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Fishing Report for Northern Miami-Dade County
Capt. Dave Kostyo
June 3, 2004
Miami - Saltwater Fishing Report
With all the action on dolphin, blackfin tuna, sailfish, swordfish, and bonito offshore, many anglers overlook the fact that the tarpon are still here in good numbers and feeding quite good. As with many of the offshore fish, the tactic for successful tarpon fishing also has to be adjusted.
On a recent trip, Cy Mager had his brother-in-law Jerry Kernis and Jerry's nephew Shane Kimbley out for an evening of tarpon fishing. Before it got dark, we made 3 drifts that resulted in no action of any type. Our first strike and hookup came when it got completely dark. Shane (11 years old) was first up and very quickly learned about keeping the line tight and a tarpon gets a surge of energy when it comes to the surface and gulps air. He got the official catch, however, everyone wanted to see the fish up close and get a picture with the fish along side of the boat. That is where the tarpon had other plans. It ran west toward Fisher Island up to their swimming beach. Next, it turned north and ran to the jetties before following the jetties to the eastern tip. By this time, Shane was almost completely exhausted. Once the tarpon made it to the main channel, he turned the rod over to Cy. Immediately, Cy started applying as much pressure as possible. The only problem was that the tarpon didn't seem to mind at all and fought back even harder. It ran across the main channel to the north jetty before heading east to the end of the north jetty. Then it went north for about a 1/4 mile before settling back to the bottom and using it's huge bulk to stay there. Finally, well over an hour after hooking up, the pictures were taken and the fish was released.
Back to the south side and another drift. This time it was Jerry's turn and he picked on an easier fish of smaller size. It was another intense fight, but a much shorter one. With the second fish released, another drift was set up and Shane was ready to go again. As it turned out, another large fish ate and Shane was once again getting a real workout. With the catch having been made and more pictures needed, Shane was soon tired once more and turned the rod over to Cy once again. This time the fish stayed on the south side and cooperated much better with having its picture taken.
The evening came to an end with our going 3 for 3. One was caught on a crab and the other two on shrimp. By the time we got back to Spinnaker Marina, Shane was just about asleep and was beginning to feel his sore muscles. Congratulations Shane on catching your first two tarpon. You did a fantastic job fighting those tough tarpon.
Captain Dave
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