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HOT!!! Sailfish Action
#1
The sailfishing action is on fire!! That's the only way to describe it. The action has been good most all day, with the afternoon getting the nod for the best action. Live herring have been like candy for the sailfish and double and triple hook ups have been common.

Kingfish have been cooperating in the 90 - 120 foot range and if you have plenty of bait to chum with, blackfin tunas will respond. The most difficult part at times is getting them to hit the baited hooks.

Those looking for dolphin have been finding limited success. If you find a frigate bird or something large floating, then you'll most likely find fish. The weedlines have started forming, but most have not held very many fish. One boat will find fish and the next 5 will find a barren ocean. As we get into May and then June, the dolphin fishing will improve dramatically for those who like running offshore and searching for them.

Tarpon fishing slowed some for a few days, but the good news is that it is picking back up and should get better as we approach and go through the new moon cycle.

Saturday (4/15) evening's tarpon trip was with Angelo Tarantino and his son, Mike. As has been the case for the past several trips, the tarpon didn't turn the feed bag on till late in the dusk period. Mike was first up and when the tarpon hit all he could do was hold on while the 120# fish made a hard, long first run. With the incoming tide, the fish quickly made its way to the deep water of the main channel. The battle went back and forth as we first went out against the tide and then the tarpon changed directions and flowed in with the current. We released the fish and went back out to the south side. After setting up I heard the tarpon popping on the surface to the south of us. They worked their way toward us and then disappeared after I reset to intercept them. Suddenly they popped up ahead of us as we drifted down on them. The rod with the crab took off and Mike (I thought it was Dad's turn) jumped on it. The fish dumped about 3/4 of the line off the reel even as we were moving toward it. It found a rock pile and cut us off. Angelo got the next hit that turned out to be a bonnethead shark. We made a move and this time it was a tarpon. Everything was going fine as we moved toward the fish. Then for no apparent reason, the hook pulled. The next drift, we caught and released a mangrove snapper. Our last drift of the evening was uneventful and that made us 1 for 3 for the evening. I guess the tarpon got a bit of revenge for the 3 for 4 evening the previous night and the 4 for 4 evening the night before that.

Sunday (4/16) evening the tarpon cooperated again as if like clock work. James Banter was introducing his brother Mark to saltwater fishing for the first time and wanted him to catch a tarpon. Mark's wife, Sharon and James' wife Meggan were along for moral support. Before the evening was over, Sharon got to experience the thrill of catching a large tarpon. First, however, it was Mark's turn. The first fish came up thrashing on the surface immediately and gave us back the hook. The next fish hit a live crab in the dusk period and the battle was on. The wind from the S/SW @ 11 - 18 knots had the south side a bit choppy, but the 80# tarpon didn't seem to mind in the least. The battle was a down and dirty fight with the fish spending most of its time hugging the bottom. It eventually made it to the deep water of the main channel and the fight became a struggle of two wills. The fish's and Mark's. Mark won in the end and got his first tarpon and the tarpon won by giving us a great battle and then getting released to fight again on another day. The next fish had Sharon doing battle and this time the fish ran toward the shallow water close to Fisher Island. Sharon whipped her first tarpon and the two video cameras got some great action as the fish made a very nice jump about 30 feet from the boat. Next up it was Meggan's turn. Her first fish was a ladyfish. We then ran to the north side and found much calmer water and this time the shrimp got the strike. The tarpon stayed on till its second jump before giving us our hook back. We reset and then made another adjustment to our drift before getting another screamer of a tarpon on. After dumping about 3/4's of the line off the reel, we were making progress toward regaining line when the hook
pulled. We caught 2 bluerunners and then moved back to the south side to make our last drift of the evening. The tarpon seemed to have vacated the area and we ended the evening going 2 for 5 on tarpon with 1 ladyfish and 2 bluerunners.

Wednesday (4/19) we went 1 for 4 on sailfish, 1 large jack crevalle, and 1 bonnethead shark.

Thursday (4/20) it was 2 kingfish, 1 dolphin, 1 barracuda, 1 mangrove snapper, and 1 for 2 on tarpon.

Friday (4/21) morning, Eric Pfeiffer and his fiancée Jacquelyn shared the battle with their first sailfish. The fish hit in 420' while we were slow
trolling live herring for dolphin.

Friday (4/21) afternoon, Walter Rodriguez and Fernando learned how to fish herring on the kite. The SE wind @ 13 - 16 knots was perfect for keeping
the kite steady. Walter caught the first sailfish in 120' between the Cuban Hole and Sea Buoy. After resetting, Fernando caught the second sail right in front of the Sea Buoy in 130'.

Sunday (4/23) Eileen Clark and her husband Fred fished for a half day. The light SSE/S wind had us fishing flatlines and the downrigger. The first sailfish hit in 120' about a 1/4 mile north of the Sea Buoy. It threw the hook before Eileen could even get the rod out of the holder. With a hard north current, we ran south to just south of the Cuban Hole. A quick reset from 120' out to 160' put us in pretty blue water. The downrigger popped and Eileen was hooked up with a none to pleased sailfish. Well over an hour later, 3 miles north of where we hooked up, and out in over 400', we released a still very feisty sail that Eileen had caught on 12# spinning tackle. We had about 15 minutes left to fish and we ran back to the Sea Buoy and set up in 140'. We had barely settled into the drift when Fred
hooked up with another mean and ornery sailfish. After its initial run and jumps, the fish sounded and stayed down for the rest of the fight. Every time it came up toward the surface we would get just so close and it would sound again. Finally, we got the release after another long hard fight.

Sunday (4/23) afternoon, David Ziegler wanted to catch his first sailfish. The first order of business was catching fresh bait. The herring cooperated nicely and we quickly had several dozen baits in the well. The first strike of the afternoon was a 12# kingfish on the downrigger. Our first sailfish action was in 130' off the hotels on Key Biscayne. The sailfish missed the bait the first time it struck and David was reeling it back toward the boat when it charged again. A quick drop back and David was hooked up. In the meantime, I pitched out another bait and hook a second fish. The chase was on with both fish running and jumping almost parallel with each other. The fish I had hooked gave us our hook back after about the 6th jump. We landed David's fish and after many boat side pictures, the
fish swam away in a hurry. Resetting in 135', the next strike came within 2 minutes of putting out the baits. I had just cast the downrigger bait out when the stern flatline got hit. Another sailfish and David was walking on air. That fish got released after another great fight. We moved south after no further action at the north end of Key Biscayne. The wind picked up enough to fly the ex-light kite with one bait. The downrigger produced another kingfish of 10#'s in 115'. The final strike of the afternoon was another sailfish on a flatline in 110'. We got some more great pictures of this fish also and sent it on its way to please some one else on another day. Final total for the afternoon was 3 for 4 sailfish and 2 kingfish. Combine that with the morning's action and we were 5 for 7 on sailfish on two half day trips.

How long this great action will last is anyone's guess. If you want to get in on it, then give me a call and get your trip booked as soon as possible.

Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 965-9454 Cell
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
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HOT!!! Sailfish Action - by KnotNancy - 04-24-2006, 11:28 PM

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