01-03-2005, 03:28 AM
If you like windy weather, then you haven't been disappointed for the past week. With a few hourly exceptions, the wind has been a steady 21 - 31 knots at Fowey Light. This kind of weather is definitely not for the weak of stomach. Like many other captains, I've had my share of cancelled charters. The good thing is that I've been able to reschedule all but one of them.
On New Year's Eve (12/31/04), George and Nancy Andrews from Ketchikan, Alaska were visiting Miami to bring in the New Year and for George to catch his first sailfish. After checking the latest wind conditions, Nancy opted to skip the trip. They are both used to fishing in some quite nasty conditions, however Nancy didn't want to take the chance with the sea conditions. George and I ran down the inside to Government Cut and proceeded to fill the livewell with pilchards and herring. We worked our way slowly out to the Cuban Hole in a very big choppy and
sea. Several of the waves didn't have backs on them and the 6 - 8 foot drop kept us on our toes. Once there, the first pilchard out got hit before we could get the second bait pinned on. The action was fast and furious for the first 20 minutes before settling down a bit. Just before noon, we moved out to deeper water to sailfish. By this time, we had 3 kingfish and a bonito in the box and had either pulled the hooks or had our mono leader chopped by numerous other fish.
There was a nice blue edge in 120' just outside of the Cuban Hole. We slow trolled two pilchards in the ever increasing seas. At 130' we got our first sail bite and missed the fish due to the hook being turned back into the bait. We re-baited and moved back to 120' and started out again. I told George that I've had sails and dolphin chase baits to the surface only to have birds pick up the bait before the fish could catch it. We were being followed by birds and had already released two that became to friendly with our baits. At 160' I turned back inshore and looked around to check the lines. Sure enough, a sailfish was chasing a bait and a bird picked it up. I jerked the bait away from the bird and another picked it up. I once again jerked the bait away from the second bird and opened the bail. The bait swam off and I handed the rod to George. Line peeled off the reel and he closed the bail and set up on the sail who had stayed in the area determined to catch the bait that kept getting away. The fish kept working its way offshore and the seas got bigger and more. The aerial show was a combination of everything that a sailfish will do. The angler won in the end and after some pictures, the sail won by getting released to fight again another day. CONGRATULATIONS George your first sailfish was a dandy.
Friends Brian Wilson from Pembroke Pines, Jeff Kahn from Coral Springs, and Bruce Kaminer from Paramus, NJ started the first trip (1/2/05) of the new year with a bang. It was an almost carbon copy of the New Year's Eve trip with just a few exceptions. The first being that the wind was only blowing 17 - 19 knots. The second was that it was an afternoon trip. Once again, we ran down the inside to Government Cut to catch bait. It took 2 drifts and bait was accomplished. Next stop was the Cuban Hole to catch some kingfish for the grill. The fish were a bit deeper today and we got all our hits in the 103 - 115 foot range. We put 5 fish in the box and pulled the hooks on one other fish before deciding to concentrate on sailfish. Moving about a 1/4 mile north of the area, we started in blue water in 120 feet and worked our way out to 160. I made the turn to start back in and just like 2 days ago, the sailfish chased the bait to the surface and ate. This time, there were no birds to bother our bait. Jeff took the rod and it took a few moments before the fish realized that something was wrong. Then the fireworks began. Half the line disappeared off the reel and in the process, it make a half dozen tremendous leaps before settling down and sounding. It only stayed down for a short time before coming up and making one last run of about 50 yards. After pictures, the fish was released to go on its way and Jeff had his first sailfish under his belt. At this point, it was time to show mercy on one of the seasick anglers who hung in there despite being sick from the time we started kingfishing. The decision was made to call it a day. Back at Spinnaker Marina most of the kings were filleted and one was cut into steaks for the planned fish fry.
We sent 2004 on its way with a great trip and we welcomed 2005 with another great trip. I'd like to thank everyone who made 2004 another great year for me. Many wonderful people fished with me for the first time as well as the fantastic people who fish with me on a regular basis. To each and everyone of you I say THANK YOU. To those who attended my seminars at fishing clubs and various retail stores, I hope I was able to pass on some useful knowledge to help make your fishing trips more successful. I'm looking forward to another great year of fishing in 2005. See you out there.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 732-2628 Beeper
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
[signature]
On New Year's Eve (12/31/04), George and Nancy Andrews from Ketchikan, Alaska were visiting Miami to bring in the New Year and for George to catch his first sailfish. After checking the latest wind conditions, Nancy opted to skip the trip. They are both used to fishing in some quite nasty conditions, however Nancy didn't want to take the chance with the sea conditions. George and I ran down the inside to Government Cut and proceeded to fill the livewell with pilchards and herring. We worked our way slowly out to the Cuban Hole in a very big choppy and
sea. Several of the waves didn't have backs on them and the 6 - 8 foot drop kept us on our toes. Once there, the first pilchard out got hit before we could get the second bait pinned on. The action was fast and furious for the first 20 minutes before settling down a bit. Just before noon, we moved out to deeper water to sailfish. By this time, we had 3 kingfish and a bonito in the box and had either pulled the hooks or had our mono leader chopped by numerous other fish.There was a nice blue edge in 120' just outside of the Cuban Hole. We slow trolled two pilchards in the ever increasing seas. At 130' we got our first sail bite and missed the fish due to the hook being turned back into the bait. We re-baited and moved back to 120' and started out again. I told George that I've had sails and dolphin chase baits to the surface only to have birds pick up the bait before the fish could catch it. We were being followed by birds and had already released two that became to friendly with our baits. At 160' I turned back inshore and looked around to check the lines. Sure enough, a sailfish was chasing a bait and a bird picked it up. I jerked the bait away from the bird and another picked it up. I once again jerked the bait away from the second bird and opened the bail. The bait swam off and I handed the rod to George. Line peeled off the reel and he closed the bail and set up on the sail who had stayed in the area determined to catch the bait that kept getting away. The fish kept working its way offshore and the seas got bigger and more
. The aerial show was a combination of everything that a sailfish will do. The angler won in the end and after some pictures, the sail won by getting released to fight again another day. CONGRATULATIONS George your first sailfish was a dandy.Friends Brian Wilson from Pembroke Pines, Jeff Kahn from Coral Springs, and Bruce Kaminer from Paramus, NJ started the first trip (1/2/05) of the new year with a bang. It was an almost carbon copy of the New Year's Eve trip with just a few exceptions. The first being that the wind was only blowing 17 - 19 knots. The second was that it was an afternoon trip. Once again, we ran down the inside to Government Cut to catch bait. It took 2 drifts and bait was accomplished. Next stop was the Cuban Hole to catch some kingfish for the grill. The fish were a bit deeper today and we got all our hits in the 103 - 115 foot range. We put 5 fish in the box and pulled the hooks on one other fish before deciding to concentrate on sailfish. Moving about a 1/4 mile north of the area, we started in blue water in 120 feet and worked our way out to 160. I made the turn to start back in and just like 2 days ago, the sailfish chased the bait to the surface and ate. This time, there were no birds to bother our bait. Jeff took the rod and it took a few moments before the fish realized that something was wrong. Then the fireworks began. Half the line disappeared off the reel and in the process, it make a half dozen tremendous leaps before settling down and sounding. It only stayed down for a short time before coming up and making one last run of about 50 yards. After pictures, the fish was released to go on its way and Jeff had his first sailfish under his belt. At this point, it was time to show mercy on one of the seasick anglers who hung in there despite being sick from the time we started kingfishing. The decision was made to call it a day. Back at Spinnaker Marina most of the kings were filleted and one was cut into steaks for the planned fish fry.
We sent 2004 on its way with a great trip and we welcomed 2005 with another great trip. I'd like to thank everyone who made 2004 another great year for me. Many wonderful people fished with me for the first time as well as the fantastic people who fish with me on a regular basis. To each and everyone of you I say THANK YOU. To those who attended my seminars at fishing clubs and various retail stores, I hope I was able to pass on some useful knowledge to help make your fishing trips more successful. I'm looking forward to another great year of fishing in 2005. See you out there.
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 732-2628 Beeper
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
[signature]