12-29-2003, 11:23 PM
Sunday (12/28) afternoon/evening trip. Leaving Spinnaker Marina at 1 pm, the plans called for catching bait, fishing offshore till about 5:30 pm, and then finishing the trip by tarpon fishing at Government Cut. Guy Rock from Wilton Manor had his two brothers John & Pat Killingbeck from Canton, Michigan, and son Jack Stroming from Demorest, Georgia visiting for the holidays.
Catching herring at Government took no time at all. With the live well loaded with shrimp and herring, the run off shore was a slow one as the seas were quite sloppy from the ENE/E wind @ 18-23 mph. The first stop was just north of the sea buoy in 200'. Even with the sea anchor out, the drift was a short and uneventful one. Starting the second drift in 225', produced the same results as the first. The third drift was to be the one. Running south to straight out from Government, we started in 300'. A large cargo freighter leaving the port passed to the outside of us and blocked the wind for about a minute. Just as the wind began to pick up, the stern flat line took off and John was hooked up with his first sailfish. The fish made several great jumps and a powerful first run before sounding. From that point on, it was a slug 'em out tug of war. Pat was on the video camera, Guy was giving taunting encouragement to his younger brother, and Jack sat up front taking it all in. The struggle continued with the fish staying deep and slow but steady progress being made. Several times we had the double line up to the surface only to have the fish sound again. It was becoming quite apparent that the fish was either foul hooked or tail wrapped. The hook up was at 4 pm and finally, after a 1 1/2 hour battle, we confirmed our suspicions. The fish came to boat side foul hooked in the side above the pec fin. With the video camera going and camera flashes popping, I immediately started pulling the tired warrior through the water to revive him. After several minutes, his tail was moving strongly as he fought me. John gave him an admiring pat on the side as I sent him on his way to give another angler on another day the same great thrills that John had just experienced.
Time for part two of the trip. The water at Government was a lot calmer. The live shrimp did its job on the first drift and Jack pulled on a 35# tarpon that put on a great aerial show for us at boat side. For the next four drifts, we marked fish, after fish, after fish with no takers. I added a split shot to one of the lines to get the bait down just a little. It didn't seem to be working either. The only thing to do, was to try again. Sooner or later, the fish had to turn on. Another drift, more marked fish, and finally, the line with the split shot up on the bow got hit. It was a race to the rod between Jack and Guy with Guy winning out. A short run with several jumps and Guy figured he was also fighting a smaller fish until it came to life and made a sizzling 100 yard run. The tug of war was on. First the fish was winning. Then Guy was winning, no it was the fish, no it was Guy. And so it went, back and forth. It was hard to tell who was tiring first. The 100# tarpon made a huge jump close to the boat and the adrenalin surge that Guy got was more than enough for him to finish off the fish. More camera flashes and video tape and Guy released his first fish of the season.
Give me a call and lets book a trip so you and your family can experience this kind of action. After all, FAMILY FISHING IS FUN!!!
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 732-2628 Beeper
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
[signature]
Catching herring at Government took no time at all. With the live well loaded with shrimp and herring, the run off shore was a slow one as the seas were quite sloppy from the ENE/E wind @ 18-23 mph. The first stop was just north of the sea buoy in 200'. Even with the sea anchor out, the drift was a short and uneventful one. Starting the second drift in 225', produced the same results as the first. The third drift was to be the one. Running south to straight out from Government, we started in 300'. A large cargo freighter leaving the port passed to the outside of us and blocked the wind for about a minute. Just as the wind began to pick up, the stern flat line took off and John was hooked up with his first sailfish. The fish made several great jumps and a powerful first run before sounding. From that point on, it was a slug 'em out tug of war. Pat was on the video camera, Guy was giving taunting encouragement to his younger brother, and Jack sat up front taking it all in. The struggle continued with the fish staying deep and slow but steady progress being made. Several times we had the double line up to the surface only to have the fish sound again. It was becoming quite apparent that the fish was either foul hooked or tail wrapped. The hook up was at 4 pm and finally, after a 1 1/2 hour battle, we confirmed our suspicions. The fish came to boat side foul hooked in the side above the pec fin. With the video camera going and camera flashes popping, I immediately started pulling the tired warrior through the water to revive him. After several minutes, his tail was moving strongly as he fought me. John gave him an admiring pat on the side as I sent him on his way to give another angler on another day the same great thrills that John had just experienced.
Time for part two of the trip. The water at Government was a lot calmer. The live shrimp did its job on the first drift and Jack pulled on a 35# tarpon that put on a great aerial show for us at boat side. For the next four drifts, we marked fish, after fish, after fish with no takers. I added a split shot to one of the lines to get the bait down just a little. It didn't seem to be working either. The only thing to do, was to try again. Sooner or later, the fish had to turn on. Another drift, more marked fish, and finally, the line with the split shot up on the bow got hit. It was a race to the rod between Jack and Guy with Guy winning out. A short run with several jumps and Guy figured he was also fighting a smaller fish until it came to life and made a sizzling 100 yard run. The tug of war was on. First the fish was winning. Then Guy was winning, no it was the fish, no it was Guy. And so it went, back and forth. It was hard to tell who was tiring first. The 100# tarpon made a huge jump close to the boat and the adrenalin surge that Guy got was more than enough for him to finish off the fish. More camera flashes and video tape and Guy released his first fish of the season.
Give me a call and lets book a trip so you and your family can experience this kind of action. After all, FAMILY FISHING IS FUN!!!
Captain Dave Kostyo
Knot Nancy Fishing Charters
305 620-5896 Charter
305 732-2628 Beeper
www.knotnancy.com
nkostyo@bellsouth.net
[signature]