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Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 231
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 22, 2012 - 10:14 am: | |
Offshore and Inshore Action Off Miami, FL
Let’s start with the offshore action. After a giant surge in sailfishing that had anyone who could put a live bait in the water catching numerous sails, the action has settle back to more of what normally takes place in January. How much action you’ll see on any given day depends on the wind and current conditions as well as what part of the coastline you’re fishing. Be prepared to make a move should the action heat up somewhere other than where you’re fishing. A good run of kingfish had everyone licking their chops as it was like numerous years ago when you got the kings chummed up and the action was fast and furious. Throw in some mutton and grouper action to round things out. Just remember that grouper season is closed so you’ll have to release these tasty fish.
Inshore, the tarpon action has run the gamut from cold to hot. A few of the cold fronts have played havoc with the water temperature. If you fished on any of those night, the tarpon were hard to find if not almost impossible. When the water temperature warmed back up, the tarpon were back in their usual locations in huge numbers and feeding very well. The fish have been averaging in the 30 – 80 pound range. The shrimp have been running at Government Cut, however, I have not yet seen any shrimp action up at Haulover.
Brad Coren’s dad, Stewart made a visit to South Florida and of course they had to get in a day of fishing together. A few throws of the castnet had plenty of live pilchards in the livewell. We anchored up in 115’ and started chumming. It didn’t take long before the baits were getting hit as fast as we could put them in the water. The kingfish bite was on. We kept our limit, threw back some, and missed the hook up on several. We moved to try for some different species. The first move gave us a bonito on the downrigger in 190’. The last move of the morning saw action on the bottom rod with an amberjack.
Steve Schuman and Steve Drazin caught tarpon and mangrove snapper at Government Cut. As soon as the tide turned, the tarpon disappeared.
Alexander and Gabi Boesl also saw tarpon action at Government Cut. Alexander was amazed at how hard and for how long the tarpon could fight. Just when he thought the battle was coming to an end, the tarpon would take off on another attempt to free itself.
Jerry Halsten’s 17 year old son Olin had always dreamed of catching a tarpon. That dream became a reality on their evening tarpon trip. The 16 – 20 knot wind from the NNW/NNE had the channel at Government Cut a bit on the sloppy side. The fish didn’t mind and about 2 minutes after putting the first bait out, neither did Olin or Jerry. Olin was in to his first dream tarpon. He did an outstanding job of fighting the fish and soon had it along side for a DNA sample before being released. The action continued with Jerry catching a mangrove snapper, then a tarpon. Olin’s turned yielded the largest tarpon (80 pounds) of the evening and Jerry added another very large mangrove snapper. It’s always amazing how smooth the waters seem to become when fighting a fish.
This year I am continuing to take DNA samples of tarpon for the Tarpon Genetics Program http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/tarpon/genetics/recapture-study During 2011, I was one of the top ten persons to take DNA samples. I will continue to participate in this research program as the tarpon action heats up in 2012. I encourage everyone who fishes for tarpon to get a few of the sampling kits. Here’s another link where you can get all the information you’ll need about the program http://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/tarpon/genetics
Give me a call or send me an email to schedule your trip. It’s that easy to get in on the great action we experience every winter and spring off the South Florida (Miami, Miami Beach, Key Biscayne) coast.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 230
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 07, 2012 - 6:22 am: | |
Miami, FL - Cold Front Spurs Outstanding Sailfish Action!
The most recent cold front was just what was needed to kick start some outstanding sailfish action. Prior to the front passing through our area, it had been a struggle to put together a decent catch. All the conditions looked good, however, the fish just weren’t around. The sailfish action went from almost nothing to outstanding catches. Put a live bait in the water in the 120 – 150 foot range and within minutes a sailfish showed up and the fun began. Mix in a few kingfish and some mutton snapper action on the bottom and most every angler had a big smile on their face. With the cool morning and mild mid-day temperatures, the action should continue to please everyone.
Meanwhile inshore, the tarpon fishing has not really taken off with any regularity yet. The cold front got some shrimp moving in the Government Cut area. Up at Haulover, there was still no shrimp in the water. That could change with any change of the tide. A few nights of tarpon fishing produced two tarpon, a large jack crevalle, one snook, one mangrove snapper, and a ribbon fish. All it will take is one good shrimp run and the tarpon action will go into high gear.
Dan, Ray, Herbert, and Mauricio combined their efforts to catch 3 kingfish and 2 mutton snapper during their half day trip. Kingfish fillets and mutton snapper cleaned for stuffing and baking made for a very good fish dinner.
Steve and Corie McCall saw action with a tarpon and large jack crevalle at Haulover and a large eagle ray at Government Cut.
Gauste Gjelsten from Norway got in on the tail end of sailfish action in the late afternoon before the fish shut off for the day. On two drifts, he caught and released his first two Atlantic Sailfish. Just before heading in to tarpon fish, a small shark showed up and stole several baits before being hooked, fought, and released. Later that evening, a very nice 10 pound snook ate a shrimp intended for a tarpon. It too was released. On a previous trip a week earlier, Gauste caught and released a kingfish, ribbonfish, bonnethead shark, mangrove snapper, and had a tarpon on for one jump.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 229
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 16, 2011 - 3:18 pm: | |
Dolphin and Sailfish Dominate The Offshore Fishing In Miami, FL
It’s time once again to get current with the fishing activities aboard Knot Nancy.
Offshore has mainly been dolphin (mahi-mahi) and sailfish. Throw in some bonito, amberjack, black grouper, and mutton snapper and you have a very good mixed bag of both game fish and eating fish. The biggest drawback to the offshore scene has been the moderate to very windy conditions that just don’t seem to want to settle into any pattern. If you can handle the windy conditions, then you’re in for some good action.
Inshore I haven’t had many calls for tarpon fishing so I don’t have a very good handle on how good the action is or isn’t. All of my clients for the most part want to fish for the offshore species.
The Cullinane Family spent some quality time together. Tom and Cindy along with their sons Patrick (8yrs old) and Aidan (5yrs old) fished for a half day. Tom, Cindy, and Patrick were the fishing portion of the family. Aidan is the video game champion. He beat all levels of Donkey Kong while we were fishing. In the meantime, Tom and Patrick were busy catching dolphin while Cindy was getting the action on film. We had a lull period and then once again the dolphin action started as well as blackfin tuna action. The big fish of the trip was caught by Cindy. It turned out to be about a 50# shark.
Mike and Troy Andersen and Jason Waters braved windy conditions of East @ 17 – 21 knots on their ¾ day trip. They saw action with dolphin while drifting with flatlines.
Rich Pena, Dave Olson, and Mike Reisner saw even windier conditions on their trip. The SE/SSE winds @ 15 – 24 knots gave us very lumpy seas. We found good blue water in 500 feet and almost immediately got into some hot and heavy dolphin action. The windy conditions persisted and after a half day we called it quits with plenty of dolphin in the fish box.
Rich, Dave, and Mike were back for day two offshore. This day we had winds from the WNW/N @ 9 – 20 knots. We kite fished most of the day in 110 – 200 feet and once again had plenty of action with dolphin and several sharks. There were plenty of dolphin fillets for everyone.
Tino Poo’s trip was a ¾ day. He picked the calmest day we have had in quite awhile. Wind from the WNW/ESE @ 3 – 9 knots. Raul Bosque got things going with a sailfish. Then we moved on to a few dolphin, bonito, and had the pesky remoras show up.
Jeff Godel and Mike Evans had all the dolphin action they could handle during their ¾ day trip. The wind was N/NNW @ 13 – 17 knots. We found good weed lines in the 350 – 420 foot range. This got the ball rolling with dolphin in the 4 – 10 pound range. When the action slowed, we found birds and more weed lines in the 250 – 300 foot range. Whether we were slow trolling or drifting we had consistent action. After having caught plenty of fish to take home, we started releasing fish. Back at TNT Marine Center, Jeff helped with filleting the fish as Mike watched the tarpon feeding on the scraps we threw in the water.
I helped my good friend and fellow Captain, Gil Gutierrez with his trip. The wind was East @ 14 – 20 knots. We started with dolphin, moved closer in and put up the kites and a bottom rod and caught sailfish, amberjack, black grouper, and shark.
Jeff Ingram, Jonathon Wright, and Reiley not only had fun fishing offshore, but had a blast catching 3 different kinds of bait before heading out. We had to work hard for the action we got on this trip. In the end we pulled it out with sailfish, bonito, and shark.
In between the above trips, we had to cancel two trips due to winds in excess of 25 knots.
So as you can see, the action varies from good to excellent and the wind has definitely been blowing with the exception of one trip. The action will only continue to get better and better as we close out 2011 and start fresh in 2012. Now’s the time to book your fishing trip so you won’t miss out on any of the great fishing we experience in the Miami/Miami Beach area all winter long.
With the Holidays upon us, remember that if you have an angler in your life who has every fishing gadget you can imagine, you might want to consider giving them a gift certificate for a charter fishing trip aboard Knot Nancy. Sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, tarpon, and more will be a gift that they’ll thank you for and remember for a long time.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 228
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 14, 2011 - 2:31 pm: | |
Miami/Miami Beach - Windy Conditions - Good Action Offshore and Inshore
It’s been windy weather and rough seas. Despite these conditions, the fishing both offshore and inshore has been very good.
Offshore, it’s a mixed bag of dolphin (mahi-mahi), sailfish, small blackfin tuna, bonito, and small sharks.
Inshore, the water is calm despite the windy conditions. Between tarpon, snook, jack crevalle, barracuda, and mangrove snapper there is plenty of action to keep you busy.
The bait has been plentiful in North Biscayne Bay. It doesn’t take long to load the livewell with pilchards.
Ed, Eugene, and Kwang Kim opted to fish the calm inshore waters as they knew they couldn’t handle the offshore rough sea conditions. After loading the livewell with bait we headed north from Haulover. The first stop took some time and live chumming to get the fish going. It started with jack crevalle, progressed with snook, and finished with mangrove snapper. We moved on to the second stop and watched plenty of tarpon rolling all around us. The tarpon showed no interest whatsoever in our bait. Next I slow trolled a shoreline area that produced barracudas. We drifted a final area before dark and the jack crevalle had a field day with our baits. The action was steady and constant till we moved on in search of tarpon. The first tarpon location produced no strikes. A move to a second location did the trick. The first tarpon strike resulted in the fish making a 6’ high leap and giving us our hook back. The second fish hooked up solid and Ed caught and released his first tarpon. By then the tide was too far gone and it was time to head in.
John Mazurek along with Drew and Hunter Racz got into some fast and hot dolphin action. Hunter said he had seen the shows on TV and he wanted to catch a dolphin. The west wind had me heading east till I found the blue/green color change in 1000’. It had a beautiful weedline on it that went north and south as far as the eye could see. Out went the live baits and 3 minutes later Hunter was fighting his first dolphin. With that fish in the box, we put out more baits and saw a frigate bird up ahead circling low to the water. We ran to that area and instantly had two then three fish on. Find the frigate bird again and put out baits and throw a few live chummers and back in the action again. Everyone caught fish and it was decided that we had enough when the sixteenth fish hit the box.
Brad Coren, Harold Coren, and Brad Kiassman braved the windy NE conditions. Our first drift gave us a dolphin and then a small shark. Then after several drifts with no action we moved about a mile to the north. The decision was made to call it a day. I said give it a minute more as I threw a net full of live chummers over. We instantly had a school of dolphin all around the boat. The fun began with everyone dancing around one another as the fish ran from one side of the boat to the other and the boat was rocking and rolling. The school moved on and we left one bait in the water while we started to wrap things up. It got hit and we had another small shark. We released the shark and put out another bait while we continued to make ready for the run in. Brad Coren got a hit and started to reel his bait in. Two sailfish followed it up. We threw a couple of chum baits out to keep the fish in the area while we hooked on two baits and tossed them out. One sailfish ate and then a second one ate. Both fish were hooked and both Brad’s had a blast catching and releasing their fish. Final count was 2 sailfish, 8 dolphin, and 2 sharks.
Tom and Leslie Mohr also braved the windy NE conditions. We had steady action on all but two of our drifts. It started with dolphin, then sharks. The dolphin action continued and then more sharks. It ended with bonito and a blackfin tuna. The final count was 9 dolphin, 4 sharks, 1 blackfin tuna, and 1 bonito. Along the way we pulled the hook on several dolphin and also broke a main line. The dolphin were in the 5 – 12 pound class.
That sums it up. If you can handle rough sea conditions, the fishing is good. If those conditions are not for you, then fish inshore and still find good fishing. The windy weather won’t last forever and the fishing will only get better, so now’s the time to call and schedule your trip to get in on some fun fishing and take home some good eating fish also.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 227
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 30, 2011 - 10:26 am: | |
Miami, Florida - Fall Fishing In Full Swing
Fall has finally arrived and along with it some good to very good fishing.
Offshore, the dolphin (mahi-mahi) are migrating south, sailfish are showing up in better numbers, skipjack tuna are finding the live chum and hitting the kite baits, down deep there are mutton snapper, grouper, and amberjack. You might have to pick your day(s) if you have a weak stomach as cold fronts are now moving through and bringing windy conditions to our area for a few days. There are usually a few days of calm weather in between the passing of the fronts so it’s just a matter of being flexible with you schedule.
Catching live bait (pilchards) has mostly been making a few throws with the castnet or finding the schools of herring and going to work on them with sabiki rigs.
Eileen Clark, her daughter Sharon Whitney, and granddaughters Olivia Whitney and Natalie Whitney braved some windy conditions. Their reward was dolphin for both Olivia and Natalie.
Mike and Trevor McCarthy along with Matthew Fitzgerald and Thomas Abrams also had a trip with windy conditions. They saw kite fishing for the first time and immediately took to it as if they’d been kite fishing for years. We saw action with dolphin, skipjack tuna, sailfish, and bottom action with bluerunners.
Richard Rusak, Craig Liszt, Jason Harris, and Pat McAleer had a trip that many anglers dream of. The wind was blowing hard from the NE giving us seas of 6 – 8 feet. Everyone had strong stomachs and it paid off as we were able to stay out the entire length of the trip. We started our first drift in 300’. Richard caught a bonito. Next we set up in 300’ again and back drifted. In 270’ we caught a dolphin. Followed by an amberjack caught by Jason. Then the large school of dolphin showed up and it was a frenzy. When the school finally moved on, we had 10 dolphin in the box. As we drifted inside of 200’ we caught a grouper and then a mutton snapper. Another dolphin went into the box. A kingfish and bonito were released along with a small shark. Richard hooked up again to what everyone thought would be another amberjack. When the fish came up, someone said shark and Richard immediately said cobia. The cobia made it into the fish box and at TNT Marine Center it weighed in at 36 pounds.
That’s Fall fishing for you. Time to schedule your trip and get out and enjoy the variety of fish that are along the Miami/Miami Beach/Key Biscayne area of South Florida.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 226
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - 1:31 pm: | |
The Heat of Summer and Early Fall - Miami/Miami Beach, FL
From mid-August through to the present day in September, I have done several trips. Each trip has resulted in a mixed bag of fish that have included any of the following: sailfish, kingfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), bonito, small amberjack, barracuda, and mutton snapper. The weather has been very hot and the best way to beat the heat is a morning trip or late afternoon trip. Like fishing at any other time of the year, when there is north current, the fishing is relatively easy. When there is south current or no current, then it takes fishing numerous spots with different methods to put together a decent catch.
There are mullet starting to show up in the Bay and small schools along the beach. This is a good sign that the Fall fishing season is about to kick into gear when the larger schools migrate down the beach along the Miami-Dade County coast. That means tarpon, snook, jack crevalle, and sharks along the beach and in the Inlets. This will also drive large schools of pilchards into the Bay. The pilchards can be taken offshore and converted into sailfish, kingfish, mutton snapper, and fall run dolphin (mahi-mahi).
For the dolphin (mahi-mahi) enthusiasts, the good news is that it’s been well worth running out and looking for the colorful tasty fish. They could be anywhere from 400 feet out to as far as 20 miles. As always, look for bird activity and structure in the form of weed lines and floating debris. Even if you don’t see any activity on floating debris, it’s well worth the time to drop a jig or spoon down deep to possibly bring the school to the surface or catch a wahoo.
During this time of the year when I’m not fishing as much, Nancy and I take a mini vacation. During the season we are like two ships passing each other with nothing more than a “hi” and “bye” both day and night, so it’s good that we can spend some time together.
It’s also a great time of year to do all the small maintenance items on the boat and with tackle to make sure everything is running smoothly.
With all that said, now is the time to start thinking about booking that late Fall, Winter, and early Spring fishing trip. It’s never too early to book in advance as I already have some dates booked out as far as May 2012. Booking a trip is as easy as emailing ( nkostyo@bellsouth.net ) or giving me a call at 305-965-9454.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 225
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 - 7:47 am: | |
Summertime Variety Fishing - Miami/Miami Beach, FL
Summertime offers a good variety on a wide range of fish that include sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, bonito, amberjack, barracuda, and mutton snapper. Many anglers say that they’d just as soon not fish during the summer. That’s a big mistake as they’re missing out on lots and lots of action. It can get so fast and furious that many times everyone on board is hooked up and dancing around one another to avoid tangling lines.
Summertime is when the downrigger and bottom outfits shine. For the most part, but not always, the most action will be seen using these two outfits. To cover the water column, however, put out flatline outfits as well as the downrigger and bottom outfits.
The Preusser Family spent a half day fishing before heading out on their cruise the following day. The action started almost immediately and continued on each drift of the morning. Everyone got in on the action as they battled with bonito and kingfish.
Fred and Eileen Clark along with her brother Stephen Berish and his wife Tina fished a ¾ day trip. At the end of the first drift, a flatline took off and Stephen was hooked up to a sailfish. It was fought and released and then the bonito action took off. The bottom rod produced a very nice mutton snapper as well as several bonito. By the end of the trip we had caught and released 7 bonito and 1 sailfish and had 1 mutton snapper in the fish box for dinner.
Joe and Fred Quin and Tony Zain were tired anglers after their ½ day trip. Every drift produced action ranging from a single fish to multiple hits. On this trip, most of the action came a bit shallower than is the norm for summertime. All three techniques worked well on this trip. Final tally was 12 bonito, 4 sharks, 1 amberjack, and 1 bluerunner caught and released, and 3 kingfish in the fish box.
Nicki DeVivo, Teah Hartley, Sunshine Zambrano, and Ann Evans fished a full day as part of Nicki’s bachelorette party. At the end of the first drift, I decided to slow troll the baits back out to set up for another drift. Just as I got the boat turned offshore, the downrigger popped and Nicki was hooked up with her first sailfish. What a fantastic job of angling she did. It didn’t take long before the fish was boat side. After releasing the fish, we set up a drift and the bottom rod got hit almost immediately. This time it was a kingfish. The next action was with bonito. The ripping north current had us running back south numerous times during the day. The downrigger produced another kingfish as well as several bonito. Everyone got in on the action. During one of the downrigger hook ups, Ann was fighting the fish and it got very heavy and then light. When we got the fish to the boat, it turned out to be a large mutton snapper that had been sharked. Needless to say, we only got the head. Everyone was disappointed. We had a shot at another sailfish, however, this one didn’t want to play as it threw the hook on its first jump. Final tally was 1 for 2 on sailfish, 2 kingfish, 1 sharked mutton snapper, 8 bonito, and 1 remora. Congratulations Nicki!!
There you have it, summertime fishing at its best. Lots of action on a variety of fish. No need to put the tackle away and wait till later in the year. Give me a call or send me an email and book a date to get out and enjoy the fishing that the Miami area has to offer.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 224
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 05, 2011 - 2:04 pm: | |
Miami/Miami Beach - Pick Your Style, The Action Is Good
Time has flown by since my last report. The good news for dolphin (mahi-mahi) anglers is that they have finally shown up in good numbers off the coast of Miami. Where you’ll find them on any given day could vary from 800 feet out to 15 miles or more. It is a hunt and search type fishery, however, when you get into them the reward is great.
Closer to shore, there is plenty of action with bonito, a few kingfish, some sailfish, and throw in mutton snapper and amberjacks. The toughest part of going offshore and live baiting is the catching of the live bait. It’s been quite tough finding bait in the Haulover area both in the bay and along the beach.
The tarpon action at Government Cut has remained consistent. We’ve been averaging 4 to 6 shots at the silver king during a 4 hour trip. The average size has dropped a bit, however, there are still a few fish around that are pushing 100 pounds.
Alexander Schmieder and Burkhard Schultz combined to go 3 for 5 on tarpon during their ¾ evening tarpon trip. Fish were caught on both the north side and south sides of Government Cut.
Joel Reid and Ed Vermolen saw plenty of action with bonito and a dolphin during their ½ day trip out to the reef area.
Marie and Robert Cooper caught kingfish, bonito, and several pesky remora during their ¾ day trip out to the reef.
Zac Grossman and Joe Ballarini experienced the heart break of tarpon fishing during their 4 hour evening trip. Twice we hooked up with tarpon on Zac’s fly rod using live crabs for bait. He wanted to fight a tarpon using a fly rod. Twice, the 20# tippet broke. He did get several jumps and long runs out of both fish before the tippet parted.
Alexander Schmieder and Burkhard Schultz were back for a ¾ day trip out to the reef. Sore arms and backs were the rule of the day as they battled numerous bonito. Neither angler could believe how hard bonito’s pull.
Scott and Connor Herold also got into the bonito action on their trip. Throw in a nice size kingfish and they too had sore arms and backs.
John and Jeffrey Williams fished a half day and combined for a sailfish, a couple of dolphin, an amberjack, and numerous bonito. The sailfish was Jeffrey’s first and he caught it on a 12# spinning outfit.
George Shipley, Senior, Junior, and Andrew Shipley’s trip got cut short due to bad late afternoon thunderstorms. Just as the action started to heat up with bonito and barracuda, the storms had us running back to shore.
Chris and Jarrett Slekar along with Michael and Ray Lorenz experienced the frustration of catching live bait in the late afternoon. We went to several different known bait hangouts and found plenty of bait that didn’t want to cooperate with either the sabiki rigs or the castnet. With just a few baits in the well, we ran offshore and caught a bonito. We had another fish on the bottom rod that came off about 30 feet before the sinker broke the surface. We started tarpon fishing much earlier than I had planned and watched several fish roll in the area, but had no takers. We made a quick trip in to pick up one of the anglers. We got our reward shortly after returning to Government Cut. Chris did battle with a very large tarpon that took us for a tour of the area both in the shallow water and the deep water. A very tired Chris won in the end and caught his first tarpon. The tarpon also won as after putting up a great fight, it was released.
Patrik Svensson, his wife Malin, and son and daughter Alexander and Freda combined to go 4 for 4 on tarpon during their 5 hour evening trip to Government Cut.
Rain shortened the next evening tarpon trip with Jim and his group. We did managed to catch and release 1 tarpon on the first drift before the rain and lightning had us running for cover.
Alex, Renzo, Andre, and Carlos got in on some great dolphin action in 900 feet when we found a 5 gallon bucket floating. When the action was over, we had 22 dolphin in the fish box and had also released another dozen or so that were under size. The fillets made for the makings of a great fish fry.
Ron Walker, Arturo Pena, Senior and Arturo Pena, Junior got into the tarpon action hot and heavy during their 6 hour evening trip. Both Arturo, Senior and Junior caught and released their first two tarpon each and Ron added two more tarpon to end up with a final tally of 6 for 6.
David and Andrew Dearing found plenty of dolphin action offshore on their 6 hour trip. We caught them trolling, live baiting, and with Kaplan jigs. The first several fish were found under a floating piece of wood. The remainder of fish that we caught were under birds that kept putting us on fish in the 12 – 15 mile range. We only kept 4 for dinner and released the rest. After about 18 fish we lost track of the count.
Jonathan Fine got to check off tarpon on his bucket list of fish he’d like to catch. We started off on the south side of Government Cut with the first tarpon throwing the hook on its first jump. After several drifts with no action, I moved to the north side. On the second drift, we jumped another tarpon and before Jonathan could dwell on missing a second fish, the stern rod bent over and he caught his first tarpon. We moved back to the south side for the final drift of the evening and he was rewarded with his second tarpon catch and release.
There you have it. Up to date once again.
The heat of the summer is upon us, but the dolphin action is good. Throw in some decent action on the reef and there is still plenty of action. Now all it takes is a call or email from you to book a trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 223
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 13, 2011 - 9:07 am: | |
There is lots to get caught up on so let’s get right to it.
John Pazienza, Don Puglisi, John Weber, and Mike Parker from the Pompano Beach Offshore Anglers Club combined for 1 out of 2 amberjacks and a 19 pound blackfin tuna.
Mark Bryant and Susan Carson caught a kingfish and went 1 for 2 on tarpon.
Rob Leva, Ron Plante, and Steve Cassidy saw plenty of action during their evening tarpon trip. The tarpon had vengeance on their minds as they decided to just give us a few moments of thrills before throwing the hook on their first or second jumps. By the end of the trip, we were 1 for 4 on tarpon and a red grouper.
Kyle Snyder and John Whitesides caught a mixed bag of blackfin tuna, kingfish, bonito, and remora. We also had a sailfish on for several minutes before it worn throw the leader and released itself.
Zac Grossman and Harry Sharp had one whale of an evening of tarpon fishing. The action started almost immediately and continued on throughout the entire trip. Harry caught his first tarpon and added several more before the end of the trip. During one drift, we hooked up a double and both fish were landed and released. All the fish were caught using light spinning gear. Harry’s new spinning outfit got a good workout with a couple of fish. Final count for the evening was 4 for 5.
Tim Singler, Zach Seip, and John Jones saw plenty of tarpon action. The first fish took us for a long ride before we released the tarpon. From there, the tarpon evened the score with us as the next three fish gave us our hook back. Final count was 1 for 4.
Mark Camba, John Chan, Pete Aree, and Richard Nguyen had to wait till the very last drift of the evening to get their shot at a tarpon. The tarpon was off to the races with us in hot pursuit as the fish made its mad dash for the deep water of the main channel. Once in the channel, the fish fought deep before coming to the surface and giving us a beautiful jump. It then ran back down and the tug of war continued. We finally released the fish giving us a final count of 1 for 1 and a red grouper.
The Ramirez family originally had an offshore trip planned. The windy weather on that day had them changing their minds about the offshore and switching to a tarpon trip so we could fish in calmer water. They would not be disappointed. Eloy and his son Colin were the featured anglers. Things got very exciting when we hooked up with the first fish. It took Eloy by surprise when he saw the tarpon make an 8 foot high jump. On the second jump, the hook was thrown. The next fish hooked up solid and was released. Carrie and her daughter Shelby decided they did not want to fight a tarpon after watching the events of the first and second tarpon. We caught one more tarpon before the evening ended and both Eloy and Colin had caught and released their first tarpon. Final count was 2 for 3.
Knot Nancy then went in for a new set of engines. The new twin 150 HP Yamaha 4 strokes engines were installed by Bob Hewes Boats. Next, the boat went to Whitewater Boats for some modifications and upgrades. The next evening after putting some break in hours on the motors it was time to get back to tarpon fishing.
Chester Herman and Justin Haas had one goal in mind. Get Justin his first tarpon. Within a few minutes of putting out the first baits, the rod in front of Chester bent over and we had our first fish on. The tarpon made a mad dash toward shore and shallow water. It gave us two great jumps that Justin caught on video. After releasing the fish, we set up our second drift. Once again it didn’t take long. This time, Justin was doing battle with his first tarpon. It turned out that Justin’s tarpon was a lazy fighter. It went deep and stayed there as we followed after it. The fish moved offshore, then into the deep water of the main channel. It continued offshore with the outgoing tide. It came to the surface and gulped air and then went back down. Next it came up and out of the main channel and headed north before turning and swimming toward the beach. Numerous times it gulped air. We got the leader to touch the rod tip several times and had the leader on the reel just as many times. Each time the tarpon pulled line off the reel with ease despite the fact that we were continuing to increase the drag pressure. Along the way, the fish gave us two jumps on different occasions. The tarpon was very camera shy and we just couldn’t get a good picture. The battle raged on and Justin was hanging in there. By now we had traveled north up the beach into the neon area. With one final run under the boat, the hook finally gave up and broke. The battle had lasted just about an hour. We ran back and set up again. It took one drift to figure out where the fish had moved to. We reset and had another fish on almost immediately. This time the fish threw the hook on its second jump. The final drift of the evening had Chester catching and released a bonnethead shark. Final count 2 for 3 and a bonnethead shark.
We’re now up to date again.
The end of June is fast approaching. With that, the tarpon action will become a bit inconsistent. It then shifts to a different style at other locations. If you want to get in on the action, now’s the time to act quickly and book a date.
Offshore, the dolphin (mahi-mahi) action has improved some, however, it’s still not red hot. There are some kingfish being caught deep in the water column. Sailfish can be seen free jumping on most every trip. Mutton snapper are being caught along with amberjack and barracudas.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 222
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 02, 2011 - 7:17 am: | |
Dolphin, Blackfin Tuna, Sailfish, Tarpon and More - Miami/Miami Beach, Florida
There is lots of good news since my last report. First, the dolphin fishing has improved. Not a lot of big ones, however, there are enough schoolie size fish to please most anglers. Second, the larger blackfin tuna have finally made their appearance. Add in the sailfish and kingfish and you have a very good variety of offshore fish.
Move inshore and tarpon fishing is still hot and will please many anglers. The fish are in the 60 pound and up category.
Duany Ruiz had lots of fun on his ¾ day trip pulling on blackfin tuna, barracuda, kingfish, and cero mackerel. After tasting his blackfin tuna, he gave me a call and said it was the best fish he has ever eaten.
Nick Mau, his wife, and 2 other friends got into some great tarpon action during their evening trip. Nick and his wife started things off with a double header. They both did an outstanding job of fighting their fish as the tide pushed us into the main channel at Government Cut. The next three fish were singles. Along the way we also caught a yellowtail and bluerunner. Final count for the evening was 4 for 5.
Victor Osnaya and Luis Gonzalez started their evening tarpon trip off with a large jack crevalle. Luis was amazed at how hard it fought. I told him he hasn’t seen nothing yet. Wait till the tarpon turn on. He found out shortly thereafter what I was talking about. Final tarpon count for the evening was 2 for 4.
Tom Mathias and his group also saw some great tarpon action. It started with the first drift and remainder fairly steady throughout the evening. The final tarpon count was 4 for 5.
Matt and Matty Santamauro along with Joe Lorusso saw offshore action with a sailfish and then evening tarpon action along with mangrove and yellowtail snapper.
Tino Poo and his group caught yellowtail snapper, jack crevalle, blue runners and went 1 for 2 on tarpon during their evening trip.
Jewon Wee, Ken Lipscomb, Joe Steitz, and Mike Cranor saw the highs and lows of tarpon fishing. The first tarpon was caught and released. The second one gave us a great fight and acted like it knew where it wanted to go when it cut us off on the chain that holds one of the markers along the edge of Government Cut channel. The third tarpon also seemed to have our number when it found an obstruction on the bottom and cut us off. We also caught yellowtail snapper and ladyfish.
Patrick Picciotto made the most of the one shot he had during his tarpon trip. The 80 pound fish ran us all over the flats area and then went into the main channel where Patrick slugged it out. It was a back and forth battle for a long time. Each time the fish got close and then ran off, the look on Patrick’s face was one of amazement. He couldn’t believe how hard the tarpon pulled and the stamina the fish had. I have to extend a THANK YOU to the group on the Paramount boat. Our fish ran under their boat and the captain quickly raised his engine out of the water so our line could clear. His quick action made it possible for Patrick to land and release his first tarpon.
Dave Steinel and John Mazurek fished offshore for dolphin. We spent a lot of time trolling to find fish. Once we got them up to the boat we switched to live bait on spinning outfits along with Kaplan jigs. The fish were schoolie size with the largest one being 8 pounds. We kept 6 fish and released the 14 other fish we caught.
Dave Steinel and John Mazurek were back for day two of dolphin fishing. We started off with a blackfin tuna that was released. We picked at dolphin as we trolled our way offshore. We found a tree trunk and had our best action of the day. The tree trunk also produce a wahoo for us. On this day we kept the wahoo and 2 of the 10 dolphin that we caught.
It was back to evening tarpon fishing with Raul and Cary Bosque, along with Andre Figueroa, and Nicole Morales. Raul started things off with his tarpon. Then it was Andre’s turn. The final fish of the evening gave us one jump before throwing the hook. Final count was 2 for 3 tarpon.
That brings us up to date once again.
There’s still time to catch tarpon. The blackfin tuna fishing is heating up. Sailfishing is still good. The rest is up to you. To get in on the action, just give me a call 305-965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 221
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 18, 2011 - 12:32 pm: | |
Mixed Bag Offshore and Tarpon Inshore - Miami, FL
Offshore has been a mixed bag that includes blackfin tuna, kingfish, bonito, sailfish, and amberjack. There have been a few dolphin (mahi-mahi) caught, however, for the most part fishing for them has been very disappointing. That could change any day now, so for those whose favorite fish is dolphin, you just need to hang in there.
Inshore, the shining star is still tarpon. There have been some very mild shrimp runs and the tarpon have not been missing out on them. The fish for the most part are in the 30 – 100 pound class with a few larger ones mixed in. When the tide is right, the Bay has been producing lots of 30 – 80 pound fish. It’s gorilla tarpon fishing at its best.
Camilo Vasquez, Sebastian Cuartas, Camilo Trujillo, and Federico Restropo combined to catch 2 of the 4 tarpon we hooked up as well as a keeper mutton snapper and a small blacktip shark.
Sean McLaughlin, Tony Mendoza, Scott Edenfield, and Chris Parente landed 1 of the 3 tarpon hooked along with 2 lane snappers.
Drew Townes, Tim Ivy, Greg Pennell, and Harrison Pennell fought and landed 3 of 4 tarpon hooked along with a Spanish mackerel and ladyfish. The featured angler was Harrison Pennell who caught his first tarpon and helped his Dad, Greg land his.
Tom, Cynthia, and Chris Shalls, along with Berry Windham caught kingfish, blackfin tuna, and dolphin on their half day offshore trip.
Stephen and Bill Wilson, and Jeff Kuhn caught blackfin tuna, dolphin, bonito, and amberjack on their offshore trip. One of the blackfins was attacked by a barracuda who got the better half of the tuna.
Ron and Judy Galley fished an afternoon/evening combo. During the afternoon portion of the trip, the blackfins co-operated nicely and we caught 6 of them along with one bonito that was mixed in. The evening portion of the trip had us landing 1 of the 2 tarpon hooked along with yellowtail snapper and bluerunners.
Jon Reedy and Jay Evans saw gorilla tarpon fishing in the Bay at its best. We visited 3 different locations and all but 1 produced action with tarpon in the 25 – 80 pound class. The first location had both anglers dancing around the boat fighting very hard pulling and active fish. When the action stopped we were 3 for 4. We saw a fish at the next stop, however, it disappeared before we could get a bait to it. The third location was holding plenty of active feeding fish. We were able to sight cast to these fish and the first time Jay had one grab his bait it took him by surprise. I only wish I could have taken a picture of his face when the tarpon tried to pull the rod out of his hand. The look on his face and his verbal comments were priceless. Jon hooked his fish that stayed on for several jumps, lots of splashing, and line pulling before it threw the hook. Jay’s second time around had him more ready for what was about to happen. He set the hook numerous times and the fish took off for parts unknown. When it made its first jump the fish was 100 yards out from where we hooked it. Jay was once again surprised at how far the fish had run. We chased the fish down and after 10 minutes of hard pulling and lots of jumps, we released his fish. That made us 1 for 3 at the third location and 4 for 7 final total for the evening.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 220
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2011 - 6:41 am: | |
Offshore there continues to be a mixed bag of fish. Kingfish have been running hot and cold. Sailfish please many anglers when there is north current. Bonito tire out many arms. Mutton snapper is a great table fare for those who work the various wrecks. Amberjack will definitely test your stamina and strength. Dolphin have made their springtime appearance. Blackfin tuna fishing has been happening most of the winter with smaller fish. They are now beginning to get bigger.
Inshore, the shrimp have been making some mild runs and that makes for some excellent tarpon fishing. The fish have ranged in size from 40 – 140 pounds.
Kip Kerr, Jeff Beckham, and Rick Perry caught bonito, snook, and tarpon at Government Cut and in the Bay.
Bob Moore and Andre Anastasi caught their limit of kingfish as well as blackfin tuna and bonito.
Manny Ariza and Rafael Rodriguez Ariza each caught their first tarpon at Government Cut. We took a DNA sample on one of the fish.
Jim Lefevre got back in form quickly by catching two tarpon on his trip to Government Cut. We got a DNA sample on both fish.
Mike Harris, Mike Connel, Andrew Martini, and Chris Basile saw the tarpon action explode on their 6 hour tarpon trip. The shrimp made a good run and the tarpon were there to feast on them. By the end of the evening, we had 9 shots and successfully landed 5 tarpon. One of the tarpon donated a DNA sample.
Mike Harris, Mike Connel, and Sean Hardiman fished the next evening. This time we caught and released 2 of the 3 fish hooked at Government Cut and 3 of the 4 fish we hooked in the Bay. We took a DNA sample on 4 of the tarpon.
Manuel Lecoca, Olivier Claux, Frederick Newman, and Thierry Bodson had to wait out the tarpon on their evening trip. Before the tarpon action started, we caught and released Spanish mackerel and bluerunners. It was getting toward the end of the trip when the tarpon turned on. The first fish put on a great show and each angler fought the fish when it got in the deep water of the main channel. The second fish was a little smaller, however, it too made it to the main channel and required the strength of all the anglers to get it to boat side for DNA sampling and release. DNA samples were taken on both fish.
The family of Tony, Sheryl, and Iszak Morgan saw plenty of action offshore with bonito, kingfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna, and bluerunner.
Eric and Randy Eichin saw action with 3 tarpon at Government Cut. The first fish jumped off on the first jump. A quick reset and we hooked up again. This time Eric fought and landed the fish. When the south wind calmed down after dark, we moved and Randy hooked up with his first tarpon. At first he thought it was a small fish because it was moving toward us so easily. The reason was it was heading for the deep water of the main channel. Then Randy realized he had something big on. The battle kept going back and forth. The battle wore on and neither the fish or Randy wanted to give in. Slowly the tide started turning toward Randy. When the fish finally came alongside, it was a whopping 140 pound fish. Nice going Randy. You pick on a real brute of a fish for your first tarpon. We took a DNA sample on one of the tarpon.
Gustavo Almanza, Isnardo Mojeron, Mario Rodriguez, and Robert Orosco saw action with bonito, barracuda, and kingfish. We had a sailfish on for a short period of time till it wore through the leader and released itself.
Eric Eichin was back for another tarpon trip. This time with his father, Don. Once again we had some stiff south wind and had to wait till it got dark for the wind to calm down. The trip was almost a carbon copy of the previous trip with his brother Randy. We had shots at three fish and landed two. The big one this time was 100 pounds. We took a DNA sample on one of the fish.
Todd Pierantoni, Mike and Andrea Brenner wanted to fish in the calm protected waters of the Bay. They were glad they chose to fish inshore as the wind was blowing 13 – 19 knots. All they wanted was action and lots of it. The first area we fished produced no action as did the second area. The third spot was the charm. By the end of their half day trip we had caught and released 30 jack crevalle in the 2 – 4 pound range using 8# spinning outfits.
Jim Lefevre, Bugs Nilles, and Bill Seiler had one whale of a tarpon trip. We started at Government Cut where we went 5 for 6 on live shrimp. We also had one tarpon on the Berkley Powerbait Rattle Shrimp. It threw the hook after several jumps. Before we headed into the Bay, we also caught and released two very large ladyfish. In the Bay, the action continued with 4 shots of which we landed and released 2 tarpon. That’s a final total of 7 for 11 for the evening. We also took DNA samples on 3 of the tarpon.
Dave and Paul Rusilko saw tarpon action both at Government Cut and in the Bay. We were 1 for 2 at Government and 1 for 1 in the Bay. Paul used his fly rod and got 2 fish to bump his fly, however he did not hook either fish.
Three days of fishing with Brad, Stu, and Harold Coren, and Brad Kiassman produced action with kingfish, bonito, barracuda, cero mackerel, hammerhead shark, and dolphin.
We are now caught up again with the fishing action aboard Knot Nancy. I have days open in April so all you need to do is call and book a date to get in on the action.
For those who do not have access or missed my latest Aquatic Adventures segement on CBS4 the local CBS affiliate in Miami, here is the direct link.
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/03/25/aquatic-adventures-government-cut -tarpon-fishing-fishing-reports-32511 |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 219
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 04, 2011 - 6:37 am: | |
Offshore there continues to be a mixed bag of fish. Kingfish have been running hot and cold. Sailfish please many anglers when there is north current. Bonito tire out many arms. Mutton snapper is a great table fare for those who work the various wrecks. Amberjack will definitely test your stamina and strength. Dolphin have made their springtime appearance. Blackfin tuna fishing has been happening most of the winter with smaller fish. They are now beginning to get bigger.
Inshore, the shrimp have been making some mild runs and that makes for some excellent tarpon fishing. The fish have ranged in size from 40 – 140 pounds.
Kip Kerr, Jeff Beckham, and Rick Perry caught bonito, snook, and tarpon at Government Cut and in the Bay.
Bob Moore and Andre Anastasi caught their limit of kingfish as well as blackfin tuna and bonito.
Manny Ariza and Rafael Rodriguez Ariza each caught their first tarpon at Government Cut. We took a DNA sample on one of the fish.
Jim Lefevre got back in form quickly by catching two tarpon on his trip to Government Cut. We got a DNA sample on both fish.
Mike Harris, Mike Connel, Andrew Martini, and Chris Basile saw the tarpon action explode on their 6 hour tarpon trip. The shrimp made a good run and the tarpon were there to feast on them. By the end of the evening, we had 9 shots and successfully landed 5 tarpon. One of the tarpon donated a DNA sample.
Mike Harris, Mike Connel, and Sean Hardiman fished the next evening. This time we caught and released 2 of the 3 fish hooked at Government Cut and 3 of the 4 fish we hooked in the Bay. We took a DNA sample on 4 of the tarpon.
Manuel Lecoca, Olivier Claux, Frederick Newman, and Thierry Bodson had to wait out the tarpon on their evening trip. Before the tarpon action started, we caught and released Spanish mackerel and bluerunners. It was getting toward the end of the trip when the tarpon turned on. The first fish put on a great show and each angler fought the fish when it got in the deep water of the main channel. The second fish was a little smaller, however, it too made it to the main channel and required the strength of all the anglers to get it to boat side for DNA sampling and release. DNA samples were taken on both fish.
The family of Tony, Sheryl, and Iszak Morgan saw plenty of action offshore with bonito, kingfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna, and bluerunner.
Eric and Randy Eichin saw action with 3 tarpon at Government Cut. The first fish jumped off on the first jump. A quick reset and we hooked up again. This time Eric fought and landed the fish. When the south wind calmed down after dark, we moved and Randy hooked up with his first tarpon. At first he thought it was a small fish because it was moving toward us so easily. The reason was it was heading for the deep water of the main channel. Then Randy realized he had something big on. The battle kept going back and forth. The battle wore on and neither the fish or Randy wanted to give in. Slowly the tide started turning toward Randy. When the fish finally came alongside, it was a whopping 140 pound fish. Nice going Randy. You pick on a real brute of a fish for your first tarpon. We took a DNA sample on one of the tarpon.
Gustavo Almanza, Isnardo Mojeron, Mario Rodriguez, and Robert Orosco saw action with bonito, barracuda, and kingfish. We had a sailfish on for a short period of time till it wore through the leader and released itself.
Eric Eichin was back for another tarpon trip. This time with his father, Don. Once again we had some stiff south wind and had to wait till it got dark for the wind to calm down. The trip was almost a carbon copy of the previous trip with his brother Randy. We had shots at three fish and landed two. The big one this time was 100 pounds. We took a DNA sample on one of the fish.
Todd Pierantoni, Mike and Andrea Brenner wanted to fish in the calm protected waters of the Bay. They were glad they chose to fish inshore as the wind was blowing 13 – 19 knots. All they wanted was action and lots of it. The first area we fished produced no action as did the second area. The third spot was the charm. By the end of their half day trip we had caught and released 30 jack crevalle in the 2 – 4 pound range using 8# spinning outfits.
Jim Lefevre, Bugs Nilles, and Bill Seiler had one whale of a tarpon trip. We started at Government Cut where we went 5 for 6 on live shrimp. We also had one tarpon on the Berkley Powerbait Rattle Shrimp. It threw the hook after several jumps. Before we headed into the Bay, we also caught and released two very large ladyfish. In the Bay, the action continued with 4 shots of which we landed and released 2 tarpon. That’s a final total of 7 for 11 for the evening. We also took DNA samples on 3 of the tarpon.
Dave and Paul Rusilko saw tarpon action both at Government Cut and in the Bay. We were 1 for 2 at Government and 1 for 1 in the Bay. Paul used his fly rod and got 2 fish to bump his fly, however he did not hook either fish.
Three days of fishing with Brad, Stu, and Harold Coren, and Brad Kiassman produced action with kingfish, bonito, barracuda, cero mackerel, hammerhead shark, and dolphin.
We are now caught up again with the fishing action aboard Knot Nancy. I have days open in April so all you need to do is call and book a date to get in on the action.
For those who do not have access or missed my latest Aquatic Adventures segement on CBS4 the local CBS affiliate in Miami, here is the direct link.
http://miami.cbslocal.com/...ishing-reports-32511
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 218
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 8:12 am: | |
Miami, FL - Springtime Is Here And The Fishing Is Great!!
Good news for the offshore fisherman. The kingfish have finally shown back up after a long absence. Even more good news, dolphin (mahi-mahi) have made their Spring appearance. Sailfish, blackfin tuna, and bonito have been steady most all winter. Throw in the kingfish and dolphin and the Spring transition period has started.
Closer in to shore there has been decent action on Spanish mackerel. The patches and shallow artificial reef areas produce numerous varieties of fish and fast action for very young anglers who don’t have the patience to wait out the larger offshore fish.
At the Inlets and in the Bay, tarpon action has been good to outstanding. The fish are getting larger and are now ranging from 30 – 120 pounds. When the strike takes place, you just never know how big the fish will be.
Richard Reamer and Warren White had a one day layover between their flights to Brazil. They didn’t want to sit in a hotel room the entire time, so being the avid anglers that they are, they decided to go find out about Miami tarpon fishing. The wind was howling from the ENE/E @ 24 – 29 knots. The south side at Government Cut gave us the best protection from the wind. The tarpon didn’t mind the windy conditions. We caught fish on our first three drifts on both live shrimp and the Berkley Powerbait Rattle Shrimp. By the end of the evening, we went 4 for 5 on live shrimp and 1 for 2 on the rattle shrimp.
The next evening, the wind switched to the east @ 20 – 26 knots. Rocky Taranto and Vinny DiMarco were enjoying a much needed break from the winter weather up north. The tarpon that evening decided to vacate the area. We worked very hard to produce Vinny’s first tarpon for him. The fish ate the rattle shrimp over the live shrimp. Just goes to show you never know which bait they’ll eat.
Kaven Gaudreau, Benoit St-Hilaire, and Maxime Blouin got into some good offshore action on their shortened trip. We started off with a sailfish on the long kite bait, along with kingfish on both the bottom rod and downrigger. After that fire drill, we added 2 dolphin to the fish box. A little while later, the downrigger produced another kingfish. The final fish was a sailfish that ate the short kite bait as I was moving back into shallower water.
Jerry Pressley picked on a large fish for his first tarpon. Once again we had to do some hunting and searching to find them. The 90 pound tarpon gave Jerry all he could ask for. He was up to the challenge and was amazed at the power and strength of the big fish. Once we got a DNA sample and released the fish, we set up another drift. It didn’t take long before we had an even larger fish on. This time Jerry picked on a 120 pound fish. The aerial show that this fish put on was one that no one should ever miss. The jumps, leaps, greyhounding, and head shakes kept us shaking our heads in disbelief that a fish could do all that and still have plenty of strength and stamina left.
Chris Drouin fished for tarpon for the first time. We started off with a gag grouper and bluerunner. Then we got our reward and Chris caught and released his first tarpon. We made a move to the Bay and found nothing there. Back outside, once again Chris hooked up and added his second tarpon. Both fish ate live shrimp.
Bob Lubin and Marcus Andrade started off slow on their tarpon trip and built momentum as the evening progressed. The first fish of the evening was a lizardfish. This was followed by two gag grouper as we worked our way up the food chain. Next it was two tarpon hook ups within minutes of each other. Both fish threw the hook on their first jump. Finally, Marcus got a solid hook up and fought, caught , and released his first tarpon.
Gustavo Uscocovich and his son, Gustavo Jr. experienced an evening of tarpon fishing where persistence was the key to success. Fishing outside of Government Cut, we watched loads of tarpon rolling around. They definitely we just playing and not in a feeding mood. We fished all three areas at the Cut and had three bluerunners to show for our efforts. Our last resort was the Bay with very weak tide conditions. About ten minutes after setting up, we had a 60 pound fish on. A few minutes into the fight, the tarpon went ballistic and made 3 consecutive 6 foot high jumps. The third one did the trick and we came back with a broken leader. We had no more action at that spot. We moved to another location and watched a fish consistently feeding in the same spot. We cast live bait, artificial bait, and artificial/live bait combos to the area with no results. Finally I had enough and we moved to another spot where we could see and cast baits to individual fish. It took Gustavo a little while to get the hang of it, however, his persistence paid off and he caught and released his first tarpon.
There you have it, good action offshore and plenty of inshore action for tarpon. Now it’s up to you to give me a call or send me an email to book your trip and enjoy the outstanding action we have in Miami.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Tom Zsak (Happydaytoday)
New member
Username: Happydaytoday
Post Number: 1
Registered: 3-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 - 12:40 am: | |
This morning in South Florida Ft. Lauderdale winds were out of the east at 15 mph - seas were running 5-8 ft., blue indigo waters pushed into the Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Hank Barner and close friend Randy chartered the Happy Day Today to do some deep sea salt water fishing in South Florida, Ft. Lauderdale. Hank wanted to target Mahi Mahi's, so we bought a dozen live Goggle Eyes from Bud the baitman for kite fishing.
We started off our deep sea fishing trip by trolling by the sea buoy in Ft. Lauderdale. Five minutes into trolling to the south, all five lines came down, each with a Mahi Mahi. With only two anglers, Hank and Randy, on the boat, they were kept busy reeling each Mahi Mahi in, one after the other. We continued to keep trolling south to a wreck that sits off of Ft. Lauderdale in 140 feet of water. On the way to the wreck, we kept hooking up Mahi Mahi's. Once we got to the wreck, we set up two kites with two Goggle Eyes on each kite. On the right short popped up a Sailfish. Mitch, our mate, handed the rod to Hank - five minutes into the battle, the Sailfish jumped off. As we reset the kites, waiting for our next attack, a Dolphin was hooked up on the left long. Randy was the angler on this one, he reeled in a nice 6 lb. Mahi Mahi to the boat.
We got attacked by King Fish and Barracudas, so I decided to go back to trolling for now. We kept trolling off of Ft. Lauderdale, catching more and more Mahi Mahi's, most of them in the 5-10 lb class. We ran across a weed line and decided to change from trolling to live baiting from two kites. As soon as we had both kites set up, with the closest bait to the boat approximately 50 feet away, a Sailfish swam around this left short bait with his dorsal fin out of the water making him easy to see. The Sailfish decided to feed on the Goggle Eye bait - it was now Randy's turn to be the angler. Immediately the Sailfish leaped out of the water, tailwalking towards the boat. Moving the boat ahead to get out of the way of the Sailfish, enabled us to take pictures of this magnificent spectacle. After 20 minutes into the battle, Randy subdued the Sailfish, Mitch leaned over the side, grabbed the bill of the Sailfish and brought him into the boat for more picture taking. We released the Sailfish and set up again - Twenty minutes later another Sailfish got hooked up on the right short. Hank was the angler on this second Sailfish - another fantastic acrobatic arial show was put on by this Sailfish. After bringing in the Sailfish, Mitch again grabbed the bill of this Sailfish and brought him into boat - pictures were taken.
It seems that all that was feeding off of Ft. Lauderdale were Sailfish - and with that, another Sailfish popped up. Hank wanted Randy to bring the Sailfish in and Randy told Hank to bring it in - they were both exhausted from their previous catches so they told Mitch he was the angler; therefore, Mitch fought, brought the Sailfish to the boat and released it. Congratulations to the angler and mate!!!
Not a bad day of fishing in South Florida, Ft. Lauderdale - 3 for 5 Sailfish plus 13 Mahi Mahi's and three King Fish!!!
For a successful and adventurous deep sea salt water fishing excursion on the Happy Day Today in sunny South Florida Ft. Lauderdale, contact Captain Zsak. - 954-439-8106 – www.topshotfishing.com |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 217
Registered: 8-2003
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Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 03, 2011 - 6:17 am: | |
Mixed Bag Offshore and Tarpon Inshore
The offshore scene has been a mixed bag of sailfish, bonito, small blackfin tuna, a few kingfish, and some mahi-mahi. Drop the bottom rod down and you could come up with a kingfish, mutton snapper, or grouper. Just remember that if it’s a grouper, the season is closed, so release it carefully.
Inshore, tarpon is still the king and will be for several more months. Several good shrimp runs have the fish readily eating on their time schedule. The fish have ranged in size from 30 – 110 pounds.
Drew Townes, Kevin Crossman, Luke Bell, and Tim Ivy spent a few hours tarpon fishing during the Miami International Boat Show. Kevin, Luke, and Tim all caught and released their first tarpon. Two of the three fish had a DNA sample taken. Final total for the evening was 3 for 4 caught on the south side of the south jetty.
Scott Salyers along with Charlie and Nick also got into some tarpon action the next evening. The final tally on their evening of tarpon fishing was also 3 for 4.
John Lyon, Sheldon Noel, Dave Hoffa, and Geoff Hoffa spent a half day offshore pulling on bonito, blackfin tuna, and kingfish.
Mario Adams, Adam Millier, Samuel Marks, and John Nicholas got wore out pulling on bonito and dolphin. The current was smoking to the north and it seemed like the entire coast was invaded by a massive number of summertime large bonito. Throw in a scoop of live pilchards and within minutes, all the rods would hook up. It got to the point that two of the anglers didn’t want to fight fish anymore. As they said “they pull to hard and I’m tired.” Final count was 17 bonito and 4 dolphin.
Shahrokh Reza and his father-in-law, Leo Biliouris experienced their first saltwater fishing trip. The bonito were still here everywhere. The action was fast and furious starting with a dolphin then a bonito. Next it was more bonito and a kingfish. Final tally for their shortened half day was 10 bonito, 1 dolphin, and 1 kingfish.
Ken Booth and Mike Vanloon caught 1 sailfish off the kite, 1 kingfish, and 8 bonito.
Bill and Heather McCaffrey had their first experience with Miami tarpon fishing. We caught the weaker part of the tide in the bay, however, we had one strike and caught 1 tarpon. We moved out to the cut and when the tide changed, we caught and released two more tarpon before the trip was over. Final tally was 3 for 3.
Cenk Durukal from Vienna, Austria fished an afternoon/evening combo trip. We started with a tripleheader bonito, then a kingfish, and our last fish during the offshore portion was a sailfish. The sail ate the bait on the downrigger. This is the third sailfish we’ve caught on the downrigger over the past two weeks. Moving inshore, it took us a little while to find the tarpon. The hunt and search was well worth the effort. Cenk caught and released a 110 pound tarpon. The next fish we hooked gave us back our hook on its first jump. That gave us a final tally for the evening of 1 for 2.
Gugga Jonasdottir, Jonas Jonasson, and Gisli Gilsason also saw their first Miami tarpon fishing experience. We started with action in the bay going 1 for 2. Then it was out to the north side of the jetties at Government Cut. Jonas hooked a very strong and stubborn 90 pound tarpon. Jonas was also as strong and stubborn. For a while it was a standoff. The fish finally started to tire and Jonas took advantage of it. In the end, the fish was photographed and released.
Matt and Jeff Hart caught a blackfin tuna and a couple of bonito during their half day trip.
All the offshore action took place in 100 – 140 feet. The tarpon action was at Government Cut and in the bay.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 216
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 - 5:54 am: | |
Tarpon, Sailfish, Kingfish, And More Off Miami, Florida
As I sit here and write this report, another front has just passed through the South Florida area. This one had plenty of rain and wind. The rain we need, however, the wind made conditions for tarpon extremely dangerous in the areas that the tarpon are feeding in along the beaches. The latest tarpon trip I had scheduled has been shifted up to tonight as the winds are now coming from a much more favorable direction and a lot less strong.
Offshore has been a steady diet of sailfish and kingfish. Mixed in are bonito and some mutton snapper if you can get past the small fish that are chewing up our baits before the muttons can find them.
Inshore it’s tarpon in a big way. All it takes is a nice size shrimp on a circle hook and work the entire area that the fish wander around in to get between 4 to 8 shots per trip. The fish are mostly in the 25 – 70 pound range with a few topping out at 90. With the except of one evening, the water temperature has been in a comfortable range for the tarpon.
Keith Mason and Dave Tolbert experienced the one evening when the water temperature was right at and below the 70 degree mark. When we arrived at Government Cut, there were tarpon rolling around in the main channel. The wind was blowing from the N/NE @ 19 – 25 knots. We watched the tarpon put on a great show for us as we worked our baits only to have them stolen by small bottom fish. We hid behind the south jetty till it got dark and for a few drifts after that. The water temperature kept dropping. We tried one of my go to spots in the Bay. The water temperature was 67 and we saw no action. We decided to try the beach at Haulover. With just enough of a westerly direction in the wind the conditions were actually quite pleasant along the beach. On the first drift, we got our reward. Dave caught and released his first tarpon. The next drift produced a double header of bluefish. On the third drift, Keith realized his dream of catching and releasing a tarpon. Our persistence paid off even though the water temperature had dropped from 69.5 on the first drift to 68.9 on the third.
Ary Krau along with his son Rueven and Rueven’s friend Chris Vela fished a half day. We started by loading the live well with pilchards. We put out the baits straight out from Haulover in 90 feet and slow trolled offshore. At 100 feet Rueven hooked up with a kingfish. After a brief fight, the baits went back out and we got another hook up almost immediately. Chris fought this fish and it was another kingfish. We continued to work the area of 90 – 120 feet slow trolling our baits. Throwing a few baits over board as live chum did the trick and this time both boys were hooked up with bonito. The action slowed down and I moved out to 180 feet and set up a drift. The first drift produced no action. The next drift I set up in 160 feet and once again started live chumming. I had just checked the bottom rod bait and started to put it back down when the middle flat line rod came to life with a none too happy sailfish. This time Ary jumped into action and the fight was on. Long runs, multiple jumps and leaps, surface head shakes, and deep dives were what all three anglers experienced. Constant pressure on Ary’s part finally had the fish along side where we took a few pictures in the water and revived the fish before sending it on its way.
Don and Debbie Puglisi from the Pompano Beach Offshore Anglers Club wanted to see what all the talk about tarpon fishing in Miami was all about. Debbie wanted to catch her first tarpon. They experienced both in a beautiful evening along Miami Beach. As soon as the sun set and the light started to fade, Debbie hooked up. We fought the fish from a dead boat and Debbie got plenty of exercise running around the boat several times with her tarpon. The fish did everything she expected and more. After releasing the fish the lines went back out and it didn’t take long before Don got his chance. Having caught tarpon in the past, he knew what to expect and made quick work of his fish. We made a major move and found more readily feeding fish on three consecutive drifts. One more final move before the evening was over produced another strike. The final count for the evening was 3 for 5 fish caught and released as well as getting a DNA sample from each fish. Nice going Debbie!! Now you need to catch a 100 pounder!
John McKenney is now another tarpon fanatic after his shortened evening of fishing. A strong wave of showers was heading our way. The wind had finally died down after blowing very hard most of the day. We saw fish rolling on almost every drift till it got dark. The first fish we had on gave us back our hook on its second jump. The next drift we had a solid hook up and John did his laps around the boat as the fish made its strong runs and jumps. With the fish caught and released, we moved to an area that has been very productive as of late. It didn’t disappoint us except for the fact that once again the fish gave us back our hook on its second jump after running about 80 yards of line off the reel. By now John was wondering if he was doing something wrong. No John, that’s just tarpon fishing. I watched the rain getting closer and closer with the XM Weather on my chart plotter. It hit us and got harder. We decided to call it an evening and now John can hardly wait to get back to Miami and do battle again with the mighty Silver King.
That’s it, we’re back up to date with the fishing action aboard Knot Nancy. I have both offshore and tarpon trips scheduled over the next five days, so as soon as I get a chance I’ll keep you posted on the action. In the meantime, check out my website www.knotnancy.com and then give me a call 305-965-9454 to schedule your trip. You can also check out the TV segment I did with weatherman Jeff Berardelli from CBS4. Here’s the direct link http://miami.cbslocal.com/2011/01/14/aquatic-adventures-fishing-report s-jan-14-2011
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 215
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 - 1:22 pm: | |
Hot Tarpon Action Continues Off Miami Beach, Florida
Tarpon fishing is just about as good as it gets. The only thing that can make it even better is for the first shrimp run of the season to take place. We’ve had all the signs that it should have taken place by now, however, it just hasn’t happened yet. By far, the evening time has seen the best action. The fish have been in the 35 – 90 pound range.
Eddie Farias treated his friend Ron Garcia to an evening tarpon trip. Ron has been trying to catch a tarpon for quite a while. The first fish stayed hooked up until we had it straight up and down next to the boat. At that point the hook pulled. The next fish ate a Powerbait Rattle Shrimp. This time the fish stayed hooked up until it decided to make its third run. Once again the hook pulled. Ron was beginning to doubt that he’d ever get one to the boat. Next we caught and released a bluefish and ladyfish before I decided to play a hunch and made a major move. It paid off with a solid hookup of a 90 pound tarpon that gave Ron everything and more that he could ever expect. We fought the fish from a dead boat except for when the wind blew us in to shallow water. The tarpon ran Ron around the boat at least 6 times. During this time, Eddie was videoing the entire episode. The mighty silver king was finally conquered and Ron was elated. Several still pictures were taken while I got a DNA sample of the fish, revived it, and sent it on its way to fight again on another day. A few drifts later, Eddie hooked up with a smaller fish and made quick work of it while Ron took the video and still pictures. The final fish of the evening was another ladyfish that capped off a perfect evening.
Brothers Ricky and Jesse Kovac from Sidney, Australia capped off their vacation in Miami by finding out firsthand how much fun tarpon fishing can be. The action started with the first drift and continued on throughout the entire evening. Jesse caught and released his first tarpon and then it was Ricky’s turn. After Ricky caught and released his first tarpon, it seemed like he was next to the rod that got hit for the rest of the evening. By the end of the 4 hour trip, we had 7 fish on and successfully landed and released 4 fish in the 30 – 70 pound range.
Action like this can be expected each evening from now through the end of June. If you want to get in on the fun and excitement, it only takes a phone call or email to book your trip. Don’t put it off as the time will be gone before you can hardly blink.
I’ve got more evening tarpon trips as well as offshore trips scheduled so check back and get the latest update on what’s happening aboard Knot Nancy.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 214
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 08, 2011 - 1:37 pm: | |
Hot Tarpon and Sailfish Action Off Miami Beach, Florida
Between the sailfish offshore and the tarpon off the beach, the action couldn’t get any better. This latest cold front has kicked the fishing up another notch from what has already been outstanding fishing.
Ed Nader wanted his friend Stephane Debommarez, who is visiting from Africa, to experience the tarpon action we have off Miami Beach. The great action started with our first drift and continued on throughout the entire evening. It didn’t matter much where we set up as the fish we all along a 1 ½ mile stretch of the beach. Stephane caught and released his first tarpon and added several more including one of 80 pounds. Ed caught several himself and when we called it an evening about 4 ½ hours after we started, the final total was 6 for 8. We were also fortunate enough to get the tarpon genetics DNA tagging (http://research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=26602 ) of 5 of the tarpon.
Court Conover and his daughter and son-in-law Meghan and Eric Brewer had visions of sailfish on their minds. We started out by loading the livewell with pilchards. Our first stop was straight out from Haulover. Despite some heavy live chumming, we had no action. We moved south to the Twin Towers area. The chumming brought up a bonito that Eric made quick work of. To date, this was the largest fish he had caught. Several minutes later I set up a drift and before I could put out the sea anchor, we had our first sailfish on. Eric fought this fish also while Court took pictures. Meghan was doing everything she could to battle a bout of motion sickness. After landing and releasing the sailfish, Eric declared that he had broken his biggest fish record twice in one trip. The drift was reset and out went several scoops of live pilchards. In a matter of minutes, we watched a sail chasing the free offerings. The birds would flock to where the sail was chasing baits to the surface. I pulled the sea anchor to move in a bit shallower. As soon as I put it on the deck, Court picked up one of the rods that had a strike and he was fast into a sail of his own. After a 20 minute battle of long runs, jumps, head shakes, and deep dives Court’s sailfish was released. At this point Meghan had all she could handle with the motion sickness and we made the run back to calmer water and the feeling of solid ground at the dock. Meghan hung in much longer than most people would have and I have to admire her for that. She wants to come back and go tarpon fishing where we can usually find much calmer water.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 213
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 04, 2011 - 7:46 am: | |
Continued Good Action Offshore and Inshore - Miami, FL
It’s hard to believe, however, another new year is upon us. Time is flying and fishing makes it pass by all the quicker. We ended 2010 on a very high note with the exception of one trip. In comes 2011 and it’s back to high gear again.
Whether you want to fish offshore or inshore or a combination of both, the action has been and continues to be very good. Offshore the kingfish and sailfish are cooperating nicely. Throw in action with mahi-mahi, mutton snapper, and bonito and it makes for a well rounded variety of fish.
Move inshore and tarpon remains the king. The water temperature has rebounded nicely after the recent cold fronts and so has the tarpon action. You can reasonably expect several shots during the evening on fish that range in size from 20 – 90 pounds.
Johan Karvik and his son Linus from Sweden saw great action starting with kingfish. We fished straight out from Haulover in the 90 – 110 foot range. Both the flatlines and downrigger produced steady action. A steady stream of birds were flying north and south just offshore of us so we ran out to 200 feet to take a look. A nice weedline had the birds and our attention. Slow trolling pilchards produced a small school of mahi-mahi and the action got crazy for several minutes. Mahi-mahi was both Johan and Linus’ dream fish and they couldn’t believe their dream had come true. As quick as they came, the mahi-mahi left us. We finished the half day trip with a final kingfish and headed back to TNT Marine Center.
The father and son team of Richard and Richie Rusak along with Joe Lodato got into kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and mutton snapper on their half day trip. The last time Richard fished with me, we caught a mutton snapper while slow trolling a pilchard on the downrigger. When Richards’s turn came, the downrigger popped and he said “I hope it’s a mutton”. When I saw color on the fish, much to all our surprise, darned if wasn’t a mutton snapper again. We went through a period of several fish when I thought we were using rubber hooks. We finally straightened that out and ended the morning on a high note.
Fred Dumas had been fishing several times on his boat with limited success. He saw a rerun of a TV show I made with Mark Sosin and happened to see me driving home on I-95. He gave me a call and set up a trip to learn on to improve his fishing. We started off with catching live bait. With the well stuffed with pilchards we started off with some kingfish. Next we moved south to the Twin Towers area. Some heavy chumming gave us a very good reward in the form of a double header sailfish. Fred could hardly believe what was happening. The first fish ate the downrigger bait. The second ate a flatline. It was back and forth with each fish with lots of give and take. Finally we were taking more that giving and we released the first sailfish. Fred started working on the second fish and soon had it under control and coming to the boat. The second fish was released and we ended the trip on a high note.
Tim Moore got in on some very hot kingfish action. With a well full of pilchards and herring, we started an offshore drift in 85 feet. All it took was throwing out several pilchards as live chum and the action started. It was fast and frantic. Tim ran from rod to rod and all I could do was throw a fish in the box, throw out another bait, and get ready to gaff another fish. It took all of 7 minutes to limit out. We straightened out the rods and Tim wanted to try for a sailfish. I moved up to the Twin Towers area and put out the baits. As we drifted in the area of a group of wrecks, we caught and released several kingfish. We had a sailfish on for a short time before it broken our wire leader. Action with several more kings and then it got crazy. We watched a sailfish stalk one of our flatline baits. The bow flatline rod bent over and we were hooked up. Then the stern flatline bent over and we had a double header sailfish on. Prior to all this, Tim had asked me how one angler fights two sails at once. He was now in the middle of experiencing it for himself. Back and forth it went with both fish. Lots of jumps, leaps, and greyhounding action along with long powerful runs had Tim moving from rod to rod. The first fish came alongside and was released. Now we could move toward the second fish and recover line. The second fish came boat side and was also released. We ended the half day with 8 kingfish, keeping 4, and 2 sailfish releases.
George Brodish now has the tarpon bug after his evening trip. We fished Haulover and this was the first time George was fishing for tarpon. During our conversations, we discovered that we both had been drafted into the Army and had both served time in Germany. We told lots of stories about our military time between fighting tarpon. The action started a little after it got totally dark. The first fish gave us back our hook on the first jump. Several drifts later, the hook stayed in and George caught and released his first tarpon. We kept working the area and we caught and released another fish. Then the Powerbait Rattle Shrimp got hit. We fought that fish till it gave us back the bait on its second or third jump. I was busy clearing the live shrimp lines and couldn’t keep track. We had enough time for just one more drift. That’s all it took and George was hooked up to the biggest fish of the evening. It came along side several times and then took off again and again. When George got a very good look at the size of the fish he was amazed at what he had just caught and where we were when he caught it. I released the tarpon and we had a very short ride back to TNT Marine Center as we relived the 5 tarpon we had just had on.
Chris and Sonya Seward were down for the Orange Bowl game. They also wanted to get in some tarpon fishing and get Sonya’s first tarpon. Once again we fished Haulover. The fish were feeding very finicky to start with. We would see our rod tip twitch and then about 30 seconds later, a tarpon would jump. Finally, a tarpon ate like it should have. Like the previous trip, it threw the hook on its first jump. Two drifts later we got a solid hook up. Chris was on the rod and Sonya took pictures. Now it was Sonya’s turn. Her fish hooked solid and after several minutes of jumps and running around the boat, Sonya had caught and released her first tarpon. All the action was captured on film by Chris. A bluefish cut in on the action and then we made a major move. It turned out to be the right one. We jumped a fish on the first drift. On the second drift, Chris caught and released another fish. On the last drift of the evening, Sonya caught a bonnethead shark. 3 for 5 on tarpon along with a bluefish, bonnethead, and Sonya’s first tarpon. Mission accomplished. Their next stop was the Orange Bowl the next evening.
There you have it. Up to date and current once again. More trips scheduled for tomorrow, so check back for more fishing adventures aboard Knot Nancy. To make your own adventure, give me a call or email, it’s that simple.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 212
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 - 3:18 pm: | |
Miami, FL
Lots of Great Action Both Offshore and Inshore
Take your choice, the fishing is great both offshore and inshore.
Offshore, the action for kingfish continues to be good to red hot. Throw in sailfish, mahi-mahi, mutton snapper, Spanish mackerel, and bonito and it makes for a well rounded day of fishing with lots of variety.
Move inshore and it’s tarpon, jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, snook, and mangrove snapper. Once again lots of variety.
Chancelor and Angela Williams along with their friends Colby McDonald and Pam Larr wanted to fish in the calm inshore waters. Several days of cold weather had lowered the surface water temperature to 62 degrees in the area where the most action had been. We caught a few jack crevalle and a mangrove snapper, however the action was far from what it should have been. I moved back closer to the Inlet where we gained several degrees in temperature and that did the trick. It was fast and furious action for jack crevalle and Spanish mackerel. By the end of the morning there were several sore arms and lots of smiles on their faces.
Stephanie Gordon and her dad, Dick Gordon along with Ed Nader faced cold water temperatures during their evening tarpon trip. We marked several tarpon and had no hits. It took lots of searching before we finally got our reward. The tarpon put on a good show and at one point almost joined us in the boat. After posing for pictures it was released. Adding to the variety, we had a nice size snook eat our shrimp. It posed for some pictures and was also released.
Farid Suleman along with his sons, Miles and Trev were busy with action that came in spurts. The flatlines produced kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and mahi-mahi. The downrigger produced kingfish. And not to be out done, the bottom rod gave use mutton snapper and large blue runners. All the fish except the blue runners were kept and plans for a fish fry were rapidly made.
John Kirk, Pete and Patrick Churchwell, along with Ed McGowan were kept hopping with plenty of action on their ¾ day trip. We started by putting out two flatline baits. While I was about to put out a downrigger bait, the flatlines took off and the fun began. Everyone got in on the action several times during our first two drifts. The kingfish were in the 6 – 10 pound range and mighty hungry. On the third drift, the action slowed for a bit. Some heavy live chumming got it going again. This time it was a beautiful sailfish that had Ed wondering if the fish would ever stop running. It made numerous jumps and headed for the anchor line of a boat that was several hundred yards away from us. After a series of jumps it changed directions and ran away from the anchor line. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After about 15 more minutes of battling the sailfish, we took pictures and released Ed’s first sailfish to thrill some other angler on another day. Back to fishing and back to catching more kingfish. By the end of the trip, we were one fish shy of our limit with the last fish coming on the bottom rod and being the largest fish of the trip. Guess who caught that fish? You got it, Ed was on the rod.
That brings me up to date once again. Fast hot action and plenty of it. Time to book your fishing trip. It’s as easy as calling me at 305-965-9454 or send me an email at nkostyo@bellsouth.net Lets go make some fishing memories together.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 211
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 - 7:07 am: | |
Red Hot Kingfish Action As Well As Tarpon Too!!
The cold fronts we’ve been experiencing have kicked the kingfishing into high gear. The first outstanding run of kingfish has been long awaited and very welcome. The fish are averaging 8 – 30 pounds with some even larger. Mixed in with the kings have been large bonito and some blackfin tuna. Working offshore a bit deeper and the sailfish have been cooperating nicely along with some mahi-mahi.
Meanwhile on the inshore scene, tarpon fishing remains hot. As of my last trip, there has not been a shrimp run yet, however, that could take place on any evening. When that happens, the action will get even wilder as the tarpon will be feasting on them.
Elvin and Kileann Uhlenhopp from Minnesota left 0 degree temperatures to enjoy a break from the cold. They found out that it does get chilly in South Florida and they had to buy some heavier clothing to go along with their shorts and short sleeve shirts. After loading the livewell with pilchards, our goal was to find some eating fish. With the wind blowing from the NW/N @ 11 – 14 knots, we fished the 75 – 95 foot range and found immediate action with kingfish. Throw out a scoop of live pilchards and kingfish immediately started busting on the surface and all the baits we had out on rods got hit. The action was fast and furious and kept everyone running from rod to rod. In no time, we had our limit of kingfish. Moving out a bit deeper, the bonito took over the scene. Both anglers were amazed at how hard the bonito pulled. We ran out further to try for some mahi-mahi with no success. We moved back in closer to help Kileann settle her stomach. Slow trolling two flatlines and a deep bait on the downrigger produced our biggest fish of the day when the downrigger line took off and line screamed off the reel in an alarming manner. The fight went back and forth for about 10 minutes. Elvin finally got the upper hand and much to our surprise we had to release a 25# kingfish since we were already limited out. That fish hit in 190 feet. The final fish of the day was also caught on the downrigger and turned out to be a bonito that was also released. The final count was 8 kingfish of which we kept 6 and 4 bonito of which we kept two.
Maurico Ruiz, Kevin Cummings, and Pete Ryan had tarpon on their minds. The cold front was due to come through on that evening. The wind was from the SW/WNW @ 15 – 20 knots. That made for perfect conditions to drift the area for tarpon. On the second drift, two of the three rods got hit and the hook ups were solid. Both fish were landed and we got DNA samples from them before releasing them. Two drifts later we hooked a single tarpon that was slightly larger. It put on a good show and as it came alongside, made a final jump slamming into the side of the boat and the hook pulled for a clean release. Then the front came through and it started to sprinkle and then it got heavier. All three anglers agreed they didn’t want to fish in the rain and we called it an evening and headed back to TNT Marine Center. Final count for the evening was 3 for 3 with everyone catching and releasing a tarpon.
We are already getting our share of cold fronts coming through our area. While the temperatures drop to what we consider cold for South Florida they don’t stay down for long and what they really do is make great fishing even better. Call or email me to schedule your trip and take advantage of the great fishing we’re having.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 210
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2010 - 12:53 pm: | |
And The Action Keeps Getting Better And Better!!
I’ve been receiving lots of calls about “how’s the fishing?” This is the first break I’ve had to sit down and write a report. So, once again let’s get caught up with the action.
Offshore has been a mixed bag with a variety of species. The great thing is that when the hook up occurs, you just never know what it might be. The list of fish we’ve been catching include sailfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), kingfish, blackfin tuna, mutton snapper, Spanish mackerel, bonito, arctic bonito, and small sharks. That’s quite a list. The action has taken place on the kite, flatlines, and downrigger. The deep rod has been the only one that has not seen any action. Find some north current and water that is at least blue/green in color and it won’t be long before the fish start biting.
Inshore it’s been tarpon, jack crevalle, barracuda, and Spanish mackerel. The best tarpon bite has been late afternoon through and after dark. Bring plenty of bait as the mackerel have had a hardy appetite while you’re waiting for the tarpon strike.
Kevin Ward, Rich Cordova, and John Olaes caught sailfish and bonito during their trip.
Scott Lawhead caught and released his first tarpon. His brother Chris was along to share the experience and take pictures.
Robert Dollar, Dave Hirsch, Tyler Miale, and Chris Bassantes wore their arms out catching jack crevalle in the Dumfoundling Bay area. The action was fast and furious. A large mangrove snapper surprised everyone and made for a good meal.
Phil Philipowich and his son Cody saw action with sailfish and mutton snapper offshore and finished off the evening with tarpon inshore at Government Cut.
Hunter and Paul Tully along with Frank and Judy Addabbo got into the action with sailfish, kingfish, Spanish mackerel, mutton snapper and a houndfish.
Captain Gil Gutierrez and I took some time to ourselves and got in on the hot jack crevalle and barracuda action in the Dumfoundling Bay area. Every time we thought about calling it a day, we’d find more fish and had to stay and catch several more.
Pete Dipino and Rich Pina fish two days. The first day they each caught and released their first and second sailfish along with several kingfish and Spanish mackerel. The second day they added another sailfish each to go with three blackfin tuna, two dolphin to 20 pounds, an eight pound mutton snapper, and four foot shark.
Jeff Berardelli and Adrian Alvarez shot some video of their fishing trip for CBS 4. The flatlines and downrigger produced action with blackfin tuna, kingfish, and arctic bonito during a 3 hour trip. Watch for the segment during a news telecast in the next week or two. The segment will also be available on the CBS 4 website http://cbs4.com Once it’s available, I’ll let everyone know in one of my reports.
I have more offshore and evening tarpon trips scheduled so I’ll do my best to get another report posted as soon as the trips are completed.
The action is hot, so now’s the time to give me a call or send me an email to schedule your trip and get in on the fun.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 209
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2010 - 2:29 pm: | |
Good Offshore Action and Red Hot Tarpon Bite - Miami, FL
Offshore if you find a good edge and north current the fishing has been outstanding with sailfish, kingfish, a few dolphin (mahi-mahi), and mutton snapper. In the areas where there is no north current, it’s been a struggle to put together a decent catch. Heavy chumming with live pilchards and chunking the dead ones with vastly improve your chances for success.
Moving in closer to shore and over the reef area, the Spanish and cero mackerel will please many anglers. This area as well as close to shore is teaming with ballyhoo.
Move in to the Inlets and along the beach and tarpon is king. The fish have been very cooperative and are in the 30 – 50 pound class. Live shrimp is doing the trick along with artificial shrimp baits.
Tim Moore fished a half day in the afternoon with wind from the SSW/SW @ 9 – 17 knots. Before heading offshore, with 4 throws of the castnet, we loaded the livewell with pilchards. Next we added herring to complete our bait catch. We found a good current edge in 150 feet off Bear Cut. The downrigger drew the first hit in the form of a nice 12 pound kingfish. As we drifted north with the aid of the current and wind, the edge kept pushing out deeper. We marked fish on the recorder between 100 – 110 feet down. The downrigger was lowered to 110 feet and as we crossed the edge in 205 feet, we got our reward in the form of another nice kingfish. This one weighed in at 15 pounds. We had no further action until we moved back south again to start another drift. By this time, the edge had pushed in to 130 feet. The downrigger scored again as we hit the 160’ depth mark and a third kingfish of 14 pounds joined the others in the fish box. We had one bait get knocked off the long kite by an unknown species. A heavy squall line was pushing our way with the approach of a strong cold front and we decided to call it a day.
Josh Perkins, Chris Klein, and Jason Orrock took some time off from their business schedule to get in an evening of tarpon fishing. The wind was howling out of the NNW @ 22 – 27 knots. Being on the lee side of Miami Beach, we had a 2 foot ground swell which in combination with the NNW wind gave us a perfect drift down the beach. The action started with the first drift. We had something on the line and the hook pulled before we could identify it. The next drift we hooked and released our first tarpon. The next drift we hooked and released another tarpon. The next drift we hooked a tarpon, however, it threw the hook on its first jump. Then the action stopped for two drifts. We set up to cover a different area of water and the spinning rod with an artificial shrimp got hit. The fish ran off a good amount of line, jumped and gave us back our bait. We quickly put the bait back out and in about 20 seconds we were hooked up again, this time solidly, to another tarpon that ate the artificial shrimp. We released that tarpon after another good fight. Two more drifts with no hits and it was time to head back to TNT Marine Center. Final total for the evening was 2 for 3 on live shrimp and 1 for 2 on the artificial shrimp. The fish were in the 45 – 50 pound class and every got to land and release a fish.
That brings me up to date once again. The offshore fish is getting better and better. Tarpon fishing is in its full time winter mode. Time to book your sailfish or tarpon trip. Better yet, book what I call the best of both world’s trip. Fish offshore in the afternoon and finish off the trip with tarpon fishing during the evening. It’s hard to beat.
Send me an email or give me a call to book your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 208
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 31, 2010 - 2:41 pm: | |
Offshore and Inshore Action in the Haulover Area
Let’s start with the offshore action in the Haulover area. Loading the live well with pilchards has been a matter of making one or two throws with the castnet to black out your well. We’ve fished in the 80 – 250 foot range with the vast major of our action coming in the 90 – 110 foot area. It’s been a mixed bag of sailfish, bonito, mutton snapper, cero mackerel, and small sharks. The key has been very heavy chumming and finding even a slight color change.
Richard Rusak and Jason Harris caught all of the above mentioned species except bonito on their half day trip. It was perfect kite flying weather with the wind from the ESE @ 16 – 20 knots. The downrigger scored the mutton as we slow trolled our baits. The initial run had us all thinking kingfish. It was a very nice surprise when we saw the pink color. When I pulled the fish up next to the boat, the hook pulled. It sat there not realizing it was free. I quickly pinned the fish up against the hull and threw it into the boat much to the surprise of both Richard and Jason. The cero came next on a flat line. The kite went up and this was the first time that Jason had done this type of fishing. The shark ate the short kite bait and Jason handled everything as if he’d been doing it for a long time. The sailfish came on our final drift of the morning. Jason saw a commotion on the short kite bait once again and this time Richard did a great job of coming tight on the fish. The show the sailfish put on was fantastic and after a 15 minute battle, we took pictures and sent the fish on its way.
For those who find the sea conditions too rough, the waters in the Bay are nice and calm. John Burrows and his grandson Luke Langston chose the calmer water on their trip. The wind was from the NE/ENE @ 17 – 19 knots. Luke doesn’t do to well in rough seas. We went north to Dumfoundling Bay and had constant action all morning long. We started off trolling diving plugs while Luke chummed the waters with live pilchards. It didn’t take long before we started seeing explosions on the surface as jack crevalle chased the baits against a seawall. We stopped trolling and put out live baits on 8# spinning outfits. The action was fast and furious. We worked the entire length of the seawall with the same results before moving out to the main Bay. There we started seeing tarpon rolling as we set up our drift. As is typical with that area, the tarpon ignored our baits. On the other hand, throw over a few live baits for chum and every rod got hit with jacks. During one of the blitzes, we caught a Spanish mackerel. That’s how it went all morning long. Lots and lots of action to the point that Luke said his arm was sore from catching so many fish.
Take your choice, offshore or inshore, there’s plenty of action to be had. Now it’s up to you to give me a call or send me an email to book your trip and get in on the action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 207
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, October 10, 2010 - 9:15 am: | |
Fall Fishing Kicking Into High Gear!
Fall fishing is definitely kicking into high gear. There are loads of finger mullet in the Bay, at the Inlets, and along the beach. Tarpon and bluefish are finding it very easy to keep their belly’s full. Meanwhile, offshore dolphin are making their Fall push through the area. There have been weed lines in the 500 – 650 foot area along with lots of floating debris. The fish range in size from schoolies to gaffers. Closer in, there have been some good catches of sailfish.
Jan Maizler got in on some bluefish action on the flats inside of Haulover Inlet. The fish were busting schools of finger mullet that were flooding into the Bay with the incoming tide. We worked several more Bay spots where we saw plenty of exploding action with bait fish schools, however, we had no takers on our offerings. The next move was to Government Cut. Out went two finger mullet that we slow trolled. Within a few minutes, we had a nice size tarpon pop at one of our baits and miss. I turned around and moved back over the same area and we got our reward in the form of a screaming drag on the Penn Conquer 8000 spinning reel. The fish gave us several jumps, long runs, and surging rolls. Jan countered each move of the tarpon and kept up the steady pressure. Eventually the pressure began to take its toll on the fish. The leader came into the rod guides and back out several times before the tarpon finally calmed down enough for me to grab the leader and have some control of the fish. We took numerous in water pictures of the 50# tarpon before sending it on its way. The tarpon thanked me by kicking off with a slap of its tail and splashing me.
Do you want in on this kind of action? Call or email me and we can make it happen.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 206
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 04, 2010 - 10:10 am: | |
It’s October already. The surgery I had was a success. I waited, not so patiently, through the recommended recovery period. That time has finally passed. Nancy and I have taken our Fall vacation.
With all that behind me, I’m now ready to get back to some great fishing and have an open schedule with several tarpon and sailfish trips already booked in March and April of 2011. Now’s the time to book that fishing trip that you’ve been putting off.
There are schools of finger mullet in the Bay. That means that tarpon, snook, and jack crevalle should be having a whale of a time feasting on them.
As we get further into the Fall time frame, the action for kingfish and sailfish will pick up. Dolphin are starting to make the run south through our area as the weather up north begins to cool down and the water temperature starts to drop. As of now, dolphin are coming through our area scattered in a wide range from 2 – 10 miles out.
Bottom fishing at night is producing yellowtail snapper, a few mangroves, and mutton snapper. Current is the key and only Mother Nature has control of that.
Tarpon fishing along the beach and at the Inlets will be good as long as mullet continue to move through the area. Once the mullet run is over, that action will slow down until the first shrimp runs take place signaling the start of the winter tarpon season. The good news, however, is that there will still be tarpon readily available in the Bay till the winter season kicks off.
During my down time, Knot Nancy had a makeover of the upholstery, T-top, and new electronics. She’s ready to go for another great season of South Florida fishing. All it takes to get in on it is for you to give me a call 305-965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get your trip booked. It’s that simple.
It’s great to be back on the water.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 22
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, September 10, 2010 - 8:19 am: | |
A fellow neighbor once told me as he was loading his boat to take his family fishing in Flamingo that he never let the weather stop him from having a great time with his family. Of course he meant within reason!
On Monday when I awoke at 7 AM I checked the weather forecast for South Florida and saw that we might have quite a bit of rain and wind during the day. I awoke my wife and son and had them get ready for the ride to Flamingo anyway. We made sure that we had our Columbia Sportswear foul weather suites and off we went. We took our time getting to Flamingo knowing that the tide we wanted to fish would not be right till about noon. Sure enough we ran through scattered rain squalls and a steady wind at 15 to 20 miles per hour. We stopped at the Crackle Barrel in Florida City and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast before traveling the rest of the way to Flamingo. Once at the boat ramp we saw that there was only a few other fishermen in the Park probably because of the weather forecast. Since we were early as far as the tide was concerned we went searching for tripletail that I have been finding free floating on the surface but this day we saw none. A big squall threatened so we headed for the closest island and Power Poled down to wait out the squall. While waiting I was able to cast net a few dozen large pinfish a bait that I knew would be needed to entice the redfish that we were looking for. Once the rain slowed a bit we headed to our first spot. The tide was running out slowly exposing the shallow mud and grass flats around us. It didn’t take long before the pinfish that we had hooked to the ¼ ounce red Hookup lures started attracting fish. I got the first strike and it was a ten pound snook that quickly spit the bait. By the end of the day we had three redfish in the 6 to 7 pound range stored in the cooler and had releases one 19 inch fish and 10 others over the 27 inch maximum size limit. We released a lemon shark that was close to 150 pounds plus lost many others and missed a nice tarpon. We got to see numerous sharks cruising the flats with their fins totally exposed; a huge tarpon that swam by us with dorsal and tail fin showing that ignored our pinfish, a group of manatees and dozens of different birds. Had we canceled our trip none of this would have happened. And the best thing, our Columbia Sportswear foul weather gear kept us completely dry.
With hurricanes, tropical storms, depressions and soon weak stalling cold fronts arriving almost weekly now, we in South Florida can expect similar conditions as I just described for the next few months. The point I was trying to make is don’t let some foul weather change your plans as to when and where you go fishing. Within Reason! Here in South Florida there is almost always somewhere to wet a line that not only gives you a great chance at a trophy fish but in safe waters.
Offshore fishing has been excellent when weather conditions have allowed me to get offshore. Recently I had Tino and his friend Mark out for four hours and in that time we caught as much bait as we needed and then traded the bait into three large bonitos to 15 pounds, a 20 pound barracuda and a 50 pound sailfish and all caught on light inshore tackle. We missed at least a dozen kingfish and had either another sailfish or barracuda eat a bait and then jump as it broke our line.
Biscayne Bay has been very good for sea trout, snappers, barracudas, jacks and bluerunners and at night there have been snook and tarpon available.
Flamingo is the inshore hot spot. If you like big fish and want your arms to burn then Flamingo is where you want to be because the big lemon sharks are plentiful and in shallow water they are a blast. In between the sharks there have been plenty of big and small redfish as Pat found out last week when he caught over 20 redfish to 7 pounds, a 10 pound snook, sea trout, tripletail to 6.5 pounds, loads of jacks, ladyfish and snappers. Pat hooked a fish on a Rapala Twitchin Rap that almost stripped him before breaking his line. The tripletail were caught on Cajun Thunders and live shrimp and the redfish were caught on Hookup lures tipped with three inch Gulp shrimp and live pinfish.
I have included a picture of my son Zach and a largemouth bass that he caught in a canal in Broward County that ate a live shiner and was over ten pounds.
Well that catches us up for now!
Don’t let a bad weather forecast stop you from having a fishing adventure of a lifetime!
Give me a call at 786-436-2064 or e-mail me at shermana@bellsouth.net
Let's go catch some Fish!
Check out my new web site and to read about the weekly catches and to see your pictures.
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 Wear, Tempress Seating
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786-436-2064
w ww.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
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 FISHING SEASON. |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 205
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 09, 2010 - 10:08 am: | |
This will be my last update until October. I’m having a surgical procedure that will keep me off the water until then.
We are in the long hot days of summer. That means that fishing tactics have to be changed to put together a good catch. The dolphin season has been for the most part disappointing in our area. It started out good and once again when it should have kicked into high gear, the bottom fell out. We’ve had a lack of weedlines and floating debris. Even the birds have not ventured offshore in large numbers. Those that have found fish have found small ones that either wouldn’t eat or were below the legal size limit. Yes, there have been some good catches, however, dolphin fishing has been very hit or miss.
In on the reef, it’s been bonito and kingfish, AJ’s on the wrecks, and some blackfin tuna along with a few sailfish. The change in tactic for the hot days has been to fish the baits deeper on break away leads, downrigger, and bottom rods. The best action we’ve seen has been in the 130 – 250 foot range.
Tarpon fishing has been excellent in the Bay. It just requires adjusting the hours you fish so that you can take advantage of the best tide conditions. The fish have been in the 15 – 40 pound range and are putting on a great aerial show as well as pulling extremely have. It’s gorilla tarpon fishing at its best to keep them away from the structure they are trying to cut you off with.
Robert Oldin and Mike got into some outstanding tarpon action in the Bay. Normally the land to hook up ratio with Bay fish is about 50%. The circle hooks and anglers did an outstanding job and we finished the evening with a 4 for 4 record. Way to go guys.
Ash Suresh and Jeff Moyle came all the way from Australia on a business/pleasure trip. Tarpon action was on the pleasure part of the trip. We had to fish much later hours to catch the tide. We had a shot at 3 fish. Two of the fish hooked up and we landed and released one of them. The third fish bent the rod, however, the hook didn’t find the mark.
Brian Spann and his son Jordan saw plenty of arm pulling action with bonito. At one point, we had four fish hooked up at once and neither angler had a chance to catch their breath between fighting fish.
Fred and Michael Gates along with Benjamin Siboni got in some kids fishing trip action as well as offshore action. Benjamin was visiting from France. He spoke very little English, however, fishing is a universal language that all anglers understand. We anchored up in 25 feet of water and put out the chum bag. It didn’t take long before we had lots of fish behind the boat. Michael and Benjamin fished the bottom catching yellowtail snapper, triggerfish, and grunts just as fast as they could put baits in the water. Fred freelined his baits and caught yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, and a giant bluerunner. It didn’t take long before everyone’s arms were tired and we ran out to finish the trip. We caught a bonito fairly quickly and then had to wait a bit before we were rewarded with a nice blackfin tuna.
Debbie Currier and Wade Robinson saw plenty of action on their half day trip. The flatlines and downrigger shined on this day. Bonito and kingfish kept Wade busy pulling in fish and Debbie busy with the camera. The bonito were of the bionic size and would not give up. The kingfish gave Wade plenty of steaks and fillets to take home as they weighed in at 13 ½ and 18 pounds on the scale back at TNT Marine Center.
Lewis and David Carroll along with Lloyd Wruble saw lots of tarpon on their trip. David and Lewis used fly tackle and Lloyd used jigs on a spinning outfit. The fish were moving through in singles, doubles, and triples. Everyone got fish to bump their offerings, but no strong takers. As the movement slowed down we set up to use live bait. Before I could pin the bait on the second outfit, David hooked up with a beautiful 30 pound tarpon that jumped numerous times and buzzed plenty of line off the reel. Lloyd got video of the fight as David brought the fish alongside for release. I took my bath as the fish exploded while I was releasing it and got soaked.
Michael Richmond, Andrew Arnold, and Mike Bess had dolphin fillets on their mind as we headed offshore. We had a flat calm day and found several slicks with weed in them. The third line that we worked in 850 feet gave us our reward. Both slow trolled baits got hit and the action started. Almost as quickly as it started, it ended. Then a rain storm pushed offshore and it took about a half hour for it to move through. Another weedline produced nothing. The next line had us hooked up again, but one fish threw the hook on its first jump and the hooked pulled on the other fish while we waited to see if there were any buddies following them. The final action of the morning came in the form of a very large tripletail that was hanging out around a large plastic livewell floating in the weedline.
That brings me up to date. Check back in October when I get back out on the water. In the meantime, give me a call or send me an email to get that date booked to get in on the Fall action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 204
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 09, 2010 - 7:25 am: | |
Springtime has progressed to the hot weather of summer. Along with this change comes changes in the fishing. With a few changes in techniques, the action will continue to keep fish pulling on the line and anglers smiling.
Offshore, the search for dolphin becomes a matter of covering more ground and sometimes traveling further offshore. In on the reef, the downrigger and bottom outfits will start producing better than the flat lines on most days. You can expect action with kingfish, AJ’s, and muttons on the bottom rig. Bonito become the predominant fish and will leave many anglers with sore arms and backs.
Inshore, the tarpon action out along the beach has slowed down. The good news, however, is that they are in the Bay and feeding with a vengeance.
With all that said, let’s get caught up again with the individual trips aboard Knot Nancy.
Alex and his friends caught dolphin offshore before motion sickness took over and we had to run back in to calmer water. The fish were under birds and around floating debris. The next evening, the same group caught tarpon at Government Cut on the south side using crabs.
James, Mark, and Sharon Banta picked a beautiful weather day for their dolphin trip. Searching was the name of the game and changing techniques produced once we found the fish. The schools were small and didn’t want to stick around to long before moving on. At one point it took switching to trolling small lures to get them going. James got to catch a few fish on his fly rod much to his delight. On the way in we found a very good weed line and that’s where we found a larger school of fish that stayed around longer. A fish fry with dolphin fillets was the plan for that evening.
Sherman Gambill and Andy Sun took good advantage of the afternoon/evening trip that I offer. We had to work hard to fill the livewell with bait, but it got accomplished after three bait spots were visited. Within minutes of putting out the first baits and slow trolling, we had action with bonito that kept both anglers busy. Once we made it out to the depth I wanted to start in, a drift was set up. The flatlines saw first action in the form of dolphin in 180’. Andy got the 18 pound fish and Sherman caught the schoolie. The bottom rod saw action with a mutton snapper. The wind finally picked up enough to fly the ex-light kite which produced a barracuda for Andy and Sherman’s first sailfish. We capped off the trip with tarpon action at Government Cut with Sherman catching his first tarpon.
The next trip to Government had Aaron Demers catching and releasing a permit and Jeff Demers catching his first tarpon. In the Bay, we jumped one tarpon before calling it an evening,
Richard Chase and his grandson Rick fished a late afternoon trip that started slow and picked up speed as the trip progressed. We started straight out from Government Cut with the action being slow. When the north current pushed us to the middle of the Anchorage area, things changed quickly. Slow trolling herring in 90-120 feet gave us steady action with kingfish on the flatlines. When that action slowed, we moved out to 180 feet and as soon as I set Knot Nancy into a drift, the downrigger popped and the kingfish action picked back up again. Meanwhile, the flatlines also got hit and both Richard and Rick were very busy with bent rods and line screaming off their reels. Besides the kingfish, the bonito also got in on the action too.
The last evening trip made to Government Cut for tarpon was with Robert Oldin and his friend Mike. Neither had caught a tarpon and were eager to do battle with one. The action along the beach was non-existent. After the tide changed and it got dark, we moved into the Bay and things changed quickly. After setting up and putting out the baits, it only took about 5 minutes for the craziness to start. The tarpon pulled hard, jumped a lot, and had the anglers running around the boat. When it was time to head back to TNT Marine Center, the final score was 4 for 4 with two very amazed and happy anglers.
Knot Nancy is currently at Birdsall Marine getting a new upholstery make over. My next scheduled trip is on July 18. In the meantime, call or email to get your trip scheduled to take advantage of the good Bay tarpon and reef action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc
305-965-9454
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 21
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 02, 2010 - 4:34 pm: | |
SHALLOW WATER SEA GRASSES ARE VANISHING ALL OVER THE WORLD!
By Captain Alan Sherman
Seagrasses can be found all over the world in shallow bays, lagoons, estuaries and along coastal waters. Where there is water there are boaters navigating these waters successfully and often times not so successfully. In most areas the water is deep enough for their propellers to cut through the water without causing any damage to the bottom below them but the unsuccessful boaters that stray away from their appropriate depth of water can cause significant damage to the beds of seagrasses often unaware of how much damage they have created. As the propellers of these vessels make contact with the fragile seagrasses the propellers cut into the soft sand or mud bottoms creating a trench that is deeper than the waters adjacent to the freshly cut trench. Besides the propeller cutting the trench the propeller also cuts the fragile seagrasses leaving this deeper trench void of all seagrasses. The damage created is called a propeller scar or prop trail. A propeller scar may be just a few feet in length but can also be hundreds of yards or more in length. Almost immediately erosion of these propeller scars starts to take place making the trails wider and deeper and creating cloudy water from tidal flow and wave action.
Seagrass meadows made up of one or many seagrasses such as turtle grass, shoal grass, manatee grass, star grass, widgeon grass, paddle grass and Johnson’s sea grass are very important to the shallow bays, lagoons and coastal waters all over the world because these seagrasses help provide protective nurseries and food sources for many marine species. These seagrasses also increase water qualities in the areas of the seagrass meadows and reduce wave energy along the coastlines.
Columbia Sportswear, Bass Pro Shops and The Ocean Foundation have joined hands in an effort to restore seagrass meadows through education and habitat restoration.
Recently I was invited take part in a two day event sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, The Ocean Foundation, Seagrass Recovery, Andy Newman, Bass Pro Shops and George Poveromo. The event was put together to bring awareness to how serious these propeller scars can be to our fragile bays, lagoons, shallow coastal waters and estuaries. During the event I had the opportunity to see firsthand propeller scars that had been accidently cut into fragile seagrass flats in Florida Bay off of Islamorada and then I got to take part in the actual repair of one of these propeller scars.
With the guidance of the Seagrass Recovery project representatives, Kenny Wright and Beau Williams I was able to take part in repairing a propeller scar. Once at the sight of a propeller scar located just a few minutes from Wide World Sportsman in Islamorada it was quite obvious how bad a propeller scar actually is. I looked out on the beautiful green grass meadow only to see this horrific looking white stripe that had been cut into the meadow by a boater who thought there was more water under the propeller than there actually was. We anchored our boat and I donned a mask and snorkel and jumped into the crystal clear water that was just two feet deep. As I snorkeled the barren propeller scar it was obvious that the scar was deeper then the water surrounding it and that the seagrasses on the edge of that scar couldn’t grow into the trench. This scar was fairly new and had not grown much since the propeller scar had been created. Others joined me and then we started the repair of the propeller scar.
First four foot biodegradable sediment tubes were place one at a time into the propeller scar. Once the propeller scar had been filled with these biodegradable sediment tubes long pieces of PVC tubing with wooden stands attached to the tops of the tube were driven into the ground and spaced out along the biodegradable sediment tubes. These biodegradable sediment tubes over the course of time will break down and completely fill the propeller scar bringing the depth of that scar back to its original level. The PVC tubes and stands are there to attract birds that will come and sit on the stands and eventually fertilize the area around the propeller scar with their guano. Three months after the biodegradable sediment tubes have been placed in the propeller scar, a crew from Seagrass Recovery will visit the site and plant seagrass plugs that were retrieved off the sea surface into the restored propeller scar. Twelve to eighteen months later the propeller scar will have been totally restored.
If you are interested in becoming involved in the Seagrass Grow Project or would like more information on the Seagrass Grow Project than please visit these internet sites.
Columbia Sportswear (www.columbia.com/seagrass
Seagrass Recovery (www.seagrassrecovery.com)
The Ocean Foundation (www.oceanfdn.org)
Sponsors of this Event were:
Columbia Sportswear (www.columbia.com/seagrass
Seagrass Recovery (www.seagrassrecovery.com)
The Ocean Foundation (www.oceanfdn.org)
BassPro Shops/World Wide Sportsman (www.basspro.com)
Andy Newman, NewmanPR, the Florida Keys (www.newmanpr.com)
George Poveromo, Columbia Athlete, (www.georgepoveromo.com) |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 203
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, June 11, 2010 - 1:55 pm: | |
Time once again to get up to date with fishing activities aboard Knot Nancy.
Offshore, the main shift has been to dolphin (mahi-mahi). The fish can be found anywhere from 120 feet out to as far as you care to go offshore. Aboard Knot Nancy, our best catches have come in the 12 - 18 mile range. Scattered grass and birds have put us on the fish. On several trips we caught them out in the middle of no where under a single bird.
Meanwhile, back in on the reef, there are still blackfin tuna, kingfish, bonito, barracuda, mutton snapper, and a few sailfish. If you don't want to spend the fuel searching for dolphin, the fishing in the 100 - 200 foot range will give you your share of the action.
Inshore, tarpon are still going strong. They're feeding on live crabs and on most nights you have to wait them out till it gets dark to get the action going.
Michael Richmond, Daniel Miguel, Andrew Arnold, and Ernest Gutierrez got in on some dolphin action on their 3/4 day trip. We found scattered grass that didn't produce anything. Next it was a floating pallet that begrudgingly gave us 3 fish. More searching and more scattered grass. This time we drifted with the grass and got a reward in the form of a 25# dolphin. More searching and some weed lines and rafts of grass gave up another fish.
Ron Walker, Joe Blasetti, and Latif Taylor saw limited tarpon action on their trip. The fish were rolling all around us until it got dark. They then disappeared and it took lots of searching to find them. Latif caught and released his first tarpon and the second fish that we hooked up took us into some bottom structure and released itself.
Trevor and Evan Papkov each caught and released a tarpon on their trip. We had 4 shots at the silver kings and stayed connected and landed 2 of them.
Kevin Ryan, Alex Papastamatis, Dino Linardakis, and George Baclaska saw plenty of dolphin action on a 3/4 day trip. We found 3 different groups of dolphin all with the help of birds. One group was out in the middle of no where. 'The fish ranged in size from throw backs to 6 pounds. We kept 11 of the 25 fish that we hooked up.
Javier Downing, Jeronim J. Ramierez, Julio Ramirez, and Maurcio Horvilleur had their original tarpon trip get rained out on an evening when the thunderstorms didn't let up till almost 9 pm. Two evenings later, we waited till 7:30 pm to head down to Government Cut and it paid off. By the end of the trip, we were 3 for 5 on tarpon.
Ed, Betty, and Martin McCarthy also had to wait out the thunderstorms. It turned out to be a perfect evening in several ways. First, the family got to spend some quality time together. Second, the weather cooperated and all the remaining storms stayed away. And third, we had a perfect night of tarpon fishing going 3 for 3 on fish of 70, 80, and 90 pounds.
Alex Aru and two of his friends had some bumpy seas for their dolphin trip. The wind was from the NNE/ENE @ 11 - 14 knots. In on the reef it was 1 - 2 feet. When we were offshore dolphin fishing, it was 3 - 4 feet with 10 foot swells coming through. Frigate birds put us on the fish. We picked up mostly singles with a couple of doubles out in the middle of no where. Slow trolling or drifting live pilchards did the trick. We put 8 dolphin in the fish box and then ran back in for calmer water where we released a bonito.
The same group was back out for an evening tarpon trip. Once again we had to wait the fish out and on this evening, they evened the score a bit. We missed the first two fish with a pulled hook and a thrown hook. The third fish was the charm and everyone in the group took turns fighting the 75 pound tarpon before we released it.
We'll be out doing more dolphin trips and have several more tarpon trips scheduled before the end of June.
See you out there.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 202
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - 7:38 am: | |
I had to delay this report a few days due to a computer problem I had. The good news is that it's fixed, back up, and running again.
Offshore, the story is that there are still a variety of fish that continue to make for some great fishing. The variety include sailfish, cobia, dolphin, blackfin tuna, kingfish, bonito, and barracuda. All of these species can be caught either side drifting or back drifting with live bait on the kite, flatlines, mid-depth, or bottom rod. Conditions change daily so what you find at a certain depth on one day will be found at a completely different depth the next day. Those conditions can even change on an hourly basis and often do.
Inshore, tarpon still rule. With one exception, we've had to wait till it gets completely dark before the fish turn on. It's well worth the wait as the action comes on almost every drift after they turn on. Action with tarpon in the Bay has been fast and furious. You just have to have the right tide and be willing to move to other locations if they're not at your favorite spot on the evening that you go.
Jeff Weakley and Sam Hudson took advantage of both the outside and Bay tarpon action. We had some blustery wind conditions out of the ENE/E at 20 - 23 knots. It made no difference to the tarpon. When it got dark, they started blasting baits on the surface. We caught and released 2 out of 3 fish and moved into the Bay. It required searching on this evening to find the tarpon. At the fourth location, we hit the jack pot. We caught 2 out of 3 fish including one on fly before we called it an evening.
Cecil Milton along with Rex Barker, Danny Medina and David Medina had an action packed evening of tarpon action. It started off with lots of rolling fish before it got dark that would not eat. Patience paid off as soon as it got dark. Everyone got in on the action and on most every fish, the rod was passed around amongst the anglers so everyone could fight a tarpon. Throw in a mangrove snapper to add a small bit of variety. The last fish of the evening was the largest and most wild. It made plenty of jumps, smoked lots of line off the reel, and had several anglers completely exhausted.
Craig Keneipp and Mike Ellert also had to wait out the tarpon. Craig caught the first fish around 9:15 pm. Mike had to wait till the last drift of the evening before he got his chance. Both fish were caught and released.
John Perkins, his son Jonas, and friend Brad Coren had an action packed afternoon/evening trip. It started with Jonas catching a cobia on the bottom rod. Brad followed up with a sailfish on a flatline. John started off with a whole dolphin and ended up with half as a large barracuda got the other half. The barracuda were out of control that afternoon. Two were caught on the bottom rod along with 2 large bluerunners. One of the bluerunners was slashed by a barracuda. As dusk came on, we chummed heavily with live bait and had the blackfin tuna busting all around the boat. They ate everything except the baits we had on our hooks. We topped the trip off by making one drift for tarpon. John caught and released his first tarpon while Brad enjoyed watching him suffer every time the fish made another run away from the boat once John got the tarpon alongside. Brad experienced the never give up attitude of the tarpon on a previous trip.
Ed Donovan and Frank Tacopino each caught their tarpon after it got dark. The pattern has been the same for quite a while now.
Brian Bach, Tim Bach, and John Michael fished a 3/4 day trip. The wind was blowing from the NE/ENE @ 17 - 20 knots. We had beautiful blue water and a very light north current. Back drifting made for the most comfortable conditions. We had action on every drift during the trip on either the kite or flatline. It started with bonito, progressed to kingfish, moved on to blackfin tuna, and ended with sailfish.
Glenn Foden and his son Jesse got to experience the highs and frustrations that tarpon fishing can bring. On our second drift during the daytime, Glenn started things off with a beautiful 90 pound silver king. It gave us everything one can expect from a tarpon. After releasing that fish, Jesse got his chance on the very next drift. He was looking to catch his first tarpon. The fish made several jumps and pulled a lot of line off the reel. We gave chase and finally caught up to the fish. Once we got straight up and down on the fish, the hook pulled. Two drifts later, Jesse was hooked up again. This fish also made a few jumps, ran inshore to shallow water, then back out deeper. Everything going fine so far. We caught up once again and as soon as we got straight up and down on the fish, the hook pulled. Bummer!! The next drift, Glenn took the rod and the fish threw the hook on its first jump. With the tide being right for Bay fishing, we moved inside after getting no more shots after a couple of more drifts. In the Bay, the fish were hungry and cooperating. Jesse hooked up within minutes of putting out the bait. The fish made three jumps and threw the hook. Glenn hooked up with the same results. By now Jesse was determined to catch a tarpon. He had one more chance and it just wasn't to be on this evening. Hang in there Jesse, you'll get your tarpon next time and it'll be all the sweeter.
We're caught up again. I've got more trips scheduled both during the day and the evening. Action like this will continue throughout the rest of May and into June. July should bring some arm wrenching action with little tunny (bonito) as well as all the other species we are now catching. Call or email me to schedule your trip and get in on the fun and action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 19
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 03, 2010 - 8:03 am: | |
Walk outside breath in the air and tell me this isn’t the beginning of April instead of the beginning of May! I know that’s what I was thinking! The fish too! Turn your clock back a month and that’s the best way to explain why the fishing is the way it is today.
The weather patterns that we have had this year have pushed back the calendar a whole month and the fish are responding as if it was the beginning of April not May. That’s OK because if you haven’t had a chance to get out on the water recently then you still have time to take advantage of mild conditions and the Spring Migration. Fishing has been very good to say the least with the one exception being in Flamingo. I say that about Flamingo with a hesitation in my voice because all we need for Flamingo to take off is a few days of calm conditions and winds from the east. Recent strong winds from the northeast and east have been good for the Miami areas but not so much for Flamingo where water conditions have been very rough and dirty.
Fishing out of Miami has been very good even if the weather at times has not. I have had an opportunity to fish with my family quite a bit and also filled in the free days with charters to fill the week. Air temperatures have risen and during the past weeks we have had winds from the south to east at 10 to as much as 25 miles per hour so we have had to get creative in finding waters that will give us enough protection to fish and still be comfortable. Thankfully I have been fishing the areas that I fish enough to know where those spots are.
Fishing in North Biscayne Bay has produced great catches of Sea Trout to over four pounds on live pilchards suspended from a Cajun Thunder floats, on Hookup lures tipped with a three or four inch Gulp shrimp and on Rapala Twitchin Raps, Clackin Raps and X Raps. Just about every grass flat we have fished has produced goods numbers of sea trout. Lots of Barracudas are available and at times have proven to be a nuisance when casting live pilchards at schools of Snook that I have found in Biscayne Bay on recent trips. Schools of bluefish and Spanish mackerel have eaten our live pilchards as fast as we could get a bait in the water. Large Jack Crevalles up to 20 pounds have been chasing baitfish schools near the Ocean inlets and out in the ocean. Mangrove Snappers are finding the warmer water conditions more to their liking and we are catching them throughout the Bay. Gag Groupers have been eating our live baits and then breaking us off in the rocks but we have managed to land a few and then released them unharmed like the Snook we have been catching but now we can keep the legalized Groupers. We have had a few days when weather conditions have allowed us to get offshore and the fishing has been outstanding. April is known for large spawning Kingfish, the biggest Dolphins of the year, Blackfin Tunas, Cobia, large Spanish Mackerel, Bluefish and big spawning Amberjacks on the wrecks and some of that fishing has been available this past week but much of it is still to come. On recent trips we have had nice Mutton snappers that ate live pilchards on the bottom, Gag groupers, big jack Crevalles, Amberjacks and Almoco Jacks over 30 pounds, chased schools of small Blackfin Tunas and then hooked and lost a few on Rapala X Raps, large Spanish Mackerel, huge Barracudas, Kingfish, giant Bluerunners but no dolphins.
Fishing in Flamingo has been as good as the weather. Catch a good weather day, especially if the weather has been nice for a few days and the fishing has been very good for Sea Trout, redfish, a few snook, some Cobia and Tarpon and of course lots of Ladyfish, Jacks and Mangrove Snappers.
Check out the pictures I have added to this report to see some of the recent catches.
Give me a call and let’s get out on the water while the fish are here and eating. Then you can see your face with a big smile in my photo album as you hold your special catch.
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 Wear, Tempress Seating
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786-436-2064
w ww.getemsportfishing.com.
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 through the Spring Fishing Season. |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 201
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2010 - 11:02 am: | |
Spring time action is in full swing. It's almost like which style of fishing should I do first. Offshore for sails, kings, dolphin, blackfins, or inshore for tarpon. Should I fish the Inlets or in the Bay for the tarpon? The easiest decision to cover both is an afternoon/evening trip. The advantages are that you don't have to get up at oh dark thirty to get everything together and get out on the water at first light. You can take your time getting everything in order and still have plenty of fishing time.
Let's start offshore. The sails have been pouring through and are willing to eat most any of the popular baits. They are taking both kite and flatline baits so don't worry if you would rather not fool around with the kite. The kings are ravenous on most days. Some have been on the small size so make sure you measure them if in doubt. The dolphin have started to come through on a more regular basis. Don't forget, it's the spring and you don't have to make those long gas consuming runs offshore to find them.
Inshore, the tarpon are still consuming plenty of shrimp. The shrimp have been running on most nights on both tides. If you find shrimp in the water, the tarpon are not far behind. The action at the Inlets has been best during the dusk period and after dark. In the Bay it's been well after dark and the action has been fast and furious. Every trip that I've done at the Inlets and Bay have produced tarpon with the exception of one trip when despite my best efforts, the tarpon evaded me all evening long. There have also been large jack crevalle, spanish mackerel, and good size mangrove snapper eating the baits while we wait on the tarpon to turn on.
Justin Kavounas, Chad Graham, Jason Orrock, and Josh Perkins fished two trips with me. We had plenty of tarpon action with 8 fish hooked and 4 successfully released in the Bay and 1 at the Inlets.
Mike and Brian Boehm caught kingfish and spanish mackerel on their half day trip.
Tony Tavares and his friend Mike Riccardi had one whale of a tarpon trip. Tony has fished with me before and knows the power and wild antics of the tarpon. This was Mike's first experience with them and one that he will never forget. We started with 3 for 5 tarpon at the Inlets. When the tide got right, we moved into the Bay and Mike got the first fish. It was a very strong, active, feisty 50 pound fish. So active in fact that on one of its jumps, it joined us in the boat. Mike ran for his life as the fish thrashed its way to the back of Knot Nancy and proceeded to flop around wildly. Once it settled down, I put it back in the water and it swam off like a shot. Once we cleaned the cockpit area up, we went back to fishing and the action continued. Final results in the Bay was 3 for 8 tarpon.
Steve Phillips and his son Steven went 1 for 3 on tarpon along with a nice hog snapper.
Gene and Ray Walsh, Tom Zappulla, and Tom Coulovris experienced kingfish, mutton snapper and bonito action offshore and finished their trip with tarpon action going 2 for 3.
Glenn and Brenda Foden started their evening trip by catching dinner in the form of a large mangrove snapper. When it got dark, the shrimp ran and the tarpon action started. Final score at the end of the evening was 3 for 5 tarpon.
Tony Terrasse and his sons Weston and Ry along with their friend Steven Phillips saw tarpon action with 3 fish. They caught and released two of the tarpon.
Paul Allison and his girlfriend Karen Kennedy enjoyed some hot Bay tarpon action. We started at the Inlet and had a tarpon beat us to the drop off. This resulted in a broken line as it dropped over the edge. We moved into the Bay and it was steady action. The final count was 3 for 8 and two amazed anglers who now more than ever appreciate the strength, power and beauty of the tarpon.
Patrick Savard and his father Clem started their tarpon trip with spanish mackerel and bluerunners. Then it was one tarpon on and off on its second jump at the Inlet. We moved into the Bay and things got better almost immediately. Final count in the Bay was 4 for 5 tarpon in the 30 - 50 pound class.
Gary Benivegna and his sons Mike and Matt enjoyed an afternoon/evening combo trip. Offshore, we caught a kingfish and both Mike and Matt each caught and released a sailfish while slow trolling baits on flatlines after the wind died off and we couldn't fly a kite. Next, we tarpon fished at the Inlet. This was to be an evening when the tarpon evened the score on us a bit. We got the action with 2 tarpon at the Inlet and landed one. Then we went into the Bay and had 2 fish on. The first fish tied us up in some obstructions and the line finally broke. The second fish came jumping at us immediately after taking the bait and gave us back our hook. At that point, they shut off so it was 1 for 2 at the Inlet and 0 for 2 in the Bay.
Shaun Byrd, Mike Mason, and Jason Carr did battle with a nice 40 pound amberjack we caught off the downrigger bait. Add to that kingfish and bonito.
Bob Wegner and Charlie Fancher braved some windy conditions out of the NE/ENE @ 20 - 24 knots on their afternoon/evening trip. During the offshore portion of the trip we caught bonito, barracuda, kingfish, dolphin, and topped it off with 2 sailfish caught on the kite. The tarpon part of the trip was a piece of cake sea conditions wise compared to the offshore. We started off with a large jack crevalle. Then the tarpon action began. Mike got the first tarpon and it stayed in the shallow water. After releasing the 50 pound tarpon, it took two drifts before Bob got his turn. His fish also stayed in the shallow water and moved toward the beach. It too was released after a great battle and with the wind picking up, the decision was made to head back to TNT Marine Center.
That brings me up to date. I'll be doing more tarpon trips for the next 3 nights as the wind starts to calm down. Whether you want to fish offshore or inshore for tarpon, the good action will continue on through the Spring and into the Summer. Blackfin tuna fishing will pick up dramatically during May and June, so if you want to get in on that fishery, now's the time to book that late afternoon trip. Combine it with tarpon after it gets dark and it can make for some sore arms and backs as well as some great table fare. Call me 305-965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to book your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 200
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 29, 2010 - 12:32 pm: | |
Wild Tarpon Action In The Bay!!
The tarpon action continues to be most reliable. Throw in the factor of favorable tides for early evening Bay action and it's a hard combination to beat. Government Cut is seeing many fish rolling around in the deep water. Getting them to eat is easy on some evenings and a challenge on others. Once we get into the dusk period, the tarpon normally cooperate to the delight of my anglers.
Justin Kavounas, Chad Graham, Jason Orrock, and Josh Perkins got their initiation to tarpon fishing during their two evening trips. During the first evening, it was the dusk period that had us fighting a 100 pound tarpon that gave us fits during the first part of the fight and then showed us its stamina and power during the middle and latter stages of the battle. Everyone was amazed at the size and power of this beautiful silver beast. As happens many times during the release of a tarpon, it gets its revenge by soaking me and the angler with a giant tail slap as it swims away. We then moved into the Bay to take advantage of the tide. At the second location we tried, we got the action we were seeking. The first fish had other plans and gave us back our hook with one giant leap. The baits went back out and it only took a few minutes before we got our second chance. This time it was a solid hook up on a spinning outfit and the fish did its best to separate us from the hook. The tight line that was kept by a very good angler didn't allow that to happen. Things got crazy and we countered every move of the fish with one of our own. After making numerous circles both forward and backward, the fish finally calmed down enough for us to get a few quick pictures before I tried to remove the hook and take my soaking once again.
The next evening with the same group started out with a large mangrove snapper and jack crevalle in the deep water. With no action on the south side and the tide going in the right direction, we headed into the Bay once again. This time we had a strike before I could set up the second outfit. The action came in spurts with fish in the 30 - 50 pound class. By the end of the trip, we had 6 shots at the silver king and successfully landed and released 3 of the fish. Everyone got their shots during the 2 evenings and there are now four more enthusiastic tarpon anglers who are looking forward to more action with the mighty tarpon.
The Bay action requires the correct tides. The tides change each evening, so if this style of fishing that I refer to as Gorilla Tarpon Fishing sounds like something you'd like to do, give me a call 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net I'll check the tides and if you're willing to fish some unusual hours, then you can experience this hard nosed, rock 'em sock 'em action that will have you wanting more and more.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 199
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 21, 2010 - 3:40 pm: | |
Tarpon, sailfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), kingfish, blackfin tuna, bonito, and skip jack tuna are all off the Miami/Miami Beach coast and they have all been hungry and feeding. It has not made much of a difference which way the wind is blowing from nor how hard it blows. The key factor has been current. Even on the days when there has been little to no current, the fish have still been feeding. On the no current days they are more spread out over a greater depth.
All the various methods of presenting baits have been producing their fair share of fish. On several days, the flatlines saw action before I could deploy the mid-depth or bottom rods. Even with enough wind to fly a kite, the action on the flatlines, mid-depth, and bottom rods has been so good that there was no time to get the kite up and flying. On other days, the kite has produced the most action.
Inshore at the Inlets, the action for tarpon has been outstanding. The fish have been putting on a great show with their rolling antics. Persistence has paid off on more than one occasion when it took a while to get a hit in the deep water. Once we got the first hit, then the action picked up and many anglers have gotten sore backs and arms while doing battle with the mighty tarpon. Throw in hits from mangrove and mutton snapper along with some snook action and you have a fun filled evening.
Bill Parr along with Sandra & Michele Wright, and Chris Ferrell saw the good and frustrating parts of dolphin fishing. Bill spotted working birds and we ran out to investigate. We quickly hooked up a dolphin, then another, and watched as numerous fish swam along with us and would not feed. We worked another flock of birds with the same results. And so it went for the remainder of the morning. Hook a fish or two and then try to get the rest of the fish to cooperate. The final results were several meals of dolphin fillets.
Brian Jinks and several friends fished an evening tarpon trip at Government Cut. We hooked and fought a beautiful 90 pound tarpon in the deep water and it took two anglers to whip the fish. The anglers were exhausted and the fish gave us a good tail slap on the water's surface as I released the fish to fight again on another day. Throw in action with mangrove and mutton snapper while waiting for another tarpon strike. The final fish of the evening was one that Brian talked about and was hoping for. He thought he was hooked to the bottom, however, the bottom moved and with steady pressure, he got his wish. The snook posed for a few pictures and was carefully unhooked, revived, and released.
Craig Dunn and Zair Fishkin had their hands full. By that I mean steady and constant action on all except for one drift during their 3/4 day trip. It started with a double kingfish bite before I could get the bottom rod unwrapped and deployed. It continued with more kingfish on flatlines, mid-depth, and bottom rods. On two drifts, we limited out on kingfish and then released them after that point. When the action slowed down in the shallower depths, I allowed our drift to continue out deeper and then the dolphin (mahi-mahi) started. It was a single, then a double, then more singles. All the fish were in the 6 - 12 pound range. The bottom rod continued to see action with kingfish that were released. Then bonito and skipjack action. The kings attacked our baits in the 100 - 190 foot depth range and the dolphin in the 150 - 350 range.
Ed & Laura Ward along with Mark Rachal saw great action on their 3/4 day trip. We broke the ice on this trip with a sailfish that hit the break away lead outfit fished at a mid-depth. Mark did the honors as Laura took pictures and Ed helped clear rods and gave moral support to Mark. Then the bottom rod took over with kingfish and bonito action. The dolphin on this trip were smaller and much more picky. Ed seemed to have the magic touch with the dolphin along with Laura. Everyone got in on the kingfish action and Laura had the toughest fight on the bottom rod with the bonito.
Jeff Godel's birthday present from his Dad was a fishing trip. It started out slowly and built momentum as the trip progressed. The current had dropped off almost completely from the previous several days. We missed several fish on the bottom rod and the small dolphin just molested our baits for the most part. The wind switched to the east and picked up some speed. Up went the kite and the action began to improve. First with a blackfin tuna, then a sailfish. The sail put on a good show and strong fight. Jeff countered its every move with one of his own. We pulled the sail along side and Jeff gave it a pat of thanks before we released it. After reorganizing and putting out fresh baits, the long kite bait saw almost immediate action with a nice 20 pound plus kingfish. The final drift of the trip had more small dolphin grabbing our baits and allowing us to bring them to the boat before jumping and spitting the baits back at us.
That brings me up to date once again. As it is easy to see, the action is great. All it takes on your part is a phone call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get in on the action. The dolphin will be getting bigger and more cooperative. The blackfin tuna will become more prominent over the next several months. Sailfish will continue to please many anglers with their acrobatic jumps and leaps. Tarpon will grow in size and 100 pound plus fish will test the angling ability and stamina of many anglers. You and your family or friends can be the ones to experience most or all of this. Just contact me and get a date on my schedule.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 198
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 06, 2010 - 8:44 am: | |
The tarpon action has been outstanding! That's the best way to describe it. Add in the fact that the shrimp have finally been making the runs like they should and that means the tarpon action is even better. Each time the rod bends over severely from a tarpon strike, you could be fighting a fish that weighs in anywhere from 30 - 100 pounds. Don't be fooled into thinking that a 30 pound fish is a push over. While they don't have quite the stamina of a 100 pound fish, they do jump a lot more and have the same don't ever give up attitude of there bigger brothers and sisters.
Government Cut is the place where all this action is taking place. It started with Jeff Blum and his three friends catching a couple of fish in the deep water. There was lots of good natured joking going on during this trip as 2 of the group had never fished before let alone catch a tarpon.
Things then got real crazy with Josh Klinghagen and David Booth. Within 2 minutes of putting out the first bait, we were hooked up and the fish made a dash for the deep water. That fish was finally released after a great battle and two drifts later we had a double header on for a brief period of time. We caught 1 of the 2 fish. The next drift produced a single. A few drifts later, it was another single. And we finished the evening with yet another single. Total count was 4 for 5 and two extremely happy anglers.
Rocky Taranto, Bryan Gallagher, and Randy Fisher were the next anglers to test their angling skills with tarpon. The first fish of the evening threw the hook on its second jump. After that, every fish hooked up solid. The bonus was that the shrimp ran and the group got the added treat of seeing lots of tarpon blasting the shrimp as they fulfilled there appetites. Once this started happening, it was a strike on almost every drift. Final count for the evening was 4 for 5.
The next evening, the same group was back for more. This time the fish started feeding in the deep water where we got 3 strikes in a row in less than 3 minutes after putting the baits out. These fish were bigger with the largest fish weighing in at 100 pound. It gave us fits for a while as it stayed in the deep water the entire time. When the tide changed, the shrimp ran again and the tarpon moved to the same place they were the night before. They also starting blasting shrimp off the surface again. Add two more tarpon before it was time to call it an evening and that made us 5 for 5. The final drift of the evening produced a bonus 15 pound snook.
Offshore, the action hasn't been quite as good, however, we have still managed to catch a few sailfish. For the most part with all the NW wind we've been having there has been little to no current and green water. The sailfish have been spread out over a wind range of water depth. We've caught fish anywhere from 115 to 448 feet. Faye Vincent got her sail to eat a kite bait while we were taking pictures and releasing Sharon Whitney's AJ. Charly Bates caught his first fish in 178 feet after an earlier strike in 115 feet resulted in the fish spitting the hook when it came up jumping. Brad Coren's sail was out in 448 feet. We saw lots of birds working an area and we ran out to investigate. We put out two flatline baits that I slow trolled. We got a good strike and thought it might be a skipjack tuna until the fish swam past us as it headed south. The sail finally figured out that something wasn't quite right and then proceeded to put on one fantastic jumping show for us.
Kingfishing has been very slow and we've only managed to find one king in the last week of fishing. The bottom rod has been producing legal size red grouper. With the current rules in effect, they were released after venting the fish so they could swim back down to the bottom, which they did immediately.
That brings us up to date once again. I've got more tarpon trips and offshore trips planned so check back for my next report. Even better, if you'd like to be a part of the report, give me a call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to set up your trip. The tarpon fishing only keeps getting better and the offshore fishing will drastically improve when the north current works its way back in closer.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 197
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - 8:16 am: | |
Both Captain Dave and Capt Gil of Miami Tarpon Fishing Charters www.miamitarponfishingcharters.com have been busy showing both their regular and new clients the thrills and excitement of catching the powerful, beautiful winter tarpon of Miami and Miami Beach. Thus far this season the Miami Tarpon Fishing Charters guys have been concentrating their efforts in the Haulover area of northern Miami Beach. The lone exception to this was Captain Dave's last trip which he made to Government Cut at the south end of Miami Beach due to the location that he picked his clients up at. And yes, Captain Dave and Captain Gil will pick you up at your location if you live on the water between Haulover Inlet and Government Cut. For those who are staying at a hotel in the South Beach area, we'll pick you up at the Barry Kutun Boat Ramp located at Purdy Avenue and 18th Street on Miami Beach.
The Haulover area has been producing multiple strikes with tarpon during the late afternoon on into the evening. The fish have ranged in weight from 30 - 100 pounds and are spread out along the whole tarpon hole area. Working together, both captains keep each other informed of where the fish have been concentrating their feeding efforts. Many evenings, both Dave and Gil are out their together with their individual clients. When first time tarpon anglers see a tarpon make that first spectacular jump, they can hardly believe their eyes. Then when the fish settles down and starts to slug it out with them, they begin to wonder what they've gotten themselves into. The joy, relief, and triumph that both captains see in their clients faces when the fish finally comes alongside the boat for a few pictures and release is what makes both Dave and Gil work very hard to put everyone on as many fish as possible during their tarpon fishing charter.
At Government Cut, Captain Dave found fish in the deep water of the main ship channel. When the fish are located in this area, it calls for a very different approach to get the tarpon to eat the bait. Watching fish roll at the surface and mark on the recorder keeps everyone's anticipation high. When the strike comes, the anglers eyes get big when they see how hard the rod bends over in protest. Line screams off the reel as all they can do is hold on and enjoy the moment. The main channel requires lots of boat handling and being aware of boat traffic, channel markers, ledges, and sea conditions. The tarpon has the distinct advantage of being in deep water. The anglers job is to get the fish up from 48 feet down. Doesn't sound like much, but ask any person who has caught a tarpon in the main channel during their tarpon fishing charter how difficult it really is. That's where both Captains Dave and Gil have the advantage of their years of experience to help you win the battle with the fish of a lifetime.
Lets sum it up. We are well into the winter tarpon fishing season in the Miami and Miami Beach area. The fish are feeding regularly on a daily basis. Both Captains of Miami Tarpon Fishing Charters still have some openings between now and the end of June so don't delay and miss out on the winter tarpon fishing season in Miami and Miami Beach. All it takes to get your Miami tarpon fishing charter started is to send us an email at info@miamitarponfishingcharters.com or call 305 965-9454 or 954 588-5951. Tell us you found out about us via the Miami Tarpon Fishing Charters website and book your charter. Then sit back, fasten your rod belt, and get ready for some heart pounding action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Captain Gil Gutierrez
Miami Tarpon Fishing Charters |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 196
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 7:38 am: | |
GOOD ACTION FOR A VARIETY OF SPECIES CONTINUES OFF MIAMI, FL
Time once again to get caught up with the fishing adventures aboard Knot Nancy. The vast majority of my offshore fishing activity has taken place between the Miami Sea Buoy and the north end of Haulover Beach in water depths between 90 - 250 feet. All of the tarpon action has been at Haulover Inlet.
Offshore the action has been with dolphin (mahi-mahi), kingfish, bonito, and sailfish. Finding current on some days has been difficult to say the least. On others, it's been very strong. Regardless of what the conditions have been, we've managed to find fish of some sorts. Moving inshore, the tarpon action has been consistent and steady both during the late afternoon, during the dusk period, and after dark. During one trip, we finally got the shrimp run we've been waiting for and the tarpon action was hot and heavy on almost every drift.
Ben Skinner fished a half day and had sailfish on his mind, though any action would do. After loading up on pilchards, we ran a little south of Haulover and found we had a roaring north current. Conditions looked beautiful for sailfish. Despite the great conditions, the first action we had was with dolphin. We picked up and ran south and found even better conditions in shallower water. Once again we found dolphin. The sails never showed before the trip ended.
Gary and Ellen Latrell scheduled two days of fishing. The first day, we had a sailfish on briefly even before I could put the kite up. Gary got to see the fish thrash at the surface before it broke the leader. Then the dolphin action began. This was followed by kingfish. The south current on this day pushed us from the Twin Towers down toward the Miami Sea Buoy before the action died off. The NNW/NNE winds of 16 - 20 knots had us taking our time returning to the Twins area. As soon as baits went back out the action with kingfish started again. As fast as we put baits in the water the kings were attacking them. Both Ellen and Gary were having constant action while putting out their baits. We watched a sailfish surf down the waves after stealing a bait off one of our flat lines. It ignored our kite baits, however, a kingfish jumped on one of our goggle eyes and Ellen had fun catching up with the speedy fish after the line popped out of the clip. So far all the action was with surface baits. I put out the break away lead outfit and within less than 2 minutes, it saw action with kingfish and a very large rainbow runner each time I put the rig down. During the last 15 minutes of the first day, Ellen got her reward when a sailfish stayed hooked up on the lightest spinning outfit I had out. Twenty minutes later the fish was alongside and posed for several in water pictures before it was released to fight again on another day.
The next day with Gary and Ellen was an afternoon/evening trip. The wind switched to the East @ 12 - 22 knots. We back drifted staring in 250 feet. There was no current, just a healthy wind. When we reached 211 feet, Ellen couldn't hardly believe her eyes when a double sailfish came up on the kite baits. She went for the short pilchard bait only to have the other sailfish eat the long goggle eye outfit she had been watching and working diligently. The sail on the short kite bait just window shopped and went on its way. The sail on the long kite bait ate and gave us 3 terrific jumps before giving us back our hook. We had no further action on the kite, however, the mid-depth bait and flatline baits gave us action with kingfish and shark. Time to seek some tarpon action at Haulover. The first action came in the form of a jack crevalle. Then several bottom critters stole our baits. Gary got the first tarpon action and the fish threw the hook on its first jump. Within a minute, Ellen hooked up solid and caught and released her first tarpon. A few drifts later, Ellen's outfit got hit again. She wanted Gary to fight the fish. As soon as he picked up the rod, the fish jumped and once again gave him back the hook. That's how the evening ended and Gary says he'll be back to catch his tarpon the next time.
Walter Rodriguez fished an afternoon/evening trip facing some very heavy west winds that blew in the 23 - 31 knot range. The only action we saw offshore before heading in to tarpon fish was with an 80 pound hammerhead shark. Talk about your visual picture, this one had us both rooting for the shark to catch the goggle eye. Every time we thought the shark had caught the bait, it somehow managed to escape. The shark had to turn around and find the bait again. Each time it missed the bait, it got more and more aggressive. The bait finally tired out some and the shark finally took good aim and caught the bait. Now it was Walter's turn. The shark gave us several impressive runs and traveled back and forth across the stern several times before it released itself by rubbing through the leader. Since we were on the lee side of the beach, it was almost like a lake along Haulover Beach. We ended the evening with blueruners, ladyfish, and going 1 for 2 on tarpon.
Tom Milanette and Wes Moore took a break from their duties at the Miami Boat Show for an evening of tarpon fishing. On our first drift, Wes hooked up and caught and released his first tarpon. The second drift had Tom catching a tarpon. The next drift or two were uneventful. A move back up toward the Inlet after the tide had changed turned out to be the right one. Shrimp were flowing out the Inlet in just enough numbers to get the tarpon congregated and feeding readily. On the next four drifts, we hooked tarpon, including one double header, on each drift except for one. The last fish of the evening turned out to be the big one. Wes fought the 100 pound tarpon on a 20# spinning outfit and experienced the power and stamina of the mighty silver king. His persistence and constant pressure on the fish finally slowed the fish down. Just when he thought the fish was whipped at boat side, the tarpon took off and dumped 50 yards of line from the reel and made a terrific splashing jump. That's tarpon fishing. They never seems to give up and quit. Final total for the evening was 4 for 6 tarpon caught and released.
Jerry Dijkhuizen and Ryan Dirksz got in a half day offshore before the wind kicked up to over 30 knots. We found a nice blue edge straight out from Haulover and everything looked good for some great action. Before I could get the second rod clipped to the kite, both flat lines took off. Ryan caught his first saltwater fish ever and Jerry enjoyed catching his fish. Both were bonito. While putting Ryan's line back out, it got hit again and he caught another bonito. The next action came on the kite. An unknown and unseen fish grabbed the goggle eye on the short kite line and proceeded to get a free meal. A short while later, the short kit again saw action. This time the kingfish skyrocketed the goggle eye twice before hooking up. Jerry fought this fish. The final fish of the morning came on the break away rod and Ryan did the honors with the kingfish. By then, the wind was picking up to a healthy speed as we ran back to Haulover and TNT Marine Center.
That sums it up. Sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, bonito, and sharks offshore and plenty of tarpon just off the beach at the Inlets. Call me 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get in on the action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 195
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 31, 2010 - 9:38 am: | |
MORE HOT SAILFISH ACTION OFF MIAMI/MIAMI BEACH, FL
Here's a quick update before Knot Nancy starts another week of fabulous offshore and tarpon fishing off the Miami/Miami Beach coast.
Vern Frampton treated his friend Doug Charlton to a sailfishing trip for his birthday. Up in Canada, they both have seen the TV shows and read lots about catching sailfish, however, neither angler had experienced the thrill of catching a sailfish. That was all about to change. As a warm up, the kingfish cooperated and we quickly put 3 kingfish in the fish box. Then Doug got his chance at a sail and took full advantage of it. The sail ate a goggle eye fished from the kite. He saw the strike and reacted perfectly. The battle began with lots of jumps and a long run. Vern was on the camera and back and forth went the battle with Doug slowly gaining the advantage. The fish came along side and many pictures were taken with the fish in the water before we released it. Both anglers were thrilled and amazed at the same time. Back to more fishing and this time we caught one more kingfish to fill our limit and then released 4 more fish along with 2 bonito. Late in the afternoon, Vern picked up a flat line spinner as the line traveled toward the stern and then down wind of the boat. It was his turn to fight a sail. More excitement when another fish ate the goggle eye on the long kite and Doug had his second fish on. Both fish ran in opposite directions at first before turning and charging back toward the boat. Vern and Doug chased their fish around the boat twice before we landed and released the first sail. It took another trip around the boat before the second fish came along side to be released. As they said, 'It's way more exciting to do it in person than watch it on TV. What a rush."
Hans Schonfeldt, Olle Lidesjo, and Thomas Sjoblom from Sweden got their turn at sailfishing the following day. We had south current and less than steady wind which made for working the kite baits a constant effort. They were up to the task and got their rewards. On this trip, we got a single sailfish on the long kite bait using a goggle eye. Every time we thought the fish was ready for release, it took off on another long fast run. The fish acted like it was on super vitamins and wasn't going to give up without a long fight. Several cameras caught all the action both far out and close to the boat. The fish was finally released. Next we had a shark eat another goggle eye. Later in the afternoon, the long kite bait with a goggle eye scored again with a sailfish. This fish had plenty of tricks in its bag as it like running under the boat when it got close. We out maneuvered the sail each time. It came alongside again and this time we got a very good look at it and saw that it had a broken bill. The fish was released and this ended another great day on the water off Miami Beach.
Jan Sjoblom, Lars Cajander, and Mikael Karlsson also of Sweden wanted some tarpon and spanish mackerel action. We started at Haulover in the morning with bluerunners constantly stealing our baits. We ran to Government Cut and found the spanish mackerel along with more bluerunners. The decision was made to run offshore and try for tarpon later in the afternoon. Offshore we got cooperating from 2 kingfish in the 15 - 20 pound class. Back to try and find a tarpon and this time we got invaded with small amberjacks. With 15 minutes to go in the trip, a final move produced the fish we were looking for. 80 pounds of silver dynamite erupted from the water and we had a solid hook up. Zoom lense and wide angle lense cameras went into action along with a video camera. The tarpon put on a great show and all cameras were catching the action. The tarpon made several long runs and numerous jumps before it came along side for a release.
Bill Reeg and Bill Brooks from Texas wanted some tarpon action. Wind from the ESE @ 16 - 18 knots had the beach at Haulover a bit on the bumpy side. We needed a small sea anchor to slow our drift down. Bill brooks saw first action on the third drift. The wind blew us in very shallow and we not only had a hard fighting tarpon to contend with, but also had to get it out to deeper water away from the crashing waves. We succeeded in both and Bill had to make several trips around the boat during the entire fight. Bill Reeg was on the video camera capturing the action. After releasing the tarpon it was back to drifting with live shrimp. After about a half dozen more drifts, we got our next action that lasted 1 jump before the tarpon decided not to cooperate and threw the hook.
Sailfish, kingfish, and bonito action offshore along with tarpon action along the beach is a hard combination to beat. Now it's up to you to make the call, 305 965-9454 or send an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get in on the action. Don't delay, as before you know it, we'll be catching dolphin and blackfin tuna. It never hurts to plan ahead so you get the date you want.
Time to get back on the water and catch some more fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 194
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 - 2:18 pm: | |
The cold weather has finally left us, but not without leaving a bad taste with many fisherman. Massive fish kills because the water temperature dipped into the 50's have caused emergency regulations to be put into effect. Despite the bitter cold the offshore scene survived with some slow downs. The good news is that the tarpon fishing along the beach has bounced back. We've found tarpon action on every trip I've done thus far this season. More good news is that the current has finally found its way into the depths we like to fish for sailfish. The action for sailfish has picked up dramatically. Some dolphin continue to move south and feed very good on some days and ignore our offerings on others. Prior to the cold wave, the kingfishing action was outstanding. It has had a few flurries since, however, not as consistent. The shallow water artificial reefs still hold a variety of species that are willing to please.
Nick Luders and Darrell Neuberger got a trip in on the beginning of the first cold wave. NW winds at 13 - 19 knots had us bundled up to keep warm. The kingfish didn't seem to mind as we had fast and furious action on both the mid-depth and flatline rods. We limited out and moved south to try and find current. We saw lots of bird action offshore and ran out to investigate. We added dolphin and also released two sharks that cut in on the action.
Dane and Lori Martens had a day in between cruises. They wanted to try some tarpon fishing. The wind was howling from the SE/SSE @ 22 - 27 knots. We took advantage of the protection offered by the north jetty at Government Cut. It took several drifts to locate a tarpon, but we finally did. Lori caught her first tarpon and has the pictures to prove it. The fish put on a great show at boat side by jumping and doing a bit of tail walking.
Steve Phillips and his son Steve, Jr fished a half day in the afternoon. We started offshore in search of sailfish. We had a visit from 2 sails in 168' off the County Wrecks. Both fish managed to bend the rods, take the baits off the hooks, and neither hooked up. Toward the end of the trip, we moved in shallower and caught and released numerous yellowtail snapper, lane snapper, mutton snapper, bluerunners, margate, and several other species of fish.
John DeJong and his sons, Jack (11 years old) and Sam (9 years old) fished a combo trip. We had great calm sea conditions, however, there was still a lack of north current up off the Haulover area. We ran out to 450 feet and found an edge with heavy scattered grass and lots of birds working it. We found lots of dolphin that refused our baits. When we finally got a hit, Sam took the rod and with some help pulled in a 40# shark. Moving inshore to finish the trip for tarpon, Jack's turn came and he did battle with a 60# tarpon along Haulover Beach.
Fred Glauser and Rachel Cain saw two different kinds of weather during their trip. The morning started out with very calm wind and quite slow fishing. We caught a spanish mackerel on the downrigger and a skipjack tuna slow trolling baits. Then the change came and the wind came and whipped up the seas. The combination of wind, strong north current and seas produced by E/ESE winds of 15 - 18 knots got the sailfish feeding steadily. It started with a flat line, progressed to the kite and finished with a flat line. Both Fred and Rachel caught and released their first sailfish. Rachel's fish put on a spectacular 8 jump series that started just 30 feet off the stern of the boat. Fred's fish was a jumper and a bull dog. We went completely around the boat 4 times before the fish finally gave in. Both their fish were caught using 12# tackle.
Scott Miller and Mundy Stafford braved SE/SSE wind @ 26 - 29 knots to catch a tarpon along Haulover. Even with a sea anchor out, we were drifting quite quickly. On the third drift, we got the hit we were looking for and Mundy did an outstanding job of chasing the fish around the boat while Scott videoed the fight. We tried to fish in the Bay and with the wind we couldn't hold the position we needed too. The north side at Government Cut produced nothing but us getting soaked when a large wave broke at boat side. As both Scott and Mundy said "we hate wind but it's always windy when we get to go fishing."
On Friday, January 29th, you can check out the most recent show I did with Mark Sosin on his TV show Mark Sosin's Saltwater Journal. It will also air on Sunday, January 31st, as well as Wednesday, February 3rd. Mark's show airs on the Sun Sports Channel. Check your local listings for the times.
That brings us up to date. It's time to go fishing again. Check back for another report soon. In the meantime, you can check my website at www.knotnancy.com or to book a trip, call me on 305 965-9454 or email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 193
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 03, 2010 - 9:20 am: | |
While I have the time between trips, lets get caught up again with the activity out of the Haulover Inlet area aboard Knot Nancy.
Over the last week, there has been no current in the area. That area ranged from south of the Twins to the north end of Haulover Beach. Despite this less than ideal condition, the fishing has been quite productive. Wind conditions have range from 5 to 19 knots and have come from all directions. I've had some stout hardy anglers who have been rewarded with many eating style fish. In on the beach, the tarpon continue to please anglers by giving them a great fight and show with their powerful runs and acrobatic leaps and jumps.
Bill Parr, Sandy & Michelle Wright, and Chris Ferrell combined to catch a variety of fish that included kingfish, bonito, red grouper, and spanish mackerel.
Jeff Godel, Dave Bonebreak, Dave Thome, and Steve Severance got into some heavy dolphin action. Throw in kingfish and spanish mackerel to round out the day. The dolphin were under birds in 155' and on weedlines in the 750' - 850' range. Thanks Jeff for the help with filleting all the dolphin your group caught.
Dan & Don Samuelsen, Robert Henderson, and David Good experienced the roughest sea conditions with wind from the ENE/ESE @ 13 - 17 knots. Almost as soon as we put baits in the water, the action started and remained steady through most of the trip. The kingfish and bonito were snapping and with no current, we even managed to catch a couple of the pesky triggerfish that kept stealing our bait. The bottom rod had the most action on this trip with just a few hits on the break away lead and flatline outfits. All the action came in the 120 - 160 foot range.
Joe Ballarini and Samantha Cunningham got into some good action as well. We fished a 6 hour afternoon/evening combo. During the afternoon portion of the trip it was kingfish and rainbow runner. Just before sundown we moved in to Haulover Beach and topped off the trip with an 80# tarpon. These two anglers also qualify as Vikings since the winds on their trip were E/ESE @ 13 - 19 knots.
Rob Fitzpatrick, Dave Fitzpatrick, and Caitlin Fitzpatrick had a goal in mind. The goal was to catch 8 year old Caitlin her first fish. The SE winds @ 11 - 13 knots had the seas a bit on the sloppy side. It took one drift and some slow trolling to get the goal accomplished, however, Caitlin caught her first fish. The bonito put up a hard pulling battle and Caitlin was wondering if she would ever get the fish in. Her persistence paid off and she won the battle and was all smiles. At that point, the motion of the ocean started to get to her and she laid down for a rest while her Dad (Dave) and uncle (Rob) took over. We added another bonito and a few kingfish before the half day trip was over. The kings came on the bottom rod and the bonito on the flatlines. The breakaway lead rod finally produced in the form of a remora or as I call them "sneaker heads". Caitlin got quite a thrill when she put her hand on top of the remora's suction cup. It brought another big smile to her face. Just another great example of Family Fishing Is Fun.
John Vassallo and Tanya Liebal got in on the good weather before the most recent cold front came through. Tanya wanted to try for some dolphin. We found a weedline in 350' in green water and worked it for a while with no results. We ran out to 800' and slow trolled baits back toward shore before deciding to run back in. We found another weedline on a blue/green edge in 350' and worked it. The birds put us on the fish and we picked off one dolphin at a time as we followed the school as they moved south along the weedline. Tanya had the hot rod and caught 4 dolphin before John got his first. The school disappeared and we continued on in to check out the kingfish action. The SSW/SW wind was pushing us offshore so we started in 110'. When we reached 130' the breakaway rod came to life and John got a kingfish. While trying to put the weight back on the line, it got jerked out of my hand as another kingfish ate our offering of a live pilchard. Then a flatline hooked up and so it went until we reached 140'. At that point, the action stopped and we moved back in. Once again the breakaway lead rod started the action. Tanya caught another king and while we were fighting that fish, a flatline took off and John was back in the action. John's fished weighed in at 26 pounds back at TNT Marine Center. The limit of kingfish we caught took just two drifts.
Despite the lack of current, the kingfish, dolphin, and bonito have given us plenty of action, lots of smiles, and some good eating fillets. Throw in the good tarpon action and you have the makings of a great day of fishing. If you want to get in on this action just call me at 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 192
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 26, 2009 - 12:35 pm: | |
Here's a quick update before heading into the last week of 2009.
We gone from calm weather to windy weather. With each condition, there has been a general lack of north current. A few sailfish are being caught, however, the best catches aboard Knot Nancy have been with dolphin, kingfish, bonito, and some mutton snapper.
Cory Reeves enjoyed the variety I mentioned above. The kingfish and bonito came on both the bottom and break away lead rods, while all the dolphin were on the flatline outfits. The good news about the dolphin was that all the action came in the 90 - 190 foot range. This meant that we didn't have to make long runs offshore in search of the acrobatic, colorful, tasty fish. Cory brought along one of his favorite outfits and the kingfish was kind enough to eat the bait we had on it. The bonito put a severe bend in the bottom rod and did plenty of pulling.
Fabio Nick took home enough dolphin fillets for several hearty meals. The action took place straight out from Government Cut in 320 - 360 feet of water. The birds put us on the location and the action was fast and furious for a while using both slow troll and drift methods.
Then the wind began to blow with the approach of a cold front. John Perkins, his 9 year old son, Jonas, father-in-law, Gordon Ring, and long time friend, Brad Coren can only be described as Vikings. The NE/ENE winds @ 21 - 24 knots created sloppy seas on top of rough conditions. We drifted with no action, then we chased birds only to come upon a large school of porpoise feeding under the diving birds. Back to drifting and the break away lead produced a kingfish for Gordon. More chasing birds and Jonas caught his first dolphin. It was a schoolie size fish that put a gigantic smile on his face. Two baits got chopped in half behind the hook and toward the end of the morning Jonas said he was happy and ready to get back to some calmer water.
With one week left in 2009, the weather forecast makes it sound like we should have some great conditions for sailfish as well as numerous other species. I have one day open through next week. Why not spend the last day of the year enjoying a fishing trip? Our weather sure beats what our friends up north have had to put up with. All it takes is a phone call or email.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 191
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 14, 2009 - 12:01 pm: | |
If you're looking for some good fishing action, now is the time that you're going to find it with a variety of fish. The wind has ranged from calm to well into the mid 25 knot range and everything in between. The seas have been flat calm to rough. We've had no current days, south current days, and north current days. With all these different combinations of conditions, the action has been very good. Sailfish action has and will remain a constant. Some of the best action has come on the most windy days, but we've been catching them on calm days too. Dolphin are flowing through the area. Skipjack tuna and bonito are busting small baits. Kingfish and mutton snapper are readily available. Spanish mackerel and bluefish are biting near shore. And to top it off all, the air temperature has been comfortable to warm. It sure beats the cold temperatures and snow that's happening with our friends up north. It's time to start thinking about planning a trip to Miami to get a break from the cold weather and enjoy the sunny warm weather we have to offer.
The tarpon action off Haulover is yet to get started, however, that could change with any change of the tide. We tested the waters in the Haulover tarpon hole area and had lots of fun catching large ladyfish and bluefish. The tarpon were absent on that evening. We'll keep checking and let you know when they start to bite. In the meantime, if you have to pull on a tarpon, they are feeding in the Bay area.
Henry Gotor and his friends Brian Smith and Lee Carroll fished a full day to put together a good catch on a variety of fish. All the conditions said that fishing should have been on the tough side. South current, SSW/W winds of 6 - 12 knots, and dirty green water are not the conditions you'd like to have, but you can't change what Mother Nature presents you with on the day that you fish. We loaded the livewell with pilchards, then added herring and cigar minnows. We started by fishing the area between the Cuban Hole and the hotels on Key Biscayne in the 80 - 200 foot range. Drifting and slow trolling a variety of baits produced no action. We moved back north some and offshore. We found an edge in 420' and then spotted birds diving. They were over a school of fast moving dolphin. We got a few to eat our baits, however they just grabbed them and never swallowed them. When we set up on the fish they simply spit the baits out. The next group of birds were on tuna. Out went the Kaplan jigs and some high speed trolling. It didn't take long before we had action with skipjack tuna and bonito. We moved further north to just south of the Twins and into 110'. Mutton snapper was next on the variety list. As we drifted out deeper with the SW wind, we had action during the last portion of the trip with sailfish. Not a bad day for what most people would call terrible fishing conditions. The key was to fish a variety of ways and not stay stuck on just one method or one area.
The Holiday Season is well upon us. For that last minute gift, don't forget about a fishing trip gift certificate. They're good till redeemed and can be taken anytime of the year. If you need a break from the hustle and bustle or a break from the cold, what a better way to relax than schedule a fishing trip. Sit back, relax, and forget about everything for a while till the next bite. Give me a call 305 965-9454 or email me at nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get that trip scheduled. Then get ready for some great action with a variety of fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 190
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - 8:44 am: | |
They say that variety is the spice of life. This holds true for fishing also as the action has been steady for a variety of species. When the current picks up or when the wind puts a chop on the water, the action picks up. Without either of those conditions, it requires lots of searching and persistence to put together a nice catch. The surface water temperature is still slightly above 80 degrees, so it's still worth while putting a bait down on the bottom. As a matter of fact, with the exception of sailfish, all of the fish I've been catching have come on the bottom rig and a few on the downrigger.
Here's a recap of my two most recent trips. They were both fished in the area between the Twins and 71st Street in 100 to 225 feet of water. The majority of the action came in the 180 - 200 foot range.
Fernando Godinez, his father-in-law Larry Hofmann, Larry's 10 year old grandson, Lyndon Hofmann, and friend Robert Abramitis fished a 1/2 day in the afternoon. We loaded the livewell with pilchards and ran offshore starting in 160 feet. Our first action came on the bottom rod in the form of a kingfish. Lyndon had first honors and whipped the king in nothing flat. Moving out to 200 feet, the downrigger scored next with another kingfish. On the next drift, the bottom rod took off like crazy. Lyndon used all the strength he could muster to turn the handle. The fish kept taking line and soon he needed some help. While Robert was putting on a rod belt, I managed to turn the fish's head and get it coming up, at least temporarily. Robert took over and felt the power of the fish immediately. He kept up steady pressure as the fish slowly began to give in. Once we got the sinker to the surface, I grabbed the leader and finished pulling the 40# amberjack to the surface and put it in the fish box. We finished the trip with making a couple of drops on several wrecks. We had a goggle eye get crushed and spit out, however, we did not hook up.
Craig Liszt, Rich Rusak, and Pat Conway fished a 3/4 day trip. The main goal was to catch a sailfish and also catch a few fish to take home to eat. Bait was a bit more difficult on this trip, but we finally hit a good load of pilchards and off we went. The forecast of seas 2 feet or less turned out to be 2 - 4 feet. This actually worked out to our advantage and it put the fish in a much better feeding mood. After putting out the first two flatlines, we had a 25 foot whale shark swim up to the boat. What a beautiful enormous creature. Everyone had their cameras out and were snapping lots of pictures when I saw a cobia tagging along with the whale shark. It initially refused our bait. Meanwhile, the whale shark bumped the engines once and the side of the boat another time. It swam off and came back several times. On it's third return trip, the cobia ate a pilchard and we thought we were in for a battle. The fish just swam in circles next to the boat. I got a large gaff and stuck the fish pulling its tail out of the water. The fish went nuts and I held on. I yelled for another gaff and stuck the fish again and put the 35# cobia in the boat and into the fish box. What a great way to start the trip. All the lines were put back out and the bottom rod saw first action with a kingfish. Then it was another kingfish followed by a nice size mutton snapper and then a summer size bonito. The downrigger scored the third kingfish before we finally had a flatline get hit. It turned out to be a bluerunner. Along the way, we missed the hook up on two fish on the downrigger and one on the bottom rod. It was time to call it a day when a flatline got hit and it was the other fish we were looking for. The sailfish put on a spectacular aerial show and dumped lots of line off the reel while we pulled in all the other lines. We gave chase and slowly started winning the back and forth battle with the sail. It sounded twice during the fight before staying on the surface for the remainder of the fight. After several pictures, the fish was released to thrill another angler on another day.
The action is steady and every time the rod bends over, you never know what species of fish it will be. That's what makes fishing off Miami so great. And you never know what other great sights of nature that might come along.
Call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip to get in on the action. Also, don't forget to order your gift certificate for a charter trip. It'll be a gift that will be remembered for a very long time and you'll be thanked many times over.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 189
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 - 1:02 pm: | |
The winter sailfish season arrived with the most recent cold front that passed through the South Florida area. That's the best news that most anglers have been waiting to hear after a long hot summer. With winds from the WNW to N @ 15 - 20 knots, a strong north current, and a large NE ground swell, the sailfish came through in big numbers. It was time to get out the kites and present baits down wind. What a thrilling sight it is to watch a sail stalk the baits suspended from the kite.
Along with the cooler weather, the surface water temperatures also cooled off and this has been driving dolphin (mahi-mahi) through the area also. The fish have been coming along as singles and small groups. There have also been some fairly large fish mixed in. This is also great news as we had a very dismal dolphin season this summer.
Not to be left out, kingfish have pushed down our way also. It's time to start anchoring and chumming them up with pilchards, herring, and chunk baits. Once around the boat, the action will be fast and furious and limit catches will not take long at all to accomplish.
While there are tarpon to be had inside in the Bay, another cold front or two will get the shrimp running and the tarpon will move out to the Inlets. This will get the winter tarpon season kicked off and it'll be time to start fishing in the late afternoon and into the evening to take advantage of the best time for the best action with these giant silver beauties.
So the winter season has arrived and now it's up to you to call or email and schedule your trip to take advantage of the good fishing. There will be more and colder weather going through the northern part of our country. After a while it'll be time for a break from shoveling snow, icy conditions, and bitter cold weather. A trip to Miami will give you a much needed rest from those harsh conditions. A fishing trip will get your mind off all the weather you just left, so don't get left out by trying to arrange a last minute trip. It might be difficult to get the date(s) you want, so book your trip early and make sure there won't be any surprises.
And finally, with the Holiday Season fast approaching, gift certificates are a great way to give the one you love a fantastic day or evening on the water that they'll thank you for all year long.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 188
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 02, 2009 - 8:09 am: | |
The first signs of Fall have arrived. By that I mean that we finally had a two day run of mullet in the Haulover area. The mullet were being harassed by numerous tarpon as they exploded in the large schools of bait. Also, there have been some sporadic runs of spanish mackerel just outside the inlets.
Moving offshore, there are some dolphin migrating south and a few kingfish to be had. The large schools of kingfish have not yet made it down our way. Fishing baits down deep is still producing mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper along with kingfish and AJ's.
Ken Steinberg was bored with sitting around the pool and at the beach while his wife attended a business convention. Being an avid fisherman, he felt much better as we fished a 3/4 day trip offshore. We had no current and green water. We had to work hard and all our hits came on the downrigger and deep rod. Mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper, red grouper, and kingfish were our reward for fishing deep. The kite and flatlines saw no action. As we approached Haulover Inlet on our way in, we both saw schools of mullet getting blasted by tarpon. One throw of the castnet and we had more than ample bait. We kept several to slow troll and threw the rest back. This resulted in our chumming the tarpon up to our boat as we threw the mullet back in. We got our big reward when a 120# tarpon inhaled our mullet offering and Ken was hard into a battle with the giant fish. Ken countered every move the tarpon made with a move of his own that soon had the tarpon along side the boat and posing for several pictures. We revived the exhausted tarpon and sent it on its way to do battle again on another day. With a huge smile on his face, Ken said that he always wanted to catch a tarpon in Florida. Now he could check that species off his list.
John Burrows spent time with his grandsons Evan and Luke along with a friend Tyrone on a half day offshore trip. We loaded the livewell with pilchards on two throws of the castnet. We started just north of the Twins in 170'. While I was putting out the second flatline, it took off and we had a dolphin hooked up. Evan was up first and this was his first fishing trip and first fish ever. While Evan was busy with his fish, the other flatline hooked up and Tyrone added a second dolphin to the fishbox. We made a move to the south end of the Anchorage area where a flatline produced a throw back kingfish. Then the deep rod gave us a red grouper. Toward the end of the trip, I moved back north and out to 215'. The downrigger went down an extra 10' and before I could drop the bottom rod down, we were hooked up on the downrigger outfit. Luke got on the rod quickly and everything was going like it should until the line went slack. The fish bit though the wire leader. We continued drifting and more live chum went overboard. Two of the flatlines got hit and we hooked up solid on one. This time everything went as planned and Luke added a very nice kingfish to the fishbox. Back at TNT Marine Center, lots of pictures were taken and the jack crevalle and tarpon gave us a good show as I cleaned the dolphin and kingfish.
Fishing will only continue to improve as we get another cold front or two to come through our area and cool the water temperature down. Planning and booking your fishing trip now will insure that you get the date that you want, so give me a call or email me to get your trip scheduled. Great sailfishing and the winter tarpon run are just around the corner.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 14
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 4:35 pm: | |
You can tell Fall is here! As I'm writing this report the wind is blowing 15 to 20 out of the west northwest and the temperature has dropped 10 degrees from what it had been. A cold front as everybody knows by now came through South Florida early this morning and moved into the Florida Straits and past the Bahamas. A welcomed change from the very hot temperatures we had been experiencing. You may be wondering how that is going to affect the fishing in South Florida well as long as we don't get another front as strong as this one during the next few days things will warm up quickly and the fishing will be as good as it was before the front passed through. Just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about here are the results of my last three charters of last week.
Fishing in Flamingo I had Jim and his son Matthew for two days. From the start my plan was to fish them one day on the outside and one day on the inside to give them an idea of just how big and beautiful Everglades National Park is. The guys are from Canada and enjoy freshwater fishing but where they fish the strikes are few and far apart and the water is cold so the fish are bit sluggish. We started out throwing Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp baits and Jim gets the first strike next to an island near the marina. Jim's rod takes a nice bend but the fish does not get hooked and we move on. We head up into one of the channels that intersect two flats and casting the same baits the guys start hooking ladyfish and jacks on every cast. They can't believe the action and are having a ball. Unfortunately for me I did not come to this spot looking for ladyfish and jacks but snook, redfish and tarpon. The snook are there but the guys are casting where the snook aren't. they are so excited by the jacks and ladyfish that I must throw a Hook Up lure with a Gulp shrimp to show them bigger fish are available right under there noses. First cast I hook up with a snook and hand the rod to Matthew who now wants to catch one of his own. For the next two hours the guys release four out of the six snook that hit their lures plus a few redfish. We move on and Jim hooks up with a nice redfish at the next spot and again we move on. Heading for the next spot we find at least four free floating tripletail and land two on Hook Up lures. For the next few hours the guys catch jacks, ladyfish, snapper and catfish and lose a nice blacktip shark that got away when one shark ate the bait under a CajunThunder and another ate the Cajun Thunder cutting the line. During the day we saw a lot of Bottlenose dolphins, manatees, tarpon and three crocodiles.
Day two we head inside and hit a few islands in Whitewater Bay. Matthew hooks a big fish on a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp jerk bait and while fighting the fish the handle on his reel breaks off. The fish is very big and at first can't find anything to break his line on but while trying to replace the handle the fish finally gets its act together and breaks Matthew off on a tree. The next island produces some jacks and two small snook. We move on and head to the Gulf. Once out in open water we see large schools of threadfin herring and I make a quick cast with my 10 foot West Coast net and fill the live well. We fish the baits under Cajun Thunders and the guys are catching only catfish but are happy with the catfish. I convince them that the spot I was headed for before we spotted the baitfish might have better fish. At this spot the baitfish schools are thicker and I think we missed the bite because the dozens of terns that are in the area are just sitting looking full. At this spot we catch a small snook and redfish and head back to the large baitfish schools in open water. Once again the guys are catching catfish along with blacktip sharks. We have about two hours left to fish and I am always looking for that pot of gold around the corner but the guys are having fun with the sharks and catfish. Another 15 minutes of nonstop action and the guys are ready to move on. We head out to a spot in open water anchor and start chumming. Almost immediately fishing live baits under a Cajun Thunder the guys start getting strong hits and by the time it was time to head in we had caught of 15 mackerel to five pounds on live baits and Rapala X Raps and lost four times that amount.
Back in Flamingo with Jerry C. and Gerald M. in Florida Bay. The front is slowly moving closer to Florida and the fish must sense it because in our first spot the water is loaded with small to medium sized tarpon and they are feeding. We rig up with Hook Up lures tipped with shrimp and jerk baits and Rapala Twitchin Raps. For the next three or more hours the guys land two redfish and one nice snook, plus lots of ladyfish and jacks and have more missed strikes then you can imagine by the tarpon and only put one in the air. We move on. We head out to the edges of Florida Bay and spot two tripletail but miss each fish. The next four spots produce a lot of jacks and bluerunners. While we are catching the jacks a few schools of permit appear but ignore our artificial lures. We get cut off by a few mackerel and decide to look for some more tripletail. On the way to the next spot I see some nervous water in front of us and as we approach the fish I can't believe my eyes. Not one but dozens of schools of permit with 20 to 50 fish in each school. The fish range in size from 15 to 40 pounds but will only chase our baits not eat them. We played with them for over an hour before catching a nice pompano on a Gulp sand flea. That one pompano came out of a school of close to 50 pompano. We did not catch a lot of fish this day but we saw more fish in one day then one might see in a lifetime. We also saw the first flock of white pelicans of the new season.
Today I am on a two boat charter out of Miami. We are to meet our guys at 7 AM and I have launched my boat at a boat ramp about five miles south of where we will meet our clients. On the way to the docks that our clients will be I sense that a school of baitfish are somewhere in the area that I am heading. I already have four dozen handpicked shrimp in my live well but live pilchards in the well will be a nice added edge on the fish. You're going to laugh at what you are about to read because my wife did when I told her that I could smell the baitfish from a distance. I could smell them. The wind was from the west northwest and somewhere in front of me was a big school of baitfish but I did not see them on my Lowrance depth recorder at first. After traveling a few more hundred yards my depth recorder lit up with baitfish markings. It was dark so I could not see them but I could hear them on the surface. One quick cast with my 10 foot cast net and I had at least three hundred pilchards in the well. We picked up our guys and headed to our first spot. I threw some live baits out for chum but only saw one explosion. A quick cast with a live bait and we got a solid hit but lost it. I think that fish was a snook but we will never know for sure. No more bites so we moved on. Our next spot is notorious for small tarpon at first light on calm mornings and that's just what we had. The tarpon were there and we put our baits out and waited. We fished live pilchards under a Cajun thunder with a #1 Mustad long shank hook to keep the barracudas from cutting our leaders and live baits free lined on Mustad circle hooks. Bill had the first strike but missed the fish. Paul got the second strike and caught a small sea trout. Paul had a vicious strike and hooked the fish. All of our jaws dropped when the 60 pound tarpon cleared the water. The guys were excited and I was worried because the fish was an 8 pound spinning tackle that was better suited for the 20 pound tarpon I was expecting. Paul fought the fish well and the fish started towing the boat south. After 30 minutes and getting the fish close the tarpon headed for the many docks in the area and then ran under one of them. I thought we were done but the homeowner was there and watching what was going on. He allowed us to get on his dock and helped us pass the rod and reel under the dock and to the clear side. The reel dipped into the water but the 8 pound line held and the fight was still on. The fish ran right down the shoreline threatening to repeat what it had done before. Forty minutes into the fight the fish ran under the 79th st. bridge and then turned and ran back under the bridge again. During all of this the fish jumped once again. At the 90 minute mark the fish ran under a dock and was so tired that we were able to pull it out and away from the dock only to have to repeat the process five or six more times only to have the fish try once more and break the thin line. Paul was disappointed and so was I but we had done what we could on the light tackle. We only had one hour left of our four hour trip so we raced back to the spot and put our baits out again. The action had slowed but we did manage to get one more strike and bill fought a nice bonnet head shark to boat side where it was released. During our long battle the other boat was able to release three tarpon in the ten to 20 pound range.
That catches us up for now!
Check out my new web site and see your monthly catches and pictures.
www.getemsportfishing.com
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report
(www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
I have recently been wearing a lot of Columbia Sports Wear on my fishing charters and the new Blood & Guts shirts are amazing. I have had mackerel, cobia and snook just splatter me with blood and one good washing and the shirts are as good as new. Check out their web site at www.columbia.com
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Cajun Thunders, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com, Columbia Wear
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
www.getemsportfishing.com
Host of Florida Sportsman Radio Live/South
1080 WMCU AM Saturdays 7 to 8 AM
786-436-2064
Miami Fishing Forecast:
This action will continue for the next six weeks when water temperatures will send the snook and tarpon to deeper water. The large jacks, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pompano, snapper and groupers will pick up the action through May.
Target Species:
Snook, Tarpon, Mackerel, Dolphin, Cobia, Tripletail, Redfish. Shark, |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 187
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - 2:37 pm: | |
Finally!! We get a break from the HOT weather.
Before the cold front passed through, the 100 - 200 foot zone was the place to get plenty of action with kingfish, AJ's, and small sharks. The surface action for these fish was poor at best. All the bites were on either the mid-depth baits or the bottom baits. Fishing the deeper wrecks has been to say the least an adventure. We've seen plenty of action with either sharks or AJ's. Getting them to the surface is another story.
Now that the cold front has passed through, the air temperature is moderating back to a more comfortable zone. It has left behind some strong winds in the 15 - 30 knot range. Don't let this scare you as there is good action in the protected waters of the Bay for tarpon. The wind should push the mullet into our area and that will get the fishing going hot and heavy both offshore and inshore.
Nick Luders and his friend Loren Gardner fished a day trip during the heat. It took us a little while to zone in on the fish, however, once we did, the action was fast and furious. Slow trolling live pilchards on the downrigger along with 2 flatline baits in 190 - 205 feet did the trick. As fast as I could get the bait down on the downrigger, we had instant action. We won 4 times with kingfish in the box and the kings won 3 times. The action shut off and it was back to drifting which produced a small AJ that thought it was a monster. Loren couldn't believe how hard that fish pulled.
Anh Duong and his brother Huan learned many lessons on their trip. First, the bait was crazy solid inside of Haulover. We started with sabiki rigs and then I threw the next a few times to fill the livewell with pilchards. The only action we saw was on the bottom rod in the form of a small shark. We trolled up some larger live baits (bluerunners and small bonito) using the Kaplan jig. We then put a bluerunner down on a deep wreck off Government Cut. It got hit almost immediately by a shark that cut us off. Next it was a small bonito that got inhaled and got back in the wreck. And that's the way it went for the next 2 baits we dropped. We'd get several good turns on the fish before it dove straight back into the cover of the wreck. The end result was a cut off and time for a new hook and bait.
The cooler weather will get the sailfish and tarpon going very soon, so now's the time to book that trip while there are still plenty of dates open. Don't delay too long and be disappointed when I tell you that the date you want is already taken. Call or email me to get that date on the schedule.
Till next time, tie good knots, fish with live bait, and vary your techniques till you find the fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 186
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 05, 2009 - 7:13 am: | |
If you're looking for plenty of action, it's been hard to beat the 100 - 200 foot depth range all along the South Florida coast. Yes, there has been a good improvement in offshore dolphin fishing, however, its still been inconsistent. In the meantime, the action in the above mentioned area has been steady and consistent. Put out your spread of baits at various depths and it won't be long before the action begins.
Fabio Nick needed a day off from his busy work schedule. A half day trip was just what he needed. With one throw of the castnet, we had more than ample bait to fish and do some heavy live chumming. The bottom rod and break away mid-depth rod saw almost all the action. By the end of the morning, he had caught several kingfish, even more bonito, mutton snapper, and barracuda.
Ray Young wanted to learn a bit about fishing the area. A half day trip turned out to be just the ticket. We started with a bonito, followed by a mutton snapper, and then a vermillion snapper. The middle portion of the trip was very uneventful. Almost at the end of the trip, we caught a lone dolphin in 175 feet. The northwesterly wind had us drifting offshore, so we continued out to deeper water. In 240 feet, the action began with a double hook up of dolphin. The school followed the hooked fish up to the boat and we managed to hook a few more before the remainder of fish moved on. The fish were all in the 8 - 10 pound class.
Derrel Hurst, Dwight Fiore, and Joseph Fiore combined to catch bonito, skipjack tuna, and kingfish on their half day trip.
Chelsea, Robert, and Dan were part of a large group that were split among three boats. They were here for a meeting and had a free day to go fishing. There was a good natured competition going on amongst the group for the largest fish and most fish. We ran straight out from Government Cut and started in 110 feet. A west wind was pushing us offshore. In 160 feet both the mid-depth and bottom rods hooked up and we landed 2 kingfish. The next drift we had to wait till we hit 200 feet before another kingfish ate the bottom bait. The mid-depth rod scored the largest kingfish on the next drift and finally a barracuda ate a flatline bait. We then dropped on several wrecks with no results before going back on the drift. I marked a wreck in 230 feet and we dropped on it and immediately hooked up with an amberjack. We had the fish up to the boat and on the leader before it decided to head back down to deeper water. Once the leader slid through my hands and the line came tight, the leader wire popped through the eye of the hook and the fish released itself. The 3/4 day trip came to an end all to soon and back at the dock, we learned that we had caught the most and largest fish. Lots of pictures were taken as the group celebrated a great day of fishing.
As you can see, the best action still comes on the bottom and mid-depth rods. Once the water temperature begins to cool down, better action will return to the surface baits as well. All of the action above took place between the Cuban Hole to just north of the Twins. It won't be long before we get a Fall run of mullet to spice up the action both inshore and offshore. The Winter sailfish and tarpon seasons are just around the corner. The major kingfish runs should begin before then along with spanish mackerel action. Now's the time to get your dates booked so you won't miss out on any of the great fishing we have in the Miami area. Give me a call or send me an email. It's just that easy.
See you on the edge.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 185
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, September 09, 2009 - 2:35 pm: | |
It's time for another update, so let's get right to it.
We'll start with dolphin (mahi-mahi) fishing. As everyone in this area knows, we've had a very poor season since the beginning of June. So bad that it's just not been worth even running out to look with the hopes that you might find a few dolphin. With that said, there is a bit of encouraging news. This past week, I spoke with two friends who took the plunge and found some action. One angler had to go 20 miles out and another found action at 12 miles, although he found nothing on the previous day. It's still on the hit or miss side, however, for those who like to catch and eat or release these colorful acrobatic fish, then it's just a matter of getting lucky and finding the right conditions.
For the most consistent action, it's still fishing the 100 - 200 foot range for kingfish, bonito, barracuda, AJ's, and a few sailfish. Fishing around the various wrecks and in the 80 - 100 foot range has been producing mutton snapper and yellowtail snapper. The current that was almost none existent has been running to the north at between
2 - 3.5 MPH. The water temperature is still in the very high 80's so action at the surface has been on the slow side. Most all the action aboard Knot Nancy has been on the bottom rod and mid-depth rod.
Captain Gil Gutierrez and I went out for a half day of fun fishing just to get out on the water. We found plenty of action with mangrove snapper.
Richard Killen and Miguel Rivera had a half day of steady action. It started off with several bonito that had both of them dancing around one another as they chased their fish around the boat. Then the bottom rod produced a kingfish. This was followed by a very large porgy that a barracuda decided to sample almost half of. The final fish of the trip was an AJ that had Richard working hard to get up to the surface before we released it.
Dave Avila was celebrating his birthday with his girlfriend, Vicki Konya, and friends Harold Rondan and Derrel Hurst. The mid-depth rod with the break away sinker produced the only action of the trip. We were in 150' off the middle of the Anchorage Area. Dave had his first sailfish on the line and it put on a spectacular show. Everything that you have ever seen a sailfish do was done by this fish. In the end, Dave won the battle and the sailfish earned its release after a few quick pictures.
Gee Scruggs and his sons, Michael and Anthony got a taste of the fishing and a good dose of South Florida stormy weather. We started with a red grouper and then got rained on. The sun came out and we got more rain. Running south got us into better weather for a while. The action improved some with the mid-depth rod catching a kingfish in 120' just north of the Cuban Hole. Then we had some rare action on a flatline. After a couple of minutes, the hook pulled so that fish will remain a mystery. Then it was back to mid-depth action again in the same depth in the form of another kingfish. After putting the second king in the fish box, that's when the skies turn an ominous black and started closing in on us with plenty of lightning and thunder. A quick decision was made that everyone had caught a fish and we didn't want to get caught in this bad thunderstorm, so we made a quick dash back to Haulover Inlet and then to TNT Marine Center with the storm right on our heels.
Javier Andrade loves to fish and he was sharing his passion with his girlfriend Yaner Figuero. This was Yaner's first fishing trip offshore. The wind had kicked up higher than was predicted. The 13 - 15 knot winds had the seas just a bit on the sloppy side. We started just south of the Twins in 140'. Both the bottom and mid-depth rods got hit just seconds apart from one another. The bottom rod gave us a nice mutton snapper. The mid-depth rod didn't hook up. That was OK with Yaner as the motion of the ocean was fast taking its toll on her. She hung in there and on the next drift, we got another mutton on the bottom rod and this time the mid-depth rod hooked up solid with a kingfish. By now, Yaner was in full blown motion sickness mode. She was still hanging in and said it was OK to do another drift. That next drift produced a very nice 15# kingfish on the mid-depth rod. At the end of the drift, the bottom rod gave us a fat yellowtail snapper. It was all Yaner could take, so we called it a morning and ran back to calmer water and solid ground back at TNT Marine Center. All of our action came in the 80 - 110 foot range.
That brings me up to date. It's easy to see that the mid-depth and bottom rods are getting all the action. We'll continue with this type of action until we get our Fall mullet run that should take place in late September to early October. It's hard to predict the exact date and how long the run will last. If you're fortunate enough to be out on those days, the action can be outstanding for snook, tarpon, jack crevalle, and sharks as they blast the schools of mullet that are migrating south along the beach. The winter sailfish and tarpon seasons are right around the corner, so now's a good time to start thinking about some dates and get your trips scheduled. The tarpon action normally is in full swing by mid to late December and the fronts that will start coming through our area during that time will get the sailfish going big time.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 184
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 17, 2009 - 2:26 pm: | |
Surface water temperatures in the ocean have been between 88 - 91 degrees. In Biscayne Bay it's been even higher. With the temperatures this high, it calls for a change in technique to have a reasonable chance at a successful trip. In the ocean, fishing your baits deeper will improve your chances. In the Bay, fishing early and at night will help combat the high temperatures.
Dolphin fishing has improve slightly. By this I mean that you will have to search long and hard to catch between 5 to 8 fish on a 3/4 to full day of fishing. The best bet for good steady action still remains fishing the reef for kingfish, bonito, barracuda, amberjack, and small sharks. When there is current, anchoring on wrecks will also get you your fair shots at mutton snapper. For those who find the heat of the day unbearable, then fishing after dark should be your choice. Anchoring up on the second or third reef will give you a shot at yellowtail snapper, mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, and a host of other bottom fish.
Inshore, tarpon will be readily active after dark on a falling tide. For those who like to tangle will these silver beauties, it means that you'll have to adjust your fishing hours according to the tides. On most nights, losing a bit of sleep will be well worth it.
Jay & Dana Perez, Steve Stock, and Greg Jacoski beat the heat and saw action with tarpon both along the beach at Government Cut and in the Bay (falling tide) during an evening tarpon trip. The Silver King in both locations ate live crabs and put on a great show for the anglers before they were released.
The next morning, Frank, Sam, and Ashley Wallberg along with Joe Acquaviva got into lots of kingfish and bonito action during their 3/4 day trip. The action took place off the Twin Towers area in 130 - 180 feet. Live herring by far produced the most strikes with action coming on flatlines, mid-depth baits, and the bottom rod. By the end of the trip we had 5 kingfish and 3 bonito in the fish box and missed the hook up on several other fish.
Alex Aru and three other friends did a late afternoon/evening trip. We fished off of the 87th Street area making four drifts before heading to Government Cut to tarpon fish. We had north current, blue water, and loads of grass to the point of being a nuisance. On two of the drifts as soon as we got to 190 feet, the bottom rod produced kingfish. At Government, we made one drift for tarpon before the group decided they wanted to call it an evening and take a tour up the east side of the Bay.
Sue Cocking and Steve Waters fished a 3/4 day trip. We started by buying some pilchards and then catching herring along the beach south of Haulover Inlet. The herring were playing very hard to get and it took a while to catch about 18 baits. We put our first baits out in 198 feet just north of the Twin Towers. It took less than 5 minutes for the bottom rod to hook up and Sue caught a very nice 30# amberjack. Then the break away lead rod saw action with a bonito followed by a kingfish. Each drift produced action mainly on the bottom and break away lead outfit (70' down). We worked the same area and every time we got inside of 190 feet, we saw action on in to 150 feet. Final count was a 30# AJ, 3 kingfish in the 12 - 14 pound range, and 4 bonito, along with numerous chopped baits, pulled hooks, and cut offs.
Mauricio Ruiz, Caroline Almoracid, Mark Perez, and Andre Ocampo fished a half day with plenty of action on a variety of fish. We worked the area between the Twin Towers and the Cuban Hole and saw all the action in the 130 - 180 foot range. Once again, the vast majority of the action came on the bottom rod and break away lead outfit. The variety of fish included kingfish, bonito, barracuda, amberjack, and shark. All the fish ate live herring that were caught at the crooked range marker outside of Government Cut.
As you can see, the place for action and plenty of it is in the 130 - 190 foot range. The rest is up to you. Simply give me a call 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to set up your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 183
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, July 26, 2009 - 1:35 pm: | |
The rod bending action for kingfish and bonito in the 110 - 150 foot range has and continues to be off the scale. Many times during a trip we are getting hit as the baits are being deployed and this happens numerous times during each trip. If you want to have plenty of action then fishing for these two species is your best bet. Throw in a few barracuda, an occasional cobia or sailfish and if you drop a bait to the bottom on a wreck you'll find decent mutton snapper fishing. You'll be very hard pressed to find any better action for variety and quantity during the daytime. Get out early as the thunderstorms have been rolling through in the late morning to early afternoon and they have been very strong.
Dolphin fishing offshore continues to disappoint most everyone who has gone out looking for these colorful and tasty fish. There have been a few caught, however, nothing like it normally is and most anglers come back in with empty fish boxes and no fish tales to tell.
For the small children and young anglers who are going out for the first time, there is plenty of none stop action on the shallow patch areas and artificial reefs. The variety includes grunts, triggerfish, bluerunners, yellowtail snapper, lane snapper, mangrove snapper, and more. The action is fast and furious and will keep your young anglers busy for hours.
Steven Grover and his sons Joshua (8 years old) and Ethan (4 years old) along with his friend Johnathan Robertson and his son Peyton (7 years old) wanted to try for dolphin. Our search took us as far as 21 miles offshore. We found very little to say that there should be dolphin. We live baited the most likely looking areas and blind trolled jigs for about ten minutes. The result was no fish. While running back in we found a weedline with some debris in it and still no fish. To save the day, we fished the 120 -130 foot range and had the boys and their Dad's busy with action on bonito. Double hook ups were common and each young angler got his turn pulling on these hard fighting fish.
Fred Gates and his son Michael along with Prosper Azerraf and his grandson Benjamin Siboni started the day off with fast and furious action catching pilchards and herring. We then anchored up on the shallow patches and artificial reefs. Both boys had none stop action and it wasn't long before Fred and Prosper had to get in on the action also. With about an hour left in the trip, I suggested that we take a quick run out to deeper water and see if we could catch a larger fish. Off we went and out went the live pilchards and herring. It didn't take long before we got our first kingfish cutoff. Then the bonito attacked us. While Fred and Michael fought one fish, the second rod got hit and it was Prosper and Benjamin's turn. Both fish were landed and it capped off a great morning of fishing.
Mike and Richard Goulet were honoring and remembering their Dad and his love for fishing. Once again the action for kingfish and bonito was hot and heavy. We loaded up on pilchards and herring and both anglers enjoyed that portion of the trip. We ran south and fished between the Anchorage and the Twins to find plenty of action. Mike and Richard took turns and if one of them missed a fish or the hook pulled during the fight, there was plenty of good natured ribbing going on. They remembered how much their Dad loved fishing and wished that he could have been with them on this trip. When we returned to TNT Marine Center, the final count was 5 bonito and 5 kingfish in the 8 - 10 pound range along with some sore arms.
John and Annette Annoni wanted their son Landon (11 years old) to have plenty of action. Quantity was much more important than quality. They ended up getting both. We caught plenty of live bait with Sabiki rigs to begin with. We then anchored on a shallow artificial reef area. As soon as I put out the chum block, the quantity appeared. Grunts, triggerfish, bluerunners, mangrove snapper, and then yellowtail snapper. It soon became a competition between Mom and Son to see who could catch the largest fish. It was very close, however, Landon had a slight edge. John got in on the action also when we started using the Kaplan jig to catch bluerunners and yellowtail snapper. Once again, I suggested we run out to catch a larger fish. On the second drift, we found the bonito and Landon and his Dad had their hands full as the fish swam circles around the boat. In the meantime, Annette hooked up and here fish was making a run for Key West. As the fish started to slow down, the rod straightened up as the hook pulled. Back to Landon and the excitement rose a notch when he saw his fish. I leadered the fish and we took a few quick pictures before releasing the bonito.
Rob and Hunter Fitzpatrick and Dick Carroll fished a 3/4 day before the thunderstorms started to roll in. With a livewell full of bait, we headed out to find plenty of good north current. As I was deploying the second bait, the first bait got hit and the action started. The first three fish were a bonito, kingfish, and 21 pound cobia. That's the way the action went for the remainder of the trip. Everyone took turns or if they were standing next to a rod when it went off, they'd grab it. The action was at all levels with the flatlines shining during the first portion of the trip and the break away lead and bottom rod coming on strong during the last portion of the trip. Final count was 6 kingfish in the 10 - 12 pound range, 7 bonito, and a 21 pound cobia.
William Swantner's half day trip was filled with more action than he ever imagined. His comment after catching bait was that he really enjoyed that portion of the trip. He had no idea what was about to happen when we started in 125 feet north of 71st Street. With only two baits out on flatlines, both rods hooked up. After a long battle, we broke our wire leader on both fish. While putting out the next bait, it got hit and we were hooked up again. Again, we broke the leader. Finally, we solved the wire leader problem and we started landing fish. All the while, I was marking fishing at a mid-depth on the recorder. The action was so fast and furious on the flatlines, that I couldn't get a break way bait down. With flatline rods needing leaders retied, I put the break away rod down. No sooner did I have it at the right depth, then it took off and the action continued. The storms started to build up early on this day and William said he didn't want to get caught in the ran. He was more than totally satisfied with the action and the fish and was ready to head in. We just about made it back to TNT Marine Center before it started to rain and luckily it only lasted for a brief period of time. The kingfish, bonito, and barracuda action on this trip was fabulous.
Once again we're caught up with the reports. If you want action with your fishing and plenty of it, then take advantage of the action on the reef. There is no telling how much longer we'll be enjoying it. The kings and bonito have put lots of smiles on the faces of many anglers and the great thing about our fishing is that you never know what is going to bite your bait next. It's a beautiful thing.
Give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get your trip scheduled so that you can get in on this action too.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 182
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, July 09, 2009 - 7:56 pm: | |
Since my last report, we've done our fair share of fishing along with Knot Nancy going into Whitewater for new electronics and many new upgrades. In general, we are now into our summer fishing mode. The unusual thing about this summer so far is the numbers of days that we've had south, southwest, and west wind. It's produced calm seas and driven the blue water edge out to anywhere from 600 to 1000 feet. This has resulted in many days of no current in the depths that we all like to fish. It has also given us a very poor dolphin season thus far. The bright spot has been that the kingfish action has been very good and bonito (little tunny) have shown up in massive numbers. Throw in some good mutton snapper and AJ fishing and it's been quite easy to find plenty of rod bending action.
Let's get caught up with the various reports on the fishing action aboard Knot Nancy.
Robert Dollar, Steve Pericht, and David Hirsch got in their tarpon trip after the first one had to be rescheduled due to heavy late afternoon and early evening thunderstorms. The wait was well worth it as the tarpon bite was very good that evening and when it was time to start heading back to TNT Marine Center, the final count was 4 for 4 on some healthy tarpon that tested each angler's skills.
Knot Nancy then spent 7 days at Whitewater getting outfitted with new electronics, transducers, and some upgrades.
Rob and Laura Hughes fished a 3/4 day trip and saw plenty of action with a variety of species. The deep rod produced red grouper. The flatlines and downrigger added cero mackerel, several kingfish, and plenty of bonito. There was action on every drift from the beginning to the end of the trip.
Brad Coren, Brad Kiassman, and Charline Morris also fished a 3/4 day trip. We spent the vast majority of the trip looking for the elusive dolphin. The lines we found were needle and eel grass. Not the best for finding dolphin but better than a clean ocean. We managed two strikes from small fish that both threw the hook as they jumped. Then we found and followed a frigate bird for several miles as the bird was also looking for fish. After leaving that bird, we found another one that was diving and we could see a dolphin jumping as we approached it. Slow trolling our baits in the area finally paid off and we caught 1 decent dolphin to break the ice and it was big enough for at least two good meals. It seemed that the further we went out, the less we saw. The little we did see was just a clump of grass here and there. We worked our way back in with no further action. We had just enough time to make a drift and catch a bonito before the end of the trip.
Todd and Scott Milne along with Tom McSweeney spent some good quality time together as well as seeing action with bonito on their trip.
Knot Nancy then went back to Whitewater to finish up with all the various upgrades.
My next trip was with Shannon and Dan Geister who had just returned from their honeymoon cruise. When Shannon called to book the trip, she said they wanted to fight some hard pulling fish. Species didn't matter, they just wanted action. After catching bait, we had action with the first bait I put out and got a clean cut line back. Then it was a bonito, followed by a kingfish, and then more cutoffs before the action died off. Two moves and about a hour and half later, I moved out to some deeper water and the action got real crazy. They both hooked up and were chasing their fish around and around the boat. I threw out another bait and it got hit immediately. As soon as one of them got their fish close, they handed me the rod and took the one with another fish on it. That's how it went for the next 45 minutes. They were both on the verge of saying enough when we got a break in the action. They had long enough to rest till I reset our drift and the action began again. Each drift after that saw action with either bonito or kingfish. They both got their wish for plenty of action with hard pulling fish.
John and Kree Perkins along with Charlene Wilkinson got into plenty of kingfish action with every fish cutting off the hook. When I put out wire leaders, we saw no action on that rod. Stick with the mono leaders and we got cut off. We finally got the hook to stay in a fish without getting cut off and it was work our way up the food chain starting with a houndfish and progressing to a remora. The break away lead rod finally started doing its job with barracuda and bonito. The flatlines saw some action with the bonito. Most people have no desire to eat bonito and consider them a nuisance while they are fishing for other species. Everyone in this group decided they want to try the bonito and form their own opinion on how good or bad it might be. I fillet two of the fish and took the loins off the skin. The report I got was that they prepared it both Greek and Blackened style. The consensus from all three anglers was that they liked it and would definitely eat it again. That's good news as there are plenty of them out there to give a hard fight and a good meal also.
There you have it, once again we're caught up to the current time with the reports on the action off the Miami Beach area. There are plenty of fish out there to test any anglers skills. If you want action, it's there to be had. When the wind turns back to the east and southeast, I would expect the dolphin action to pick up. In the mean time, take what Mother Nature offers and get out and enjoy the weather and the action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 181
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, June 14, 2009 - 12:16 pm: | |
Ron Walker has caught a lot of tarpon, but never one that was at least 100 pounds or better. There have been plenty of fish that fit that category and that was our goal this evening. The first action we had was from a permit that we released. Next it was a tarpon of 40 pounds. By this time it was well into the dusk period and the action continued with a double hook up. We landed the 70 pound fish and the other one threw the hook on its second jump. The next fish was the one we were looking for. It made a run straight for the jetties and in the process, dumped about 90% of the line off the reel. We had a little over half the line back when the fish ran parallel with the jetties as it made a dash to get around the corner and into the deep water of the main channel. Everything was going fine except for one thing. There was a boat anchored up next to the jetties at the tip. Yes sir, you guessed it, the tarpon went around the anchor rope and cut us off. After two more drifts with no further action, we moved to the north side. On the first drift, we caught another 70 pound fish. The next drift had us hooked up again with the right size tarpon. This one was well educated also and made a fast and furious dash for a swim buoy. It found the rope holding the buoy in place and once again we got cut off. That's the way the evening ended. Final total was 1 permit and 2 for 5 on tarpon.
Brad Coren had a dolphin dinner in mind as we headed offshore after catching plenty of bait. We found a nice line of grass in blue water and put out two baits. The action was almost instant, however, the fish knew how to throw the hook. As quick as we found the blue water, it turned green so off we went going further offshore. At about 7 miles out, we found the blue water again and then all signs of good fishing conditions became very hard to come by. At 19 miles we found one lone fish swimming in some scattered grass. It was a start and we had the skunk out of the boat. We stopped in several likely looking spots on our way back in with no results. Finally at 13.5 miles out, we found another single fish swimming at the surface and pushing a wake. Then another single and then a 16.5 pound bull. Fresh dolphin fillets for dinner was looking much better. Once again we saw another single fish pushing a wake to add to the fish box. The morning ended all to quickly, however, Brad was all smiles as I cleaned the fish back at TNT Marine Center and he filled numerous zip lock bags with fish.
Frank and Tammy Marino were in Miami for a business and vacation trip. For the pleasure part of the trip, they had an evening tarpon trip in mind. We didn't have to wait long for our first action as a nice 90 pounder found our crab on the first drift. Tammy was up first and she did a marvelous job of fighting the fish after we overcame a problem with a backlashed reel. The fish made its way straight to the deep water of the main channel. The fight went back and forth for a long time, before Tammy started to get the upper hand. Frank had both the video and digital cameras going as Tammy put the finishing touches on the tired tarpon. It was then Frank's turn. He didn't have to wait very long either and he was fighting a 100 pound tarpon. By now the tide had changed and was coming in. His fish also made it to the main channel and started working its way inland. After a long drawn out battle, all the pictures got taken and the fish was released. We made one more drift with no action and both Frank and Tammy said they had enough and we called it an evening going 2 for 2.
Knot Nancy is going in to Whitewater for some new electronics and upgrades on Tuesday, June 16. The work is going to take about a week. She'll be out and ready for fishing action again starting on June 23rd, so don't delay in giving me a call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip. The action is still going strong as we get further into our summertime fishing.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 180
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 1:03 pm: | |
Good dolphin fishing has finally arrived off the Miami area. There are large numbers of fish in the schools and they can be found through a wide range of depths and distances offshore. The fish range in size from schoolies to fish into the 20 pound range. If you come across a school of smaller fish, remember that there is a 20 inch minimum from the lower jaw to the fork of the tail (LJFT) and a 10 fish per person limit. Keep a few and then move on to find some larger fish. With the large number of fish, catching your limit can be very easy. It is also very easy to get so caught up in the feeding frenzy that you go over your limit. Someone needs to keep track of how many you've caught so that if you get stopped and inspected, a good day won't be ruined by getting fined.
There are still plenty of sailfish and kingfish being caught in the 90 - 200 foot range.
Move inshore and the tarpon bite is still going off most every evening with the fish in the 90 - 150 pound range. If you've ever had a dream of catching a tarpon that weighs 100 pounds or more, now is the time to make that dream become a reality. Don't be put off by the afternoon rain storms as they have usually passed through and the skies clear up by 6 - 6:30 in the evening.
Dennis and Don Cataldo along with Dale Cochrane and Peter Holehouse tangled with a large mean nasty tarpon that didn't want to give up. The battle started on the south side of the jetties at Government Cut. The fish played it very lazy to begin with and did little to no jumping. Without expending much energy, the tarpon had twice as much stamina as they usually have. The fish made its way into the main channel and with the tide going out, we followed it as it went offshore staying in the deep water. The fish finally came up and gave us a few jumps and then went right back down. It was a see saw battle back and forth for a very long time. Neither the fish nor the angler wanted to give in and we continued to move out the channel. By the time we made it out to where the channel dog legs to the left, the tarpon was finally wearing down, but not enough to pose for a good boat side picture. With two cameras going, enough pictures were finally taken and the fish was released. The battle lasted for well over an hour.
Ben and Jenny Skinner along with their son Charlie got into to some hot and heavy dolphin action. We started the morning off with catching herring and pilchards in the Haulover area. We worked our way offshore checking each and every slick and scattered weedline we came across. At 10.5 miles out we found a large weed patch along with a heavy scattered line. As we slow trolled our baits down the line, we saw dolphin swimming along side of the boat and it was time for the dolphin frenzy to begin. Ben was hooking fish on Kaplan jigs, Jenny and Charlie were hooking up with the live bait. Charlie had never seen anything like this back home in Virginia and this was his first time catching dolphin. By the time the fish moved on, the boat needed a good hosing down and everyone needed some liquid refreshment. We regrouped and moved back to the weedline and within minutes, we were back in the fish again. All of the fish were schoolie size with the exception of a few throw backs. Between catching fish, Jenny was busy taking pictures of Charlie fighting his fish. Ben was busy with hooking fish and handing the rod off to either Charlie or Jenny. After the second blitz of fish, we hosed the boat down again and counted our catch as we were getting close to limiting out. We had room for a few more fish, so we moved back to the line. By this time we were joined by two other boats who were busy catching fish also. Once again we got into the fish and I counted down as we approached our limit. Ben and Jenny decided that we had enough and we called the trip at the half day mark and ran back to TNT Marine Center where Ben and I cleaned all the fish that they want to take back home with them. While we were cleaning the fish, they all got treated to the sight of the barracuda, jack crevalle, and large dolphin that were getting their fair share of the action by eating the skins and rib sections. Once again a family spent good quality time together catching fish, having fun, and making memories that will last for years to come.
It's time to book your dolphin charter. Give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to get your date scheduled to get in on the action. Tarpon fishing will remain strong through the end of June before it begins to rapidly wind down for another season, so don't delay on getting in on that action either. And finally, think about an afternoon evening trip where you can catch dolphin offshore and finish the evening off with tarpon. It's the best of both worlds.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 179
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 10:21 am: | |
Take your pick of either offshore or inshore fishing. They are both producing many satisfying catches.
The action offshore continues to be outstanding for sailfish, blackfin tuna, kingfish, dolphin and bonito. It has been best to get out early in the day as we are in that time of year when we have almost daily afternoon thunderstorms. If the morning doesn't fit your schedule, then wait out the rain and get out in the later afternoon till dark and the reward is usually very good for blackfin tuna.
Inshore, the late afternoon, evening bite for tarpon is outstanding. There are lots of fish well above 100 pounds, so if you've ever had the dream and desire to catch a large tarpon, now is the time to get out and get that goal accomplished.
Eddie Hudon, Steve Wallace, Gary Seidman, and Tony Marmon hung in with fairly windy conditions of E/ESE @ 14 - 19 knots. The reward was well worth it. Action with sailfish on both the kite and flatlines, along with bonito, kingfish, and dolphin kept us all busy waiting for the next strike.
Brad Coren and John Perkins also hung in with the windy conditions of ESE/SSE @ 12 - 25 knots. The day started off with a triple header of kingfish; one on the kite and two on the flatlines. The fish on the kite was the biggest of the day weighing in at a very nice 36 pounds. We had other cutoffs and chopped baits and added another kingfish and a tasty cero mackerel. Fishing a bit deeper, we had action with dolphin. On the final drift of the 3/4 day trip, John hooked his first sailfish ever. The fish ate the long kite bait while I was wrapping up the deep rod and getting ready to make the run back in. The sail put on a very exciting aerial show for us While making numerous runs in every direction. The fish was released after posing for pictures at boat side.
Evan Rees was celebrating his birthday with his friends Josh Rutter, Charles Gonzalez, and Brian Mormile. Of the four friends, he was the only one who hadn't caught a tarpon yet. That was all to change before the evening was over. After putting out the baits, we settled into our first drift. It didn't take to long before we had action and Evan was first up. The 100 pound tarpon did its thing and Evan enjoyed the entire fight. Every time the fish came near the boat or made a jump, he gave out a shout of joy that could be hear for miles. Both pictures and video captured the moment as Evan caught and released his first tarpon. Afterwards, we had two more strikes. Both fish were solid hook ups. We landed one after a very hard fought battle that took us from the south side at Government Cut all the way in to just west of the Coast Guard base. The other fish managed to find an obstruction on the bottom and cut us off after several minutes.
The next evening, it was back to tarpon fishing after the rain storms passed through. This time I had Mark Sosin on board and we were shooting a segment for his series Mark Sosin's Saltwater Journal. The fish were not camera shy on this evening. Within 30 seconds of putting out the baits, we had our first fish on. We fought and filmed this one from start to final release and had one on film. The next drift we got 3 tremendous jumps out of a tarpon before it gave us back our hook. The next fish cut us off on a bottom obstruction. The fish remained cooperative and we filmed another to right up next to the boat before the hooked pulled. The final fish of the evening was a total film success and the first evening of filming ended with a 3 for 4 count.
Mark was back for the second evening of filming. It took a bit longer to get the fish going on this evening. The first 3 fish did not want to cooperate with us and threw the hook on either the first or second jump. The last two drifts were the money drifts. We got a complete fight start to release with both fish. The last one was a huge 140 pound fish that did us a great favor by running into the shallow water instead of the deep water of the main channel. The fish spooled 3/4's of the line off a Penn TRQ300 reel before we could make any headway toward gaining line back. Twice, we thought we had pulled the hook when the fish turned around and charged toward the boat. The second time, it took Mark about 30 seconds to catch up with the fish while he was reeling madly to gain back line. In the end, the fish was released and another successful evening of filming came to an end.
There you have it, offshore and inshore the fishing is outstanding. Now all you have to do to get in on the action is to either email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net or call me 305 956-9454 to schedule your trip and get ready for some action. Offshore or inshore, you pick the type trip you want. Don't forget you can experience both with a afternoon/evening trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 178
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 16, 2009 - 2:09 pm: | |
There is no better time to go fishing then now. Offshore the fishing is outstanding. Sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna, and bonito will stretch your line and test your angling skills. Inshore, the tarpon are still hungry and willing to do battle with you both at the Inlets and in the Bay. The wind has been up, however, that will not last forever. If you can handle some big sloppy seas, then you'll experience some great fishing. Whether you like to kite fish, use flatlines, fish the bottom, get down with downriggers, or use a combination of some or all, you'll find action with all these techniques.
Steve Demilliano, his Dad, Joe, and friend Darrin Barritt started offshore with catching bonito, kingfish, and barracuda. As dusk came on, it was time to move inshore where the tarpon were quite cooperative. At trips end, we had add 2 for 3 on tarpon to the offshore catch.
Brad Coren and John Gonell chose a very light wind day to fish. Early in the morning, there was just enough wind to fly the extra light kite without helium. We put out one bait and minutes later, Brad was hooked up with what would weigh in as a 24 pound dolphin. As Brad was fighting his dolphin, John was fighting his first fish ever, a very respectable 13 pound dolphin. Both fish made it to the fishbox and the fillets made for a great meal.
Gary Rosenbaum treated his son, Grant to a tarpon trip. On this evening, the tarpon played a bit hard to find. We started on the south side where we went 1 for 2. After that they shut off. A move to the north side and we found the fish again. This time we hooked up a double header for a brief period of time. One fish hooked solid and the other gave us back our hook on its first jump. Grant started the fight and did everything he could until he asked his dad to take over. Gary continued the fight that took us back around the north jetty, into the main channel, and in to Smith & Wollensky's where the fish was released.
Walt & Michael Wilkowski, Fred Sprano, and Ray Kalita had tarpon fishing on their minds. They were down for two evenings of fishing. The first evening, the tarpon action was hot and heavy. Everyone caught tarpon with one extra for good measure. That make us 5 for 5 and add in a yellowtail snapper. The second evening got started with a tarpon on the first drift and a legal size mutton snapper. The fish then disappeared. We moved over to the north side and on our first drift over there, we had 2 fish on. The key word was on. Both fish made great runs and then when they jumped, it was thrown hook time. Once again the fish disappeared. We moved back to the south side where we caught a red grouper before heading in.
The next trip was more tarpon action, this time with Andy Mattice, Brady Maw, and Scott Aitchison. Andy got first chance and he caught and released his tarpon. When the tide changed, we went into the Bay. It took 7 minutes for the first strike. After resetting, it took another 7 minutes for the next strike. Both Brady and Scott got there chance to fight their first tarpon.
The four angler group of Steve Nicodemus, Gene Johnson, Brad Rivituso, and Dave Herrema definitely earned the title of Vikings. Normally with the sea conditions we fished in there is usually at least one angler who would feel the effects of motion sickness. Not this group. We had wind from the E/ESE @ 19 - 22 knots with higher gusts. We started off with a kingfish and then added 3 dolphin. By this time, I finally had a chance to get the kite up with baits on it. We started working our way back out to deeper water when the flatline got hit and we had a sailfish on. After releasing the sail, we set back up again and this time it was a bonito on the kite. After that, all the action was with sailfish on the kite. The final tally was 3 for 5 sailfish along with the kingfish, dolphin, and bonito. All the action came in the 70 - 140 foot range.
Once again we are now current with the reports. I'll be out again tomorrow and most every day next week. This is the time of year when the action is hot and heavy with both summer and winter time species here at the same time. Don't miss out on the action. Schedule your trip and lets go catch some fish.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 177
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 02, 2009 - 5:20 pm: | |
Dolphin, kingfish, and sailfish with some blackfin tuna beginning to show up are the main offshore species to be found. They are hitting everything from the kite, to flatlines, to downrigger, and the bottom rod. This is also the time of year when you'll have your best shot at catching a large dolphin. the wind has finally come down to a more comfortable speed, resulting in calmer sea conditions.
Meanwhile, inshore the tarpon are still here and cooperating. It's also the time of year when what you think is your next tarpon hit turns out to be a permit. We don't target them in the tarpon area, but they will be swimming there and the next strike could be a nice size permit.
An evening tarpon trip with Scott Salyers, George Large, and David Bertolozzi had an added bonus. We are in the time of year when it is not uncommon to catch a permit while we are drifting for tarpon. That's exactly what happened on our first drift. George was up and he got the pleasure of catching and releasing a 30# permit. The next drift had David hooked up with a tarpon that decided to give us back our hook on its third jump after dumping about 100 yards of line off the reel. The next hit we had was a solid hook up and David caught and released the tarpon after plenty of pictures were taken at boat side.
Oscar Marrero and Ray Cruz had one goal in mind. They wanted to catch some dolphin to take home for dinner. We loaded up with herring and pilchards at Government Cut and put out our first baits in 100' as I slow trolled offshore. Our plans changed when we decided to run further out to find better water conditions. We found the conditions and found frigate birds beating the surface. The only thing was that we found no fish under or around them. I set up and drift and 5 minutes later the dolphin found us on both the flatlines and kite. They were singles and large schoolie size. We started working back out deeper with the kite and we had steady action for the remainder of the trip. All the action came on the kite from that point and it was all singles. We also had visits from 2 sailfish. We caught and released one and broke a line on the other. By the end of the trip, we had 10 fish in the box ranging in size from 4 - 12 pounds along with a 1 for 2 on sailfish. Lots of smiles and lots of fillets as they both thought about the fish dinners they were going to have.
Today was one of those days that most all anglers who fish for dolphin (mahi-mahi) dream of. John Masel, Gary Masel, and Rodney Raub wanted to spent some quality time together and get in some fishing. We started out by buying bait so we could get more fishing time on their half day trip. We took our time getting out through some bumpy sea conditions to the 300 foot depth. Out went the kite with 2 baits and I started working the 300 - 400 foot depth range. It didn't take long before a small dolphin came calling on the short bait. I turned the boat to get ready to catch the fish and when I looked back at the short bait, a very large dolphin had pushed the small fish out of the way and ate the bait. John hooked the fish and the battle was on. The fish made numerous great jumps as it ran away from us. Then it sounded and John worked it back to the surface where the fish made several more high jumps. It went down again and John kept the pressure up and as he worked the fish back up, only to have the fish go down again. It was a see saw battle for a while with John starting to win. He slowly worked the fish up and the very tired bull dolphin came along side quietly for me to gaff and put in the boat. Everyone was amazed at the size and strength of the fish. We took pictures before the fish was thrown into the fish box. Back at TNT Marine Center, the fish weighed in at a healthy 48 pounds. The kite baits were put back out and we worked in depth from 180 - 500 feet the remainder of the morning. Our best action came in the 300 - 400 foot range with 3 more schoolie size fish.
Fishing's great so give me a call 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and get in on some great springtime action.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 176
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 30, 2009 - 1:27 pm: | |
WOW!! Time flies when you're having fun. It seems like just yesterday that I wrote my last report. We've had some great weather conditions with the wind ranging from 2 - 27 knots. The fish have been very cooperative both offshore and inshore. The main players are sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, bonito, and tarpon.
Michael Chera and his son, Ray spent some great quality time together on their half day trip. The main criteria was calm sea conditions and a few fish, species didn't matter. They picked the right day for both. The wind was NW/N @ 5 - 13 knots. We slow trolled live pilchards in the 60 - 75 foot range and were rewarded with 2 kingfish. Then we noticed the bird and surface activity. Large schools of bonito were creating a commotion on the calm surface. Out went the Kaplan jigs at a high speed troll and the action got crazy. We didn't have to move very far before we had plenty of action for the remainder of the trip. To sum it up, Ray reached the point where he was tired of reeling in fish. His dad was loving the doubleheader action. The fish were everywhere from 50 - 220 feet. Final count was 14 bonito and 2 kingfish.
The next trip was one of the very rare occasions when you'll see Nancy on the boat. We took a Bay cruise as part of celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary.
Nick and Joy Dilegge experienced tarpon fishing for the first time on a 6 hour evening trip. This couple are avid anglers who both hunt and fish together. The friendly competition between then gets very serious. The wind was ENE/E @ 14 - 20 knots. Hiding behind the south jetty at Government Cut gave us fairly calm conditions until the wind switched to the east and picked up. We started off slow with Joy catching a grunt and then a mangrove snapper. She won the first fish and most fish categories of their friendly contest. Next, Nick hooked up with his first tarpon. The fish kept taking us further and further offshore and the waves got larger and larger as the fish made it's way toward the outgoing tide of the main channel. Nick did a great job of whipping the fish before it made the very rough water of the main channel. After releasing the fish, they were both impressed with how hard and how much power the tarpon has. The next stop was the Bay. It took 5 minutes and Joy had her chance at catching a tarpon. The fish came along side very quickly and Nick made a comment about this fish not fighting very much. Wrong thing to say about a tarpon. It exploded and it was another 10 minutes before Joy's fish came back to the boat and was released. This is where it gets good with their competition. Her fish was slightly smaller than Nick's so he had the biggest fish so far. She still had the first and most. Back outside along the beach and the tarpon took some revenge. We had 3 more bites and all three gave us back our hook after several jumps.
The next evening it was Nick and Joy Dilegge again and the competition continued. The wind this evening was E/SE @ 8 - 17 knots. This was to be a carbon copy of last night as far as tarpon go. Joy started thing off with a giant porcupine fish. Next, she caught a tarpon along the beach. Back to the Bay and Nick hooked up 5 minutes after putting out the baits. This fish turned out to be the largest of the tarpon that we would catch and release. We took a tour of the area and when we released the fish, they both were amazed at how far we had traveled. Next, we netted about 2 dozen shrimp as they were making a great run and were everywhere. With no more action inside, it was back to the outside. The water was a lot rougher now, but the tarpon didn't mind. We had 3 more shots and the last one was hooked solid. It made a bee line for the deep water of the main channel with us in hot pursuit. Joy was doing everything she could to hold on and Nick had a good grip on her as the waves were very high in the Cut. We got Joy into a more comfortable position sitting on the leaning post. The battle raged back and forth with the tarpon spending most of the time near the bottom of the channel. Finally after several dashes under the boat, the tarpon made a major run underneath us and the line rubbed under the boat and broke. Joy was both disappointed and relieved at the same time. Disappointed that she didn't catch the fish, but very relieved that we could get out of the rough water. Final total for this evening was 1 for 4 along the beach and 1 for 1 in the Bay. Joy caught the first and most fish and Nick caught the largest. They are now both hooked on tarpon fishing.
Zac Grossman, John Kauffman, and Ira Drogin fished an afternoon/evening trip. The wind started off very light at SSE @ 2 knots and built a switched around to west @ 18 knots. We had no current and green ugly water conditions. All of our action came on the downrigger and bottom rods in the form of 2 kingfish and 1 AJ. Moving inshore to tarpon fish we started of with a small red grouper and bluerunner. Next it was 1 tarpon before we moved inside to the Bay. We got our chance and the fish was hooked solid and right alongside the boat before it dove under and came up jumping on the opposite. That's when we parted ways. We saw no more action for the remainder of the trip.
Ron Galley and his sons, Jake and Mitch also did an afternoon/evening trip. This time we had perfect conditions. A strong north current and wind from the E @10 - 15 knots. It took a bit of searching to find bait, however, once we found it, the action was fast and furious with herring. We put out our spread of baits and it didn't take long for the action to start. It kept everyone busy and before we ran in to tarpon fish, we were 2 for 2 on sailfish from the kite, 1 for 2 on sailfish from the flatlines, 0 for 1 on sailfish from the downrigger, 3 dolphin from the kite and flatlines, and a 20# kingfish from the kite. Moving inshore, we hooked up on our second drift and every thing was going find until the fish dropped over the edge into the main channel. That's when the hook pulled and that's how we ended the evening. Everyone caught they're first sailfish and Dad beamed with joy as he watched his sons catch theirs.
Then the wind started howling and we rescheduled a trip and had to cancel a trip. It was steady wind from the E @ 22 - 27 knots.
Fred Buck and his son Bailey shifted their tarpon trip so we could take advantage of the tides to fish the Bay. That had us fishing from 11 pm - 3 am. The wind was from the E @ 24 - 27 knots with higher gusts. We saw no action at the first two spots. The third spot had too much wind to fish it properly, so it was off to the fourth spot and pay dirt. We finished the evening with 1 for 2 tarpon and a pesky squid eating our bait.
That's it for now. We're once again caught up and getting ready for some more action aboard Knot Nancy. Call or email to schedule your trip and get in on the fun.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 175
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - 11:06 am: | |
It's Spring time so whether you like to fish offshore or inshore, pick your place and there are plenty of fish to be caught. Lets start with the offshore first. On the days when there is north current, sailfish are usually fairly easy to find and catch. Mix in kingfish, dolphin (mahi-mahi), bonito, and amberjacks and there is a great variety of fish to bend rods and please most everyone. On the days when there is no current and green water, sailfish become scarce, however all the other species I've mentioned above are still available.
Moving inshore, tarpon fishing is still red hot. The shrimp have been running once it gets dark and the tarpon are having no problem finding them. This equates to plenty of rod bending action with fish in the 40 - 120 pound class. By far, the evening time is still the best, but tarpon are cooperating during the daytime. Keep that in mind if you can't make an evening trip. Don't let it hold you back from getting in on the tarpon action.
Jeff Godel, Luke Boe, Matt Freeman, and Chad Orlich took advantage of some great conditions. The wind was from the WNW/N @ 12 - 22 knots and the current was roaring to the north. This gave us some bumpy seas, however, the great conditions gave us some outstanding fishing action. We only had one angler who felt the effects of the motion of the ocean and it only lasted for a short period of time. By the end of the trip we saw action with 3 for 4 sailfish, 3 bonito, and one pesky remora.
The father and son team of Carlos and Eduardo Pellas took part in some red hot tarpon action.We had the right conditions to fish both along the beach and in the bay. The beach tarpon took advantage of us. We had plenty of strikes, however, they gave us back our hook 4 of the 6 times we hooked up. Things changed for the better when we went into the bay. The action was fast and furious and it took several fish before I could get two baits out. By evening's end, we were 4 for 6 in the bay. Combined, the final tally was 6 for 12.
Brad Coren saw plenty of action on his half day trip. We started by hooking up before I could get a second flatline out. This fish had us guessing most every hard fighting species but the correct one. Brad kept up constant pressure with the 20# spinning outfit and we finally saw our fish. It was a whopping 60# amberjack. The next action was with dolphin, then bonito, kingfish,and more dolphin. The dolphin also had some remoras mixed in with them and we of course caught a couple of them. The final fish of the morning was the one we were looking for. The sailfish put on one heck of an aerial show while stripping plenty of line off the reel. We pulled the fish alongside and released it while thanking it for the thrills and pleasure it gave us at the end of our trip.
That evening, Robert and J T Dollar along with Burt Marante experienced what they had heard me talk about at a tarpon seminar I did for their fishing club. J T saw first action, followed by Robert, and then Burt. Everyone caught fish and the last action we saw was a doubleheader. The anglers won some and the fish won some. Final total for the evening was 3 for 6.
The Svensson Family, Patrik and Malin along with their son and daughter, Alexander and Frida experienced some great tarpon action at Government Cut. Patrik started things off, followed by Alexander, then Frida, then Malin, then Patrik again, and for the last fish of the evening it was Alexander. In between the tarpon, we also caught and released mutton snapper, yellowtail snapper, and bluerunner. The first fish of the evening was the only fish that the hooked pulled on after a 10 minute fight. Each and every other fish was caught and released. Final total for this trip was 5 for 6 along with the snappers and bluerunner.
The following day it was Jay and Riley Kline, Vaugh Murphy, and Steve Guaico. Big swells, no current, and green water had us searching hard to find some action. Along the way, two of the four anglers experienced motion sickness, however, they hung in there. We finally found some action in the 60 - 75 foot range. Kingfish and bonito pulled hard on the rods and had everyone except for one angler anticipating the next strike. Everyone took home kingfish steaks and were planning a fish dinner.
That evening, the father and son team of Chris and Christopher Nichols spent 6 hours of quality time together catching tarpon. And of course we had a few pesky bluerunners muscle in on the action. As soon as Christopher hooked up, dad would call mom back in North Carolina and fill her in on the action. It seemed that Christopher had the hot hand on this trip. The only rod that saw action all night long was the one that he put out. There's no explaining it, we just all laughed and enjoyed it. When Chris took the rod to fight a fish, it was Christopher's turn to call mom and inform her. They also called two of their friends who had backed out of coming along on the trip. Everyone was kept in the loop each time we hooked up. The last fish of the evening was the big one. Chris was considering having a mount of the fish so we took a measurement on the fish. Christopher fought the fish till the very end when he needed a little help from dad to finish subduing the fish so we could measure it. The total length was a stout 70 inches. Final total for the evening was 5 for 5.
Rodrigo and Christina Pombo along with their son and daughter Rodrigo, Jr and Annie saw some hot kingfish action on their half day trip. We started off with slow trolling as there was no current. In a matter of minutes, we got our first action and it remained fast and furious for the next hour. Everyone got in on the action except Annie as she came along to catch some sun. Mom was busy taking pictures before she caught the biggest fish. Both father and son were kept busy baiting hooks and catching fish. We moved out deeper to try and find some dolphin. We didn't find any, however, Rodrigo, Jr caught a blackfin tuna. All the fish were released after a picture.
Once again we're caught up. It won't last long as I'll be back out both offshore and inshore over the next two weeks. I'll post another report as soon as I get a break, so check back to see what we catch next aboard Knot Nancy.
To get in on the action, it's as simple as calling 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to reserve your date. As you can see from the individual reports, families that fish together spend good quality time together. It's fun and everyone can participate in some form. Family fishing is fun, so don't hesitate to call and book a trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 174
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 05, 2009 - 9:26 am: | |
The saying "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb" definitely applied this March. While the winds roared like a lion through the end of March, the lamb portion of the saying never occurred. It wasn't until the several days into April before the lamb showed up and the wind calmed down to a more comfortable level. During the windy conditions, I even had to reschedule several tarpon trips as the 25 knot plus winds made it almost impossible to fish either side of the jetties along the beach safely. The Bay, however, was very fishable as the various structures surrounding the northern portion of the bay did a great job of knocking down the wind.
Stan and Diane Feltman along with their daughter, Tiffany and son, Jason were looking forward to a sailfish trip. Windy conditions had them changing their minds and we fished a 3/4 daytime trip looking for tarpon at Government Cut. We started off with a large bluerunner. Next it was an undersized red grouper and then another. I had just set out the jig and shrimp combo and was about to put it in the rod holder when it got hit hard and we had our first tarpon on. Tiffany along with help from Dad battled the fish as it stayed in the deep water and worked its way out the Cut. She caught her first tarpon and was amazed at how hard they fight. Another red grouper released and the jig and shrimp combo scored again. This time Jason was on the rod. He was a veteran of a previous tarpon trip and knew what he was in for. It took a while and we had several tense moments as the fish used every trick in the book to try and cut us off. However, in the end Jason won the battle and the fish was released. It didn't take long for the next tarpon to hook up and Stan took his turn. This time, the fish ate the shrimp on the break away rig. Stan made quick work of his fish as you can apply more pressure with a conventional outfit. More red grouper and another tarpon hit the jig and shrimp combo again. It was now Diane's turn and she picked on the largest tarpon of the day. It was a tag team effort with Stan helping to hold the rod when the fish made strong surging runs and then Diane recovering the line only to have the fish take it all back out again. She hung in and got her reward of releasing her first tarpon, a 110 pound fish. The last strike was on the conventional outfit and it was Tiffany's turn again. Everything was going fine and we were gaining line until the fish decided to come up and make three consecutive jumps straight up and turning in three different directions. The third jump won the fish its freedom as it bit through the leader. To sum it up, we had action with 5 red grouper, 1 bluerunner, and caught and released 4 of the 5 tarpon we hooked. The tarpon were in the 70 - 110 pound class.
Several days later, Brian Jinks, Jose Perez, Gaby Herrero, and Ray Alvarez braved the east winds blowing at 15 - 21 knots. The first tarpon we hooked made several jumps and was running for the deep water before the hook pulled. When the tide changed, we moved into the Bay and after a reasonable period of time with no action, we moved back out to the south side. It was now quite a bit more rough. A move to fish the more shallow area paid off and Brian hooked up solid, he fought the fish to boat side and handed the rod off to Ray who thought the fish was whipped. He immediately found out the exact opposite. The fish took off and we battled it for quite a while longer. Ray was amazed at how hard the fish fought and never ever gave up.
Paul Meyers was visiting his brother Peter and neither one had ever caught a tarpon. The wind was a brisk 22 - 28 knots and I suggested that we start later in the evening to catch the tides for the Bay where we would have more protection from the wind. They both agreed and we met back at TNT Marine Center at 11:00 PM. It turned out to be a good move on our part. Tarpon action turned out to be a night of ones. At each location that we fished, we had a shot at one fish. The first one took almost 45 minutes before we hooked up. This is very unusual for the Bay. The 80 pound fish had Paul going around the boat several times before we got the catch and then some pictures prior to releasing the fish. The next location was more the norm as it took only 10 minutes for the strike. This time Peter hooked an identical 80 pound fish that put on a great show for us. This fish also got caught and had its picture taken before releasing it. The third location only took 5 minutes for the 40 pound fish to explode on the bait and make an 8 foot jump into the air. The jump was so high that the fish almost hit the bottom of the structure we were fishing. The jump was all it took for this feisty tarpon to throw the hook. That's how this Bay trip ended, going 2 for 3 on 80 pound tarpon.
Tony and Kathy Tavares were down in South Florida to take a long awaited vacation. Besides the warm weather, Tony had one thing on his mind. It was time to catch another tarpon. We caught a little break with the wind so we could fish both sides of the Cut along the beach. We started in the main channel and released a small red group. A move to the north side and several drifts later had Tony hooked up and in the battle he was looking for. Back and forth it went and neither the fish nor the angler was giving in. Slowly but surely, the fish began to give in and Tony won the battle and the fish also won as it was released to fight again another time. With no further action on the north side, we moved to the south side. As all fisherman say, we wanted just one more fish. After several drifts, we were still waiting for just one more fish. I thought out loud, "what time is it" and as I checked the time, the tarpon hit. My comment was "it's tarpon time". Another great battle and that ended the evening going 2 for 2.
It took several reschedules before we finally got this trip in. Brother and sister Kim Kishel and John Warrick, along with their long time friends Elizabeth Shegelski, and Mike Mongiello wanted to catch a tarpon, but also wanted some action. They got both. The jetties knocked down the SE/SSE wind and gave us very smooth waters on the north side. Before it got dark, the light spinning rod with a jig and shrimp combo saw plenty of action with 4 spanish mackerel, 2 lane snappers, 1 mutton snapper, and 1 bluefish. After it got dark, we caught 1 ribbonfish. We moved to the south side where the conditions we quite a bit more sloppy and got the tarpon were looking for. John and Mike took turns fighting the fish and it got its picture taken numerous times before being released. We tried to get another for the girls, however, it did not happen.
Brad Coren, his Dad, Stewart, and uncle, Harold wanted to do some sailfishing. The wind was back up and like the Feltman Family, they also changed their trip to try for tarpon. We did an evening tarpon trip and fished the calmer waters on the north side at Government. We saw fish roll both in the main channel and on the north side. We had action with lane snapper, kingfish, spanish mackerel, and bluerunner, but nothing doing with tarpon. We moved to the south side where it was very sloppy and saw and heard fish busting shrimp off the surface. We marked lots of tarpon on the recorder and still couldn't get a hit. The back rod bent over and it turned out to be a ladyfish. We marked more fish on several more drifts and still could not get a tarpon to hit. We all finally agreed that it just wasn't going to happen this evening and called it an evening. The tarpon beat us this night.
That's it, we're now up to date again. At least for now, the winds are more normal. It's April and that means the transition month. Both the winter and summer time fish are here at the same time and that makes for some great action. The afternoon/evening combo will give any angler a chance to catch a sailfish, kingfish, dolphin, blackfin tuna, and a tarpon all on the same trip. It's also the time of year when you'll have your best chance at catching a big dolphin (mahi-mahi). As it's said, "Spring has sprung" and that makes for some outstanding fishing.
Give me a call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and take advantage of the great fishing opportunities we have off the Miami/Miami Beach area.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 8
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 02, 2009 - 12:06 pm: | |
Spring is definitely in the air and the fishing is starting to reflect just that. One of my favorite places to fish is North Biscayne Bay mainly because it has a great population of sea trout that can reach six pounds and during the month of March, April and May these fish are spawning giving my clients the best chance at their catching one of the biggest sea trout of the year that this Bay has to offer. Because these fish are spawning I suggest releasing the bigger fish to give them a chance to release their millions of eggs to be fertilized by the smaller males. My last three bay charters have produced large numbers of sea trout to just over 4 pounds caught on live shrimp and pilchards under a Cajun Thunder and on Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp soft plastics and Rapala X Raps, Twitchin Raps and Skitter Walks. Along with the trout we have had snook during the daytime, jack crevalles to just over 14 pounds plus lots of barracudas and ladyfish. I expect to see some Spanish mackerel, bluefish, pompano and maybe a cobia to be caught by my anglers in North Biscayne Bay anytime now. Tarpon have been scattered in the Bay but most have been hitting at night.
I am not fishing South Biscayne Bay as much now due to the warmer conditions. The warmer water pushes the groupers out into the ocean and the mackerel, bluefish and pompano are now starting to head north for the summer. During the Spring and Summer I only fish the South part of the Bay to target bonefish, permit, sharks and barracudas for a select few that know my boats capabilities and are OK with fishing the shallow flats from my 22’ Pathfinder Bay Boat.
Flamingo is a destination I like this time of the year. With warming conditions snook, redfish, tarpon, sea trout, cobia, tripletail, jacks, ladyfish, permit, pompano, mackerel, bluefish and sharks can all be targeted in one full day. Fishing select areas for short periods of time will allow me to cover a lot of Florida Bay and the Gulf and into Whitewater Bay during a full day charter giving my clients a real chance at catching a Grand Slam. The bugs are still months away from being a problem and last year we were able to catch, snook, redfish, tarpon, goliath groupers, sea trout, snappers, jacks and ladyfish on Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp baits or a Rapala Twichin Rap by casting to mangrove shorelines in Whitewater and Oyster Bays .
Recent Catches:
David Lang and his sons Alan and Ryan fishing North Biscayne Bay caught and released over 20 sea trout to 2 pounds casting Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp and live shrimp on a Cajun Thunder in 20 + mile an hour winds in four hours.
Alex, his step son Alec and his nephew Alec fished North Biscayne Bay and caught over 30 sea trout keep nine to 3 pounds and releasing the rest during a four charter. The trout were caught on Hook Up lures tipped with Gulp shrimp and Cajun Thunders with live shrimp in 25 mile an hour winds.
Jerry Chaves and his grandson’s Jake and Spencer teamed up to catch and release 4 snook, four jack crevalles to 14.5 pounds, lots of ladyfish and barracudas plus over 50 sea trout to four pounds during a ¾ day charter in North Biscayne Bay while using live shrimp and pilchards under a Cajun Thunder and Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp.
Today I am fishing with Gene and his granddaughter Lauren in North Biscayne Bay. I n our first spot the trout bite is going strong when Lauren hooks a trout that keeps getting bigger as she fights it. Next thing we know a tarpon in 125 pound class is in the air and then as the tarpon starts to run the trout Lauren origionally had on her line slides out of the tarpons mouth. We land the trout a fat 3 pounder but the tarpon is gone. We see one more tarpon in the 4 hours we are on the water but catch more trout, barracudas a small snook and a snapper before calling it a day.
Well that catches us up for now.
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
786-436-2064
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report (www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches and pictures.
I have recently been wearing a lot of Columbia Sports Wear on my fishing charters and the new Blood & Guts shirts are amazing. I have had mackerel, cobia and snook just splatter me with blood and one good washing and the shirts are as good as new. Check out their web site at www.columbia.com
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Cajun Thunders, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com, Columbia Wear
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786 436 2064
shermana@bellsouth.net
www.getemsportfishing.com |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 173
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 4:21 pm: | |
I know it sounds like a broken record, however, what a great broken record it is. Tarpon, tarpon, and more tarpon and the bite seems to just keep getting better. The shrimp have been running as soon as it gets dark. With that much bait in the water, the tarpon are there to get their share of the tasty crustaceans and they are having no trouble whatsoever finding the baits on our hooks. We're also getting into the good tide period for finding them in the Bay also. The tarpon have not disappointed inside either.
Offshore, the larger dolphin are beginning to make their showing as well. Kingfish are pleasing many anglers and it's well worth the trip out to the blue water.
Brothers Brian and John Fritz along with Chris Thom partied at bit to hardy the night before and over slept. As a result, we got a later start on their half day trip. John hooked up with a very nice size tarpon at Government Cut and everything was going great until the fish decided to head for the rocks of the south jetty. It turned and ran parallel with the rocks and the bow in the line found a shallow rock and the rest is history. The fish won its freedom fair and square. We moved to the north side where we saw several fish rolling, but no takers. In the meantime, we filled in with action from several kingfish, AJ's, mutton snapper, and the pesky bluerunners.
Father and son Brian and Tim Bach along with brothers, John and Patrick Deleonibus got in on the great evening tarpon action. Brian was the coach and cheerleader. Tim, John, and Patrick took turns doing battle. Patrick hooked the monster fish of the evening. We hooked the fish on the tip of the south jetty and when we finally released it, we were at the Ferry Boat Dock on the Causeway. The fish was a whopping 140 pounds and Patrick looked as if he had been in a fight with a heavy weight boxer. He hung in there throughout the entire fight and did an outstanding job for having never battled a large fish before. The action that evening was 3 for 5 tarpon.
Eduardo Pellas, Raul Lacayo, and Eduardo and Luis Arguello got their taste of tarpon fishing that left them excited and drained at the same time. We started off with a large fish in the main channel. The closest we came to a catch was about 1 foot from the leader touching. After a 45 minute battle, the hook pulled. After that the action got fast and furious. A major shrimp run had us seeing action on almost every drift. The tarpon had it in for us on this night. We broke hooks, broke a line when the fish beat us to the drop off, and had numerous fish throw the hook on either its first or second jump. To sum up the evening, we went 3 for 10. The fish we managed to land and release this evening were in the 70 - 120 pound class.
The Frederick Family, dad, Richard, daughters Grace and Sandy, and son Josh, experienced their first tarpon trip. It's one they will long remember. We started by having a hook pull on a fish that we hooked in the main channel. As soon as it got dark enough, we took advantage of the tide and ran inside. Richard caught the first tarpon, Josh got the second, and the third fish was a tag team effort. We were 3 for 3 on tarpon on the inside in the 25 - 80 pound class before we went back out to Government Cut. The action out their started almost immediately. When the end of the evening came, everyone had caught at least 1 fish and we were 3 for 4. The fish outside were in the 70 - 120 class. There were two beautiful thing about this trip. First, it was a Family trip and as I've said in the past, Family fishing is fun. Second, it was the first tarpon for each of them. They took lots of pictures and have memories that will last a lifetime.
That's it, we're up to date again. I'll write another report as soon as I get another break. In the meantime, give me a call on 305 965-9454 or send me an email nkostyo@bellsouth.net if you want to get in on the action and make your own personal memories.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 172
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 14, 2009 - 3:54 pm: | |
It's more tarpon action with an offshore trip thrown in. We had a few days just after the full moon when the tarpon played a bit of hide and seek, but the 3rd day after the full moon that changed and they're back to giving many people lots of thrills and angling excitement.
Tom Duffin, and father and son, Nelson and Tommy Mendoza caught 2 of 4 tarpon to 80 pounds on the south side at Government Cut. Nelson and Tommy did a tag team effort on the 80 pound fish. This was the first time fighting a tarpon for both of them. Tom Duffin caught and released the next fish. The other two shots resulted in thrown hooks when the tarpon make their first jump.
Brothers Tim and Dan Nickolaus caught 1 tarpon at Government Cut before we went into the Bay where we were 3 for 6 in about an hours worth of fishing. The tarpon at the Cut was 70 pounds and quickly made its way to the deep water of the main channel. The water in the main channel was very rough as a result of an outgoing tide against an ENE/E wind of 19 - 22 knots. The calm water of the Bay gave us 5 more shots. We were able to convince 2 of the fish to come to boatside and be released. Those fish were 35 & 80 pounds respectively.
The full moon.
The next evening, Darrin & Lori Barritt along with their friend Jason Marsh got some first hand experience with several tarpon. We started outside and had to wait and wait and watch lots of fish roll around. While we waited, we caught a few bluerunners and a small red grouper. Finally a tarpon came along and Darrin caught and released his first tarpon. When the tide changed, we went into the Bay and the action improved quickly. The landing and releasing of these beautiful silver kings was another story. We had a hit about every 10 minutes. The first three fish just did not want to cooperate. They gave us a good first run, then jumped, and promptly gave us back our hook. Finally, the fourth fish had a good hook up. We had to chase it and Jason got the catch.
Ralph Broeckel had the experience of fishing the best of both worlds. That's an afternoon/evening trip to fish offshore and finish up with some tarpon fishing. Offshore we got into a school of dolphin that hung around long enough for Ralph to enjoy seeing the fish swimming around the boat, eat our baits, and catch a handful of fish. We had more action on the downrigger with snake size kingfish and had numerous chopped baits and cut offs. Moving inshore, we immediately saw lots of fish rolling. Out went the baits and within a minute or two, we were hooked up with Ralph's first tarpon. He did a great job of fighting the fish and got the leader to touch the rod tip before he was exhausted. I finished catching the fish and he got some great pictures before releasing the fish. Ralph has terminal cancer and was weakened by the treatment he is currently going through. We made two more drifts before we called it an evening.
Anthony Caridi and his girlfriend Ella Rabayeva fished their first tarpon trip. Anthony is a die hard fishing fanatic who wanted to catch his first tarpon. After putting out the baits, it took only 2 minutes before he got his chance. The 80 pound fish was very cooperative except for the picture taking part. A few drifts later, we were hooked up again and this time there was no camera shyness on the part of the tarpon. The wind was from the E/ESE at 12 - 20 knots and the motion soon had Ella not feeling very well. She hung in their throughout the entire trip. By the end of the trip we had shots at 7 fish. They all at live shrimp and all were hooked on the south side of the south jetty at Government Cut.
That's a lot of tarpon action and it'll continue on through the end of June. I have a variety of trips coming up, so check back in about a week to see how we did. If you want to be a part of the report and get in on the action first hand, then give me a call at 305 965-9454 or email me nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 6
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 05, 2009 - 7:04 am: | |
Once again its time for my fishing update.
After yet another strong cold front water temperatures have dropped a bit but will quickly start to rise since another cold front is not due till next week. Spring is just around the corner and many migratory species will slowly start heading north for the next three months. Mackerel have already started to show up in Biscayne Bay and soon the big jacks, ladyfish, bluefish, pompano and cobias will follow. Snook are starting to think about relocating in areas that they will spawn and in Flamingo a more spring pattern has already started in the backcountry an area that I explored a lot with great success last year. South Biscayne Bay continues to provide lots of actions and on my last trip in that area we caught three different kinds of jacks to six pounds on light tackle in just one spot. Yellow jacks, bluerrunners and jack crevalles. Snapper, grouper, mackerel and a large houndfish added to that day’s action. North Biscayne Bay continues to produce lots of sea trout but very soon we will start seeing the spawning trout that are large and fat. Catching trout to 6 pounds in March, April and May is a real possibility and many of these fish will be caught on Rapala Twichin Raps, Skitter Walks and X Raps along with the ¼ ounce Hook Up lure tipped with either a Gulp shrimp or pogy. The Cajun Thunder fished with live pilchards a baitfish that will start moving back over the grass flats as water temperatures rise above 75 degrees will catch the bigger trout plus the snook, tarpon, jacks and bluefish that will be chasing the baitfish schools. Large tarpon continue to be targeted at night, early mornings and just before sunset in and around Haulover Inlet and government Cut.
Flamingo in Everglades National Park will start to bloom as water temperatures start rising look for snook, redfish and tarpon to be hot items on the flats, shorelines and creek and river mouths. Pompano, mackerel, bluefish and cobias are available and can be targeted during half the day and then the inshore species can be targeted during the second half of the day. Large sea trout will be loaded on the flats and eager to eat surface plugs.
Recent Catches:
Last week started out with two back to back four person charters to Flamingo in Everglades National Park. The weather was a bit windy but warm and partly cloudy and on the first day and this trip was a short four hour charter. Our first spot was non stop action with a trout, ladyfish or jack hitting our live baits and Hook Up lures on every cast. A few mackerel and bluefish were beating the other fish to the lures every now and then. Since the charter was a short one I was eager to try our luck at the pompano, cobia and tripletail that we had encountered a few days earlier. Unfortunately the water was a bit choppy in the Gulf and the first spots I checked out already had been hit by other fishermen so we moved on. We fished a spot that had been producing black drum, redfish and snook but the spot was dead and with little time remaining we turned to the flats and finished the day with more trout, jacks and ladyfish.
The second four person charter was a full day and after a late start we headed to the same lat that produced so well the day before. The fish were there again and the guys loaded up on trout, jacks, ladyfish a nice pompano and a few mackerel before we went looking for bigger fish. On the way out to the Gulf every spot we tried was just dead and it wasn’t till we anchored in 10 feet of water and started chumming that we began to get some action again. A flurry of mackerel ended quickly and after boating a six pounder, some jacks and sharks we moved on. Ever spot that I hoped to catch redfish or snook was dead and we finished the day with lots of trout, jacks and ladyfish.
Today I am in South Biscayne Bay with John and his dad Frank. We have a short day to fish and a cold front is on its way. Winds are blowing at 15 to 20 out of the south but that is good for this area. The dirtier water seems to get the fish going here and in no time we are into a short mackerel bite that lets us land a six pounder and lose a few fish to miss strikes and a spit hook at the boat. Our next spot produces at least 8 porgies to five or ix pounds, mutton and mangrove snappers and a grunt before we move on. We have time for one more spot and within minutes of anchoring and chumming a small grouper and some more mutton snappers come over the rail. Frank gets a big hit and after a nice fight his fish turns into a beautiful yellow jack. For the next forty minutes the guys hook a bluerunner, yellow jack or jack crevalles on every cast plus a large houndfish and its back to the barn just as the rains start.
If your in the Miami area for the next few weekends head over to Outdoor World in Dania and check out the fine line of Hook Up lures, Mustad hooks, Berkley Gulp baits and Rapala lures during their Spring Classic and then on the weekend of March 19th – 22nd at the Dania Jai Alai parking lot in Dania.
Well that catches us up for now.
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report (www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches and pictures.
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 171
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 8:56 am: | |
Tarpon, tarpon, and more tarpon!! By the way, did I mention that tarpon fishing has been outstanding. Just wanted to make sure that you understand that tarpon fishing has been red hot. The wind has been howling, however, that hasn't effected the tarpon none in the least. Government Cut is the place and live shrimp has been the ticket. Throw in Berkley Alive Gulp Shrimp and you have all the bases covered. After that it's just a matter of figuring out where the fish are feeding on any given night. Like with all fishing, there has been a night here and there when the fish have played a bit more scarce than on other nights.
Pete & Matt Schwartz along with Dexter Romanez, and Gary Schaffer had one goal in mind. That is to have Dexter experience the thrill of catching his first tarpon. Our first shot came just after setting out the baits and moving the rods to new positions on the boat during the dusk period. Gary was in front of the rod that got hit and despite being told not to grab a rod that got hit, he couldn't resist himself. The fish made a complete circle of the boat before heading for the jetties. It made its second jump at that point and gave us back our hook. The action slowed and we moved to the Bay. No action there and it was back out to Government Cut. No action there so off to Haulover we went. On our last drift of the evening, we got our reward. Dexter got his chance and he made the best of it. The fish pulled hard and made several beautiful jumps before we released it to fight again. Goal accomplished.
Mike Riccardi and Ted Brillon experienced an evening like mentioned in the above report. The only expectation was that we hung in at Government and got 2 shots. The first fish was caught and released by Ted. The second came off on the tarpon's first jump. The shrimp ran heavily for about 5 minutes and tarpon were blasting them off the surface in a feeding frenzy. They managed to avoid our baits and as soon as I reset the drift, they shut off. The evening ended 1 for 2.
The next evening, everything changed. Rocky Taranto and his friends Brian Gallagher and Randy Fisher were taking a brief vacation from the cold weather up north and wanted some tarpon action. It took 2 drifts and off we went to the deep water of the main channel chasing a not to happy tarpon that was giving Rocky fits. After about 30 minutes, Rocky won the battle and watched as the tarpon swam off quickly after being released. Back outside, the action continued. Brian had his turn and Randy his. The evening ended with the anglers winning the fight 3 of 5 times.
The next day, the same group was offshore. The wind was E/ESE @ 14 - 18 knots. There was little to no current. The water had a decent color and all these conditions had the fish spread out. Everyone on the radio was complaining about basically slow fishing. We had a spread of kite, flatline, and downrigger baits and worked the water from 80 - 250 feet. At the end of the trip, we saw action with dolphin, bonito, spanish mackerel, and bluerunners.
A few evening later, Rocky, Brian, and Randy were getting their last fishing trip in before heading home to a major snow storm. A front was pushing through our area and we had wind from the W/WNW @ 20 - 26 knots. We made a few brief stops at Haulover before heading down to Government Cut that resulted in one bluerunner. When we arrived at Government, the tarpon were rolling everywhere in the main channel. We put out a bait and in less than 5 minutes, we had him on. Once again it was Rocky on the rod. This tarpon never jumped and fought deep during the entire fight. The fight went back and forth with the tarpon in charge most of the time. Gain 10 feet and lose 15 feet was the mode for the first 20 minutes. We had to dodge a large container ship going out to sea, but that was no problem. The bigger problem was the physical whipping the fish was putting on Rocky. He hung in and after 45 minutes he got the reward he was looking for. The 110 pound tarpon came along side the boat for a few quick pictures before shaking its head and throwing the hook. By now, we were out to the dog leg in the channel. Back to the south side and on the next drift we had another fish on for a brief moment. A few drifts later Randy caught his tarpon. A couple more drifts and once again Randy did battle. This time the fish ran out from the boat turned around and charged the boat. It made two jumps at boat side, one of which almost landed on the engines. The fish ran out and made two more jumps about 50 feet away before charging off again. The fish made another run, turned around, and charged the boat again. This fish was absolutely wild. When it got back to the boat, it made two more jumps, slamming into the side of the boat and soaking all of us as it exploded away from us again. Randy had his hands full just trying to keep a tight line. Despite all the tarpon's best efforts, we finally got it along side for several pictures and a release. Going 3 for 4 was a perfect way to end the evening and end the vacation before heading home to deal with major snow fall and lots of shoveling.
If you want to experience action like this, it's just a matter of a phone call 305 965-9454 or email nkostyo@bellsouth.net to schedule your trip and get in on the tarpon experience.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters, Inc.
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net |
Capt. Alan Sherman (Shermana)
New member
Username: Shermana
Post Number: 5
Registered: 10-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 6:17 am: | |
Fishing in South Florida continues to be as good as it gets with a few ex captions as always as long as you are willing to put the time in and be a bit patient. Pretty much every charter I have had has had some decent fishing at one point or another during the charter. Hitting the water at first light is not a priority this time of the year because most of the fish in South Florida are more likely to feed after the sun has had a chance to warm up the water a few degrees. Best fishing has occurred after 8 AM and before 5 PM so many of my anglers have been able to get a few extra winks or two before meeting me at one of the three boat ramps I have been using. Cool temperatures are making fishing a full or ¾ day a pleasant experience.
Fishing in Biscayne Bay has been pretty good with action from sea trout in North Biscayne Bay a reliable target. We are catching plenty of trout on live baits fished under a Cajun Thunder and on Capt. Hank Brown ¼ ounce Hook Up lures with a Gulp shrimp. Large jack crevalles are always roaming the North part of the bay and pay us a visit when we are least expecting them so I always have a Rapala Skitter Walk or X Rap on a rod just in case they appear. Small snappers and groupers are biting around rocky shorelines and channel drop offs and we are catching them on live shrimp and live pilchards fished on the bottom. Plenty of small barracudas can be found on the grass flats and around shorelines and snook have been holding around dock lights after the sun sets. There have been tarpon along the beaches just before sunset and in to the evening but if the winds starts blowing which happens most of the week it becomes to choppy for me to comfortably fish for them and we have to come back into the bay.
South Biscayne Bay is still full of action for small red and gag groupers and an occasional larger fish and my clients have been catching them almost non stop. Porgies, mutton and mangrove snappers plus jacks, grunts, bluerunners, a few bluefish, mackerel and a possible pompano, permit or bonefish are just other species that we run into and add some extra spice to the fishing while fishing the Finger Channels of South Biscayne Bay. We are targeting these fish with live shrimp, dead and live pilchards that we catch with my cast net or on a Sabiki rig and then fished on the bottom on 10 lb. spinning tackle to keep things interesting. Jacks, barracudas and a few snook have been available on the warmer days in South Biscayne Bay.
Flamingo continues to be the most consistent area I have fished this past month. The possibility of catching so many different species of fish in one day and the seeing all f the wonderful scenery and wildlife makes the 45 minute drive through the Park well worth the extra drive time from wherever your starting point maybe. Deer, a rare Florida panther, snakes, alligators, storks, herons, ibis, hawks and egrets can all be seen on the drive in and the Sawgrass prairie can be breath taking at sunrise and sunset. Once you arrive at Flamingo things get even more interesting with the incredible sights of Florida Bay on one side and Whitewater Bay on the other. On either side one can witness bottle nosed dolphins as they corral schools of mullet and take turns feeding on the helpless baitfish as they leap out of the water or a slow moving group of manatees feeding on the bay bottom grasses and then there are all of the wading birds and skimmer birds that make whooshing sounds as the fly by your boat. Catch the tide right and you can see huge sharks as they work the shallow flats looking for unsuspecting prey and large mud rays with their wings flapping in the sun light as they root crabs and shrimp off the bottom and wait I haven't even mentioned the fishing. Isn't that what we are going there for? For the next two months with water temperatures being on the cooler side the fishing for snook and tarpon is best on the warmest days but redfish, black drum, sea trout, snapper, grouper, cobia, mackerel, bluefish, pompano, jacks, ladyfish and tripletail don't mind the cooler temperatures and can be targeted throughout the day.
So maybe this little fishing report has sparked a little interest in you and now your getting that bug to wet a line so GIVE ME A CALL and lets see what kind of a fishing memory we can come up with.
Recent Catches:
Today I am fishing a short charter in South Biscayne Bay with Craig and Scott. Scott is a fly fisherman and with winds blowing from the north at 20 he will have to work hard to make a catch. Craig will be throwing a Hook Up lure tipped with a Gulp shrimp mostly because it was too windy the night before for the shrimp boats to catch shrimp for the local bait shops and we have no live shrimp. Working shorelines we spook a 20 pound snook that saw us before we saw him but nothing else so we head further south. In a channel we quickly catch lots of red groupers on the Gulps and Hook Up lures plus a few muttons but time is running out so we head to our last spot. Here the Scott continues to throw the fly and hooks a large fish. It's the one he has been patiently waiting for. A snook! The fish is kind of lethargic probably due to the 63 degree water temps but eventually takes off on a run and Scott has the fish on the reel. The snook looks to be in the 10 pound class and on its next run wears through the leader and is gone. Craig continues to cast and he hooks up on the Hook Up lure and Gulp shrimp. This snook is a 26 inch fish and is released after a few pictures. The guys have a meeting later in the afternoon so its time to head back to the barn.
Last up this week are Fred and his son Ben. Its Fred's birthday and his wife has treated him to a fishing charter with me. We start a little later in the day to let the water warm a bit and after launching at Crandon Park Marina we head to Government Cut to catch some pilchards. On the way to the Cut I discover that my Sabiki Rig bag is gone so we head over to Miami Beach Marina and buy a few. The bait is there in the Cut and we quickly fill the well with pilchards that help compliment the shrimp that we have for bait today. We fish from Government Cut south to the Finger Channels and by the end of a 6 hour charter the guys have tallied up a catch of three snook to 27 inches, over 40 red, black and gag groupers to 9 pound and mutton and mangrove snappers. Nice way to celebrate a birthday!
This weekend I was invited to go to Orlando with my wife Dana to fish one of the Disney Lakes for largemouth bass. The event was sponsored by Doug Hannon who has introduced a new fishing reel called the Wave Spin. We all met on Monday and fished out of two boats. Three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. The lake was beautiful and the fishing guides great. The new Wave Spin Reels were exceptional and should become very popular among inshore, offshore and freshwater anglers. What sets this reel apart from the rest is the design of the spool. It has 16 teeth cut into the top of the spool that lets the line flow off the reel with less friction giving the angler a much longer cast and it worked for me and my wife. Between the two boats and 8 anglers our tally was over 20 bass caught mostly on artificial lures in water temperatures that were 55 degrees. We had a blast! Thanks Doug!
Today I have a tarpon charter and we hit the water at 5 PM with Faustino and his girlfriend Walessa both from Puerto Rico. We start off of Haulover Inlet and start looking for the silver kings rolling but we see none. On the depth recorder there are schools of baitfish but not much else. We start our first drift just outside the swim buoys and as I am explaining what they should expect one of the reels gets hit. Auction grabs the rod and a beautiful 50 pounder is in the air. On the tarpon's 6th jump the circle hook comes free of the fish. We start another drift and for the next hour manage to catch one bluerunner, a mutton snapper and loose a squid at the boat so its time to move into the bay. We hope to find some tarpon but manage to catch 3 out of five snook hooked plus a few snappers and jacks before calling it a day.
Today I have Jerome and Jerry from Miami on the boat and am in Flamingo. At our first spot we quickly release a 24 inch snook that ate a live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder plus a bunch of jacks and ladyfish on the Rapala Twitchin Raps. Next spot we jump a snook and loose him and that fish ate a Hook Up lure with a Gulp shrimp. After releasing a half dozen trout to 16 inches we move on. In this spot we catch a shark and lots of ladyfish, jacks and trout before moving on. The day is getting late and the tide is getting right so our last spot needs to be good and it was. Casting live shrimp on a Hook Up lure and Hook Up lures tipped with a Gulp shrimp the guys land three snook to 30 inches, one redfish 19 inches, jacks, ladyfish and 4 out 6 hooked black drum that are in the 6 pound range.
I am back to the Finger Channels for a ¾ day with Jerry, Tom and Tony from Miami. After catching some live bait on Sabiki Rigs we head for the grass flats in hopes of catching a quick limit of sea trout. Fishing live baits under a Cajun Thunder and Hook Up lures with Gulp baits the guys catch a half dozen trout to 14 inches and we decide to head for the Finger channels of South Biscayne Bay and in no time have caught and released over 40 gag and red groupers plus lots of mangrove and mutton snappers, bluerunners, jacks, barracudas and porgies all on live shrimp or live pilchards fished free lined or on the bottom.
Last up is Pat and old customer of mine from my Party Boat days. Another cool morning with water temperatures in the upper 60's! We head into a Channel that has a shallow mud flat on either side hopping that any fish nearby will be holding in the deeper channel but after30 minutes of no action we move on and fish a deeper grass flats were we catch dozens of sea trout on Hook Up lures and Gulp shrimp to just over 20 inches plus mackerel, bluefish, jacks and ladyfish. Pat is looking to take some fish home and with trout in the release well we move on in hopes of finding some redfish and black drum. Instead of redfish we catch and release a few snappers, snook and one small black drum and were on the move. We are on a shallow bank and there are lots of pilchards in the area but nothing eating them except a 40 pound sawfish that we spook. I net a couple hundred pilchards with one quick cast of my 10 foot Lee Fisher Net and we are on the move again. Our next spot is a redfish hole but after chumming hard with the pilchards all we catch is another snook. On the move again! We head offshore and fish the boundary markers and crab trap buoys and manage to release two under sized tripletail and a nice six pounder that ate a live shrimp under a Cajun Thunder before we hit one last marker that has two cobias circling it. I have one pinfish in the live well and I hook it to a big rod with a Green Cajun Thunder. Pat makes the cast and one of the cobias engulfs the pinfish. Pat sets up but the bait flies out of the fishes mouth only to get eaten by the other cobia and the same thing happens again. The hook has turned into the bait and there is no way the fish will get hook but wait the other cobia rushes the bait but eats the green Cajun Thunder and as it flees the line comes tight and the cork plops back to the surface and the cobias are gone. We fish the marker some more in hopes the cobias will come back but instead there is a large school of pompano here too and we catch 8 or 9 pompano to three pounds. While casting Hook Up lures tipped with live shrimp for the pompano we catch a 35 inch cobia plus a 20 inch cobia and have another cobia eat a 1 pound jack right at the boat that pat was reeling in. We let the cobia eat the jack for a while hopping that the Hook Up lure will some hope stick in the cobia but when Pat sets up on the fish and after a blistering run the jack comes out of the fishes stomach and ends our day.
Well that catches us up for now.
Give me a call and let's go fishing!
Check out my report in the Miami Herald's Sports section under Fishing Updates each Thursday, the Florida Sportsman Magazines South Florida Internet Fishing Report (www.floridaspotsman.com), my monthly Action Spotter Fishing Report for the South Region in the Florida Sportsman Magazine each month or tune into the Florida Sportsman Magazines Live Radio Show on 1080 WMCU on the AM dial or listen on the internet at www.1080wmcu.com every Saturday morning from 7 to 8 AM and here the up to the minute fishing forecasts from some of the top Capt.'s in South Florida like Capt. Jimbo Thomas on the Thomas Flyer, Capt. Bouncer Smith on Bouncers Dusky, Capt Skip Bradeen on the Blue Chips Too out of Whale Harbor Marina, Capt. Wayne Conn on The Reward Fleet, and more.
Check out my new web site and see the monthly catches and pictures.
Sponsors: Yamaha, Bob Hewes Boats, Maverick, Minn Kota, Lowrance Electronics, Daiwa, General Motors & Chevrolet, Rapala, Mustad, Ande Lines, Pure Fishing, Gulp, Berkley, Precision Tackle, Capt. Hank Brown's Hook Up Lures, Hydro Glow Lights, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Saltwater Assassins, Key Largo Rods, Lee Fisher Cast Nets, Smartshield, Master Repair in Stuart Florida, Power Pole, Stow Master Nets, superfishlight.com
Capt. Alan Sherman
"Get Em" Sportfishing Charters
786 436 2064
shermana@bellsouth.net
www.getemsportfishing.com |
Captain Dave Kostyo (Knotnancy)
New member
Username: Knotnancy
Post Number: 170
Registered: 8-2003
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, February 22, 2009 - 12:54 pm: | |
February has flown by very quickly with lots of fishing action. Recently, kingfish have finally made the showing that we've all been waiting for. Sailfish action continues to be strong as long as we have north current. Throw in some dolphin, a few bonito, and action with blackfin tuna and it's well worth spending time in the 100 - 200 foot range fishing with kites, flatlines, downrigger, and bottom rods.
Now for the news on tarpon fishing. With only a very few exceptions, the action has been outstanding. The action at Haulover is making its normal late February slow down. Government Cut is seeing its action picking up. In the Bay, the cold fronts get the shrimp running and the action around the bridges has been outstanding. The good thing about Government Cut is that there are places to hide from any wind that comes from any direction from north to east to south. This makes it possible to fish the area no matter how hard the wind is blowing, so don't let wind speed discourage you from going.
Here's a quick summary of the trips I've done.
Jose Perez, Erica Perez, and Brian Jinks caught dolphin in the 10 -15 pound class as well as one of a double header sailfish. Erica caught her first sailfish and did an outstanding job of fighting the fish.
Nick Luders, Dan Fedders, Darrell Neuberger, and Court Campbell went 3 for 3 on tarpon at Haulover.
The next day, the same group caught bonito, kingfish, blackfin tuna, red grouper, and missed a sailfish at the end of the day.
Marco Guarisco and Lorenzo Ruggeri saw action with tarpon at Haulover Inlet. After having fished world wide for tarpon with no success, Marco finally realized his dream and caught his first tarpon. That evening we went 2 for 4 on tarpon to 80 pounds as well as a small grouper and a bluerunner.
With the wind howling from the N/NNE at 18 - 20 knots, Matt Santamauro, Matty Santamauro, and Joe Lorusso took advantage of good tides for the Bay and finished the evening going 5 for 6. The fish were in the 40 - 90 pound class.
Ken Tapman, Micah Tapman, Rich Collins, and Robert Collins caught a slow evening of tarpon fishing. It started off great with a tarpon in the Bay. The action shut off and we moved outside where we worked hard to get one more shot. This time the fish gave us back our hook after a few jumps.
Brad Coren and Harold Coren shared the rod on a beastly 130 pound tarpon at Haulover. The fish had its normal don't give up attitude and both anglers were utterly amazed at the power and stamina of the big fish. A bit later in the evening we caught a 60 pound fish that was a bit more cooperative. The final fish of the evening was another beast. This time the tarpon dumped so much line off the reel that it found an obstruction on the bottom and cut us off. Both anglers breathed a sigh of relief when this happened as the first fish pretty much had exhausted both of them.
Tino Poo, Louise Poo, and Allan Herman did some wreck fish. We re-anchored 3 times on two different wrecks and found no current. Persistence paid off when the kingfish moved in and we ended on a high note with kingfish, AJ's, and bonito.
Gene Walsh, Tom Zappulla, Carl Peroni, and Joe Capuano started the evening going 0 for 3 on tarpon in the Bay. When the action turned off, we moved outside and redeemed ourselves. It was steady action for the remainder of the trip. The interesting thing about the action was that each fish got progressively larger. When the final tally was counted, it was anglers 5 and fish 1. The size range was 15 - 90 pounds.
The Little Family (Mike, Ann, Ashley, and Will) are the perfect example of an outdoors family. They all participate in hunting and fishing and they are very competitive. We started in the Bay and Ashley had her tarpon just beginning to come toward us when the hook pulled. Will was up next and he caught and released his fish. The broth
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