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Fishing Reports for Local Area - Location |
    
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 48
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 01, 2008 - 8:30 pm: | |
This spring season is off the hook. I took Denis Quill and his son David out for a ¾ day trip. They came here on holiday, from Ireland, and wanted to catch some fish. We loaded up on bait as best we could and then bee-lined it to the Grunt & Sweat wreck. The first drop of the day was a nice legal Gag Grouper.
[img]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/001-3.jpg[/img]
Then the real fun began as they struggle on 10 drops and managed to pull only one Amberjack off the wreck. We left there with the Jacks winning by a score of 9-1. After that we tried for a few Permit but they had the Quill’s number also and he lost the only one that hooked up. We finished our day putting 2 nice Pinkies (Mutton) in the box.
[img]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/004-3.jpg[/img]
Steve, Chris, and Steve Jr. had a great trip with us and Devon and I enjoyed ourselves equally as well. We had a full day of laughs and fish. The trip started off with them telling us that Steve Jr. had caught a 98# AJ and Jacks weren’t on the list. OK! Bait is becoming a bit of a struggle but we managed to get enough for the entire day. First order of the day was to try for a Mutton or two. We arrived to find 2 other boats drifting the same wreck. No big deal, find a spot, put her in neutral, and drop! Seemed to work fine… for us! We boated a Mutton, an African Pompano, 2 Barracuda, and a Bonito head. After losing the rest of that Bonito to the guard dogs, we couldn’t get another fish passed them, so we packed it in.
[img]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/001-2.jpg[/img]
We had planned on running to a wreck to give those Permit a shot. But first, I asked Steve if he wanted to try for some Dolphin since the other charter guys seemed to have had a bite earlier on that morning in the 450-500’ area. Rather than running to the wreck we trolled out and up. Within a short time we had a knock down! Since we didn’t get the hook up, I made a big circle to come back through that area again. A quarter mile past the original spot, we get a hook up on the flat line, then the other flat line, then both riggers. We boated 1 of the 4 Schoolies in the original attack but #2 was replaced with a nice fish on Chris' line. #3 is an even nicer fish on young Steve’s line. As young Steve has his fish about 30 feet from the boat, Devon yells “Big Bull with her!” I immediately grabbed a 20# spinner and pinned a live Ballyhoo on and cast it beyond the Bull about 10 feet. The ‘Hoo jumped once and the Bull pounced on it and it was ‘game on’ for Big Steve. We gaffed the last 3 fish and the big Bull made a mess of the boat and beat his tail off, literally. Final weights on the 3 big fish were 16, 25, and 50 pounds. Do you think they were smiling? You betcha!
[img]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/004-2.jpg[/img]
We finally made it to the Permit wreck and they were moving all over the place hard to locate and finicky when located. Sharks were cruising the area and we could see at least 2 of them under the boat, at all times. We managed to hook up 3 fish but they powered us into the wreck for a quick release. We called it a day and headed toward the barn.
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 47
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 9:10 am: | |
As each week moves into the next we can see the winter season slowly dissipating into the much warmer summer season. Run & gun, bird chasing and trolling for the Dorado’s will overtake the more fuel friendly live baiting of Sailfish and Kingfish. The absolute beauty of this short transitional period that we call spring is; many of the less glamorous species have infiltrated the area’s reefs and wrecks. They are Gamesters, none-the-less! My last couple of trips had everybody grinning and reaching for the Ben-Gay and the frying pans.
Tom Migliaccio, better known to us a “Trolling Tom”, had rounded up his brother Jim, sister-in-law Michelle, and their kids Christine and Cameron for a day of catching. Yep! I said catching!
We left the Marina at the crack of 10 AM, Tom hates mornings, and proceeded to catch some bait. The Hardtails were scattered and we grabbed what we could and headed offshore for some Ballyhoo. The Ballyhoo didn’t get the memo, because many of them had missed this late morning appointment. They were TOUGH! We got enough bait of all types to go fishing, so off we went. First order of the day was to try and locate some Dolphin. Devon loaded the rods with our traditional spread and we trolled off into the blue on a search mission. Most of the Dorado have been caught in less than 600’ of water with the 450’ line being the hot zone according to the boats that got into them in the morning. By the time we got out there the bite was cold. After about an hour we called off the search and decided to give the wrecks a try. As we were pulling lines the deep rod lit up with a nice Schoolie and quickly we had 1 in the box.
Keep in mind that Toms brother and family still reside in Michigan so the wreck fish we’ve been catching will give them a memory not soon forgotten. The AJ’s are tough and they gave Jim and Michelle a few eye opening battles. Several attempts and several lost fish but we did manage to catch 3 of these fish, one of which was a very respectable 48 pounds.
We decided to switch tactics and see if the Permit were here yet and willing to eat. Yes Sir! We had several bites losing one to the wreck and missing another bite or two. Two of the Permit were not so lucky as we boated fish of 10# and 17#.
[img]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/17Permit2.jpg[/img]
With only about an hour left we decided to make a quick run to see if we could get the kids on some Mutton’s. Cameron and Christine, got to tug on a Mutton Snapper single handedly… with a little coaching. They did great, the fish box looked good, and the Mig’s were all smiling. A good time was had by all!
[img]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/12Mutton.jpg[/img]
The next trip was a group of 5 guys. Jerry, Sean, Mike, Matt, and Bill met us at the boat about 8:30 AM. Since there were so many of them, we wanted to keep these guys busy and sore. Several of them had never lifted anything heavier than a 9 iron on the golf pastures. So guess where we took them? That’s right, to the Grunt & Sweat wreck. Each of these guys got to wrestle several of these Jacks and the AJ’s were winning this battle. They were unexplainably strong that day even with reel drags at the point of being hammered down, they were still taking line and wrecking us. They were so voracious that we told the guys… let the lead hit the bottom, take up 3 cranks on the reel, and HOLD ON! The fish followed the script to a tee. I lost count of how many hookups we had but they bit everything from live bait to speed jigs… with reckless abandon. We only managed to boat 4 of these brutes that day. Amazingly, the Amberjack we have been catching have had very few worms and are definitely delicious, fresh out of the smoker
With the seas being a bit on the rough side we didn’t think we had a shot at any Permit but we gave it a try anyway. Boy was I wrong. We hooked up 3 fish and boated 1 nice one that stretched the Boga Grip to 30 pounds. Good lord these fish are strong on spinning tackle.
[img]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/30Permit.jpg[/img]
Almost completely out of live bait now, except for 2 Ballyhoo, Sean decided to call it a day. We talked him into making a couple of quick Mutton drops before we packed it in. We dropped the 2 remaining Ballyhoo, got 2 bites, and 2 Mutton Snap’s in the box. Done deal.
This is the season when it can be called catching, not fishing!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
http://www.beastcharters.com
beastcharters@aol.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 46
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 03, 2008 - 12:02 am: | |
Some of my customers brought me a gift from the frozen north… a chest and sinus cold which has me a bit under the weather still. With that in mind, I’m not going to get into an involved discussion about our crazy weather since everyone reading this is already aware of it or are simply oblivious. The weather is not the only thing out of sync. Fish patterns are out of whack as well. It appears that spring time patterns have arrived 3-4 weeks early in our area. This is not a bad thing because it offers many more opportunities to catch fish, be it for sport or table fare.
Since my last report I’ve been out several times with one of those being one of our beloved “fun” trips. Before Easter we had trips with some really nice guys and all were short ¾ day trips. Most of our short trips can be described as either, time restrictive, possible “chummers”, or people who hold a spinning reel upside down. Many of these trips are people who just want to catch fish, with the only criteria being, BIG!
Jon falls under the first category I mentioned…time constraints. Being one of my favorites, he is an excellent angler who fishes with us all the time. He fishes often by himself, and generally wants to catch only Sails or Swords. He was fishing a short day, unusual for him, but we managed to hook him up to a Sail, 3 Kingfish, and a Bonito.
The next trip was Pete, Jeff, and Fred who also did a short day as did the other trip with Charles, Don, and Johnny. These trips fell under the other categories but I will leave the explanations at that. Pete, Jeff and Fred, managed to have a nice day getting hooked up to a Sailfish, 2 nice Kingfish, and 3 Amberjack to 60 pounds. We also managed to catch 7 fat Mango Snapper while trying to make bait.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/003-Copy.jpg[/IMG]
Charles, Don, and Johnny weren’t so lucky with the sea conditions as the previous trips. Mother Nature had issued them some huffing winds and standing seas in the morning. They fished for an hour trying for a Sailfish and losing a mystery fish on a blistering run. They opted to go a few rounds of “mano y mano” on the wrecks. They had a blast and were absolutely worn out after wrestling 8 of those large AJ’s. They were so worn out that Don and Johnny each took a nap in the bean bags on the way in. Johnny caught the largest A-Jack that day, a solid 55 pounds. Notice the broken stand up rod visible above my shiny bald head. These fish are tackle busters.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/007-Copy.jpg[/IMG]
We gave it one last shot for a Sailfish and dropped the down rod almost to the bottom. Don finished the day with a dinner sized Mutton Snapper.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/008-Copy.jpg[/IMG]
This past Saturday Devon, Amy and I decided to go out for a fun day and try a few new ideas. When we do these “fun” days, nothing is regimented from the time we meet at the dock until the time we say good bye. We all arrived around 7:30 and began loading the boat.
We got underway and as we left the Marina we began collecting our live bait by tossing the net on some small schools of mullet. We also gathered some Hardtails and Ballyhoo on hook and line as we made our way offshore. We were trying everything that came to mind on this day. The 3 of us love to fish these no pressure days and we always seem to have considerable success. Staying busy was the motto for the day. Since we are all decent anglers, we ran a spread that covered it all. We had 3 Ballyhoo on flat lines, a Mullet and a Hardtail flying off the kite, a Ballyhoo mid depth on the down rod, a Mullet on the bottom rod and Devon jigging a hair jig/hoo combo.
First up was a nice little Bull Dorado on a flat lined Ballyhoo. Shortly afterwards a smaller Cow ate the Hardtail flying off the kite. 15 minutes after resetting we had a Sailfish eating the kite riding Mullet. We missed a few Kingfish bites and lost a Cero Mackerel at the boat. As the day progressed and the bite slowed, we ventured offshore to one of the deeper wrecks. Several drops using Hardtails on one rod and Ballyhoo on the other produced us 3 Amberjack in the 30 pound range and 6 Mutton Snapper. WOW! Enough of that! Catching AJ’s is too much like work!
We pulled off the wreck and went back to drifting on the 1-2’ seas. We continued to catch fish all day with the bottom bite being excellent. We did have 2 more Sailfish attempts but never got the hook up. We called it a day with only 2 Hardtails, 1 Mullet, and 2 weak Ballyhoo baits left in the live wells. We tallied the 3 Sailfish bites, 2 Dorado, 3 AJ’s, 15 Mutton Snapper, 3 Sand Tiles, 1 Bonito, and a Queen Trigger. We pointed the bows of The BEAST towards the barn and throttled her up. We arrived at the Marina, with a full fish box, tired and grinning from ear to ear!
Anytime you get to have a day on the water with the family, it is like having cheese cake for desert. When you have a day like we had it is like adding fresh raspberries on top of that cheesecake.
Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Captain Rich Smith (Captrichsmith)
New member
Username: Captrichsmith
Post Number: 3
Registered: 5-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2008 - 9:06 am: | |
Fishing Report
I have been fishing the Backcountry area's of Whitewater Bay , Hells Bay , Pearl Bay and seen the Snook and Redfish bite significantly better than last week. This week I had customers Dave and Cajun Perry from north florida come down and have a great day reeling in 30+ snook on Rapala X-Raps in the number 8 size in the Backcountry. Fly fishing in the everglades has really only been sucessful when you can find a nice spot to fish in where the wind isn't blowing too hard.
Biscayne Bay has been tough again due to high winds. I have seen a few schools of bones enter the shallow flats from the deeper channel of Angelfish Creek. These fish were in schools of 8-10 fish and ranged from 7-9 Pounds. During these windy days we have had a blast casting the shorelines for Barracuda with artificial lures. I normally like to do this to keep my guys entertained while poling down the edges looking for bonefish. It is not uncommon to catch 50-100 in a single day. Some of them approaching 4 feet long! Not to mention the drag screaming runs and the occasional Jump. If you would like to try this out be sure to use a trace of Steel leader (6-12inches long) so their massive teeth dont claim your $5 lure
www.captainrichsmith.com
www.everglades-fishingguide.com
www.miamiflatsfishing.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 45
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 18, 2008 - 10:44 pm: | |
I recently took a pair of New Yorkers, Jason Carter and his son Jordan, on 2 days of fishing. They wanted to do a full day of Sailfish and a night trip for Swordfish. I told them at the time of the booking that the Swordfish were not “on fire” right now and they might rather do 2 day trips instead. We left it at a “play it by ear” type second day.
They met up with Devon and I on Thursday and, once again, reiterated the desire to do a full day trip and a Swordfish night. I forewarned them that the Sword fishing was slow and could possibly end up being a bust, but they stated that they had made day commitments and wanted to have the night Sword experience, if for nothing else. With that decision etched in stone, we headed off to catch our bait. The bait was a bit persnickety but we managed to get enough for the day. After catching bait we made our way to the edge, on flat seas, to begin the day of fishing. Good grief! I hate calm seas when it comes to fishing, but it is what it is, and we must make the best of every situation.
Putting out our usual compliment of 5 rods, the day started off with a Kingfish on the down rod. After a bit we boated a nice chubby school Dolphin during a short tirade by these fish that seemed more set on harassing the baits than eating them. I talked to Dennis on “Mutuna” via VHF for a quick report. He as many had begun their day chasing these finicky Dolphin but that was the extent of their day so far. We continued watching the surface lines for activity while the Kingfish were keeping us semi content on the down rod. On one occasion we caught a Kingfish and as we had it boat side, about to bring it in for a release, an extremely large Barracuda came out from under the boat and bit off 1/2 of the fish. Devon told Jordan to drop the rod again to see if we could hook up this large ‘Cuda. Once again it came out from under the boat and ate the other 1/2 but unfortunately his mouth was so big it engulfed all of the wire and caught part of the mono leader…game over, boys! We caught and released another Kingfish and to our surprise another Barracuda. OK, enough of this, with 1 King and 1 Dolphin in the box and no Sailfish showing their snoots, we decided to go test the boy’s metal on some bruiser AJ’s for a few hours.
Arriving at our favorite “angler testing wreck” we sent down a couple of hardtails. KABOOM! It didn’t take long and Jordan was being taught a lesson in Amberjack 101. We finally had to break out the shoulder harness to keep him from flunking out of this school. His Dad and he, passed the course with a 66% rating with the top fish being 45 # on the scale.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/001-1.jpg[/IMG]
We left the wreck with tired anglers and fishing time growing short, but hoping for a Sailfish in the last hour or so of the trip. It was not to happen this day as Jordan unexpectedly called the trip due to some plans he had made with a college friend. Total tally on Day 1 was 2 of 6 Kingfish, 4 of 6 Amberjack, 1 Dolphin, and 1 Barracuda.
I will make this part of the report much shorter since our night was mundane at best. Jason and Jordan arrived on Friday evening for their Sword trip. They were about an hour late (traffic). I wanted to have lines set up on the drift, right before sunset, but that was not going to be the case. Oh well. We made 2 drifts of 10 miles each, one deep and one shallower. The baits were hanging beautifully but nothing doing. We didn’t have a smack, whack, or bite the entire night. Not even a pesky night shark. The Hydro-Glow light didn’t pull in the usual assortment of baitfish. At 2 AM Jason called the trip. He remarked that I had forewarned them that this could very well be the outcome, yet the experience was still amazing.
All too often, many tend to lose sight of the absolute beauty that surrounds us. It takes someone like Jason and Jordan to remind us that there is enjoyment in the experience, the vivid colors of the sea, the sun or moon rising brightly over the water, the aroma of clean ocean air… success should not be measured solely by the pungent smell of fish in the fish box.
Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
www.beastcharters.com
beastcharters@aol.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 44
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 1:09 pm: | |
Another couple of weeks have gone by with the usual unseasonably warm weather and then a surprise we got a cold front. The 2 days right after the front passed showed a dramatic Sailfish bite, but as luck would have it, I had no trips during that time. This winter has produced a very sporadic season at best which truly defines the phrases, hot and cold, on and off, yin and yang. This is frustrating when people come from all over the globe, most trying to get a shot at a Sailfish. I’m sure many of my fellow fishermen can relate to these slow conditions.
The past 3 trips prior to today were a struggle. One day the bait was almost jumping in the boat and the next day we had to make up little tricks to fill the wells. The trusty old downrigger was silent for the most part. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. The Kingfish were so fast and loose, but now are lacking. They were our “stay busy” species while waiting for the more desirable Sailfish bite, of which we only had one in the last 3 trips. We did manage to catch a Bonito, a couple of Cero Mackerel, 2 or 3 small, sub-legal Kingfish, and a small Dolphin or two.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/001.jpg[/IMG]
We spent too many boring hours with no action. The only thing that kept me from second guessing myself was the fact that everyone else was having the same struggle as us. Being disappointed was becoming commonplace. At some point on most of our trips, we went to one of our favorite wrecks. The Amberjack and Almaco Jacks were in good numbers and willing to pull on our fishing lines. We did have an encounter with a large Hammerhead. I’m not kidding when I say large. This Hammerhead was every bit of 10-12 feet in length. The dorsal fin rose 2’ above the water and the head was over 3’ feet across This monster took a full minute to eat my kite bait and we were hooked up… for about 30 seconds.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/003.jpg[/IMG]
The day of this writing Devon and I met Jon at the dock at 7 AM. The biggest problem was that the rest of the group wouldn’t get there until 11:15. We took our time and ventured into the bay to get some bait while we were waiting. Things were going good as we chummed up some Hardtails and Ballyhoo on a spot east of the Marina. We fished our live wells full and headed back in. Perfect timing! As we arrived at the dock, the guys were getting out of their car. We exited the Marina and I pushed the throttles down heading straight out to sea. Our game plan was to begin by putting these guys on some AJ’s first and wearing them out. I immediately changed that plan when I heard some of my boys having triple header Sailfish action as I was coming across the patches. One quick click on the VHF and Donny confirmed it for me. Stiff winds out of the SE had the waves on the reef all slopped up and the reef edge had 5’ standers. My 600 pony powered World Cat 330TE punched through all of this at speed.
First lines in and 5 minutes into fishing and we have a double header of Sailfish going. One is hooked up and the other knocks the bait off. A good bit of jumping ensues and the fish takes my angler “down and dirty”. With some coaching we get the leader touch just as the fish pulls away from the boat again. The angler was fairly new to fishing so I tried to teach him how to cup the spool to give added pressure when needed and to release the spool when he felt the fish pulling. This was a mistake. I should have left well enough alone. He didn’t have the feel for this and the 20# line parted. No big deal, it was a legal catch, we just didn’t get the tagging done. I consoled him by remarking that it was a good thing since the fish wasn’t tired out and we could get back to fishing. The action slowed some so I put out a kite with one bait. The downrigger was quiet, as usual here lately, when suddenly it pops off. This is not a Kingfish by all indications of the fight. No sir, instead we boated a 30 pound Cobia. NICE!
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/003-1.jpg[/IMG]
A short time passes and the kite bait gets hit and we are into a nice Dolphin. As we work this fish to the boat we see it is the Cow and the smaller Bull is about 15 feet to the outside of her. An errant cast, trying to put a live bait out to the Bull, almost costs us the hooked fish. Devon sticks the gaff into the Cow and 30 pounds of Dolphin slides into the fish box.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/007.jpg[/IMG]
One of the guys has to make a flight at MIA so we get the word to dump the live wells and prepare to button up the show. We had plenty of bait and dumped all of it at once. Within minutes the ocean came to life with Kingfish skyrocketing out of the water and a Sailfish taking the kite bait. Bada bing! A quick hook up! It ended just as quickly with a bit of angler error when he didn’t come tight on the line quick enough after the first jump.
Keep in mind that the half day trip the day before only resulted in a Dolphin and that Hammerhead bite. This next day, although short as well ended with 1 for 3 shots on Sails, a 30 pound Cobia, 30 pound Dolphin, a small “snake” Kingfish, and a Slippery Dick. This just goes to prove what a difference a day can make!
Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
www.beastcharters.com
beastcharters@aol.com |
Captain Rich Smith (Captrichsmith)
New member
Username: Captrichsmith
Post Number: 1
Registered: 5-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 10:36 am: | |
If you are able to time the weather patterns to work in your advantage Biscayne Bay can be very productive working grounds for all
your Bonefish chasing needs. The key to your success lies primarily on water temperature. Bonefish are most active in water
temperatures above 72 Degrees. During these winter months cold fronts can drag the bay water temperatures below this critical
number and force the Bonefish to refuge to deeper warmer water. This is why you will often see Bonefish in large schools waking in
2-4 feet of water. So what this means is if your temperature gauge is indicating colder water you should move toward the edge of the flat and begin your search. The majority of Permit are still hanging out on the offshore wreck located outside Biscayne Bay. However, there are a few lost schools hanging out on the West side of the bay. These are not out typical spring time numbers but if you are lucky to stumble across one a quarter sized crab will certainly entice him to do a little drag screaming action for ya like my buddy Blair often says on his television show Addictive Fishing. If its Tarpon you are after you should primarily turn your focus
north ward to Government Cut Canal. Most of the numbers will be found in areas like the cut due to deeper warmer water and a constant abundance of bait fish so they don’t have to travel far for their meals. Crabs, Mullet, and Pinfish, and Pilchards are the baits of choice for these Jurassic creatures. Tarpon can also be caught on Rapala X-Raps in bright colors in Flamingo and the Everglades National Park.
www.captainrichsmith.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 43
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 10, 2008 - 5:34 pm: | |
Offshore was a no-go for days. Not many fishermen ventured forth into that slop! I didn’t have any trips scheduled and for once I was glad of it. There’s just something wrong about having to fish in South Florida in a snow mobile suit. Besides that visual, imagine 30 knot winds with gusts to 40knots with short interval seas at 8-10 feet nearshore. It would’ve been a mission, even on my 33 WorldCat. As the week progressed we began planning a trip for the weekend as we were already itching to see if this front had pushed the Sailfish into our area. Saturday was looking iffy but I saw we might have a comfortable day on Sunday, for a “fun” trip. NOAA was calling for E winds at 10-15 knots and 2-4’ seas, so we made it happen.
Tom, Amy, Devon, and I met at the dock at 10 AM. I said it was a fun trip, didn’t I? After a few jokes and a few comments about the light winds, we shoved off. The bait on our Blue Runner spot was gone. When I say gone, I mean GONE, not a single fish. The cold front had run them out of there. Feeling a little pressure to make bait we headed for our best bait patch. It didn’t fail us! We dropped over a chum bag and in minutes the slick was forming and we began to see bait about 100 feet back. As they got closer I made a long cast and got one hooked up. Boy, that sparked them up! They were racing towards the boat, right behind the hooked fish. These baits were hungry, ravenous, eating everything in sight. In 15 minutes, we dropped about 2 dozen in the wells. They must’ve had a rough time in that weather, obviously they hadn’t fed too well. They grew more reckless by the minute and finally reached the point of stupidity! Oblivious to the guy standing in that big white thing, with his 10’ net loaded and ready, they made a mass mistake. Bada Bing Bada Boom! I covered them up with the throw. Devon helped me pull up the net and we quickly unloaded them into the wells. One more throw for good measure. A little more wary now, they didn’t mass up as before but I got plenty. We had sufficient baits for the remaining 4 ½ hours of fishing, or did we?
This day was turning out to be beautiful, Winds about 10 knots, seas 2 feet with maybe an occasional 3, and a gorgeous blue sky. We headed to The Spot and began putting out lines. 2 rigger, 2 flats, 1 downrigger, Amy speed jigging and Devon playing with a bucktail/ballyhoo combination. A few short minutes and I saw the bait on the right flat doing the jig. A bill appears and then the Sail breaks the water as it turns on the bait. Devon and I scream “Sailfish!” at the same time and Tom jumps on the rod. The line tightens up and the Sailfish spits the bait. In a millisecond the long rigger bait starts skittering across the surface and the line pops out of the pin. Once again We shove the rod into Tom’s hands and once again the line comes tight and the fish spits. Dang! 0 for 2!
We had better luck through the rest of the day. We stayed busy with very little time to eat our lunch. We ran the downrigger a bit deeper than usual and it was doing its job producing respectable sized Kingfish. Our surface lines were being marauded by nice school Dolphin about every half hour. There were also some Blackfin Tuna in our area.
Our afternoon “fun” trip ended up with a tired crew of 4. We used almost all of the bait and the fish box was almost full (very large fish box). Although we never had another shot at our intended target, the Sailfish, we had plenty of fresh fish for the 3 families. On the ride back to the barn, we spoke enthusiastically about the day. 0 for 2 on Sailfish and the fish box held 15 Dolphin, 3 Kingfish, and 2 Blackfin Tuna. We released a few Kingfish and a half dozen or more Dolphin. Devon and Tom cleaned fish and Amy and I cleaned the boat. We were all smiling and calling dibs on the Tuna. Tom said his wife was waiting at the door with a toasted bun for a fresh Dolphin Sandwich, Devon ate fresh Tuna for dinner Sunday night, and I ate some of my Tuna for dinner Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and tonight. Life is good!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
www.beastcharters.com
beastcharters@aol.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 42
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 - 1:10 pm: | |
Offshore over the Holidays I did several trips and had success and failures by my standards. Water temperatures still in the high 70’s has not pushed the numbers of targeted Sailfish into our areas yet. Most of my trips are seeking these fish on their trips and it can make fishing tough.
The day after Christmas Devon and I took a father and son team fishing, Peter and Marshall Dill. The fishing was less than stellar, matter of fact, it was more like in the cellar. We got our bait with a little bit of trouble but we secured plenty for the day. We struggled all day on the calm seas. The seas were as calm as a secluded pond and there was absolutely NO current moving in the area. We hit 3 different wrecks, worked the bottom, and tried the mid depths. Of course, we had a full compliment of baits working the surface at all times. Nothing, is the key word. We worked our hind parts off and only came up with 2 small Dolphin and a Barracuda within minutes around 12:30 in the afternoon. The wrecks didn’t produce anything with live bait or speed jigs. The mid depths which normally wear us out with Kingfish never produced a single strike and the surface was void of all species. This only confirms that those who pray for a nice comfortable day on the boat get a nice comfortable boat ride, nothing more! Good Lord, I hate those days!
The next trip was with a fellow World Cat’er, Tom Maggliacco who owns “Latitude Adjustment”. He is a local from the Redlands who is imported from Michigan. We departed the dock around 11 AM for this tutorial trip. You see, Tom is a die hard “troller” who I have convinced that he needs to up his game and move into the live bait arena during the winter. Live bait fishing is not only the most productive fishing method during the winter, it is the only cost effective method with the price of fuel today. This trip was dedicated to help him learn various live bait techniques, from finding and catching bait to deploying those baits in a productive manner. Tom learned downrigger fishing methods which produced several nice Kingfish. We dropped bottom rods and he caught a small Cobia which wouldn’t reach “fish box” measurements. We had several good strikes on the speed jigs, all of which resulted in cut off jigs. That can get expensive quick! At the end of the day he also learned that those live baits on the surface will also produce Sailfish. He managed to catch and release a very big Sailfish during the evening “witching hour”. All in all, the day was very successful. Tom has called me several times with questions about the day. We managed to have a good afternoon with many strikes and some nice catches. He is anxious to set up some more trips to continue learning our South Florida fishing style.
My last trip was with an good client, Parker Creech and Stina (his better half) from North Carolina. This trip was a last minute call for an afternoon trip the next day. Parker used to fish with me every year and we lost contact over the years, for some reason . It was good to hear from him and take him fishing once again. Devon and I met him at 12 noon and we made bait quickly. The patch that we have been using the past several trips is loaded with hungry baits. Catching them on hook and line was quick and 2 throws of the 10’ Calusa cast net and we were on our way with fully loaded bait wells.
Parker was there for the Sailfish and Stina was there to catch all the other fish. We had some good success with the mid depths on Kingfish but for some reason Stina couldn’t keep them pinned to the hook all the way to the boat. The bottom rod caught us another 18 inch, sub limit Cobia. We stayed busy most of the afternoon and when the “witching hour” arrived we had BIG Kingfish sky rocketing on our surface baits. Most cut off the mono leader like a hot knife through butter. One managed to collect the circle hook in the corner of his jaw, exactly as intended. This fish was a “smoker” which worked Stina to the limits on the 20# spinning tackle. When she finally got the fish to the boat it ripped back and forth across the stern, several times. Devon crawled into the motor wells twice to clear the line from the motor cowlings. The last clearing attempt found Devon falling into the drink. Not a problem. I put the motors in neutral and Devon, being the fish that he is, made 3 strokes against the current and was on the dive ladder. At that same time I was sticking the gaff into this Kingfish. The fish weighed out at 28+ pound on the Boga Grip scale. This was the only fish we kept that afternoon as we are about caught up on our smoked fish supply. Unfortunately we finished the day without a shot at a Sailfish for Parker but he was very happy. He was also glad we had reunited once again and is planning another trip to come fish with us in February.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/28Kingfish.jpg[/IMG]
Here is a funny note! While cleaning that one and only Kingfish, Devon found a belly full of Ballyhoo and one Goggle Eye. The kicker… the Goggle Eye was tethered to a rubber band bridle on a small circle hook, one Ballyhoo was bridle to a J hook with copper wire, and Lo and behold, there is the front half of our Ballyhoo pinned to the Owner circle hook which was cut off about 10 minutes prior to this Kingfish being caught. This King was obviously wreaking havoc in the entire fleet that afternoon. He obviously came to dinner, one too many times in our spread, which led to his demise.
Hopefully the weather will change and bring us better fishing conditions. Until then, best wishes for a good year in 2008, from the crew of The BEAST.
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
www.beastcharters.com
beastcharters@aol.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 41
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 20, 2007 - 2:48 pm: | |
Brrrrrrr! Chilly weather has finally invaded our space. At last! A major front has passed through our area and dropped the temperatures. Unfortunately, the winds that were generated by this front were brutal, to say the least, on Sunday and Monday. With that being said I will relay the details of my last trips.
Sunday began the “Adventures of The BEAST”. I should have had a film crew to do an infomercial on how to fish a WorldCat 330TE under extreme conditions.
Devon and I met at the dock decked out in rain gear as the approaching front was determined to try and make us wet. The wind was howling at 25+ knots from the SW. This is doable. As long as the winds are anywhere from the west we would be fairly protected on the reef edge. The weather was anything but pleasant, but we knew that once the front pushed through it would get better, at least in the rain storm category. Our customers, Stefan and Silmara, arrived at the boat early. Silmara was not so energetic but Stefan was determined and anxious. They had come all the way from Germany to fish with us and fish we will. They boarded The BEAST, we stowed their gear and shoved off.
We had no trouble getting our Blue Runners and Goggle Eyes but the Ballyhoo patches were all murky. We hung on the hook for about 30 minutes at the first spot and caught only 1 Ballyhoo. We endured a brief but intense rain squall while I was contemplating a move. I made the decision to try another patch reef because I doubted seriously if a kite would fly in these strong winds. Ballyhoo are my preferred baits for slow trolling. As we approached the next patch the water was considerably cleaner and the ballyhoo came up with a little coaxing. We caught several dozen of them and fired up the Zuke’s, heading offshore on a mission, and a mission it was.
For the better part of the day the weather was miserable one hour, and seemed to be clearing out with the next hour. The wind actually got worse at one point and were steady at 28-30 knots with gusts of 33 knots. With all this wind, believe it or not, the seas were only 4’ with an infrequent 6’ swell. Totally fishable but the intermittent rain was annoying.
We started fishing to the north of our usual spot and as I said earlier, putting out a kite was totally out of the question. We put out 4 up lines and another line down 50 feet. I worked the helm while Devon worked the pit. First fish to eat our offering came on the down line. Stefan grabbed the rod and began doing battle. As the fish rose to the surface we saw it was the dreaded “Caribbean Spotted Mackerel”, aka Barracuda. Fishing was slow and we worked the north area a while longer and again got a hit on the down line. Again Stefan fights the fish an we see a brown color as it nears the boat. Cobia? Not this time. A small Sharpnose shark breaks the water. About the mid day mark, we got caught, in a very nasty rain storm, complete with lightning. Devon and I were uneasy and pulled lines and started running out of the storm. We were ready to pull the plug on this trip for safety sake when we broke out and saw the scattered clouds ahead. We ran down south and set up again. We managed to hook up to a decent Blackfin Tuna and a small Kingfish that afternoon. For some reason we were having trouble getting hooked up on the down line and missed about a half dozen bites. We finished the day by missing a Sailfish bite just before lines out.
Silmara never touched a rod, allowing Stefan to enjoy himself by catching all the fish. She kept repeating we were “crazy men” to brave those elements. We fished all day and only saw one other boat which fished for about 45 minutes and left. Arriving at the dock we were reviewing the day and planning on tomorrows trip. All were damp and chilled from this tough day of fishing but Stefan was happy with his limited success. Silmara with a huge smile, made it clear she was going shopping tomorrow, instead.
We arrived Monday morning to 50 degree weather, clear beautiful skies, but the wind was still blowing hard. What’s this? 7:00... 7:30... 8:00 and no Stefan. 8:15 and Stefan is at the gate. What the heck? Silmara? Here she comes, a gamester at heart. I asked her what happened that took her away from her shopping and she told me that Stefan promised to take her Tuesday and was going to fund the whole shopping spree. So she came along and was once again invaluable at catching bait. All the bait came very easy and tossing the Calusa cast net twice, simply sealed the deal.
Winds out of the NW at 20-25 knots yet the seas were a mere 2-3 feet on the edge. We put out our normal setup as yesterday. This time we started south and stayed there most of the day. Frigates everywhere and I catch a glimpse of one working on the deck. There is a Sailfish rolling on its prey. I grabbed the flat line, cranked it in, and pitched it over there as the fish was sounding away content. Not happening this time. 30 minutes later I was marking fish at 90’ and we dropped the downrigger to that depth. 2 missed strikes and then a hookup. We see color and the color is brown. A Cobia. Obviously less than the 33” minimum so it was released. Another drop and another bite. Up comes a nice little Silky shark. Devon remarked about an old hook in his jaw as it fell out revealing only a rusty spot on his right side jaw. We released him, of course. Next drop to the 90’ level produces a Slippery Dick. Let’s try that 90’ drop once again shall we. BAM! The line starts screaming off the reel and Devon looks at me. We smiled at each other as I told Stefan, there’s your fish. 10 minutes and we are seeing color. Man, that is a long fish. Big Kingfish? Barracuda? Sail? Oh no! As we see the blue coloration begin to appear Devon yells “Monster Wahoo”. In a few minutes it’s boatside and Devon sticks it with the gaff. The gaff almost straightens out completely as the fish slides off. Devon strikes the fish again and this time he horses the fish over the gunnel and it thuds to the deck. This Wahoo will be Stefan’s biggest Wahoo for a long time to come. Mr. Wahoo was 63” long and weighed approximately 55 pounds. We couldn’t be exact because my boat scale broke when we tried to weigh it An incredibly nice fish.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/55Wahoo.jpg[/IMG]
Unlikely to top that Wahoo, we kept fishing anyway. We went through about a 2-3 hour lull, when finally we get struck on the top line. This fish is brown. Another Cobia? Legal length this time! No, another Silky shark. NO! Not another Silky, the same Silky we caught 4 hours before. Yeah right, you say! There was the proof, the rust stain in the right side jaw that we observed on the previous Silky. This has happened once before to me on a Barracuda.
We rounded out the day with an Ocean Tally, a peanut Dolphin attack, and then the down line, set at 60 feet this time, goes off again. Screaming away once, twice, three times and we are thinking Kingfish or another Wahoo. We see it is a “smoker” King and about 10 feet below the boat, the struggle stops. Stefan brings up the fish and the tail end in gone. Sharked! The “guard dog” allowed us to keep 18-20 pounds of the best part of the fish anyway.
About 30 minutes later we packed it in and called it a day. Devon remarked that this was the roughest 2 days he had ever fished to date. He has a new found respect for catamaran style hulls, especially The BEAST.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you about the Bald Eagle sitting on the Marina jetty. It was an awesome sight. Speaking of birds. We had a Royal Tern literally come sit in the boat. In the boat, means IN the boat, below the gunnels and on deck. It wore a band on its right leg and was not apprehensive of humans, obviously. It rode up front for the most part, but a few hours later it was walking right by everyone with no regard. Too cool, huh?!? After a considerable while, it tried to take off but couldn’t get any lift under its wings, inside and below the gunnels. Devon reached down and gently scooped the bird under the belly and raised it up into the wind and it took off. Psychics say that loved ones who have passed on will often send birds as their symbols to you. Coincidence? This day happened to be the 3rd anniversary of my Mother's passing! I miss you too, Mom!
Until next time; Happy Holidays to all, from the crew of The BEAST.
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
www.beastcharters.com
beastcharters@aol.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 40
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - 4:58 am: | |
The offshore side of our fishing world was phenomenal for lack of a more emphatic word. The following episode is of a trip that Amy, Devon, and I made for fun last Thursday. We were going to get in a good practice run for upcoming charters. Every now and then we need to justify spending all those dollars on fuel, just for fun!
The day started out at 7AM just like every other trip but we were in casual mode, a no pressure scenario. That sure does feel good every once in a while not to mention that we all get to actually catch the fish for a change. As we headed across beautiful Biscayne Bay we realized that the moderate chop forecasted was nothing more than a very light chop. We started off the day by catching about a dozen Blue Runners and then headed off for a bait patch that tends to hold larger Ballyhoo. The Ballyhoo have been averaging just above “Dink” size so we opted to try this patch first. As we exited Casears Creek we once again made note that the winds were blowing from the NNW but the seas were not the 4-6 feet that they had predicted but rather a mild 2-3 feet. Immediately upon putting the chum bag out the ‘hoo started showing up. We caught about 2 dozen of them real quick and suddenly not only did the bite shut down but the fish completely disappeared. No Ballyhoo in sight, nor any tiny Yellowtails or other chum eaters. We quickly picked up and headed for another reliable bait patch rather than wasting time. We setup and the Bally’s came in hungry and stupid. We caught several more and then I threw the cast net and topped of our live bait situation. We had plenty of bait for the day with a dozen Blue Runners and 5 or more dozen Ballyhoo. Or did we?
We departed our bait patch and made the short jaunt offshore to our first destination. Deploying 2 rigger lines, 2 flat lines, and downrigger, we were in business. It didn’t take long and we had a Kingfish in the boat. Devon was working his speed jigs deep off the bottom and scored on a Mutton Snapper in a few short minutes. Next fish in was another Kingfish while Devon kept working his jigs. He had his jig almost to the boat when a Bonito hit his jig and pulled the rod to the gunnel on the strike. The action was hot and heavy under the surface when several nice Dolphin came in and tore up our top baits. After about and hour of this heavy action it died off so I put up a kite to refresh everybody’s memory on that style of fishing. I only flew one bait off it while pulling the same full compliment of rigs off the stern like we had started with. The bite had turned off as quickly as it began. We stuck it out for another hour.
I decided since there was no current to speak of, that we should run to a good wreck and try dropping some live bait. Maybe some nice bottom fish would play a little game of tug-of-war with us. We arrived and set up on our first drift. Amy dropped a small Runner and I dropped a small Ballyhoo. Something grabbed Amy’s Runner and mashed it then let go. Seconds later my Ballyhoo got hit and I cranked it up as quickly as I could. A nice legal Mutton came aboard. I reminded everyone to wind them in as fast as possible to keep them out of the wreck and away from the “guard dogs” (sharks). We made several drifts and most produced something including an African Pompano and half of a large Amberjack. Yep, half of an AJ, the guard dogs got the other half. Just as happened at the other spot has now happened here and the bite turned off.
It was approaching the afternoon bite time and we ran in to the reef edge to once again set up. I love when the clocks are turned back to EST and we can fish the early morning and the late afternoon in a single day. We hooked up a couple more Kingfish and Devon got a nice King which hit his speed jig just below the boat. We removed the downrigger line and went strictly for Sailfish and Dolphin on the surface. I put the kite up once again and put 2 baits out on it to compliment the 2 rigger lines and 2 flat lines. As we sidled past another boat we saw them hook up on a Sailfish. NICE! A half mile north of that boat we had a fish take the short flat line and when it skied out of the water to reveal a nice 25 pound cow Dolphin, Devon jumped on the rod. Within seconds of that, our short kite bait gets hit and I have a smaller bull on. The smaller bull made it to the fish box but the cow was foul hooked and giving Devon a workout. The first gaff shot was a miss as she turned quickly as I was reaching at my limits to strike her. On the second pass we tried to muscle the fish in for a gaff shot and the hook pulled. Oh well, we had plenty of fish in the box.
About 15 minutes after that Dolphin barrage, I turned around from the helm quickly to see a Sailfish come up and eat our left rigger bait. We were on! I tried to get Amy to take the fish but she said it was my turn again since I never get to catch fish. I took the rod and fought this fish for about 10 minutes and told Devon that she felt like she was tail wrapped. Sure enough! We hurriedly pulled it in the rest of the way and got the hook out, then spent another 3 minutes reviving it for release. Her fins lit up blue and she pulled herself away from my grip and swam off into the depths. I now have boated my 14th caught Sailfish. That’s what I said! I’ve had hundreds on hundreds caught from my boat but I’ve only caught 14 of them, personally. We set up for a short time more and got covered up in smaller school Dolphin and released them.
We decided to call it a day at 4:45 PM with only 4 baits left. Total for the day was 1 Sailfish, 13 Dolphin, 6 Kingfish, 2 Mutton Snapper, 1 African Pompano, 1 Bonito, and half of an Amberjack. On the way back to the barn it dawned on us that we had caught about 10 different species of South Florida fish in one day. That day, fuel prices were acceptable, because the smiles on our faces were priceless.
I’m not going to tell you to get out there or give me a call if you need a charter, because you won‘t. Instead I’m simply going to tell you this… “If you snooze, you lose!” Days like this are memory makers!
Tight lines and screaming drags,
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
CaptainIDS (Captainids)
New member
Username: Captainids
Post Number: 21
Registered: 9-2007
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 05, 2007 - 10:04 am: | |
Are you a Licensed Coast Guard Captain?
This is for you
http://www.captainids.com/ |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 39
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 17, 2007 - 5:58 am: | |
If you remember reading the report of us fishing the Big Rock Marlin Tournament you might remember me mentioning CL, the mate on Capt. Troy's "Water Damage". That week in North Carolina all CL could do was talk about catching a Swordfish. He wanted to add a Swordfish catch to his list of species caught. Devon Amy, Sharon, and I extended an invitation for him to come to Miami and we'll try to hook him up on a Swordfish and maybe do some Cubera fishing since these giant snapper are at their peak right now. He has never caught a Cubera Snapper either and it would make another nice addition to his catch list. He and his girlfriend arrived on Saturday afternoon and we scheduled a Sword trip for Sunday night.
Sunday evening arrived and we all met up at the dock at 6:30 PM for his trip. He, the Swordfish Virgin, as well as all the rest of us were excited to give this our best shot. After the dismal Sword trip of last week, we still had high hopes. After all, this is fishing and no two days are ever the same. We cruised down the bay which afforded CL and Royalyn (his better half) a chance to savor an often missed look of Miami. As we ran through Caesar's Creek they got a beautiful view of the sun setting over the creek between the mangroves. As we headed across the reef line to our deep water destination, CL was intrigued by the water visibility as he clearly saw the bottom passing beneath us. Finally arriving at my deep water drift site at twilight we deployed 2 jug rods and 2 tip rods in varying depths with different types of baits.
The current was moderate at slightly over 3 mph and pushing slightly inshore of my waypoints marking previous hookups. We reached the 90 minute mark and covered almost 6 miles of water on this uneventful drift. We pulled lines and ran back for another drift. I started the second drift a bit more offshore. We passed the first GPS “bite” mark and nothing happened. We passed the second “double bite” mark with no signs of a look-see. Not wanting to prolong this drift I recommended we pull them up and head in to a shallower drift site. We quickly brought the lines up. We had a taker on the deep tip rod which bit the dead bait off at the head without so much as a rod quiver or reel click.
Arriving at my shallow drift site we quickly set out the lines. Once again we were spending time laughing, joking, moving tip rods up and down or anything else that would break the monotony of a fishless night. We were enjoying the meteor shower as was predicted by the local news stations earlier that evening. CL was now in his concession mode as he was remarking that you can only do what you can do and it is up to the fish after that. At 3:10 AM we were all getting a bit tired and we decided to call it a wrap at 3:30. This drift was much longer than the first 2 and we were past the 10 mile mark. At 3:27, with only 3 minutes to go on our trip, the reel on one of the tip rods begins to walk off with a swift, steady, rhythm. “There he is! Get your harness on, CL!” I barked to him. I fed the bait to the fish while CL was readying himself and then the line stopped. “He’s coming to us!” I began reeling frantically and then the line came tight as CL arrived with the harness on. We buckled him in and the fight was on. 10 minutes later with some excellent angling by CL and a mortal hook placement the fish gave up and I grabbed the leather gloves and yanked him out of the water. Devon grabbed the gill plate and we flopped CL’s first Swordfish on the deck. The fish measured out at close to 55” and weighed approximately 75 pounds. Royalyn got all of her man’s action on video. CL was so excited that all he could do was hoot and holler while reminding us how stoked he was now. As the picture taking continued, Amy, Devon, and I broke down the gear for the trip home. On that final drift we found that the jug rods, which are hard to detect a strike, had both been molested. One bait was slashed almost in half and another was missing completely, hook and all.
Wednesday night we met at the dock at 5 PM. CL and Devon brought along Al and Neno (Devon's Uncle and Dad). We headed out on a mission to catch some Yellowtail Snapper and the largest of all snappers, the Cubera.
As we headed out the channel we jigged for Blue Runners and caught about a half dozen. We ran down the bay and through the pass heading for the patch reefs. I pulled back the throttles in 10' of water. Devon and All brought their mask, snorkel and fins and were over the side within minutes. A 15-20 minute search put 5 legal lobster in the boat to use for Cubera bait. That is a hard thing for me to do since every time I see a lobster I think of hot butter, not fish bait. I rounded up the 2 of them and headed for the Yellowtail spot. We arrived in short order, dumped the anchor and deployed 2 chum bags. While Devon readied the lines for everyone, I began sweetening the chum line with hands full of glass minnows. We slipped the silversides on the hooks for bait and began drifting them back. Down I should say! NO CURRENT. This is not a good thing for "Tailing". We managed to catch about 10 or 12 good Yellowtail and as the sun set we blasted out the short 1 ½ miles to the Cubera spot. Fish were marking by the hundreds on the depth sounder but there was no current here as well. This is not a good thing for any type of fishing in S. Florida. Oh well. We set up for drift # 1, lowering 1 lobster for CL and one Yellowtail on Al's rod. 3 minutes into the drift and CL's rod is bent over double and his 80 International is giving up line. He puts the 80 into low gear and pushes the drag to FULL. At full drag we could barely pull the 100# line of the reel with both hands yet this snapper took yards at a time. With the sweat pouring off his face he turned the snapper upward and began gaining on him. There's the sinker and OMG, there is the fish. I grabbed the leader and pulled him in to Devon's gaff and we flopped this "Snappa" on the deck. After several pictures, many comments on the canine-like teeth, and a few guesses on the weight, I pulled out the digital scale to weigh it. A very respectable Cubera at 47#. Most of the fish have been in the 20+ range. There is that smile again on CL's face, just like Sunday night when he caught his first Swordfish. We are already halfway to our boat limit of 2 Cubera over 30 inches.
We made several more drifts without a bite. Mind you, our drifts at this particular spot are only about 600-1000 feet in duration. I only drift as long as I am marking fish. The lack of current is definitely affecting the bite. On the next drift I started noticing an increase of fish on the bottom so I told Al to drop his lobster to the bottom and then make 3 cranks up. Man, you would think I know what I am doing!!! Within a minute or 2 the 80 International is again engaged in a brutal free for all. Al works himself into a sweat as he manages to bring another big fish to the surface. Flop... on the deck it goes! Same ritual of pictures and utter amazement of these huge snapper. The digital scale reports the fish at 43#.
Now with a boat limit of 2, we must fish for release only. WE have 3 lobster left and they haven't touched but 1 of the finfish baits. That one received a split second crushing blow with no hookup. A couple more drifts and Neno gets a hit on the 3rd lobster on Devon’s bent butt planer rod with the TLD 50ll. The fish takes the tip of the rod almost to the water. Neno was working the rod as good as he can under the incredible power of this fish when all of a sudden… BOINK! the tip flies up as the hook pulls. Now we set up for a full lobster assault and dropped both “bugs” to the bottom. We passed over the spot and got hung up and lost 1 full rig and both baits. Now we only have Runners and Yellowtail for bait so we made 2 more drifts and called it a night, packing it in at 11:30.
CL was like a kid in a candy store! He came to Miami seeking a dream he had since childhood, catching a Swordfish. That happened on Sunday night and now he had the icing on this sweet memory by adding a Cubera Snapper catch to the notches on his belt.
Why do I do this job which has such meager monetary reward? It is not about the table food, flour, and hot grease. It is not about the size, quantity, or species of fish. It is not about bragging rights or competency! What it is really all about is making new friends and reinforcing old friendships as well. Most importantly , it is about making people SMILE. That alone, is priceless to me.
Congratulations to you CL, and you're welcome to come back and fish on The BEAST, anytime!
Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 38
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 18, 2007 - 10:33 pm: | |
We are beat up from the feet up. Last week we fished the Miami Kiwanis Dolphin Tournament placing 6th overall out of 208 boats and 2nd and 3rd Ladies prizes. Sharon, Amy, Devin, and I jumped in the vehicle right after the ceremonies and prize payouts. Departing on a high note we drove 14 hours straight through to Morehead City, North Carolina to fish The Big Rock Marlin Tournament. We arrived at 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday and began preparations to fish the following morning.
We cast off lines at 5:30 AM on Monday morning to make the 40-mile run to the selected area. Dropping in 11 hooked lines and 4 teasers we began our day at lines in call, 9 AM. We covered all the water we could before lines out at 3 PM and boxed 3 of 4 Dolphin in the 15-22 pound range and missed 1 White Marlin. The White had hit a rigged squid and even though we did a major drop back the fish refused to double back and eat. Inspection of the bait proved a sold strike as the squid had a hole through it where the White had struck it with his bill. The second day Tuesday was uneventful. We ran 80 miles north to Hatteras Canyon and calm, placid, seas only yielded 1 single 15 pound Dolphin for us. Day 3, Wednesday, was rough and the winds were howling. The winds were blowing 25 knots and the seas were 7-8 feet. We had another 2 hour run out to the day 1 spot and we were so glad to arrive. Riding the big seas at 26 knots in the 330TE WorldCat was not too bad in the beanbag chairs in the rear although we did arrive wet, even with spray curtains and rain gear on. We once again covered water only to find 2 Dolphin again in the 15-16 pound range. Then at 2:30 PM about 30 minutes before lines out I spotted the big dark shadow by our purple/black Ilander/ballyhoo bait. As the shadow grew into a visible Marlin I yelled, “Fish up”! This Blue Marlin was in the 300-350 class and was eyeball to eyeball with the bait. Just as I was readying myself for a drop back if necessary the bait shot out of the face of the wave and “Big Mama” spooked. She launched herself as well and then vaulted out of the water one more time off the starboard quarter. I reached over and pegged the throttles to try and head her off hoping to excite her one more time into an instinct bite. Nothing doing, we never saw her again.
Thursday and Friday we chose for our lay days as required by tournament rules and with our backs against the wall, we decided to go for broke. Seas on Saturday were mild and we gambled on a 90 nautical mile run across the Gulf Stream to a suspected temperature break. We arrived about 10 minutes before lines in and set up. Everything looked good with an abundance of flying fish, squid flying out of the water like flying fish, birds, weeds and later a current rip as well. Things could not have looked better with all this healthy water. Someone forgot to tell the fish! We jumped off 1 large cow Dolphin on the long rigger, which looked about 35 pounds. That was the extent of our day. What the heck, we gambled and it didn’t pay off. This wasn’t the first time and it won’t be the last time it happens.
The tournament had a 400-pound or 110-inch criteria for weigh in and there was only 5 fish weighed in for the 6 fishing days. The tournament winning fish didn’t come in until 10:30 PM on Friday night so only the die-hard or those not fishing Saturday got to see it. It was 613 pounds and the others were 567, 505, 473 and 422, respectively. A 52-pound Dolphin, 45-pound Wahoo, and 69-pound Tuna won the largest fish in their respective categories.
We had a blast fishing with our friends up there but all the fun ended as we loaded back into the car and drove the 14 hours back to Miami, arriving this morning at 4:30 AM.
Now, let’s touch on our fishing scene here. The news traveled fast to North Carolina of the 81 pound Dolphin caught off our SE Florida coast. I saw pictures of this fish and it was a spectacular specimen. If everything goes right this pending fish will be a new Florida state record and possible IGFA 30# class record as well.
The Dolphin have been good and near shore. Smaller fish are fun and good table fare and the larger Bulls and Cows are still hanging around for those anglers looking more for the sport of it.
It sure beats sitting on the couch and watching others catch fish on the TV fishing shows!
If catching some Dolphin by day or Swordfish by night is up your alley, by all means, give us a call at Beast Fishing Charters. We will sure do our best to get you “hooked up“!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 37
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 10:04 am: | |
This past weekend was a fish hard, all out weekend. The Beastie Girls and their other half’s spent the weekend in the Keys while we fished the Coconuts Dolphin tournament. Amy and I ran The BEAST down to Indian Key Channel, just south of Bud & Mary’s marina. We spent 4 days at La Siesta, a very nice place with comfortable accommodations. Our marina accommodations were on the bayside in a small little hole in the mangroves, which at first glance, was intimidating for my 33’ WorldCat. The twin opposed motors allowed me to spin The BEAST into place every day and it truly worked out better than anticipated. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and prepared for the grueling 3-day event. This has got to be one of the largest tournaments held in South Florida drawing anglers from other states as well. Last year there were 620 anglers and on Thursday there were already over 600 registered this year.
We signed up and joined in the festivities Thursday night but went back to the apartment, and after a torrential rain, we turned in around midnight. 5AM comes quick and we were sucking down our coffees, grabbing a bite to eat, and we arranged The BEAST for the day. We shoved off at 7AM and made our way through the mangrove hole and into the channel and out into the ocean for the warm up day mini tournament. The seas were calm, flat to be exact, and I turned the 300 Suzuki’s up to 4100 rpm’s and set my sights on one of our preferred locations. We pulled up short of our preferred location approximately 25 miles offshore, opting instead to fish an area that looked too good to pass up. 8 AM and lines in time we put out our spread and worked some birds which resulted in a school of chubby Dolphin starting us off. They were so hungry that Missy was catching them on bare hooks. Since we were in a “biggest fish” tournament we pulled away from them and started hunting birds again. We made it to our original planned destination and we got bit up again and this time a pitch bait brought up a nice 16# Cow. A little more searching and things slowed down a bit. We worked this area for an hour or so and then decided to trek off to another spot. We got into some scattered weeds and got slammed by a 26# Cow. The afternoon was becoming uneventful when we spotted a couple of orange fender balls off to a distance and a boat fishing them. We ran over there to investigate and found it was 2 anchor balls coiled up in discarded rope. A sportfish boat that was working this floater was trying to block us out but we had no intentions to be rude. We worked the outskirts and caught a couple more school Dolphin. When the sportfish boat gave up on his attempts and moved on, we made a few passes close to the floating balls and rope which resulted in 2 Wahoo out of 5 bites on the deep rods. 3PM lines out and our total was 18 Dolphin and 2 Wahoo.
We took the largest Dolphin to the weigh in but we were too shy in weight to make the leader board. We hung out and socialized for a bit and then headed back to the room for day 2 of fishing which was Day 1 of the main event.
The same morning rituals at the apartment and we are off again. The seas were once again light and comfortable. This time we were running late and I cranked down on the motors a little harder. I didn’t stop until we hit the waters that produced well the day before. Good scattered weeds, Sooty Terns working, and over the lines went. Almost immediately the short rigger fires off with a screaming drag. This was a big fish but as it head shakes we see what appears to be a glimpse of a Wahoo and then the rod goes slack. All the terminal tackle held properly, just a good maneuver by a desperate fish fighting for his freedom and the hooks pulled loose. We spent the next 3 hours in flat calm seas with nothing happening. BAM! The down rod goes off and so does the flat line. Good fish! 2 nice Cows. We pitched a bait and within seconds another fish is hooked up. With the original 2 fish in the box we now have another Cow on and we dropped back a naked ballyhoo to a fish swimming in with the 3rd Cow. Pick up, hook up, and off to the races it goes. The Bull to this harem was hooked up. Blood everywhere and tackle askew, but we had 4 nice fish in the fish box. Everything went smooth and exactly as planned. We got things back to order after all the high fives and moved along looking for THE BIG ONE. About 20 minute later we got the strike and he was a good one but the hook never really struck. The Cow on the other hand was not that lucky and we added another fish to the box. Somewhere along the way we managed to pick up 2 more school fish. Saturdays total was 7 Dolphin, 5 over 16 pounds and 2 schoolies.
The Beastie Girls took the 19, and 20 pound Cows along with the 22 pound Bull to the weigh in but ended up about a pound short of making the board in the ladies division with the Bull. The Beastie Girls have fished this tournament since 1995. Amy & Sharon said that never had they had such a welcome as they struggled to carry the canyon bag with 3 fish to the scales. The cheers were heart warming and made them feel like they had won anyway.
We awoke to a typical Coconuts Sunday. An abnormal cold front for May in South Florida had passed in the night and left us with Blustery wind conditions and building seas. We stopped by a frigate working the water and waited the few minutes until lines in time. We worked this bird for 30 minutes until he soared up and gone, with no results. We ran the 25 miles offshore to our spot. Approximately a half hour later we got caught up in a cell that once upon us grew to over 6 miles in diameter according to my radar. Every time I saw an opening it would close again because of the air temp cooling and condensing the moisture in the air. We struggled through 30-40 knot winds and occasional hail mixed in the rain for almost 2 hours. All I could do was put the bow into the wind and wait it out. When the squall finally gave up it left ugly seas of 6-8’ and around the ups & downs they were like a washing machine. I am thankful that I was in a WorldCat 330TE, that’s for sure. The day went quickly and uneventful. Nothing to weigh in but we were glad to see this day come to and end as we rode in at 22 mph in the slop.
We leisurely ran the boat back home on Monday. We’ll get them next year. This tournament has eluded us every year and we vow to continue our quest to conquer in the 22nd annual Coconuts Tournament. We had a good weekend, none-the-less. Our largest Dolphin was 16,16, 18, 19, 20, 22, and 26 with 18 school fish and 2 Wahoo in the low teens.
Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 36
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: 
Votes: 2 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 17, 2007 - 11:49 am: | |
Global warming???? We are still experiencing cold fronts making their way through Florida. By the time they get to South Florida they are not much of a “cold” front but still remain a significant pressure front, with lows in the lower 50's, and that is cold for us in mid April. These high pressure fronts affect our fishing dramatically. The day before or the day after a frontal pattern can be feast or famine, a feeding frenzy or lockjaw shutdown. The coastal and offshore fishermen, fishing deeper water, realize the bite is almost non-existent during the approach of a front and dramatically increases after its arrival.
Yesterday my trip reflected this fact in a big way. It also had a few other quirks thrown in for good measure. Kevin and Kate arrived at 9 AM instead of the normal 7 AM shove off time. We exchanged introductions quickly as we departed the dock. We arrived at a preferred bait patch only to find the mooring ball gone. Rather than taking a chance of throwing the anchor into the coral, I opted for another patch close by. GREAT! Our late departure found us with a ripping offshore current and the winds laying me towards shore. The chum is running under the boat as we scan the surface looking for bait, only seeing a few Chubs rising to the chum. The incoming tide wasn't due for another 3 hours, so I pulled up everything, fired up the Hondas, and pointed The BEAST offshore. The decision was to try and troll up some of the many Dolphin that have been showing up in fish boxes at the docks. We worked offshore in the 200’ to 600’ depths, SE of the Whistle Buoy. The farther we went, the more the ocean looked like a desert barren of cacti (weeds). The radio traffic was quiet, and infrequent information was not good. Someone asked if anyone was catching at all, and the answer was total radio silence. After plying the waters for a couple hours with only one strike on the long rigger, I made my way shoreward surmising that the strong SE wind must have the fish tight against the edge. We worked northward fishing the 120-200’ depths and finally got a double hook up on Bonitos. Shortly thereafter, we hooked up a double on “schoolie” Dolphin. The fishing was slow to say the least. I pulled lines and blasted into the bait patch again to make a second attempt at catching some live bait. The tide had changed and the bait popped up quickly. As we began catching bait, the radio chatter picked up. Many were packing it in and heading home. One Captain cited the incoming front as the culprit to this mediocre fishing, but when fishing a charter you must try and make the best of a bad situation. Kevin suddenly announces that he wanted to be back at the dock by 4 PM so they could hit South Beach that evening. OK! Now the fishing time narrows to only 1-½ hours. I figured 12 baits would be sufficient for this limited time. As we were unhooking bait #10, Kate felt seasick and by bait # 11 she was done. Just as suddenly, I get the “word” and we're headed back to the barn. By the time we arrived at the dock, Kate was feeling better. They both agreed that I did all I could do, a valiant effort on a bad day. Que sera’ sera’, what will be will be!
This was not the case on the 2 previous trips, thank God! Those trips had much better results with no hiccups. Bob and his friends caught 12 Dolphin up to 30# with 3 Kingfish over 20# in the mix. Jeff and his crew caught 7 Kingfish up to 23# and went 0 for 2 on Sails.
This is the story of 2007 so far. El Nino weather blocked most of the usual frontal passages during the winter. El Nino lifted and now we are getting cold fronts when we should be having spring like weather. That is the just the way it is sometimes. We give it our best shot and let the chips fall where they may. Most of the time it works out very well and everyone leaves the dock with a smile. Today as I write this report it is 56 degrees with the winds howling out of the NW at 24 knots. I have mixed feelings. I am warm, dry, and comfortable, but I wish I was out there chasing fish on a frontal feeding frenzy. I guess I'm just ate up with it, huh?
Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 35
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 02, 2007 - 4:31 pm: | |
This winter season has been black and white with no gray area, at all. We have had some really slow days and some really busy days. Hopefully we will have a good month in March to finish off the peak of Sailfish season with a bang while sliding right into a good run of big Bull and Cow Dolphin. I have my fingers and toes crossed.
My last 2 trips painted a perfect picture of the black and white, yin and yang, of this winter season. I fished Skip and his crew on a full day. We had to hit 2 bait patches to find enough bait to fish the day and my Calusa net sealed the deal on the 2nd bait patch. We had plenty of bait and shot offshore the 1/4 mile to a beautiful, well pronounced, blue/green color change. This rip was a dream come true with the only downfall being that it was in deeper water than we normally like to fish this time of year. The other problem was that the seas on the clear blue side were 7-8' while the reef edge a short distance away was only 2-3' with dirty, ugly, green water. We caught a Dolphin straight away within minutes of putting out our baits and then struggled. Alex (mate) was diligent, keeping the baits clean and fresh but nothing seemed to matter. We worked a wreck right on the color change and couldn't draw a bite while alternating 3 different types of bait. After Skip started getting queasy we opted to go in on the edge and see if any fish were using the dirty green water. We did manage to hook up and land 3 big Bonito out of 2 assaults and finished the day with a small Silky Shark. Tough doesn't begin to describe this day of fishing.
The next trip was with Jon and Chris, who have fished with me many times. Alex and I met them at 7 AM and we cast off the lines running immediately out to the bait patch that scored yesterday. Not one bait rose to the chum, go figure. We went in to the patch that didn't produce the day before and pulled the bait up like they were starving. We caught all our necessary bait for the day, on hook and line. Alex and I were smiling as we headed offshore with prime "hookers" knowing we had the best bait we could possibly have. I decided to fish farther north than I usually do, opting for some lesser fished areas. As we were running to the area I had chosen in calm seas of 2' or less, a Sailfish flopped out of the water and I immediately pulled back on the throttles and Alex and I scrambled to get out 5 baits, quickly. Within minutes we had a triple header of Sailfish rise to the baits and hook up. One pulled the hook as quick as he ate it while Jon and Chris fought the double that were still pinned on. After about 10 minutes Chris' fish came unglued and we were down to 1 but Jon worked him to the leader and we had our first catch. We tried valiantly the rest of the day to get Chris' first Sailfish going through another double hookup, 5 singles and 5 Dolphin. Chris did manage to get his first Sailfish and also his first Dolphin. A storm cell quickly moved over us and parked there for the last hour which fizzled out our chances of another bite. With numerous free jumping Sailfish flopping around us throughout the day, 9 Sailfish hooked up, and 5 Dolphin caught, we called it a day. Man, what a difference a day can make. Black and white!
Beast Fishing Cha | |
