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Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 103
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 30, 2010 - 9:12 am: | |
Friday night we took out Paul, Dave, Ping, and Trollin’ Tom, my friend and Paul’s brother-in-law. Paul had heard Tom speak of the Cubera fishing we do, so they just had to try it. We met up at the usual time and loaded everything onboard. El Nasty was on the agenda, for sure, this evening.
We untied The BEAST and headed out to collect baits. We began gathering the crickets and when we had 12 good, legal bugs, we made our way out to do some Yellowtail fishing. We arrived at the spot, dropped the hook, and started the chum slick while Devon readied the rods. A short while into it and we had some fish biting and a lot of Ballyhoo at the chum net. Devon caught a few of the ‘hoos and tossed them into the well. The down rod got thumped and Tom grabs the rod and works up a very large “Homer” (Nurse Shark). Devon dispatched the shark quickly and reset the down rod. We saw the Bally scattering in the chum slick so Devon pinned a live ‘hoo to a rod and pitched it out. Gulp! Fish on! Paul takes the rod and after a few decent runs and some muscle, a very respectable 20 pound Kingfish comes to the boat.
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The guys caught a Bonito, a few Triggerfish, and some good Yellowtail as we passed the time. As twilight fell, they picked off a few Yellowtail that were almost in the “flag” category. We pulled up the chum as the darkness engulfed the sky. It was time to head out.
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I powered up and made way for Cubera country. We arrived to find smoking current to the north. The water was ripping at over 3 knots and the winds were puffing at 12-15 knots on our beam. OK… Devon and I have our work cut out for us. We look at each other… It is what it is… Let’s get’r done! There were 2 other boats out there trying their luck as well. The evening started out very slow. The drifts seemed to change every 15 minutes and Devon worked hard to keep the baits in proper position. We changed up a bit and dropped the secondary rod with a fin fish. BAM! Ping jumps on it and fights this muscle bound fish. As it comes to the light we see it is 40 pounds of “Night Donkey” (AJ).
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Well that worked for some action but not for our target species. Time is passing and BADA BING! Get on it Dave! He climbs on the rod and works the fish up to the boat. Now that’s what we came for, a pretty 20 pound Cubera comes over the side.
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The bite is on! We missed one or two good bites and then on the next drift we hang up both rods. Devon and I both hustle to replace the terminal tackle on the rods. I had a feeling this was going to be a short bite. KABOOM! Paul gets the nod and is into his first Cubera. He works the fish to boatside. Devon wields another small fish, by our Cubera standards, over the rail. It pulled the scales down to 25 pounds.
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Just as quick as the bite turned on, it turned off. Wow, that was a fast and furious 45 minutes! We worked for another 90 minutes or so but the fish had lockjaw and the sonar marks were disappearing. I suggested making a run to another spot and give it one more drop before we packed it up for the night. Everyone was in agreement.
Arriving in that area we found the conditions much better but the sonar was marking a ton of bait and not very many big fish. OK, one drop and we’re gone. I line up the drift and everything is going well. The rod tip twitches twice and then the tip moves quickly toward the water. There he is! Ping takes his place and this is a nice one. He tries his best to slowly maneuver this fish to the surface and 30 seconds later, the fish shakes the hook. Crap!
This night was a done deal. As usual the ride back home, with tired anglers, is very quiet! We went 2 for 5 on our targets and some additional good catches. We braved some adverse conditions and a few rain showers. Good job, guys!
Saturday we hooked up with Dave Irving and his mates, Ian and Rob. Dave is the mad Englishman who caught a Cubera on a speed jig with us 2 seasons ago. We shoved off at 3 PM and did our usual routine of collecting baits. This time instead of speed jigging while waiting for darkness, they wanted to catch some Yellowtail. We anchored up and began chumming in a fairly strong current. The ’Tails weren’t so obliging but the down rod did manage to catch a pretty little 25” Black grouper. Although he was legal to keep, we all agreed to vent & release this fish to grow some more. The Yellowtail we did catch were once again, some Fatties.
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Devon and I were anticipating another night like last night with tough fishing ahead of us. Strong current on the reef edge and the wind is blowing 15 from the East with solid 3+’ seas. As the dark side drew down on us we made our way out to Nastyville. Wow! Saturday night and not another boat in sight. Are you kidding me? We have Cubera country all to ourselves. Other than the 3-4’ sea, the current is a very fishable 1.5 knots. This is doable! The fish are marking good and the first bait goes down. Nothing. This isn’t unusual because it sometimes takes several attempts for me to fine tune the drift. We’re working hard at it and nothing is happening but we had already anticipated a late bite again. Drift after drift and all we had so far were a couple of “almost” bites that turned out to be bottom hang ups. Devon had his “It’s going to happen” hat on. KATHUMP! The bite turned on and the rod bent over. Ian got on the fish and manhandled a smaller 20 pound fish to the boat. Nice! We boxed this fish because they wanted to keep one smaller fish for the table.
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WHOMP! Missed it! The bug came up minus the front end of his carapace. BOOM! Hooked up! Rob got after this one and judging by the pull, it isn‘t a small one. He cranks on the reel and the fish pulls harder, After several hard fought minutes the fish comes to the light and Devon brings it aboard. There ya go, Mate! Now that‘s a “Nasty” fish. It scaled out at 42 pounds. We vented the fish and slipped it over the side to continue on with its intended purpose
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For 45 minutes we had a bite on almost every drift and then it shut down. C’mon, we were just starting to have fun! By now, Ian and Rob have lost their sea keeping abilities and were laying down. The only time we would see them is when they were hanging over the side calling down to some fish they must’ve named “Ralph”!
I made a few calculated moves to keep us in the fish longer. Devon made a few major adjustments on his end in the pit. 20 minutes later a ferocious bite started. Every drift resulted in a bite as long as we stayed on our pattern. The only problem was that these must have been smaller fish as the baits were coming back with fang punctures in the carapace and a half dozen legs missing. Dave was hanging in there, confident he was going to get one. Another swing and a miss! There’s a bite! Crank down on him Dave! HOOK UP! We must’ve sifted through the leg nippers and found a real one. Dave puts the muscle on the fish and it comes to the top. The fish won’t give up and it takes a few minutes on the leader to quiet it down. We pull the fish over the side to take a quick pic and get the hooks out. This fish is well into the mid 30 range. Yup… 35 pounds!
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Devon vented the fish and put it in the water for a release. Not this time. We’re not sure why but this fish was a goner. We gave it 100% effort, righting the fish and staying with it for 5 minutes. It isn’t going to make it. With only 1 fish in the box we decided we had to keep this one too! We had no choice, either keep it, or let it float away dead and that would be a total waste!.
The BEAST has a 2 fish limit in the box and a good release. Each guy has a Cubera notch on their belt, out of the 7 or 8 bites. It’s getting late now and little to gain at this point, but repetition. The 3 mates from the UK decided to toss in the towel instead of injuring another fish just for fun. Good decision and pretty work, Mates!
I pointed the bow toward the West and throttled up. Our 3 Brit friends were “out for the count” on the ride home.
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: 102
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 23, 2010 - 5:05 pm: | |
Last night we took Mike, and his crew of little guys out for some Cubera fishing. The boys, Matt (13), Mason (10) and Kyle (8), were very anxious to do this. They are very interested in fishing which was evident by the hundreds of questions that Devon and I answered throughout the night. We didn’t mind the constant barrage of questions, because this is the future of sport fishing.
Devon and I were ready and waiting when they arrived. We loaded everyone on board and headed out to gather bait. We made a few stops for alternative baits and continued out to round out the bait wells. We found an area that looked good and Devon slid over the side to hunt some crickets. The boys got excited watching him dive down and come up with a bait. We used this time to also teach them the about the legalities, how to measure for shorts, and what an egg bearing female looks like. I continued the learning process onboard by showing them the differences in male/female crawfish. After we collected enough bugs for the night, we made way to find some Yellowtail.
We weighed anchor and came tight on the rode. Wow! The current was smoking to the north so hard that The BEAST was almost on a plane. We gave it a try but it was barely manageable so I made the call to move. After resetting in a better location we began to catch some fish. The chum was also bringing in a variety of bait fish. The boys got to see a Sailfish feeding on some of the farther bait fish, for a brief minute. We had been watching the electrical show of a couple of onshore storms which were slowly making their way offshore. I did one last radar check and it was clear for over 16 miles. OK, Boys! Time to go to Nastyville!
We arrived on site to find 6 other boats and a stiff current! Within minutes the winds from the SW storm started to blow but it only lasted for about 5 minutes. The storm to our north began putting out some very impressive downdrafts. I’m talking 25-30 knot winds and the seas kicked up quickly. I motored around to get all the information I needed to make a good drift. The winds were making this a bit difficult and uncomfortable. A look around and there were only 4 of us out there now as 3 boats ran for cover which was a smart move if you have a smaller craft.
Our first drift is usually more of the “let’s try it” type until we get dialed in. A few adjustments and the second drift was much better but uneventful. I made one more adjustment on the 3rd drift and shortly into the drift, my little man Kyle gets the nod! FISH ON, little buddy! Mason and Matt were so excited that they were right in on the action shoulder to shoulder with Kyle. We had to drop the reel into low gear so Kyle could move his fish up. The next 5 minutes were filled with a lot of grunting, huffing, puffing and exited chatter from the boys. Kyle got his fish to the surface and Devon handed him over the side. Way to go Kyle, you just caught a 28 pound Cubera Snapper! Pretty work, little Dude!
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The winds were laying back now and we made a couple more drifts that were unsuccessful so I made some more adjustments. Drift number 6 was going real nice and we made yet another quick adjustment. Seconds later the bait gets thumped and the rod doubles over. Get ’em Mason! As the boys gathered at the rail with excitement, we dropped the reel into low gear so Mason could move the fish. Work’em boy! The fish finally pops up and Devon brings it over the side. That’s a nugget! Mason is on the board with a 35 pound fish. Good job, Bud!
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Now we need to get Matt a fish, too! Conditions are changing rapidly and the bite is falling off. Devon and I worked hard, changing things up, making different adjustments with almost every drift. We went through quite a few drifts for the next half hour or so. Finally, persistence paid off and the front rod thunks twice. Crap, we missed him. No, wait a minute, he’s back. Thunk, thunk, the rod starts to bend over and I give the reel some cranks. FISH ON! Matt is hooked up. This fish isn’t a nugget, for sure, this is one is a bruiser. The rod is bent over to within a foot of the water and its throbbing under the weight of this fish. The fish either has Matt in a stalemate or it is taking line from him. I tried to move the fish a little bit with the motors as Devon races forward to give Matt low gear. The rod tip snaps back into place as the line parts. This fish made some bottom structure and won its freedom. Tough break Matt. It wasn’t your fault at all. That stuff happens occasionally especially when dealing with larger fish!
We continued to work hard using different types of bait to change things up. All 3 boys are lost to sleep when the bow rod gets hammered. Matt… Matt… MATT!!!! Mason arouses to keep the fish on until Matt, groggy from sleep, gets his bearings to take over. The fish surfaces and it is a 15 pound Horse Eye Jack. Before we could take a picture, Matt was already prone and falling back to sleep, so Devon quickly released the fish. You can’t blame them for being that tired. They played football that afternoon, came straight to the boat, had adrenaline pumping through their young bodies, and it is getting late. We made another 4 or 5 drifts but it was more than obvious to Devon and I that the night was over.
We packed it up and stowed the gear. I pointed the bow toward the barn and throttled up the 600 ponies. Other than the motors humming, the ride was quiet. The kids were asleep and there wasn’t a single question asked on the whole ride home.
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This was an excited crew of kids that, I do believe, thoroughly enjoyed their night. Mike remarked that they will have some good stories to tell when school starts. Our kids should be a constant reminder that spurs us to conserve our resources. Abide by all regulations, take what you can use, and properly release the rest. Let’s leave our oceans and it’s creatures, better than we found it, for the sake of our future generations.
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: 101
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2010 - 4:16 pm: | |
Cubera season started off a bit slow this year, even though the moon phases seemed to be perfectly in line. Opening day of mini lobster season we took Todd, Fernando, and their boys, out to give the Cubera a go!
The day started out with an unexpected delay in our 3 PM shove off. We motored out and got a handful of baits and then blasted out to the patches to see if anyone left us some bugs. Devon slid over the side and in an hour or so, came up with 9 good baits. That should be plenty, so we headed out to do some ‘Tailing.
Arriving on our Yellowtail grounds we put out the chum and began dropping lines back. We managed to get quite a few legal ‘Tails and just before the sun set, Fernando brought in a good’un. The fish was 26 ½ inches long and weighed 5 pounds. Nice!
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Darkness falling, we headed out for the Cubera. To make a long story short, we dropped baits, and marked fish on the recorder, over and over again. The fish were there for sure but they had other things on their minds, obviously. Finally, after some frustrating hours of repetitive fishing, we got a bite on one of the live baits. It was short lived as the fish can unpinned. When we retrieved the bait is was obvious that it was our target species that bit. We fished past quitting time and never did catch one of these big snappers. This is not the start I had expected! It grew very apparent that these fish had a stronger sexual/mating drive than their appetite. After thinking about it, I wouldn’t stop mating, to grab a sandwich either!
Devon and I felt really bad for Todd and his son since they flew here from Jersey just for this. It’s fishing! They were there for sure but no matter what we did, even with little tricks and techniques, you can’t make them do what they don’t want to do. Sorry guys! At least there was Lobster and Yellowtail for dinner.
I was sitting home on Saturday afternoon looking at the weather. Lobster season opened on Friday and it was supposed to rain all day on Sunday, which it has! I picked up the phone and called one of my best friends, “Uncle Al”, and my good friend, Harry! “Hey Guys, what’s up? Feel like blasting out for some Nasty’s tonight?” The answer was a resounding… He!! yeah! We met at the boat in less than an hour and unleashed The BEAST. Stopping to quickly take on some fuel, we began discussing the game plan.
We powered up and cruised out to the patches for some crickets. Since this was a last minute deal we needed to get bait quickly. Al went over the side. In less than an hour he collected us a dozen, fat bugs! OK Boys, Let’s do a quick, one chum block Yellowtail session. Arriving in the area we set out the chum and shortly thereafter began bailing, nice, fat, keeper ’tails. With things going so well to this point, all I could hope for was a better performance at Nastyville! Uh oh! Hold your tongue Capt. Jim. Storms are moving offshore to the north and southwest. The north storm was a bad one with frequent lightning cracking down and making its way slowly toward us. My radar showed it to be 2 ½ miles from us. I hoped this storm would play itself out so we wouldn’t have to take an intermission to run from it. Thankfully the north storm began falling apart. We packed up our 15-18 Yellowtail and gear, then made our run to Nastyville.
When we arrived, the north storm came over us and we donned our rain gear. No electrical displays, thank God! As we waited for the rains to dissipate , I scouted the area. The winds went slack, the sea was slick, the current was slow, and the air was heavy with moisture. There were fish marking everywhere and all hope was that it wouldn’t be a night like the last outing.
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We worked the area for a solid hour and then some, without a single look. Then I heard Al start yelling, “Uh… Uh… take it, eat it!” BAM… Fish on! Al has his hands full working this fish and has to throw the reel into low gear to move it away from the bottom. It’s coming up now and when it breaks the surface we see a respectable 27 pound fish. Wow! It’s about time we broke the ice. Cubera 2010! First fish of the season for us and In the box it goes.
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The bite was on, unfortunately, we missed the next 3 fish. Just like that, the bite quits and we are back to square one, putting primo baits in front of preoccupied fish. Are you kidding me? Look at this sonar, Mate! Can you believe that none of those fish are hungry?
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With a bait well full of prime bait we decided to stick it out until we couldn’t take it anymore. I kept looking for areas and places that I haven’t put a bait in yet. Several hours pass and I hear Uncle Al say, “That’s a bite.” A second later, he cranks the reel about 3 turns, and it’s game on. This fish has some shoulders and Al drops into low gear again. The fish is stripping 25 pounds of drag, repeatedly! This fish never said quit, continually fighting Al until it came over the side. Good job Uncle Al. The fish tipped our scales at 42 ½ pounds with double canine teeth on both uppers and one of the lowers. Now that’s a brute of a Snappa!
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We worked the area for a little while longer but the bite never resumed. We hit the “I’m getting really tired” wall and reluctantly called it a night. Unfortunately for Harry, he didn’t get on the boards with a catch. Although he only had a few brief encounters with El Nasty that night, he has caught them with me before and he will again!
We did what we came for, going 2 for 5, limiting us out with a 27 and 42.5 pound fish. Everyone on board was spent, so I pointed The BEAST toward home and boogied.
If doing a charter with us to catch Cubera, the King of Snappers, is on your list of things to do… remember that the season can be short (30-60 days). Get your dates together and give us a call ASAP to reserve them. Weekend nights, especially, tend to fill up very fast.
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: 100
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 13, 2010 - 11:42 am: | |
We’ve had fun on our last 2 trips. The Dolphin have been plentiful but the majority of the fish have been ½ - 1 inch short of legal size. In other words, plenty of “schoolies” to keep you busy but nothing much in the way of notoriety. When the ocean only gives up limes, The BEAST crew does its best to turn the day into a Mojito!
We took Brian Mitchell and his crew out to fish the 26th annual Dick Fuhr Memorial Dolphin Tournament. We picked them up at Homestead Marina and took off. We planned to run and gun along with some trolling on any debris or weed lines we might find. Well, the best laid plans do not always come together. We ran and trolled every flock of birds we found, picking up 19 inch “schoolies” with regularity. We didn’t find any debris and only scattered weeds at best, covering almost 200 miles of ocean. We managed to catch 3 legal Dolphin, out of 15 or more that we caught. We were running away from them in hopes that the next flock of birds would yield a big fish. We even dropped 2 planer rods when deploying a spread and only ended up with 3 Barracuda. Yep, Barracuda in 1000’+ of water. The results at the end of the day showed 1st place - 21#… 2nd place - 13#... 3rd place - 10#. We took 6th place with a 4½ # fish. Since this heat wave descended on us, there have been plenty of fish around but nothing impressive.
Thursday we did a ½ day morning trip with Mike McCann, his wife, and twin 10yr old boys, Mike and Shane. We left the channel and made our way out to a Hardtail spot and collected up 8 baits for this quick trip. As we broke out of the islands we found the seas were comfortable at 1-2 feet. Our first goal was to try and get some Dolphin and/or Blackfins before the late morning sun began to heat up. We found a decent weed line in about 300’ of water and within minutes of putting out a spread, we had a hookup on the right rigger. Little Mike took the rod and we ended up with a nice little 5½ # “schoolie”! We reset that line and worked our way up the weed line. The planer rod trips but we only get a weak click or two of the drag. A better Dolphin takes to the air and Shane throws a leg over the gunnel to “ride the pony” and crank. The little cow is a long and skinny fish weighing around 9 pounds. Hey… with all the little grasshoppers swimming around, we were very happy with this one.
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Devon reset and we trolled north a bit then crossed over to go south. After 10 minutes I crossed back over to go north on the other side again. 15 minutes without a strike and I got the word that little Mike and Shane were bored. Wow! The Xbox/PS3 generation is so spoiled by the instant gratification of video games that they have no patience. This is no reflection on little Mike and Shane. This is not the first time we’ve had young boys complain of being bored if they aren’t bailing fish one after another. Mike asked if we could go catch some little fish that would be more action for them. I suggested we do a wreck and at least they could get some bigger ‘Cudas that would impress them while keeping them busy as well. So we put the Dolphin gear away and broke out the down rigger and live bait.
We went to our top action wreck and put down a live Runner! While we bumped around the area, Mike worked a speed jig and got bit. He worked the fish to the boat and we were surprised to see a Horse Eye Jack.
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We released the fish and continued working the area. The downrigger goes off and little Mike works the fish but grows tired quickly and Shane takes over to land this “Snaggletooth”.
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OK… we put the d/rigger down again and it keeps getting tapped by these “Caribbean Spotted Mackerel“. The boys are having a ball now catching these big ‘Cudas! The line goes off and this is a better fish. Shane is working the fish when Devon suddenly spots a big school of Permit, well below the boat. While Shane is pressuring his fish, Devon readies a jig. Wow, it’s a nice sized ‘Cuda for a young 10 year old boy! Good job!
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We release the toothy one and turn our gazes for the “rubber lips”. As I begin to make my way back to where we saw them, Mike tells me they had enough. His wife is not feeling well. Really? OK… put ‘em away Devon, we’re done for the day. Although Mike pulled the plug only a few minutes before actual quitting time, we were ready to stay a while and give the Permit a shot. Oh well, there is always another day, God willing! I turned the bow west and throttled up. As we ran the creek between the islands I spotted a dead turtle. What happened to him? I banged a U-turn to investigate. As I approached we could see that this turtle was a good 36 - 40” across the shell and it’s death was conspicuously apparent. He ran into a Tiger shark that was looking for a turtle dinner!
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The raw power and bite pressure from those sharks must be incredible. The bite was completely through both sides of the shell and everything in between. This turtle was done in with 2 massive bites and the only remains were his hind legs. Take a good look at the size of those bites!
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I don’t know about you, but I sure wouldn’t want to bump into that critter while in the water!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 20
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 07, 2010 - 9:21 am: | |
Tarpon, Cobia’s, Redfish, Sea trout, Tripletail in Flamingo, Sea Trout, Tarpon, Snappers in North Biscayne Bay, Dolphins, Big Jacks, Tunas Offshore of Miami! Sailfish, Dolphins, Jacks, Yellowtail and Mangrove Snappers in Marathon and Dolphins and Tunas Offshore of Islamorada During the Columbia Sportswear/ Sea Grass Grow Media Event!
I know it’s been a few weeks or more since my last Fishing Update Report and I apologize for not getting a report or sooner. Since my last fishing report I have been fishing North Biscayne Bay, Offshore of Miami, in Flamingo, Marathon and Islamorada in the Florida Keys. I have fished many clients during that period plus some old friends, my family and with fellow editors of many different publications. I have some great fishing reports to report and hope you can find the time to read this report plus I had the great opportunity to spend a few days rubbing shoulders with some important people in the fishing industry like George Poveromo of Saltwater Sportsman, Bob Sterns, Rodney Smith of Coastal Angler, Sam Hudson of Florida Sportsman Magazine, Sue Cocking of the Miami Herald and a few others. I also had the opportunity to stay at the Coral Lagoon Resort and Marina in Marathon and the Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. I will report more on my excursions in Islamorada and Marathon at another time but at this time let’s talk fishing.
Let’s start with North Biscayne Bay! Summer like conditions have brought water temperatures into the mid 80’s and many of the Bay fish have started to feed more during the 7 to 11 AM and 4 to 8 PM hours and then shutting down during the hottest part of the day. Due to these conditions I highly recommend booking a half day charter. The late afternoon charters have been hampered by strong late afternoon thunderstorms and I expect these conditions to hold for awhile. Once these storms subside the winds have dropped off and the Bay has been flat calm. These late afternoon storms have been forming over the Everglades and then rushing east and then falling apart as they head offshore. These storms have not been a problem at Flamingo. North Biscayne Bay has produced lots of sea trout from 12 inchers to over 20 inch fish and the trout are eating live baits and artificial lures like the Hookup lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp and Rapala X Raps and Twitchin Raps. A few snook are being caught in the Bay along with tarpon, jacks, barracudas, quite a few mangrove snappers and some sharks.
Offshore when the weather has allowed and baitfishes are available has produced jack crevalles to 17 pounds. Almoco jacks, amberjacks, gag groupers, mutton snappers, kingfish, blackfin tuna, sailfish, bonitos and dolphins.
Flamingo in Everglades National Park has produced great early morning and late afternoon tarpon action, lots of hungry sea trout, cobias to over 30 pounds, redfish, small Spanish mackerel, a few permit, lots of sharks, an occasional snook, and lots of tripletail.
While in the Florida Keys dolphins to 18 pounds are being caught along with a lot of small blackfin tuna, mangrove and yellowtail snappers and an assortment of jacks.
Check my web page at www.getemsportfishing.net to see some of the great recent catches that my anglers, friends and family have made recently.
RECENT CATCHES:
Almost all of the catches reported below where made on Key Largo Fishing Rods, Daiwa Advantage 3000, 35000 and 4000 spinning reels, Mustad hooks, Hookup lures, Gulp scented baits, Rapala plugs, Cajun Thunder floats, Fins and Berkley braided lines.
Terry and Ralph fished North Biscayne Bay and caught Tarpon, Barracudas, Sea Trout, Snappers and Jacks on live pilchards fished on a Mustad long shank hook and on Rapala plugs and Hookup lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp.
Fishing in Marathon out of the Coral Lagoon Resort and Marina with my family during a day and half of stormy weather we managed to catch dolphins to 11 pounds, over 100 yellowtail snappers keeping 14 of the biggest, mangrove snappers to 5 pounds plus sharks and almoco jacks.
Fishing in Flamingo with Dr Ken and buddies Alan and Tom the trio had plenty of action from sea trout, jacks, ladyfish and lost two tarpon on light tackle when one threw the hook on the second jump and the other stripped the reel after catching the line on a downed tree root.
Fishing with Jeff and Scott along the Gulf Coast of Flamingo the guys released snook, jacks, sea trout, tripletail, ladyfish and a 60 to 70 pound tarpon that ate a live pilchard. Jeff landed a nice redfish that ate a Rapala X Rap. Jeff had a Backcountry Grand Slam!
Fishing with my daughter Courtney and son Zach offshore of Miami after filling our live wells with cast netted live pilchards we released jack crevalles to 17 pounds, bonitos, almoco jacks to 15 pounds, amberjacks to 30 pounds and landed a small yellowfin tuna and two snowy groupers.
Fishing with Manny his son Manny and Joey the guys fished all over offshore and lost three kingfish that cut our lines before heading inshore where we released three barracudas and a trout and fought a nice tarpon of about 60 pounds for 15 minutes before the fish broke the line on a dock piling.
Fishing with Joel and Steve in Flamingo Steve released a large tarpon and Joel jumped another before we moved on and caught a ton of small sharks and lots of sea trout before hooking up on two big cobias that were landed. The fish ate live pinfish hooked to a Mustad 4/0 short shank Ultra Point hook and weighed 28 pounds and over 30 pounds. The guys also kept and released tripletail.
Fishing with Dr Karody and his wife and nephew the trio released a small cobia and kept three limits of sea trout, a redfish and released a lot of sharks and tripletail.
Fishing in North Biscayne Bay Mike and his son Dan and Dan’s daughter Mya 10 years old the guys got out fished by Mya two to one. The trio caught and released over 20 sea trout to 19 inches plus a few snappers casting Hookup lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp.
Fishing with Andrea of Columbia Sportswear, Randy W., Jonh K, and Rodney S on the Hunters Charters with captain Chris Barth out of Islamorada we all caught dolphins to 18 pounds plus a handful of small blackfin tunas.
Fishing on a group charter out of North Biscayne Bay, Bo and his wife Nancy caught 10 sea trout, mangrove snappers and jack crevalles trolling Rapala X raps and casting Hookup lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp under a Cajun thunder float.
YOUR UP NEXT! Just give me call and let's see what we can catch!
www.getemsportfishing.com
shermana@bellsouth.net
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.
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 Sports Wear, Tempress Seating
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786-436-2064
w ww.getemsportfishing.com.
I expect the fishing to be pretty consistent for the next three or four months with lots of SEA TROUT, JACK CREVALLES, LADYFISH, GROUPER, BARRACUDAS, SNOOK and TARPON in NORTH BISCAYNE BAY and OFFSHORE of MIAMI KINGFISH, SAILFISH and DOLPHINS available on the calmer days and in FLAMINGO in EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK will have a huge amount of wildlife like the WHITE PELICANS, ROSEATTE SPOONBILLS, SKIMMER BIRDS,GULLS, OSPREYS, EAGLES, TERNS, EGRETS, HERONS, ALLIGATORS, CROCODILES, BOTTLE NOSED DOLPHINS, MANATTEES, SHARKS and TURTLES and of course the wide variety of fish that migrate into FLORIDA BAY and the GULF waters during the cooler months of the year. SNOOK, TARPON, REDFISH, SEA TROUT, SHEEPSHEAD, TRIIPLETAIL, BLACK DRUM, SNAPPER, GOLIATH AND GAG GROUPER, POMOPANO, COBIA, MACKEREL, BLUEFISH and I'm sure I am leaving a few other fish species out will be available to all anglers at one time or another through the Summer Fishing Season. |
darrell primrose (Wahoo_tooya)
New member
Username: Wahoo_tooya
Post Number: 5
Registered: 6-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, June 04, 2010 - 3:04 pm: | |
HI_SPEED WAHOO WHY ? the tournament guys KNOW that 14-20 knots will produce BIGGER WAHOO ! and they are looking for just 1 big fish --they are not out there hi speeding it to cover more ground and BURN MORE FUEL they know that hi speed = gig fish ! -- YOU will get MORE WAHOO at 7-10knots so if you want more wahoo go 7-10 knots IN EITHER CASE you need some of BALLYHOOD lURES-- NO TROLLING WEIGHT NEEDED-- wahoo lures -snap em on and go any where from 0-20 knots ! Ballyhood wahoo lures have won over 20 tournaments !! www.ballyhood.com sponsors in the BAHAMAS WAHOO SERIES |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 99
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 03, 2010 - 10:57 am: | |
We celebrated Memorial Day weekend with a day of fun fishing with the regular “fun crew”! Uncle Al, Devon, Amy, and I met at the dock at 7 AM. Well let’s call it 7-ish as everyone was running a bit behind except Al. We loaded up and fired up The BEAST. We didn’t know what we were going to fish for so we ended up with 26 rods on board! Winds were calm and the seas were flat. Oh Boy!
Our first stop was to try and get some Hardtails but they were a bit slow and we only put 5 or 6 in the well. Next stop was to see if we could coax some Ballyhoo into riding along with the Hardtails. Only 4 would succumb to the baited hooks, so I threw the Calusa net until we had about 18 or so in the well. OK… we took a vote and the first stop was to try for some Permit.
Arriving at the wreck and no one is around. So much for the crowded holiday weekend we had anticipated! First drop and Uncle Al has a hook up, and Amy too! Amy’s fish gets totally sharked and Al’s fish is running to the surface. It’s either a Permit racing away from a shark or a Cobia! After a few more minutes the fish gives up and rises to the boat. Cobia it is!
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Next drop and Allen again gets a hook up and Devon gets a strong bite on the speed jig. Both of them are dancing around the boat and Al’s fish gets heavy. Uh Oh! Yup. Devon brings his fish up about the same time as Al and we have 2 more Cobia. Well, Al had a small piece of his left. We released Devon’s fish and tossed the remains of Al’s fish over as well, hoping to satisfy the toothy fish below.
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Back at it again and the action is HOT! Amy gets a hook up and loses the fish to the wreck! She’s getting frustrated so I lowered the underwater camera and she and I were enjoying ourselves watching the occasional Bar Jack swim by. Amy look quick, a Sailfish just swam through. She saw the last half of it as it moved out of frame. Crap, there goes a Sandbar shark. Looks like we are going to be in for more chewed up fish. Meanwhile Devon gets hooked up again and works the fish up to find it is another Cobia. This one is only 32” so we released it as well. Al gets another fish on a speed jig and it is the dreaded Barracuda. Another drift and Devon gets a bang on his speed jig again. Nice fish! This has some weight and after a few more runs it gains about 300 pounds. Maybe not, it’s still there. There’s that extra weight again and now he is pulling up a lot less dead weight. Crap! A beautiful African Pompano became brunch for one of those sharks.
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OK, enough of that! We donned the trolling gear and began a quick hunt for some Dolphin or Wahoo. With a full moon occurring just 2 days before, we were not counting on this as a productive deal. I headed for deep water and then circled into another wreck to try for some Mutton’s. On the way, one of the deep rods goes off. Wahoo? No, another Barracuda.
A fruitless troll led us to the wreck and we stowed that gear and got out the bottom rods. Dropped a live Ballyhoo and Bada boom, I’m hooked up! If this is a Mutton, it has some shoulders. Finally we see some color about 100’ below and it sure doesn’t look like our target. Maybe a Grouper? Not even close. It’s a small Amberjack. We rarely catch wreck donkeys on a live ‘hoo! We made a few more drops and nothing much was happening on the Mutton bite. What’s next? Let’s give one of our deeper wrecks a try.
A few minutes run time and we arrive on site. 2 rods go over with bait and Devon flips over his speed jig. One, two, three…Triple hookup! These are wreck donkeys for sure. After several fire drills we manage to get all 3 aboard, vented and released 2 of them. Ok! No more of that! Let’s go back and see if the Permit want to play.
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Back at our morning spot we begin to get excited. Only one boat on site and we can overhear them telling each other they see them. We found them, 100 yards away. Amy drops the cam… Yup, she saw them! A nice tight school and feeding! I’ve hooked up many Permit but always pass the rod off to one of my customers, so the crew want to see the Captain get one. Chomp chomp! Hooked up! The fish is racing to the surface with a shark hot on its butt! With the drag at max pressure I muscled the fish to the boat and Al takes a gaff shot! As the announcer says at the soccer game. SCORE! It’s not a big one, but it IS a Permit.
I’m going to try to load this short video Amy took. Maybe it’ll work!
http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/?action=view&cur rent=Movie.flv
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Next drift and Devon hooks up and tries to get Amy to take the rod. She’s not in the mood, I guess, so Devon fights the fish. Done deal. So far we have managed to boat 2 for 2.
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Once again, another drift, and Uncle Al is grunting. The fish runs for the surface and suddenly a massive splash. Missed him! Al is muscling the fish and the shark makes another attempt. Almost, but not quite! We boat the fish and find that the Permit barely escaped the jaws of death.
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A few more drifts and things slow down a bit. We had 2 more hook ups but no catches. No sense in playing with these guys only to feed the sharks. The vote goes to try some live baiting as the afternoon draws toward evening. We put the gear away and break out the live bait tackle. Devon and AL put out our normal 4 line top spread with one down rod, so off we go. Time passes by and nothing is happening on the surface. Devon and Al stayed busy on the speed jigs, boating a small Bonito and a Bullet Bonito. The down rod goes off! About time! Uncle Al takes control of the rod and works the fish up. A sport model Kingfish comes boat side and catches some steel.
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This group is tired. We had a Memorial Weekend Potpourri. I guess you could say we had a Wreck Grand Slam. I must tell you, that was a “FUN” day and well worth the price of admission! We turned The BEAST toward the barn and made the run. Another good point to this day… We had 2 cleaning the fish and 2 cleaning the boat. NICE!
By the way Folks… We will be taking reservations now for Cubera season. Book early and often!
There is NO oil in S. Florida!!!!!
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: 98
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 16, 2010 - 10:10 pm: | |
Wind, wind, and more wind! That was the theme for The BEAST on her last 2 trips. The winds were howling from the East at consistent 22-25 knots. This produces stacked up water at a close interval. Thankfully we run a 33’ World Cat that eats them up and provides a safe and stabile platform to fish from.
Our first trip was with Charlie and his buddies, Yalkin, Frank, and Wally. They call themselves the Harbor Club but we call them the Banana crew. You might recall them if you remember last years report and picture of them all eating a banana on the way out through the channel. They were supposed to arrive at 7-ish but knowing Yalkin, it would be more like 8 AM. He didn’t let us down, as they arrived minutes before 8.
We loaded them up, stowed their gear, and took the reins off The BEAST. We made the run to find some Hardtails. The second spot produced an adequate supply. Now off to find some live Ballyhoo. This actually turned out to be an effort. The Ballyhoo have been finicky to say the least. We’ve had no problems raising them but getting them to bite the hair hooks has been the test. Getting them within net range is even harder. They tend to get very wary late in the season. We managed to get a dozen or so and we headed off to the blue water.
Our first stop was to see if we could catch some Permit on a wreck. We moved back and forth while looking for them from the deck and on the sonar. We ended up soaking 2 crabs with no bites. On to plan B.
Plan B was to do some live baiting around the vicinity, trying for some Blackfin, Kingfish, Dolphin, and Sails. The time dragged on! Nothing was working and the radio chatter was filled with the word “SLOW”. Suddenly the down rigger line starts to sing. Ok, we might be on the boards here! Up comes a Barracuda. Not quite what we had in mind, but it’s action. We kept working the water and got a visual of a fish on the surface. As we approached, the fish turned out to be a Hammerhead. The shark wouldn’t let us get close enough to try and pitch him one of our live baits and finally disappeared. The whole time we had 5 baits in the water as well. Nothing! We caught 3 more of those dreaded Caribbean Spotted Mackerel and we threw one in the fish box for bait because the guys were suggesting, to maybe do some shark fishing. I suggested to do some Jack fishing on the wrecks because we knew that wouldn’t be a long process to get them busy. All agreed.
We ponied up The BEAST and in short order we were casing the wreck. Oh yeah, they‘re there! Several drops and we were on them like fleas on a hound dog. The guys were getting a work out now. Several drifts in and everyone has a good 30-35 pound fish under their belt. When Yalkin’s turn comes around again, he pulls out his Accurate 665 on one of those high tech rods that he brought along. They are amazing how those rods and reels look like one you would go Bass fishing with, but it can pull a car off the ocean floor. We dropped the largest bait we had on his rod. BOOM! He is on! Yalkin is working the fish and it is another good one. He had to fight this fish in low gear for the entire fight. After about 35-40 minutes we see color. It’s another Donkey Kong! Devon gaffs the fish and both of pull it aboard. The guys are amazed at the size of this critter. The fish weighed in at 82.5 pounds.
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After 8-10 of these fish, big seas, relentless winds, coupled with the factor that they didn’t get into town until late, and they called it a day. Even though the fishing was slow for our target species, we always have a good time fishing with the “Banana Crew”!
Our next trip was a ¾ day with Fernando, his son Nick, Todd, and his son Zack. They met us at the dock and the wind was blowing hard out of the East, once again. NOAA was forecasting for 3-5 foot seas. Can’t a guy get a break! Fernando and Nick are from Boca Raton, Todd and Zach are from New Jersey. Fernando wanted to show his friends a good time regardless of the forecast. All aboard, and Devon cut loose The BEAST.
We blasted off to our Hardtail spot. Not a bite. No worries! We went to our trusted spot and nothing doing! Uh oh! We tried one more spot with the same results. Not good! Off we go in hopes that the Ballyhoo would be on the feed. This was another lesson in humility as they came up but wouldn’t feed. They never got closer than 50’ from the boat. I wasn’t a collegiate shot putter, so throwing the 18 pound cast net that far was totally out of the question. We are spending too much time and this is a short day. Catch some of those Yellowtail and drop down for some Pig Grunts to use for bait. We filled the well with the bigger ‘Tails and a few Grunts to go along with the only 2 Ballyhoo we caught. OK. At worst we have some baits to drop on the wrecks and we already had crab on board. Off we go to make the best of this situation.
Our first stop was to see if we could find some Permit. The seas were every bit of 4-5 feet and getting a visual on the Permit was not to be. Nothing was hitting the speed jigs either. This is not good. Let’s try some live baiting for a bit. Devon put out the ‘hoo and we dropped a Yellowtail down. I meandered about trying to get some action going. Devon is working a speed jig and I hear his telltale grunt as it hooks up. He hands the rod off to Zach. This is taking a bit of time, what is it? Maybe a Blackfin or Bonito? While the fish is working him over, a small pack of “schoolie” Dolphin come into the spread. Devon baits them up and now everyone is hooked up. They’re small, but over the legal size limit. One by one, we picked off the little Dollies. One flipped off at the boat, but the other 4 were dispatched to the fish box. Zach gets his fish to the boat and it is a 25 pound AJ. Go figure!
With Dolphin in the area I decided to put out a spread and try trolling for some Dolphin, Tuna, or Wahoo. This might help Nick out too, as he is hanging over the side calling his buddy Ralph. I told him that Facebook might be a better way to reach his buddy. We hooked up and Zach got the call on this fish. In short order a Bonito is on the boat.
The word on the radio that morning was a few Sails being caught but generally slow. Let’s hit the deep wreck and get these kids, especially “Sick” Nick, on some bruiser fish. As usual, the fish didn’t let us down. A 20 pound Bluefish was the largest fish Todd and Zach had caught, so shock and awe were the key words for them. Todd is no little guy but he was amazed at the power of these fish. No monsters, but all averaging around 30-35 pounds.
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The afternoon got going and our time was running short. The radio was telling of a good Sailfish bite, but we had no decent baits to try it. Let’s try for some Permit one more time, it’s on our way in. The seas over the wreck were getting big with some 6 and 7 footers coming through. This attempt proved better. I located the fish on the sonar and Devon got a visual on a them too. We dropped our baits and I felt a pick up. BOOM! Fernando is hooked up. A few strong runs and suddenly the fish races to the surface. The fish now is heavy as it goes down. Pop, the line parts. Sharked! I have the line on the fish and we make a few more drifts. We get another bite and Zach is on the line. Once again the fish races to the surface and leaps out of the water. Cobia! I can’t recall ever seeing one jump.
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We made a few more drifts and Devon spotted a tailing Sail, but before he could get a bait to it, it turned invisible! Next drift and we had another hook up. This fish took Fernando to the wreck and was gone! I got carried away as usual and went way past time. We packed it up and turned the bow for the barn. Although the lack of bait was an issue, we tallied, 5 Dolphin, 5 Amberjack, a Bonito, a Cobia, and 0 for 2 on Permit.
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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: 97
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 22, 2010 - 11:08 am: | |
It’s been a while since my last report. It’s not by choice but rather this economy that has us tied to the dock more often than we’d like. Adding to that downside, the weather has been brisk and several charters have cancelled. On the brighter side, the weather and the fishing are now turning more towards our spring season. Fortunately we managed to get out last Thursday and Friday, which makes Devon and I happy because fishing is our passion.
One of my best friends, Major Kevin “Hoss“ White used to fish many tournaments with us back in the mid 90’s. He moved from Miami when he left the National Guard to go active in the Army. He did 15 long months in Afghanistan and is now living in Iowa and teaching ROTC at Iowa State. He called us last month to see if we could set up a trip for him and his oldest son, Garrett. Absolutely Hoss!
Hoss and Garrett met us at the dock at 7 AM and we turned The BEAST out. We spoke of old times as we idled out of the Marina. The years that have passed, simply melted away, and it seemed like only yesterday. As we entered the Bay I fed the 600 ponies and we were up and running to our first bait patch. WOW! Bay temps were only 64 degrees. We pushed through to the patch reefs and found them to be only 67 degrees. We arrived on our bait patch and the worms were sluggish. We managed to pick at the Ballyhoo with hook and line while Garrett was impressing us with his bait catching skills on the small Pig Grunts (Tomtate). Since we were on a time budget, I tossed the cast net and completed the process. We weren’t loaded but we had plenty for the day.
I pushed the throttles down and we made the short run to the “edge” to find 71-72 degree water temps, light westerly winds, and trickle of south current. Not the best conditions. This offshore fishing was new to Garrett, so he was observing and asking questions about everything we did. Devon deployed our normal spread and within a few minutes we had a Kingfish on the down rod, then another.
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Then suddenly Devon yells “SAILFISH UP!” Garrett gets on the rod and Devon coaches him through the process. Hooked up! Garrett had his hands full as the fish jumped only twice then sounded to fight him down and dirty style. This went on for 15 minutes when the fish began to rise and suddenly the hook pulled. Dang it! Tough break for “Little Hoss”!
The downrigger was active for an hour or so and we caught and released several more Kingfish. The Kingfish shut off and we also missed a bite from a very small Mahi. SAILFISH UP on the short flat line! There’s another one on the other flat line! Devon fed the first fish but it just played with the bait. The second fish was just shopping, not buying! Double Dang! A father and son double would have been awesome!
The winds died down to almost nothing and the current slowed even more. We picked up a hitchhiker and it was evident now that the surface bite was done.
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We pulled lines and moved off to some wrecks to put Garrett and Hoss on some big fish, and that we did. The first wreck was active for a short time but the fish kept breaking them off in the structure. Then the current went slack and so did the bite. We made a move to a deep wreck where there was a bit more current toward the north and it was forming a nice rip. Devon put a bait out on top while we dropped on the wreck. The speed jig tallied up Garrett’s first Bonito.
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On the next drift the surface bait got nervous and we missed a decent 15# Dolphin (Mahi). We put out another bait and it got eaten immediately by his little sister.
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The next drift and Garrett is hooked up to one of our bruiser Amberjack when suddenly the line gets heavy and pulls back with twice the power. Did he lose him? No, there’s still weight on the rod tip but no fight. Garrett learns that it’s hard to fight when your propeller is bitten of by a shark.
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Hoss and Garrett had some fun working the wrecks and getting beat up by these stubborn Wreck Donkeys and their smaller cousins the Almaco Jacks.
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The current and winds had died and we also ran out of time as Hoss and Garrett had to meet up with the rest of the family, later that afternoon. Garrett’s first time offshore fishing netted him some Kingfish, Dolphin, AJ’s, Almaco’s, and almost a Sailfish. That was fun but it was even better to see my old buddy “Hoss” again!
Friday we met up with John Dancer and his troop. They were celebrating John’s 70th birthday. We did the usual drill but this time the bait patch was not going to give up bait easily. Only doing a scheduled half day, we were in a hurry and the bait was not cooperating. The winds were a mere breath and the seas were flat. Luckily we had wreck baits left over from yesterday as we could only manage to get 3 Ballyhoo and a few more Pig Grunts. Well this will change the game plan. We went out to the edge and began by putting out all 3 of the Ballyhoo. About a half hour later I saw Richard on Good Life coming out and asked him how he did on bait. He had 7. Oh Boy! There was the slightest trickle of south current and it didn’t take long before we realized we could’ve had 0 baits and netted the same results. No current, no wind, and no fish activity. I looked forward and there sat another Tern on the bow pulpit, possibly the same banded bird from yesterday. I didn’t waste much time beating this dead horse.
We pulled the lines and went to a wreck to try a jig tipped with some jumbo shrimp. Bam! A slow southward drift resulted in a bite and a break off in the wreck. The next drift, another bite, and the same results. The third drift and we are hooked up and the fish stays up in the water column long enough to get away from the wreck. 10 minutes pass and it appears that we may have this one. NOT! We no sooner thought it was a done deal when the hook simply pulls loose. Action, but no catches, so far. The next couple of drifts were fruitless as the current went dead slack and the fish have lockjaw.
I made a move to the deep wreck again and found a 1 knot current and drift to the southeast. Not great but moving water of any kind is better than nothing. Devon drops a live one down and then starts a speed jig. Boom! The jig gets nailed and this fish has some shoulders. Austin fights the fish and the fish is fighting Austin. It took a while but he managed to get it boat side and the fish weighed in at 42 pounds. Nice!
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The wreck was active and each drift produced at least 1 bite. John asked if I could extend the trip to a ¾ day for them. Of course Devon and I said “Yes.” We like to fish as much as you do. The very next drift produced a 28 lb fish for Kim.
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We continued on and they were having a ball. The winds died and seas were flat as glass now. Everyone had several rounds on the rods. Live bait and speed jigs both doing their job with the speed jigs working best in the slower currents below. We finished up our day with Amberjack and Almy’s from 5 pounds to 42 pounds with the last fish pulling the scale down to 38 pounds.
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Being from Michigan they don’t catch fish like this. They had been on a lot of party boats and a few charters but never had much success. We had a lot of smiling faces as The BEAST made her run for 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: 96
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 - 5:09 am: | |
We had to cancel our first trip since fishing out of a World Cat. Around the middle of the month we had a Sunday charter and it had been blowing for a few days. I had a bad feeling and a restless night, so I finally crawled out of bed at 4 AM and turned on the PC to check current observations at our closest light house stations. OMG! Winds were blowing from the North at 30 with gust to 33 knots and the ambient temperature was 32 degrees. That equated to a wind chill factor of 22 degrees. At 5:15 the 5 AM readings came in and I saw 32 knots gusting to 36 with seas predicted to be 10 feet. I had to make a major decision since my people were from out of town. I called Todd’s cell phone and regretfully canceled the trip for everyone’s safety. It blew hard the rest of the day and was spitefully cold for Miami. All were thankful we weren’t out there! It has been a good blow ever since with only a few days of lighter winds mixed in.
My good customer Jon called on the 20th and set up for a mental health day on Monday the 25th. Sure enough, the winds started howling again as he hung up the phone. Wonderful, not again! The economy is bad enough without “Mother Nature” throwing a monkey wrench into the works. The night before the trip I was up most of the night checking Fowey Rocks conditions. At 5 AM we were looking at S winds @ 22-25 knot, so it was definitely fishable on The BEAST. Jon and his friend John (easy to remember their names) are good seafarers so it wasn’t going to be a problem.
We all arrived at the dock and unleashed The BEAST at 7 AM. A frontal system was to pass through that afternoon. I don’t like fishing pre frontal conditions, but as Jon said, we’ll take whatever is given us and deal with it. The good thing will be the rougher sea conditions, although from the South, might have the Sails stirred up. We made a stop at our Hardtail spot and collected some big 1-1 ½ # Runners. We blasted out for some Ballyhoo and were pleasantly surprised by the seas which weren’t too bad/ The patch reefs, however, looked like pea soup. Well isn’t this a daisy? We hit 4 different patches spending 15 minutes each and only collected one suicidal ‘hoo. As we ran between patches we could see them scurrying away from the boat but every time we stopped they disappeared. I finally found some clearer water on a deep patch in 40’ and had the Bally’s coming slowly. We managed to catch 2 more before the Terns moved in and the worms ski-daddled. Too much time is being spent on this now. Jon agreed to go with what we got.
As we readied to leave the patch, Jon notices a fish swimming by. Look at that fish, I think it’s a Cuda! Devon quickly made that side of the boat and yelled, “That isn’t a Cuda, that’s a Sail!!! As he grabbed a spinner and one of our 3 ballyhoo, I kept an eye on the fish. He asked me which way to cast and I pointed to where the fish started to sound. Perfect cast and the fish rose, circled the worm and took a few swipes at it with his bill. Devon handed John, not Jon, the rod and told him to wait until he eats it. The bait disappears and John comes tight. Fish on! Just like in the Sailfish 101 text books. The fish was lackadaisical and acted like it hadn’t a clue that he was hooked. It lacked that urgency you see when they are trying to throw the hook. As John quickly worked the fish to the boat we realized why. It was bill wrapped. No… Wait! The line was tied around the bill and the hook was just dangling. Devon got the leader for the catch and with little effort it slid off the tip of his bill. Upon further inspection the leader was tied in a simple overhand knot. Well, there ya go! That good ole granny knot held! Too funny!
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The day was starting out horrible and yet we are 1 for 1 and just pulling away from the bait patch! We backed out of there and headed deeper. Solid 3 to 4 foot seas greeted us with a few 5 to 6 foot swells as guests of honor. The seas were turbid at best, a turquoise green color as far as I could see. The wind is smoking out of the South and there is no current. The next fish ate one of the jumbo Hardtails down deep. Jon worked the fish to the surface and from a distance we thought we might have a Cobia but it turned out to be a small Silky shark. Devon put the grip on it and quickly unhooked him to return to his business. The fishing was slow and we were the only boat as far as I could see. I decided to skirt around a wreck area where we frequently catch Sails on just this type of day. Once again the down rod goes off and John is up. The tug of war lasted about 5 minutes or so and we see color. Dang, a decent winter AJ. That AngryJack weighed in at 29 pounds and worked him pretty hard on the light tackle. Devon made a successful release without venting. Pretty work!
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I scanned the seas relentlessly searching for some tailing fish and never saw a one. We caught and boated 2 big Barracuda. It seems that it is going to be a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel kind of afternoon as the front line got closer. You wouldn’t think the fishing conditions could get much worse when at 2:30 the front line hits us and we are getting pounded by rain and strong winds clocking out of the WSW now. In full rain gear, we toughed it out with seas coming in from the South and rains from the West. The only thing that could make this day any worse would be lightning. NO… We were spared that, although we heard thunder off in the distance. Jon is proving once again that he is a die hard fisherman and his motto is “The best day to go fishing is whenever you can.” As expected, nothing happened during the deluge. As the rains subsided and the sun began to show through we had yet another hook up on the down rod. You guessed it! Another Spotted Mackerel.
[img]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/1-25-2010-05.jpg[/img]
Jon was tired since his flight was delayed and he didn’t arrive in town until 2:30 AM. With only 2 hours sleep, he pulled the plug on the trip. I pointed The BEAST toward the barn and throttled up. Although we had a really crappy day due to weather conditions, we managed to eek out 1 Sailfish, 1 Shark, 1 Amberjack and 3 Barracuda. We always seem to have a good time when we get together, regardless!
This was not the kind of report I wanted to write but I have to call ‘em like I see ‘em! I’m not one who only writes about the good days! If you’re coming to Miami for the Pro Bowl, Super Bowl, or Miami International Boat Show, cut loose and take in a fishing trip while you’re here.
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: 95
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 19, 2009 - 2:57 pm: | |
I have 2 trips to report on with the last just getting in before this rain and bad weather consumed us. As I’m writing this the rains are torrential and we have up to 10” of rainfall in parts of Miami. THIS… is the dry season???
My wife planned an evening for us and I told her that as soon as she bought tickets to attend, I would get a charter call. You guessed it. Joe Abood called to ask about a trip for that same day and it was the only day he could fish. I couldn’t refuse him so we agreed on doing a ¾ day. We would get some good fishing time in and I could, with some hurry up, still make my date with my wife.
Joe and his friends, Doug, Duane, and Tommy, met us at the dock at the normal 7 AM shove off. Devon removed the tethers and I awakened The BEAST. We made the run to one of our Blue Runner spots and quickly picked up some of those Kingfish candies. I powered up and pushed the cruise up an extra couple hundred rpm’s. We arrived at the Bally patch and the worms came up quickly. We got a good share of hookers, so I tossed the net. The 10’ Calusa net did the trick and the bait process was complete.
We made the short run to the “edge” and put out our spread. The seas were nice at 1-3 feet and everything was in order. Bang! That didn’t take long as Joe was hooked up to a smoker. The line was peeling off the reel and then it was over, just that fast. Cut off the hook. That was obviously a Kingfish. They continued the man rotation, losing fish after fish. Joe even had a Sailfish hooked up and only got 1 jump before it said “I’m out of here!” OK… What’s with the Palm Beach releases, guys?
Duane finally figured it out and kept a nice “snake” Kingfish pinned on. The fish hit the box and we were on the boards.
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We had another fish come into the spread and Duane was hooked up again. Wait.. How did that happen? We’re out of rotation. It was really Tommy’s turn but he was calling his friend Ralph as he leaned over the rail. Duane took Tommy’s turn and brought in a respectable Dolphin to add to their grocery cart.
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The day progressed with a few more, missed strikes, lost fish, and Tommy chumming the water. We fell into a lull for about an hour or two. The next bite got us jump started as Joe brought another “snake” King aboard.
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After Joe’s fish, the last hour was a non stop bite on the downrigger. We caught and boated 2 Cobia that didn’t quite make the size limit, missed a few more bites and then Doug caught another Kingfish.
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Time ran out and reluctantly we had to leave an active bite. This was bitter sweet as the day saw lots of action and leaving during the bite was not what any of us wanted… EXCEPT Tommy. He never had a chance to feel good enough to even catch a fish. He hung in there and didn’t complain, but he sure did count the minutes. He was more than happy that the trip was over.
Yesterday I met Harry and Al at the dock, once again at 7 AM. This trip was supposedly to try and catch some “horse” Ballyhoo for a Bluefin Tuna trip that Harry intended on taking in January. I brought along some of my normal tackle just in case we wanted to go offshore and have some fun too.
We loaded up and cut The BEAST loose. We bee-lined it for a Bally patch that I call Horse ‘hoo. If the conditions are right, it is slam full of very large Ballyhoo. The conditions were marginal and it took exceptionally long to get the worms to show up. We caught a few large ‘hoos but it wasn’t productive enough to waste anymore than 1 block of chum. I set my sights for Bait Central and we made the short run to this patch. The bait came up quickly and we were loading the wells. We made 3 or 4 net throws and had more than enough bait to fish the rest of the day. We had plenty for Al to take home and brine up for trolling baits as well. Unfortunately we didn’t succeed in catching the “horses” that Harry wanted.
We headed offshore to have some fun. East winds at 10-12 knots and 2-3’ seas greeted us. We put out the normal Beast spread and within minutes Harry was hooked up to a decent Dolphin. As we tried to unhook the fish it decided to go ballistic. Anyone who has ever had this privilege, knows what a mess they can make. We had to break out the wash down hose and clean up the boat before we could continue fishing.
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Al was working his speed jig methodically from time to time. He caught a nice sized Bonito and Skipjack Tuna. The down rigger was eerily silent. Not a Kingfish, nothing even touching the live baits sent down below. I started noticing the sonar marking large amounts of fish in 138 feet of water. Zingoweee!!! The d/rigger set at 70 feet, pops off and the drag takes a couple of short but strong runs. I throw the rod under my arm in my redneck bottom fishing style. This fish was amping it for the bottom but I kept the heat on it. I got it away from the bottom but it wanted to stay under the boat. I knew it wasn’t a Kingfish and Harry was thinking ‘Cuda. It’s got the rod thump of the infamous Caribbean Spotted Mackerel, but I don’t think so. There’s color! The silhouette wasn’t long and silvery, it was rather short. A few more feet and I yelled, “Are you believing this? It‘s a Mutton!” We hoisted the 10# Mutton Snapper over the side and into the fish box. Al was already thinking, crab stuffing!
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We were still buzzing about catching this Mutton 60’ off the bottom, when the left long rigger pops the clip. Harry free spooled the fish for a few seconds and then flipped the bail. Now he’s off to the races and a Sailfish peeks his head out of the water. The fight stayed down and dirty as the fish never surfaced or did any of the notorious aerial feats. After a fair amount of time and 3 laps around the boat, the fish comes to the surface at the boat. He seems to be wrapped up somehow. On the second pass I grab the leader and was walking him to the boat for a release when suddenly the whole deal just came loose. Hook and all the leader still intact… it just came loose. Hey, it makes the release a whole lot easier on us and the fish, right?
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Now, the birds that were a little annoying late in the morning, were becoming desperate to eat as the winds and seas began to grow. Good Lord they can be
frustrating, especially the Gannets. The Royal Terns were picking up the baits and even a few of the sharp eyed Frigates were getting in on it. We continued dealing with the birds while we caught a few more Bonito and 3 or 4 dink Dolphin. Several times we had to pick up all the baits and drift, until the birds left us. Then we would go into stealth mode as we put the baits out again. In between all this other action, we had another Sailfish pop up, but he was just doing some window shopping. We finally got a Kingfish bite on the down rigger and I reeled it in and boxed it for Al’s smoker.
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Our nerves were near the breaking point. Every time a bait twitched or moved from a predator fish, the birds would come in on a strafing run like a Kamikaze pilot at Pearl Harbor. We hooked 3 of the Boobies and 2 Terns. We did find out that circle hooks are conservation oriented for the birds as well as the fish. By the way… What is the limit on them? I think it’s 3 of each per boat. JUST KIDDING!!! We finally had enough and picked everything up and ran 4 miles north to try and finish the day. Hopefully we would leave the birds behind. Did it work, you ask? No… hell no! We were still being pestered by 4 or 5 Terns up there and finally caught #3. After catching a Barracuda on the down rod and reaching our patience level with the birds, we called it a day. I pointed the nose of The BEAST towards the barn and made tracks for home.
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: 94
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 02, 2009 - 9:21 am: | |
Most of our family got together for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday evening and the main topic of conversation was, of course, fishing! Charlie, Missy, and the boys were absent as well as Rita, Scott, and Matthew, because they had to do the other half of their extended families. I had talked to Charlie on Wednesday and he had expressed to me that he would love to do another offshore trip. You see… he is a flats/backcountry type guy. Amy called me on Friday morning and told me that it was a go for Saturday if I was ready. Let’s go!
Saturday morning rolled around and Charlie had duty at the fire house until 7 am so we all met at the dock at 8. Uncle AL, Amy, Devon, me and then Charlie rolled in about 7:45. Everyone was feeling happy and relaxed. The air was crisp from the passing cold front and the winds were calm. Devon realizes he has forgotten his drink cooler. We finished loading the boat while he buzzed home. When he returned we shoved off at what seemed the pace of a 3 toed Sloth. This was a “fun trip” so we are always laid back and leisurely, with no worries.
Our usual stops for Hardtails proved fruitless. This was expected since the temperature had dropped significantly. OK! Let’s do the Ballyhoo patches and hope things go better there. We blasted off and arrived at the worm hole in 15 or so minutes. That was a brisk run! The tide was going slack and the winds were barely pushing the chum out. The worms were hungry, at first! It took us a little while to collect enough hookers and I threw the big ol’ Calusa a few times to fill the wells. Now, we had plenty of bait for the day. Off we go for the wild blue yonder.
We pulled up to hear the radio buzzing with Captains asking each other if anyone, anyone at all, were doing anything. There was virtually no current. Ruh Roh Scooby! That was how our morning went as well. We fed the Trigger fish like we were at the petting zoo, and that’s about all the action we were having. We had the normal 4 line spread on top and Charlie had his “Trout” rod (grins) with him so we put it out on the center rigger, right in the middle of the spread. The downrigger was down looking for Kingfish as well. Nothing. Uncle Al is working the heck out of a speed jig and Devon is working a hair jig/bally combo. Nada! The morning continued into afternoon and we finally had a school of peanut Dolphin come into the spread. One was a Kamikaze and ate the hook. The rest just terrorized the baits and turned their nose up at cut bait too. WOW! The lone fish measured 19 inches. A Monster! We turned it loose to grow up. Another endless time period passed and we managed to catch a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel. These Cudas seem to have my number and we catch at least one on every trip.
Things seemed to slow down even more if you can even imagine that. Charlie was getting bored and whining. He had never caught a Sailfish and was beginning to think that even Devon and the old man couldn’t get him his first one. Tired from running calls all night, he laid down for a nap. We moseyed out to a couple of our Mutton areas. Let’s see if anything on the bottom wants to play. Trust me when I tell you that the current was so slight that the opposing breeze kept us locked in a 100 yard area as if we were on a sky hook. You could sit right on some structure, mark fish, and still nothing. Zilch. Wait. I take that back. Amy did have a fish on for a few minutes until it cut the leader. Yep, what you’re thinking is probably what it was!
Now Charlie is really starting to whine! He’s doubting it is going to happen as 3:30 rolls around. We decided to get back after some topside fish. Let’s make a run to our favorite area for the witching hour. The 4 o’clock hour comes and Charlie is getting discouraged. Devon tells him that it will happen, just be ready. The sun is sinking low when Devon breaks the idle chatter with a blood curdling cry. SAILFISH! SAILFISH on the flat. I look back and see it give up on that bait and haul freight over to the other flat. Devon tries to feed him when I see another fish on Charlie’s rod in the center. The line trips and I yell… center rigger popped off. Amy grabs the rod and hands it to Charlie. OK… REEL!!!!! Get on him, now! The line comes tight and the fish takes off, then turns a 180 right back at the boat on his tail the whole way! I hit the throttles to get Charlie tight again and it is fish on, Buddy! The cameras and camcorder came out of storage. The fish was a gamer, jumping several times as he headed offshore.
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The fish is putting Charlie to the test and putting a hurtin’ on that little shallow water rod and Stradic 6000. Charlie is huffing and puffing but determined. This fish is working him deep and then comes up for another quick show.
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Now the fish goes down and barn doors Charlie for several minutes as we poke fun at how hard this fish is working him. You’re burning daylight Dude! He finally gets the fish up for a tag shot and we get the dart in him. Not done yet!
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He works Charlie under the boat and then forward off the bow. Staying deep the whole way he manhandles Charlie as Charlie tries to manhandle him. 15 minutes or so and the fish finally comes to the boat for a hook out and release. As Devon gets a grip and the fish is playing possum.
[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/11-28-2009-08.jp g[/IMG]
The faint melody of that old nursery rhyme starts playin… POP goes the leader! The fish takes off at cruising speed. I guess he didn’t need to be revived! Ya think!
Here’s a condensed version of Charlie’s Battle Royale on video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JbKsdp4sEs
Let’s get ‘em back in the water and chum out! We put the lines out and sent out the rest of the livies to see if we could get a twilighter.
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We noticed a ¼ acre of small baits moving south and the birds were wreaking havoc on them. Sardines. Stand ready, it could happen. Uncle Al is deep jigging and his bait gets fouled. Oh Snap, check this out! This is crazy! Either the fish was trying to mate or it eats fish it’s own size.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/025.jpg
We called it a day and I pointed the nose of The BEAST toward the barn. Once again we had a memorable “fun day” on the water with good friends and family. It just doesn’t get any better than this. Congrats on your first Sailfish, Charlie!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 18
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 01, 2009 - 6:50 am: | |
South Florida Cools Down and the Fishing Heats Up!
Before I get into my WEEKLY FISHING UPDATE FOR SOUTH FLORIDA, MIAMI, OFFSHORE and FLAMINGO I want to wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING and hope this Holiday Season brings health, friendship, wealth and great fishing to everyone.
This past week we had two cold fronts pass through the Miami area bringing lots of rain on Wednesday and cool temperatures on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was able to fish a few times with family members and clients this past week.
On Wednesday the morning rains canceled my fishing charter but then things cleared up so I took my son Zachary out on NORTH BISCAYNE BAY. We started the early afternoon in a light drizzle that gave way to clear skies and calm winds. Bait was tough to find at first but after a little searching we located a large school of MULLET and small PILCHARDS on a large grass flat. TARPON of all sizes, SEA TROUT, BARRACUDA, JACKS, BLUERUNNERS and small LADYFISH were feeding on the baitfish. Fishing with live ladyfish and mullet Zachary hooked a TARPON in the 100+ range that ate the live LADYFISH that was hooked to a MUSTAD ULTRA POINT 5/0 hook. After two spectacular jumps and a couple of long runs the Tarpon wore through the leader material and got away. We continued to slow troll the mullet while casting RAPALA TWITCHIN RAPS and X RAPS. The Twitchin Raps and X RAPS got us lots of hits by the ladyfish, sea trout, jacks, runners and barracudas and we released many before moving on. We fished a few other spots with no success before hitting our last spot where we caught two GROUPERS, three large JACK CREVALLES and lost a few SPANISH MACKEREL on live pilchards hooked to a MUSTAD ULTRA POINT short shank hook and RAPALA TWICHIN RAPS.
Thursday we had a great time with family and friends and ate until we could hardly move.
Friday I fished my son Zach again along with my brother in law George and his son Alexander. We were in SOUTH BISCAYNE BAY and the idea was to fish the FINGER CHANNELS for the wide variety of fish that can be found in that area during the colder months of the year. We cast netted a well full of pilchards and then ran o our first spot with hopes of catching MACKEREL and POMPANO. WE caught JACK CREVALLES and lost a few mackerel before moving on. Hoping from one spot to the next we caught and released easily 40 RED GROUPERS to 17 inches, 4 or five BLACK GROUPERS to 18 inches, at least 15 MUTTON SNAPPERS to 18 inches plus a few bluerunners, grunts and porgies and a 26.5 inch snook before calling it a day.
On Saturday I fished Gene, Bill and Lance again in SOUTH BISCAYNE BAY. The pilchards were scarce on Saturday but we had plenty of live SHRIMP and frozen pilchards for bait. Once again hoping from one spot to the next the guys caught over 30 red groupers, 20 mutton snappers to 16 inches, two black groupers, mangrove and yellowtail snappers, lots of bluerunners, porgies and grunts plus a cero mackerel and a Spanish mackerel. All of the fish caught in the FINGER CHANNELS of SOUTH BISCAYNE BAY were caught on live or dead baits fished on the bottom with MUSTAD 1/0 to 3/0 short shank hooks and the majority of the fish were released unharmed.
I have a few days off now and hope to start filling my calendar with bookings but I like many of my fellow guides and Captains we are feeling the economy crunch like everyone else. Our business costs keep going up and our bookings keep dropping off.
I expect the fishing to be pretty consistent for the next three or four months with lots of SEA TROUT, JACK CREVALLES, LADYFISH, SPANISH MACKEREL, BLUEFISH, GROUPER, BARRACUDAS, SNOOK, TARPON and some POMPANO in NORTH BISCAYNE BAY and OFFSHORE of MIAMI KINGFISH, MACKEREL, SAILFISH and DOLPHINS available on the calmer days and in SOUTH BISCAYNE BAY lots of action from a wide variety of fish like the SNAPPERS, GROUPERS, JACKS, BLUEFISH, MACKERELS, POMPANO, LADYFISH, PORGIES, GRUNTS, SNOOK and BLUERUNNERS keeping anglers busy catching and releasing fish most of the day. FLAMINGO in EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK will have a huge amount of wildlife like the WHITE PELICANS, ROSEATTE SPOONBILLS, SKIMMER BIRDS,GULLS, OSPREYS, EAGLES, TERNS, EGRETS, HERONS, ALLIGATORS, CROCODILES, BOTTLE NOSED DOLPHINS, MANATTEES, SHARKS and TURTLES and of course the wide variety of fish that migrate into FLORIDA BAY and the GULF waters during the cooler months of the year. SNOOK, TARPON, REDFISH, SEA TROUT, SHEEPSHEAD, TRIIPLETAIL, BLACK DRUM, SNAPPER, GOLIATH AND GAG GROUPER, POMOPANO, COBIA, MACKEREL, BLUEFISH and I’m sure I am leaving a few other fish species out will be available to all anglers at one time or another throughout the rest of our FALL and into WINTER FISHING SEASON.
I have a few days off now and hope to start filling my calendar with bookings but I like many of my fellow guides and Captains we are feeling the economy crunch like everyone else. Our business costs keep going up and our bookings keep dropping off.
That catches us up for now!
On a sad note I must take a moment and let all of my loyal readers and listeners of the Florida Sportsman Magazine Live Radio Show in South Florida know that my last radio show was last week and Florida Sportsman magazine Radio Live will air its last radio show here in Miami on October 31st. I have been involved with the radio show for the last eight years, the show was on the air for 12 years and only because of a lack of advertising is this show and three others being discontinued as of Oct. 31st. I want to thank all of our listeners for being there for us each and every Saturday morning at first when we were on WAXY at 8 to 9 AM and then from 6 to 7 AM and then when we left WAXY to go to WKAT at 7 to 8 AM and finally to WMCU from 7 to 8 AM. I want to thank all of our Action Spotters and Advertisers that helped make the radio show number one when were on WAXY 790. I for one am not happy about the show being canceled but the truth of the matter is if there is no income being generated by the show then the show cannot go on. If anyone out there is interested in being a featured advertiser at the cost of $250 a show each week then we can bring the show back on the air. I have been offered a spot at a very good sports minded radio station that is willing to give us an hour on Saturday mornings and for that $250 ad that person would get there name or company's name mentioned as the feature advertiser at the beginning of the show, after each break and at the end of the show. They would also have their name or company's name mentioned on at least one of this radio stations sister station plus the one we were aired on and possibly on a third one as well during week day and weekend programming.
Check out my new web site and to read about the weekly catches and to see your 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.
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, Tempress Seating
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
www.getemsportfishing.com.
Field Editor of the Florida Sportsman Magazines Action Spotter Report South Region
Field Editor of the Florida Sportsman Magazines Internet Fishing Forecast South Region
Editor of the Miami Heralds South Florida Fishing Report Thursdays Edition
786-436-2064
Miami Fishing Forecast:
I expect the fishing to be pretty consistent for the next three or four months with lots of SEA TROUT, JACK CREVALLES, LADYFISH, SPANISH MACKEREL, BLUEFISH, GROUPER, BARRACUDAS, SNOOK, TARPON and some POMPANO in NORTH BISCAYNE BAY and OFFSHORE of MIAMI KINGFISH, MACKEREL, SAILFISH and DOLPHINS available on the calmer days and in SOUTH BISCAYNE BAY lots of action from a wide variety of fish like the SNAPPERS, GROUPERS, JACKS, BLUEFISH, MACKERELS, POMPANO, LADYFISH, PORGIES, GRUNTS, SNOOK and BLUERUNNERS keeping anglers busy catching and releasing fish most of the day. FLAMINGO in EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK will have a huge amount of wildlife like the WHITE PELICANS, ROSEATTE SPOONBILLS, SKIMMER BIRDS,GULLS, OSPREYS, EAGLES, TERNS, EGRETS, HERONS, ALLIGATORS, CROCODILES, BOTTLE NOSED DOLPHINS, MANATTEES, SHARKS and TURTLES and of course the wide variety of fish that migrate into FLORIDA BAY and the GULF waters during the cooler months of the year. SNOOK, TARPON, REDFISH, SEA TROUT, SHEEPSHEAD, TRIIPLETAIL, BLACK DRUM, SNAPPER, GOLIATH AND GAG GROUPER, POMOPANO, COBIA, MACKEREL, BLUEFISH and I'm sure I am leaving a few other fish species out will be available to all anglers at one time or another throughout the rest of our FALL and into WINTER FISHING SEASON.
Target Species:
Snook, Redfish, Tarpon, Sea Trout, Snapper, Grouper, Mackerel, Cobia, Pompano, Kingfish, Sailfish, Dolphins |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 17
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, November 19, 2009 - 1:24 pm: | |
I apologize for the lapse in fishing reports lately but that happens when I am busy and that is the reason I have not written recently. Fishing has been very good despite the crazy weather we have had recently. I operate my business from a 22’ Pathfinder Tournament Edition Bay Boat that is powered by the most dependable outboard engine on the market. A Yamaha F-225 Four Stroke outboard engine! This boat and outboard along with my Continental Trailer and my Chevy Avalanche SUV allow me to go where ever the fishing is best so my anglers can get a shot at catching the fish that are most numerous in South Florida. In the past three weeks I have fished as deep as 850 feet of water offshore of Miami to North Biscayne Bay, South Biscayne Bay and Flamingo and just a few days ago I was in Islamorada where I participated in a Media Event sponsored by Rapala, LaSiesta Resort and Marina in Islamorada, Flying Fisherman Sunglasses, Florida Sportsman Magazine and Jones and Company for three days. I am back in Miami now and ready to get out and catch some fish.
Check out my most recent fishing catches in the middle of this report. Some outstanding catches and action took place on most of these charters.
Fall like conditions continue to play cat and mouse with one week having strong winds caused by Tropical Storms and Hurricanes and the next week a cold front rolls in and temperatures drop into the 50’s. I am going out on a limb but I think we finally are out of the summer pattern that has been hanging on for so long. Look for fall like conditions to take hold in South Florida and migratory fish like the mackerels, bluefish, large jack crevalles, ladyfish, larger sea trout that are out of season, snook , tarpon, pompano, and snapper and grouper to be biting in North Biscayne Bay and South Biscayne Bay.
Offshore when the weather allows me to go offshore Spanish mackerel, kingfish, dolphins, sailfish and blackfin tunas should be waiting for us.
Flamingo is where I will be doing a lot of my charters due to the wide variety of fish that can be targeted and all of the sightings of numerous varieties of birds plus the manatees, dolphins, alligators and crocodiles. On the warmer day’s snook, tarpon, redfish, tripletail, trout, and jacks and ladyfish should be easy. On the cooler day’s sheepshead, black drum, cobia, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pompano, goliath grouper and permit will be waiting for my clients on the fringes of the Park.
There is still plenty of time to take advantage of what looks like a great season of Fall and early Winter fishing in Miami and South Florida.
I want to take a moment to thank Bob and Mark at Shallow Water Customs at 4455 NE 10th Avenue, Oakland Park, Florida 33334 (954) 772-1172. I had a few issues with my electronics onboard my Pathfinder and these guys jumped right on the problems and in no time had me up and running. Thanks Bob and John!
RECENT CATCHES:
Today I am in Flamingo with Armando, Matt and Shaushang. We start out casting Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp on a grass flat and immediately start catching sea trout, jacks and ladyfish. The action is hot but I need to be at another spot to hit a tide. We set up at the next spot and right away hook a good fish that turns into an estimated 80 pound tarpon. The fish takes monster run jumps twice and the line gets cut by something. Many casts later and after releasing three snook lots of jacks, ladyfish and sea trout we move on. Next spot we catch a nice tripletail then on to the next where we release a nice permit, lose a big fish when the hook pulls and catch over a dozen mackerel.
Back on the water but it’s a local trip with one of my most favorite regulars Jerome C. We start out in North Biscayne Bay and after catching some finger mullet we jump six tarpon and release two plus a 30 pound shark and a few sea trout. All of the fish are caught on Mustad Circle hooks and live mullet. A monster school of large mullet is holding on a flat next to us and 100 pound tarpon are crashing into them whenever they want. The action slows and we head offshore where we find two groups of dolphins and land seven in the 10 to 15 pound range on live pilchards fished on Mustad Ultra Point 4/0 hooks. A school of fish starts breaking the surface nearby and we land an Arctic bonito on a Rapala Skitter Walk. While cleaning up the boat we throw two more baits out and one closest to me gets hit and the fish is a 30 pound sailfish. Soon after that strike we hook another sailfish in the 50 pound class. We release both sails and the action dies off and we head inshore where we catch a mangrove snapper on the reef and now it’s time to head into the bay where we have a few minutes to fish before we head in. In the bay we hit a nice shoreline and for the next 45 minutes we get hit by one snook after another releasing eight out of twelve that we hooked.
The winds are starting to blow today and we are in North Biscayne Bay. I have Raffi and his buddy Gabriel onboard. Tarpon are on their mind and the fish don’t let us down. For the first two hours of the trip we release one out of seven tarpon that we had in the air. All on mullet! The guys seemed to enjoy watching the silver kings jump more than bowing to the king causing the hooks to fall out of the tarpons mouth. Next spot produces a bunch of trout and small snappers caught on live pilchards. Next spot its one jack crevalles after another. Raffi is catching his jacks on the Rapala X Rap and Gabriel is using live pilchards. Next spot we lose four more tarpon all on big live mullet. Last spot we catch and release two snook to 28 inches on live pilchards hooked to a 3/0 Mustad Ultra Point hooks.
Back in Flamingo with Keith and his brother John. It’s very windy today and we have no choice but to fish a wind protected area. Casting Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp in three feet of very dirty water all day long the guys managed to catch and release close to 12 snook, lots of jacks and ladyfish and trout and land two redfish in the 22 to 27 inch range.
Back in Flamingo today with John and his buddy Russ in winds that are steady at 25 and gusting to 30. We stay with the same game plan as we had a few days ago. Wind protected shorelines and coves and ended up catching and releasing one small snook missing at least four others, released a redfish and many sea trout, jacks, ladyfish and catfish.
Last charter this week is again with John and Russ and today we are in North Biscayne Bay. The water is like white mud everywhere we go but we fish anyway. It’s a tough day producing a number of small barracudas, three nurse sharks and two mutton snappers of which one was 5.5 pounds.
On Tuesday I headed down to Islamorada to participate in the Media Event I mentioned earlier. On my way I stopped in on a meeting being held in Key Largo on Amendments 17A and 17B. If you have ever bottom fished offshore for snapper, grouper, amberjack or any other species you might want to check out this web site http://www.safmc.net/Portals/6/Newsletters/Fall09Update.pdf. These Amendments if passed will eliminate all bottom fishing from the Carolinas south to Key West and out to the Dry Tortugas. It sounds impossible but check out the web site to see for yourself what has been proposed. You have until November 25th to comment on the web and to contact your Congressman to let them know what you think.
After checking into the Resort and having a nice time at the Happy Hour talking to many inshore and offshore guides plus lots of outdoor writers and the representatives of Rapala, Jones and Company, Suffix, Flambeau, Storm, Trigger X, Williamson Lures, Flying Fisherman, LaSiesta Resort and Marina and Florida Sportsman Magazine I headed for my room so I could get up at 6 AM for breakfast and the meeting that would last till 11:30 AM. Lunch was served and then we headed for the Marina where we were hooked up to our offshore and inshore guides. I got to fish with captain Matt Bellinger of Bamboo Charters, The winds were still blowing and the water was dirty so we headed to a basin and threw Rapala Clackin Raps, X Raps and Storm Curly Tail soft plastics. For the next few hours we caught and released lots of ladyfish, sea trout, jack crevalles, skip jacks and a nice cero mackerel. After another great Happy Hour and a fantastic meal and some more fishing stories it was time to get some sleep for day three. Today I am with captain Greg Poland and the weather is very stormy with a cold front on its way. We decide to stay close and fish for bonefish with Trigger X shrimp but before we can wet a line a rain squall hits and we take off for the nearest bridge. We wait the storm out and then hit a flat that has a nice channel between it and another flat. Casting a new Rapala Flat Rap we had hits by lots of barracudas, mangrove snappers and then I got the hit I was waiting for. The strike was hard and immediately I could tell it was a solid fish. After many long runs along the edge of the flat and going under the boat and engine three times the fish came to the surface. A beautiful snook! We high fived and took pictures in the water out of the water and then released the fish. As we got ready to resume fishing we realized we were surrounded by storms and about to get soaked. We ran for the dock just before the rains started.
That catches us up for now!
On a sad note I must take a moment and let all of my loyal readers and listeners of the Florida Sportsman Magazine Live Radio Show in South Florida know that my last radio show was last week and Florida Sportsman magazine Radio Live will air its last radio show here in Miami on October 31st. I have been involved with the radio show for the last eight years, the show was on the air for 12 years and only because of a lack of advertising is this show and three others being discontinued as of Oct. 31st. I want to thank all of our listeners for being there for us each and every Saturday morning at first when we were on WAXY at 8 to 9 AM and then from 6 to 7 AM and then when we left WAXY to go to WKAT at 7 to 8 AM and finally to WMCU from 7 to 8 AM. I want to thank all of our Action Spotters and Advertisers that helped make the radio show number one when were on WAXY 790. I for one am not happy about the show being canceled but the truth of the matter is if there is no income being generated by the show then the show cannot go on. If anyone out there is interested in being a featured advertiser at the cost of $250 a show each week then we can bring the show back on the air. I have been offered a spot at a very good sports minded radio station that is willing to give us an hour on Saturday mornings and for that $250 ad that person would get there name or company’s name mentioned as the feature advertiser at the beginning of the show, after each break and at the end of the show. They would also have their name or company’s name mentioned on at least one of this radio stations sister station plus the one we were aired on and possibly on a third one as well during week day and weekend programming.
Check out my new web site and to read about the weekly catches and to see your pictures.
http://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.
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, Tempress Seating |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 93
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 16, 2009 - 1:52 pm: | |
Saturday was a welcomed relief. We have had some incredibly intense winds for the past week or so. The winds had finally begun to lay back towards the end of last week. Roberto Lopez, a local from the SW Kendall area, wanted to treat his son, Roberto Lopez, to a fishing trip for his excellent academic scores. Little Roberto is 14 and a freshman at Coral Reef High School. The weather looked good so we booked the date.
We all met at the dock a little early and the two Roberto’s hung back while Devon and I loaded and prepped the boat. Everything ready, we told the double R’s to come aboard. Devon directed them to the dry storage for their personal bags and the iced cooler for their food and drinks. The Suzuki’s were purring as I guided the big “Cat” out of the slip. I discussed the normal routine and possible expectations for the day as we idled, like a herd of turtles, down the manatee zoned channel.
I throttled up on the 600 ponies and The BEAST let out a growl as we came up on plane. At cruise speed she went back to purring and I pointed her toward one of our favorite Hardtail spots. We stopped there and picked up a dozen or so baits before we headed out for some Ballyhoo. You can never have too much bait and it’s not a bad thing to have different types as well. Once again I ponied up and headed for the ‘hoo patches. Arriving there about 15 minutes later, Devon set out the chum bag and cut some bait. The Bally’s were slow in getting up to the chum but once they crawled into sight they were eager feeders. We caught several dozen on hooks and put them in the other live well. Getting more stupid by the minute, the 10’ Calusa net made short work of a couple dozen worms that had gotten too comfortable while feeding. We quickly dispatched them into the Hardtail well. Off we go into the wild blue yonder!
Arriving on the grounds, after the short run, we found the seas to be about 1-2’ with a residual ground swell of 3’ or so. The skies were blue, the winds were NW at about 10-12 knots, and there was only a trickle of current to the north. Man, what a beautiful day! Devon quickly put out the usual spread of 4 up and 1 down. Little R told us he had never caught a Dolphin and really wanted to catch one. OK. Last trip we had several and this time of year it is not unlikely to encounter them. Well… the morning began painfully slow. Triggerfish (Ocean Tally) were tearing up the baits if I got in too close to the edge, and we had several misses on the down rod. There were 10 -15 boats in the area and the radio was buzzing. Captains were asking each other if it was happening for them. The answers were so very predictable. “Haven’t seen a thing other than Triggers”. Oh Boy, this is just great! As we approached the noon hour we had used up a bunch of baits with only one Trigger on the hook. A few other boats had an occasional Kingfish and there was one boat that had 2 or 3 Dolphin. One or two boats have seen a Sailfish pop up here and there with only a scant couple of these fish being hooked up. Slow! Slow! Slow!
I was beginning to remind myself that we hadn’t had this much trouble catching fish, in a long time. Too long to even remember! Was this going to be the day I paid my dues for all of our past successes? Man, I sure hope not! Devon broke out our lunch and he remarks that eating a sandwich is always a sure fired way to get a hook up. I hope so! We were half way through eating lunch when I made a turn up current and noticed something on the rigger. Crap! It’s another Trigger! Suddenly Devon yells, ”SAILFISH!!! Sailfish on the short flat line!” It’s a small one that is having trouble catching the bait! Devon grabs the rod and free lines the bait back until the fish picks it up. He hands the rod to Little Roberto and tells him to engage and begin reeling until the circle hook finds its mark. Good job! We’re hooked up, Boys! As I reposition the boat, I hear the long rigger pop off then begin free spooling line. Big Roberto! We got another fish going here! Same drill. Engage and reel until the line comes tight. Bada Bing! That’s a DOUBLE!!!!!! The second fish is a good one. Little R has his fish close to the boat and I see that Big R’s fish is screaming line and heading offshore. A minute later and the line is down to less than a third of the spool. I told Devon we had to get after the second fish, NOW! He quickly leaders and unhooks the small 10# Sailfish for Little R on his first ever “Snooter”! I turned the bow towards the other fish and pushed the throttles up a bit to help gain back some of the line. The fish is jumping way out there in front of another boat. Nice fish! After we regained the majority of the line, Big R stayed in control of the fight. This one was an active fish, with many acrobatic moves. Roberto maneuvered the fish boat side and Devon grabbed the leader. That’s a catch, guys! I tried to place a tag but the fish wouldn’t give me a good, clean shot. He made a short strong run pulling the leader out of Devon’s hand, but Big R led him back to the boat. Once again, Devon has the leader and tries to maneuver him for the tag. POP, goes the leader! No tag but definitely a catch. Pretty work, Double R’s!!!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/11-14-2009-02.jp g
The boat that was offshore of me, hailed us on the squawk box. As it turns out it was a friend of mine, Al Gonzales, who was also hooked up on a fish. He said he was heading in after they boated his fish so we made plans to transfer his bait over to us. The water is still too warm and the worms are soft. They don’t last as good as when the water is chilly. Not to mention that we had spent most of the morning feeding our worms to the Triggerfish. As we waited for Al to get his fish, our down rod goes off. Little R works the rod and Devon puts the steel to a “snake” Kingfish.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/11-14-2009-03.jp g
Al moves in and passes his bait over to us, then blasts off to go home and watch the football game. Thanks again, Al! The Sailfish bite was smoldering but the Double R’s would rather get Little R a Dolphin catch since that would be another “first” for him. Not a problem… I’ll up the odds and meander out into some deeper water. The down rod pops off and Little R catches an 18-20 pound Barracuda or better known on the BEAST as a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel. Sounds more glamorous, no?
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/11-14-2009-04.jp g
Things slowed for us again as we had worked much farther north. The radio chatter was telling of the Sailfish bite heating up again, down south. We pulled the lines and made a run for it. Setting up and still looking, more for Dolphin than anything else, it never hurts to place yourself in an active area. We continued on searching for our elusive Dorado. As time passes we find ourselves north again. I had another area in mind and as we pulled into the area, the down rod goes crazy. Little R climbs onto the rod and the fish takes him for a ride. Wow! If this is a Kingfish, it’s a nice one! 7-8 minutes later we see color and it is long with a lot of silver flash. It’s one of two could be’s! It could be a King or it could be a Cuda. As Little R gains line and gets it up towards the surface we see the latter is the case. Oh my God! That is a grande’, Dude! Devon hand lifts the fish aboard and if it wasn’t for the teeth and lack of USN markings I would’ve thought he just grabbed a torpedo! Every bit of 40+ pounds of muscle and teeth! Nice job, Little R!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/11-24-2009-05.jp g
With the departure time upon us, I asked Devon to dump the baits. Let’s see if we can make something happen, a last hoorah, if you will. The down rod goes off again and once again, Little R grabs it. This fish felt stronger than the last so hopefully we have something better this time. Nope! Up comes another Caribbean Spotted Mackerel. Although it seemed tougher than the last one it wasn’t quite as long and about 10 pounds shy in weight too. Oh well… what would you expect a Coral Reef High School student to catch more of? Ironically… Barracudas of course! After all, it is their school mascot!
As I turned the bow of The BEAST toward the barn we see a Sailfish free jumping about 150 feet in front of us. No story here. We dumped all the bait, remember! We cruised in and Big Roberto remarked that we tried our best to get the young one a Dolphin. He said that It just means he’s going to have to keep his grades up so they can come back after one, again!
By the way… The holiday season is fast approaching. Think about it! A fishing charter for that special someone, could be that unforgettable gift you’ve been searching for.
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: 92
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 08, 2009 - 6:58 pm: | |
I received a call from one of our customers that fished with us last May. “Gimpy”, Ed Conway, wanted to fish a couple of days with us again. He booked Thursday and Saturday. If you remember back to my report from June 1 of this year, Gimpy was the guy who fished 3 days with a cast on his leg. He was minus the cast but still had a slight tell-tale limp.
Thursday arrived and Gimpy was at the dock at 6:30. He brought along a friend from S. Cal. They were beat up from jet lag and staying up all night drinking. Also with them was my favorite of the old group, “Papi” Julio Sr., the 76 year old Viejo from N. Miami. This was going to be fun if nothing else.
The weather forecast was for a passing cool front with a 50% chance of rain and increasing winds from the NNE. We finished prepping at 7 AM and Devon and I unleashed The BEAST from its lair. We exchanged pleasantries and discussed the past trip of a few months earlier. As we idled out through the channel, we noticed acres of mullet being swept by the tides and wind, across the low spots in the jetty. Devon grabbed the cast net and beat it for the casting deck as I positioned The BEAST for a throw. He loaded the net and made a toss. Holy Mullet, Beast-mate! He hit the Mullet Mother-lode! It took both of us to pull the net aboard. Ed and I quickly grabbed the smaller of the baits and put them in the starboard live well, while Devon grabbed a dip net to scoop the bulk of the larger fish back overboard. Mullet slime everywhere! The next 5 minutes were spent cleaning up the boat deck and ourselves.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/11-5-2009-01.jpg
We had about 50 nice baits in the well already, so I powered up the horses and headed for one of our Hardtail spots. I figured we would top that well off with a few prime Runner baits. We put about 8 Hardtails in the well with the mullet and, once again, I powered up the 300 Zukes and made our way for our favorite Ballyhoo (worm) patch. Arriving there about 20 minutes later we remarked about how it was actually rougher in the Bay than it was outside. Devon put out the chum and cut some bait as the ’hoo slowly gathered. We quickly put about 2 dozen “hooker” worms into the port live well. The worms kept slithering closer toward the boat and the chum bag, growing less wary as they fed. I wanted to end this last bait gathering process quickly so I grabbed the 10‘ Calusa net and loaded it for a toss. With the cockpit clear, I waited a few minutes until the bally’s gathered tight and then let the net rip. I tossed a pancake that crushed ’em! Devon and I pulled the net aboard and quickly loaded the worms into the well. Let’s get out of here and go fishing, Boys!
Arriving on the edge, Devon quickly set out a 4 top side spread with 1 line down. We had no sooner settled down and remarked about all the Frigates and Terns working the water, when the 2 outrigger lines got smashed. Ed grabbed one rod and Bruce the other. Nice! A bull Dolphin and his cow! The guys played them well and we boated, boxed, and iced them down.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/11-5-2009-02.jpg
As we set out our next spread, the weather front was approaching us and we were having some light rain and the winds were beginning to get up. We hooked up a couple more chubby Dolphin and boxed them as well. This time of year the fish migrating south from their northern summer waters are fat and sassy. I refer to them as “Carolina Dolphin“. Even the well fed “schoolie” sized fish are keepers, making a good meal rather than a sandwich.
The frontal line crept over us but the rain was light to moderate at best. It only lasted, off and on, for about an hour. The winds, however, were getting stronger and turned out of the NE as the front passed us. The 20 knot winds were building the seas to 5’ and the current was running strong into the wind. I had to keep jogging the boat to the NE to keep the lines tight. Bada Bing! The shortest flat line takes off and we are on a fish. Circling deep, we figured we had a Tuna. Sure enough. As the fish made it’s way to the boat we see we have a decent Skipjack Tuna, which we bled out, and iced down immediately.
The d/rigger produced a couple of Kingfish. They were not very lengthy but they were fat and I do mean fat. A couple more dolphin bites and then the downrigger line starts screaming. Papi was waiting for this one. The fish was a good one as Papi takes a light touch approach. Oops! That didn’t work as shortly into the fight the fish is gone. Get ‘em next time Papi! That didn’t take long as the deep rod once again pops off. As the fish came closer to the boat it looked like a nice Cobia, at first. Nope! When it came close enough to get a good look at it, we realized we had a small Sharpnose Shark on instead. Can’t win them all.
As the afternoon wound down towards evening the winds were getting stronger and the seas were building to 6 and 7 feet. The BEAST was stable and safe, providing a good fishing platform even under these increasingly adverse conditions. Devon worked a speed jig in an area that we know holds Muttons from time to time. I’m marking fish, Devo! Bam! Fish on! Each of the guys managed to bring aboard a Mutton Snapper, only one of which was better than legal. The other 2 fish were borderline so Devon vented them and sent them back home.
We called it a day since the box was heavy with fish for Gimpy’s squad. They were satisfied, darkness would soon be upon us, and Mother Nature was not going to slack off. I turned The BEAST towards home and she dug in her claws, showing her forte’ to everyone aboard. Running rough water!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/11-5-2009-03.jpg
Gimpy and his group were supposed to fish with us again on Saturday but the winds were relentless. NOAA was calling for 30 knot winds and 8-10’ seas with a small craft advisory in effect. Considering our “safety first” attitude, the only option for Saturday would’ve been to anchor on the lee side of the islands and fish for sharks. Not exactly what we wanted to do so Ed and I mutually decided to cancel the outing. It’s better to fold than play the hand we were dealt!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 16
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 30, 2009 - 6:52 am: | |
October is nearly over and the great fishing that I have been talking about for the past three weeks hasn’t really materialized as I had described it. This is due to the unusually hot conditions that we are experiencing this Fall. Because of the very hot conditions it looks good that we will see a Fall fishing pattern that could reach way into December. Finally this past week signs of the Fall Migration getting under way in South Florida have been apparent. My last five charters took place in North Biscayne Bay, South Biscayne Bay and Flamingo in Everglades National Park and provided all of my clients with a lot of action from a wide variety of marine species. These last clients are the fortunate ones, the ones that have benefitted by the extra action that a migration of baitfish and predators can provide this time of year.
Fishing in North Biscayne Bay has provided my anglers with action from tarpon, large jack crevalles, sea trout of all sizes, large mangrove snappers for the bay, barracudas, sharks, bluerunners and Spanish mackerel. Large schools of pilchards and Spanish sardines have been holding in the Bay attracting these gamefish.
South Biscayne Bay has been active with Spanish mackerel to six and a half pounds, bluerunners, jacks and some nice gag groupers. The snappers, groupers, bluefish, ladyfish and pompano have yet to move into the Finger Channels but that will change as soon as water temperatures get below 80 degrees.
Flamingo has had great action from tarpon, snook, redfish, sea trout, pompano, snapper, jacks, ladyfish, sharks, tripletail, Spanish mackerel, pompano and permit in Florida Bay and the Gulf and in the back country of Whitewater Bay snook, redfish, sea trout that are golden in color, ladyfish, jacks, snapper and goliath groupers have been eating our Gulp baits hooked to a Hook Up lure along with Rapala Twitchin Raps and X Raps.
Offshore fishing is producing Spanish mackerel and bluefish, jacks and ladyfish along the beaches and kingfish, dolphins, skip jack tuna, sailfish and snappers outside the reef.
Here’s the nice thing as of this writing we have had just one significant cold front come through South Florida and water temperatures are still holding in the 80’s. It will take at least three or four strong fronts to get the baitfish schools that are holding north of us to make the run south. Looks like that will start to happen real soon.
There is still plenty of time to take advantage of what looks like a great season of Fall and early Winter here off of Miami in South Florida.
On a sad note I must take a moment and let all of my loyal readers and listeners of the Florida Sportsman Magazine Live Radio Show in South Florida know that my last radio show was last week and Florida Sportsman magazine Radio Live will air its last radio show here in Miami on October 31st. I have been involved with the radio show for the last eight years, the show was on the air for 12 years and only because of a lack of advertising is this show and three others being discontinued as of Oct. 31st. I want to thank all of our listeners for being there for us each and every Saturday morning at first when we were on WAXY at 8 to 9 AM and then from 6 to 7 AM and then when we left WAXY to go to WKAT at 7 to 8 AM and finally to WMCU from 7 to 8 AM. I want to thank all of our Action Spotters and Advertisers that helped make the radio show number one when were on WAXY 790. I for one am not happy about the show being canceled but the truth of the matter is if there is no income being generated by the show then the show cannot go on. If anyone out there is interested in being a featured advertiser at the cost of $250 a show each week then we can bring the show back on the air. I have been offered a spot at a very good sports minded radio station that is willing to give us an hour on Saturday mornings and for that $250 ad that person would get there name or company’s name mentioned as the feature advertiser at the beginning of the show, after each break and at the end of the show. They would also have their name or company’s name mentioned on at least one of this radio stations sister station plus the one we were aired on and possibly on a third one as well during week day and weekend programming.
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.
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, Tempress Seating |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 15
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, October 30, 2009 - 6:50 am: | |
October is nearly over and the great fishing that I have been talking about for the past three weeks hasn’t really materialized as I had described it. This is due to the unusually hot conditions that we are experiencing this Fall. Because of the very hot conditions it looks good that we will see a Fall fishing pattern that could reach way into December. Finally this past week signs of the Fall Migration getting under way in South Florida have been apparent. My last five charters took place in North Biscayne Bay, South Biscayne Bay and Flamingo in Everglades National Park and provided all of my clients with a lot of action from a wide variety of marine species. These last clients are the fortunate ones, the ones that have benefitted by the extra action that a migration of baitfish and predators can provide this time of year.
Fishing in North Biscayne Bay has provided my anglers with action from tarpon, large jack crevalles, sea trout of all sizes, large mangrove snappers for the bay, barracudas, sharks, bluerunners and Spanish mackerel. Large schools of pilchards and Spanish sardines have been holding in the Bay attracting these gamefish.
South Biscayne Bay has been active with Spanish mackerel to six and a half pounds, bluerunners, jacks and some nice gag groupers. The snappers, groupers, bluefish, ladyfish and pompano have yet to move into the Finger Channels but that will change as soon as water temperatures get below 80 degrees.
Flamingo has had great action from tarpon, snook, redfish, sea trout, pompano, snapper, jacks, ladyfish, sharks, tripletail, Spanish mackerel, pompano and permit in Florida Bay and the Gulf and in the back country of Whitewater Bay snook, redfish, sea trout that are golden in color, ladyfish, jacks, snapper and goliath groupers have been eating our Gulp baits hooked to a Hook Up lure along with Rapala Twitchin Raps and X Raps.
Offshore fishing is producing Spanish mackerel and bluefish, jacks and ladyfish along the beaches and kingfish, dolphins, skip jack tuna, sailfish and snappers outside the reef.
Here’s the nice thing as of this writing we have had just one significant cold front come through South Florida and water temperatures are still holding in the 80’s. It will take at least three or four strong fronts to get the baitfish schools that are holding north of us to make the run south. Looks like that will start to happen real soon.
There is still plenty of time to take advantage of what looks like a great season of Fall and early Winter here off of Miami in South Florida.
On a sad note I must take a moment and let all of my loyal readers and listeners of the Florida Sportsman Magazine Live Radio Show in South Florida know that my last radio show was last week and Florida Sportsman magazine Radio Live will air its last radio show here in Miami on October 31st. I have been involved with the radio show for the last eight years, the show was on the air for 12 years and only because of a lack of advertising is this show and three others being discontinued as of Oct. 31st. I want to thank all of our listeners for being there for us each and every Saturday morning at first when we were on WAXY at 8 to 9 AM and then from 6 to 7 AM and then when we left WAXY to go to WKAT at 7 to 8 AM and finally to WMCU from 7 to 8 AM. I want to thank all of our Action Spotters and Advertisers that helped make the radio show number one when were on WAXY 790. I for one am not happy about the show being canceled but the truth of the matter is if there is no income being generated by the show then the show cannot go on. If anyone out there is interested in being a featured advertiser at the cost of $250 a show each week then we can bring the show back on the air. I have been offered a spot at a very good sports minded radio station that is willing to give us an hour on Saturday mornings and for that $250 ad that person would get there name or company’s name mentioned as the feature advertiser at the beginning of the show, after each break and at the end of the show. They would also have their name or company’s name mentioned on at least one of this radio stations sister station plus the one we were aired on and possibly on a third one as well during week day and weekend programming.
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.
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, Tempress Seating |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 91
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, October 29, 2009 - 12:23 pm: | |
Devon called me on Friday and asked if he/we could take his Uncle, Al Godding, out on Saturday for his 56th birthday. Sure, no problem, Uncle Al is always welcome as long as he brings me a pouch of his dehydrated mangos. Al retired from the Fire Dept. about a year ago and has become a full fledged fishing maniac who is now a permanent member of the “fun trip“ team on The BEAST.
We didn’t want to leave real early, or too late, so we agreed to meet at the dock at 7 AM. After leisurely loading the boat, we finally untied the anxious BEAST. Our first stop was one of our bait spots. We caught a few Hardtails but they weren’t there as good as usual so we pushed on to Spot #2. There we found a few more and had enough in the livewell to satisfy us. OK boys and girls, let’s go see if we can fill the starboard well with some worms! I slowly pushed the throttles down and climbed to cruise speed. We were off like a herd of turtles.
We ran the patch reef waters to one of our favorite spots, only to find a couple of guys diving. NO flag on the boat and only one small dive flag in tow behind one of the guys, that kept turning upside down in the water. Smooth move, Exlax! That‘s a good way to get yourself killed! We idled out of the area and pushed on to another patch.
Arriving at our “dink ‘hoo” spot we set out the chum bag and after a very short while we started to get the bait up. The dinks were there and we caught several on hook and line, then I got out my 10’ Calusa net and whacked ‘em! We topped of the tank with a few more hookers and went on our way. The forecast was for S winds at 5-10 with a 30% chance of rain. Yeah right! So far we have spent the entire morning in light, drizzling rain with winds out of the ENE at 10-15. Occasionally, we could peel off our jackets for a few minutes. The only thing in the forecast that was correct was the seas at 2’ or less. Meteorologists are the only people I know of, that can be wrong 75% of the time and still keep their job!
We deployed our first baits at 10 AM to start our day. I don’t think it was 15 minutes and Bada Bing, we had our first customers. A pair of Dolphin came in and busted up the spread. Al was hooked up to a bull and Amy had the cow on her line. They were not that big but very respectable none the less. After several minutes of playing over/under with the rods the fish came to the boat. This duo fell side by side into our fish box. The bull weighed in at 15 pounds and the cow was 9 pounds. The dinner bell was already ringing and the day had just begun.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/10-24-2009-01.jp g
We restored the spread with fresh bait and Al broke out those dried Mangos. Man, they are good! We started talking about what we wanted to catch and someone mentioned Cobia. Well, let’s not get carried away with our wish list. As if on cue, the down rigger blows off and the line makes a short fast run. Amy was almost duped into believing the fish had gotten loose when the line came tight on the surface. What the heck! As if it were summoned, a Cobia comes into view. No way! We were just talking about that! Amy boats the Cobia and although it was a few inches short of legal it was a Cobia on the boards. Uncle Al held the fish overboard for about 5 minutes until it regained its composure and then he let it swim off! Nice job Amy, and pretty work on the release Al.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/10-24-2009-02.jp g
The downrigger was reset and began to get a workout. We caught a couple of “Snake” Kingfish and then a Cero Mackerel too. The Kings were all in the 5-6 pound category but that’ll work! We managed to grab a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel (Cuda) during this spree as well. During all of this, Al had broken out a speed jig and managed to jig up a Red Grouper!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/10-24-2009-03.jp g
BAM! The downrigger gets rocked and the line is screaming! Alright. What do we have now? Amy grabs the rod and gets a short fast run again, then it suddenly gets that heavy, sluggish feeling. Sharked? She tells us that the line is heavy, but no telltale movement. When the leader arrives at the surface we see a portion of a nice Kingfish. Look at that! Of course the nicest King gets nailed by a Cuda! A dog eat dog world out there, I tell ya! The remaining front end still weighed 10 pounds.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/10-24-2009-04.jp g
Once more a bait gets hammered by a nice Dolphin and Devon works the fish. The fish appears to be larger than the other 2 we have in the box. Things are going well and Devon is doing his thing when suddenly, for some unknown reason, the fish comes unpinned and gains his freedom. Tough luck Bro! We can’t catch them all. Right?
After this short but sweet feeding spree, we fell into a lull and continued searching for the mysterious 70% of sunshine as predicted by our mistaken forecasters. So far we had only found that 30% chance of rain. Trying to spark up a bite, we dropped the downrigger much deeper. I noticed a bite, but it didn’t trip the clip. Devon picked up the rod to check it, popped the clip, and said there was something on it. When it came to the surface we were surprise to see that a decent Yellowtail had eaten the ‘dink’ ballyhoo. The slow period continued which triggers Devon and Uncle Al to, once again, begin working the speed jigs. A strike here and there and Al manages to catch a couple of Mutton Snapper, almost back to back. Mmmm Mmm! Al is smelling that crab stuffing as he puts the larger Mutton in the fish box. Nothing goes to waste with Devon and Al. They will eat fresh fish 4 times a week, when available to them!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/10-24-2009-05.jp g
Time has run out! We needed to quit fishing and head in between 3 and 4 o’clock so Al could get cleaned up for his B’day dinner that night. With plenty of edibles in the box, we pulled lines, stowed gear, and made tracks for the barn. As we harnessed the BEAST to her lair, we recounted the trip. We had a V-8! A variety of fish equaling 8 different species, not counting bait types. We always seem to enjoy our casual, laid back, ‘fun trips’. More often than not, the outcome is catching, not fishing!
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: 90
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 - 1:31 am: | |
One of my good customers, Jon, called me early in the week and said he needed a mental health day. This means he wanted to go fishing by himself with no clients to entertain. He asked if I was available in 2 days, I was, so we reserved the date. He wanted another shot at some Swordfish because his freezer was empty. The last 2 times he came down for the same purpose, we failed to fill his grocery cart. He told me he was packing one of the many coolers he had bought previously to carry fish home, when his wife stopped him. In her wisdom, she told Jon that every time he comes prepared, we fall short of our mark. If he had to buy another cooler, she would pay for it!
Jon arrived with a severe case of business flight jet lag. Countless hours in airports and on flights throughout the weeks had taken its toll. He arrived with a 6 pack of 20 oz. diet Coke, a 4 pack of Red Bull, and an Italian Sub. When I asked him about that he said he was going to need everything possible to stay awake. Devon wasn’t joining us since he was a bit under the weather. Jon has about 50 or more trips with me in the past 10 years, so I felt he knew the drill and could assist me if need be.
I loaded the boat and Jon iced down our drinks and sandwiches. 5:30 PM and I untied The BEAST and turned her out. I eased the throttles up to cruise and we made way for the Hardtail spots. After collecting 6 big Runners, I eased the throttles up, once again, for a nice leisurely run out to the Sword grounds. We arrived on point just as darkness was beginning to set in. I shut down to neutral and got the floats, baits, and rods, set up as I checked our drift line. OK… 3.5 to the NNE.
I ran back down, passing the drift point to allow more drift time to deploy all the baits. I also adjusted for the drift direction so we would pass over my intended targets. Full darkness has set in and I started putting the baits out at 8:11. First float rod went out with a live Hardtail. Second float bait went out with a Squid. The forward tip rod goes down with another squid. The aft tip rod is going down with a Mackerel and suddenly the forward tip rod begins to walk away. 9 minutes into the drift, not even done setting up, and its FISH ON! Jon grabs the rod as I hurriedly begin to bring the aft tip rod up. Jon says the line is slack but this is not his first rodeo folks. He continues to crank mercilessly as the fish must be rising to the surface. There’s the light about 50’ out! Now the fish is only about 85’ from the boat and it decides to put some pressure on Jon. A meager controlled run to say the least. What do we have? Is it a Sword or one of those Night Sharks? I now have the other tip rod cleared and the fish is trying Jon a bit harder, under the boat. Jon works the fish up and I get the light off, only 25 feet to go until we have the leader! Yeah Boy, it‘s a Sword! Although a bit smaller than I care for, Jon questions its legality. Man, no doubt it’s legal. I leader the fish to boat side and notice that the hook is deeply embedded in the gut. OK, Brother, case closed on this one, he’s going home! Your shopping list is full, and it’s only 8:30. I grabbed the heavy stick gaff and gave him a head shot. The fish came aboard quietly. I broke out the measure and it ruled in at 50” and weighing an estimated 65 pounds. Not a monster by any stretch, but definitely an eater!
SWO10152009FL239
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/10-14-09-01.jpg
We dropped the fish in the fish box and iced it down. Then we noticed the float lines were astern. WHAT? Someone in the process of boating or moving that fish to the box had bumped the electronic shifters into gear. Yup! Prop wrap! Just wonderful! That is one thing I don’t like about the electronic shift. Too easy to engage. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to unwrap the braid line and ultimately ended up having to pull the prop! Everything back to status quo we set up for another drift with the purpose of a tag and release on the next fish.
We’re set up again and Jon says he learned something new. What’s that? He said, never drink 3 Red Bulls and eat jalapeno peppers on your sandwich. He was still very tired but now had the worst case of heartburn, ever! Heartburn and all, we continued fishing that drift until 10:15 with no bites. We pulled the gear to make a move to my shallow drift and I noticed that the Mackerel had taken a slash hit which gutted it. Neither of us had the slightest hint that it had happened.
I was about to head towards our next drift point when Jon asked how long the run was to get in. I told him our estimated ETA. Jon apologetically stated that he had a very early morning meeting and was way too tired to go past midnight. He didn’t want to fight the fatigue since he already had a fish. Jon said “Let’s go home!“… “No problem, Jon.“ I pushed the fuel to the Zuke 300’s and pointed The BEAST towards the barn. We enjoyed a short, but sweet, night on the Darkside!
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: 89
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 6:04 pm: | |
It’s been a while since my last report. We had an unusual collapse to the Cubera Snapper season. For some reason they got lockjaw in September and we finally gave up fishing for them around the middle of the month. I had one remaining trip on October 3rd with our return customer, Seth. He called a week before the trip to check in. I explained what was happening out there and suggested we do a trip on the “Darkside” for Swordfish instead. Seth had been following my reports and was appreciative that I was straight up about it. He was “all in” for a Sword trip instead.
Devon and I met Seth and his friends, Dave, Jim, and General at the dock around 5:30 PM. We loaded their gear and blasted off at idle speed through the manatee zone. A typical summer eve with the normal scattered storms over the city.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/10-09-2009-01.jp g
We stopped and picked up some Hardtails for live bait on our way out. An easy run offshore and we were at my starting drift point about 7”ish”. Devon had rigged all the baits on the run out and once I checked our drift, we got started. 2 float rods and 2 tip rods with a pitch bait at the ready.
We made a long drift in the deep water and nothing happening. Not a tick or click. No slashed baits. Nothing! Contrary to normal full moon techniques, I decided to try my shallow drift. We headed in to 1000’ and set the baits out again. Nothing! Nada! Zilch! Both drifts were good, although not ideal, at about 1.5 knots with a light easterly breeze. The deep drift had us pushing in and the inside drift had us pushing out. We had time for one more drift and I gave them the option to pick up and try the deep drift again or retry the inside drift. After we discussed the possible adjustments, Seth chose the inside drift. I made the run for a reset on the shallow line. I adjusted by coming way inside of my usual starting point. Seth though I was a bit too shallow but as the drift continued he saw that we actually passed over the good structure. Still not a bite, not even a look! WTH! This is some boring fishing on nights like that. Time was running out, but the moon was overhead, so I extended the trip. The clock ticked away. As we were all looking at each other with that, “It’s not going to happen!”, no one could pull the plug to call the trip. As Devon was beginning to clean things up and put gear away, he walked by the mid depth tip rod. It started to click off, slowly! Devon startled everyone when he screamed, “FISH ON!” I yelled back to feed the fish until Dan got on the rod. OK, push the drag up. Dan feels the fish for a minute then the line goes slack. Gone? NO… The fish broke water at the back of the boat, on the other side. The light is right there! REEL! The line starts to come tight as the fish circles passed us at the edge of our boat lights. Nice fish, no doubt about being legal length. Now the line is dragged around the motor skeg as Dan and Devon work the rod around the bow to the other side. I shut down the port motor and tilted it out of the water to free the line. It worked. REEL! Get all that slack line reeled up, Dan! The fish once again comes to the boat, having no idea that it has eaten a bait with a hook, yet. He passes so close as he goes under the side of the boat towards the bow. A good 100# fish. Jim says “Gaff ‘em!” No way, Bud, that fish is so green we would be fighting him in the boat! The line is finally tight and the drag is running now. SNAFU! Less than a minute and the fish turns and pulls the hook. Dang! If it weren’t for bad luck we wouldn’t have had any luck at all. That’s fishing!
We packed it in and made the run home as everyone was getting very tired! I guess you can’t win them all.
Friday, my best friends and I decided to head out for a fishing trip. Trollin’ Tom, Uncle Al, and Harry, met me at the dock at the crack of 9. We headed out for a fun day of simply trolling for whatever would bite. I unleashed The BEAST and we made our way out of the channel and blasted off to get some live bait, just in case. With a dozen good sized baits in the well, I powered up the 600 ponies and made the run outside. The winds were up compared to the last week or so. Seas were about 3’ or so as we made our way across the sloppy water on the edge. We ran offshore and the water was clean until we hit about 400’ where there was some scattered weeds. I shut down to trolling speed and we put out the baits. We put down 2 planers rods for Wahoo or whatever, along with 4 surface rods. We trolled and talked, ate sandwiches and talked, and then we talked and trolled, reversing the cycle. The day was slow, so far.
I made it out to 600’ when I decided to bring it back in towards the edge. If nothing else we could end the day live baiting for some Kingfish. Our first fish was one of those dreaded Caribbean Spotted Mackerels, Ol’ Snagglepuss, that nailed a planer bait. Releasing the Cuda, we continued on. Next up was a football sized Blackfin! No release here, that one is going home. I love eating them. As we were bleeding him out I got too close to a lobster marker. Crap. We hung up both deep rods and as we were trying to clear them we had a cluster beginning with the surface rods. All 6 lines in a mess. Systematically, we cleared and recovered them all. OK… let’s not do that again! We exchanged 2 of the baits for some of Trollin’ Toms, handmade daisy rigs. Good choice here! We caught a couple of micro Bonito that Harry boxed to use for Sword bait. It seemed like this was going to be a day of smaller sized fish. BAM! Suddenly the rigger line gets crushed. Harry jumps on the rod and a nice Dolphin takes to the air! Wow… that’s better! On the second jump we get a better look at this fish and it’s a Bull that had grown considerably since the first jump. Al, Tom and I clear lines as Harry works the rod on this drag pulling fish. When we finished clearing the deck, I grabbed the 30# spinner and pinned a Hardtail on it and pitched it out the back as far as I could. Bump! Here Uncle Al, I think we have another. Al takes the rod as I make my way back to the helm. Nope, nothing there! NOW there is! As line peels off the free spool. Al, slams the bail shut and we have a DOUBLE! A decent Cow comes out of the water. Game on Boys! Harry worked his fish to the boat and I got the bigger gaff out. I lined up for a head shot and as I was pulling the gaff, this Bull makes a turn under the boat, to dodge it. Not today! I swiftly sunk the gaff in whatever it hit. The gaff found home about midway in the Bull and I hoisted it over the side, head down. The fish whacked me, upside the head, as I lowered it over the gunnel. I takes more than that to knock out this 250# Salt, and I laughed as I dumped it into the fish box. Let’s get Uncle Al‘s fish now. She comes boat side and Harry wants to show me how to gaff a fish. Go for it. He gets a head shot on this fish that just laid in position waiting to get stuck. Nice job, Harry! We let the Cow join her mate in the fish box. Pretty work, guys! We just scored a pair of nice Dolphin, the Bull weighed 30#’s and the Cow was a respectable 19#‘er. Now we’re all smiles. We opened the box to dump ice on the fish when we saw the beautiful blue color of the Bull. Quick, get a picture of that!
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We added another football Blackfin and 2 more micro Bonito to our list of caught fish. At 5 PM we packed it up and pointed the bow toward the west for the ride home. A good day was had by all, with some really good eating thrown in for good measure!
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: 88
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, September 03, 2009 - 10:32 am: | |
Last weekend was a busy one. We had tough conditions while fishing for an even tougher opponent.
Friday we met up with John and Ben Cotrone for their long anticipated Cubera Snapper hunt. These brothers have wanted to catch one of these critters for a long while now and so far have been unsuccessful.
We met at the usual start time and turned The BEAST out! They wanted to do some jigging too, so they brought 4 of their high tech 5’ Chinese, unlimited rating, jigging rods, with Stella, Saltiga, Accurate, and Torsa reels. They also brought along a bag full of the pretty and expensive jigs. I pointed the bow toward the cricket farm and we were off like a herd of turtles. Arriving on Spot 1, we tossed Devon into the water. As we drifted along he collected 4 bugs in short order and we pulled him aboard because the depths were reaching his effective limits. On the next dive, Devon worked his magic and caught 9 more. Dang he’s good! With enough baits for the evening, I headed out for the warm up wreck to test the fancy gear that John and Ben had brought along.
The wreck was active with some very large AJ’s. Each drift resulted in some massive strikes, with 4 fish coming aboard that weighed in the upper 30’s. We had 2 or 3 other fish that freight trained us into the wreck. These fish were totally unstoppable even with the drags maxed out on these strong little bruiser reels. Unbelievable! Time to go after the Nasties!
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Arriving in the area a bit early, we tried some jigging, but no strikes. The drift was humping at almost 4 knots. Not good! Darkness fell and the Nasty’s slowly started to show. Drift #1 was extremely fast but we did have a small fish bite, but no hook up. I had to make some serious adjustments. We had to get down and dirty, only fishing 1 rod per drift. Drift 2... KaBoom! A massive strike on our cricket and Ben is doubled over. After several minutes of tug o’ war a 50# fish thuds on the deck.
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Drift #3 had John at the rod. We weren’t marking a bunch of fish but we did get a nice bite and John scored with a 25#’er.
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I fired back up to the drift point and Ben was up again. The Red Devils were loading up in areas now and Ben gets the nod. BaBoom! He is hooked fast to another good’un! Once again the scenario plays out and a 40# fish comes aboard.
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As quickly as it began, it shut off. We went through a lull for about an hour, when just as quickly as it shut off, they started another feeding binge. Bada Bing! John works a 38# fish to the boat. These brothers are in heaven!
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Each successive drift resulted in a crushing bite. Wham! Bam! Whomp! Catch one, miss one, the story goes. A 38, then the fish of the night, a 55#‘er, and a smaller 20# fish. We even straightened out a hook on a Snapzilla!
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The guys had enough! They threw in the towel and tapped out! We went 6 for 11 and quit in the middle of this heated bite! It was a good night. We kept the 25# fish and a 40# fish that we couldn’t get a good release on. The other 4 fish were vented and released to do their thing. I do believe that John and Ben had a great time.
Saturday was with Paul Storti and his friends, Luis, Brenden, and Craig. A good group of guys who fished with us last year. Of course, we did the usual formalities and took off. We loaded one well with Hardtails and did the lobster thing. Devon was awesome once again and we jerked him out of the water when he had caught enough for the night.
We ran to our favorite jigging wreck and the current was again moving out to the North. A few drifts before sunset resulted in a 41 and a 50 pound Amberjack and a small Almaco Jack. The AJ’s were vented and released.
As the sun set, I headed The BEAST for our intended target. Conditions were less than favorable with a westerly wind and a 3.5 knot current. I tried everything possible to work my drifts, to no avail. With each adjustment, the boat would just get out of shape. Fishing in this was extremely tough, almost impossible. We joked around a lot but as time passed the mood got a bit somber. So far we had managed to lose 3 rigs without a bite. Then one of the live wells went down. Great! With 1 crowded live well, I kept hunting for better conditions and willing fish. Finally! A small bunch of fish that would bite in an area that had slightly better conditions. We missed the first bite and then several drifts later, Craig got hooked up on a nice 29 pound fish.
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A few more passes and another missed bite. Another drift or two and Brenden gets the hook up! Good deal! After several minutes of grunting, we boat a decent 34 pounder!
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The wind turned out of the North and the bite, if you want to call it that, turned off again. We worked overtime trying to get Paul and Luis a fish. It just wasn’t going to happen so we finally packed it in for the night. 2 for 4, we tucked our tails and headed for home. You can’t win them all and that’s why Paul had scheduled another trip.
Sunday, Devon and I met with Seth Ebel and his group, Randy, Chris, and General. Yes, that’s really his name, General! And yes, jokes were just too easy! All were attempting to get their first Cubera except General who had caught one years ago. The same scenario played out at the bait shops. We caught our Runners and Crickets in a little over an hour. Devon is good!
The guys wanted to do some Yellowtail fishing before dark. We went to a wreck and did a few drifts for some speed jigging first. It was a bit slow, but they managed to catch a small Almaco, a Bonito, and a large Barracuda. Enough of this, let’s go ‘Tailing. The current on the edge was “ripping”! I put out the chum bag, and chummed out a half a bag of old Silversides. These guys were Head Boat Yellowtail Pros! 3 at the stern drifting bait back and one on the gunnel bottom fishing. The best bottom bite was a small Coney Grouper and Blue Parrotfish. Man, it is beautiful but what a standout freak of nature. What was the Lord thinking when he made that one?
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DUCK! WATCH OUT! General and Seth had some exaggerated hook sets for Yellowtail, even running halfway up the deck while doing so. They said it was necessary in that current. I had no argument there as they pulled in 20 nice ’Tails. Yeah, Randy caught a few too with more normalcy in his fishing. We almost had to pry their hands of the light rods when darkness arrived. I pulled anchor and headed out for the evening “Nasty” hunt.
Arriving, in the area, we found conditions a slight bit better than the last 2 trips. The current was still moving along at 3 mph but the winds were lazy and following the current. This should be more workable. The bite was a bit slow in coming but when it did, Kaboom, it was game on. We missed 2 bites on the crickets and then Randy gets the first hook up. He manages to bring his to the boat and we are on the boards with a respectable 35 pound fish.
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A couple more drifts and we locate another biter and Seth gets the nod. This fish comes aboard a little bit easier, not that easy, and Seth gets a 25 pound notch on his belt. We were going to release this fish until we saw one of its gills was broken loose from the throat latch. We weren’t sure whether this was a previous injury that had healed (not bleeding) but we didn’t want to turn this fish out to die and go to waste!
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We worked a bit more and hooked up again, to a Barracuda! That‘s a bit unusual. Things slowed down a little when finally Chris gets the nod! Fish on… and it’s a good one! Chris has a bad elbow and a bad finger (severed and reattached) and the Blue Runners had already whooped his butt! This fish was doing a number on him. He finally gets it boatside and Devon pulls it over the side. Chris admits he almost handed the rod off several times after successive runs by this fish. NICE! A 56 pound fish lays on the deck as we hurry to get the pics, authenticate the weight, and vent it for a good release. Hold up! Not so fast! The fish refuses to sound so we back down on it and bring it aboard again and reinsert the venting tool. Eliminating all the air completely, Devon puts the fish on the lipper and we tow it around for several minutes until it gives us the tail stroke signal that it’s ready to go home. Devon opens the lipper and he/she beats a hasty retreat to the depths. A few hoots and hollers filled the air as well as some high 5’s for a job well done!
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The night slowed to a crawl with General missing 1 or 2 bites. We are way past time now, it’s getting late, real late, and their 36 beverages are gone! General didn’t get his fish but he was good with that. I pointed the bow for the barn and hauled butt. I was flushing engines and cleaning gear while Devon was cleaning fish. The guys broke out another 1 ½ cases of beer left behind in the cooler. You see, they had a method to their madness. Devon and I had a couple of beers with the guys as they showed us the true meaning of “Pounding Brewski’s”! We finally had to almost run them out of there at 6 AM so we could finish our work and go home to bed. WOW! What a crew this was! We all had a really good time catching pounds of eating fish and having tons of fun! Yes, they are welcomed back on The BEAST, anytime!
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: 87
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 24, 2009 - 6:54 pm: | |
This past weekend we had Cubera Snapper trips on Friday and Saturday night. The weather was beautiful and warm with light winds and calm seas.
We met up with David Auerbach and his buds, Ed, Dave, and Jared. There was excitement in the air as everyone arrived on time. Devon unleashed The BEAST and we made our way out through the channel. We took some time to catch some Hardtails and tossed 9 of them in the live well. Although nothing compares to live bugs, it’s always good to have a backup. I set the big cat’s throttles on “purr“, and we made our way out to the patches for some real nasty bait. Visibility was good and we tossed Devon overboard. It took a bit longer and a couple of stops but he managed to put his hands on 13 bugs. Let’s get out of here and go fishing!
The guys opted to do some speed jigging and had brought along some of their specialized jigging rods. The first wreck we hit had produced several fish. Bonitos, Bar Jacks, etc. were setting the mood for the night. The second stop was another session of jigging as the sun is getting close to the water. This stop warmed the guys up for the night, catching a big HorseEye Jack, Amberjack, and an Almaco or two if my recollection is correct.
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As the sun goes out of sight we made the run to Cubera town. We arrived at our destination and several boats were already working. I made a few passes around to get an idea of what was going on down below and then stopped to check my drift line and speed. WOW! A very light current at about ½-1 mph. I repositioned for drift 1 and Devon fired 2 crickets down. Nothing happened. We continued making drifts but all we could muster was losing 3 rigs and baits to the bottom. The fish were not in the mood. One hour passes, the second hour passes, hmm, the fish are there but it still wasn’t happening. A couple more drifts and a major adjustment when suddenly it all breaks loose. Bam, Boom, for the next hour it was helter skelter and we managed to catch fish from 18# up to 50#’s.
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This chaotic fish fest had everyone fired up. It was past quitting time and we had gone through all our bugs and some of the fish baits. I decide to keep on fishing and take advantage of this melee’, using up the few remaining baits.
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When we finally called it quits, we had used up all 22 baits. The group was fired up and said that the trip was well worth it and exceeded all expectations. We kept saying we caught 7 for 15 hooked up but when I reviewed the pictures the next day, we had actually caught 8 fish. A slow start but a phenomenal finish!
Saturday night Jorge Marquez a repeat customer from last year, arrived with his friends, Santi, and Carlos. Carlos was the guy that caught the 76¼ monster, last year. We made a few comments about going for an 80# fish this time. Same as usual, we untied The BEAST and made our way out. Once again the weather was cooperating beautifully. We caught a few fish baits before making our way out to the cricket farm. Once we arrived at one of our bug bait spots, we let Devon start doing his thing, collecting them. Oh Boy! Things were slow, real slow! Only 2 lobster in the well at the first spot. We pulled him aboard and headed for spot 2. After some time in the water, we only had 4 bugs in total and Devon came aboard. He said there were many shorts and even more “eggers”. That’s just great! OK, let’s try an old spot of mine from many years ago. We got there and in the next 20 minutes Devon grabbed 9 more. Whew! Man… it was getting late and I was sweating the bait situation! The guys were itching to go jigging, too.
We hit the first wreck and Devon and I gave the guys some tips on how to work these speed jigs to get consistent bites. We caught 2 really nice Yellow Jacks, 1½ Bonito and a Caribbean Spotted Mackerel (Cuda).
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The second wreck produced 3 fat Almaco’s and the sun was fading fast. We packed up the jigging gear and made our way to the main destination.
Approaching the area we see 3 other boats already there and I began my normal routine. The fish were spread out and thin. The current was ripping at 2½ - 3 mph. This is not good guys, it’s going to be very hard to correctly present the baits. The guys brought there own gear, so we put the rigs on them and began our night. We struggled drift after drift, trying to keep the baits in the strike zone. 4 times we had gotten hung up and lost everything. I made adjustment after adjustment and couldn’t even draw a half hearted bite. The fish were there! They just had lockjaw. Monotony is setting in as we continued to make one blow-by drift after another. The current was so strong that each drift lasted only a few minutes, no matter what we did to counteract it. My plotter was turning black with so many track lines from the numerous drifts. Most of the other boats have left the area and I can’t say that I blame them because it appeared they were doing a lot of standing around in the cockpits too! It’s past quitting time, I’m miffed and I am not leaving until I get one! I made a wide return swing and found a group of fish that were closer to the bottom and hopefully feeding. As I set up for that drift I noticed the wind has now shifted, coming from the SW. The current slowed to a light 1 mph and we got a bite! The rod bent over, but only for a second. He came unpinned! Dang it! This scenario played out 3 more times with the same results. 0 for 4, it’s after 1 AM and I am dejected. A couple more drifts and it’s apparent that the only thing biting now were a few mosquitoes that arrived 5 miles offshore with this westerly wind. That’s just wonderful… just flipping great!
Jorge called the trip because he knew I would’ve stayed out there. He said “It was very obvious that we did all that we could do…It’s fishing!“ I was still upset with myself and second guessing everything. Devon calmed me down by reminding me, once again, that sometimes, no matter what we do, it just isn’t meant to be. I knew that this night was coming! We were on a great run and it came crashing down. How can 2 successive days be so utterly and completely different? I have had some time to reflect, while eating my “Humble Pie”. It doesn’t taste good and I don’t like it! The next trip will be a mission of revenge and vindication. Look out, El Nasty, I’m coming!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 12
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 10:49 am: | |
This is the summer and as summers go business is normally off due to the high heat and families taking a well deserved vacation. This summer is no different than others so the fishing reports have been on the thin side.
The best bet for me recently has been fishing in Flamingo in Everglades National Park. In my last report I stated that fishing in Flamingo was off and as of last week where I had opportunity to fish Flamingo three times I found the fishing to be just the opposite.
On My first trip last week with Jack and his friend Lucy we fished around some of the Keys and missed a nice snook on a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp shrimp and released a few small trout before moving to an area that holds lots of bait this time of year. After a few quick casts we had all of the pinfish and ballyhoo that we needed and headed offshore where we anchored in a few interesting spots and caught a nice mangrove snapper and a lane snapper plus a bunch of jacks and a couple of bluefish and a bunch of sharks including an 80 pound nurse shark caught on 10 pound spin by Lucy before the action slowed down. On the way to the next spot we saw a few nice tripletail free floating but could not hook up. We headed to a small creek where we released two small snook and then a school of tarpon moved in and started feeding on a school of menhaden. As hard as we tried we could not catch one of those tarpon. We had a ten pound tripletail swim right to us but ignored every offering before it went on its way. On to the next spot but before we got to it we spotted a number of free floating tripletail and ended up catching two keeps out of five that we saw. Lucy caught a nice tripletail on a ¼ ounce Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp shrimp and Jack caught one on a Cajun Thunder and a live pilchard. We saw a cruising cobia that followed our Hook Up lure but split the scene before we could throw a pinfish to it. At our last spot Jack released a 26 inch snook caught on a pinfish and then both Lucy and Jack caught 22 inch redfish on pinfish before we call it a day.
Today I have Lucy and Jack again and the weather is horrible. A big storm is sitting over Florida Bay and ends up staying there all day. We ran out, caught bait and headed north to get away from the weather. At our first spot we released three small snook before Jack hooked up with a nice 25 inch snook and then Lucy hooked a good fish that turned into being a Goliath of about 10 pounds. A great fight on light tackle. Lucy hooked up again and this fish turned into a big sawfish that we were able to get to boat side but not o the surface. The fish was on 10 pound line and just would not let us see more than its tail and fins before breaking the line. The storm started to threaten us again so we headed further north and ended up in Whitewater Bay. Jack hooked a nice snook on a Cajun Thunder and a live finger mullet. That snook was 28 inches and 9 pounds. We released trout, jacks, snappers, ladyfish and had shots at six free swimming redfish before calling it a day.
Wednesday and Thursday I participated in the Lobster Mini Season and we ended up with a total of 55 tails for the two days.
On Saturday I was back in Flamingo with Paul, Bob and Ethan. Our first spot was a hot with the guys catching six redfish to 27.5 inches and released over 10 snook all caught on Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp and Rapala X Raps. We caught and released quite a few snappers plus ladyfish and jacks. At one time we had a school of over 200 redfish swimming all around us. Unfortunately after each angler had hooked up the fish spooked and left the scene. The rest of the day we were running from storms but did have many shots at tripletail that were free floating and managed to land a nice 10 pounder caught on a Cajun Thunder and a live pinfish.
Today I have Manuel, his son Manny and Manny's buddy Carlos and we are in Flamingo again. After heading out into Florida Bay we immediatley are faced with a huge rain squall that is slowly pushing to the north. We take a few minutes and catch a well full of pinfish, ballyhoo and a few pilchards before heading north. The storm is still in our way so we stop on a grass flat and cast some Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp. In no time the guys are catching sea trout, snapper, gag, grouper, ladyfish and jacks literraly on every cast. After an hour or more of hot action the tide runs out and its time to move on. The storm is still around and in our way and again we decide to fish short of my origional destination. As we approach our new spot I see a tripletail and we catch a nice six pounder and then we see another four or five more before they dissapear. The area I had intended to fish was still in the rain squall that looked like it would stay in that area all day and did. We headed closer to the marina to see if we could find the snook and redfish that we had had action from a few days before. The action was slow for over an hour and we kept moving around and then just before laeving the area we tried one more spot and bang we were into the fish. For the next hour or so the guys had a big redfish, snook or jack on their line till it was time to go in. These fish were eating a dead ballyhoo or live pinfish attached to a Hook Up lure.
Well that catches us up for now!
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
786-436-2064
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 from 7 to 8 AM
786-436-2064
Miami Fishing Forecast:
Fish early and get the best results and remember our fishing in South Florida can and will change at the drop of a hat.
Target Species:
Snook, Tarpon, Redfish, Cobia, Kingfish, Dolphins, Permit, Sharks |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 86
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 - 4:07 pm: | |
Joerg Jager, from Germany, booked us for 2 days of Sword fishing. He decided to split them, taking a day off between. We met at the dock at 6 PM and blasted off a few minutes later. The seas were running about 2-3’ and we had a nice cruise out to the deeper water. Arriving at my favorite drift site, I quickly checked the drift and the line looked very good. The drift was a bit fast at a little over 3 knots and the easterly breeze was pushing us in a little.
Devon and I readied the lines and I motored us back upstream to the starting point. We set out our spread. Everything is looking great as we drift by all the good spots of previous trips. We drifted for a good while and the sonar was showing that we had moved well into a non-productive area. Pull ‘em up! Our short float line came in, slashed in half. We never saw any indication of a bite! I powered up The BEAST and made our way south for another drift. This time I set my drift a little deeper to start, trying to prolong the drift over more productive bottom.
Once again, we set out the baits and began the monotony of drift fishing for Swordfish. Nothing much to do but wait, have a little conversation, listen to some reggae, and crank the tip rods up and down. I noticed during the first drift that Joerg was very quiet. During the second drift we was even more quiet and was nodding off to sleep. Nothing is happening and complete boredom has set in now. Suddenly Joerg bolts to the gunnel and starts yelling for “Ralph”. Oh Boy! It might be a short night. Devon and I started discussing the matter, trying to decipher what is going on and what we could change, to up our odds. Joerg is still bent over the rail. We had drifted this line twice for almost 2 hours with only one slashed bait. Strike that! We pulled our lines and found that the deep tip rod had gotten whacked but never once was there any indication of it either.
The game plan gets changed since Joerg is refusing to give it up, I moved to my “go to” drift. Three of the lines already deployed and the deep rod is going down. About 50 feet from its destination I feel the bite. Joerg takes the rod and the fish is swimming to the boat! Reel, Joerg, reel! The line gets tight. He’s feeling the fish’s weight. Suddenly the line goes limp and the fish is gone. Crap! SNAFU! What happened? The bait is intact, just a bit worse for the wear! “Quick, drop it back down, Devon!” Again 50 feet from our desired depth, Devon says, “He ate it!” OK… Feed him! Feed him! Devon let the fish have it until Joerg was ready and then pushed the drag up. FISH ON! Joerg danced one full lap around The BEAST. Well, it looked similar to dancing because he left his sea legs back at the dock! Other than a few quick power runs, the fish seemed content to come to the boat. Devon puts the steel to the fish and we muscle the fish over the rail. Thud! Joerg is all smiles for the moment. Whoops! There he goes again, calling for his imaginary friend, Ralph!
A nice, thick, 60”, 70 pound fish (SWO08/10/2009FL194) is subdued, readied for some photos and then secured for the ride home.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/8-9-2009-01.jpg
Having a successful Day 1, we took the next day off to ready for Round 2. Day 2 arrives and it is a beautiful evening. Joerg met up with us at the usual 6 PM start time and off we went. The seas were calm, the winds were calm, and the skies were clear. We never had to drop RPM as we made our way into open water to our waypoint, arriving in plenty of time to set up our spread before dusk.
We’re set up and the waiting game begins. Shortly after nightfall we have a hit on the deep rod. That was it! Just a hit. No runs, 1 hit, no errors! We pulled the bait up to see that it was bit in two. The culprit was, most likely, a small night shark judging by the bite marks. We rebaited and sent it down again. No more than 5 minutes passes and we get bit on our other tip rod. Once again we retrieve half of the bait and the donor of the bite was obviously a slightly larger shark. Looks like this drift is going to be a PITA. We drifted this line until we got into unproductive waters. Pull ‘em Devon! The deeper of the float lines came in all busted up, with teeth marks. It appears we are experiencing a shark night.
I made a move to Wpt. #2 that worked for us on Joerg’s trip 2 nights before. We deployed the baits and began our drift! Crapola! A slightly different drift due to area currents and slackened breeze. I cut the drift short as I realized that we were not going to hang in the area long enough. I ran The BEAST south to my start point and readjusted slightly for the new drift line. This small change kept us in the zone. 1 mile, 2 miles, and boredom has set in. On and on, we were focused on the floats and rod tips. Conversation and music were our salvation from the monotony. Time runs out and I kept giving it 5 more minutes, 5 more minutes, 5 more minutes. Finally, an hour after quitting time, I called it a wrap. As it happens so often, we’re clearing lines when I see the deep tip rod bouncing. Fish! Devon takes command of the rod and begins a free spool drop back. Nothing! Go figure! We engaged the reel and brought up the bait. Definitely a Sword bite! The bait is slashed to shreds and balled up on the hook.
We couldn’t catch a break that night. I powered up and made the run in as Devon and Joerg caught some shuteye time. At the dock, he let us know he was happy! He’s had several trips for specific target species that have come up empty. He considered his trips with us a success. He caught a Swordfish on our 1st night, and on this night he didn’t get sick. The only fish remaining in his Billfish quest now, is the Black Marlin. Good luck Joerg! You’ll get him.
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharter@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 85
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 09, 2009 - 12:04 pm: | |
Ricky called me twice on Saturday to confirm our trip and I guess he also needed some reassurance that this trip would be successful. He was excited, but was pessimistic as well. I told him not to worry that we would do everything within our power to insure a successful trip to “Nastyville“.
Ricky, brought his brothers Robert and Ralph, and his Dad, Ralph Sr. We were supposed to meet at the dock at 3 PM. The group arrived at 3:15 and then we ran into another hitch and didn’t get to turn The BEAST out until 4 o’clock. We made the run to a lobster patch and tossed Devon into the water. 30-45 minutes later and we only had 4 or 5 bugs in the live well. Devon climbed aboard and we moved to a better patch and in he went. Nice! He was pulling up legal bugs, one after another, at times he even had one in each hand. That is incredible since he doesn’t use a net, only a tickle stick and his hands. He is something to watch and I swear if you look close enough you will see gill slits behind his ears. The process went along quickly and we have enough bugs on board for the night. I powered up the Suzuki’s and we made a run to a good Yellowtail spot to catch a few of them while we await the fall of darkness.
We arrived at the spot and sent the chum line into the current. This time spent Yellowtail’ing is great as the anticipation builds and we get to answer questions about what is to come, all the while catching some more edibles. The guys put 10 nice Yellowtail in the boat as the sun lowered on the horizon. It’s almost dark and we could see several boats already arriving at Nastyville. We packed up our light gear, broke out the Nasty rods, and made the short run out to the assembly of boats.
As we arrived there were 6 or 7 boats drifting the area. Everything seemed courteous and orderly, so we joined them. I made a short drift so I could get my drift line and then motored up for our first set. Drop ‘em now, Devon! The guys elected to hold the rods rather than using Rodney, the rod holder. Twenty seconds into the first drift and the stern rod gets a strike. Bump Bump! BAM! Robert has his hands full as my short custom built Cubera rod doubles over to the water. OMG! Robert can’t believe the strength of El Nasty as it pins him to the gunnel a few times. As we see color in the lights, the size of this fish draws a reaction from the group. It is a Pig! Devon reaches over and with a thud, 55 pounds of toothy snapper hit’s the deck. First fish, and they elect to put it in the box.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/8-8-2009-01.jpg
This started off our evening with a bang. We will be selective now as the limit on Cubera is only 2 fish per boat over 30”. Robert is on the boards with a score, we set up again and dropped lines. Ba Boom! Ralph is hooked up and into another good fish. This fish is put on the deck and after a short photo op and weighing, Devon vents the 45 # red devil and slips it back in the water to continue on.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/8-8-2009-02.jpg
Set up again, dropped the lines and Bada Bing! Ricky gets the nod and is wrestling his “bucket list” fish. Once again we bring the fish to boatside for the customary photos, weighing, venting, and release.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/8-8-2009-03.jpg
I wasn’t quite sure why most of the boats were fishing where they were, but I guess they had there reasons. The majority of the boats left after an hour and we were there with only 2 others. Our scenario played out over and over again with single and double strikes coming on each and every drift. Robert caught a 25# and Ralph Sr. finally gets a fish that he can handle. A scrappy 22#, also released.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/8-8-2009-04.jpg
Ricky gets a 48 # fish and Ralph catches a small 20# fish. We’ve been on the Nasties now for about 2 hours and the winds were picking up and the seas too. 11:15 and we decide to do one more drift as the action is slowing down. Ricky gets another big bite and it’s game on again. This fish comes into the light and it is another El Grande’ Nasty. This fish weighed in at 46 pounds and we can’t get a good release on it. We tried but the fish was done so we boxed it for our boat limit.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/8-8-2009-05.jpg
We had 4 tired and satisfied anglers so we wrapped it up. We caught 8 fish out of 13 bites. We had fish hooked up on every drift, some singles some doubles, some wrecked us and broke off. We ended up the night losing plenty of terminal gear. That is totally irrelevant when you fish with a good group of guys and get to see them all, smiling from ear to ear. They must’ve been very happy with their trip as they were extremely generous, above and beyond the norm. They vowed to return 1 or 2 more times this season. We look forward to fishing with them again!
Our Cubera season has begun with a bang! It sure beats bobber fishing for Bluegills! What do you think?
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: 84
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 01, 2009 - 10:55 pm: | |
Lobster mini season was a success for our crew of regulars. Wednesday, Devon, Amy and Al took to the waters and caught their limits in a little over an hour. Afterwards they did some spear fishing and got 2 nice Red Grouper. The trip ended early and they were back to the house by 2 PM. They wanted to save up their strength for day 2.
Day 2 of mini season and Devon, Amy, Al, Tom, and I met at the dock at 1 PM. A late start was good since we wanted to catch some more crawfish and then do some speed jigging or yellowtail fishing, followed by a try for some Cubera Snapper, again. The marina was slack and we passed several boats coming in as we were making our way out. When we reached the patch reefs they were empty. Only 1 or 2 boats off in the distance in either direction, north or south. We hit several patches first off and only managed a few bugs, but did get 2 nice Hog Snapper. Now, we get bug serious! We headed to a patch that had good visibility and within an hour we had 26 bugs. We put up the dive gear and headed out for some fishing.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/10497-N-Mini-Sea son7-09.jpg
Our first stop, we decided to speed jig. WOW! The area was alive with birds and fish working the surface. My sonar was lit up with mid water activity as well. Bing! Bam! Boom! Non-stop action on the jigs. Several bites were cut off so we knew we had the attention of those dreaded Caribbean Spotted Mackerel, a.k.a. Cuda’s. The first fish to make it to the boat was a huge Bonehead. Out of nowhere comes an ominous shadow that takes the tail half, in one bite. “Look at that shar…“ That’s not a shark! That is the biggest Barracuda I’ve ever seen. He took about 15# of Bonito in one bite! We played with him for several minutes until it got too risky. It was too close to the boat for comfort as they have no problem charging into the air as you lift a fish aboard. I unhooked the head half of the Bonito and dropped it over. 5’, 10’ and Ol’ Snaggletooth leisurely swims up and takes it in his mouth, swimming slowly into the depths. We were mesmerized by its size! What a show! We continued working the jigs, catching a nice Yellow Jack and many more of those mega sized Bonito, until we decided we had enough.
No one wanted to do any Yellowtail fishing so we headed out for “Nastyville”. This time we have their preferred snacks… BUGS! The sun set and the current was all over the place. Getting a good drift once we located the fish, was going to be a mission. Nothing much was marking on the sonar. We did a few test drifts and I realized I had my work cut out for me, if we were going to get a shot at El Nasty! The darkness fell into place. I motored around the area looking for our target when, suddenly, the sonar looked like a Christmas tree. There they are, boys and girls! After a few drifts we realized that they were moving around and not staging on anything or anywhere! OK! I have a plan. Next drift we lowered one of our prize bugs and we missed the school of fish. A few minutes of locating them again and another adjustment. Drop ‘em! Down went a crawdad and a Hardtail, but I missed the mark again! Who said this was easy? OK, I’ll get them this time! I motored The BEAST into position again and the lines went down. Closer, closer, get ready guys, you’re in ‘em. Bam! The bug gets hit and the rod bows over. Missed him! We didn’t get a solid hook up and he stole the bait too! Our excitement is growing as there isn’t much down there that will readily feed on a legal sized cricket. We tried a few more techniques and each crawdad drew a bite, but we didn’t get a solid hook up. We cranked up the line after our last bite and the grasshopper was still pinned on the hook. We checked him out and found definitive bite marks on the carapace. There is no mistaking the fang punctures of El Nasty! “YES!”, I yelled as I was doing the Cubera dance in the cockpit. The crew looked at me like I was crazy. Even though we went 0 for 3, I considered this mission a success! We used 3 different techniques and produced 3 good bites in an hour.
We called it quits so we could get in by the 12 midnight, mini season curfew and get home early. Although the season is a couple weeks late this year, the waiting is over. The weather is good and the seas are calm. We are pumped up and ready. For anyone interested in catching a Cubera and to those of you that have already been in contact with me… Are you ready to rumble??? Let’s get it on!!!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 11
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - 10:41 am: | |
Time for a Summer Doldrums fishing report! Yes things are getting hot here in South Florida and maybe a little earlier than normal. Water temperatures are reaching the low 90’s and in areas where water depths are less than four feet that can be a bit uncomfortable for the fish. Unfortunately much of North Biscayne Bay is four feet or less and Flamingo very similar except that Flamingo does have deeper water in channels and in open water where fish can go to beat the heat. Off shore with deeper water fishing has been more consistent but a fish that normally is very prevalent in July has been nowhere to be found. That fish is the dolphin or Mahi Mahi. At this point you are probably thinking why bother fishing? The answer to that question is simple. We are fishermen and fishermen fish! It doesn’t matter where your fishing adventure takes you if your mind is in the right place every angler has the chance to get something positive out of each fishing adventure.
In North Biscayne Bay early mornings has produced the best fishing with small tarpon feeding over some of the grass flats in the bay, snook looking to ambush a live bait fished along a shoreline, sea trout, snappers and barracudas feeding over the grass flats. At first light water temperatures maybe as low as 82 degrees but by 10 AM closer to 90. The fish know this so they spend those short few hours stocking up on easy prey before settling down in deeper water or under some shade till things cool off. Late afternoons have been disappointing but there have been some big tarpon that recently attacked some of our large threadfin herring but did not eat the bait on a recent late afternoon early evening charter. On that charter my clients were able to release a few small barracudas, jacks, trout, snappers and small tarpon. The highlight was that 80 pound tarpon killing our bait but not eating it. We did see some snook and other tarpon at lights during the night but the small jacks ate the baits before the snook did. On this trip three generations of one family spent four hours having fun on the boat.
Ocean fishing has been decent with kingfish and lots of bonitos hitting live baits. Dolphins were targeted on these trips but never found. Some bottom fishing produced some keeper sized mutton snappers that made their way into the fish box plus a few amberjacks, sharks, bluerunners and trigger fish that were released. On one charter we had a 100 pound hammerhead shark circle the boat for ten minutes but refused our offerings. Calm conditions made those offshore ventures possible in my 22’ Pathfinder Bay boat powered by my quite and fuel efficient Yamaha F 225 outboard engine. During all of these trips offshore we had numerous cut offs by kingfish and had other baits crushed and killed to add to the excitement. On almost every trip we saw fee jumping sailfish, sharks and sea turtles.
Flamingo has been a disappointment to me mainly because I like to fish the Park during the summer. Yes it is hot and this year there have been mosquitoes at the boat ramp and some horseflies to deal with but if you wear the right clothing and have some insect repellent on hand the bugs are not a problem. Normally the fishing for snook, redfish, tripletail, sharks, cobia and others is very good during the summer months. This year maybe because of lots of west winds and stormy conditions things have not been the same. I have not had a lot of charters in the Park this summer but I was there yesterday with some repeat clients from up north and had mediocre results. We mostly targeted the waters of Florida Bay and avoided the shorelines where snook and redfish have been active. My clients wanted action and some fish to take home. The weather was nice with a light breeze from the east and plenty of small ballyhoo and pinfish were netted in our bait spot. Off to the first spot where the anglers caught a few keeper trout, ladyfish a shark and a few catfish before the tide ran out and off to the next spot. We were casting Cajun Thunders with either a ballyhoo or pinfish attached to the 1/0 Mustad hook. Next up I thought we might get a bit more serious and try our luck at some small tarpon, snook and redfish but besides seeing an American crocodile, a few rosette spoonbills all we caught was a few catfish and a couple of missed strikes. Off to the next spot where we found a free floating tripletail and caught and released him on a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp shrimp. From this spot we hit some more flats and landed a three pound trout a half dozen snappers, some large ladyfish and more catfish before a storm and a passenger that felt ill sent us back to the boat ramp. We did see a large pod of bottlenose dolphins playing a manatee and a few turtles plus countless numbers of birds before the day ended. I am scheduled to fish Flamingo a handful of times during the next seven days and hopefully with more normal weather conditions I will see the fishing get back to the way I expect it.
Well that catches us up for now!
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
786-436-2064
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
Miami Fishing Forecast:
Action in North Biscayne Bay will be best during morning charters and Ocean and Flamingo charters will see action throughout the day.
Target Species:
Snook, Tarpon, Redfish, Cobia, Kingfish, Dolphins, Permit, Sharks
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
www.getemsportfishing.com
Host of Florida Sportsman Radio Live/South
1080 WMCU AM Saturdays from 7 to 8 AM
786-436-2064 |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 83
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 16, 2009 - 1:17 pm: | |
Daytime fishing has been a bit slow since the water temperatures have reached the 88 degree mark. The majority of the Dolphin fishing and other surface feeding fish, has been localized to the morning hours. The day can still be productive if you incorporate some wreck or bottom fishing into the mix. Of course, here in S. Florida we do have a great night time fishery also. I’ll make this report short and sweet since pictures and video, speak a 1000 words.
Amy, Devon, his Uncle Al, and I decided to do a late afternoon and evening trip, with the emphasis on finding our Cubera’s later that night. We met up at the dock around 2 PM and loaded up. We turned The BEAST out and took a heading for some bait. Bait spot #2 produced enough Hardtails to make the trip and we broke out for the offshore waters. Our first stop was to kill some time working speed jigs over a wreck. We had some fun, straining our muscles on Almaco Jacks, Amberjacks, Barracuda, and Bonito.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny-P0rv5RFI
After an hour of speed jigging, we decided to do some Yellowtail fishing. I pointed the bow south toward our favored spot. The fishing was slow at first. When the current picked up, the chum line lengthened and we began catching fish. We caught a potpourri of reef dwellers. Yellowtails around 2 pounds, Mutton Snappers, Black Grouper, Remora, Spotted Moray, Nurse Shark, Porcupine Puffer, Cero Mackerels, and a Gray Trigger. The variety of the catch kept us on our toes as daylight faded. As the sun was setting we packed it in to venture out on our Cubera hunt.
We arrived in our Cubera area and began searching for the schools. We found several packs of fish marking on the bottom machine and set up our drifts. No bites! Devon added a light stick to one of the baits and the bites began immediately. The only problem was that these lumps of fish on the sonar screen, weren’t our target fish. It turns out that they were “Night Donkeys”. Devon, Al, and Amy took turns wrestling these fish, in hopes that one would be our intended target, the Cubera Snapper.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT2t3UFIsio
“El Nasty” never graced us with their presence. It seems this year that the seasons are all running about 2-3 weeks late. Although we didn’t catch our intended quarry, we did catch 13 different species of fish. We called this Cubera recon trip around 11 PM. With tired, tested muscles, everyone finally relaxed as I pointed The BEAST’s nose toward the barn. “El Nasty” will only elude us for so long! We’ll get ‘em… it’s only a matter of time!
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: 82
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, July 06, 2009 - 6:23 am: | |
The last couple of trips we did were ½ days. Half day trips are cool, but you really don’t have the time to do everything or shift gears to compensate if the fishing is slow. Unfortunately some people don’t know how their stomachs will react to a full day at sea and others just have time constraints and a half day is all that they can squeeze in. Either way, we try and make the most of the allotted time.
Joel Mego, a local from Homestead, and his friend Brian, from Utah, joined us for a late afternoon halfer. As I had said earlier, Joel was not too sure if “Utah” could handle the ocean and that is why they opted for the half day. We set it up to meet at 2 PM and fish during the cooler, late afternoon period. As we idled out of the Marina we discussed the afternoon plans. Simply put, bait first, then we would do the wrecks and sweat them up a bit, then try some live baits later before the sunset.
Our first stop for bait was not very productive and only about a half dozen Hardtails were in the well. I headed for bait spot #2 and they were only a bit more agreeable. We finally managed another 12 or so Runners. That’s enough for the limited amount of fishing time we had. As I ran The BEAST offshore it was plain to see that “Utah” was going to have no problems with the glass-like conditions.
We arrived at the Grunt & Sweat wreck and, as usual, it took a few drifts to get my line and awaken the participants around the structure. We dropped one live bait and worked the speed jigs as well. Bada Bing, Bada Boom! Over and over again Joel and “Utah” got hammered. Joel was doing great with the speed jig and hooking up the Almaco’s while poor Utah was having rods shoved at him, by Joel and Devon on every drift. Joel wanted to see that his bud had a good time.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/6-26-2009-01.jpg
After the first Amberjack, “Utah” vowed that he was going to join a gym when he got home. Too funny! We finally pulled the plug on the wreck fishing when the tally reached 4 Almaco’s, 4 AJ’s in the 28-35 pound range, and a nice little football sized Blackfin.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/6-26-2009-02.jpg
We moved in to try the rest of the live bait on the “edge“. Nothing much was happening in that arena as we killed the last 30 minutes. About that time, to pull up and head home, when the down rod goes off. Nice fish… but what is it? It makes a good run like a Kingfish or even a Wahoo. Here come the head shakes telegraphing through the rod tip. A Caribbean Spotted Mackerel was our guess. No doubt!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/6-26-2009-03.jpg
Joel and Brian were happy and they released most of their catch. We ended the day on that note and headed west into the dark skies. They even made light of the fact that the rain appeared to be waiting for us at the Marina. Almost… we managed to squiggle in under a light drizzle.
The last trip out was a morning trip with Ed Robbins and his son Solon. They keep their 34’ sportfish down at the end of our pier. Ed said his son often saw the fish we catch and has always wanted to go out on The BEAST. So we met up at 7 AM and set out. The seas were mill pond calm, once again.
I bypassed bait spot #1 because of the poor showing the past several times, in its stead, heading straight to #2. Large schools of Hardtails were working the surface and in no time we had enough bait and were making our run offshore.
This morning we decided to work the live baits, first thing, before the sun got high. Once again the surface feeders were not going to come play with us. We missed a shot or two on the down rod and then connected up. Yep, once again it was a Barracuda. Dang! These critters seem to find me whether live baiting or trolling. Solon didn’t seem to mind, not one bit!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/6-28-200-01.jpg
We worked the waters a bit longer and once again the down rod gets bent over and Solon is doing his thing. This time it is a 10# Kingfish. Devon and I tried our best to get him to smile but he is a very quiet, shy type guy
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/6-28-2009-02.jpg
We headed off for the wreck to give Ed, and young Solon, a workout! Live bait down, speed jigs flying, and non stop action. The first taker was a nice Almaco Jack on Ed’s speed jig!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/6-28-2009-03.jpg
The speed jigs kept working their magic! Ed pulled up a 20# Kingfish that was trying its best to stay away from a hungry Barracuda that wanted it for brunch. A couple of large Boneheads (Bonito) joined the party. Devon would pass the speed rods off to Solon but he was having a bit of trouble with the spinning reels, preferring the conventional rods. I’m dialed in on the drift now. The next several passes, we lost several Amberjacks to the wreck. Then Ed hooked up on a live bait. The tussle was on! About 15 minutes later, with Ed sweating profusely, Devon flopped the 45 pounder on the deck. A job well done! Broken lines and a 45 pounder… these fish were bigger than usual. Next drift and the hardtail gets nervous, very nervous! Kaboom! The rod doubles over as if it were hung in the wreck. Solon gets the nod!. This young man was putting all of his 12 year old, 100# body into this fish. Solon came to life and he said more during that fight than he had all morning. This battle lasted for almost 30 minutes when I saw color. That’s a nugget! Devon and I prepared as the AJ blows her air and flounders to the surface. DONKEY KONG! Devon hoisted this fish aboard and we weighed and readied her for a photo. A few quick shutter snaps, a quick venting, and a good release! Donkey Kong tipped the scale at 60#’s, well over half the weight of young Solon! Great job, my man!
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All 4 of us are buzzing about Solon’s catch when I remembered we had a large 3 pound Blue Runner in the well that we caught on a small speed jig, earlier. With a smile, I told Devon to, “Let her rip!” He pinned this large bait to the 10/0 circle hook and fired it down. We drifted back… 100’ to the wreck… 50’… we’re on it… going past… 25’… BAM! The rod gets bunched up and the tip almost touches water! We all looked at each other as Solon grabs the rod again. 10 seconds later and the fish is gone. When the bait comes aboard it is still alive but roughed up from the gills back. A bigger AJ or a Goliath? Who knows! Another drift and nothing doing. The winds had clocked around from the west as thunder boomers built up over land. Several more drifts and this amusement park is closed. We had gone way over time, in our excitement, so we packed it up and headed for the barn. We tied up The BEAST in time for the skies to open up! This drenching lasted throughout the fish cleaning. Ed said that it was really nice to fish with us and not have to clean and unload the boat. He said he might sell his boat and fish with us from now on! Sounds good to me!
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: 81
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 10:57 am: | |
We had trips Friday and Saturday on Father‘s Day weekend. Friday was with our good customer Jon (frequent flyer) and Saturday was with the Muniz group. Both days were extremely hot and the seas were flat.
On Friday Jon and his friend met up with Devon and I, at 6 AM, since he had an early flight home to Atlanta that evening. Jon had orders from his boss (wife) to bring home fish since they had a Father’s Day gathering on Sunday. He wanted Dolphin or Tuna. OK! Hopefully the fish got the memo.
We left the slip and made our way straight to the Ballyhoo patches. We pulled them up in less than 5 minutes but when I say they were finicky, that is an understatement. We collected as many as we could, along with some speedos, without spending the whole morning working for bait. I took a heading for the edge and we set up shop! Not a breath of wind blowing, and the ambient temperature was already uncomfortable. I made my way about the area and absolutely nothing was stirring on this flat sea. I made a choice to run out and look for something interesting to fish. I saw some scattered weeds and dropped some trolling lines. After some long miles and out to 1200’ we found a few Sooty’s working. I closed the gap and got in front of them. BAM! Dolphin on! Jon worked the chubby schoolie to the boat and it was respectable enough to put in the fish box. A single? What’s up with that? We got back on the remaining 2 birds and down goes another rod! Once again we have a schoolie with no followers. Hmmmm! I made a few more passes and realized the birds were working small baitfish under the weeds and not the school sized stragglers hanging around. One more pass and the down rod goes off. Wahoo? Big Dolphin? Nope! Another schoolie takes to the surface and once again he was alone. Good grief, this is some slow fishing. We worked the birds for a while and finally gave up on them. Suddenly I hear Jon ask his friend, “What are you doing?“ He is taking his underwear off! As he cleans up and pulls his shorts on commando style, he tells Jon, “Never trust a fart!“ HE HAD A SHART (fart with leakage)! We laughed until our sides hurt and tears flowed!
With the morning gone and only 3 school Dolphin and a shart, we decided that maybe some Mutton Snapper would oblige us. As we were pulling lines, the down rod trips and we have a small fish on. What the heck? A 3 pound Barracuda comes to the surface and we know for sure now, that we are heading in for some bottom fishing, for sure! I pushed down the throttles and the wind gave us a bit of relief, cooling us down for a few minutes. I pulled the reins on the 600 ponies as we reached out spot. Little current, about 1/4 knot, and things are not looking much better here. We made a few drops and managed to jig up an Almaco Jack which we released. Several more drifts and we get another Caribbean Spotted Mackerel (Cuda) but a much larger specimen this time. We worked the area hard and at last, we got to see pink, as a decent Mutton comes to the top.
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I pulled the plug on the bottom dropping as time was running out. Devon set up the lines to live bait the edge for the remaining time. Devon was working a speed jig, as usual, and I heard the “grunt” as he hands off the rod to Jon. As we see color we realize it is a Blackfin Tuna. Not big, but not a football either, more like a rugby ball. That was the topper for the day as we ran out of time.
As The BEAST headed home we told Jon that coming on a mission for certain species (groceries) usually leads to a slow day and too much Guinness on an empty stomach can also lead to a ventral faux pas. This is a common fact!
Saturday Will Muniz, his wife Heather, her brother Austin and their friend Dustin joined us at the dock at 7 AM and we headed out. They are all Redfish and back country fisherman from Ft. Myers and wanted to try out some offshore fishing. Miami and The BEAST were their choice. We asked them what they would like to do and they told us they had no preference. Good, we’ll put you on fish! Our first stop for some Hardtails was uneventful so we went to spot #2. Ahhhh, much better, as we filled the starboard live well in short order. I turned the power up and headed for some Ballyhoo to round out the port well. Nothing happening at 2 different spots. We couldn’t raise a single one! OK! We’ll play the hand that is dealt to us and go with what we got, plenty of Runners and a half dozen crabs. Our first stop was to see if we could catch a Permit. The seas were calm but a good wind ripple was present and the water clarity was not good at all. We only gave this a fleeting attempt and bagged out for the Grunt & Sweat wreck. I knew these guys would appreciate a big Amberjack. We arrived to find almost no current again as the day before. Oh Boy! We need a magician! After a few drifts and no takers, not even a bite on a speed jig, we contemplated hunting Dolphin. Trouble was there were 2 tournaments going on and everyone out there was hunting Dolphin. One more shot! We headed for a deeper wreck, hoping to find more current. We arrive to find just that and a good drift! OK. Let ’em rip!
We dropped one live bait down and Devon taught Dustin and Will his method for speed jigging. I’ve got to hand it to them, they picked it up quickly. The first takers turned out to be back to back Boneheads (Bonito) but the very large kind. We had hoped they were Blackfins but not quite. We caught 4 in a row with the last fish getting bit in half by a Cuda that followed it right to the boat. We gave him the rest of his meal.
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The next takers were a troop of Almaco Jack on the jigs and the live bait. The Amberjack woke up from all the commotion and finally joined in. Will felt the power of these fish as he hooked one up on the speed jig.
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Heather was hooked up too! I’m not sure who had who the fish or Heather! She is a gamer though. She never gave up, never passed the rod off, and worked her fish to the surface with steady resolve. Kinda! The fish had to put some doubt in her a half dozen times.
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The speed jigs kept ripping and the live bait kept getting eaten, time after time. Will was on a break and Devon was working the jig and bada boom a solid hook as he passes it off to Dustin. The depth of the bite and the give and take of this circular fight, let us know it was another tuna type. Was this another big Bonito? NOT! We finally see color and it’s a Blackie and headed for the cold steel. Whoot there it is! Austin is on the boards with a good 18# Blackfin Tuna.
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A few more drifts and the live bait gets the nod. Austin takes this one after only a short rest. It’s a Donkey for sure! I thought we were going to lose Austin over the side as the fish took his chest to the gunnel several times. Like his sister, he was a gamer with plenty of fight in his slight frame. It took some time but he brought that wreck donkey to the surface and it’s a whopping 50 pounder, almost half of Austin’s weight. That was fun to watch. Yes, the fish is hanging from our T-top rigging… Austin only wishes he could one hand press that much.
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We packed it up at the wreck and headed offshore to look for some Dolphin. We relearned the lesson, don’t leave fish to find fish! After some long, hot, time spent searching and only finding a micro-Cuda, we headed back in to try some Muttons. Nothing happening there, the current was stagnant. I called that attempt a swing and a miss and had Devon pack it up for the run back to the deep wreck as time is slowly closing out on us.
Arriving at the deep wreck we see the only conditions that had changed there was the wind direction. Good current! We went after them again. This time they were not quite as cooperative but we still managed to catch them. Dustin, who was never at a loss for words, announces that he has a lock on the Almaco’s. He sure caught his fair share of them.
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I had Devon pull the lines as the fat lady starts humming and we made one last ditch effort to try for a Permit again. The water was no better that afternoon than it was in the morning so we gave it up and pointed the bow west toward the barn.
I must say that Devon and I cracked on Dustin a lot throughout the day. He was just too easy, if you know what I mean. A great sport, with a great sense of humor, and about 12 or so, Heinekin! I think we all had a good time. We stayed busy most of the day with a total of 4 Bonito, 6-8 Amberjack (30-50#’s) 8-10 Almaco’s (Dustin‘s forte‘), an 18# Blackfin (sashimi), and a micro-Cuda (not worthy). I’ll bet a dollar to a doughnut there were some tired people in Ft. Myers on Fathers Day!
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: 80
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 15, 2009 - 10:10 pm: | |
Sunday afternoon, our normal fun crew decided to go on a little excursion to try and cash in on some of the good edibles being caught. We were looking for Dolphin and Blackfin Tuna. Amy and Devon (my daughter & son-in-law/mate), Missy (my daughter), Uncle Al (Devon’s uncle/my friend), and myself, all met at the slip at 1:00 PM. Our plan was to do some grocery fishing and then when the sun set, head over and scout out the Cubera’s to see if they were ready yet.
We took our leisurely time loading up and at 1:30 we turned the snarling BEAST out. We made our way to bait stop #1 and loaded up on Hardtails. I reset the throttles once again to cruise and the snarling turned into a purr as The BEAST set into a smooth gallop towards bait stop #2. We arrived and dropped the chum bag and the Speedos, Ballyhoo, and host of others found the slick in short order. The B’hoo were not so easy with the sun directly overhead but we managed to get 2 dozen or so along with some Speedos. With the wells teaming with fresh bait we made our way offshore. I pulled up just off the edge contemplating a start there, for Blackfin. We set out the riggers and I noticed a prominent color break not too far offshore. I powered up and in a minute reached the color line. WOW! It was so distinct it looked like a segment out of Offshore Handbook 101. We set up shop and it didn’t take long.
First up were some “schoolie” Dolphin with the nod going to a rigged squid as it was being put out for the center rigger. That was quick, but a bit too small, though! Well, if we can’t eyeball the fish and need to make sure by measuring it, we consider it too small. Devon and Uncle Al were working some speed jigs during the interim and I hear the telltale, “Ugh“ sound from Devon. Devon works his fish to the boat and, yes sir, it’s a nice 12# Blackie.
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Then my Penn electric downrigger takes a crap for the umpteenth time. Not to be deterred, we put a weighted line down. The action was on again with “schoolie” Dolphin! Suddenly, I noticed the down rod start to bend over and I jumped on it. The big guy scores a 20# cow.
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We continued on, hanging tight to this area. The action was slow enough to allow conversation and laughs, yet fast enough to curtail the offshore boredom that can occur. Uncle Al, Devon, and Amy each jigged up a Blackfin in the football size. Sashimi or seared… they were destined for soy and wasabi on the table.
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The time is passing into late afternoon and the sun is trying to make the horizon. The Dolphin kept sweeping through in waves and a Hardtail on the down rod gets toasted by a big Caribbean Spotted Mackerel (Cuda). Missy was our designated Dolphin catcher.
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Out of Bally’s now, we decided to start the Cubera hunt. I pushed the levers down and made the cruise to our favorites spots. Still a bit early when we arrived so we made a short run to a Mutton spot. Nothing much was happening. Uncle Al put down this lime green/chartreuse monstrosity with a Dolphin belly strip on it, that we named the “green hand grenade“. We ribbed him about that rig, on his beat up old spinning rod, for a drift or two. Third drift and you hear Al muttering “Uh, uh, c’mon… FISH ON!” We laughed until our sides were splitting and imagined a big Black Grouper coming up on the green hand grenade. Not quite, it turns out to be a 20# wreck donkey. I couldn’t resist jumping in the picture and holding up the “bomb”! Al released the Amberjack.
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Getting dark now, we set up, for the Big Snapper’s. The current was strong through the area and the drifts were quick. The darker it got the more the sonar is lighting up. Got to be Cuberas but they aren’t biting anything. Matter of fact, nothing is biting at all, except 2 or 3 more Cuda cut offs. As the night progresses it appears the conditions are just not right and possibly a bit too early. Enough is enough, and we pulled the plug on the trip and pointed The BEAST toward the barn. I guess we’ll have to wait a few more weeks until the fish want to play.
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 10
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 2:33 pm: | |
South Florida’s rainy season has finally taken hold and brought us some much needed heavy rain that our lawns and shrubs have needed for months. These rains spark some excellent fishing in North Biscayne Bay and Flamingo. As the freshwater enters the canal systems the salinity dams are opened to keep the canal levels from over flowing and this freshwater as it makes its way to the saltwater side of the dam becomes a feeding station for snook, sharks, snapper, redfish, barracudas, jacks, ladyfish and tarpon. Tiny baitfish and crawfish are flushed through the dams and then become stunned by the saltwater making them easy pretty for the predators. Once the freshwater has flowed into the bay for sometime the predators are pushed out over the grass flats where the brackish water is more to their liking and these fish will stay in these areas and continue to feed for most of the summer. In Flamingo in Everglades National Park the freshwater triggers the snook, redfish, goliath groupers and other predators to flee the extreme waters of the backcountry and that puts them in Whitewater and Oyster Bays where they are easier to target. It also pushes these fish into Florida Bay and the river mouths and creeks again making them easier targets. All of this freshwater set the tone for the whole summer and by far the summer is my most favorite time to fish Flamingo. Last year and years in the past my clients have enjoyed double digit catches of snook and redfish on a single day’s charter fishing Florida Bay and Whitewater and Oyster Bays.
During the summer months I suggest booking half day charters in North Biscayne Bay. I like starting if possible at 7 AM and finishing a charter to 11 AM taking advantage of the time span when the fish are more active and then also fishing from 4 in the afternoon to 8 in the early evening. Another good charter especially if the winds are down which they are a lot in the summer is a charter from 6 to 10 in the evening for some hot catch and release tarpon and snook action. Offshore fishing in Miami can be great as long as the winds stay light for kingfish, dolphins, bonitos and an occasional sailfish. When fishing Flamingo in the summer I still like the 8 hr. charters because Flamingo has so many spots to fish it allows you to be somewhere throughout the day where fish are still in a feeding mood. I also run a charter that requires traveling as much as 40 miles from the Marina to rockpiles and wrecks where permit, cobia, mackerel, large jacks and goliath groupers are available. I charge an extra $50 for this charter to cover the extra fuel but this trip can be quite exciting.
Summer is a great time to take the kids out fishing and the late afternoon or evening charter in North Biscayne Bay is a good charter for the kids.
Regardless of the charter your interested don’t let the summer rains scare you off from having a fishing trip of a lifetime!
Recent Catches:
Today I am fishing Gerald and Paul and we start in North Biscayne Bay. A large school of Spanish sardines has been providing me with plenty of quality baitfish for my recent charters but today they are nowhere to be found. We head over to Haulover Inlet and I spot a lone pelican diving and yes there is bait there. We Sabiki rig enough for a few hours of offshore fishing and head out to 100 feet of water. The first bait in the water gets eaten by a 25 pound sailfish and Gerald makes quick work of the sailfish that was caught on a Daiwa Tierra 3500 reel loaded with a 14 pound Berkley braid and a Key Largo rod. A quick couple of pictures and we release the sail unharmed. Back to fishing and a half dozen missed strikes and a storm forces us to head for cover. We hide for a few minutes under the Haulover Cut Bridge and then quickly catch a few more baits and then try our luck at some snook fishing. Before we head in the guys had release three snook and Paul caught a nice 32 inch 10 pounder that was kept for dinner. Paul’s fish was caught on a live free lined pilchard hooked to a #1 Mustad long shank hook.
Today I am in Flamingo with Carole Neidig and her father Walter. Walter had read a lot about Whitewater Bay but had never fished it before so that is where we would concentrate our efforts today. Casting ¼ ounce Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp shrimp and Pogy’s Carole and her dad caught and released one nice redfish, six snook, two goliath groupers that had to be carefully worked out from under the mangroves, loads of snappers, jacks, ladyfish and barracudas plus at least a dozen sea trout of which six big ones were kept for dinner. Walt lost a nice redfish plus a sight casted goliath grouper and Carole pointed out a Bald eagle sitting on a tree top.
Back in Flamingo today with Mark and his 8 year old son Will. Today we are going to fish Florida Bay! We head to a baitfish flat and quickly catch a bunch of pinfish and ballyhoo and then head for our first spot. Unfortunately another fisherman has beaten us to the spot so we head to spot two. Here we use my Power Pole Anchor to hold us off an island point as we cast live baits on a Hook Up lures, live baits under a Cajun Thunder and Gulp baits on a Hook Up lure. The Cajun Thunders get a few hits but no hook ups when Will gets a big bite and is quick into a monster 10 pound redfish. The tide is running hard and the large red just won’t come to the Stow Master net. I can touch the leader but I can’t get the fish in the Stow Master. Each time I think we have him he runs off again. Will keeps working the fish but you just can’t catch every fish you hook and this one gets away. A touched leader is a legitimate catch so Will has part of a slam under his belt. Mark misses a couple of small snook and we are off to spot three. This is a nice grass flat and there is lots of pinfish and small ballyhoo on this flat. Will is getting a hit on almost every cast using a Cajun Thunder with a live ballyhoo. Mark is casting the Hook Up lure and constantly getting hit. Before we leave this spot we have caught a dozen sea trout with most being in the three pound class plus a Spanish mackerel, lots of snappers and a few catfish and had a giant shark check us out. The next spot is Lake Ingram where Mark catches another nice trout and Will hooks up to a 40 pound tarpon that ate a live pinfish under a Cajun Thunder. The tarpon jumps at least 4 times and makes some great runs and Will is doing a great job on the fish. Will really needs this tarpon because it is the hardest of the Grand Slam fish. The tarpon makes another head shaking jump and the leader parts and the fish is gone. We settle down and get back to fishing and quickly loose a snook and a mystery fish and catch a few catfish before heading to our last spot. Will has fallen asleep but Mark continues to cast the Hook Up lure and Gulp shrimp and catches a few snappers in this spot. We spooked two large snook but no hits so we head back to the ramp. On the way in we have a bunch of bottle nosed dolphins playing in front of the boat.
Well that’s how this past week went and you can clearly see the possibilities that South Florida has to offer fishermen during the summer.
Well that catches us up for now!
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
786-436-2064
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
786 436 2064
shermana@bellsouth.net
www.getemsportfishing.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 79
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 01, 2009 - 8:53 pm: | |
This past weekend was something to remember. Ed booked Thursday for Julio Sr. (76) and himself while they awaited the arrival of Julio Jr., Rich, and David, arriving Friday night from New York. They had Saturday and Sunday booked for all of them. Ed had recently been in a very bad auto accident and despite the doctors orders, came to fish, anyway
Ed and Julio Sr.(Papi), were anxious and arrived at the dock before we did on. We loaded the boat, secured all gear, and cast off the lines. We struck out on Hardtails so we proceeded to the bait patch for some Ballyhoo. Arriving to find another boat with a chum line already going, we went to another patch. We struggled there, until we finally got them up close enough to net, then motored offshore. The weather was beautiful, with 2’ seas, and a distinct blue/green edge right on the drop off. This should be a good day!
We no sooner got our baits out and we get bit on the left rigger by a nice cow Dolphin. The smaller bull, struck the long flat line. Ed was on the cow and as Devon was handing the rod to “Papi”, the bull charged under the boat finding the prop edge. The line cut and the arrogant bull spent the next 3-4 minutes jumping around the boat with the leader dangling from his lips as if he were laughing at us. Ed, with a full leg cast from mid thigh to his ankle, did a good job and landed his nice 28# fish.
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Devon reset our spread. Not much later and we had another cow Dolphin invade the spread and “Papi” is hooked up. He did his thing like the seasoned veteran he is. The fish came up to the boat lit up. Several more minutes passed and we boated the nice 20# cow.
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I worked the boat deeper toward the “Grunt & Sweat” wreck and we once again got bit by a pair of chubby school Dolphin. The guys managed to catch 1 of the 2. While working this area Devon dropped a speed jig and put the guys on a couple of AJ’s. “Papi’s” fish weighed in at 25 pounds and Ed’s was a nice 42 pounder.
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We continued to work hard in this area and scored another chubster Dolphin and a large Bonito. The downrigger missed several small Kingfish and then it fired off. Ed brought a 15# Caribbean Spotted Mackerel (Barracuda) to boatside for a release. Since we were running low on bait we decided to see if we could hunt up some Permit. Conditions were not good and the fish were not cooperating. I decided to try trolling some small baits for the remainder of the day. The day finished on a high note with a pair of Blackfin Tuna, 10# and 6# respectively.
I turned The BEAST toward home. Since we were fishing again on Saturday and Sunday, I stopped to try for some Hardtails. They were very cooperative this time and in short order we had about 20 in the live well which we penned up for Saturday.
Saturday started off with nice skies. To the west was a hint of what was to come. Ed, and “Papi” arrived with Julio Jr. (Jules), Rich and David, in tow. Jules and Rich were beaming with this chance to enjoy the weekend, fishing with their old man, and vice versa with “Papi”. We loaded everyone aboard, and secured their essentials in the dry storage. We untied The BEAST and we’re off, as we discussed the game plan for the day. WE picked up a few more Hardtails on the way out and then blasted for the Bally patch. The clouds began building as we made our bait for the day.
I arrived on the color change, not nearly as prominent and farther out. Devon set out our spread. The time ticked away slowly and the fishing equally slow. Fishing the surface was tedious and we were blanking out. The approaching frontal system had the fish in lock jaw mode. I decided to do the wrecks and see if the Jacks would play with us. Well, the skies began getting angry as they approached us. To make things worse, having already done a quick repair job on a spinning reel earlier, our 2 bottom rods stripped the gears in the reels and the drag blew up on one of the speed jig reels. What the H? Devon broke out the bent butt planer rod and also rigged the remaining speed jig rod for bottom fishing. What luck? We did catch smaller 25-30 pound class Amberjack one after another until the squall line got too close. We pulled lines and made a run for a weather window in the radar. OOPS! It closed up quickly and the rains and strong winds came. We slowed and began trolling in the rain with the bow to the wind. Monitoring the radar I found an area to slip through and out of the squalls. The weather tamed down and we once again went back to the wreck. Nothing happening! It had shut down! OK! Let’s go try this obscure wreck I have, and see if they want to play. Yes they did! We caught and lost fish and ground tackle until we only had a dozen big baits left. With overcast skies, Devon tried to talk the guys into doing some more surface live baiting, for the Sails, Dolphin, Tuna, etc. They opted to continue battling the AJ’s.
I lost count of the fish for the day but the guys were happy. With only 3 Hardtails left in the well, we headed for home but opted to NOT fish for tomorrows bait in this crappy weather.
Sunday’s forecast was for better weather. We agreed to leave an hour early and the guys showed up a half hour late. Jules was about to cancel the trip and opt for Plan B as we looked in the horizon to see another weather line stretching up our way from the Keys. The wind had picked up dramatically, preceding the line. The others persuaded him to give it a go. The morning sun should burn off the clouds and if the forecast was correct, we’d have good weather offshore. It was and we did!
We hit the bait patch and the ‘hoo were at the boat before the chum bag went out. We spent about 20 minutes collecting some Speedo’s and then I tossed the Calusa net twice and we had a bunch of baits.
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Offshore the water was blue and the seas had calmed. As Devon was setting out the 3rd line, it got picked up. He flipped the bail and it was FISH ON! Rich grabs the rod and a cow Dolphin catches some air! Several minutes pass by and the fish feels the steel and we have 20#’s of Mahi in the fish box.
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The sun breaks through the haze, and the grins are ear from ear, now. I’m hanging in this area and the downrigger gets the nod. Dave works a “snake” Kingfish to the boat. Funny… the big Dude catches the small fish! We missed several more bites on the down rod.
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Ed (Gimpy) was telling Devon that it would top off his trip if he could catch a Sailfish. The words were only seconds from his lips when Devon sees a Sailfish come up on the 20’ flat line. GAME ON! Gimpy “rod hogs” everyone out of the way. 5, then 10 minutes pass, about a half dozen aerial maneuvers, and this fish is nowhere near ready. 15, then 20 minutes pass, several more acrobatic displays, and some fancy boat maneuvering. 25, then 30 minutes and a 2 more futile attempts to get free, and we have him boatside for the tag & photos. This fish was the strongest and most energetic fish we’ve had this season. Devon lowers the fish into the water and with the utmost respect we tow the fish boatside for over 5 minutes until this warrior is fully revived and kicking his tail to go.
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Devon resets the lines and in 5 minutes we have another Sail up on the rigger line. FISH ON! Wait! There’s one on the flat line too. DOUBLE!! Jules takes the rigger line and Rich is on the flat line but tries, in vain, to get “Papi” to take it. In the interim he allows too much slack and, poof, like magic it is gone. Gotta stay tight on ’em boys! Down to one and this one gives up the fight in about 10 minutes. WOW! Look how beat up this Sail is. He has fought some battles before. His Sail is split in 2 places and they aren‘t fresh.
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As the afternoon progresses, the seas get flat and the sun is bright. The fishing slows down and Devon gets going on the speed jig. A few casts and as he works it up, I hear the normal grunting sounds from Devon, as the speed jig hooks up…Uhhhh! He hands the rod to “Papi” and he works hard on the fish. At 76 years old, his determination outdid his stamina and we put the lip stick in a nice 21 # Gag grouper. As the shutters snap, “Papi” wears a proud face for his boys!
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A little while later and I hear Devon grunt again. Good one! Rich works the rod and remarks that this is as tough as the AJ’s. Devon and I are guessing big Bonito and hoping Blackfin! As we see color the gold hue is evident and “whoop, there it is”, we have a Blackie! 20#’s of Sashimi hit’s the deck.
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A pair of large Cuda, 27# and 20#, end the day and this weekend excursion comes to a close. I point the bow towards the west and head for home. The guys sat up front, discussing the weekend. Plenty of jokes and razzing went on and the guys could dish it out and take it as well. I must say, other than that crazy accent, they’re a good bunch of guys with a great sense of humor. It was like fishing with friends.
Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 78
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 18, 2009 - 11:02 pm: | |
This past Thursday, Friday and Saturday the weathermen said we were in for a big blow. I had repeat customers flying in from New York so I filled the fuel tanks on The BEAST so she would sit heavy and stable in the rough waters they had forecasted. We had booked, the Harbor Club again this year, for 3 days. Harbor #1 Charlie, #3 Yalkin and #7 Frank are regulars but this time, with plenty of forewarning, they brought along #6 Wally. Oh Lord, it didn’t take long to see why 1, 3, & 7 warned us! Let me make this short… Have you ever heard Andrew “Dice” Clay?
We met Thursday and the forecast was for 4-6’ seas. We took off and while we were catching some Hardtails, the 3 days of chiding, laughter, and antagonism, had begun. We loaded up one live well with Blue Runners and then powered up to cruise to a bait patch to collect some hoo’s. We arrived on a patch we had wanted to try and the hoo’s came up so thick we didn’t have to use the hook and line. A few throws of the net and the second live well was full.
I made the short jaunt out to the edge and the seas were lumpy. An occasional ground set of 5 footers but mostly a solid 3 foot chop. The winds were brisk out of the East. Devon set out a good spread and we began the day. The first fish came on the down rod and it was a nice 10# Blackfin. We reset and shortly thereafter we were covered up in schoolie Dolphin. We boated 3 out of 4 of these chubby lifters. The long rigger raised a Sailfish that was only window shopping. We missed several bites on the down rod for some reason and caught a small Barracuda. Then things slowed down. I took the guys to the “Grunt & Sweat” wreck, to let them wrestle a few AJ’s during the lull. The first drop was a triple header. 7 Amberjacks later and the guys were spent.
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I saw a Sailfish flopper and minutes later it was surfing the waves off the bow. We pitched a bait in front of the Sailfish but he ignored it. After several attempts to entice it to feed, the Sail sounded into the depths. This prompted us to end the “time filler” fishing and get back in the game. A Sailfish rises to the left rigger and it is game on for Charlie. One jump and the Sail is free. Devon hurriedly reset the lines, a brief minute or 2 passes, and we have another Sailfish on. Wally jumps on the rod and loses the fish on the second jump! WOW! The cloud that hung over his head was incredible, as was the joking and laughing by his group. As the day closed, I saw a school of Tuna passing in the wave face. Devon heaved a small speed jig and got and strike but no hook up.
As we made our way home the laughter was flying from gunnel to gunnel. Frank, said it was the banana he ate for breakfast. We told him that we really didn’t believe in that superstitious stuff.
Day 2 and the Harbor Club arrives as usual, at 8:30. Oh My God, the day is starting off with a bang. As I am explaining to Yalkin, that it was going to be sporty because the conditions were going to be rougher than the previous day. I turned my eyes back toward the bow to see the Wally, Frank and Charlie, standing there eating bananas. OK guys… let’s test that superstition!
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Well the bait was easy and the seas were rough. They were easily 6-7’ with recurring ground swells. I took my time getting across the rough, sloppy “edge”. I told Devon to set ’em up! A lone Frigate bird approaches the boat as Devon casts out the first bait. In a New York second, he feels the pick up. FISH ON! Frank, takes the rod, flips the bail and we are off to the races. This is a good fish! About 15 minutes later we see it is a nice Blackie. Yes sir. Devon wields a good gaff shot and Frank has a nice 30# Blackfin in the box.
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We put out the baits and this time we manage to get all 4 surface lines going when a rigger sounds off. Yalkin takes his turn and this fish is a hoss. Time goes by before we see color. This is the big brother to the previous tuna. The fish feels the steel and Yalkin is on the boards with a very respectable 34# Blackfin.
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I stayed in the area for a while but the school had moved on, so I worked deeper in search of some Dorado. We get teased by 2 micro schoolies that just tore up our baits. Just as we get readjusted, the flat line goes down and Frank once again gets the nod. Then the rigger goes down and Wally is at bat. Frank’s fish breaks the water and it’s a nice Cow. That must mean that Wally has the Bull. Yes he does! We landed both and we have a 20# Cow and a 30# Bull joining our Tuna in the fish box.
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During the afternoon, we raised 5 Sailfish and hooked up 2. Charlie’s Sailfish came on the down rod. He fought his fish to the boat for the tag. The release came only a few seconds later when the leader broke. Shortly afterwards, Frank hooked up and he completed his catch for the tag, photo op, and release.
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That pretty much summed up Day 2 with only one question remaining. How did Frank get so many turns on the rod? We laughed the whole day. There is never a lack of humor or conversation, with this crew!
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Day 3, Saturday, and the weather is breezy but the seas laid down a foot or two. The Harbor Club arrives at the crack of 8:30 and start the day off by eating bananas. We did the same bait scenario and are off to the blue water. On all 3 days of fishing the water was clean and blue just off the edge.
First fish of the day came on the down rod and Wally brings up a 4’ Silky shark. We worked the area a bit more and made our way out to the Dolphin zone. 15 minutes in the area and a pair of schoolies come to visit. The fight was short and the fish were boxed. We continued on our hunt. Charlie wants a nice Dolphin to top off his trip, after catching a Sailfish the day before. As if on cue, the rigger goes down and we are on a good fish. Charlie takes the rod and it breaks the surface revealing itself. We think we have another one on when we realize the Dolphin is caught up in the other rigger. I told Devon to cut the line. As Charlie works the fish closer we see that we have cut the wrong line. Holy Crap! The line is tangled and knotted on Charlie’s hook! The fish is on the line we cut! OK. We pulled the hook up, grab the other line and quickly tie it to Charlie’s leader. Thankfully the fish was tired and posed little fight during this process. Charlie cranked the fish in and Devon struck her with the gaff. Charlie has his respectable 22# Cow!
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I worked in towards the edge and then back out, time after time. The down rod goes off and Yalkin is working for several long minutes when we see color. What the heck is it? We are in 140’ and had the bait down to 70’. Yalkin just caught a 10# Mutton Snapper.
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The down rod gets the nod again. This time it is a very strong fish and Wally is up. Several minutes later we’re still in a major battle. Finally, we see color! It’s a 37 pound “Donkey”. Give me a break. Wally is totally spent from fighting the fish and his nerves. Too funny!
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The day continued on as we caught an 8# Skipjack, and the down rod found 3 Kingfish.
I throttled up The BEAST and headed for the barn. The Harbor Club had 3 good days of fishing and trust me when I tell you, there was never a dull moment while fishing with this crew!
I have to finish by saying thank you, to World Cat, for building such a capable, stable, fishing machine. That 3 day trip could’ve been miserable, instead, it will go down in the books as one of our most memorable.
Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
http://www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 77
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 10:11 pm: | |
On our last 2 trips we saw relatively calm seas, light winds, and warm ambient air temperatures. So far we haven’t been subject to those nasty afternoon thunder boomers but I’m sure it is only a matter of time.
Our trip with Homestead local, Brian Morris, included his business associate and son, Dan and Denver. We met up at the dock at the usual time and cast off our lines. This day we decided to forego the usual bait stop and take our chances with a few Hardtails we had caught on the way out.
I immediately made my way offshore and into the deeper blue water to search for some Dolphin. We found some scattered weeds and Devon dropped our spread and we began to “do work”! We worked the area for a short time as we headed for deeper water. Bonk, Bam, Zing! Lines were ripped out of the riggers and flats! Green and yellow flashes let us know we had found our mark. We were hit by some decent sized school fish. This scenario played out a time or two again and we boxed 6 Dolphin in total. As things settled down and we lost track of the fish, we spotted birds working on the horizon. I made the turn and in a few minutes we were on them. Looks like Skippies to me. We had a long shotgun line out and I made a few wide turns. To my surprise the short flat line takes a hit. Dan worked the fish to the boat and judging by the fight it was definitely a tuna. Yes sir! A nice football Blackfin greets us. Devon snatches it out of the sea and quickly preps it, to preserve the flesh, then dispatches it the ice. We continued to worked the birds for a while and never got another bite. Those Skipjacks can be frustrating, to say the least!
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We packed it in and I took a cruise heading for the wreck. Dan and Denver are from Minnesota. Once again we had someone aboard who was discussing walleye and salmon. OK boys, get a load of these back breakers. We worked the wrecks and gave each one of them a shot at some AJ’s to 40 pounds or so. Done deal. The guys tapped out in the second round!
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I had Devon pull lines and we made our way toward the Permit hole. Permit are not quite the bruisers that our local Amberjack are, but they do take a place on the tough fish list. We worked the area and conditions were not helping us. As the fat lady was warming up her vocals to end the day, we managed to get young Denver hooked up and he boated a 15 pounder.
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Brad Essick has fished with us several times over the years, and he was here in Miami on a business/busman’s holiday. He decided he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go fishing with us again. He came alone. We met at the dock at 7 and we asked him what fish or type of fishing was his preference. He said, “It doesn’t matter, just keep me busy!“ I made way for an area to catch some Blue Runners and we managed to quickly catch a half dozen or so. Off we go!
Considering the Dolphin bite of yesterday, I decided to head out into the general vicinity of our previous catches. Holy Cow! What a difference a day makes. That area was void of life. No birds, no weeds, no debris, nothing! After the boredom set in on us, I hollered to pull lines and let’s get this guy on some fish. We ran in from our position in the inky blue depths and as we approached the 500’ line we found birds working Skipjacks. Once again I made the wide turns and to my surprise the 2 flats and a rigger get popped. Dolphin! They must’ve been working the fringes of that school of Skipjacks. Brad managed to catch and boat them all. We stayed on the birds and pitched small speed jigs at them and Brad caught 2 Skippies on this 15# spinning setup. A short while later we attracted too much attention and boats began running up into the school, splitting them and sending ‘em down. The schools would pop up a good distance away and it began to get tedious. I left them to the other boats. I put The BEAST on plane and made our way to the AJ’s.
Now you’re going to get busy Brad. Each drift produced a fish and Brad didn’t cry uncle, not once, not even close. He backed his words with a smile on his face. 10 fish later, he had caught them with live bait on heavier bottom tackle as well as speed jigs on 30# spinning tackle. We vent/released all of these wreck donkeys to fight another day!
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He wanted more, so I suggested a try at some Permit also. A smile and a nod and we were off. As we approached the Permit spot, it was as congested as a public boat ramp on Memorial Day. There was a sportfish there and a spotter in his Tuna tower telling his anglers where the fish were. Other boats crowded him to within inches, as if they had no idea how to catch these fish without his direction. That might just be the case. A very short while after we arrived, the big boat pulled out of the area. A few short minutes later and all the other boats were gone too. There were only 2 of us left there! COOL! We worked the fish and Brad went 3 for 4 with the largest fish being 18 pounds. We released the 3 Permits also, to continue the rituals that had brought them there.
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With a half hour or so left, we pulled out from these fish and tried to top off the day with a Sailfish. We put out the last of our live baits. Nothing came of that and I pointed The BEAST for the barn. On the ride in, Devon and I couldn’t believe that Brad had caught 3 Dolphin, 2 Skipjacks, 3 Permit, and last but surely not least, 10 Amberjack, all by himself. He was a fishing animal, a glutton for punishment! However, Brad did confide in us, that his muscles would be feeling it in the morning!
Speaking of muscles! You guys have just enough time to hit the gym and tone up for Cubera Snapper season. That time is fast approaching again and several days have already been reserved.
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: 76
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 07, 2009 - 11:05 am: | |
We finally got a break in the weather as the winds laid back this past weekend. Saturday we met “Walleye Mike“, of Nassau Vision Lenses, who is a Florida transplant from Minnesota. He brought along his friends, Mary and Manny. “Walleye Mike” and crew were all newbie’s to offshore fishing and we wanted to make their day!
We unleashed The BEAST at 7AM and made our way towards the Bay. I throttled up the twin 300 Suzukis and made a quick cruise to the bait patches. Conditions looked good even though we had almost a week of 25-30 knot winds out of the east. The water was clear and clean and the seas were light to moderate. We set out the chum and the bait was slow in coming. When the ballyhoo finally arrived, they were finicky, beyond belief, swimming up to the baited hooks and turning their nose up to it. Now isn’t this a peach? The crew managed to catch about 15 or so and I was about to pull the plug on the deal when a few ‘hoo’s got stupid, passing within the limits of a long toss of the net. I loaded up the 10’ Calusa and heaved it at the passing baits. The timing was right, the net opened perfectly, and I caught a few more as they made a dash to elude the net. Now we had enough bait, considering this is the time of year where we do several types of fishing in a day.
We made the short run to the blue water and set out our spread of live bait. Conditions offshore were beautiful with clean, blue water, all the way into the edge. “Walleye Mike“ had been telling us about his BIG Salmon and how hard it fought. I told him that his Salmon doesn’t hold a candle to our offshore fish. Now, with that being said, I have to make him a believer! Minute after minute rolls by and we have absolutely no action. Not today, guys! Precious time is ticking away. I gave Devon the nod to pull the lines so we could get Mike, Mary, and Manny, the Triple M crew, on some fish.
I took a heading for some Permit. We arrived in the area and immediately marked fish on the sounder but they didn’t want our offerings. Devon and I worked hard but it wasn’t to be. What in the world is going on? I backed out of that area and made a short run to another prime spot for some Amberjack. I have to get these guys on some fish. We dropped a live ’hoo and Devon and I worked 2 speed jigs. Bam, Boom, Bam, we have a triple going! This scenario played out several more times. Mary and Manny were spent! “Walleye Mike” learned quickly, how to use the speed jig and he finessed his fish to the boat as if he was catching those, bad to the bone (ha-ha), walleye. I suggested we try for some Dolphin and Wahoo as it appeared they had enough of these bruisers. We boated 3 fish, and vented/released that many or more. I think “Walleye Mike” has a newfound respect for the fight of our AJ’s and that BIG Salmon of yesteryear, now takes a back seat!
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I pointed the boat offshore and we began a trolling search. Devon had 5 lines up and 2 down as we made our way out to 500+ feet. The water color and clarity was perfect, but there was little in the way of weeds, debris, birds, flying fish, etc. The further out we went the less we saw. It was a liquid desert! I made the turn and headed for the “edge” and our Mutton spot. It’s getting to that time of year for them and they should be hot and heavy. We arrived, pulled our gear, and immediately made a drop. Nothing! We set up several more drifts and all we could muster was a couple of cut offs. Those dreaded “Caribbean Spotted Mackerel” had taken the area. This has been one tough day and the time was gone.
The fat lady was singing and I didn’t want to end the day like this. On this note, I made the run back, for one last ditch attempt to catch a Permit. We arrived and once again, I marked fish. Devon was perched on the bow and could see them deep below, but not in great numbers. After several attempts, I told “Walleye” to keep feeding line because the drift was fast. He would know if he got a bite. Our offshore fish don’t nibble! About 30 seconds later, “Walleye” says he feels the bite and I instructed him to close the bail and come tight on the fish! Game on, boys and girls! “Walleye Mike” hooked this fish well away from any obstruction and once again, worked the rod gingerly. Good thing! After about 10 minutes we got this “garbage can lid” to the boat. To quote Devon, “That’s a nugget!” WOW! Nice fish! “Walleye Mike” just boated a 32 pound Permit and the hook was almost straightened out, looking like a comma. Now THAT is the way to end the day.
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Way over time, I pointed The BEAST for the barn. The Triple M crew, Mike, Mary, and Manny seemed very satisfied with the day and definitely happy with our determination to make it so! Sometimes you have to go that extra mile. Right?
NOTE: Please abide all manatee idle zones! For those who complain about, or don’t obey the law of MANATEE IDLE ZONES in your area! This is why these laws exist! Honestly, isn’t this what it’s really all about folks?!?
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Capt. Jim
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 9
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 23, 2009 - 1:18 pm: | |
April is quickly passing us by and the Spring fishing will be past soon as well! If you haven’t had a chance to experience some of the fine fishing that we have had recently don’t worry because there is still plenty of time before the heat of the summer is on us.
Weather conditions change often in the month of April and this has happened at least once a week recently. With each temperature change and rain storm our fishing has changed as well.
Fishing in North Biscayne Bay has been pretty good recently with enough variety to keep the anglers happy. Lots of sea trout have been available on many of the grass flats and as of now wwwfishreports.net our biggest has been a 4 pounder caught on a live Spanish sardine fished under a Cajun Thunder. Most of our catches have been made on Cajun Thunders and live shrimp or baitfish but Hook Up lures tipped with a Trigger X shrimp or Gulp soft plastics have worked as well. The Rapala Twichin Raps, Skitter Walks and X Raps are seeing plenty of action as well. Many limit catches have been made on many of our charters but most of the fish have been released to spawn and create new populations of sea trout. Large jack crevalles have been roaming the bay and on almost every charter we have hooked and released or just lost at least one large jack and many small ones. Spanish mackerel and small kingfish have been scattered throughout the bay and a few bluefish have made it to our baits as well. Snook have been available and some big ones have given us a thrill but not made it to the boat. I haven’t seen any tarpon recently but that doesn’t mean that the next cast won’t produce one. Lots of barracudas and a few snappers have also been caught on many of our trips in the bay.
Offshore fishing has been good but everyday has been different with the many weather changes we are experiencing each week. Spanish mackerel, kingfish, bluefish, bonitos and dolphins plus some sailfish have thrilled my clients recently.
Fishing in Flamingo has been good but not great due to high winds from the south to northeast. These winds have muddied up the water and then add the sudden drop in temperatures and the fish have been hard to find but feeding when you do find them. The good thing is that warmer conditions and recent rains will keep the fish moving out of the way back waters and put them into areas that produced great catches of snook, redfish, tarpon, sea trout and many other species. This area will be good for many months once we get out of April.
Freshwater fishing has been outstanding with low low water conditions almost every freshwater canal or lake has had loads of bass and panfish competing for the same food. These conditions can mean hook ups or strikes on almost every cast.
Recent Catches:
Gene H and his daughter Ashley and boyfriend Rajeev teamed up to catch snook, trout, snapper, mackerel and bluefish while fishing Biscayne Bay for four hours.
Mel T and wife Mickey scored on two out of three snook and jacks and then went offshore and released bonitos and kingfish and hooked up on a double header of sailfish but both fish were lost on the light tackle we were using.
The Asher family caught loads of sea trout to three pounds plus barracudas, jacks and mackerel in Biscayne Bay .
The Gomez family took home a bunch of sea trout and a mackerel caught in Biscayne Bay during a four hour charter. The family released a bunch of small kingfish, jacks and barracudas.
Evan, Lilia, Vivian and 5 year old Ariel had there hands full catching lots of sea trout in Biscayne Bay .
The Weinstein family caught loads of sea trout to four pounds plus mackerel, jacks and barracudas fishing Biscayne Bay for four hours.
Ralph M., Terry L and I fished up in Ft. Pierce and caught and released snook, trout and jacks in the Indian River and then went offshore and had a field day on Spanish mackerel and bluefish.
Eddie L fished Biscayne Bay and offshore and caught jacks, barracudas and snappers inshore and then offshore lots of Spanish mackerel and bonitos.
Check out my new web site and see your monthly catches and pictures.
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.
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 |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 75
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 9:34 am: | |
We met Norm and Logan at the dock for a ¾ day trip. Norm’s mission was to give 9 year old Logan, a S. Florida fishing experience. Devon and I got their gear secured and we cast off the lines. I powered up The BEAST and we made our way out to the bait patches.
On the way, we made an attempt for some Blue Runners which was fruitless. We arrived on the patch and set out a chum slick. The Ballyhoo were slow in coming but they finally showed. Once again, we had a difficult time getting them to feed on our baits and they wouldn’t get in close enough to toss the net on. We pecked away at them until we had a dozen or so. Since we had planned on doing various types of fishing that day, I called it a wrap and we headed offshore.
The seas were solid 3 footers and the water was a nasty blue color. We set out our normal spread and sat back waiting for the story to unfold. The first bite came on the down rod and the hooks pulled. The same scenario with the second bite. Devon worked a small speed jig, got a hooked up, and handed the rod to Logan. Logan worked a small Bonito to the boat. A while later the flying fish began showering inshore of us, and were coming our way. A lone Frigate bird was on the deck just 50 yards from our baits when the short flat line popped off. Drop back… and hooked up. Norm was on the rod this time and after a few minutes a “snooter” came to the surface. We managed to get another jump out of the fish and the hook came loose. Bummer! We reset and had another bite on the down line. This time Logan managed to bring in a healthy Silky Shark. They wanted a picture so Devon grabbed the Silky and brought him aboard. Before we could get in position for the photo the shark twisted his way out of Devon’s hands and was gone. Anyone who has ever tried to handle a shark knows exactly how strong, even the smallest of them, can be. This is why we normally don’t bring any sharks aboard. We had one more bite on the down rod that had the drag screaming, but once again, the hooks pulled during the fight. Hmmm.
I asked Devon to pull the lines as we arrived at a wreck. One drift and I could see the fish on the sonar screen. Second drift and Devon sees the fish well below the surface and presents a bait to them. “He’s eating! He’s on!” Devon yells as he passes the rod to Logan. Logan works the fish, with some help from Dad, and after about 5 minutes we get a beautiful 20# Permit in the boat.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-13-2009-01.jpg
We made several more drifts but the fish stayed too deep to get a bait to them, effectively. Logan remarked that he wanted a Dolphin, so we packed up the rods and headed offshore.
If I tell you that there were a gazillion flying fish, everywhere we looked that day, it’s no exaggeration. We managed to troll up a small Dolphin and Logan was on the boards with a Mahi-Mahi.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-13-2009-02.jpg
We continued on our Dorado hunt. I spotted a half dozen “Black Backs” (Sooty Terns) working the water. I bumped up the throttles and made my way over there and we quickly hooked up another Dorado. This scenario played out several times with 2 Frigate birds joining in and we ended up with 3 Dolphin in the 10# range.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-13-2009-03.jpg
Time has run over and Norm decided to extend the trip to a full day so we could try some bottom fishing on a wreck. Not a problem! I throttled up and we made our way through the now 4-5’ seas to our favorite bottom wreck. When we arrived, Devon was ready to go, bottom rods in place and baited as usual. Sometimes, he amazes me at how he does that in rough conditions while running 22 knots. The current was ripping to the north and a 20 knot wind. We managed a bite on each of several drifts. 2 of the bites were cut off, most likely those dreaded “Caribbean Spotted Mackerel”. Norm caught a nice Amberjack and Logan pulled up a decent Almaco.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-13-2009-04.jpg
We never got a snapper bite because we just couldn’t hold bottom under these conditions. As the day drew to a close we made our way back to the barn. Although we didn’t have a banner day of catches, under the conditions presented to us, we did 4 fishing techniques and hooked/caught 6 or 7 different species. I believe we gave Norm and Logan the experience they were looking for.
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: 74
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 12, 2009 - 10:05 pm: | |
This report is going to be short and sweet! We decided to have a family day. My 2 son-in-laws, Devon and Charlie, my daughter, Amy, Devon’s uncle Al, and I went out for a day of just pulling on the rods.
We decided to do the wreck thing with a bit of trolling thrown in for good measure. We hit the first wreck mainly for Permit but Devon couldn’t leave the speed jig alone and hooked up to an AJ, first thing. Frankly I don’t have a clue why these fish are given such a bad rap because they are true bruisers on any rod, especially a jig rod. They just lack the glitz and glamour of the other more sought after species, but they are ultimate back breakers. The first stop of the day yielded, 3 for 7 on Permit (23, 18, and 15 pounds) which are no slouches themselves, and 3 AJ’s (47,43 and 28 pounds). We gave up there when the 6th boat moved in and then some guys came into the middle of us, dropped some dive balls onto the wreck and began diving. The fish turned off immediately from all the commotion.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-11-2009-01.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-11-2009-02.jpg
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-11-2009-04.jpg
The next stop we made was at a wreck for some bottom fish and we scored 2 Mutton Snapper, 1 Barracuda, and 1 Almaco Jack (10#’s). After a short while of this we decided to troll for a while in search of some Dolphin. The Dolphin didn’t come out to play but we did get a small Blackfin Tuna and a nice Wahoo of 23 pounds.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-11-2009-05.jpg
Since we were fishing this trip for the fun of it, I took the opportunity to video some of the action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eankQllCH_U
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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: 73
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 09, 2009 - 9:45 am: | |
We met Scott and Skylar Smith, a father and son team, at the dock on our last trip out. We went through the normal introductions and shoved off. Skylar is a member of our armed forces in the US Navy, stationed on the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan. As a proud veteran myself, I wanted to show him an extra special day if possible.
I throttled up The BEAST and made our way out to our local bait patch. Uh oh! The current was slowly running out and the winds had The BEAST laying 90 degrees to the current. The Bally’s wouldn’t come up! This is not the start I was looking for. After 15 minutes we pulled the lines and motored to another patch. This spot had almost the same conditions but the boat was more inline with the chum line and the ‘Hoos rose to the occasion. Once again we had a wrench in our spokes when they decided to be extremely wary, hanging way back, and not wanting to eat the baits we offered them. I hate when this happens! Slowly we picked off one, then another, until we had just short of a dozen. Devon was working on the Pig Grunts for baits to drop on the wrecks. I was becoming anxious as we were wasting valuable fishing time, but time is useless without good baits. Finally the Ballyhoo got stupid and made a mistake. They got too close to the boat and I loaded the Calusa Cast net and fired out a long toss which opened nicely. The net throw saved our butts as I got enough baits to make the day. We shoved off from that spot and made the short 2 mile run to the edge.
Devon put out the normal spread and we began our hunt for fish. The seas were nice at 2-3‘ and the water was a stained blue color. We worked the edge for a while but nothing much was happening. We missed one bite on the down rod when “Die Hard” called me on the radio. He reported to me that the bite was extremely slow and he had only boated one Sailfish and a couple Dolphin, first thing that morning. He hadn’t had any action since. Great! It’s hard to show someone a good time if the fish won’t cooperate. I stuck it out for about an hour and 45 minutes and then suggested we work some wrecks. Skylar and Scott were all for that! Being from Missouri, the largest fish they had caught was a 40 pound Flathead Catfish, so Devon and I figured we could probably top that.
I powered up the 600 ponies on the stern and headed for one of our favorite wrecks. First drop was a Pig Grunt and Devon worked a speed jig. While working the speed jig he was teaching Scott and Skylar the technique and then gave them each a jig rod. They quickly got the hang of it, which I must say is unusual. Scott felt the crushing strike of a fish as it inhaled his jig and put a severe bend in his rod. He passed it off to Skylar who was working the fish to the boat when the leader cut. Hmmm, must’ve been a ‘Cuda! During that fight Devon was working one of our small jigs on a 15# rod, in the mid depths. Bam! Fish on and Scott took the rod. 15 minutes later and we still don’t see any color. We’re now at the 30 minute mark and we have color. NICE! A 36 pound Amberjack on 15# gear. Scott remarked about the power of saltwater fish in comparison to their freshwater counterparts of equal size.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-4-2009-01.jpg
We continued to work the wreck with successive drifts. The current and winds were bucking each other and the drifts were very slow and precise. We managed at least one hook up on each of the drifts and several doubles as well. Not one of the live baits drew a bite. We lost 2 more fish to the wreck and caught a couple of small Almaco Jacks.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-4-2009-02.jpg
At this point Skylar’s luck at feeling the actual strike on the jig, had not happened. Speed jigging can wear you out quick! Skylar made another drop and as he worked the jig upwards, he finally got to experience the smashing strike. He fought this fish on the 40# jigging rod and the fish battled him every inch of the way. There’s color! The big AJ gives up and blows his air. Devon hoisted the fish aboard and Skylar was on the boards with a 47 pounder.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-4-2009-03.jpg
Alright guys, let’s give something else a try since we have some time left. We pulled lines and motored to another area. Marking the fish on the sonar, I told Devon to get ready. As we drifted the area we tossed 2 baits over. Nothing. One more drift and nothing! Then, as often happens, the fish seem to rise becoming more aggressive and BAM, we are hooked up. PERMIT ON! Skylar and Scott fought fish until we ran out of bait losing 6 fish to the wreck. Scott did manage to get a big one to the boat but it made one more run and pulled the hook. These fish are so powerful. Stopping them from going wherever they want is a tough job for the angler. OK, we’re into overtime, extra innings, and no live bait left. I asked Devon to try one more shot with an imitation that I have been wanting to try for a while now. Usually these fish won’t even take a dead natural bait, but what the heck. My guess is, you’ll never know unless you try. Right? We got into position and BADA BING, we have a hook up! Skylar worked the fish and we got him to the boat. Devon put the net under this 8 pounder and we have the catch. Although a smaller cousin to the previously hooked fish, we ultimately ended the day with a catch!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-4-2009-04.jpg
The last I heard from Mike aka “Die Hard”, he had caught a couple more Dolphin but never saw anything else. Scott and Skylar were extremely happy with us making the move to wreck fish instead. They were extremely impressed with the power of these wreck “donkeys” and equally astounded by the power of a Permit. I guess the “freshies” that they fish for in Missouri, will have to grow some shoulders to impress them now!
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: 72
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 03, 2009 - 7:10 am: | |
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 turned out to be an April Fool’s day, for sure. No one played a joke on us but circumstances of the day turned out to be anything but normal.
I began the day by getting up late. I hustled to load my bait, gear, and ice, into the truck so I could get my hind parts to the marina on time. Devon and I arrived at the same time and we were finished readying the boat as the crew arrived. Jon, Chuck, and Eddy stowed their gear and we pulled lines. Jon is a regular on The BEAST who loves catching those Sailfish, but it turns out he was on a meat hunt this time. The “weathermen” called for 15-20 knot winds out of the SE with seas of 3-5 feet.
We made the run offshore to our latest bait spot and never had to back off of cruise speed. No big seas yet! We set out a block of good double grind chum and the bait, although slow in coming, finally came up thick! Trouble was they were finicky eaters, so I broke out another flavor of bait and they began eating readily. The 3 guys began pulling in the primo hooker baits and the well was filling nicely. The bait never got into cast net range and this was no surprise. That’s the way this day seems to be headed. Of course, by the end of the season, even the dumbest fish swimming can figure out that the “big white thing” in the water is not their friend. We got enough bait for the day and made the very short run to the edge.
Arriving on the edge we found the blue water was more of a dingy green for a good distance out but the seas were only 2-3‘ with occasional 3 set ground swells of 4 feet. We set out our 4 top lines and sent another one down. We decided to fish north of our usual area to try for the food fish. Our morning was following suit. The fishing was sort of slow and the bites that we did get were robbing the baits but not getting hooked up. I figured the bite to turn on around noon. 11:30 AM and we had a Tuna boil 3 times on a bait and the 4th time he pulled it from the rigger and left an empty hook. 30 minutes later the down rod makes a run and we are finally hooked up. As the fish is being worked by Jon we see the colors of a Dolphin. Sure enough! The fish gets closer and we can see it is a nice cow of about 15 pounds. Devon collects her up and puts her into the fish box.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-1-2009-01.jpg
Time is passing and we decide to work the wreck to give Chuck and Eddy a shot on the rods. We arrive at the wreck and fire down 2 speed jigs. In short order one of the jigs is inhaled and the battle is on. Chuck is fighting a nice sized “Wreck Donkey” Don’t get me wrong, I use that term affectionately on these Amberjack because they are stubborn as an ass when trying to get them to the boat and Devon and I enjoy eating them, either fresh in the fryer or smoked. Devon grabs the 35 pound AJ and flips him into the boat.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-1-2009-02.jpg
Second drop and one of the jigs gets eaten again, but Eddy gets schooled as the fish takes everything. Third drop and this time we sent down a 14” Yellowtail for one of those real Donkeys with shoulders. In seconds, the Yellowtail attracts the attention of the previous fishes bigger brother. Eddy is knuckles down on the gunwale with a big fish. After and few more back breaking minutes we put a shoulder harness on Eddy and he has a bit easier time controlling the rod. Finally the fish comes aboard and it is a fine specimen of 50 pounds. We boxed that fish too.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-1-2009-03.jpg
General consensus was that they had enough on AJ’s in just 2 fish, so we went looking for some Africans or Permit. We had brought some prime baits just in case. Arriving at the next spot, I marked the fish on the sonar and we sent down the bait. Devon was standing on the bow and yelled back that he spotted them below. Nothing doing! On each successive attempt, the fish were marking lower and lower in the water column. Jon made the call to leave it and suggested trying to troll up some Dollies, Blackfin, or Wahoo. We switched up and left the area in search of Dolphin.
A nice spread of baits, as fresh as you can get, and we’re heading out into bluer waters. We sent one down for Wahoo as well. I went out deeper, zigged and zagged, sped up and slowed down, fished open water, weeds, and debris. Nothing was happening. Jon now tells me that he had to get in a bit early to meet up with a friend in Davie. That changed things quickly. I made the decision to go back in and work the edge for the remaining half hour. Once again I zigged and zagged from 120’-200’ and with 10 minutes of time left the 50W down rod starts screaming. Everyone gets excited with the thought of a nice Wahoo, big Blackfin, or smoker Kingfish! The line begins rising and suddenly a “snooter” pokes his head out of the water. This is the first time I ever heard Devon say “Crap! It’s a Sailfish!” Chuck is on the rod and the fish is playing tough, staying deep, then once again makes an attempt to get air and shake the hook. This time we see the size of this fish and our excitement rises to a feverish pitch. Chuck worked the fish to the boat, Devon grabs the leader positioning the fish for me to tag, all without incident . Oh my God! That fish is a PIG. Devon asks if they want a picture and the unanimous vote was… Heck yeah! Devon strains to pull the fish aboard carefully as possible as Chuck slides into frame for the photo op. A few quick seconds pass as the shutters click and Devon lowers the fish back into the water. The huge fish was ready to go, pulling free of Devon’s hands to swim away. I conservatively guestimated that fish at every bit of 80+ pounds. A real SLOB!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/4-1-2009-04.jpg
We didn’t get much for Jon’s meat list but the day finished of with a bang! The big bite of the day, surprisingly, turned out to be a Sailfish playing an April Fool’s Day joke on us. Or did he?
Capt Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 7
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 02, 2009 - 12:05 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 |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
New member
Username: Beast_charters
Post Number: 71
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 6:09 pm: | |
This past weekend we did 3 trips. 2 of our trips were children 13 and under. The seas were favorable for good fishing (3-4’) but the not for all people involved.
Day 1 we met Shawn and Matt at the dock, loaded everyone aboard, and unleashed The BEAST. We made our way across the Bay and out to the south bait patches. The bait took its time showing up and were finicky to say the least. We struggled but finally managed to catch enough for the day, although an hour later than usual. These bait fish are getting wary of the big white thing in the water because of the daily fishing they get during the season. I powered up and made the short run to the “edge”. As I pulled back on the throttles, Devon began setting out our usual spread.
The Kingfish were on fire for the first 30 minutes. We missed a few bites on the downrigger but then caught 3 decent fish in the 10# range. Things went stale for a while and we couldn’t even buy a bite on any of the jigs. Then suddenly we see a green/yellow flash by the short flat line and a nice young Bull Dolphin eats the bait. Matt jumped on the rod and after a few jumps and what seemed to be a prolonged broadside fight, Matt led the Bull to the steel and we boxed the fish.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/3-14-2009-1.jpg
Devon reset the baits and we spent the next hour searching with no results. “Lines in! Let‘s go do some bottom fishing.” The currents were slow and inline with the winds so I could jog the boat in place and as if on a sky hook, remain almost stationary. This allowed the baits to stay in the strike zone much longer. The first strike was an African Pompano complete with 3 feet of trailers on all it dorsal rays. What a beauty! The second drift attempt resulted in a small Barracuda. We made several more drifts and the next bite was a double. About halfway up, one rod got very heavy and then very light. You guessed it. We boated a nice Mutton Snapper and a nice Mutton Snapper head! OK! Time to move on!
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/3-14-2009-2.jpg
As the clock wound down we worked the edge trying to collect a Sailfish for our duo. The remainder of the day was uneventful and as the old saying goes, “What will be, will be.” On the way in I ran to some of the other bait patches to check on available bait to see if we could expedite the bait catching process for the next trips.
Day 2 was a trip I scheduled with my neighbor, Phillip Delgado, who was taking his son Noah on a trip for his 9th birthday. Along with them were Phillip’s daughter Megan (12), and Noah’s “bestest” buddy, Connor (9)! I was taken aback by the fact that Noah, when asked what he wanted to do for his birthday, told his Dad that he wanted to fish with Jim.
We shoved off and headed out for bait, as usual. This time we went to one of the other areas that we had scouted out the day before. The bait came up good and though the tides and wind were bucking each other, the kids managed to catch plenty of “primo” hooker bait for the day. I tossed my Calusa net and pulled up a couple dozen “netters” to round off the live wells. I fired up the Zukes and we made our way to the edge.
In the first 5-10 minutes of fishing, a Sailfish rose to the short flat line and Noah was hooked up to his first Sailfish ever. He fought it like a seasoned veteran and after about 10 minutes of fight and aeiral acrobatics, we had the fish boatside for the tag, photo op, and release. At 9 years and 1 day, Noah completed his first Sailfish, catch and release. Good job, little buddy!
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As we jogged around in the 3-4’ seas, Connor began feeling it and laid down on the bean bag. Megan and Noah caught several Kingfish before Megan began to feel the effects of the oceans motion.
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Now we’ve lost 2 of our anglers and they’ve both lost their breakfast. While both Megan and Connor are laid out in the bean bags, Noah is steadily watching the down rigger rod. He knew that this rod gets most of the action and wouldn’t move more than 2’ from it. Whoop, there it is! Noah was on it in a flash and this fish was a bit stronger than the Kingfish he had wrestled up to this point. As the fight finally reaches the point of seeing color we are not sure whether he has a Cobia or a Shark. A few more cranks and we see the fish is a small shark. Noah has no care at this point because he is all into this fishing thing.
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After a while Noah lets me know he would like to try for and African or a Mutton, so, off we go to give it a shot. Arriving on our favorite bottom location, I am disappointed to find a strong current with the winds blowing the same direction, affecting the drift even more so. The first drift or 2 were uneventful, not even a bump. We made another and I tried to power into the current a bit, but it twisted the boat’s drift out of shape, and I abandoned that idea. We made a few more drifts trying valiantly to keep the 32oz weights on or at least near the bottom, and our only return was a small Barracuda. We gave up on the bottom fishing
The time is running short so we put out a quick spread for the last 20-30 minutes and the baits immediately get covered up with chubby Dolphin. We had 3 hooked up and Megan, Noah and Phillip (Dad) on the rods. Megan lost her fish at the boat and Noah’s fish flipped off the jig as I tried to lift it over the rail. Sorry, Buddy! Dad’s fish was the only one that made it into the fish box.
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I guess a picture does say a 1000 words. Even the ones that were sick had smiles on their face. Hmmm… Was it because of the fish we caught or the fact that we were headed for dry land? I know that Noah would still be fishing if we were out there. This is one kid that, in the future, will be writing his own fishing reports. He is ate up with fishing, just like the crew of The BEAST.
Day 3 was a half day trip with Will and Will Jr. We turned out The BEAST and ran a faster cruise across the Bay for the bait patch. We knew we didn’t need so many baits for a half day, and that was a good thing. Arriving at the bait patch we found the bait to be staying well clear of us. Long casts and some little tricks were necessary to boat enough baits. Twice they came up close enough to get a net on and I did. Off to the blue water!
As we worked around the area we noticed quickly that the down rod was noticeably silent. This is our “go to” action getter, just not today or at least, not yet! We did have a school of heavier, lifter Dolphin come in and we picked off a pair of them.
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Finally the down rod sounds off! Little Will climbs on the rod and manages to wrangle a nice Kingfish to the boat. Devon and I are still shaking our heads about the lack of noise this rod produced on that day.
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Time is getting short, unfortunately, so we made our way to a spot that is always good for a bite of some sort. As I arrived, my sonar lights up like a Christmas tree and we make a few passes around these fish. The down rod gets the nod and it is a good run and then it falls silent to pulled hooks. We reset and make a few more passes before cutting our losses and calling it a day. Devon starts working a speed jig through the blips on the sonar screen. BAM! FISH ON! Big Will takes the rod and the fish is off to the races. 2 strong runs and Devon and I are believing we are into an Amberjack. A few minutes later and it appears to have gotten hung up in structure. No, wait! The GPS is showing that we are moving, not stationary. Work him, put the power to the fish! A few short power pumps and the fish is once again moving upwards toward the boat but Will is still in a fight. As color begins to show, it appears to be a moderately sized Jack. No, wait! Devon and I lean over the rail and he yells out “African!” “That is a garbage can lid, if I‘ve ever seen one!” I yelled back. We collect ourselves and go into boating mode and promptly deck the fish. Will has just caught a beautiful 30# African Pompano specimen.
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Wow! We pulled the rabbit out of the hat on that one. Although this half day trip had a low fish catch by numbers, we were abuzz about the quality. I pointed The BEAST for the barn, and on the trip home there was a constant chatter about this catch. Pretty work, guys!
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: 70
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 13, 2009 - 3:22 am: | |
We spent a few days fishing with Steffen and Silmara from Munich, Germany. This was there third trip to fish with us and we always seem to have a good time and catch some nice fish.
The husband and wife duo met us at the dock along with brisk ENE winds. We unleashed The BEAST for day 1. As we headed out through the channel toward the bay we reminisced about the past 2 trips. I powered up and made way for the bait patches.
We arrived after our brisk run and set out the chum to begin the bait catching process. The bait was ravenous. I’ve never seen them act like a pack of Jack Crevalle. All we had to do was move the bait about 18 inches and a half dozen would charge to eat it. Needless to say we had our bait quickly and made our way offshore. As we arrived on the “edge” we were greeted with 2-4’ seas and some bigger. This is not a problem for The BEAST or this seasoned couple. We set out our normal spread.
The waters were a bit dirty and more green than blue. In minutes we began getting bit on the down rod. The only problem with this is that they are “snake” kingfish that seem to expertly miss both hooks in the bait. We suffered through those misses and connected with a nice 12 pound Kingfish, and then another. We boxed these fish and the next player was a nice little chubby Dolphin(fish) on the top line. We worked the area over pretty good and caught 2 Barracuda and another 12 pound Kingfish. The radio was buzzing about some Dolphin coming down the edge and we managed to get a double on these chubby “schoolies”.
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The bite slowed down considerably and we debated on doing some bottom fishing but since Steffen wanted to catch his first Atlantic Sailfish, we decided to keep at it since we were also fishing the next day. We had a strong bite on the down rod again and when Steffen worked the fish to the boat we were pleasantly greeted by a nice 20# Kingfish.
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With the day winding down and a limit of Kingfish we decided to pull the downrigger and work the top baits only. Of course we are almost always working a speed jig. Steffen is working a small 1 oz jig on 12# spinning gear and connects with a small Bonito. As the day is drawing to an end he hooks up something big on the light speed jig gear. About 10 minutes later we see this very large ‘Cuda surface. That was an awesome catch considering the light tackle, 40# mono leader and the teeth on that fish.
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We called it a day and headed for the barn. There is always tomorrow and Steffen asks if we are available to extend another day as well. Sure!
Day 2 was a little bit calmer as the Husband wife team show up at the dock. They told us that they took 2 dolphin filets to the restaurant cook and had them cooked for their dinner. They prepared them 3 different ways and both agreed that they were delicious. With the morning pleasantries out of the way we headed out speaking of yet another beautiful promising day. Devon remarked that we very seldom go 2 days without a Sailfish. I told him to bite his tongue.
The bait patch was somewhat tougher that day and we had to work a bit harder to catch the bait. It was perfect when they bunched up real nice and I tossed my 10’ Calusa net over top of them. Now we had a couple dozen baits to top off the hookers in the wells. We pulled the chum and headed out for the blue water.
This second day saw better conditions with clean blue water, ESE winds, and a ripping current! “This looks good!” I told Steffen. Within minutes of putting out our spread we hooked up a nice little “gaffer” Dolphin. This Cow gave us a show with aerial leaps and a good tug for Steffen. We dispatched the fish to the fish box.
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For some reason the down rod was stagnant and we had little action on it, only a few cut off or hacked up baits. Then at 11:45 a Sailfish comes up on the left long. Crap, we missed it! Suddenly another appears on the left short and this one eats heartily and he feels the sting of the hook. Off to the races! Steffen is so excited, you can see it in his reactions to the fighting fish. Devon tries to calm him down a bit and he then expertly works the fish. After a very short fight, we have the fish boatside for his tag and Steffen’s photo op. One snapshot and Devon puts the fish over the side. He is still sort of green so reviving was not an issue. As Devon released his bill he kicked his tail twice and was gone to the depths, sporting his orange TBF tag.
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We continued working the top for another hour and then decide to do some bottom fishing. I arrived at our spot and Devon dropped 2 lines with 2 different baits. Several high speed drifts (ripping north current) over the spot resulted in a 30# Amberjack, a Barracuda, a beautiful African Pompano specimen complete with long fin trailers, and a pair of Mutton Snapper.
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We finished the day working the edge but it was uneventful (I hate daylight savings time 3 weeks early). We cleaned up the Mutton Snapper for Steffen and Silmara to try, for dinner at the restaurant.
Day 3 arrived and we met at the dock. Silmara let us know that she thought our Dolphin was much tastier than the Mutton Snapper. Devon and I agree! We turned The BEAST out for this last day of the Steffen-Silmara sea safari! We made the run to the bait patch and it seemed much shorter for some reason. Upon arrival the seas were calm and the bait was finicky as can be. We could watch them swim up and nudge the bait and then simply swim off. We pecked away at them for some time until we had enough for the day. Ugh!
Arriving on the edge we were less than optimistic. Calm seas, light current, and blue/green water. Oh boy! We worked the water for some time and only caught one small Kingfish which was quickly released. I wanted to change up and try trolling deeper for some of the Dolphin that had been in the area. Being a day before the full moon we put 2 rods down for Wahoo too. Finding a barnacled bucket floating in the water, we made a pass. A small Tripletail, a Filefish, and a school of 3” hardtails, but nothing doing. I made another pass taking the bucket on the other side. Nothing! I ventured another 300 yards and found a large piece of rope covered up with small Bar Jacks. 3 passes on that and we score the big 0! One more pass on the bucket and Nada! Enough already! Pull ’em! we’re headed for some bottom fishing.
Arriving on our spot we made our drops and even this was hard. We managed to dredged up a decent Almaco Jack, a 7# Mutton, and Bonito, for all our efforts.
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As the day is winding down I am trying my best to salvage a hard day as we worked the edge for a while. Once small Cero Mackerel was all we could pull out of the water until quitting time.
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I decided to give it a bit longer (another hour) before throwing in the towel. Lo and behold the right rigger gets 3 big crashes but the fish doesn’t get the bait. Crapola! Wait… another pass? Fish on! A strong fish staying deep and Steffen is put to work. After a good fight the fish starts doing the death circles and we realize we have a Blackfin Tuna coming up. We put the small steel to the fish and prepare him for the fish box.
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Alright, we packed up and headed for home. Man, what a tough day. We needed to be magicians more than fisherman. Devon cleaned the Blackie for their dinner. We discussed their next return trip in November during our lengthy farewell. They are great people, with no unrealistic expectations. Devon and I truly enjoy fishing with this couple, each and every time.
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: 69
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 16, 2009 - 11:48 pm: | |
My last 2 trips this past Thursday and Saturday were a blast. Much better weather was forecasted and the fishing, well, let’s just say it was comfortable!
Early in the week, Trollin’ Tom and I had discussed the possibilities of getting out for some Wahoo fishing following the full moon. Another day of trolling was OK with me since I would be live baiting on Saturday. We picked Thursday since I had other commitments at the boat show on Friday and the seas were supposed to be laying back to 2‘ or less. We met as usual, at the crack of 10 AM and quickly prepped The BEAST. Once again we set out at cruise, omitting the bait catching sessions. As we reached the edge we were greeted with 2-4’ seas. Laid back? Not yet it seems. We slowed to trolling speed and put 2 lines down with naked ballyhoo and then set up 2 lines on the rigger, 1 lure and 1 naked ‘hoo. We also set out a Williamson Live Mackerel and Tom said he either wanted to lose it or take it home crippled.
With the gear out and the speeds set we began searching. An hour after we began the winds laid back dramatically and we were fishing on calm waters. Slicks began to form and we found a good weed line with some heavy mats in the almost 600’ depths. As I passed the first set of mats, one of the deep rods fires off and we are hooked up. The fish is no match for the rod and we quickly get it up to see a nice Weehoo, of about 10 pounds. Then the other line goes off. As we get this fish to the boat, it is the bigger brother to the first, approximately 12-13 pounds. A few minutes later the weed line runs out.
Taking a wide turn we take the time to check all of the baits and de-weed them. Big Mac on the shotgun line got hit and his plastic tail bears the crippling scars of a Wahoo bite. Dang, 2 for 3! We now resume the hunt going upstream in the current. As we get back into the good weeds I notice my rigger bouncing and the rod tip jerking. I looked back and there was a nice gaffer Dolphin jumping out of the water. I grabbed the rod and as I began to reel, the line breaks. We had a major malfunction with the rigger clip and it cost us the fish.
I kept working south from one slick to another as time is passing. Finally I found another good weed line in a slick much farther to the south, but nothing was happening. I changed to a lure/Bally combination on the down rods. As I am about to change course for another location, I spot a pallet in the water. It was tough seeing the pallet because it was so water logged it was actually under the surface with only a small portion of the corner breaking the water, from time to time. I made a pass by this pallet and both down lines fire off. One fish wins his freedom and the other 10# Weehoo comes to the boat. As I stow him in the fish box, Tom hurriedly gets another bait down and it immediately gets hit but once again the hookup wasn’t to be. I jump in the cockpit to help Trollin’ Tom get some fresh baits down. I take a visual on the pallet and a visual on the chart plotter track lines and I even took a quick turn to give me another reference point on the plotter. When we got everything back in the water and the cockpit back in order the winds began to pick up and the slicks disappeared. That’s great! I returned to the area where the pallet was and we couldn’t find it. I made a search grid attempt, considering in drift, and we searched the area for an hour. We never saw the pallet again. I can’t begin to tell you how angry that made me!
We had an uneventful ending to our day and we packed it in. We ended up 3 for 6 on Wahoo bites and lost a nice Dorado too. We tucked our tails and headed home, BUT, we each had some good filets for the dinner table.
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Saturday, was a trip with a local family, the Evans. We had originally planned on the previous Saturday but the seas were too big for our plans, so we backed it off to this past Saturday. This was to be a learning/fun trip. Art has his own boat but wanted to tweak his skills by seeing how we do it. He brought his wife Tammie, along with his 2 sons Kyle and Casey. The original scheduled Saturday would’ve been a lesson in holding on, not fishing. This day the seas were placid as a mill pond. We met at the dock at 7 AM and turned The BEAST out.
Our first attempts at bait only produced 1 Hardtail and 2 Goggle Eyes so we headed out to the bait patches for some Ballyhoo. The waters were extremely calm, no wind, and the chum slick was prominent, but moving slow. We could see the Ballyhoo coming a hundred yards off. When they finally arrived, they kept their distance. We struggled! While we were picking away at them with the hooks, Devon spots a Barracuda stalking and scaring the bait. He takes down a rod, pins on a Bally and fires it our in the vicinity of the sighting. Fish on! Kyle takes the rod and this Cuda puts it on him, complete with some nice aerial moves. Kyle finally subdues the fish and we take a few photos before releasing him. As we took the picture, this Cuda gets the best of Kyle by slapping his tail right across Kyle’s face. Well isn’t that a fine, “Good Morning“!
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The Ballyhoo are finally getting closer to the boat so I tried to toss the Calusa net over them. Twice! Both times I got a zero return. You could see them skitter off before the throw even left my hands. We finally captured enough hookers to fish the day. Everyone out there was struggling with bait in this calm sea without a breath of wind.
We headed out and as soon as we hit the edge we set out our lines. The first bite was on the downrigger and mighty Casey was at bat. It took him a few minutes but he boated a nice little “Snake” Kingfish.
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We missed several other bites throughout the morning with baits coming up slashed or missing. We had a bite on the long flat line and Kyle took this one. As Kyle gets it close to the boat we see it is another Barracuda. C’mon Kyle, we aren’t Cuda fishing, or are we?
The fishing was slow to say the least. The winds began to pick up a little and the waters began to show a tiny wind chop. Getting late in this ¾ day trip we decided to check out some bottom fishing. Man, that was worse yet. We made several drifts in 2 locations and only ended up with mangled baits to show for it. With quitting time drawing near I decided to go a while longer and see if we couldn’t make this a better day. I told Devon to rig up for more Kings and Sailfish, our standard set! As we made our way north in the slow current we instantly started getting bit. It appears the bite had turned on a bit. We hooked up on the downrigger and Casey again brings a “Snake” Kingfish to the boat. A miss or two on the d/rigger and BAM… the d/rigger lights up! This time Kyle is at the rod and this fish almost pulls him over the live well. Kyle works the fish like a trooper as the fish works Kyle like a spoiled dinner! After many minutes we see color and WHAT? A monster Caribbean Spotted Mackerel? No one told me that they were bringing Kyle the Kuda Killer on the boat. This fish whooped his little butt, but in his defense, the fish was bigger and almost outweighed him.
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5 minutes pass and we get a run on the down rod. This time Art (Dad) took the rod. We could tell by the runs that this was a nicer Kingfish this time. Art brings the fish to the boat and Devon puts the steel to this 15 pound fish. As the photo op is completed and they are putting the fish in the box, the short flat line pops off. I know what that is! I grab the rod and feed the fish. Here we go! I flip the bail and start reeling as the line comes tight I hand the rod to Art who has made his way back to the cockpit again. The fish makes a short run again and heads for the sky. Sailfish on! Well, for a minute, maybe. The fish spit the hook on the first jump.
We fished for a little while longer and then wrapped it up for the day. Kyle the Kuda Killer had scored 3 Barracuda, mighty Casey and Dad teamed up for 3 Kingfish, and Art also got one jump out of a Sailfish. Poor Mom (Tammie), only got to catch some sun rays and a boat ride.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/2-14-2009-04.jpg
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: 68
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, February 02, 2009 - 1:45 pm: | |
My friend, Trollin’ Tom and I went out for an afternoon of fishing. He loves to troll for fish and I welcomed a break from live baiting the edge. We always seem to have a good time whether we catch or not. We picked Friday for our trip since it was a pre-frontal condition with winds from the SE at 10 knots and light seas. The front was positioned to pass through the area later that afternoon.
We met at the dock at 10 AM and shoved off shortly thereafter. Not concerned with catching any live bait, I throttled up The BEAST and we made our way offshore. As we passed the edge the water was a dingy blue/green and I decided to start at around 300’. A few scattered weeds in the area and we put out a spread with 2 deep rods for Wahoo and 5 top lines for Dorado. I set my course to the SE and about 30 minutes later we happened upon an obscure line of scattered weeds. The weed line was so faint that we had to get on the upwind side of it to keep the sun at our back and a visual on it. This also kept us from inadvertently passing back and forth through it and fouling our baits. A few more minutes passed and we saw a small flock of Terns working a big bait school around a small patch of weeds. I took the school well off the starboard side and the birds quickly directed their flight over our baits and it was, FISH ON! One of the deep rods sounded off and then the starboard rigger lit up. DOLPHIN! This is what Tom was looking for, his favorite offshore target. The fish on the deep rod came loose and the fish on the rigger rod was a good chubby “Schoolie”. Then the other down rod went off and we had a nice liitle “Gaffer” Cow on. As the Cow breaches the surface the other rigger sounds off and we have the Bull hooked up as well. OK! 2 of us on board and 3 fish going, this is going to be fun. We quickly dispatched the “Schoolie” into the fish box and Tom handed me the rod with the Bull and he took the Cow. I fought this nice little Bull up to the boat and Tom put his rod into “Rodney, the rod holder” and we gaffed my fish and put it in the cooler. Tom picks up his rod and re-enters the fight with the Cow. Suddenly, my fish, in the cooler, busts out and dang near makes it out of the boat as Tom takes a few swats to the back of his thighs. Tom never lost his composure, keeping the flopping fish in the cockpit with swift leg kicks. Finally, the melee’ is over as we put the Bull back in the box and gaff the Cow. We were laughing at ourselves and the situation… I guess you should’ve been there, to really appreciate it!
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After we cleaned up the bloody cockpit, we reset lines and resumed course. The weeds ran out and the birds were gone, so I turned the bow around and tracked back towards the hot spot. As we approached, the birds were once again dipping down on the water. This time we passed by and nothing happened. I made a large circle and came back against the current. As we passed by the birds, once again, they changed course over our baits and a double hook up was the result. This was a matching set of book ends, chubby “Schoolie’s” identical to the first fish of the day. We made short work of these fish and now had 5 nice Mahi in the box.
We worked the area for a while until the weeds scattered and the birds sat resting on the water. No fish… let’s move on! I continued out, setting a limit at the 600’ depths, and still nothing happening. Working our way back in to the earlier productive depths, the winds began turning like a clock. The front is moving in and we are now experiencing westerly winds with some scattered rain. The air was chilling and the seas were resembling a blender, tossed up by the increasing winds and quick change of direction.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the right rigger trips and I am on a fish that ate the small Tuna lure. The fish stayed deep giving me an idea that we might be eating Sashimi or blackened Tuna for dinner. Yes sir! Up comes a nice Blackfin Tuna which is quickly launched over the gunnels, prepped for the cooler and iced down.
The seas were growing wild, we were wet from the previous rains and chilled from the drop in ambient temperature, so we called it a day. Tom and I quickly stowed our gear and headed west toward home. We replayed the day as we cruised the Bay toward the head pin. Normally, this time of year, I want to be fishing the edge with live bait. The Sailfish were on fire, the radio was buzzing, and the boys working the edge were clocking them. That was not our goal on this trip, and it didn’t bother me in the least! Nothing can compare to a good day on the water, with a good friend, and a cooler of good eats!
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: 67
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 26, 2009 - 11:09 pm: | |
Sunday we had a trip with Dan Young and his friends Jeremy, Jim and Rob. They wanted to do a ¾ day trip and expressed the desire to catch a Sailfish as one of their main targets. Since it is getting dark about an hour later these days we discussed doing it as a late morning to dark trip. Doing it that way would improve the chances of catching one during the “witching hour” rather than pulling lines and heading home in the middle of the afternoon. They were all for that idea. Devon and I were also, since it upped our odds of producing a Sailfish and also allowed us to sleep in.
The group met us at the dock at 10:15 and we hustled them aboard and prepared to cast off. The BEAST was growling like a rabid dog, unhappy about the break we had in the streak of successive trips with a Sailfish catch. Devon and I unleashed her and she took us out though the channels well worn path, while we got to know everybody. I have to admit that the one thing that I truly love about charter fishing is meeting people from all over the US and other countries! I throttled up the 600 Suzuki horses and it was all I could do to keep The BEAST in cruise mode. We were intent on a mission of redemption for this trip!
Our first stop was to try and locate some Hardtails! It was not going to happen on this day. We worked the area and found nothing. The water gin clear and we could’ve seen them if they were there and, they weren’t. Oh great, not the start I was hoping for. I powered up again and raised my cruise speed a bit more as we made our way out to the Ballyhoo patch. We arrived on calm seas with light north winds and deployed the chum. The tide was 2 ½ hours from low, yet the chum was barely flowing. This is not good! After about 10 minutes the Ballyhoo began showing up but were hanging back and finicky. I was afraid we might have this trouble with our late start. Couple that with the fact that these poor guys were not quite getting the hang of Ballyhoo fishing. One guy was catching most of them but too slow to suit us. Finally they came in close enough to drop a net and I took a shot since we only had about 12-15 hookers in the live well. My 10’ Calusa opened up and covered the group closest to the boat. Wow! I’m feeling less pressure now. About 10 minutes later and the boys added a few more hookers to the well and I had another shot on the hoo’s, a bit farther out, but I decided to take it. I tossed the net to my limits and it opened in a beautiful pancake. As I began to retrieve the net the silver flashes let us know we would be on our way offshore in a few minutes.
As we headed offshore, I knew that the Mayors Cup Sailfish tournament was still going on and all I could think of was all those kites taking up acres of water and having to jockey for productive positions. The tournaments southern boundary was Careysfort Light which encompasses my favorite fishing area. I was mesmerized to find that the area was almost empty with only the usual 10 or so boats out there. I found out today it was because the BIG bite was up north this weekend.
We quickly set out our spread and began to “Do work”! First up was a nice fat Cero Mack on the down rod. The Down rod was not on fire Sunday but we managed to catch 4 more Kingfish and missed 4 bites also. We released the 2 short “Snakes“, and kept the 2 legals with the largest being only 10 pounds. The fishing was a bit slow which can be attributed to absolutely 0 current in the area. We were obviously the most active boat in the immediate area but the radio was silent and no Sailfish were sighted. This being the case we opted to drop the wreck a few times to see if we could get something to bite down deep even with the lack of current.
We arrived for the bottom drop and I told Devon to do the normal 1 line test drop while I set my drift. No current whatsoever! We were moved slowly out of the zone only by the light breeze. I motored back over to the start point and gave Devon the nod and he dropped the 2 lines. The first drift was uneventful. Pull ‘em up! I adjusted a bit and again gave the nod. We fired down 2 baits and a minute goes by and the back rod gets thumped. As Dan is bringing it up, it gets a major jolt. Something just ate his bite! As we get it up close to the surface, we realize it’s a dang ‘Cuda that engulfed the fish and hook. With only 50# leader showing out of his mouth, the leader cuts as Devon is trying to lean over to lift it aboard. We wanted to see what it was that we had on initially, but he was gone in a flash with the evidence. Let’s try that drift again. This time Rob gets the pull on the front rod and we have a fish coming up. That’s what we wanted! A nice 7# Pinkie (Mutton Snapper) comes aboard.
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About 4:45 now and we hear a boat to the north about a mile, radio that he had a double up. Then my friend Al on Better Dayz relays to me that he had a single Sail up and jumped it off. I turned to the guys and asked if they wanted to try for that Sailfish since the bite could be sparking up a bit. Initially they wanted to keep dropping for Muttons but Devon convinced them that this is why we came out late, to maximize our chances of catching a Sailfish during the “witching hour”. They decided to go for it. Al remarks about a huge bait ball of sardines passing by him. We set out our baits and got into Sailfish mode. Almost an hour goes by and I see the bait ball moving north towards us. Knowing full well that these concentrations of bait hold predatory fish around and below them, I made a point of staying in close proximity to this school of hor d’ourves. 15 minutes before sunset and Devon yells out, “Fish on the flat line!” As Jeremy grabs the rod the right rigger goes off. Devon tells Jeremy to “Wind tight and get on him!” Devon comes tight on the rigger line and passes it off to Rob. DOUBLE!!!! Dan is so excited he is screaming “Wooohoo’s” as he runs to the cockpit to watch. The pair of Sailfish go airborne as if they are synchronized…then again, a second time. Another “Woohoo” from Dan, then Jeremy’s fish charges toward the boat and he can’t get up the slack in time. The fish comes unpinned and just that quick, we are down to one. Crap! Rob is tight on his fish and I get him to move forward as I put the bow of The BEAST on the tail of the fish. A few more minutes and we have the fish boatside for an attempt to tag. The fish is waddling and not giving me a good dart shot, then takes off again on a half hearted run. We get it back to the boat and I get the tag in. Devon grabs the bill and removes the hook. We pulled the fish aboard for a photo op of Rob‘s first Sail. We put the fish back overboard and I bumped the throttles in gear as Devon climbed into the splash well to pull the fish upright until it revived well enough for a good release. Devon sent him on his way, wearing his new, bright red tag!
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The BEAST was satisfied! Vindicated! The earlier growls had turned into a “cat”- like purr as I pointed her nose toward the barn! Rob was in awe of the power that our offshore fish have. He remarked that he wants to have a mount made of his first ever Sailfish. You see, Rob is from England and until Sunday his biggest fish was a 2-3 pound freshwater trout. Congratulations Rob! After all these years, I still know how you feel!
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: 66
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 10:27 pm: | |
During all this unstable weather we had 2 outings that we were fortunate enough to miss all that lousy weather. Fortunate?… Oh, really? The weather this past week has been feast or famine with incredibly lumpy seas, followed by very calm, and then throw in the largest full moon of the year with a dribbling north current. We did the best we could with what we had. Our customers were happy but Devon and I didn’t think it was up to Beast standards. It could’ve been much better but I guess it could’ve been a whole lot worse.
We met Alex and his buds at the dock at 7 AM for a ¾ day trip. The moon that night was twice the size of normal, or so it appeared, and the seas were calm. We headed out the channel while exchanging information. Our first stop for bait proved fruitless for Hardtails so we blasted out to the patch reefs. We arrived to find an almost slack tide but thankfully the bait came up and we could hold them there long enough to collect enough for the day.
We made the short run offshore and got setup. To say the fishing was slow, would be an understatement. Even the downrigger was silent like deaf ears. We finally managed to find a Kingfish or two, that would bite the baits and tear them up, but not get hooked up. Finally Devon had a hair jig working and got a bite. As it was coming up to the boat, way to easy, we were hoping it was something worthwhile. A Sand Tile. Oh Boy! Time seemed to drag on and we were making plans to regroup and change strategies. The radio was eerily silent, and we never saw a boat working a fish. Then as we were about to pull the baits, we got a bite on the left long. Nice hit, man that fished crashed the bait. Alex jumped on the rod and was into a decent Dolphin. A little while later and the fish felt the steel of the gaff and flopped into the fish box. Well that’s a little better.
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We stayed with the decision to change the game plan and forsake a shot at a “Snooter“. Instead we went to work on a wreck to see if anything was happening. The fish were marking on the sounder but we couldn’t buy a bite. We made several drifts only to come up empty, when finally something took the bait as they were cranking it up. The fish felt solid and then for a split second it felt even more solid. We saw color and then the unmistakable image of the dreaded Caribbean Spotted Mackerel appeared. That’s a Barracuda to those who don’t know BEAST lingo. As we pulled it into the boat for an unceremonious dehooking we noticed that the second pull was that of a shark. The Cuda was shredded from the dorsal area south to the tail. We tossed it over and wished him luck in getting home. Speaking of home… we called it a day and tucked our tails between our legs as we ran for the barn. This day broke our string of successive trips with a Sailfish catch. The next day, I heard the seas got snotty and those that went out, absolutely tore up the Sailfish. In all my days, I’ve never heard the saying… You should’ve been here tomorrow!
Mark and Mike, a father and son team, called on Friday to check in for their Saturday trip. Since I was open on Sunday we switched the ¾ trip to Sunday since their stomach survival rate on Saturday’s forecasted seas, would’ve probably been measured in minutes. Sunday had a much better forecast of 2-4‘ but forecasts being what they are, they missed the mark by about 2-4’. Flat calm! Oh boy… here we go again!
Devon and I met up at the dock and readied the boat. Mike and Mark arrived a short time later and we fired up The BEAST, heading out for the bait. We were pleasantly surprised when we collected some Hardtails, quickly. I ran a faster cruise speed to get to the ballyhoo reef because I was anxious to redeem myself from the last trip. We scored quickly on the bally’s and we were off and set up. Once again the current was only trickling to the North and the weeds were everywhere. GREAT! Here we go again! We spent a considerable amount of time clearing lines and looking for clean water to fish effectively. The grass, finally moved out! The down line was working better today, although we missed the first 2 fish. Then the hair/bally combo jig gets another Sand Tile. Whoopee! Well at least the skunk is off the boat. Then the deep rod sounds off and Mark brings a decent 10# Kingfish to the boat. That’s better.
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Mike is up next, and a short while later, the d/r fires off again. With minimal resistance an 8# Kingfish greets the boat. Once again everything is in position and we worked the area but this time we dropped the down rod much deeper. 15 minutes passes, then 30 minutes, then fish on! This time the clicker is singing and the fish takes a 50 yard run. Mike takes the rod and we are guessing the species. Well, we were hoping it was something other than a Kingfish this time, but it wasn’t. Even though it was another Kingfish, it was a nice 15# fish.
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With that last fish behind us the bite turned off. Through all this time we saw no boats jockeying on Sailffish, and heard nothing on the radio except of a straggler Dolphin or two. I asked the M&M boys if they wanted to go hit the wreck and try for some bottom fish or keep plugging away for a Sailfish. They opted for the bottom fishing. We arrived at the spot and setup. Little current and a light easterly breeze made for long drifts over the productive zones, but would the fish eat today? First drift is a test drift with one line. Nothing doing! I got my mark and we set out 2 lines on the second drift. Nothing doing… Until I started cranking up the bait. Bam, fish on! Mark grabs the rod and the fish pulls his knuckle toward the gunnel. Next run and Mark, being from Pittsburgh (no ocean there), is not ready for the power of our wreck fish. With over 20#’s of drag pressure, I thought this long, lanky, 15 year old was going to be pulled overboard. He finally gets it up to color and we see it is a chubby Almaco Jack.
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We vented the fish and sent it home to grow up. This drift was working out, so I headed back for my starting point. We baited and dropped the lines again. OK guys, approaching ground zero, get ready. Bada bing! Mikes rod twitches and then starts bending. This one is acting like the fish we were after. There’s color. Yes sir! Mr. Mutton Snapper is home. We leadered it to the boat and after a picture or two, we iced down a nice 12#er.
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The next drift was uneventful so we decided to try 2 more drifts before we called it a day. The next drift we were on line and the spot showed profoundly on the sounder and Marks rod started pulling down slowly. He reached for it but I told him it was the bottom and quickly cranked up a turn or two. It tipped again and I took one more turn. After a couple more times I saw the drop off and I quickly set the rod in free spool so the bait could fall down the drop to the bottom. I locked the spool and the rod bent over double. Mark was into a nice fish. We were speculating we had another nice Mutton, judging by the fight. Here comes color! What the…. Cubera? Yes sir, not the 30-50# fish we catch on live lobster in the summer, but definitely a respectable Cubera Snapper caught on a Ballyhoo.
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The last drift was a zero so we stowed our gear and got ready to make our run back to the garage. The Sailfish bite turned on as we powered up and the radio was sounding off with singles, doubles, and a triple. The M&M guys didn’t care at that point, they were happy with the day and their Pittsburgh Steelers were going to play for the AFC Championship in a few hours. I’m sure they are ecstatic now… their Steelers are going to the Super Bowl.
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: 65
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 09, 2009 - 6:11 pm: | |
Friday, Jan 2 we met James, his wife, and 2 small children at the dock. They wanted to do a half day to introduce his little kids to fishing. The children were 2 and 4. I have to tell you, I was not that excited about it because the kids are required to wear their life jackets at all times and usually get a bit whiny. This was not the case. The kids were the most well mannered children I’ve seen in many a year. The day was a bit on the blustery side but we decided to sneak a peek outside to see if it was doable. We ran to our bait patch and the seas were about 2-3 feet so we decided to let the kids enjoy catching some bait. While catching some of the bait Devon pinned a bait on a hook and free lined it into the chum. Several minutes passed by and then the bait got eaten. James cranked in a nice Mutton Snapper. Shortly thereafter he announced that we needed to head for the calmer backwaters as he was getting that queasy feeling. We spent the rest of the morning on a grass flat letting the kids catch Pinfish. All in all, James was very happy because the kids enjoyed themselves and the day was a success in his book.
Saturday, the 3rd, Devon and I met Brad Waugh and his son James at the dock. I’ve fished Brad before and we had a good trip. We had no problems making bait except that the tide was running into the wind and throwing the cast net was a mission. We had more than enough “hookers” and put the “netters” in with the Blue Runners, then headed offshore.
As we reached the edge we met about 100 boats that were fishing a Key Largo Sailfish tournament. Kites flying and boats slow trolling, Oh boy! We started off in an area that was the least congested, somewhat south of the pack. It didn’t take long and the d/rigger sounded off and we were into a nice Kingfish.
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As the day progressed we continued to catch a few more Kings all of which were decent sized. Suddenly we had a taker on the left rigger. A sailfish took to the air, spitting the bait, before anyone could get on the rod. 0 for 1! We reset our line and continued on. The day fell into a lull on the surface and I decided to take them to a patch of bottom that has produced well for me. On arrival, Devon dropped a Ballyhoo to the bottom and a Blue Runner down on the other rod. About 100 feet into the drift and the Ballyhoo gets eaten. James fights the fish and it is digging for the bottom. He gains the upper hand and then we see color. Nice Black! We stuck the fish and after a few pics, we loaded it into the fish box with the Kingfish.
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Next drift and once again we get bit. This time the Hardtail gets the nod and Brad fights the fish. We are thinking it is possibly another Grouper but it turns out to be a respectable Amberjack, aka “reef donkey”. We made a few more uneventful drifts and then departed to get back into Sailfish mode for the afternoon bite.
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About an hour after we set up we saw one of the baits getting nervous and then a bill pops through the water. Sailfish! No… 2 Sailfish! Brad and James each grab the respective rods and Brad gets hooked up but James’ fish comes unpinned before he could get tight on it. Down to 1 and the fish is definitely working Brad. As this fish is dragging Brad and us all over the ocean, I realize once again why I like to fish down south. 3 or 4 of the other boats were courteous and got out of our way so we could fight our fish. Thanks guys! Brad worked on this fish for 35 minutes before we finally got a release on it.
We set lines out again and a Booby bird decided to come in and dive on a bait. Hook up! CRAP! Devon reeled him in and grabbed him. I held the wings while we unhooked him. Guess what?!? Circle hooks work good on Booby birds too! Devon chucked the bird out of the boat and it got up and flew into the flat line and tangled up. UGH! Once again we reeled in the bird and set it free. Brad took this as an omen and since he had a 1½ hour drive home, he called it a day. The days tally in the fish box was 3 Kings, 1 AJ, 1 Black Grouper and we released 1 for 3 on Sails.
Sunday January 4th was my daughter’s birthday. By now, most everyone is aware that she is also Devon’s wife. So, being a fishing family, can you figure out what we decided to do to celebrate? Correctomundo my friends… We went fishing! Since the Sailfish have been so good this year we also took along Devon’s Dad and Mom, Nino and Michelle. Nino has never caught a Sailfish and Devo was bent on getting Dad his first fish. We unleashed The BEAST and headed on our quest to let Amy enjoy her B’day on the water and get Nino‘s Sailfish.
We put about a dozen Hardtails in the well quickly at the first bait stop and then loaded the wells with live Bally’s at the next bait patch. We ran the short distance offshore and yes, the tournament was still going on. We set up our normal spread and began searching. Pop, goes the d/rigger and we are into a Kingfish. Amy masters the fish to the boat and we drop it into the fish box. We stayed busy on the Kings for a while and they were all nice fish well over the 10# mark.
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Meanwhile, Amy and Devon were working speed jigs and jig bally combo’s throughout the water column, producing a Red Grouper which, was a bit short so we vented and released it, a Sand Tilefish (released), and a nice Mutton Snapper which we tossed into the box.
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The d/rigger kept time moving by dredging up a Kingfish every now and again to pass the time and fill the fish box with good fish for the smoker.
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We sidled in, out, and around the pack of boats with not one rise to our baits. Hmmm! As the day was getting late, Amy was ready to call it a day. We reminded her that we were just entering the witching hour. At 4 PM, they called lines out, wrapping up the tournament. All the boats began dumping their live wells and we had also begun to chum out some of ours. About 15-20 minutes goes by as the ocean begins to settle down from the parade of Battlewagons heading in. Birds are working like crazy on the “freebies” that are scattered everywhere. Suddenly I noticed a Sailfish chasing a ballyhoo, about 100 yards away. I turned over to get in position to head it off. 2, 4, 5 minutes go by and nothing. Must’ve missed him! Another minute or two passes and suddenly we see a Sail up on the right rigger… wait there’s one on the right flat, there’s one on the left flat too… left rigger bait is dancing… OMG! There is a huge pod of Sailfish behind the boat and they are all fighting for our baits. One of the biggest groups of Sailfish I’ve seen. Right rigger hooked up and Nino is on the rod. We missed the left flat line and left rigger… baits gone. Right flat is on for a second and spit’s the bait. WOW, talk about a fire drill! Nino is still hooked up so we clear the cockpit to optimize his chances of landing this first Sailfish. Suddenly the fish charges the boat, greyhound toward us! The line is slack with a huge belly in it and Devon is screaming for his Dad to keep reeling… fast. He’s still hooked up although Nino thought he had lost the fish. The fish comes tight and takes Nino down and dirty! The fish had worn himself out with that surface display and within 10 minutes it was boatside for the tag. We had to pull this one out of the water for a “Nino’s first Sailfish” picture. We dropped the fish into the water and spent the next 5 minutes pulling the fish through the water, letting it regain itself. When the fish began fighting against Devon we turned it loose and with a few quick kicks of its tail, it was gone.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0MGOxbh3u4&feature=channel_page
Mission accomplished! With 5 nice Kingfish, and a Mutton in the box, and 1 for a bunch on Sailfish, we turned The BEAST west, and headed for the barn. I really can’t think of a better way to ring in our New Year and Amester‘s B‘day! Everyone had a great time on all 3 days, and The BEAST and crew, got some good exercise.
Wishing a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year to all, from the crew of The BEAST!
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: 64
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 11:25 am: | |
WOW! We have been spoiled by all the calmer days we’ve fished so far during this Sailfish season. Sunday, was a horse of a different color! The winds were recorded at 20-23 knots dead out of the East. The seas were every bit of 6 feet for the entire day. It was the kind of day that keeps me pretty much pinned to the helm and Devon working his rear off in the pit!
We met Ethan and Lael Shapiro at the dock, quickly exchanged pleasantries, and then unleashed The BEAST. We caught about 2 dozen Hardtails quickly then headed for the Ballyhoo patch. As we were traversing the Bay, they told us of their last year’s trip in Islamorada where they fished 10’ seas for a whole day and only caught 1 short Mutton Snapper. Ethan and Lael expressed that they wanted to bring home some Kingfish for their Mother for dinner. Devon was quick to comment that The BEAST has good karma with Mother Ocean and getting a few Kingfish at the least, should not be a problem at all. Be careful of what you speak, grasshopper!
We arrived at the bait patch and the ‘hoo came up plentiful and quick. We caught about 4 dozen “hookers” and put them in a separate live well. I tossed the Calusa net twice and topped off the other well with the Blue Runners. I’d love to say we blasted out to the “edge” but the waters inshore were capping and rough so we took our time motoring out at about 20 mph. We arrived on the “edge” to find a 3-5’ washing machine chop with 6’+ ground swells and a strong north current. This was going to be “Sporty” to say the least. These conditions meant we will be working in the ditch for a good part of the day! Thankfully, my WorldCat 330TE provides a stable fishing deck, that makes this type of fishing possible.
We put out 3 top lines and one down line. Shortly thereafter, we had a taker on the d/rigger but it came unpinned. Devon reset the d/r and once again we had a bite. The line took a short run and then this fish too, shook the hook. OK! It’s going to be like this, huh? Devon pulled out a Horse ‘Hoo from the “hooker” well and sent it down to 80 feet. I idled this spread around for about 20 minutes in the area where we got the last 2 strikes. The Horse entices a strong bite. This one is hooked and hooked solid. Ethan jumps on the rod and quickly realizes this is going to be a fight. He is on the rod for almost 10 minutes when he passes it off to his brother, Lael. We razzed him about the switch off. Another 5 minutes and we can see some color but not make out what it is or even the shape of the fish, only seeing flashes of it about 75 feet down. The fish begins to take drag again and we are now chasing him. The whole crew was distracted with this fish when suddenly, Devon notices the right rigger has popped and the line is paying out. With half of the spool spent, he quickly begins retrieving it. Sailfish on! Ethan grabs this rod since he has never caught a Sailfish. A long belly in the line and the fish airs out! We had to convince Ethan to keep reeling until he came tight on the fish. We were using circle hooks and when he finally came tight on the fish, it went acrobatic again. This fish was huge, the largest Sailfish we’ve hooked this year.
Now the dilemma begins. It is really, GAME ON!!!! Both fish are heading SW and taking drag so I bump up the throttles. This scenario is going too well at this point and I guess the Sailfish realized this and changes course to the NE. Isn’t this a peach?!? We have both anglers, fighting BIG fish, and each taking line 180 degrees from the other. I put the boat in neutral as there is little I can do to help either angler at this point. The “Mystery fish” is on 50 pound braid so I tell Devon to put the heat (drag) on that fish. It isn’t working and the line is melting off both reels. Meanwhile I have to contend with 2 boats that begin crowding me. They aren’t listening to the radio so I yell to the one that I have a very large fish strung out right behind his boat, and thankfully, he heard me and powered out of our way. The saga gets hairy right about now! As the 300 yards of braid is almost gone on the “Mystery fish” and the Sailfish has taken ¾ of the line on the 20# spinner, we have to make a choice. We are guessing the “Mystery fish” is a shark, since it is acting as if we are hooked to a submarine. We chose Ethan’s first ever Sailfish! Lael begins to add thumb pressure to try and stop his fish as the braid continues to leave the spool and we are now on the mono backing. Before anyone comments that we should have put a float on one of the rods and tossed it over, I will tell you that we don’t throw $400 worth of equipment over the side, on The BEAST!!!!
Down to the nitty gritty, I turn the boat slightly toward the Sailfish and begin gaining line, one painful rod pull at a time. The Mystery fish is steadily taking line and then it ends with Lael almost falling onto the deck as the line parts with about 30 yards of mono left on the spool. Crap! We tried everything, but we just couldn’t stop him! Dejectedly, I start tracking toward Ethan’s Sailfish and bump up the throttles again to recover some line and notice the second boat is real close and about to cross my strung out fishing line. As I motioned to him, to give me room it is too late and he crosses our line only 50 yards from our boat. I grabbed Ethan and told him to stick the rod completely under the water, straight down as far as he could. Thank the Lord, it worked as the line passes the other boat cleanly. That was too close for comfort! The rest of the fight was down and dirty and after 35 minutes, we finally have his fish to the boat for a tag and release. We estimated this fish to be about 75 pounds and about 72” LJFT length. She was tired and in marginal condition due to the lengthy fight, so we revived her for over 5 minutes until she regained her mobility and swam away! The topic of conversation for the next hour was that of the lost “Mystery fish” which, unfortunately, overshadowed the event filled fight and incredible size of Ethan’s monster Sail.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/12-27-2008-01.jp g
Later, we tried for some Muttons and were marking the fish on the recorder but they wouldn’t eat. We did catch a big Caribbean Spotted Mackerel, aka Barracuda, while dropping the bottom. As the day wears on, we managed to catch 3 Bonito on speed jigs, and a small sub-legal (1 inch short) Kingfish on a hair jig / bally combo. The witching hour arrives and we are still working hard when Ethan says he saw something near the left rigger bait. The line pops out of the line clip, Lael takes the rod and is into a Sailfish. This time it was a routine catch and we had the fish to the boat in 10 minutes. We finished the day with another strong bite on the d/r which pulled the hooks after a few minutes.
We tried everything we could to get them a meat fish. Devon and I were flabbergasted! The rougher the day the better the fishing, usually, but it was sort of slow for us! Bummer! A cloud of bad Ju-Ju was definitely hanging over the Shapiro brothers!!! Lael and Ethan reassured us that they had a great time and that is just their luck on almost every fishing trip!
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: 63
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 - 10:28 pm: | |
This past Sunday I took out a group of brothers, Scott, Ben, Sterling, Billy and their Dad, Wayne. We all met at the dock at 7 AM, Devon stowed their gear, food, and drinks. We pulled the strings on The BEAST and motored out into the Bay under placid conditions. Very little wind and very calm water is usually a sign of good boating and crap fishing. I throttled up the 600 ponies and we were off. We coursed the Bay and into the patch reefs to find the exact same conditions there. Oh well, we’ll try to make the best of it.
We arrived at our favorite bait patch and deployed the chum and within minutes we started seeing bait. We put 3 guys on the bait rods and started catching our days bait. About 15 minutes into it and the tide is starting to go toward slack. Oh boy?!? The bait started to get finicky and confused, moving in and out trying to lock in on the chum scent. I threw the net, but the mirror-like water let them see it coming. Each and every one of them successfully dodged the 10’ net. We had to work them with the rods some more. We finally had enough bait for the day and as we were securing the rods the bait came in to the chum, feeling secure. I loaded the net again and thanks to my old duck hunting days, I led the school just right with the net toss. Now we are definitely good to go!
We pulled off the edge and put out our customary spread. About 15 minutes into the day and the d/rigger went off. Billy brings an average Kingfish to the boat. Several minutes later and Ben has one on. After boating that fish it was Wayne’s turn.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/12-21-2008-1.jpg
With 3 Kingfish in the box within the first 30 minutes, the current really starts ripping to the north. Things are looking up. Shortly after the strong current began we had the right rigger pop off. Scott is hooked up to a Sailfish. Several nice jumps and a down and dirty fight for 15 minutes and the fish is led to a swift tag and release. This was his first completed Sailfish catch. Not a bad start for conditions on the ocean that more resembled the water of a secluded pond. The fishing is much better than we anticipated. As we’re BS’ing a bit, I caught something out of the corner of my eye and yelled, “Left rigger!” Before anyone could get to the rod the fish goes skyward, ejecting the bait . Too slow on the reaction time there, boys.
We hit a bit of a lull for about an hour or maybe a bit more. We all had enough downtime to eat some lunch. Devon and the other guys began pounding the water with speed jigs and jig/bally’s. They managed to pull out 3 Bonito and a Blackfin to stay busy.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/12-21-2008-2.jpg
As the afternoon moves along and the sun is up on the calm water I noticed fish marking deep and it looked like balls of bait. We dropped the d/rigger to 75’ but nothing happened. We checked the bait and Devon said let’s go to 80’ or so. I dropped it to 100 feet. 5-6 minutes later and we have a bite on the d/r. The fish is coming up! Yahoo, another Sailfish! As the fish moves to the right, the left rigger goes off. He brought a friend… Double! The right rigger goes off and yet another friend… Triple!!! No wait, fish #2 spits the hook so we are down to a double. Fish # 1 goes airborne and lands on the line of #2 and snap, we are down to one. That doesn’t happen too often! We brought the fish to the boat, removed the hook and placed a tag. Release #2.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/12-21-2008-3.jpg
Devon gets the cockpit back in shape and sets out another spread. Yup, d/r to 100 again. It worked last time, maybe it will again. No more than 5-10 minutes elapsed and the d/r goes off. The fish is coming up! NO WAY?!? Yes way, another Sailfish and he brought a friend that eats the right rigger. Double! The fish are heading right at another boat, so I hailed them on the radio, and they politely gave me room. Thanks guys! The second fish is a monster. He clears the water twice and then #1 begins to jump and catches the line of #2 in his mouth as fish #2 is coming down. Can you believe this. Fish # 1 has jumped up into the line of fish #1 and pop, it’s a done deal. We are down to one fish and once again they bring it boatside for the tag & release. I am dumbfounded that this oddity happened, not only once, but twice in one trip. Un-flippin‘-believable!
OK, we regain our composure and set up another identical spread. As we pass some underwater structure the d/r once again pops off and Devon and I look at each other, totally stunned, as the fish is coming up to the surface. You’re kidding me? We realized there would we no third time when the fish stopped about halfway and then worked Billy hard. Maybe a nice Blackie? Nope. Instead we see color and realize it’s a Jack of some kind. As Billy works it almost to the surface we can see it is a 10# Horse Eye Jack. We boat him for a quick photo and release.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa56/beastcharters/12-21-2008-4.jpg
With time running out, we packed it in and pointed The BEAST for the corral. There were plenty of smiles to go all the way around the deck. We managed to go 3 for 7 on Sailfish, 3 Kingfish, 3 Bonito, a Blackfin Tuna, and a Horse eye Jack. Devon and I kept the entire crew busy, most of the day. Not too shabby for a ¾ day trip. The fishing is off the hook… in S. Florida.
Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a prosperous New Year, to everyone!
Capt. Jim
The BEAST
305-233-9996
beastcharters@aol.com
www.beastcharters.com |
Capt. Jim Barlett (Beast_charters)
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