharks were in the same depth range. Next up, Camilo wanted to catch a dolphin. He got his wish in 650 when the 2 flatlines and the downrigger all hook up at once. Back in closer, the birds put us on a weedline and more dolphin in 150 feet. All the fish were released.
Tarpon action continued to be good in the evening with South Florida Fishing Club members Tim Gipe and Jose Basulto. They have the distinction of being the first anglers to catch a double header tarpon this year aboard Knot Nancy. The two fish hit within seconds of each other and each ran in a different direction. Tim's went offshore and then north. Jose's went south. We followed Tim's fish first as Jose lost a load of line off his reel. Jose did an excellent job of compensating for the maneuvers I had to do with the boat while fighting Tim's tarpon. Tim had to make a mad dash to the bow several times when his fish changed directions quickly and ran under the bow. We got the catch and released Tim's 80 pound fish and then went to work on Jose's tarpon. We gained line almost to the point of having a catch only to have the fish make a 50 yard run away from the boat. In the end, Tim did the honors of releasing Jose's 100 pound tarpon and both fish are still out there waiting to give some other lucky anglers the thrill of a life time.
As you can see, the action both offshore and inshore is hot and heavy. I have dates open on my schedule, so give me a call and lets fill them in and get in on the action. Don't forget the afternoon/evening combo. You can catch sailfish and tarpon on the same trip on the same day. At the following link, you'll find some commonly asked questions and answers about charter fishing, the different types of trips that I offer, my rates for those trips, and a way to easily contact me to ask questions or book a trip http://www.knotnancy.com/contact.html
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 145
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 28, 2008 - 7:07 pm: | |
Tarpon fishing is on fire. That's the only way to describe it. They've been feeding in the late afternoon and then after dark, the water has come alive with shrimp and the feeding continues everywhere we have been drifting. The fish have been averaging 30 - 60 pounds with some a bit larger. We have been averaging 5 - 6 fish per trip.
Offshore the sailfishing has been very steady with a few days when it's been off the scale. Those off the scale days are usually when the sea conditions are up and require a strong stomach. We have caught sailfish on each and every trip over my past several trips. The large bonito have also shown up and will definitely give your arms and back a good workout. The kingfish being caught are decent size ones and an occasional blackfin tuna crashes the scene. While working the sailfish depths, there is also a good chance that a dolphin or two might inhale one of your baits.
According to the weather report, the seas were supposed to be quite rough for the 3/4 day trip with Fabio Nick. The reality was that the seas were in the 1 - 3 foot range. After loading the livewell with pilchards, we ran straight out from Government Cut where we noticed several groups of birds flying in the familiar pattern that indicates that they're over fish. We continued out to that area in 350 feet and slow trolling several baits resulted in a shark and 2 dolphin. Our next action came in 150' with a sailfish that spent move time jumping and thrashing on the surface than it did in the water. In 180' the kite and flatline gave us 2 more dolphin. Toward the end of our trip, the birds put us on more dolphin along a small weedline in 150'. Sum total for the trip was 6 dolphin, 1 sailfish and 1 small shark.
Stephen Wilson and Rob Grace experienced their first tarpon fishing trip in Miami. Before the evening was over, they would both be hooked on tarpon fishing. The first action came in the late afternoon on our second drift. Stephen spotted a rolling tarpon behind the boat and within about a minute or so, Rob's rod bent over and he was hooked up. The 40 pound fish put on a wonderful aerial show with several jumps both a ways off and at boat side. It pulled hard and had the typical never give up attitude of a tarpon. Next, it was Stephen's turn and it came after dark. By then, the water was alive with shrimp everywhere. Stephen's fish had a thing for the bow of the boat. It kept swimming toward and under the bow and had us making continuous 360 degree circles in reverse. At one point, the fish made a beautiful jump at boat side and Rob was right there with the camera and got a beautiful aerial shot. A couple of drifts with no action had me moving to the Inlet where Rob and Stephen each caught another tarpon. One final move back down the beach had Rob hooked up again to complete our evening going 5 for 5 on tarpon in the 30 - 60 pound class.
The father and son team of Pablo and Matt Jimenez had plans for an afternoon/evening sailfish/tarpon combo trip. We filled the livewell with pilchards and herring and headed offshore from Government Cut with a wind from the E @ 18 - 20 knots. We found the conditions we were hoping for in 100'. The plan was to work our way slowly out to 200' while slow trolling baits and then put up the kite. We never made it. Our first action came in 105' with a double header bonito. After releasing both fish, we put the baits back out. When we got to 120', a sailfish crashed our bait and Matt took the rod. The seas were rough and we slowly closed the gap on the sail as Pablo was getting the camera ready. The sailfish made long runs and put on a jumping aerial show for us. The good thing was that it never went deep. Matt's consistent pressure soon had the sailfish along side and I had the leader in hand. The fish came up jumping and it would have been a great camera shot except that the seas had gotten to Pablo and he was busy on the other side of the boat. The fish took off and Matt brought it along side again and this time we released the fish while Pablo continued to deal with his motion sickness. All this action took place with the baits in the water for about 10 minutes and Matt fighting the sail for about 15 minutes. The decision was made to seek calmer water and once inside the Bay, the trip was called at a half day.
The action both offshore and inshore is hot and heavy. I have dates open on my schedule, so give me a call and lets fill them in and get in on the action. Don't forget the afternoon/evening combo. You can catch sailfish and tarpon on the same trip on the same day. At the following link, you'll find some commonly asked questions and answers about charter fishing, the different types of trips that I offer, my rates for those trips, and a way to easily contact me to ask questions or book a trip http://www.knotnancy.com/contact.html
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 144
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 - 5:36 am: | |
The winter weather has definitely arrived in South Florida. A cold front comes through, we have windy weather, the seas build, then they subside and the wind dies off, we have a day or two of calm weather and then the cycle begins again. This weather pattern brings good sailfishing offshore. Throw in some kingfish action along with a few dolphin (mahi-mahi) and that makes for some good fishing action.
Move inshore and the shrimp get stirred up by the wind and cooler temperatures. This in turn gets the winter tarpon fishing going like gang busters. Whether you fish for tarpon in the Bay or the ocean inlets, the tarpon have been hungry and feeding.
Nick Luders, Darrell Nueberger, Dan Fedders, and Court Campbell combined to catch 13 dolphin for a fish fry. The fish were caught in 105 - 115 feet from the Miami Seabuoy north to 87th Street. The water was a nice blue color with north current. The kite baits got most of the hits and when the hooked fish were brought to boat side, we used spinning outfits to pitch baits to any fish that were following the hooked fish.
Steve Pockett and his 11 year old son Jordan fished the day before going on a weeks cruise out of the Port of Miami. The bait fishing was so good with sabiki rigs that both anglers almost didn't want to leave the action. Once offshore, the downrigger outfit was the first to see action in 115 feet. Jordan caught his first kingfish after what he called a hard battle. A good current kept pushing us north and when we reached the area toward the north end of the Anchorage, the heavy chumming with live pilchards paid off. A flatline hooked up with a sailfish and Jordan forgot all about the hard battle with the kingfish. The sail dumped 3/4's of the line off the spinning outfit as we gave chase. It put on a wonderful aerial show both close and away from the boat. Just when Jordan thought he had the fish whipped, it took off on another short run that had him moaning. He has a lot of experience back home in Canada catch some very nice size fish so he was up to the task at hand with no problem. His technique was excellent and it soon showed as the fish began to tire. After a 20 minute battle, the sailfish came along side and got its picture taken before being released. The baits were set out again and it wasn't long before the flatline got hit again. This time Steve got to see his sailfish jump one time before we got the hook back. Even circle hooks get thrown by sailfish. We had two more hits resulting in a chopped bait and one that got robbed off the hook. The heavy chumming brought fish into our area and all thanks to both Steve and Jordan catching so many baits with the sabiki rigs.
Tony Torreano and co-worker Tom Ward caught kingfish and sailfish in the north end of the Anchorage. The action came in the 120 - 130 foot depth range on the kite and flatlines. They also got to experience the sight of three sailfish chasing and eating our live chum offerings and not being able to find the ones on our hooks.
Brothers Court and Herb Conover experienced their first tarpon trip. It was to be a night of ones. By that I mean that each location we tried with the exception of Government yielded 1 tarpon. The Bay was the first place we saw action. At the first spot we jumped a high flying silver king. The next spot, we caught and released a 40 pound fish. The next had us fighting a 50 pound fish that was released. Back to the first location and no action. We moved to Haulover and fished the tarpon hole. First drift and we caught a 30 pounder. Making the same drift again saw no action. We moved down the beach and made a different drift and that gave us a 40 pound fish. Tried the same drift again and had no action. Another move to a different area and this time the 60 pound fish found us. Our total for the evening was 4 for 6 on tarpon in the 30 - 60 pound class. Both Court and Herb agreed that tarpon are indeed a thrilling fish to catch and they immensely enjoyed the experience.
Now is the time to book your trip whether it's offshore for the sails, kings, and dolphin or inshore for tarpon. If you live up north and are getting tired of the snow and cold cold temperatures, it's time for a break and a trip to the Miami area. It's warm and the fishing action is definitely turned on. Give me a call at 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your fishing adventure in Miami.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 143
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 05, 2008 - 2:57 pm: | |
Good news for all tarpon fans. The winter tarpon season has started both at the Inlets and in the Bay. The cold front that just passed through has the shrimp moving and the tarpon feeding on them.
Mark Rubert and his friend Terry were the first anglers aboard Knot Nancy to welcome in the tarpon. We took advantage of the jetties at Government Cut to help knock down the large waves and swells that the strong NE winds were sending toward shore. It was actually quite comfortable. We marked several fish and finally had one eat our bait. This was Terry's first time tarpon fishing and he quickly learned about their hard mouth. The fish made a tremendous run and then jumped. It ran again and jumped again. The second jump did the trick and the tarpon threw the hook. When the tide turned, we went into the Bay and set up in calm water. It didn't take long and Mark was hooked up solid to a 40 pound tarpon. After a 10 minute battle, we got the pictures that Terry wanted and released the fish. The baits went back out and in about 5 minutes Terry was hooked up solid with a 70 pound fish. This time he got to feel the amazing power of the silver king. We went from one end of the boat to the other. Then back to where we started. After that, back and forth across the stern several times. A dash toward some structure and Terry turned the fish away from it. With the fish finally showing signs of weakening, Terry gave it a last bit of effort and we had the fish at boat side for several pictures. With his fish released, the baits went back out again. This time it took about 10 minutes before we had another fish on for about 10 seconds. An inspection of the line revealed that the leader was cut clean. This happens occasionally when the leader gets in the proper position in the corner of the tarpon jaw and as the fish closes its mouth, it cuts the leader like a pair of scissors.
Terry was absolutely amazed at the power and strength of the tarpon. If you'd like to experience this power and strength and match your angling skills with this awesome fish, now is the time to call and schedule your trip. There are a couple of good thing about tarpon fishing. First, you don't have to make a long run offshore. This allows for more fishing time. Second, if the weather is a bit on the windy side and the seas are up, there are places to hide and still fish in comfort. Third, you don't need to be strapped into a heavy harness and use large heavy rods and reels.
Don't delay, call 305 965-9454 today and get the date you want to fit your schedule.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
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